“I know you will. I’m just-”
“Let me sulk,” Olivia said, putting another book back in its home. “If I want to do your chores while I look for my shit, that’s my problem, isn’t it?” She jerked her thumb back over her shoulder. “I’ve got the rest of this. Go do your thing.”
“It’s my job, not-”
“Go.” Her eyes narrowed on the final word. “You’ve already done too much. I don’t want you complaining to the guildmaster.”
“Okay, okay,” Owl said, holding his hands up and backing away. “If you want to do the heavy lifting, be my guest.”
“I am your guest,” she muttered.
He did laugh, then, shaking his head and turning. Fair point, that.
They’d spent most of the morning working their way deeper and deeper into Alexandria, hunting for this or that book that Olivia insisted was necessary for her research. He’d been through the whole business of it before. It was still Alexandria, and he knew that he’d be no more than a few minutes away from the central chambers if Alex was cooperating, but still. They’d covered a lot of ground.
And this far into the Library, it felt different. The air had a tension to it, like a low note just beyond the edge of hearing that wore down his nerves, like he’d left something undone for far too long. As much as he knew he should stay by Olivia, he couldn’t help it. He had to walk, to stretch the jitters from his legs.
Alexandria groaned around him, settling faintly. A light appeared, glimmering around the edges of the next shelf. He brightened, hurrying forward. Alex? What are you-
“Oh,” he whispered, straightening as he came around the corner. She’d pulled the wall right off the side of the Library, opening the shelves to a terrace like the world’s oddest bookstore-garden mashup. The first tendrils of sunlight pouring down across the stone looked absolutely divine. He smiled. “Perfect. Thanks.”
His tired steps carried him across the last of the aisles, until at last the stones disappeared from beneath him. Soft green grass replaced them, plush enough he ached to take off his boots and sink his toes into them. It’s just my feet, his thoughts screamed. What, is she going to hunt me down by the fact I’m white?
Rules were rules, though. He took another step forward, and then dropped into the perfect spot, caught between the shade of the Library and the sun of the blurred sky overhead. If he leaned forward, he could still see Olivia picking away at her tasks.
It would do. He let himself sink into the grass beneath him, resting his head back against the stone. He couldn’t sleep, not out in the open. But he could close his eyes for a while - and he did, letting the morning’s troubles fade away.
His fingers twitched. The sun felt nice. Too nice. It almost felt like being outside. Maybe, if he...
The wind responded to his gentle call, swirling about the courtyard and tugging at his hood. Thin tendrils slipped under his mask, up the sleeves of his coat. He sighed, smiling.
Not too obvious, now. Olivia doesn’t need a front-row seat to my magic. His hands stayed at his sides, hidden by the grass and his legs with only the tips of his fingers urging the breeze on.
The sound of footsteps against the stone broke through his reverie. His eyes opened again.
Olivia stepped out of the shadows of the Library, her face red and her hair soaked with sweat but a smile on her face. “Done,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Thought it’d never end.”
How long had he been sitting there? Owl tensed, going to stand up, but she hit the ground beside him before he could get even a single inch off the ground. Rather close to him, in fact. His skin prickled as her leg pressed against his - and her hand dropped to his knee. He tensed.
“This breeze is heavenly,” she murmured, letting her eyes slit shut. “Alexandria’s always a little stuffy, y’know?”
“I do,” Owl said, swallowing a chuckle. “Every now and then she’s a little nicer. Like now. You take what you can get most days.”
He’d have expected for the sun to bounce off a pane of glass or especially reflective roof tile, flashing in his eyes to blind him for his rudeness. He’d have expected her to turn the wall behind him hot from the day’s warmth, burning him through his coat. It would have all been par for the course for such rudeness from her Librarian.
Instead, she was silent. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. That was...odd.
Olivia’s hand was still on his knee, a strangely comforting weight. “If you’d told me I’d be spending my whole stay carrying around boxes of books, I don’t know if I’d have come,” she said.
Owl snorted. “Come on. There weren’t boxes of books. I gave you a cart.”
“So generous.” Olivia drooped, her chin sinking lower to her chest. “I thought, it’s a dream. I’m asleep out there after all, aren’t I? And you too.”
“Yep.”
“Right,” Olivia said. “If I’m sleeping, I’d have thought this whole thing would be a little more restful.
Owl turned his head far enough to fix a baleful, amused eye on her. “You know, I told you that you should fix your sleeping habits. There’s still time. You could-”
“Quiet, oh wise Librarian,” Olivia said, laughing. Her hand slipped to his thigh, squeezing the crook of his knee gently to emphasize her words.
He smiled faintly. Normally, they’d go right into ribbing each other. Here, with the sun in her hair and her hand on his leg...it didn’t seem quite right, anymore. “You’ll have plenty of time to sleep outside,” he said, his voice soft.
Her lips pressed together, forming a thin line. “Right. Yeah.”
Idiot. Why would you remind
