Chapter Text
The door opens, and he comes face to face with his Guardian. The rest of the world fades away as his clever eyes scan her in an instant. She is pale, less toned. No make-up, hair in a messy bun, but he likes her like this. Only he ever gets to see her like this.
“Flynn?” She asks, her eyes looking everywhere but his face. Her lower lip wobbles. “What are you doing here?”
There’s no words for why he’s here. He loves her - he wants her back - but these seem too small for how much he’s missed her. “This,” Flynn murmurs, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her gently. He steps forward as he does, wordlessly urging her back as he kicks the door closed behind them. He keeps his touch light; if she doesn't want to be kissed, she can easily push him back.
It turns out to be unnecessary. Eve kisses him back furiously, arms shaking as they wrap around his back. They stumble back against a wall, and Flynn releases her face so he can brace himself against it as he leans over her, kissing all the while. He’s not sure how long they stand there, pressed together, but when she pushes him back, he goes without protest.
“Why are you here?” She repeats, tipping her head back against the wall as she catches her breath. Flynn watches her, hands on either side of her head as he tries to calm his rapidly beating heart.
“You and me, Eve,” he replies, and it’s the best answer he has. “I promised. You promised. You’d come after me because I’m your Librarian, so you can bet I’m coming after you because you’re my Guardian.”
Eve pulls him back in for another kiss, and he’s reminded that she must have missed him just as much, the way he missed her all those times he was the one who ran. His arms fall from the wall to wrap around her waist. “There’s something I have to tell you,” she says against his mouth, and the pain in her expression makes him tighten his arms around her. “If you want to be angry with me after, it’s okay.”
He pulls back slightly, pressing several more gentle kisses to her lips to quiet her. “Honey, I already know,” he murmurs, diving in for a deeper kiss, tracing her lips with his tongue as he fills the void the lack of her had left. It feels real - the hole in his heart. He knows because right now, he feels so full, and he’s terrified of losing that feeling. Terrified that all the intelligence and logic in the world won’t be enough to convince her to stay with him. “I know, it’s okay,” he repeats, afraid to pull away. The heat of her body is keeping him together.
At his words, she stiffens. He lets her go, but his eyes stay glued to hers, barely blinking. “How?” She demands, searching his expression.
He shrugs. “I’ll happily tell you all the details of how clever your Librarians are later, but for now, it’s enough that I know.” He swallows, trying to inject every bit of his honesty into his face. “And I don’t care.”
Eve pushes him off her, stumbling away. “I - how?” She repeats, sounding like a broken record.
He smiles, something tragic and warm in the curve of his mouth. “I’ll be with you, won’t I?” He asks lightly, though his eyes are solemn on hers. “In sickness and in health, in life and beyond. How can I not be okay when I’m with you?” Anyone else, and those words would feel cheap or baseless. But between them, the pain is honest and real. To know how loving someone will end, especially for them, after all they’ve been through… it tears through Eve’s heart. It’s clear in the way Flynn speaks that he is coming from the same heart wrenching place.
It’s too much, and Eve shakes her head. It’s not her usual single, sharp movement. It’s more lost, more listless as she tries to understand what he’s saying. “No - that’s - no. You’ll be gone, and I’ll be alone. You’ll be…” she trails off, her voice breaking. “I can’t do this,” she admits, turning away. “Nicole was wrong - I need more time.” She takes one look at him, like a deer in headlights, before making for the door.
But though Flynn is nowhere near as strong as her, he is faster. He meets her halfway, latching onto her wrist. “I know I have no right to ask you not to run,” he pleads. “But I’m a selfish man, and a Librarian who needs his Guardian, and -” here his voice breaks, lowers, and she shivers - “a husband who needs his wife, so please Eve. Don’t run .”
At those words, Eve breaks down, tears streaming down her cheeks as he does his best to stop her. “I’ll be alone,” she sobs. “You gave me a family - a purpose, and you’re going to make me lose it.”
He’s not sure whether she’s talking to him or the Library, but it doesn’t change his answer. “Don’t think about that,” Flynn argues, crowding her, cupping her face in his hands. “Think of me. Focus on me.” He tries desperately to keep his tone steady and strong. To keep from pushing him away.
“I can’t,” she anguishes. “You’re going to leave me.”
Okay, he thinks, this is it, Flynn. Don’t mess this up. “Hey,” he says aloud, “no, hey, look at me. Eve. Look at me. ” And she does, gazing at him through tear-soaked lashes. “You know what our future looks like?” She starts to nod, but he holds her head steady between his palms. “No, you don’t. It’s not death. It’s not the apocalypse. At least, not every day. It’s you and me, waking up together. It’s coffee and bagels and Librarians and Guardians. It’s date nights and team work and those missions where we don’t even need to speak because we’re so in sync.” He pauses, out of breath. “It’s late night research where you call me to bed, and late night sparring where I make bad sword puns and you let me seduce you because you secretly love them.” She breathes out a wet laugh, and he gains momentum. “It’s never letting a day go by without telling you how much I love you. Because I do, Eve. I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” she murmurs, letting her forehead fall against his. Her body relaxes, and he un-tenses as well. She’s not going to leave. He did it. He hopes he did it.
“We’ll have all of that. Every day,” he promises. “And when… if … one day, you have to let me go… Well, that’s not just a curse of immortality. That’s what it is to be mortal, too.” He pauses, dark eyes hard on hers. “We’re going to have centuries together, Eve Baird. There’s no takebacks. Every century of yours is mine .”
She shivers at his words before throwing herself into his arms. He hugs her back hard. “I’m sorry,” she half whispers, half sobs. “You’re right, I’m sorry, I love you.”
He hushes her, smoothing down her hair, pulling it from its bun as he runs his fingers through it. “Don’t be sorry,” he replies. “I’m glad I could help.”
Eve shakes her head against his neck. “It’s not your job to save me,” she says. Her tone is pained, and she cuddles the best she can against him.
Flynn scoffs. “With all due respect to Jenkins, his little circular model is outdated,” he argues fiercely against her ear. “All three of us are in this together. You and the Library saved me from Nicole. You and I save the Library every day. Who do you think helped me find you? Let the Library and I do the saving for once.” His eyes narrow. “Though we’ll be having words with Ray about his manipulations once we return.”
Eve pulls back, eyes dark and focused on him. “Yes we will,” she agrees, before softening. “But right now, there’s a bedroom upstairs, no Librarians running around, and no crisis, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to focus on… us, right now.”
Flynn grins. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard in weeks,” he says, kissing her hard as they stumble their way up the stairs.
-
Flynn wakes in the middle of the night to the feeling of being watched. He rolls over, meeting Eve’s eyes in the dark.
“Okay?” She asks him, low and earnest in that way of hers, the way that makes him want to spill everything. There’s no expectations left here in this bed, between them, and he knows he can be honest.
“Better,” he says, smiling softly when her eyes narrow. He throws a long arm over her waist, tugging her closer so their noses are brushing. “I didn’t know if you’d come back,” he admits, watching as a series of expressions - worry, guilt, fondness - flash across Eve’s face before she settles on a blank mask. He knows she is waiting for him to clarify. “I’m still worried that you don’t feel the way that I feel.”
“I love you,” she says immediately.
He grins, a silly, wide smile that is typical whenever she says those words. “I love you too,” he assures her, “but that’s not what I mean.”
She reaches up, tracing his lips with her fingertips before sliding her hand back into his messy hair. “Go on,” she encourages, smiling a little when his eyes flutter at the sensation she is causing.
“Eve, I hope you know I’d happily die a horrible, painful death if it meant I got to spend the time before it with you,” he says in a rush, watching her expression carefully.
Her smile falters, but she just shakes her head, lowering her hand to squeeze the arm around her waist. “That’s not an image I want in my head,” she replies, “but I’m not wasting another minute. That doesn’t mean that you can be reckless, okay? We have a lot of living to do, and I don’t want to lose you. And if that day comes, I’ll fight it.”
Flynn rolls onto his back, gathering her closer. She lays her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “The hardest thing in the world is to live in it,” he says finally, and she’s been around him for enough years to know the inflection of his voice means he is quoting someone.
Eve yawns. “Aristotle?”
“No, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
She giggles softly, no longer fighting the pull of sleep. “Dork,” she accuses playfully.
He settles into the pillow. “You love it,” he says, and that’s the last thing she hears before she falls asleep in his arms once more.
-
When they fall through the Door the next day, the Librarians fall over themselves to greet her. Even Ezekiel hugs her tightly, and she accepts them all gratefully, happy to see her family.
Before they had returned, Eve had told Flynn that she would not ask after them immediately, and instead wait for them to come to her. After seeing their anxious expressions, she only keeps that promise for about two minutes. “How are you three? Be honest,” she says, arching an eyebrow at them. Flynn is still clinging to her like an octopus, but she lets him. He deserves a little security.
Jake shrugs. “We’ve been talking. A lot.”
Ezekiel scoffs. “Yeah, lots of feelings going around,” he adds in disgust, but Eve can see the little smile at the corner of his mouth.
Eve nods slowly. “Riiight. Guess you don’t need me anymore, then?” She teases.
The two boys grin at the joke, but Cassandra looks very concerned. She darts forward, hugging Eve again tightly around the waist. “No!” She yelps. “There’s a lot I need to talk to you about.”
Ezekiel steps forward. “Wait! No, there’s a lot
I
need to talk to her about!”
Jake stays back. “Hey, I was the one who Flynn yelled at,” he adds. “I think I should go first.”
Eve spins around, staring at her Librarian who looks like a deer in headlights gazing back up at her. “You yelled ?”
Flynn gulps under her scrutiny. “He yelled back!”
Eve fights the urge to roll her eyes. “Okay, okay, we’ll all talk this week, promise,” she says. “No arguing like kindergartners though. Sometimes I can’t believe you four are the smartest people in the world.”
“You should talk to Flynn first,” Cassandra says quietly. “He missed you a lot.” Ezekiel and Jake nod, smiling softly. Eve doesn’t miss the covert fist bump Ezekiel gives Cassandra in return for her words. That’s definitely going to be something she’s talking to them both about.
She waits for Flynn to pull her up to their apartment, but to her surprise, he doesn’t move. “I don’t know,” he muses. “I think I owe Cassandra a drink for her exemplary research skills. Stone, why don’t you go grab some beers from the fridge? Jenkins, Jones, and I found this new room in the Library you’re going to love , honey. We had to steal back the Silver River from the Celestial Queen Mother - Ezekiel turned into a buffalo for a few hours-”
“What-”
“Anyways, the Library helped us find the Hall of Textiles to store it, and it’s great. There are pillows everywhere.”
Ezekiel and Jenkins lead the way, with Flynn and Eve bringing up the rear while Cassie and Jake handle the drinks.
Eve hooks her hand into Flynn’s arm. “I think they’d understand if you wanted some alone time,” she says quietly.
“I do,” he says lowly, flashing her a loving smile. “I always want to be alone with you.” He winks, before turning more serious. “But family’s important too, right?”
She can’t help it. She swings around, kissing him hard on the mouth.
She ignores the gagging noises coming from Ezekiel’s direction. Family is important, but kissing her Librarian-husband-soulmate when he displays emotional maturity is equally so.
-
Two days after she returns, Eve slips out of Flynn’s arms in the early hours of the morning. He releases her after a brief moment of tightening his embrace, and the movement makes her jot a quick note to him about an early workout. She doesn’t want to scare him.
She pulls on her running bra and tights before exiting the Annex, hands weaving her hair into a tight French braid. She runs hard and long, only stopping when the sun lights up the sky in a hazy pink.
She grabs a towel and an oversized NATO sweatshirt from her desk. A change of clothes is always stored there, and it’s nice to wear the soft hoodie after she forgot it when she had run. She considers going back up to the apartment, but she’s been itching to be in the Library alone since she had returned. The others, especially Flynn, have hardly let her out of their sight. She knows it will take awhile for the trust to return, so she tries to be patient with them.
So she takes the towel down to the main Library, not really sure what she wants but ready to be surrounded by the stacks once more. She pauses at the top of the steps, breathing deep, before she takes one step, then two. Then she pauses, unsure if she really wants to go any further. Sweat drips from her skin as she towels off. The Library is lit, but with lowlights, creating a smaller, homier atmosphere. She thinks she knows why.
Any other time, she would sit. Relax in the quiet, familiar space. But that feels wrong. She hates that the Library feels like a hostile, but she knows that will never change unless she faces it. And while Flynn and her have already talked to the empty space as a team, if she has learned anything, it’s that the Library and she have to be okay on their own. “I know what you’re doing,” she says quietly, dropping the towel to her feet.
“It’s nervous,” a familiar voice says behind her. Charlene steps down onto the same step, ghostly and shimmering. Neither of them look at the other, instead gazing out over the entity they both are sworn to protect. “Can you blame it?”
Eve looks thoughtful, before her expression hardens into something both understanding and firm. “I’m not sorry,” she calls out, ignoring Charlene. “Whatever you intended, that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t kind.”
“The Library is not meant to be kind,” Charlene interjects.
“I need kindness,” Eve continues, still not directly addressing the ghost next to her. “Flynn and I - and the others - we protect you every day.” She pauses. “You were right, you know,” she concedes. “I tethered for Flynn. Because I love him. More than anything - more than magic, more than this job, more than learning. Losing him… it terrifies me. I’m going to be a mess when it happens.” She pauses, voice shaking, raising her head to pin the Library with a tearful gaze. “I’m going to need you,” she explains, taking slow steps down the stairs. She keeps her hands open at her sides. “We have to rely on each other - no manipulations, no running away.” She drops her gaze when she reaches the bottom of the steps. Charlene stays quiet behind her.
Suddenly, Ray appears in his usual beam of light, and Eve tries not to flinch at its brilliance. It reaches forward, taking her by the shoulders. “You have me, Eve Baird. You are my Guardian. Flynn Carsen is my Heart, but you are my Soul. You are the Soul of us all.”
Eve exhales slowly, and in a movement too quick to follow, she hugs Ray tightly.
“I know what you wanted to do,” she says in its ear. “I get it. But if you ever manipulate me like that again, I will figure out a way to kick your ass,” she warns.
Ray is quiet, then: “Okay.” It’s a small concession, but for some reason, Eve feels as though she’s won a war. The solidity of Ray disappears in her arms, and she makes her way back up the stairs with her shoulders lowered and her breathing even.
She pauses next to Charlene. “I’ve appreciated your help the past few months,” she says. Charlene gives a nearly imperceptible nod. “But,” she continues, looking in the direction of where she knows Flynn and Jenkins are likely in the process of making breakfast, “if you refuse to appear to Flynn and Jenkins, I don’t want it. It will only make them bitter, and that’s not good for the Library.” She looks over when she finishes speaking, but Charlene is already gone. She sighs; she knows it was the right ultimatum to make, but she also hates the idea that Charlene is alone in the mirror realm. Hopefully, Judson is somewhere out there for her.
“Everything okay?”
She looks up to see Flynn peeking his head around the door, his brows furrowed and his head tilted.
She joins him at the entrance of the Library and presses a kiss to his cheek, enjoying the way his eyes soften at her affection. She pushes any thoughts of the future away, instead imagining Jenkins’ breakfast croissants and the latte that Stone will sneak in for her in lieu of tea. She thinks of Cassie and Ezekiel bent over their research. She thinks of Nicole, half a world away, with Eve’s number in her phone and an invitation to Christmas. She thinks of Flynn and the way he’ll look on the mission today, bright and brilliant and curious to a fault as he saves the world at her side.
“Yes,” she replies, and she means it.