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The grand library was bustling with commotion as it always did. Assistant librarians ran left and right, helping to sort the city's books and talking amongst themselves. Among the nine floors, one was calmer than the others. The Floor of Social Sciences always had a relaxing aura to it, be it from the floor's aesthetics or its patron librarian.
Among the floor's shelves sat a small bar. A few of the assistants sat on the stools, talking amongst each other. Behind the bar was the floor's leader and patron librarian, Chesed. He listened to the conversations of his librarians, grinding some coffee beans into a fine blend for himself.
"Chesed? Are you busy at the moment?" Another librarian entered the area, sitting on the couch a small bit away from the bar. "I can sit here and wait if you are."
"No, Jesper, I'm not. Did you need something?" Chesed looked over at Jesper. The librarians between them stopped their conversation, wanting to hear what was going on.
"Can I not want to talk to our dear leader without having a reason?" Jesper laughed. "I've been watching the other floors receive guests, I needed a break. I was down at Hod's for her book club, but then Angela called for them. I didn't feel like leaving, so I watched them"
"Did you? …You don't have to watch them fight if you don't want to, Jesper." Chesed finished grinding down the coffee beans, pouring the grinds into a filter. "I was making this for myself, but would you like a cup as well?" He started to pour water from his kettle over the grinds, filling the coffee pot underneath.
"I know, I know, but it's just one of those things that's hard to not watch for me. We've all grown used to stuff like that, as horrible as it is to say…" Jesper looked at the ground for a moment, a solemn look on her face. She quickly regained her previous composure to respond to his question with a smile. "Sure. Whatever you make is always good."
The other librarians started whispering amongst themselves, believing that it would be a good time to take their leaves. The group thanked Chesed, walking off elsewhere in the library.
"Thank y'all for coming!" Chesed waved them off with a smile. He finished pouring the water into the pot and let the remaining liquid drip down from the filter. "You don't have to act like you need to fight anymore, Jesper. You don’t have to be our protector. I'm happy that you decided to stay with us here, but I know that ever since you left the corporation you-"
"I know, Chesed. I know I don't have to protect anyone here anymore. I know that they won't die and they'll wake up tomorrow, but I'm still scared of the possibility that they won't... and I know that you feel guilty, as well. You feel guilty for hurting me and causing me to have to use this cane… You shouldn’t feel that way. I could have easily let this be healed, but I chose not to. It's no one's fault but my own."
Chesed sighed. "Even so, I am the one responsible for giving you that injury in the first place. It's your decision what you do with it, though." Chesed removed the filter from the pot, putting it aside. He then got out two mugs, each with the same appearance. He poured the coffee into both and picked them up, walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Jesper and handing her a mug.
"Yes, yes. If you really think about it, though, you ended up helping me get out of there with those injuries. Of course my family would call for me right after I almost died, causing me to get sent home to District 11 and severed from the company. But of course, I ended up back here next to you." Jesper took the cup and brought it to her lips to drink. "This is a new flavor. Did you find something new in one of the books to try?"
"It’s a good thing we ended up here together, though, isn’t it? You were always one of my favorites in our department. Though, I do think you could have been a bit nicer to the other employees and not tripped them." Chesed laughed, taking a sip of his own coffee. "I did. It’s something I’ve had before, but never was able to get quite right. It still isn’t exactly correct, but that’s just how coffee is."
“You’re right. Coffee can be quite fickle; you’re the one who taught me that. And about me tripping the other employees in our department, I only did that to discourage them from disturbing you too much. I know you didn’t mind, or at least seemed not to, but I didn’t like seeing them abuse your kindness so they could slack and do nothing. Also…” Jesper trailed off, thinking for a moment. She had put her cane down next to her, leaning against the couch. She grabbed the handle, reaching forward to put her cup on the table in front of the pair and standing up. “I feel like my leg is allowing me to move more without this,” she gestures to the cane, letting go of it and letting it fall back against the couch. “Come on, get up.”
Jesper grabbed Chesed’s shoulder, pulling him up and dragging him into the open space near the bar.
“I’ll lead, you follow. Surely you know how it goes, right? Even without the music, you should be able to keep rhythm with me.” Jesper put a hand on Chesed’s shoulder and her other on his side. She gave him a moment to register what was happening, his face having a look of confusion on it.
Once he realized what she was doing, he put his free hand on her side. He wasn’t given a chance to put down his mug, so he was still holding it as they danced. Amazingly, it never once spilt.
Jesper put her foot forward, waiting for Chesed to follow. It took them a few moments to figure it out, but eventually the couple found a shared rhythm.
“You’re doing good at this, Chesed. I expected as much from you, though I doubt you were ever expected to be following the lead of someone else.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect I’d do this at all. And you never gave much warning, so I had no time to remember how to dance like this.”
“I’d say you’re doing just fine for being rusty at it. You’ve only stepped on my foot, what, once? That’s more than I can say for the last time I danced.” Jesper laughed at herself. She was taught from a young age how to dance, her parents deeming it something that she should know as the upcoming Lady of the house, but she never quite knew why it was necessary, given the society within the city. She was thankful for those lessons, however, as they allowed her to dance with someone she loved.
Suddenly, music started playing, startling the two. They both looked over towards the source, only seeing that a radio had suddenly appeared on one of the many shelves. They could also hear faint giggling, followed by annoyed shushes coming from beyond the shelves.
“Thank you!” Jesper yelled out to the hidden librarians, turning her attention back to Chesed. “Now, where were we?”
“I believe we were here.” Chesed suddenly took the lead of the dance, surprising Jesper. She quickly caught on though, following where Chesed stepped and careful to not accidentally step on his toes.
Passing by the bar, Chesed put his mug down, placing his now-free hand onto Jesper. He pulled her towards himself, leaning down so that he could kiss her. Jesper was stunned, not expecting him to do that. Chesed pulled himself back, worried that she didn’t want it, but Jesper quickly pulled him back down to her.
After a moment, they broke apart, Jesper smiling brightly at Chesed.
“I do wish we could do this more, however…” Jesper latched herself onto Chesed, trying to regain her balance while not putting too much pressure on her bad leg. “I think we should stop for the time being.”
“When you feel like your leg is up to it, we can. Whenever you’d like.” Chesed helped Jesper walk back towards the couch, acting as a support for her. Once there, she grabbed her cane, letting herself rebalance herself.
“Maybe we could use some of your precious light to help heal it like how we do when fighting, but then that would just diminish how special it could be for us to be allowed to dance like that.” Jesper embraced Chesed, putting her forehead to his chest. “You mean quite a lot to me, Chesed. I wish to protect you, even if I know you’re perfectly capable of doing so on your own… It’s a knight's duty to serve its liege, isn’t it?”
“If that's how you see it, then it is. You’ve done more than enough to help protect us, even though you aren’t obligated to. I admire that in you.” Chesed placed a hand on Jesper’s head, petting her. They stayed like that for a while, music from the radio playing softly in the background.