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Eve probably should’ve been more surprised when Flynn shifted in front of her for the first time, but she really wasn’t. Maybe if she hadn’t walked in on a raccoon and a border collie seemingly squabbling 20 minutes ago she would’ve, but as it stood having Flynn, as a hedgehog, apparently napping in his chair wasn’t altogether that strange.
In all honesty she had expected him to be an owl, or some kind of bird with how much he flitted from thing to thing, thought to thought. He seemed like the kind of guy to be constantly one step away from shifting and flying about, though obviously that was far from the truth.
“Is that Flynn?” Eve asked when she came down the stairs of the annex to see the hedgehog resting in the chair at Flynns desk. Jenkins, who had been leafing through a book nearby, looked up to see what she was talking about.
“The hedgehog in his chair? Yes, that is Mr. Carsen,” Jenkins responded with barely a thought before he turned back to his book. “What did you think he was?”
“I figured he’d be a bird,” Eve admitted, getting closer to the chair, quietly so as not to wake Flynn up.
“Hm, a fair enough assumption I suppose,” Jenkins acquiesced.
Just as Eve had begun to stroke the hedgehog with a single finger, the aforementioned border collie and raccoon came barreling through the doors of the library, into the annex, loudly.
Ezekiel was chasing Jake, with the thief making high pitched squeaky noises as Jake kept barking loudly. Eventually, Jake made a sharp turn so he was facing Ezekiel and the two were caught in a standoff.
The commotion woke up Flynn, who with a start, scrabbled up and closer into Eve’s hand. Eve sighed at the two who were fighting and proceeded to lay her hand flat for Flynn to crawl into, which he did readily. She lifted the hand up carefully(she knew how much trust it took for him to be allowing her to hold him right now considering the very real ability she now had to hurt him), and held him close to her chest.
“Stone, Jones, what have we talked about?” She yelled at them over the barking and hissing.
At that, they both stopped their noise as they realized Eve was there, looking incredibly annoyed. Both of them had the decency to look properly chastised, and Eve rolled her eyes at their antics.
“Look, if you two can’t get along when shifted then we’re going to have to add even more rules to the list,” She was referencing the rather long list of rules she and Jenkins had put in writing after they both realized how monumentally stupid their genius’s could be. The things written on it were more than a little ridiculous.
“Sorry,” Jake apologized after he’d shifted back, Ezekiel following suit.
“Wait, is that Flynn?” Ezekiel asked, running up to get a better look at the hedgehog in Eve’s hand, forgetting the previous altercation entirely. “He’s so small.”
Flynn looked affronted at this, making an annoyed(and adorable) sound and shuffling closer to Eve. He was glaring, something Eve hadn’t even thought hedgehogs could do, but it just made him look even more adorable.
Jake came up behind Ezekiel and smacked him on the back of the head.
“Hey!” Ezekiel yelled.
“Don’t be rude,” Jake admonished, to which Ezekiel rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “ok mom”.
“They stopped screaming, does that mean they calmed down, or does it mean they killed each other?” Cassandra asked as she walked into the annex from where she had been in Jenkins’ lab.
“We got distracted,” Ezekiel explained as he continued to practically coo at Flynn.
“Didn’t think you had such a thing for small animals, Jones,” Eve remarked as she brought up her other hand to stroke Flynn’s back with a finger, making sure to not be too rough.
“Flynn always acts like the biggest person in the room,” He explained, backing up a bit when Jake pulled the back of his shirt, though Ezekiel gave no indication he really cared. “It’s ironic that he’d be so tiny when shifted.”
Eve hummed noncommittally, enjoying how pleased Flynn looked while being pet. He’d been working himself ragged the past couple of days, barely resting at all, and so she was glad he was taking a bit of a break.
“Aw, he’s so cute,” Cassandra too cooed when she got closer and could see Flynn properly.
“Weren’t you two meant to be finding an artifact down in the Library?” Jenkins reminded Ezekiel and Jake with a pointed raise of his eyebrow.
“About that,” Ezekiel started before Jacob interrupted him.
“We’ll be right back,” Jake said, grabbing Ezekiel by the collar of his shirt and pulling him along, Ezekiel protesting loudly as he was pulled out into the Library.
“I’m going to go make sure they don’t break anything,” Cassandra said brightly, practically skipping after them into the Library once more.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m taking care of 3 children,” Eve remarked as she sat down at Flynn’s desk, setting him down on top of one of his many books.
“They do act rather like toddlers, don’t they?” Jenkins agreed. “I have things to take care of in the lab, do get me if they start fighting again.”
“Will do.”
With that, Jenkins walked back into the lab, taking the book he’d been leafing through before with him. Flynn was walking around the desk now, seemingly trying to continue working even in his current form, and Eve scoffed at her Librarians antics.
“Seriously? Even as a hedgehog you’re still a workaholic?”
She shifted, still sitting in the chair though now as a golden retriever, and taking the utmost care possible, scooped Flynn up with her mouth. Jumping down, she made her way across the annex to a small corner that had been unofficially made into a sleeping nook, mainly occupied by either her or Jacob as the others preferred sleeping in human form. It was full of blankets and pillows, perfect for curling up in, which was exactly what she did as she laid down, carefully setting Flynn down just to curl around him protectively.
At first, he tried to escape, clearly wanting to continue his work, but she just huffed and picked him back up in her jaws, this time making sure to put her head right over his previous escape route, one paw curled around him. He squeaked in protest before realizing there was no getting out of this, and in defeat proceeded to nestle closer before drifting off almost immediately. Eve felt fondness fill her heart as she took in the sight of her Librarian sleeping so soundly, and was content to settle down and drift off as well, assured that even in sleep she’d be able to guard her reckless charge.
Flynn woke up to the sound of a phone camera, and it took him a while to get his bearings. He was surrounded by golden fur—Eve, his mind supplied—and it was so soft and warm he never wanted to leave.
“They’re so cute!” Cassandra whisper-squealed as she snapped another photo of Eve, shifted into a golden retriever, curled around the tiny hedgehog that was Flynn. Flynn was only just visible as Eve had truly tucked him in, protecting him.
“This is gonna be great blackmail,” Ezekiel agreed as he leaned over Cassandra's shoulder to watch her take the pictures.
Jake just stood there barely holding in his laughter at the situation. Eventually, Flynn was able to wake up fully, and he tried to get a better vantage point by crawling up and over Eve’s paw. This in turn woke Eve up, who was not pleased that her Librarian was once again trying to escape. This time she used her paw to sweep him back, where she then tucked him under her muzzle.
She finally noticed the three Librarians watching them when Jake couldn’t keep his laughter at bay and let out a quiet chuckle. For a moment they were all just staring at each other, the three Librarians ready for a scolding courtesy of their Guardian before Eve decided to let them off the hook this once, and instead tucked her head back under her tail and made sure Flynn was where he should be.
“Oh my god I thought we were done for,” Ezekiel let out a breath of relief.
“Let’s leave them alone before Eve changes her mind,” Cassandra advised. “Besides, Jenkins had something he wanted to show us anyways.”
The three hurried off quietly to Jenkins’ lab, leaving the hedgehog and golden retriever where they were. Later, Flynn would complain about getting behind on his work, but Eve would just smile fondly and peck him on the lips before handing him the book he’d been looking for. She’d tease him for his shifted form later, but for now she was content to protect the small, prickly Librarian she called hers.