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For the past two months, Kurt had been waiting to check out a new book from the Manor’s library.
Now usually, he could be rather understanding of situations such as these. Many people couldn’t find the time to read, or they wanted to take their time appreciating the book–something he fully understood. But this was not one of those situations. Two months was far longer than any person should keep a book overdue!
When checking out a book, it was important to consider those that also wanted to read it! You couldn’t simply keep the book all for yourself, that was poor manners. Kurt believed people like this shouldn’t even take books out to begin with.
People like this are the reason Kurt found himself in the library of the Manor, sitting by the front desk tapping his foot. Oddly enough, Fiona was working the front desk today. Ordinarily, Orpheus would be the one to greet guests in the library and assist them, but he must have had other business.
“Fiona, I know this isn’t your fault, but is there anything you can do about this? I mean the book has been gone for two months, what could’ve happened to it?” Kurt exclaimed, moving his hands in wild motions from the other side of the desk. Fiona looked exasperated, having dealt with Kurt’s intense love for books before.
“Kurt, your passion for books is quite admirable, but there is not much I can do to help. I don’t even know who took the book, so how could I possibly find it!” Fiona’s voice rose as she continued to speak, emotions getting the best of her. She considered Kurt a close friend, but he could be a lot to handle at times. Whenever he felt strongly about something, it was hard to dissuade him.
Kurt huffed out angrily before regaining his composure. He began to apologize, “Fiona, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t mean to let my irritation out on you. I know you’re trying your best.” Kurt did in fact feel bad, although he was disappointed that Fiona still didn’t have the book he wanted. He began to wonder if he would ever read it, or if the book had vanished from the manor completely.
Just as Kurt was about to turn and leave, someone burst through the library doors, creating a rather loud noise for such a quiet place. Heads turned to face the offending sound, eyes met with a rather disheveled looking Servais Le Roy. Most people returned to their books, choosing to ignore the man, but Kurt found himself staring.
The magician seemed panicked until his eyes fell on the explorer, shoulders relaxing the slightest bit. He made a beeline for the front desk, stomping his way over with loud, offending steps.
“You know, you’re supposed to be quiet in a library…That’s kind of the whole point.” Kurt quipped, irritated with the man’s loud movements. He was already on edge from the events of the day, and Servais was beginning to easily piss him off. Servais seemed to ignore the rude comment, opting to speak to Fiona and pretend the man in front of him was not there.
“Fiona, I seem to have found myself in quite the predicament. I was hesitant to bring this situation to light out of embarrassment, but I can no longer hide it in good conscience.” The magician fiddled with the brim of his hat, pulling it slightly over his eyes. The priestess gave him a look, encouraging him to continue.
“Well…I was doing a small performance around two months ago, and the trick required a book…” Servais trailed off, voice growing small, an unusual occurrence for the usually confident performer.
“We can barely hear you, Servais. You had no problem bursting in here and disturbing the peace, so why can’t you speak up!” Kurt had a feeling that Servais knew something about the book he was searching for. He had mentioned a performance two months ago…the same exact time this book had vanished off the shelves.
Servais, finally acknowledging Kurt and his attitude, turned to face the rude man beside him. With a grimace on his face, he said, “Well since you’re so invested, you can help me find it! If you had let me finish, you would know that I misplaced the book during a disappearing trick. I have yet to find it, despite having searched my entire bedroom.”
The gears began to shift in Kurt’s brain, realizing just how complex of a situation this was. Servais made the book Kurt was looking for disappear, and there was a chance it was no longer in the Manor at all. If he ever wanted to read that book… he would have to help Servais find it.
Kurt couldn’t stop the groan that escaped him, arms falling at his side in frustration. The last thing he wanted to do today was help Servais find the book he had lost! How absurd was that?
“I had come to the library looking for you, Kurt. I figured you know books better than anyone, and maybe you could be the one to find it.” Servais admitted, hand pulling at his hat once more. At this, Kurt seemed to be at a loss for words. He was not anticipating such an honest confession from the magician, and it caught him off guard.
Kurt promptly nodded his head, unsure of what else to say. From behind the table, Fiona giggled at their interaction, breaking the trance Kurt was in. He turned to look at her in exasperation, mouth agape at her implications.
Fiona knew of Kurt’s sexuality, as she was also queer herself. The pair would often tease each other when they sensed romance budding with another member of the Manor. This is exactly what Fiona was doing in this situation. Kurt had previously teased her about her interest in Patty, the enchantress. She now thought Kurt was developing feelings for Servais, and that thought it would be funny to get him back. She couldn’t be more wrong! He was furious with the magician for losing his book!
“Fiona…” Kurt started, warning her not to continue. The priestess simply laughed even harder, leaning onto the counter for support. She spoke in a teasing tone, “You boys have fun now!” Kurt’s mouth opened and closed on words that wouldn’t form as Servais approached the exit to the library once more.
“Are you coming?” He said, holding the door open for the explorer to follow him. Kurt couldn’t do anything but comply, all efforts of resistance leaving as he stepped into the hallway. He shot Fiona one last angry glance as the doors shut behind him, leaving him alone with the magician.
“So, where did you last have the book?” Kurt began, trying to be useful. He wasn’t sure how he would be of any assistance to Servais in his search. Just because he enjoyed reading didn’t mean he was a master at locating lost books.
“We should start in my room.” Servais spoke as he walked, wasting no time in heading for his door down the hall. Kurt followed without hesitation, letting the older man lead the way.
The pair entered the magician’s room, a rather clean living space that had a black and red theme. The room was rather small, as all of the Manor’s rooms were, but looked elegant nonetheless. It was evident from a single glance that Servais prided himself in his decorative skills.
“I guess I’ll start on the right side, and you can start on the left. We’ll both work our way to the center of the room, that way we save as much time as possible.” Kurt declared as he walked over to inspect the right portion of the magician’s room.
The first thing Kurt noticed was the table beside Servais’s bed. Ordinarily, Kurt would read books before nodding off. He would blindly fold the corner of a page, throw it on his table, and fall asleep without a second thought. It would make a great deal of sense for the book to have wound up on a table.
Kurt crouched down to the second level of the table, pushing over a stack of magazines in search of the book. Having found nothing on the small table, he rose from the ground once more. He immediately noticed the presence standing behind him, and he whipped around to find Servais staring at him.
“Umm what are you doing?” Kurt questioned, looking at the magician with clear confusion. The man was nearly pressed against him, their proximity rather unusual. Servais was never one to invade personal space, but this seemed to be an exception.
Without answering his question, Servais reached behind Kurt’s head, grabbing on to something. Despite wanting to turn and see what it was, Kurt felt trapped in the magician’s gaze. It was evident that he was performing.
“Was this the book you’ve been searching for?” Servais asked, pulling a book out of thin air from behind the explorer’s ear. There was a moment of deafening silence between the two before Kurt burst into a fit of laughter.
“Did Fiona put you up to this? I do have to admit, this is rather creative.” Kurt giggled, wiping the beginnings of tears from his eyes. Servais just stared at him, clearly expecting a different response.
“Why would Fiona ask me… to try and court you?” Servais spoke slowly, trying to keep up with Kurt’s logic. At this comment, Kurt promptly stopped laughing. He stared up at the magician, eyes full of curiosity. His expression must have urged the magician to explain himself, as he began to talk once more.
“I figured you would appreciate a cheesy pick-up line, as they are quite common in romance novels…” He seemed hesitant to admit to this fact. Servais expected Kurt to react just as a character in a novel would: swooning at his words. The man continued, “I truly did lose this book during a trick of mine, but it was quite easy to get it back using another one.” Servais gestured to the book in his hand, waving it around like a prize he had won.
Kurt couldn’t hide the look of shock that crossed his face. Servais had kept this book hidden in his room… just so he could hit on Kurt? The thought was absolutely absurd!
“I knew this was a stupid idea… this is the last time I trust Kreacher with relationship advice.” Servais huffed, turning his gaze towards anything but the man directly in front of him. So Kreacher had put him up to this… It definitely explained the uncharacteristic manner of his actions.
“No, Servais, I truly appreciate the gesture. I actually find it rather… sweet?” Kurt smiled, reassuring the man that he was not in fact angry at him. No one had ever done something like this for him before… He could excuse the lateness of a book return just this once.
“Oh…I’m glad to hear it.” Servais spoke hesitantly, unsure if he was in the clear just yet. Kurt laughed once more, grabbing the book from the magician’s hand.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go and read this book now. Someone has been holding it hostage for quite some time now.” He shot Servais a coy grin as he backed away, opening the door to his room. Before exiting he said, “Next time you’d like to hit on me, please don’t involve stealing library books!” Before Servais could respond, the explorer had vanished around the corner.
Next time… Kurt was giddy with excitement after the interaction, immediately running to tell Fiona. He couldn’t wait to see Servais again.