fandomhigh | Library [Sunday, April 6]

"You just have hidden strength," he said, pushing away from the shelf to come stand in front of her.

With a slightly quirked grin, Adah tilted her head a little, eyes shifted to the side to consider the fact that she really couldn't argue that point. Her eyes slide back to look at him, closer to her now in his less that subtle shifting. "Speaking of strength," she said, "there is something inparticular I came by to tell you, but, I mean, clearly, I'm being a disruption to your work, so maybe I should just go."

Any attempts she was making to slowly turn away were barely even half-hearted. More like a quarter-hearted, which was more appropriate, anyway, since a human heart had four chambers, anyway.

"Because I can't take a break," he said, moving to step in front of her, far enough away not to bump into her but close enough to halt any progress she might think of making.

Progress duly halted, although there really wasn't much to begin with and Adah took a moment of just looking at the Eel. "A brief break," she agreed. "I want to get to work earlier because my research has suffered a bit from me being six years old and terrified of stairs last weekend."

Lee had the decency to blush and look shy but he didn't move much. "You were cute."

Adah's head ducked a little, mostly to hide the crookedness of her grin. "And you," she stated, "were rambunctious and obnoxious and kicked my door." She looked up through her hair at him with a mildly stern look. "I'm actually a little surprised you managed to sit still enough to read a book...well, look at the pictures and pretend to read, because I don't care how brilliant we are, that was advanced viral disorders we were flipping through."

"Were," she added after a pause, rolling her eyes dramatically and shaking her. "Were, we say, past tense, as if I'm not still cute and you're no longer obnoxious."

"You are still cute but I'm so not obnoxious," he said playfully. "Not one bit."

"Not one bit?" Adah asked, the lilt in her voice slightly challenging. "You claim that there isn't even one iota of obnoxiousness in you? You realize, don't you, that this is like claiming matter lacks atoms."

"I am a saint," he said and grinned at her. "Saintly and sweet. That's my middle name."

With an arch of her brow, Adah simply asked, "Exactly how many middles names have you got?"

"Lots and lots and lots," he said and nodded. "I'm a man of many, many middle names."

"I like just the one," Adah admitted. "The first one you mentioned. That one suits you much better than 'saintly' or 'sweet.'"

"Fool?" Lee asked, trying to recall. "Of course you'd like that one."

Adah nodded, grinning lightly. "That's the one."

That, and it might have been connected to a theory that had been developing in Adah's head that the moment he'd said it, and the immediate moment following it where she connected she could make an entire backwards title for him out of his name with that given title, had really been the point of no return for her. She'd been building a theory that that was probably the moment when she was ruined, when she started falling into that ridiculous notion called love. So she might have been a little impartial to it, a little biased in that respect.

"Highly appropriate and fitting," she added. "More so than obnoxious, really."

"You know," he said and leaned a little closer, "you can call me Fool, if you want. I don't mind it from you."

Adah kept a steady gaze on the Eel's eyes, her usual stubborn and unfaltering sort of look, although it was mostly for herself than for any sort of impression she wanted to leave on him. She had to maintain it so she could convince herself that she wasn't effected by the slight shifting closing, despite the fact that she knew better. It wasn't fair, really. She hadn't even gotten around to making a fuss about not seeing him on Wednesday.

"You act as if I actually care about getting your permission, as if I would care whether you minded or not."

"I know you don't care," Lee told her and shrugged a shoulder. "But, I said it anyway. Just because I can. You might not care about getting my permission but I don't care about giving it."

"Well," Adah commented playfully, "I can pretend to be glad to have it, then."

Although, really, she knew she wouldn't be pretending as much as she liked to lead on.

"There we go, then," he said and smiled at her. "How are you doing? Good week?"

"Good," Adah said, nodding her head slightly, once, before looking back toward him, "except for perhaps a hitch or two." There was a certain glint in her expression that vaguely seemed to wonder if he might be able to figure out what one of those hitches might have been.

"Hitch or two?" he questioned, frowning. "You all right?"

Adah's usually strong control over her expressions slipped a little bit in the fall of her shoulders and the light roll of her eyes. It would figure that he wouldn't make the connection. "Everything's fine," she said, realizing that this could be a potentially good way to mention that she'd be going home for a few days next week, but, at the same time, she'd also decided that she wasn't going to tell him. Call it an experiment, to see if he even noticed. She was leaning toward assuming that he wouldn't. "I have decided, though, that I want to take back something I said in regards to you punching Karal and punching him good if you ever meet him."

She figured, since she was having Karal cover her shift for her on Wednesday and she wasn't going to be telling the Eel that she wasn't going to be there, that, if he decided to stop in this week not knowing that, then Karal's face could be safe. He was, for all intents and purposes, someone she did rather like, even if she was rather good at making it seem otherwise.

"I can't punch him anymore?" Lee asked, sticking out his lower lip in a pout.

Adah snorted back a laugh at that. "Well, you can," she said. "Just not on my behalf. Far be it from me to tell you that you can't punch a guy on your own volition if you feel so inclined. It wouldn't be very fair, though, really. He wouldn't stand a chance against you."

"Okaaaay," he said and sighed dramatically. "I won't punch him on your behalf. Okay, so that's one hitch. What's the other?"

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