fandomhigh | Library [Sunday, April 6]

He winced and immediately felt like an ass.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, sincerely. "I'm...it wasn't anything worse than me getting caught up in some stuff. I lost track of time."

"Like I said," Adah retorted, too swiftly, too brusquely, "it wasn't a big deal. Barely significant, really." She glanced toward him with the firmness in her eyes that that's what she was telling him, so that's what they both should believe. She had her own way of evening the stakes a little, besides.

"Oh." He frowned and opened and closed his hands. "Okay. Not a big deal. Still, I'm sorry. I just got caught up in things."

Blithely, Adah lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "It happens," she said. "It gave me the chance to catch up on my reading."

Lee let out a strained sort of laugh and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Oh. Well...I guess me not being there was helpful then. Right."

"Very," Adah said, nodding a little, and feeling at least some sort of validation in the fact that at least he seemed to feel a little awkward about it. "Not that I want a habit made out of it, or anything. Reading's practically all I do, anyway. That, and take care of rabbits recently, but that's beside the point."

"I'm not planning on making a habit out of it," he said and shrugged a bit. "I didn't mean to do it this time, even if it benefited your reading."

"Good," Adah said and, wanting to be done with the matter before she could start feeling any sort of inclination toward feeling bad about making a big deal out of it when she knew for a fact that she wasn't going to be there for her next shift and that she had no intention of informing him to this effect (although, really, she didn't want to make a big deal out of it; he was the only who insisted), she stretched forward a bit, leaning up, to give him a brief kiss on the cheek.

"Maybe I should go, and leave you to benefit this illusion you've started that you actually do work around here."

"I can shove aside work for you," he said quietly. "Always."

"Oh, I know you can," Adah said lightly, with a small smirk. "I'm sure you can for much less. It's more a matter of if you should."

"Pfft, work can wait," he said and waved a hand at the books.

The smirk remained, as Adah lightly shook her head. She clicked her tongue reproachfully a few times against her teeth. "Such slothful behavior. Such blatant disregard for the all-important task of shelving books. It...isn't as if you have any better way to spend this time."

"...Is there?"

"Shelving books can wait," he said again and shrugged. "I have more important people to pay attention to."

"Like who?"

Adah did rather like to think that she got that innocent quirk of her head down to near perfection, when she wanted it to be.

"Like the girl standing right in front of me," he answered even though he was pretty sure she knew.

"Her?" Adah asked, her grin sharpening a bit. "I think it shows you've got fine taste if that's where you'll invest your time, but how can you be sure she's willing to invest hers on you, hm?"

He moved a little closer and put one hand on the shelves beside her. "I'm going to ask her."

He paused, waited. "Will she?"

"Yeah," Adah said, softly with a matching smile, moving in to close up a little bit of space herself, head tilted expectantly toward him. "Maybe just this once."

Or maybe any time he ever wanted to, really, when you got right down to it. But, for now, she was just going to think about sealing 'just this once' with a lean forward, upward slightly, to kiss the Eel.

Lee met her halfway, brushing his lips across hers lightly, sliding his fingers along her arms just as lightly.

See, and this was much nicer than her getting all tense about expectations she didn't feel comfortable about in the first place. She smiled lightly into his kiss, settling easily into his touch, closing her eyes lightly, but only after taking a brief glance to notice what section of the shelves they happened to be in. That was the sort of detail she felt necessary to bother with for later amusement.

Lee...suddenly couldn't remember where they were at and he probably wouldn't remember until never. There was kissing and sighing and enjoyment to be had.

He kept the kiss light, kept it slow and lingering, making it last longer since he'd missed seeing her Wednesday.

Adah soon realized that she herself was subject to the threat of not remembering, as well, in these present circumstances. She'd noted the section, had prepared to tuck it away into memory, and there was the feeling of her body relaxing from its usual stiffened state, a blur of thoughts as the slow and lackadaisical pace of his lips inspired her own lips' eagerness to respond, and she made a sound not quite a sigh, not yet a moan, and, in that moment, the information she'd been trying to preserve slipped away. She felt it was no great loss, however, let it go, and, instead, went to occupy her fingers in grasping onto something more tangible and less likely to escape, tentatively dancing circles against the Eel's elbow.

Encouraged by her response and her touch, he kissed her a little harder, brought himself a little closer but slid one arm around her waist so she wouldn't feel too off balance and, if she did, he'd be there to help her.

Rare were the moments when Adah would not only allow physical support, but encourage it, and there was a faint bit of amusement in her that those moments seemed to be either ones of life and death, or moments of kissing the Eel. She certainly hoped he felt properly accomplished, especially as she not only let herself lean against him as his arm went around her and she followed him into the deepening of the kiss, but she sought out a bit more support than just that, as her hand departed from his elbow to cling to the fabric of his shirt at the small of his back. But, really, with the way he made her head spin just kissing her like that, it was only to be expected.

Lee pulled back, smiled at her and said, "You planning on taking my shirt off?"

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