librarian’s assistant — a.frankenstein
fic prompt: modern!adam/the creature’s job
word count: 2,466 | warnings : awkward meet-cute
— summary: you’re a college student in need of some quick printing at the local library. while you’re there, you meet the newly hired librarian assistant: a 6’5 tall long-haired man with a sweet disposition
The compact clock ticks as it hangs over the wooden desk. The space is cluttered with scattered papers and pens as the spine of your back is hunched over it. The cheap plastic chair you bought on a whim for your apartment creaks under the weight of your shaking leg. Your laptop is posted in front of you with your fingers typing diligently away. You pause for a moment and recline against the chair. Your back arches as you bring your arms up in the air until a faint pop echoes through the small bedroom. Your eyes glance down to the miniature time on the corner of your laptop.
“It’s 5:37 PM… Still have enough time in the day to do whatever I want.” You mumble mindlessly to yourself.
Your hands lower to the desk and start clearing off the sheets of notes previously used for the essay. The sheets are placed inside of their designated folders as a faint ding comes from your phone. Your eyes squint in confusion as you read the notification on your lock screen.
ESSAY UPDATED REQIUREMENTS: Needs to be PRINTED and handed in person tomorrow for class.
Your jaw slacks almost cartoonishly, “Printed?!” A gasp leaves your lips. Your mouth open in a continued state of shock.
Your fingers rush to pick the phone up and fumble through your passcode. Your eyes scan the screen as they triple check the email from your professor. An exasperated sound comes out of your mouth while your hands tangle themselves in your hair.
“What do I do? I don’t have a printer!” You cried. You begin to anxiously pace on the carpeted floor. Fluffy socks padding against the wooly ground.
Your teeth bite down on your bottom lip out of habit, “I could head to the library? I think it was still open the last I went around this time.” You nod positively to yourself.
With a new sense of self-assurance, you promptly begin inserting your things into a nearby tote bag. Little huffs of air leave from your nostrils as a method to self-soothe. Your feet slip out of your house slippers and into a comfortable pair of shoes. The jacket that was previously thrown carelessly over your bed is now fitted on your body. With a quick look into the mirror, you try to flatten down any stray hairs into a more presentable look.
“Okay! Time to go.” You smile to yourself.
A gush of air flies through you as you exit the front door. The icy wind bites away at your face and you scrunch your nose in displeasure. Walking down the steel stairs connected to the apartment building, you make your way to the still parking lot. You hum a low tone as you unlock your car, trying to distract yourself from the cold seeping into your skin. Shoving your bag into the passenger seat, you situate yourself at the wheel and insert your key. The mechanical machine rumbles awake under your weight. After looking into your blind spots and the rearview mirrors, your foot press down onto the gas pedal. The drive to the college library was steady and peaceful, for a moment you forgot the reason for the late-evening drive. You pull up to the campus building and swiftly park into an empty parking spot. The lights from inside the library were still on but there was an absence of people evident. Pulling onto the handle of the driver’s side, you push the door open while extending your other arm to retrieve the tote bag. After slinging it comfortably on your shoulder, you tread towards the library’s doors.
Your fingers meet the cold metal of the handles as you push them inwards. The humming sound of the building’s AC fills your ears. Your eyes adjust to the intense illumination overhead. Rows of shelves containing books consume your worldview. Your footsteps are the loudest sound to be heard apart from the circulating whirring. Letting out a soft exhale, you pause and twist your head around to find the front desk. As your eyes scan the area, you spot a dark-haired man sitting behind a large desk to the left side of the room. Strands of his umber colored hair hide his features as he hunches over the novel. Large slender fingers tenderly hold the sides of the covers. You pause for a moment before leisurely walking over to him. The thumping of your steps grows louder as the distance closes between the two of you.
“Um, excuse me?” You call out softly.
The man’s figure jolts straight as he lets out a muffled grunt. His head shifts upwards towards the sound of your voice. His eyes are wide as he meets your gaze. Lips partly open as if he were nibbling on his bottom lip ever so lightly as he read. He rushes to stand up with a sheepish smile.
A low-toned voice sounds out, “Welcome. What can I assist you with?” He says with a manner of rehearsed presentation.
Your eyebrows rise in pleasant surprise at the sound of his voice. You feel at a loss for words while you study his previously hidden features. Pale, almost light blue skin, littered with faint red scars across his face with the biggest and prettiest brown eyes you’ve ever seen. His hair length is long enough to fall to his broad shoulders. He brushes a strand behind his ear.
“Huh…” Rings out in your head momentarily before you realize you haven’t replied to the man.
Heat rushes to your face. A sense of light-headiness waves over you as you fumble with your speech, “Oh, I just wanted to know where the printers were at?” You squeak out.
You mentally pinch yourself at the awkwardness, “Since when were the librarians here so attractive?” You rhetorically ask in your thoughts.
The last time you came here was for a study group after a biology class. Although the librarian at the time was an old sweet lady who had poor vision. You wonder if he was going to be a permanent addition to the campus. Your fingers grip the strap of your tote bag, grounding yourself with the rough material between your fingertips. His eyes study your nervous demeanor while his face furrows with a lightly pouted lip. His hands twitch at his side with some of his fingers bending outwards. You assume this as an anxious habit to your reaction and immediately stop your fiddling. You straighten your back somewhat and flash him with a small grin. He seems to relax at the change in posture, his shoulders dropping its tension.
“They are in the computer laboratory, next to the non-fiction shelves but I can lead you to them if you wish?” He steadily responds, an accent clinging to his husky voice.
You nod without a second thought, hanging onto every single word. He lets out a pleased huff and promptly stunters out from the chair. His sweater’s long sleeves drape over his knuckles, swaying with every movement. Your eyes observe the gentle maneuver of his limbs. He turns to you and wordlessly gestures with a tilt of his head to accompany him. A small noise escapes your lips as you pick your feet off the ground and follow behind. Your vision fills with the sight of his broad back. His shoulders drooped and arms hidden under the comfort of his sweater. A pair of black sweatpants hang on his hips and cut at his ankles. A sense of embarrassment fills your stomach as you ogle this poor man. You let yourself gaze over his body one last time but abruptly stopped by the same back. His sudden freeze in movement causes you to bump into him, face first.
“Ouch,” You whispered quietly, an awkward grimace appears on your features.
He lets out a small noise of surprise as he whips his head to you. His body is nearing closer as he brings his arms upwards. A whiff of pine tree and coconut scented soap circulates near you. Slender fingers delicately reach your bumped nose with an evident frown on his face. The full lashes on his face flutter rapidly in clear unsatisfaction.
He speaks out gravelly in an apologetic tone, “Please accept my apologies, I did not mean to hurt you.” His face scrunches up ashamedly.
“No, no! It’s okay, I was the one who bumped into you. I wasn’t watching. I was…um, distracted.” You rambled out clumsily.
You lift your own hands to his gently splayed fingers on your nose bridge. He diligently inspects the skin. An evident expression of displeasure sticks despite your words. His large frame overpowering yours as you take this moment to look closer at his eyes. One of his eyes seem slightly larger than the other, a faint shade of red swirls in it.
Before you could stop it, you mutter lowly, “Pretty.”
His fingers cease their inspecting motions, freezing under the touch of your fingers. His dark eyes widen comically large with a flush painting his cheeks and nose. A croak leaves your throat as you stare at him in shock. Your face burns deeply under his gaze. A knowing but shy smirk curls on his face. You drop your hands to your sides, fingers curling into your palms. He follows suit in an unhurried manner. Long sleeves swiftly fall to his torso as he turns back around. He lets out a shaky breath unheard by you. Fingers that held your nose delicately now twitched.
“The printers are located in this room here. I will be at the front desk if you require any assistance.” His voice deeply resonates out.
He twists his head to face you one last time, letting his eyes fall over form. He intakes a sharp breath as he catches your eyes. There’s a strange but deep sense of affection in those doe-like eyes of his. You swallow a gulp before forcing yourself to part away from his heavy observation. He takes your reaction as his cue to leave, leaving you with a hesitant smile before rushing back to the front of the library. You stand motionless outside of the doors of the computer lab, watching the muscles of his back shift. A soft buzz brings you out of your frozen state. Your fingers reach into the tote bag slung over shoulder and pull out your phone. The notification was a set reminder to submit your essay on time.
You curse under your breath in annoyance. Twisting the handle of the door, you enter and instantly spot the large printer next to a row of computers. The door clicks shut behind you as you swiftly make your way to it. You draw out a nearby chair and slip your laptop out of the tote bag. Briskly typing in the login, you’re able to pull up your essay with no issue.
“Thank God for good Wi-Fi.” You mutter to yourself.
The printer whirrs and hums while processing the document. Letting out a stream of noise as it ejects the sheets of paper with freshly inked text. They’re warm on your fingertips when you carefully retrieve them. A pleased hum comes from you. After arranging them neatly in a folder, you stuff all your items back into your bag. You exhale dramatically in the quiet room. The recent interactions flash through your head. You let out an exaggerated groan but shake your head sideways as if to expel the thoughts. You press the power button on the side of your phone to briefly check the time. You weren’t sure when the library closed but you didn’t want to cause the cute guy, who helped you, to stay longer than needed. The phone slips back into the tote bag and you silently hype yourself up to interact once again with the unnamed pretty librarian on duty.
You exit the computer lab and start treading to the front desk. You see him sitting down reading the same novel as before but with a half-comfortable position. Almost as he was expecting to talk with someone soon.
You clear your throat before you speak, “How much per sheet? You ask.
He looks at you from under his dark eyelashes and grins sweetly, “It’s $0.15 per sheet.” He recalls with a hint of pridefulness at himself for remembering the detail.
“Okay! Here you go.” You reply cheerfully and hand him your student id.
He holds it meticulously and purses his lips as he reads it. His lips mouth your name in a quiet whisper.
“Hm. Pretty.” He mumbles.
You shift your weight on your feet in a flustered state. To play off normalcy, you continue pulling out your wallet and shuffle through your assortment of coins before you grab the ones needed. Your open palm is extended out towards him expectantly. His own scarred hand hovers over yours for a second. His eyes lock onto the passing touch of your skin as he picks up the coins with care. He counts them under his breath while he transports them from your palm to his. His gruff voice intimately low between the both of you. If you were reading too much into this, you would think he was dragging this exchange with purpose. A silly smile rests on his face as he finishes counting.
You let out a giggle at his expression, “Thank you…?” You pause, hoping to learn the name of this endearing man.
“Adam.” He responds with haste, the low rumble of his voice accompanying it.
He rubs the back of his neck as he huffs a chuckle. His chest rising and falling with the deep breaths he takes between the soothing action. You repeat his name back to him with a curl to your lip. He looks directly in line with your eyes and presents you with a toothy smile. A happy hum passes through his lips at the sound of your voice. He nods as to reassure you that that is his name, the one that so sweetly left your lips.
“Well, goodnight, Adam.” You say to him.
He hesitates before mimicking your farewell, “Goodbye.”
Your body moves away from the front desk before your mind does. Adam continues to stay upright as he watches you step out into the night. Scanning the form of your figure until you’re nothing more than a blob of colors hidden by the dark. He looks down to his hands and tenderly traces the skin of his palm. The same hand that was able to touch you for small but perfect moments. Thoughts of the sweet librarian consume your thoughts even as you reach your car. A hope blooms in your chest for the chance to see him again at a later date.
taglist: @hotnsexyprincess @oopsalltropes @yoncecosmic @jennathearcher @jarsofpluto @bug-and-such @vktrsmonster @for2buns @lxvejae @cervusofjudas @hollipolliyozza @storyyeller @uchihashisuii @mothmire @macaroni-stars
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