I’ve Got a Date with a Squirrel
Inspired by this and this
Keith, Hunk, and Lance all work at the local library. Keith shouldn’t be trusted alone, Lance is filled with contempt, Hunk is the only one who actually does his job, and Pidge is a closet enabler.
Hunk is generally regarded as the best worker only because he keeps his head down and actually gets work done.
Keith really shouldn’t be trusted alone with books. He only took this job because it meant he would get paid to read. His new mission in life is to read every book in the building. He’s found the perfect corner to camp in- no one EVER visits the astrophysics section.
Lance isn’t good at the job he’s paid to do, but he’s really good with the kids. He reads to them and helps them find cool new books. He’s even got a little side-gig going where he tutors some of the kids.
Allura is the Chief Librarian who mostly stays holed up in her office surrounded by paperwork.
There’s a small park tucked away behind the library. Keith likes to eat his lunch on one of the benches when the weather is nice. He accidentally made friends with a squirrel and they’re buds for life now. Keith even makes sure to pack a little extra food for it.
Lance joined Keith for lunch one day but ran screaming back to the library when the squirrel showed up. Something about childhood trauma from when his sister tried to adopt a baby squirrel. When Keith returned from lunch he found Hunk making squirrel noises at Lance through the bathroom door- “Squeaky, uh, squeak squeaker squeakin’.”
When it rains, Keith eats his lunch at the book return while he sorts through the day’s stack. But he’s still got a date. The squirrel manages to find Keith and is let in through the book drop drawer.
Lance reaches his wits end the day he finds that squirrel perched on a copy of The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe reaching for a piece of food from Keith’s hand.
Thus begins the Library Memo’s- “No Wild Animals Permitted Inside Library” | “Lunch Breaks Must Be Taken In Staff Breakroom Or Off Property” | “All Staff Must Wash Their Hands Before Returning To Work Lest They Contaminate The Library With Squirrel Rabies”
Pidge runs tech for the library. Lance roped her into helping him make the memos because he’s convinced the machines hate him- “Lance, it’s literally just a word doc on a letter sheet of paper. Pick a font, hit ‘ctrl+P’, and leave me alone.”
But she secretly loves helping him with the signs. Pidge may have created an instagram account dedicated to the library shenanigans. It’s a weird sort of propaganda but it actually keeps people invested in the library.
Meanwhile, Shiro is a suffering grad student in need of a thesis muse.
He’s honestly not even sure how he ended up in the program. All he knows is he joined the astrophysics club as a sophomore in undergrad, Matt started talking to him one day, and the next thing he knows, Shiro is drowning in papers and student debt send help please.
Shiro is really at a loss with his thesis and he’s running out of time to come up with a topic. He’s already exhausted the campus library and this strange community library is his last hope.
After some poor directions from Allura and clarification from Hunk, Shiro manages to find the section he’s looking for: Astrophysics. Que the dramatic sigh as he stares into the void otherwise known as a wall of books hoping for any glimmer of inspiration.
Keith, setting his current read on the pile of books in the corner- “Did you come for the view or do you need help finding something?” | Shiro- “Yea actually, a thesis topic and a will to live would be nice.”
After a bit of snarking, actual conversation, and the hunt for a ladder to reach the top shelf (”really after all the time it took us to get this ladder I could have just climbed you instead.”) Keith has managed to help Shiro figure out a thesis and settle the poor guy’s anxiety.
Shiro- “Did you study astrophysics?” | Keith- “No. But I basically own this corner of the world so of course I’ve read every book here.”
Shiro ends up setting up shop in this corner and works on his thesis while Keith brings him books and coffee.
One day weeks down the road Shiro is pretending to take a 20 minute power nap on the floor while chatting with Keith. | Keith- “You can’t talk and sleep at the same time.” | Shiro- “Watch me.” | Keith- “You should get some actual rest so you can finish your thesis proposal.” | Shiro- “I actually turned that in last Friday.” | Keith- “Then why are you here? Go home and rest.” | Shiro- “I like it here... you’re here.”
After Keith collects his jaw from the floor, he winds up hovering over Shiro and leaning in for the best First Kiss of his life.
...just in time for Lance to round the corner- “Oh no no no! I knew it. No one spends that much time ‘studying.’ You too are down here way to much. Of course you’ve been hooking up. In the LIBRARY! Keith! You took an oath! -no i didn’t lance- How could you?! Turning the library into a house of sucking face! There are children here! First the squirrel and now this?!”
Shiro- “Well at least we were only sucking face.”
And at that a new era of Library Memo’s is born: “Absolutely No Dick Sucking Permitted In The Library!!!”
Blushes abound and these two nerds finally ask each other out.
Shiro- “This library coffee isn’t very good is it? What do you say to me treating you to a proper cup? There’s a great place next to campus.”
Keith, with a huge grin on his face- “Yea, that’d be great.”
Shiro- “Good. Then you can tell me all about this squirrel.”
Keith- “Oh. Yea. His name is Bucky; we eat lunch together almost everyday; and Lance is scared of him. If you’re lucky I’ll invite you on a lunch date one day and you can meet him.”