Notes: It’s Jenklits week! I went with galastone as that is the only ship with Jenkins that I can actually write well :P Hope you enjoy!!
“Y’know, when you said we were gonna get all hot and sweaty today, this is not what I thought you meant,” Jake panted. At the last second, he brought up the sword in his hands to defend himself and jumped back a few steps to avoid another swooshing swing.
“I know, that’s why I said it,” Jenkins said back, and damn if he didn’t sound smug. He came at Jake again, sword lunging for the Librarian’s throat.
“Shit!” Jake yelped, ducking back away from Jenkins. He was tired and aching, and sweat dripped down his face. He supposed he could just quit and leave, but Jenkins rarely had time for him anyway; he wasn’t about to give up the opportunity.
The blade swiped inches from him nose.
But, on the other hand, reading a nice book with a cup of coffee was way more relaxing.
“Why’re we doing this, J?” Jake asked, voice breathy. His throat was starting to hurt, and he had a stitch in his side. “I mean, is this really necessary?”
“Of course it is,” Jenkins said, and the bastard was hardly out of breath. He took another swing at Jake that the Librarian quickly parried. He raised an eyebrow in a swift, impressed expression before schooling his features and lunging at Jake again.
Jake jumped to the side and brought his sword down on Jenkins’s with a clattering of metal. The move surprised Jenkins, and he lost the grip on his sword. The momentum was so strong that the tip of his blade imbedded into the wooden floor. He huffed and began attempting to yank it out of the ground.
“Oh, thank god,” Jake mumbled, leaning against the wall in an attempt to catch his breath.
Jenkins glanced at him sideways while still trying to retrieve his sword. “Don’t get too comfortable, Mr. Stone.”
“Course not,” Jake muttered, “because didn’t you hear, it’s a crime now to make sure you don’t pass out from exhaustion.”
That had Jenkins’s mouth twisting into a wry smile, and Jake couldn’t help but grin at it. The caretaker schooled his features once more, saying, “You wanted to know if this was important?”
Jake shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I can fight, you know. I trained in Shangri-La for Christ’s sake.”
“You can fight with your fists,” Jenkins corrected. “It takes actual skill to duel with a sword.”
“Hey!” Jake said defensively. “What do you mean ‘actual skill?’ I spent months mastering-.” He cut himself off when he noticed the mischievous look in Jenkins’s eyes. He huffed, falling back against the wall behind him. “Real funny, Jenkins. You’re quite the comedian.”
Jenkins bowed his head to Jake, a small smile still on his face. “Happy to oblige, Mr. Stone.”
In one swift move, he pulled the sword from the floor and swung it at Jake. The Librarian acted quickly, using his own sword to deflect the other blade. With a swift twist of his wrist, the sword went flying out of Jenkins’s hand and across the room. Jake looked down at his own sword with wide eyes.
When he glanced up, Jenkins was grinning. “I knew you had it in you. Now, let’s see if you can do it blindfolded.”
Jake groaned loudly but didn’t say anything as Jenkins walked across the room to grab his sword.
At least he’s not asking me to do it with my arm tied behind my back, Jake thought to himself. He nearly yelped when Jenkins looked back at him as if he had read his mind. The caretaker sent him a quick wink, and Jake was suddenly forced to reevaluate everything he’d ever thought in Jenkins’s presence ever.
He flushed. Well, it was definitely a good thing he and Jenkins were already a couple because otherwise he would have a lot of explaining to do.
“Sword up, Jacob,” Jenkins said, stepping back into the center of the room with his own sword raised.
Jake only sighed as he lifted his own sword and stepped up to Jenkins.
~~~
An hour later, he had a gash in his arm the length of a stapler.
At the very least, Jenkins was happy to patch him up and make him some tea.
All in all, it wasn’t the worst date Jake had ever had.
Hi! Love everything you write! For jenklits week, if you're up to it, could you maybe write something where Ezekiel tries to run away from the Library and Jenkins stops him? Like the opposite of season one? Maybe something to do with Ezekiel remembering the game, Maybe He accidentally hurts Cassandra or Jake because he has a panic attack and it makes him want to leave? Or any other reason you can think of for him leaving, That parts really up to you in the end if you want!
Hello there! Thank you so much for your kind words. And thanks so much for the request! Here’s this little thing, just for you! Hope you like it!
It was all too much. Ezekiel wastired. He was tired of the nightmares and the memories. He was tired of thepanic attacks at two in the morning that simultaneously woke him from sleep andkept him from any more. He was tired of constantly being on edge and held backfrom truly enjoying his job anymore because he was just so afraid. Afraid of losing his team – his family. Afraid of watching them die again like they had in thevideo game.
Most of all, though, he was afraidof them figuring it all out. He knew that if they did find out, they’d lookdown on him. They’d tell him to suck it up; it hadn’t been real anyways. Andthey would be right because it hadn’tbeen real; this fear was all in Ezekiel’s head. Except it was getting harderand harder to hide; missions were becoming more difficult than they had beenbefore. Instead of being something he looked forward to, they were something he’dstarted to dread.
Which was, of course, the reason hestood in the Annex now, filling his bag with the various items in hispossession that he’d left around the Library in the past three years.
The thing with Apep had been tooclose of a call. Flynn had almost died,and if he had, Eve would’ve blamed all of them for not doing their job well enough.Ezekiel didn’t know what he would’ve done had he been forced to carry that kindof guilt again, and, this time, Flynn wouldn’t have respawned.
It was better this way, Ezekielrationalized. If he was gone, there’d be no guilt if any of the others died. Hewouldn’t be at fault. There’d be no pain in their deaths because he wouldn’teven know. Maybe he could even get over the whole video game thing if he putsome distance between himself and the Library. Maybe he could forget all ofthis and just go back to his old life where he didn’t have to deal with gettingclose to people only to have them ripped away from him over and over again.
He was just about to swing hisbackpack over his shoulders when someone cleared their throat behind him. He didn’teven have to turn around to know who it was, instead opting to sigh and say, “Doyou ever leave this place?”
“Not unless I have to.” Jenkins’svoice was soft and calm, completely opposite to Ezekiel’s heart which was poundingfaster than a humming bird could flap its wings. He attempted to steady it witha hand on his chest, but all that did was make him realize that his hands wereshaking. He curled the one at his side into a small, tight fist. “Goingsomewhere?”
“Why do you care?” Ezekiel asked,trying to keep his voice steady. The Backdoor was only a couple of steps away;he was so close but now so far.
“I suppose I don’t have to,” Jenkinssaid. He was walking past Ezekiel now and over to his standing desk where hebegan to rifle through the various papers that sat upon it. “But I guess itwould make me a bad caretaker if I didn’t,hm?”
Ezekiel huffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
He walked up to the Backdoor andturned to the globe. His fingers danced over it lightly, wondering where he couldgo.
“You know,” Jenkins said, interruptinghis thoughts, “no matter where you go they’ll find you.”
“No, they won’t,” Ezekielimmediately replied; there was no hesitation in his voice. He knew he was toogood, and they’d give up eventually. It’d happened before so it would happenagain.
Jenkins huffed a laugh and for somereason it made Ezekiel frustrated. “You underestimate how much they care foryou.”
“And you underestimate how good I amat hiding,” Ezekiel retorted. He angrily spun the globe, suddenly not caringwhere he ended up. No matter where he’d be, he could figure out where to go; he’dalways been able to figure it out before.
“Mr. Jones,” Jenkins said, and nowhis voice was sharp and demanding. Even Ezekiel couldn’t help glancing backover his shoulder. Jenkins was in front of his desk now, arms crossed over hischest. His face was pulled into an unimpressed frown. “I’m not sure what you’regoing through, but I know you’ve been dealing with it for quite a while now.”
“I’m not going through anything,”Ezekiel snapped, ignoring the panic that shot through him like a bullet.
“And,” Jenkins continued as if hehadn’t spoken, “I realize that it has something to do with that time loop thathappened a while ago.”
“It wasn’t a time loop, it was avideo game,” Ezekiel immediately corrected. He puffed out an angry breath. “Butthat’s not the point! It doesn’t matter; none of it matters.” He raked a handthrough his hair and tried to ignore Jenkins, focusing on the door instead. “Atleast, it won’t matter in a few minutes.”
“You once called me a coward,”Jenkins said, voice louder now. He was walking towards Ezekiel, pace still calmand collected. “For not choosing. And you were right; I was a coward. I was acoward because instead of staying and facing my troubles, I decided to let themfester without me. I let them grow and build for years and years; do you knowhow heavy that can get? Do you know what it’s like to leave things behind,unfinished?”
“This is finished,” Ezekiel said,voice quiet but loud enough for Jenkins to still hear him. “I’m done.”
“We could help,” Jenkins murmured.He was only a foot away now, arms hung loosely at his sides. His face was neutral,but his eyes were filled with compassion. “Despite what you think, you are notalone in this.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ezekielsnapped. His throat felt tight, and his hands clenched into shaking fists again.“Maybe I’m not now, but I will be. I’veseen it happen; it’ll happen again. It’s only an amount of time before I’malone. This way I control it; I decide when they leave me because I decide whenI leave.”
“But won’t that just make it harder?”Jenkins asked, and he seemed genuinely curios. “Leaving without a goodbye,without knowing what will happen here? Leaving without an explanation, leavingthe rest of them to just guess what has happened to you?”
“They’ll get it…eventually,” Ezekielmuttered, but his voice was unsure, shaky. “It will just take time; they’llforget about me.”
“And how long does it take to forgeta man like Ezekiel Jones?” Ezekiel shook his head, unable to answer. “There isn’ta measurement of time that can answer that question.” Jenkins stepped away,walking back to his desk. “They will find you, or they will die trying.”
“Yeah, well, what if I don’t want tobe found?” Ezekiel demanded, rearing back on Jenkins.
He shrugged. “They won’t care.”
“I don’t believe you,” Ezekielsnapped. He shook his head again, resolutely, and turned to the Backdoor. In aharder tone, he repeated, “I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to,” Jenkins said. “Juststep through that door and wait.”
Ezekiel ignored him, hand reachingout. The Backdoor flooded the dimly-litAnnex in blue-white light that flickered and created dancing shadows on thewalls. His hand curled around the knob; it was still shaking.
“I’ll look for you too.” He couldjust barely hear Jenkins over the roaring in his ears, over the sound of hisown heartbeat thumping quick and unsteadily. “I have all the time in the worldto chase after you, Ezekiel Jones.”
The light slowly started to fadeaway. Ezekiel’s hand fell limply to his side. He dumped his backpack on thefloor. He slowly walked over to Jenkins’s desk. He hopped on top of it, headhanging and back hunching.
“Can I interest you in some morningtea?” Jenkins asked, voice just as calm as it had been the entire time.
“Don’t tell them about this,”Ezekiel said instead.
“It will be our secret,” Jenkinsassured him. He reached out, squeezed Ezekiel’s shoulder, and then steppedback, saying, “Come make some tea with me.”
Wordlessly, Ezekiel slid off the desk and followed him.
Jenkins was there the next time andthe next, and he would always be there. Watching over Ezekiel, protecting him, caring for him.
And, well, Ezekiel had to admit thatit certainly wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
