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ericsonclan · 3 years

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A Visit to the Library

Summary: It's a quiet day at the library for Santiago, the librarian mothman, when a surprise visitor comes a'knocking.

Word Count: 1664

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It was a quiet day in the library. Usually each period had at least a few students using their study hall to cram for a test or research their latest project, but the post-break blues must be hitting everyone pretty hard since there hadn’t been anyone except the occasional student dropping off overdue books and it was almost noon. Santiago eyed the clock suspiciously, wondering if that was really the time. He’d reset the clocks himself come daylight savings, but still… checking his phone though, he confirmed that it was indeed almost lunchtime.

Absentmindedly munching on his sleeve, the librarian wondered to himself how much of that bag of flour was left in the break room. He’d heard it was up for grabs and it was sure to make a tasty snack. Pausing mid-munch, Santiago looked down at his sweater in horror, realizing he’d nibbled yet another hole into his sweater. Tutting to himself, his antennae twitching in annoyance, Santiago tried his best to stretch the fabric around the hole to hide it better. There was a pretty significant chunk missing; it was no use. Sighing, Santi let his chin fall into his hands. This was his favorite sweater. He really didn’t want to eat it beyond the point of recognition.

A turning doorknob had Santiago’s antenna thrumming at the sound, the hairs on his wrists standing up as he looked over curiously to see what student had come begging a late fee be waived this time. Instead it was not a student at all, but an adult. Santiago adjusted his glasses, squinting with interest at the fine specimen in front of him. He’d seen this man at faculty meetings before but their paths hadn’t crossed yet. He was the PE teacher and also the coach of one of the school teams, Santi couldn’t remember which.

The man glanced round the library, looking lost, then his eyes met Santiago’s. “Oh, hi there. You’re the librarian right, Mr. Gutierrez? I noticed a bunch of books on top of the lockers in the boys changing room and figured I would return them,”

“Thoughtful of you, but you shouldn’t have,” Santiago came out from behind the desk to help the man with the books. “Usually I just let those books sit up there till the end of the school year then when the students clean out their lockers and are forced to finally return them I really hit them with the late fees,”

“How passive aggressive of you,” the coach replied with a wry smile.

Santi shrugged. “It’s the little things in life that bring the most joy. Besides, late fees go toward the budget for new books. Thank you regardless for the gesture, Mr…”

“Garcia. You can call me Javi though,” Javi offered his hand, shaking Santi’s firmly.

“Santi,”

“Nice to officially meet you. I never really see you outside the library,”

“What need is there for other pursuits when I have books?” Santiago shrugged, a sardonic smile upon his face. He looked down at the titles of the returned books. “Hmmm, some of these have been gone for quite some time. I remember getting them down for the students too. They belong up on the shelves in the back,”

“I could get them up there if you need help. I have pretty long arms,” Javi offered.

Santiago gave him a quick once over. “Indeed. Well, I’m certainly not one to turn down help. To the forbidden recesses of the library we go!” With that he turned on his heel, leading the way. He called it this section “the forbidden recesses” whenever someone needed something back there simply to spice things up. Truthfully, this section didn’t look that much different from all the others, neat and tidy and well dusted. Santi was a fastidious duster when it came to the shelves even though the dust brought out his allergies. Stopping in front of the appropriate bookcase, he pointed to the top shelf. “The first volume goes right there,”

“Right. Uhhh…” Javi looked upwards, thinking through his options. Grabbing a chair, he stepped on top of it and stretched to his full height, trying to get the book in place. Santiago leaned back against the bookshelf across from him, admiring Javi’s determination. And the view. When Javi successfully tipped the book into place his tail began to wag in glee.

Santi bit his lip. So cute.

“I did it!” Javi declared, smiling proudly. “Where does the next book go?”

“Two bookcases over, second shelf from the top. Though in the name of complete transparency, I must admit that there actually is a ladder for the top shelves,” Santiago pointed over to the ladder itself, tucked snugly between two bookshelves.

“Oh. That makes sense. Shoulda known there was something round here to stand on besides chairs,” Javi scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“The fault is mine. I was having my fun seeing what you would do without one, but I don’t want you finding out about the “secret” of the ladder later and hating me for it,”

Javi jumped down from the chair. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. You pranked me, that just means I’ll have to get you back later,” His grin caused Santiago’s wings to flutter open slightly before the mothman closed them again sharply, clearing his throat with an awkward cough. “I look forward to seeing what you’ll try. I have fairly keen senses, you know. My antennae have never led me wrong,”

“Neither has my nose,” Javi took a step forward. Santiago wondered if he was going to try something but instead the werewolf merely picked up the book he had been reaching for. “Two bookcases over, second shelf from the top, right?”

Santiago blinked in confusion. “Yes, but now that I’ve revealed the ladder I’ve shown myself perfectly capable of putting these away on my own,”

“Eh, I don’t mind helping out. I have a free period,”

Seeing the carefree smile on Javi’s face, Santi couldn’t help but return it in kind. “Alright. We’ll make it a team effort then,”

---

There were about a dozen books that Javi had brought in from the locker room. One by one the pair made their way through the library, Javi carrying the ladder and climbing it to place each book in its proper place while Santi carried the stack of books and directed Javi on where each one should go. It didn’t take them long before each book was safely tucked away and Santiago found himself searching for a reason to get Javi to stay just a bit longer.

“Have you ever perused the shelves of our fine library yourself?” he asked, looking up at Javi as he made his way down the ladder one final time.

“Can’t say I have. I’ve never been a big reader though I did used to read at the senior center on Saturdays way back in my high school days,”

“May I be so bold as to offer a reading suggestion?”

“Be my guest,”

“Come with me then,” Santiago guided Javi to the fantasy section. There he pulled out a worn-down copy of Alice in Wonderland. “This is a personal favorite of mine. I’m sure you’ve seen the film so you should be able to follow the general gist of the story, but experiencing the original prose itself is another experience entirely,”

“Oh yeah! I did see the cartoon a couple times. It’s pretty fun,”

“I gave you one of our older copies too, so you don’t need to worry about damaging it,”

Javi chuckled. “Is it that obvious how clumsy I am? Seriously though, that’s really thoughtful of you,”

“Do you have a library card?”

“Oh, right. Guess the one for my community library won’t work, huh?” Javi flashed Santi a charismatic smile.

“Tragically, no. I’ll get you signed up,” Santiago headed back over to the main desk to pull up the forms for a new library card. His ploy hadn’t bought him much time, only a few minutes really, but he enjoyed them nonetheless. It had been quite a while since he’d last met a man who made his wings flutter the way Javi did. Even if it was only light flirting, it was nice to shake off the metaphorical cobwebs of his social life if only for a moment. “And with that,” Santi said, stamping the library card before handing it to Javi, “You’re all set,”

“Thanks! Also, just in case it comes up…” Javi continued, fiddled with the corner of his newly-borrowed book, “Is there a number I should call in case of emergency?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Y’know, like if I lose the book or leave it by my stove and accidentally set it on fire… so I can pay for a new book of course!”

“Well if the book’s on fire you should probably call the fire department, but if it just gets lost, you can call the main school number and they’ll redirect you to the library,”

“Oh, ok,” The wolf ears on Javi’s head deflated just a little.

Santi looked over at Javi curiously. He hadn’t meant… had he? “And just in case of an extra serious emergency…” he grabbed a sticky note and scribbled upon it, “Here is my personal cell number. Call me any time, night or day, and I’ll make sure all your needs are fulfilled. Book needs,” Yeah, Santi. Real subtle.

Javi’s face lit up as he received the number, his tail wagging at a slightly faster pace. “Awesome! Then I’ll call you sometime- about books! Or I’ll see you when I drop this one off after finishing it,”

“I’m always here, never anywhere else,” Way to sell yourself, Santi.

“Alright, see you then… bye!” with a final wave Javi was off, walking through the library doors with his tail wagging excitedly behind him.

Santiago watched him go, finally letting his wings spread and flutter with excitement. Had he just landed a date?

#twdg #twdg javi #twdg santiago #twdg javiago #fanfic #we are monsters we are proud au

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