I shifted in my seat as another page turned, my eyes swimming through the streams of Arial prose as the indoor atmosphere buffeted me with its cozy invitations to further relax.

Adding onto this calm, a breath like that of a kitten sounded from beside me, the source being my partner, whose arms were outstretched high and whose eyelids opened and fell shut listlessly, "I'm feeling a little heavy-eyed all of a sudden."

"Did you not get a good night's rest?"

"Nothing like that. It's probably just the weather and ambiance making me feel sleepier than usual." She waved it off with another few blinks, the flip of her page sluggish.

"In that case, why not just take a quick nap? We still have more than enough time." I suggested, lowering my posture to meet her downturned gaze.

She considered it, whisking the leaves of the book away with a clench of her hands and a furrow in her brow, "Well, it's certainly an idea, but..."

"Are you still worried about being told off?" I tried to complete the thought for her, "Gale said the person on-watch is a friend, right? We're free to catch some Z's with peace of mind."

"It's part of my concerns, but there's just...How do I put this..?" I scrunched my face as best I could in the hopes that the features would manifest themselves into a physical question mark, "Look, listen. I just don't want so many strangers to see my sleeping face. There. Does that quench your intrigue?" She answered with eyes like copper daggers, pointing at me in what felt like an attempt to hide her reddening complexion.

I would've left it there, accepting her qualms and heckling her bashfulness, both to pass the time and keep her energized—but the endearment from her reaction was just about enough to steer me toward a different plan.

"Alright, noted. If that's the case, wait here a moment, will 'ya?" I stood up, an idea in my mind and curiosity in hers as I searched around the library. I scanned the space, weaving through shelves and seatings, through murmured lessons and flammable gossip before finding just the spot I needed.

Right, this should do. Now, to get back to the sleepy princess.

Myla sat still, hair of silver looking heavy atop the pastel headrest as I approached from behind. I placed my hands on the spots unmasked by her tresses, prompting her to look up at me with confusion as clear as the whites around her irises, "Alright, it's done. Come follow me for a second." Something not cured by my follow-up request, but nonetheless, she followed.

We made it to the corner of the library, Myla carrying her heavy eyelids and I most of our stuff, including her silk-white overcoat. The place was like a hedge maze, shrubbery replaced with leather-sheathed paper and the air scented with a heavy bibliosmia. Betwixt a pair of these unsuspecting racks of knowledge sat a dwelling veiled in shadow and away from prying eyes, decorated with a single table and two chairs side-by-side—a folded-up coat atop the desk.

"Apparently, it's a spot for people with online classes, so it's nice and detached from the rest of the place," I explained, laying down our stuff and draping the viola-scented overcoat behind one of the seats, "You can probably rest here without paying mind to anyone seeing, right?"

"You have a point there." She accepted, eyes still scanning the area like a cat getting acquainted with its new bedding, "And what's that for?" Her question was directed towards the article on the table.

"You need something to rest on, right? After all, the table itself isn't exactly comfy, and if you sleep on your hands, it'll leave marks all over your face."

"Why is it you're oddly well-versed in this?" Myla inquired, suspicious but less out of doubt and more out of mischief.

"Trade secrets from someone who mastered the act of hibernating whenever their physics teacher walked in..." And I responded in kind. We shared a small laugh at our usual antics before my partner gave a soft hmm.

"Well, I guess it's not a half-bad idea..." Her aura was relaxed, but something still felt tense, like an apprehension that itched away at her resolve to take the load off.

"...Oh, would you prefer to use your own coat? I just thought you didn't want it to get creased, but I probably should've asked-"

"Ah, no, it's not that." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, fiddling through her words, "You've just been awfully considerate with all this. Are you sure you didn't hit your head when I wasn't looking? Come on, Aunt Myla won't get mad if you were hiding it."

"If you have the energy to make fun of me, I'm starting to regret being so nice." I fired back, the shot only fueling her amusement.

She cleared her throat, her expression and poise returning to its prim and proper normalcy before pulling back the chair and sitting, looking at me with eyes upturned and sharpened like a Damascus blade, "Twenty minutes." I was caught off-guard by her sudden sternness, something I best recalled when we first met, "Wake me up after twenty minutes, alright?" But all it amounted to was a charming juxtaposition to her burying her head into the makeshift pillow—body slumping and cold aura thawing without another word.

Where'd that adamant hesitance from earlier run off to?

"Roger that." I followed, sitting down and taking out my phone to embody my new duty as an alarm clock.

This must be how robots will feel when they eventually gain sentience. Beep boop, time to wake up, human, beep boop, I cannot feel love nor contemplate death.

But just before I could find myself relaxing, another command was ushered from my human overlord, "Also, if you try to take a photo of me, I'll break your fingers."

"Ooh...Yikes...I'll have to go home and clear a few file folders then..."

She gave a dry laugh, voice muddied by the call to slumber, "There's no winning with you, is there..?" There was. I just chose not to let her win, not even myself, for that matter. Because our game's at its most fun when it feels like we're always one step away from a lead.

I tucked my phone away, keeping a mental note of the time before rummaging through our stuff to snatch my earlier reading material. We talked a bit about the characters and setting but were cut short when I told Myla I was at a specific point in the plot, and she told me to finish it quickly so we could chat about the reveal at the end of the volume.

Maybe it's building up to the reveal of a twin sibling? Or how about the existence of the main character's parents? That or it'll be wholly unsatisfying, and I'll be writing a very emotional social media post tonight.

But before I could even unfurl the pages, something else drew my idle attention; a somnolent face that was more vibrant and serene than those carried by the waking and walking.

Her pale face sat atop the silk fabric, the image like a gradient where one couldn't tell where skin ended and cloth began. Her eyes were shut tight, but her mouth was slightly agape, breathing an inaudible lullaby that could whisk away any fatigue. A few inches off, slender arms sat atop each other, fingers curled next to the delicate frame of her spectacles, and her hair ran like streams of mercury from the curve of her ear to the top of her shoulder to the arch of her back. She looked so vulnerable and yet appeared as if she could be at peace even if the world around her began to crumble at the seams.

Strange as it was, I had mixed feelings seeing her like that. On the one hand, I wondered if she would still be embarrassed about people seeing her sleeping face if she knew how quaint and tranquil she looked. Yet, on the other, there was an inexplicable joy I had, knowing that only I had the opportunity to see it.

I stood up, utmost care put into keeping as quiet as possible, the same way a child does when sneaking through his dimly lit home past midnight, taking her coat from my seat and blanketing it on her resting figure.

I almost kind of wish this wouldn't just last for twenty minutes.

But alas, I liked to believe that beauty and transience were accomplices, so I had to waste no time in getting back to wasting my time away, "Right, with that settled-" But my whispers were interrupted by the sound of shuffling a few shelves away.

I walked out of the space between the shelves, giving one final glance at my partner before pacing toward the noise's source. I would've usually written it off as someone searching for a specific title, but the sounds accompanying it told me otherwise—metal thuds and grumbled murmurs whistling through the still air of the library. I was about three shelves away now when the source of the noise became most evident, leading me to turn the corner and see...A book?

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

That it was, sight kicked in first before the dull pain of a blunt impact followed as the tome fell to the floor and left me holding my hand to my bruised forehead, "Ow."

"Oh?" A voice came from on high, "Sorry about that!" And looking up at it, the perpetrator stood in full view. Baby blue denim pants and a loose, knit sweater of cream hues fashioned her figure, the spitting image of someone who put just enough thought into being seasonal without overdressing. Her hair was a custard blonde, with shadow roots of brown that made it look like a glistening serving of pudding, resting atop a set of soft features that included hooded eyes that looked perpetually tired and decorated with long lashes that tickled her freckled cheeks.

"Huh?" It was the only thing I could speak as she clutched a stack of books in one hand with the other, grabbing another handful from the shelf.

She leaned in, squinting her already narrow eyes further to focus in on me—the orbs of jade glinting ever-so-quietly, "...aiAI?" She mumbled something I could barely hear, but before I could confirm it, another echo of thuds came first as the shelf again bled a few books, "Aaah...Not again..."

"Woah there, easy girl." I reached down for the works, picking them up and dusting them off before returning to the custard-haired woman, "Focus on one thing at a time, okay?"

"Apologies for that. I bit off more than I could chew." Her voice was velvety smooth, like honey flowing into one's ears, and words intonated almost drowsily, "I take it you're Bridger, then?"

Surprise was quick to arrive, my head tilting unconsciously, "How do you know my name?" The badges on our uniforms never carried a nametag, so it couldn't have been that.

"I'll fill you in with the deets as a reward if you help me out first. How's that sound?" A question for a question, I replied with a hmm in response, "I have to carry all of these and all of that," She looked at the books I was holding, "Over to the front desk for cataloging. D'you mind lending a hand?" Her expression was playful, and her movements were almost childlike with the way she lowered herself and glanced up at me.

"Reward aside, if you promise not to cram any more books into my skull, then we have an agreement. I've had about enough of that after finishing college..."

She chuckled, the notes floating about like the flaps of a butterfly's wings, "I'll see to it." And with the promise of safety and treasure, I followed the trail of the sleepy-voiced lass to her station.

I won't be long, so Myla should be fine. Just gotta be back in fifteen minutes.

We arrived at the front desk, cherry maple with varnish and holding potted plants, computers, and decorative statues of abstract form. Behind it looked to be a door to an office as it faced the entrance of the library. I stacked the books onto the surface, pushing them towards those carried by the still-unnamed but clearly well-informed young woman.

"Phew, can you believe they left all this for one girl? And I thought I was good at making people underestimate me."

I caught myself before laughing, composing myself to converse, "You don't have any help?"

"I should, but my supposed 'help' went and signed up for the sake of getting access to the staffroom wifi and free credit, so little old me is stuck here like this..." She played up her distraught state, arms raised with a shrug and mouth curved in an unwilling smile, "Hence, the assist from another pair of hands is appreciated."

"Well, I guess they were lax enough to let us in, after all..." I sighed, embarrassed at our benefitting from misplaced assistance.

The young woman watched me with puzzlement before her droopy eyes seemed to light up, "Do you think it was my partner who let you guys in?"

"Were they not?" I asked back, pieces already falling together.

"Nope. That would be me, a friend of Gale Glenn and your humble accomplice." Her honeyed voice spoke with even more sweetness, her posture matching as it changed into one that gave off an almost flirtatious vibe as she leaned forward with hands to her hips, "Thea Tamara, at your service, or, well, as of now, thankful for your service." And as her hair bobbed with the introduction, she seemed almost weightless.

"Well then, thanks, and you're welcome." I returned the cordial salutation with my own, but this one not veiled behind professionalism, "Blaithe. Bridger Blaithe."

"Sorry, sir. But we don't serve any drinks here, neither shaken nor stirred."

"And here I was, looking forward to a mid-morning martini." We shared a laugh at that, jousting jests a universal pastime for those with nothing better to do.

"So, aiAI, right? I'm guessing Gale's chipper mood is your handiwork?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Well, I'll be damned. I was beginning to think he'd be sulking till the end of the semester. Thanks for working your magic on him since, as much as I like the guy, I didn't have the heart to tell him he was starting to act like a bit of a dick." Thea admitted with a sly look but with words that were spoken out of sincere gratitude, "Especially since he used to be such a peach."

He went from peachy to dickish? Is there a euphemism I'm missing here?

"After cheering him up, I can tell."

"Oh, don't tell him I said this, but..." She was mixing giggles with her speech, like tiny highlights in a musical piece, as she imparted her secret, "I like hanging out with Fable more. I mean, she's like the walking equivalent of those worms on a string, y'know? All wibbly-wobbly and adorable like."

"I'm not saying I don't agree with you, but...Let's leave it at me, saying my lips are sealed. Sound good?" The young woman hid her laugh, a hand to her small lips as she did.

"Glad to find someone with good taste."

While there was probably little room for doubt, Thea Tamara was quite a pleasant customer. She presented herself well, was quick on the draw with banter, and seemed to be fairly conscious of the people around her. There was also the matter of her character. Part of it felt naturally charming, from the treble of her voice to the way her ears perked up with the curving of her smiles. But the other felt as if it was done from experience, such as the way she quickly synched her energy to mine and bounced topics back and forth without trouble. I was also a tad reassured, being reminded that I was still capable of basic socialization. It's not that I threw all interpersonal matters to the wayside once I started working—but I have been less active recently. And it's not like making friends was gonna get any easier as that date on my birth certificate kept getting further.

What can you do when more than eighty percent of your social interactions are made up of you and your co-worker's idle chatter? Not that I minded. Speaking of, just how much time has passed...

I pulled out my phone, seeing there were still a good few more minutes to burn through before my duty as an alarm clock would become relevant, "By the way," So the conversation returned to its course, a velvet voice pricking my ear as its owner began to organize the anthologies behind her desk, "Aren't you still on the clock? Why the long stay? Don't tell me I'm keeping you for too long."

"Nothing like that. We were here for Gale, but he wrapped things up a lot earlier than expected, so we decided to stay and take five. It's a nice cozy spot you guys have here." I replied, leaning back on the cherry maple furnishing.

"Ain't that the truth. I can't blame 'ya when half the people who pass through those doors come here for the same reason." She rolled her jade orbs at the thought, "It's kinda funny that the hardest part about being on duty is trying not to fall asleep yourself."

"And trying not to give people concussions with Poe?"

"Huh? Shouldn't you be happy? There are many who seek knowledge, but very few who knowledge itself seeks, you know?"

"Well, if you don't mind me cashing in that favor from earlier, could you tell them to seek me a little less violently?"

"No promises." A close-eyed smirk with a few taps on the desk with the books was all the assurance I received, "Also, I've been meaning to ask, but aren't you supposed to work in pairs? Where's your partner?"

"Oh? Them? They're making use of the library's 'services' as we speak." I looked behind me as I replied, eyes wandering to a shadowed corner where a slumbering princess lay undisturbed and waiting.

Waiting for who? Not their prince, but more like their guard dog.

"Aha! I see. So, another victim to the atmosphere, eh?"

"Yep. Although, I should probably get back to her sooner than later."

"Ohohoho? I didn't know it was a woman you were partnered with." Her tone turned inquisitive, and she looked as though she was trying to climb over the desk to prod me for answers.

"Wait? Gale didn't tell you about her?" I asked, finding it strange she knew my name but not even the gender of my companion.

"I think he did, but..." She stopped mid-sentence, finding herself mid-thought as I waited with a brow raised mid-center my forehead, "I forgot." She brushed it off with a shrug—her shoulders and expression looking light without worry.

I didn't know whether to laugh or scold Gale, meaning it was best to not overthink and instead avoid further predicaments, "Right then, I should probably get back before she gets annoyed that I didn't wake her up."

"Oh? You two don't get along?"

"We do, I think." It wasn't doubt, more a question of how one defined 'getting along,' "Well enough to be partners."

Thea nodded along, interest not waning, "D'you ever wonder if there'd be more to it?"

I recoiled a bit, not expecting the question to return so quickly and for it to come from someone related to the original person who asked, "No, no. In the first place, asking her that would probably be a threat to my life." I added, exasperated and a bit tired of having to clear the air on that query that always seems to greet me without warning.

However, that didn't stop some from peeking their custard-topped heads deeper into the veil, "Quite a feisty one, she seems, since you seem rather cheery yourself. I'd love to meet her."

I chuckled at her request, "She's an acquired taste." And she did, too.

"Still, if that really is all there is to it..." Her whispers were somnorific, akin to the mumbles of someone dreaming, "You seem fun, and it just so happens I'm equally fun." She suddenly remarked, a syrup-sweet expression meeting my gaze.

"Your confidence astounds me."

"Best foot forward at all times, Bridger." She assured, decorating her pepper-flaked face with a grin, "So, the other day, while I was on my way back to my dorm, I spotted this cute little arcade open up at a nearby mall, you know it?" She pulled her phone out, fiddling with it to bring up some photos of the vibrant play place.

"Oh? I haven't been there in a while, but it seems they've got some fun stuff. I even recognize some machines from when I was younger." I looked at the light guns and booths, all lined with a nostalgic LED glow.

"You too, huh? I was thinking of going, but it'd be a little awkward to head there myself. Plus, there's that nearby food court way too many things to check out solo, so..." She didn't move, but from the pitch of her voice, it felt as though she was inching closer, "Would you like to come along?-"

"And look who decided to weasel their way back into my life." The voice came from behind me like a wintry breeze, turning the hairs on my nape solid and the entrance of my ear cold.