Here to Stay

By Alasse Fefalas

The sunlight streaming past the curtains was the first thing Flynn saw when he woke up. His first thought was, "this isn't my room."

And then he remembered. He remembered him and Eve coming back from a successful mission together. He remembered them coming to her apartment for a celebratory drink for everything going smoothly and according to plan for once.

He remembered her her laugh, her smile and how her lips felt against his. He remembered the softness of her skin and the saltiness of her sweat. He remembered how she felt in his arms and the sound of her voice in ecstasy.

Smiling, Flynn turned away from the window and to the other side of the bed. The blanket was pulled back and the bed was empty. Flynn touched the spot where he saw her last the night before.

It was cold.

Flynn sat up in panic, the blanket slipping down his naked chest and pooling at his waist. He looks around the room. She wasn't there. "Eve?"

No answer. The room door was ajar. "Eve?" he asked again, a little louder this time.

Again, no answer. A sick feeling entered his stomach. Where was she? Where did she go? Did she decide to go off because he wasn't good enough last night?

An unwelcome train of thought entered his mind: The first time he had slept with his Guardian, she had disappeared too. Eve wouldn't do that to him, would she? She wouldn't betray him.

"No," he said to himself. "Don't be stupid. Of course she wouldn't."

So where did she go?

His heart hammered in his chest as he looked for clues of where she might have gone. There was no note saying she had had enough of them (which was great because he didn't think he would have been able to take a repeat of that happening).

Her phone was also missing - had she gone off without him? Did one of the junior Librarians need help and she had gone off without telling him? Would she have done that?

The longer the looked, the more the feeling of self-hate in his stomach grew. After their first night together, she had left. While he was sleeping.

"Congratulations, Flynn Carsen " he whispered to himself. "You've successfully made yet another person leave."

He ran his hands down the sheets of her bed again, their coldness the same feeling he had in his chest. Maybe it was for the best, he thought. She probably would have left someday, just like everyone else.

A soft knock made him jump, pulling him out of his thoughts. Eve stood at the doorway, dressed only in a long button down shirt. The top half of her buttons were undone. Two mugs of coffee were steaming her hands. "Good morning, Librarian," she greeted, smiling at him.

Flynn couldn't help but to stare, speechless. His thoughts had also come to a sudden standstill. The only thought he had then, was that she looked so beautiful. Her hair was down, framing her face. Her blue eyes were almost sparkling and her smile, oh how he loved her smile.

"Cassandra called so I went to the kitchen to answer. Didn't want to wake you," she said as she walked over to the bed. Eve sat down on her spot on the bed, handing him a mug. "I don't actually know how you take your coffee so I just made it black, two sugars."

"It's fine," he nodded. He took a sip, letting the coffee warm the cold dreading in his chest. He looked at her and smiled. "It's delicious."

"Thank you," she grinned. She took a sip from her own mug and put it down on the bedside table. Scooting closer to him, she placed a hand on his arm. "Tell me what's bothering you?"

Flynn almost spit his coffee back into the mug. "Bothering? Uh? What? No, nothing's bothering me."

Eve rubbed her thumb gently. "You have a very panicked look on your face, Librarian. What's bothering you?"

Flynn stared into the blackness of his coffee. He shook his head. "It's nothing," he mumbled as he took another sip.

Eve sighed. "Flynn, talk to me. What's wrong?"

He glanced at her, avoiding her eyes. Her face was full of worry. For him, he thought. He didn't deserve it. He kept sipping his coffee quietly, debating in his head whether he wanted to tell her. She hadn't said anything either, patiently waiting for him in silence until he opened up.

Taking a deep breath, he passed his half-empty mug to her. Eve placed it beside hers on the bedside table and turned back to him. He took her hand in his, his thumb rubbing small circles on the back of her hand. His gaze was on their hands. He didn't want to look at her.

"The last time I had a Guardian - the first time I had ever slept with anyone, in fact - when I, when I woke up... she was gone. She'd left me there in the hotel room alone, and she had taken the piece of the Spear of Destiny we had recovered to the previous Librarian, who had faked his death and became the leader of the Serpent Brotherhood and all that.

"When I woke up this morning and I saw you weren't there, I..." Flynn trailed off, not knowing how to put the words into place.

"Oh god. I'm so sorry, Flynn, I didn't know," Eve said. Flynn finally looked up and saw horror on her face at his experience. "I would never betray you, Flynn. Never."

He tightened his hand around hers. "I know."

Her other hand stroked his cheek. "But that wasn't all, was it?"

Flynn shook his head. "I... people... me... not around." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm himself and organise his thoughts into coherent sentences to be said. "People... don't... last... around me."

Eve frowned. "What?"

"Partners. People. Whatever. They've left or they've gone. They're gone and they're dead. Or they're dead and they're gone. No one stays... but me."

Flynn watched as understanding dawned on her face. "Oh. You thought... you thought I left."

Flynn looked away, knowing full well how much guilt he must have been showing on his face. "It crossed my mind."

Her hand went back to his cheek. "Flynn? Look at me."

He shook his head. "No."

Her thumb stroked his cheek gently. "I need you to look at me, Flynn," Eve said softly.

Sighing, he turned to her and forced himself to look her in the eyes.

Eve smiled and cupped his face in her hands. "I'm not going anywhere, Librarian."

Flynn felt his chest fill with more warmth at those five words than the coffee could ever do to him. No one had ever said that to him before. He held on to her wrists, the skin contact making him sure he wasn't imagining it. "Are you sure? Are you really sure? I mean I know I could be annoying sometimes and I know I talk too much and I can't be on time all the time because the world needs saving and that has priority over everything and we might not-"

Eve cut him off from his rambling with a kiss. When they parted, she pulled him to her chest, her arms going around him in a protective circle. "I'm not going anywhere, Flynn. I promise."

Flynn relaxed into her arms, his own wrapping itself around her body. His ear was over her heart, listening to the regular beating of hers calming his own. He placed a kissed on her chest, loving the feel of his lips on her skin. "Thank you."

Fin.


A/N: So this came about while Whokuu and I were discussing about what issues Flynn would have and abandonment is definitely one of them. I'm sure he has other issues but I wanted to write a good 'ol hurt/comfort Evlynn fic and this came about. Maybe I'll write about his other issues if inspiration strikes but I can't guarantee anything. Flynn's my original nerd bby so I gotta do him justice if I want to write him, so we'll see.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story! Leave me a note and tell me what you think! Or maybe send me a prompt. Or something. Thanks for reading!