Because I just couldn't keep away. This has sort of turned into a mini-series of one-shots... with subtle (cough) Will bashing and Teslen-goodness. ;)
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Their World
Will held the report in his hands, firm grip, steely in his determination to prove himself to her once again, to deem himself worthy of earning back her trust. He walked into the library where he'd been told he could find her. He hadn't counted on Tesla being there, but shouldn't have been all that surprised. She was with the snarky vampire a lot these days, everyone could see it.
He watched, standing from a safe distance, taking the time to observe them. He felt a little voyeuristic, but there was something so curious about them that seeing the two of them unguarded in moments such as these was impossible to resist for anyone.
They were seated at one of the wooden tables, not unlike the ones at the old Sanctuary. The whole library was nostalgically similar to their old one, with the wooden tables dotting the wide spacious floors, in between row upon row of books. This new one was larger, though, and Will knew Magnus had taken much pleasure in filling it up with new and old books alike. He'd noticed many books he gathered she'd amassed during her 113 year 'interlude'.
One suspected that Magnus had held a soft spot in particular for the Old City Sanctuary library; she'd adored it perhaps as much as she had her office. She'd loved to sit in there on the rare occasions things were quiet. Where her office was a centre-point, a focal point really, where people would gather and exchange information, the library had been a quiet place for her to work, for her to research. It was where she could drink in new – and revisit old – information without too much risk of being disturbed. It was quite a private thing for her, and not many really knew about her book-lined refuge. But for those who lived in close quarters it was hard to miss, though none of them really verbalised it. In her office she was the boss, in the library she was just Magnus, sometimes even just Helen.
So there they were, sitting in an eerily familiar fashion at one of the wooden tables. They weren't sitting particularly close (well, not for them, though it could be considered so by normal standards) but there was still that unmistakable air of intimacy about them that always seemed to linger in the air when they were around.
Piles of books and parchment scrolls covered the table, so much so there was so surface to be seen. There was also that alarming spark that seemed to creep into both their eyes when they were on one of their missions in the pursuit of knowledge. He was never sure whether to be concerned or not.
She turned to say something to him, a comment about something she'd just read, perhaps a clue to solving their latest puzzle. He looked up, frowned, and cocked his head thoughtfully before shaking it and pointing to something in the book he'd been scrutinizing. She leaned over, eyes scanning over the indicated material. Seamlessly, he slid the book to her as she passed him another.
Neither of them had yet noticed him standing there, so wrapped up in their work and in their little world. He doubted that they'd been out of the library since they'd holed up in there this morning – or so he'd been told by one of the employees. It had been a young man, obviously new to the network, an empath who had blushed when speaking of Magnus and Tesla. He had told Will that Magnus and the vampire had been in the library since early that morning, and they hadn't left since. It was almost dinner time now. They were the sort of people who became consumed, totally immersed; in their work, and, as Will had so recently noticed, in their personal relationship.
There was this sort of bubble that encased the pair of them when they were together, separating them from everything and everyone else around them. Nothing else seemed to exist, seemed to matter much, and they seemed not to be aware of much other than each other. It was as though they lived within their own little world. They probably did. Who could ever even begin to understand their minds, their views of the world, when they had lived so long and seen so much? They were two of the few in this world who were like that (and no one really knew if Druitt was still around).
Will sighed, deciding not to disturb the pair. Neither of them would be particularly receptive for at least a few days while they worked. He shook his head in bemusement. He left his report on the edge of the table where they were working and discreetly exited the library. He'd warn some of the newer members of staff to steer clear of the place for a while, lest they have their heads bitten off by an annoyed vampire (hopefully only metaphorically). Maybe he'd also bring her some tea and him some wine. He very much doubted either one of them would think to eat, or be willing to drag themselves away for something that was unimportant in their minds.
When exactly he had taken on the role of playing enabler to Magnus's (and by proxy Tesla's) bad habits he had no clue, only that it was futile to resist. He could hardly afford to push at the tenuous bounds currently holding his own relationship with her. Drawing her out of the little world she and Tesla occupied so comfortably was definitely not the way to warm her to him again.