A/N: A big think you to my beta meridianrose who is such an awesome beta and encourages me greatly. This was written for the Librarians shipathon 2018, Jazekiel week. Also for hc_bingo prompt: Estrangment. The title and quote is borrowed from Shakespeare.
~The Librarians~
9:45pm
Ezekiel flung open the door to their suite of rooms in the Library and staggered inside, dropping his backpack on the floor and flinging his jacket vaguely towards the hall tree. Moving down the hall, Ezekiel desperately tried to keep his eyes open as he swayed dangerously close to the wall on his right, his fatigue finally catching up with him. Seeing their bed, Ezekiel honestly could've cried, it had been over two weeks since they last slept in it. It had been just as long since they had gotten more than a couple of hours sleep in one stretch. He vaguely heard the front door shut as he pulled his filthy hoodie over his head dropping it at his feet as he finally walked through their bedroom door. He stood at the end of the bed and simply tipped forward, planning on landing face first onto the crisp sheets and sleeping for a week.
Ezekiel's forward momentum was abruptly halted as the back of his shirt was grabbed from behind and he stood suspended on his tiptoes with his finger tips just brushing against the sheets. He whimpered slightly at being so close.
"Ezekiel those are freshly laundered sheets. I don't remember the last time either one of us showered or changed our clothes," Jake said behind him, and as Ezekiel continued to make abortive grabby hands in the direction of bed, he could almost hear the eye roll in his boyfriend's voice as he continued, "I know you are exhausted, so am I, but think about it, let's take a quick shower and at least brush our teeth."
Ezekiel stopped trying to fall onto the bed and instead leaned back against Jake, letting his boyfriend take most of his weight. He protested in a slightly whiny voice, "but, but…"
Jake's arms tightened around him and he lowered his head and whispered in his ear, "How about this, I promise that for the next twenty-four hours, come hell or high water, we will not leave this bed."
Ezekiel perked up a bit, his eyes widening as he thought through the possibilities. "Seriously? Just you and me in that bed for the next twenty-four hours? No apocalypses or cryptids or time travelers from the future intent on world domination?"
Jake turned him in his arms and Ezekiel saw his boyfriend was just as exhausted and as filthy as he was. Jake had dark rings under his bloodshot eyes and his drawl was thick and heavy as he said, "Hand to God."
Nodding, Ezekiel snuggled closer into Jake's embrace for a few seconds until he pulled back with a grimace, "Ugh…you're right we both smell awful." Jake chuckled softly before leaning forward and giving Ezekiel a light kiss which, in his exhaustion, only landed half on Ezekiel's lips, but both were too tired to care.
Grabbing Jake's hand, Ezekiel pulled him unresisting into the adjacent bathroom.
~The Librarians~
12:36am
He was falling, tumbling, plunging into a black void, forever trapped in an endless video game. Now he was watching Cassandra, Jake, and Eve die over and over again helpless to do anything but fail.
Screaming in horror and pain from being torn apart as they were overrun again, Ezekiel woke up abruptly, sweating, his breathing labored.
"It's okay Ezekiel, I'm here," came a voice behind him, a warm hand on his shoulder.
He rolled over onto his back and saw Jake leaning over him, alive, not hurt or bloody. In embarrassment, Ezekiel placed a hand over his eyes, trying to take in deep breaths, in order to get himself under control. It had been a long time since he had that nightmare.
"Come here sweetheart," Jake whispered, and Ezekiel went eagerly rolling onto his side and into his boyfriend's embrace.
Jake whispered reassurances into his ear until his breathing calmed and evened out into sleep.
~The Librarians~
9:15am
Ezekiel felt Jake shift against him and fought to keep his eyes closed. Jake was still holding him tightly against his chest. Although they had moved in the night and now Ezekiel was the little spoon, being in Jake's arms in the early morning was honestly one of his favorite places to be. Shifting deeper into Jake's embrace, Ezekiel was almost back to sleep…
"Morning, love," Jake rumbled against the back of his neck before placing a kiss along the hairline.
Ezekiel scowled and grunted, "No."
"No? No what?"
"No whatever involves us having to be awake right now," Ezekiel said around a yawn, refusing to open his eyes against the midmorning light.
"Don't worry, a promise is a promise," Jake said, before giving Ezekiel a gentle squeeze and then letting go and rolling away. "But we will have to leave the bed occasionally to go to the bathroom, and get food," Jake continued, his voice getting further away until Ezekiel heard the bathroom door close.
He supposed his boyfriend had a point but Ezekiel wasn't ready to leave the comfortable nest they had made themselves. Curling up further into a fetal position, Ezekiel dozed, vaguely hearing Jake move around their home. It wasn't until he started to smell delicious scents coming from the kitchen that he finally ordained to open one of his eyes. When his stomach gave a rumble, Ezekiel stretched painfully, feeling every bruise that he had received over the last two weeks. Finally opening both his eyes, Ezekiel was greeted to the sight of Jake with two plates loaded down with food.
"You are an angel," he said, as he sat up leaning against the headboard.
Jake grinned and handed Ezekiel his plate once he was settled and then joined him on the bed.
~The Librarians~
10:00am
Seeing Jake was finished with his food as well, Ezekiel figured if Jake cooked he could at least clean up. Getting up, Ezekiel took his boyfriend's plate with a murmured no problem when Jake thanked him. He set the plates in the sink, running water over them before leaving them to soak and making a silent promise to himself that he would wash them tomorrow after his promised twenty-four hours were over. Making a pit stop at the bathroom, Ezekiel washed up a bit and then hurried back to bed.
Ezekiel stopped at the foot of the bed and just admired the view. Jake was sitting against the headboard, wearing a white undershirt and boxer briefs reading an academic journal. Ezekiel started at the foot of the bed and slowly crawled forward until he reached Jake's magazine which he promptly tossed over his shoulder.
"Hey!"
Straddling his boyfriend's lap, Ezekiel smirked down at Jake before leaning forward and kissing him. Jake opened his mouth eagerly and gripped his hips tightly pulling him even closer. They broke the kiss briefly in order to pull their clothes off, laughter ringing through the air as their arms got in each other's way. Which in turn led to a playful wrestling match that almost had them falling off the bed, twice, until finally Ezekiel landed on his back with Jake on top. Jake was kissing his way down Ezekiel's chest when Ezekiel realized that his boyfriend was tenderly kissing all of the bruises that littered his torso.
"You are such a sap," Ezekiel said, softly running a hand through Jake's hair, his breath quickening.
Jake looked up, his blue eyes were earnest and loving, and held Ezekiel's gaze for a long moment before saying, "You love it."
"Yah I do," Ezekiel admitted softly, pulling his boyfriend back up and wrapping his legs around Jake's hips, kissing him deeply.
~The Librarians~
1:30 pm
"I ship it," Ezekiel said offhandedly, watching the screen intently, reaching for the bowl of popcorn that was between them and grabbed a handful. They were both leaning up against the headboard clad only in their boxers, legs stretched out in front of them ankles crossed.
"Who?" Jake questioned squinting at the TV, reaching for his own handful of popcorn.
"Gimli and Legolas," Ezekiel said.
"Really?" Jake asked, tilting his head slightly as though considering the pairing for the first time, watching as the two characters in question stood next to each other on a castle wall.
"Yes, after all is said and done they sail off into the undying lands together. Its love," Ezekiel insisted confidently.
Jake made an interested sound, before nodding, "I can see it."
Ezekiel smiled at him before leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek, "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
Jake gave a short laugh and said, "I love you too."
~The Librarians~
3:38pm
The Return of the King had concluded and they were now onto The Hobbit, the empty popcorn bowl was on the floor, they were sitting right next to each other. Jake had one of Ezekiel's hands in his and was massaging the tender muscles gently, as they watched the movie.
"You have the best hands," Ezekiel said with a happy sigh. Sometimes his hands would just ache he usually chalked it up to the fact he was always using them to manipulate locks and security systems on stuff he was intent on stealing.
"Thank you."
Ezekiel looked over at Jake and noticed he was blushing slightly and wondered what was on the older man's mind.
Jake cleared his throat and then asked, "When…when did you know you wanted this," he gestured vaguely between the two of them, "When did you want us?"
God he's cute, Ezekiel thought as he saw his boyfriend's cheeks redden even further and then answered quietly, "I have always been aware of you," turning his hand in Jake's and bringing one up to his mouth, he kissed the palm of the older man's hand, "You are a very handsome man, Jacob Stone."
Ezekiel smiled widely as Jake looked down almost bashfully, Jake never seemed to know what to do with compliments but he definitely loved them so Ezekiel tried to sing his praises whenever possible.
"There were three things that made me think maybe I had a shot. The first was your concern for me when I was infected with the werewolf virus. You were so gentle and sweet," Ezekiel said.
Jake looked up and said quietly, "You scared me so badly that day."
Ezekiel felt a chill go down his spine, and shook his head trying to put the memory of that day from his mind before continuing.
"So that showed me you cared about me, but I wasn't sure if you were interested in men at all because you had never shown any indication that you were. But when we went to see your friend Slayton at the racetrack there was a softness to your conversation with him that made me think either you two had been in a relationship or at the very least you had wanted to be in one at one time," Ezekiel said, leaving it open ended if Jake wanted to share with him.
Jake had a surprised look on his face for a moment before he said, "Slayton and I were complicated. Being bisexual was one more thing I was hiding; Slayton understood, it was the same for him. For a few years there were times when we were together and times when we weren't but above all we were always friends."
They sat and watched the movie for a few minutes before Jake asked, "What was the third thing?"
Ezekiel looked over and said with a smirk, "I kept catching you checking me out whenever my shirt was off."
Jake looked indignant and seemed as though he was going to refute that statement but then said with a shrug, "That's fair."
Ezekiel laughed and then sighed again as Jake started massaging his other hand. He was tempted to shut his eyes and just enjoy the massage but now he was curious. "So when did you know you wanted us?" he asked mimicking Jake's question.
"I was fooled by the front you put on for longer then I should've been but then you were very supportive of me having to go back home and deal with my father." Jake was silent for a moment and Ezekiel knew that Jake and his father were still estranged and that it was a painful memory.
Jake shook himself and continued, "Then there was that video game we were trapped in and how you sacrificed yourself for us over and over again; it showed me that a lot of the over the top bluster that you spout is really just a defense mechanism."
Ezekiel looked away, he felt exposed and embarrassed.
"Hey," Jake whispered softly before reaching over and turning Ezekiel's head and catching his gaze.
"You remember when you kissed Cassandra and tried to kiss me and I pushed you away?" Jake asked and at Ezekiel's nod he continued in a low voice, "Afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about what your mouth would've felt like if I had let you kiss me." Then Jake lightly brushed his thumb across Ezekiel's bottom lip before he dipped his head down and kissed him. The movie was soon forgotten as the two men focused on each other.
~The Librarians~
9:39pm
Ezekiel rolled over and opened his eyes, seeing that not only was the apartment dark and the TV was off, but that the bed was empty. Propping himself up on his elbows, Ezekiel noticed that not only was his boyfriend was missing, but also all of the covers and pillows were gone. Ezekiel sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked over the side of the bed to see if maybe the blankets had just fallen over the edge. They had not. Glancing at the clock, he saw his twenty-four hours were almost over. Right next to the clock was a folded piece of paper with his name on the outside, Ezekiel grabbed for it, his curiosity piqued, and opened it.
Meet me at the observatory.
Wondering what was going on, Ezekiel pulled on his sleep pants and grabbed his tank top off the floor where he had thrown it earlier. Hoping he didn't run into any of the others in the Library's hallways, Ezekiel made his way to the top floor that housed the observatory.
The Library's observatory was a round room with a dome on top that could be opened when one wanted to observe the stars. It still boggled Ezekiel's mind that from the outside of the Library you could not see it yet it obviously existed. Ezekiel made good time and was soon climbing the last flight of stairs, the marble cold on his bare feet. Opening the doors, Ezekiel was greeted by the sight of Jake standing next to not only the covers that used to be on their bed but also what must be every blanket they owned, along with their pillows, all arranged on the floor in a sort of haphazard nest. The dome was open and the night sky had a dazzling array of stars.
Ezekiel knew his mouth was hanging open but he just couldn't find it in him to care. He had never seen so many stars, "Jake…" he said in wonder.
Jake snagged his hand and pulled him the rest of the way in the room, "A promise is a promise but I figured if I brought all of the bedding here it would still count as staying in bed?"
Ezekiel heard the question and the need for reassurance in Jake's voice and he rushed to do just that. "This is perfect," he said forcing himself to look away from the wondrous beauty that was above their heads, more beautiful than any jeweled necklace he had ever stolen, and he wrapped his arms around Jake. Burying his face against his boyfriend's neck, Ezekiel held onto him tightly.
When they finally pulled away from each other, Jake once again took his hand and drew him onto the makeshift bed. Ezekiel sat down and discovered that his boyfriend had also set up a picnic complete with wicker basket.
"Are you hungry?"
Ezekiel who had leaned back against the pillows watching the night sky said, "Maybe in a little bit. I can't get over how many stars there are."
After a few moments, Ezekiel glanced over at Jake who had lain down beside him and was looking upwards taking in the night sky. He wondered how fate had been so kind to him that it had led him to this moment.
Ezekiel tried to memorize bits of poetry and literature that he thought Jake would like so he thought for a moment and then said softly, "Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love."
Jake looked over, smiled widely and drew him closer, kissing Ezekiel softly, tenderly, before saying against his lips, "You are such a sap."
"You love it."
"Yah I do."
The End