Based on the prompt: Librarian/Avid Read AU
"Your boy is back," Bernice said wheeling a cart of books by the table in the backroom where Jem was glaring at the computer and trying to figure out why the cataloguing system kept shutting itself down.
"Thank you," he said and Bernice wiggled her eyebrows at him before she took the cart out through the swinging door to go and shelve them. He waited until she was gone before he grinned and went to collect the pile of books he had ordered in from libraries across the region.
Out at the desk, Will was reading through a "What's Happening!" newsletter and leaning. He always seemed to lean against something, desks, bookshelves, table tops. The first time Jem had met him, he had leaned down against the table where he was working and waited until he looked up. Jem had been weeding at the time, sorting out the books no one had checked out in years to be taken off the shelf.
"Do you work here?" the guy with dark hair and deep blue eyes had asked.
"No, I sort outdated books about fungus for fun," Jem said holding up the book in his hand which looked like it had been printed in the 1970s and hadn't been opened since that day.
"Right," he said pulling it out of his hands and flipping it open to a poorly drawn diagram of a field mushroom, "Thrilling stuff."
"Yes, I work here," Jem said. He was very good at charming little old ladies in search of Nora Roberts novels. He was very good at convincing small children to attempt to read chapter books. He was not good at finding things to say to attractive young men with graceful fingers and sarcastic smiles.
"If I needed books on the histories of hauntings in the area, where would I start?" he asked.
"Start in the 130s or try the catalogue," was Jem's immediate answer. It came out flat and sarcastic because this guy was really attractive and it was short circuiting his brain. Besides, he was probably screwing around, young people who knew how to use computers didn't ask questions like that.
"Ok, right, yes, but what about after I've read those ones? My friend said that you can special order in series she wants to read. Can you special order in reference material too?" he asked. "I'm looking for books on hauntings in the south or central British Isles."
The rest of that afternoon had been spent with William Herondale leaning over his shoulder as they paged through catalogues for every library within a hundred miles and making lists. Will was sharp and bright and funny and he went from attractive to heart stopping when he laughed. He laughed often as he discovered how little Jem believed in ghosts and how many of the things he said were sarcastic. Most people never got Jem's comments but here Will was cracking up at every joke.
Now he was back. Jem took a moment to carefully stack up the books. He had had too long to think about that afternoon. He had read things in that hadn't happened and he'd talked himself out of anything that might have. He was going to be awkward and end up saying something utterly inappropriate. Will didn't look up from the engrossing read about the Thursday evening knitting circle as Jem quietly put the books on the desk and slid them across the table.
Will flashed him that smile when he noticed. Big and bright and better than Jem remembered it. Whatever he had wanted he was going to say fled before that smile. He returned it and their eyes held in an elastic moment.
"Your books came in," Jem said.
"I can see that," Will said.
"What are you going to do with them?" Jem asked.
"Read them. It's the primary function of a book, to be read," Will said.
"Is it really? Here I thought it was to decorate the walls not displaying the DVD rentals," Jem said which got him one of Will's laughs.
"I'm a writer. History mostly but all this," he waved at his stack of books, "Is research for a novel that I will never finish because fiction is ridiculous."
"Can I read it?" Jem asked.
"Never finishing it," Will said.
"That's an awful lot of work for never finishing it," Jem said looking at the books.
"You don't know many authors do you?" Will said and then he leaned over the desk into just the edge of Jem's personal space, "Let me tell you a secret. We aren't made of blood and bone, we're made of unfinished manuscripts and brilliant ideas that never work. Also coffee."
"Librarians on the other hand are made of organizational systems, anticipation for new releases and funding crises. And also coffee," Jem said.
"So you're asking me out for coffee then?" Will asked raising his eyebrows. For a moment Jem was 14 again and saying the wrong thing and about to get punched but only a moment. Will was still leaning across the desk and he was still smiling.
"I don't know, I hear authors can't commit and never finish what they start," came out of Jem's mouth.
Will's smile got wider, "True and librarians probably don't have enough money to buy a cup of decent coffee."
"I'm offended, you definitely aren't getting coffee now," Jem said. He had no idea how to flirt and yet, here he was leaning his elbows down against the desk to match up with Will's body language and get just a little closer.
"Fine, then," Will said standing up and stepping back and the fluttery feeling in Jem's chest crashed down into bits. He had no idea what he was doing and he had somehow made a mess of it. Why didn't he have a normal sense of humour? Why was he so incompetent at human interaction? He had no idea what to say to salvage this.
"I'll buy you cake too," Jem said.
"Chocolate?" Will asked leaning back down.
"Absolutely," Jem said.
Will grabbed a note pad off of Jem's side of the desk, passing close enough that Jem now knew what his hair smelled like. He scribbled some things down and then tucked the little square of paper into Jem's hand before he flashed him a grin.
"See you soon," he said and then he took his pile of books and sauntered away leaving Jem to stare after him.