Hello all! I hope you're doing well! I've had this head canon for a while now and just got around to writing it. I hadn't originally planned the ending to be so depressing but a good 95% of what I write ends up becoming hurt/comfort in some aspect so it was inevitable lol. Hope you guys like it! :D
A/N: I own nothing =/
Jake is like 90% convinced that Ezekiel has some kind of mutant tapeworm living inside of him. Or the kind of metabolism that would fuel an entire football team during playoffs. Or, hell, maybe he's actually a walking black hole that's somehow manages to gain corporeal form (given all the strange oddities of the Library, Jake actually wouldn't be surprised by that explanation). Whatever the reason, Ezekiel can eat like a horse and still be hungry.
Jake sometimes wonders if the reason Ezekiel is hungry all the time is that he doesn't eat "real food"; anything loaded with preservatives and different kinds of food dye can't be healthy but Ezekiel doesn't seem to care. His diet seems to consist almost entirely of junk food and soda, occasionally supplemented with pizza or other foods that have at least some semblance of nutrition.
Eve gets onto him occasionally and Cassandra will force a tiny pile of baby carrots into his hand at least once a week (which Ezekiel will eat even though he grumbles about it) but for the most part no one seems all that concerned. So Ezekiel likes junk food? So what? Eve knows how to kill a man with a roll of paper towels, Cassandra could probably recite pi backwards, Jake knows more art forms than there are states, and Ezekiel is a sentient trash compactor. They all have their quirks.
He mentions it one day when they're reading up on mysterious disappearances surrounding an 18th century well. Cassandra is studying the dimensions of the well, Ezekiel is going over land survey records, and Jake is looking at pictures of the house to determine architectural style and timeframe. Everything is completely silent. Until there's crunching.
Cassandra glances up but seems relatively unfazed and goes back to looking at the well. Jake looks over to where Ezekiel is sitting at the end of the table, survey maps spread out in front of him and an open bag of potato chips sitting to the side. He crunches quietly, staring at the maps and twirling a pen with his free hand. Every couple minutes he'll reach into the bag and grab a handful of chips, stuffing them into his mouth absently without ever lifting his eyes off the page. He's quiet save for the crunching so that's something at least.
About ten more minutes passes by in relative silence before Ezekiel sighs loudly and slumps back in his chair, clearly bored with the the progress (or lack thereof) they're making. "Ugh, this is pointless," he grumbles to no one in particular. "I don't see why we're wasting our time here when we could be checking out that well for ourselves. We're not going to find anything in these dusty old files."
Cassandra shakes her head without looking up. "Eve said we should stay here until she gets back. Apparently this well has attracted a lot of attention in the press recently and she wants to get a county order to clear out all the reporters before we go in to reduce the risk of more disappearances."
Ezekiel sighs again, loud and obvious, and pushes himself out of the chair. "Alright, well while we're sitting here waiting for her to get back, I'm going to make some food. Can't go off and solve the case of the mysterious wishing well on an empty stomach."
Jake frowns in confusion and looks up from his own work. "You were literally just eating here at the table. And didn't you eat a burger like an hour ago?"
Ezekiel shrugs a little. "Yeah, so?"
"So?" Jake balks and shakes his head. "So how can you still be hungry?"
The thief contemplates this for a second or so longer before shrugging again. "Couldn't tell ya, mate," he says with a careless smile. "But it's hard for me to concentrate when my stomach is grumbling."
He turns and disappears into the hallway. "Let me know if you guys want anything from the kitchen," he calls out over one shoulder, glancing back at Jake and Cassandra.
Jake watches him go with a stunned expression. He makes some kind of vague gesture with his hand, looking from the hallway to Cassandra and then back to the hallway. It was clearly bothering him for some reason but he wasn't sure why. Cassandra just smiles and shakes her head, turning her attention back to her files.
OOOOO
Jake brings it up again about a month later when they're investigating a supposed wormhole inside the Museum of Natural History. Apparently the pieces of a new meteorite interred in the museum where giving off some rather interesting radiation waves that were causing small but noticeable rips in the fabric of space around the exhibit. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly safe and the Librarians were called in to figure out how to get it back to the Annex before the situation got worse.
The meteorite itself looks innocent enough, just a few chunks of dark, gun-metal grey rock tucked inside a glass case with a plaque beside it. It was discovered in the Bonneville Salt Flats a few months back and was donated to the museum. Up until recently it hadn't appeared any different than the other meteorite samples within the hall. That is until it ripped a very tiny hole in the very space around its exhibit and sucked in a janitor's mop bucket and almost the janitor himself.
The museum curators had tried to remove the meteorite following this incident but it only seemed to make the situation worse rather than better. The glass was blocking a majority of the radiation waves but some of them were still able to seep out and continue to wreak havoc inside the exhibit. The last time anyone tried to remove the pieces, a long, thin crack cut through one side of the case and more waves were able to leak out. No one was sure what would happen if the case were to break entirely and they weren't exactly ready to find out. That's when the Librarians received the assignment but even they weren't sure what to do with it. Not yet, at least.
"Alright," Eve says after another five full minutes of silence passes between them. "Anyone have any ideas?"
Cassandra takes a step toward the case, crouching down when she's right in front of it to examine the crack. "We'll need something we can transport it in to get it back to the Library."
"Yeah, well the only problem with that is that these pieces of rock aren't exactly stable," Jake cuts in, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head slightly as he looks at the case. "In order to transport them from the case into a container and then into the Library, there's going to be a lot of room for error."
"Don't suppose anyone has a radiation-proof bowling ball bag?" Ezekiel mutters from the other side of the case but the joke falls flat as an arc of bluish-green energy laps across the glass. There's a soft crackling sound and the crack in the glass spreads a little bit further.
"We need a solution now," Cassandra says, standing up and backing away from the case. "If this glass breaks then we're going to have a lot more problems to deal with than just radiation leaking into the building."
"We'd have to figure out a way to counteract the radiation before we move it," Eve interjects, shaking her head. "Otherwise it's just going to become more unstable."
"I'm going to find one of the curators and get them to clear the building," Jake says, stepping away from the case and walking toward the nearest hallway. "If this thing decides to create its own black hole we want to keep the casualties down to a minimum."
"Wait," Ezekiel says, holding up one hand to stop the other Librarian. "I've got an idea. There's a food court in the lobby, right?"
"Seriously, Jones," Jake mutters, sighing loudly. "Now is really not to the time to be thinking about your stomach!"
Ezekiel manages to look mildly offended and just rolls his eyes. "I wasn't, thanks! The cafeteria will have microwaves; we might be able to use them to our advantage."
"Short bursts of radiation aimed right at the meteorite should decrease the frequency and duration of the radiation waves enough for us to move it," Cassandra says, staring at the case as she speaks.
"You really think that will work?" Eve asks as the crack in the glass crawls just a little bit further.
"I don't think we have much of a choice," Cassandra says with a small shrug.
"Alright then," Eve says, turning to the other two Librarians. "Stone, you and Jones go get a microwave from the cafeteria and meet us back here. Cassandra, you come with me to make sure everyone is out of the exhibit. We don't have much time and we can't risk anyone getting too close to this thing with it as unstable as it is."
Jake nods and grabs Ezekiel by the elbow, dragging him out of the exhibit and leaving Eve and Cassandra to deal with any wayward visitors. The food court is full and teeming with patrons at this time of day, most of the tables filled and several other people walking around with plates of food and paper cups. Ezekiel cuts across the cafeteria to the nearest kitchen, Jake right behind him.
The cafeteria workers look up in confusion when the two men burst into the kitchen demanding a microwave but no one moves to stop them when they find the nearest one and haul it off the counter. It's possible someone calls for security but by that time Ezekiel and Jake are already shuffling out of the kitchen, the microwave balanced between them.
"Should have figured your plan would involve food somehow," Jake grunts as they make their way back toward the exhibit. The microwave is restaurant sized and heavy, teetering precariously between them as they walk.
"You're just mad because you didn't think of it first," Ezekiel quips back, straining to keep the microwave up on his side.
Jake manages a chuckle that turns into a slightly strained groan. "You just keep thinkin' that, Jones."
By the time they make it back to the exhibit, Eve and Cassandra have cleared everyone out and the crack in the glass is beginning to web and branch out. It's dangerously close to breaking all together and they're running out of time.
Jake balances the microwave on the edge of the adjacent display case while Ezekiel drops to one knee and plugs it into a socket on the floor.
"Okay, so let's say we get this thing semi-neutralized," Jake says, shifting his weight slightly to provide more balance to the microwave. "Do we have something to put it in?"
"Yep!" Cassandra chirps, plucking a small, black box from the floor beneath the case. It looks remarkably like a hatbox and not nearly as secure as it would need to be to hold an incredibly hazardous meteorite.
"A hatbox?" Jake asks incredulously.
"Houdini's hatbox," Cassandra corrects, taking off the lid and tucking it under one arm. "Don't worry; he used to rip the fabric of time like once a day so I'm sure this will work until we can get the meteorite back to the Library."
Jake isn't convinced but they don't have time to come up with a better solution. Ezekiel comes up beside him to help him hold the microwave steady and Cassandra reaches out to flip it on.
For a second nothing happens and they all mentally prepare themselves to be sucked into the black hole that will inevitably spring from the pieces of the meteorite. Then, a small arc of blue energy that stems from the meteorite snaps and fizzles in response to the humming microwave on the other side of the glass. It sputters weakly before dissipating into nothing.
Eve allows the opposing radiation from microwave to continue blasting the meteorite for another minute or two before she steps up and breaks the already compromised glass with the butt of her gun. Cassandra steps in immediately behind her and scoops the meteorite pieces into the hatbox with the sleeve of her jacket. The hatbox glows and hums faintly in return and Cassandra presses the lid back into place and steps away.
Mission accomplished, Jake and Ezekiel carefully lower the microwave to the floor and unplug it. They're both a little shaky and breathless from holding up the weight of it but they're not dead so that's a plus.
"Gotta hand it to you, Jones," Jake says, giving the younger man an approving nod. "That was actually a really good plan."
Ezekiel just smirks. "Never underestimate the power of a microwave, mate," he says, reaching into said microwave and pulling out a paper container of french fries. He pops one into his mouth and grins as Jake just rolls his eyes; he's honestly not even surprised anymore.
"Come on," Eve says, tucking her gun back into its holster. "Let's get this thing out of here before security shows up." She walks over to the nearest broom closet (AKA the door that will lead them straight back to the Library) and opens it, ushering the Librarians and their meteorite through the door just as a wave of security guards show up in the exhibit.
OOOOO
"Have you ever been full?"
Ezekiel quirks an eyebrow and looks at him.
"No, really," Jake says as honestly as he can. "I'm honestly curious right now. Have you ever been full? I mean you eat like all the time; it can't be healthy."
Ezekiel considers the question for a moment before devouring another handful of popcorn. "Can't recall. There was one time back in 2007 but that might have been a dream."
It had been an unusually slow day in the Library, no cases, no crises, no drama of any kind. It left them all a little bit on edge but Jenkins assured them that not every day as a Librarian meant risking certain death and that they should enjoy the downtime while they could.
Eve busied herself with past case files because the fact that some of them weren't filed properly was driving her up the wall. Cassandra began working through an unfinished equation left by Pythagoras that had the potential to rewrite the very basis of mathematics. Jake shelved and organized every book the Library contained about 19th century art and architecture and coordinated them based on style, year, and usage. None of them were really sure what Ezekiel was doing but if it kept him out of trouble that's all that mattered.
There was an unanimous decision to take a break around 8 o'clock and Jenkins surprised them all by making dinner. As much as he might argue otherwise, the new Librarians and their Guardian were starting to grow on him and it was nice to have the company.
They ate dinner together and took the time to just sit still and enjoy the silence. It seemed that lately with all the magic being released back into the world, they were constantly on the move and jumping from one case to the next. The fact that they were able to sit still and not have to worry about what the next threat was going to be for the moment...well, it was nice.
Dinner is a quiet yet comfortable affair and afterwards they all break away to return to whatever project they had been working on before. Cassandra turns in for the night not too long afterwards and Eve isn't too far behind her. Jenkins disappears into the depths of the Library to do something (none of them are really sure what and they don't really want to ask) which leaves Jake and Ezekiel to their own devices.
Ezekiel had wandered off after dinner just like the others but he hadn't gone far. Jake finds him a short time later after he finishes up the last of his book organization. He's tired of staring at books for hours on end and goes looking for something else to do in the meantime.
Ezekiel is camped out in the unofficial theater room of the Library. An old fashioned projector sits on one side of the room across from a wall-wide screen on the other. There are a few plush chairs scattered around the room and each wall is filled floor-to-ceiling with shelves stacked with movies. Some are old reels, still in the cans and stacked carefully on top of one another. There are a few shelves filled with nothing but video tapes and a few others stacked with film cartridges. DVDs line the rest of the shelves, some new release and some old, and each one has been carefully organized alphabetically.
Jake isn't surprised that Ezekiel is in here but he is surprised that he seems to have cleaned and reorganized the room. The few times he's been in here before, everything was just kind of tossed toward the shelves but not necessarily put on them and the entire room looked like a warzone. This must have been what Ezekiel was working on all day and Jake has to admit he's impressed.
The younger man has an old Charlie Chaplin movie playing on the screen and he's sprawled out on one of the chairs with a bowl of popcorn in his lap. He looks up when Jake enters the room, smiles, and offers him the popcorn bowl. Jake frowns in confusion; not because of the offer but because they seriously just ate dinner less than an hour ago and there is no way Ezekiel should be hungry.
"Dude, how can you still be hungry?" Jake asks as he slumps into the chair beside him. "I'm still full from dinner; I feel like I don't want to eat again for the next two days."
Ezekiel makes it a point to look appalled. "I've never had that happen before."
"I know you haven't, that's why I'm asking," Jake continues, turning his attention to the Chaplin movie briefly. "Do you have some kind of parasite? Like a tapeworm or something?"
The thief frowns and pokes himself in the stomach as if testing that theory. "Nope, not that I know of. Little bugger would be big as all get out if that were the case."
"Yeah, but I watched you at dinner," Jake continues with a shake of his head. "You ate twice as much as I did and I feel like I want to die right now. How is that even possible?"
"Good metabolism, I guess?" Ezekiel offers around another mouthful of popcorn.
"No one can burn through food that fast," Jake counters weakly. Cassandra had poked fun at him not too long ago for his slight obsession with Ezekiel's eating habits and asked him why it bothered him so much. The truth is, he doesn't know. It doesn't make him angry or anything but there's just something about it that gnaws at him and he doesn't know why.
"Well, you see, mate," Ezekiel starts as he grabs another handful of popcorn. "It takes a lot of energy for me to be this awesome which means that me being hungry is just a byproduct of me being awesome. And since I'm awesome like, all the time, I'm hungry a lot." He finishes the explanation with a cheeky grin and another mouthful of popcorn. "Make sense?"
"Not at all," Jake grumbles, slumping back once again. "The way you eat, you should look like Jabba the Hut and yet you're still scrawny. I just don't get it."
Ezekiel laughs then but it seems just a little forced. "What's there to get, mate? I like food, that's it. There's no secret behind it." There's something in his expression that seems a little tight though, nothing too noticeable but not nearly as carefree as he probably wanted it to be. Jake sees it but it's gone a split second later and so fleeting that he's almost not sure he saw it at all.
He sighs and shakes his head. "It's nothing, forget it," he says, reaching out and snatching a handful of popcorn from the bowl in Ezekiel's lap. He doesn't even want it but with all this talk about food it seems awkward not to take any now.
Ezekiel seems content enough to leave the conversation there and settles back in the chair. They sit in companionable silence for the rest of the movie, watching quietly as Charlie Chaplin takes over the screen.
OOOOO
Jake regrets it the minute it happens. He wishes he could blame it on stress or the fact that they failed or that Cassandra had gotten hurt but that's not fair. He had lashed out and he had no one to blame but himself.
To say their assignment had gone badly would be the world's biggest understatement. The mission went down in flames, simple as that. They had been sent to retrieve a talisman, a very old talisman that had possibly belonged to Merlin himself. It had fallen into the hands of Las Vegas magician and had allowed him to take the world of magic by storm. The only problem was that he was using real magic, which he didn't know how to control, and the talisman was becoming increasingly powerful and more dangerous the longer it stayed with him.
It should have been easy enough to sneak into his dressing room and take the talisman while he was out. They hadn't counted on him enchanting the mirror to alert him when people came into the room. Ezekiel got caught (which surprised him just as much as the rest of them because Ezekiel never got caught) and the magician was able to grab the talisman and escape before they could retrieve it.
He broke off into the crowded casino, ducking in and out of the throngs of people huddled around the tables and slot machines. They all split into opposite directions in order to catch him but the talisman was working against them which meant literally everything went wrong.
Eve got stopped by a group of security guards who wanted to know why she was chasing a magician with her gun drawn. Jake got caught up in a crowd of people exiting one of the theaters all at once. Ezekiel slipped and tumbled into a cluster of cocktail waitresses and Cassandra tripped over an exposed extension cord and sprained her ankle. In the midst of all of this, the magician and his talisman got away, leaving behind three scattered Librarians and their annoyed Guardian.
They'd had to cut their losses then, partially because the magician had straight up disappeared and also because they got kicked out of the casino. Jake and Ezekiel took Cassandra between them while Eve found them a door to get back to the Library. All together it had been a complete bust.
That had been a little over eight hours ago and they were still no closer to finding the magician than they had been that morning. With that talisman he could literally appear and disappear at will so that complicated matters. Also, they were completely banned from the casino so there wasn't really a way to get back in without getting caught. They needed another plan but so far they hadn't come up with anything.
Eve and Jake busied themselves pouring over books about magical artifacts, trying to figure out if there was a way to suppress the talisman while they tried taking it back from the magician. Jenkins had moved Cassandra into the Library's makeshift infirmary to tend to her ankle and informed them that although he had something that could accelerate the healing process, she wasn't allowed to put any weight on it for at least a week. This left them down one member with a dangerous magician still on the loose. Today definitely could have gone better.
"I think I found something," Eve says after a while, picking up the book she had been combing through and pointing out one of the entries. "The Testament of Blaise. He's supposed to have been Merlin's tutor which means his magic would have been just as powerful, if not more so, as Merlin's."
"Wait," Ezekiel cuts in, coming around the corner with a bowl of cereal in his hands. "You're saying there was some bloke more powerful than Merlin? Is that even possible?"
Eve nods and continues to read over the entry. She steps back to the table and sets the book down so Jake and Ezekiel can both see it. "The Testament calls for something like an incantation; it's supposed to be powerful enough to neutralize any other magical artifact within a thirty foot range."
"Well, that's great, then," Jake says as he reads the entry over her shoulder. "We memorize the incantation, use it on the magician, and get the talisman. Simple as that."
"There's a catch though," Eve says as she continues reading. "The incantation can only be used once in a quarter century. Which means we only have one shot at this; if we miss then the incantation is useless for the next twenty-five years."
"Okay, so where is it?" Ezekiel asks, leaning forward a bit to peer at the book.
"It looks like it's in here," Eve says, drawing a circle around the paragraph with her finger. "I just need a second to-"
The chair shifts just a little bit and Ezekiel pitches forward with it. He manages to catch himself but his bowl of cereal isn't so lucky. It sloshes violently, spilling milk and soggy frosted flakes all over the table and the book Eve is looking at. Milk splashes across the page, obscuring the incantation and the paragraph surrounding it.
"Jeez, Jones!" Eve exclaims in exasperation, snatching the book off the table and shaking it out over the floor.
"Sorry, sorry," Ezekiel says quickly, dropping the mostly empty bowl on the table and turning back toward the kitchen. "I'll get something to clean it up-"
"No, you know what? Don't bother!" Jake growls as he swipes more books off the table to get them away from the soggy cornflakes. "You've already made a mess of everything, why bother trying to clean it up now?!"
Ezekiel opens his mouth to say something but Jake cuts him off before he can.
"You know maybe if you thought with your head instead of your stomach for once, we wouldn't have this problem!" the older Librarian snaps, sweeping a small pile of cereal off the table and onto the floor. "But no, you're too worried about when your next meal is going to be that you just don't think about anything else!"
"Stone," Eve placates, her gaze shifting between Jake and Ezekiel.
Jake doesn't answer but lets out a frustrated sigh instead. "Just get out of here, Jones. Go somewhere else before you make another mess."
"Stone, it's fine," Eve insists, showing him the book. "Look, the page is okay. It's not damaged."
Jake glances over and sees that Eve is correct; the milk and cereal mixture has sloughed off the page almost like the book itself has been laminated. The incantation and the paragraphs around it are still perfectly legible and undamaged by the spill. It's a miraculous stroke of luck, the first one they've had all day. Jake looks from the page back to Ezekiel but that damage is more permanent.
"Sorry, mate," Ezekiel says with a small, humorless smile. "Didn't know I bothered you so much. I'll, uh...I'll go find some paper towels."
"Jones-" Jake calls after him but the younger man has already disappeared around the corner. Guilt sets in almost immediately and he sighs heavily.
"He didn't mean it," Eve says gently, swiping her hand across the pages of the book absently to remove more cornflake. "You know that."
Jake sighs again and shakes his head. He does know; he knows that Ezekiel, for all his careless attitude and behavior, takes his responsibility as a Librarian just as seriously as the rest of them. He knows that he puts himself on the line and in danger with his team on every assignment and always comes back for the next one. He also knows that it was an accident and that Ezekiel hadn't meant to spill the cereal and that Jake had lashed out at him all the same.
"Oh dear," Jenkins says as he comes around the corner and sees the puddle on the table. "Looks like we have a bit of a mess to clean up. Well, luckily for us most of the books and manuscripts in the Library have been sealed with protective spells that keep them from getting destroyed by things like water or, in this case, spilled milk. I'll tell you, it would have been so helpful to have something like this in the Library of Alexandria before it-"
Jenkins fades off, noticing the expressions on Eve's and Jake's face. He frowns a little and looks between them. "Sorry, I feel like I missed something..."
OOOOO
They make their move on the magician the next day with much more success than they had had the day before. It's a little tricky with only three of them, what with Cassandra confined to the Library because of her ankle, but they get the job done well enough. Eve is able to get close enough to the magician to use the incantation and once the talisman has been neutralized, Jake scoops it into a rune laced pouch for safekeeping until they can get it back to the Library. It's an overwhelming success but it doesn't really feel like one.
Ezekiel remains unusually quiet throughout the entire mission, only responding when spoken to and even then it's only a few words at a time. He had come back into the room with a roll of paper towels the night before and proceeded to quietly clean up the rest of the spilled cereal. Eve had tried talking to him and Jenkins even made a joke about how impractical it was to get upset over spilled milk but Ezekiel said nothing. He finished cleaning up the table and disappeared for the rest of the night.
He reappeared the next day when they got ready to go after the magician again but he was still quiet and detached. Eve's attempts at small talk fell flat and Jake's belated apology was greeted with only a small nod and a quiet shrug. This wasn't like Ezekiel but they didn't really have the luxury of focusing on it at the time. Subdue the crazy magician and take away the magical talisman and then worry about about their personal affairs later.
The only problem was that when later came, Ezekiel disappeared again. They turned the magician over to the authorities and took the talisman back to the Library and Ezekiel Jones faded out of the picture. One minute he was standing in the Annex with them and the next he was just gone. It was troubling to say the least, more so because of the fact that none of them knew where he went.
Eve assured Jake that he would be fine and that the best thing to do was to just leave him alone for a while. They had seen Ezekiel bounce back from pretty much everything without a problem, there was no reason to think this should be any different. Jake wanted to believe that, he really did, but the younger man's absence still bothered him.
The next few days passed by quietly enough and while it was clear Ezekiel was still in the Library, it was also clear that he was keeping to himself. Guilt gnawed at Jake even more with each passing day and all of his attempts to track down the wayward thief were met with failure. He had to hand it to him: Ezekiel was impossible to find if he didn't want to be.
Cassandra finds out about the fight through either Eve or Jenkins, Jake isn't really sure. She meets him in the Annex one day, still limping slightly but no longer on crutches. She tells him the same thing Eve had, to leave it alone and let Ezekiel come back on his own. She also tells him gently yet firmly that pushing it will only drive Ezekiel further away and that the best thing he can do is wait until the other man is ready to talk.
Jake knows she's right, he knows they're all right, but that's not what bothers him. No, what bothers him is something that came out of his own mouth, something he said to Ezekiel the night of the argument. What bothers him is that he thinks he knows why Ezekiel's eating habits nag at him so much and it's not a pleasant feeling.
He'd told Ezekiel that he was only worried about when his next meal would come and now that thought won't leave him alone. The more he dwelled on it, the more it made sense and the more it disturbed him. Ezekiel didn't treat food so much as an obsession as he did a compulsion. It was almost as if he felt compelled to eat any time food was within sight, whether he was hungry or not.
The thought hits low and deep, burrowing itself into his mind like a parasite. The more he thinks about it, the more jarring the realization becomes and he wonders why it took him so long to figure it out. In spite of his openness about basically everything else, Ezekiel kept surprisingly quiet about his life before becoming a Librarian. Even though Jake certifiably a genius, it doesn't take one to connect the dots. He has an idea about it; it's not one that he likes but it's one that makes sense and one he needs to talk to Ezekiel about it.
The only problem is that Ezekiel is very clearly avoiding him. Ever since the night with the cereal, Ezekiel has made it a point to not be in the same room as Jake for longer than is absolutely necessary. When they're on an assignment, Ezekiel will physically put Eve and Cassandra between them and will only interact with Jake if he has no other choice. When they split into teams, he automatically gravitates toward either Cassandra or Eve or will choose to simply do something alone if he's given the option. It's frustrating as all hell but Jake allows it because he knows that if he tries to breach the subject at the wrong time it will only make things worse.
He allows it to continue for about two and a half weeks before he finally makes the move to stop it. They had finished with their assignment earlier than expected and ended up back at the Library about an hour before sundown. Predictably, Ezekiel disappears almost immediately afterwards. He's not rude about it, he'll share in polite (yet very short) conversation with Eve and Cassandra for a minute or two before excusing himself and fading off into the depths of the Library.
Cassandra watches him go and Eve fixes Jake with a pointed look but the other Librarian just nods; he had expected this much and was prepared for it. He waits for a full hour before beginning his search, checking all of Ezekiel's usual hiding places first before moving on to some of the more obscure ones.
When all of this started, his first instinct was to look in the kitchen or the pantry for the wayward thief. He found he was both surprised and bothered that this guess turned out to be wrong. Ezekiel staying away from food was worrisome enough but that also meant that he would have to expand his search.
In the days that followed, he found little hints of Ezekiel (but not Ezekiel himself) scattered all around the Library. The theater room was the next obvious choice, followed by the statue menagerie, and the east wing where a rather impressive collection of comic books was tucked away (courtesy of Flynn Carson). The thief always managed to stay one step ahead of him, always disappearing again when Jake got too close.
It had been frustrating at first but Jake was used to it by now. He checks all the most obvious spots for formality sake before moving further into the Library. He has a pretty good idea where Ezekiel is tonight though so he heads in that direction.
He finds the younger Librarian sitting on a terrace overlooking a large, open room filled with glass cases. During the day it's not all that impressive but in the afternoon when the sun went down the entire room lit up in prisms reflected from the glass. It made the room look ethereal and otherworldly and lately Ezekiel had been coming here a lot in the afternoons.
The younger man has his back to him when Jake approaches and he spares a glance up when he realizes someone is behind him. Ezekiel flinches just a bit but whether it's from surprise or the fact that it's Jake himself, he prefers not to think about it.
"Easy," Jake says, holding up both hands in a placating gesture. "I'm not here to fight, I just came looking for you."
"Why?" Ezekiel asks, turning away and facing the room again. "Afraid I'm off messing something up again?"
It's Jake's turn to flinch a little but he supposes he deserved that. He says nothing and drops down to sit beside him. If Ezekiel makes a pointed effort to shift away from it, Jake is kind enough not to say anything.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry," Jake tells him again, shifting forward a little so his legs are dangling over the edge of the terrace the way Ezekiel's are. "I know I've said it before but I wanted to tell you again. I'm sorry for snapping at you the other night."
Ezekiel is quiet for several long seconds before his shoulders slump and he relaxes just slightly. "I should have been more careful," he says quietly with a small shake of his head. "You were right, I was being careless and should have been paying more attention."
"Well I shouldn't have lashed out you either," Jake counters, nudging Ezekiel's shoulder with his own lightly. "Let me be the jerk this time around, huh?"
The younger man smirks faintly and nods. "Yeah, alright."
Satisfied with the compromise, Jake reaches into his pocket and pulls out what would have been his backup plan had the apology not worked. He reaches out and sets it on Ezekiel's knee, watching as the other man looks down in confusion.
"What's this?"
"Well, I would say a Snickers but that seems kind of obvious," Jake says, leaning back just a bit to avoid a random sunbeam that's trying to blind him. "Think of it as a peace offering."
Ezekiel smiles a little but shakes his head. "Not hungry, thanks."
"You?" Jake asks in mock astonishment. "Not hungry? Maybe I should take you to Jenkins to get your head examined."
The younger man shrugs just slightly in response. "Okay, well maybe a little." He picks up the offered candy bar and unwraps it, breaking it in half and offering the other piece to Jake. The other Librarian takes it wordlessly but he doesn't eat it, not yet. There's still something he has to do.
"Hey, I've uh...I've been meaning to ask you about something," he begins and the tension that had just started to fade between them suddenly increases again. Ezekiel watches him carefully from the corner of his eye, completely motionless save for his breathing.
Jake swallows awkwardly before continuing. "You know, I've talked to you before about your crazy metabolism and how you can eat like a horse and never seem to get full. And don't get me wrong, it's impressive and all but there's more too it than that. I used to wonder how you did it but I think the more important question is why."
He glances over at Ezekiel, taking in the rigid posture and tight expression on the younger man's face. Jake hesitates for a second or so before continuing. "I've watched you eat, man, and correct me if I'm wrong but it doesn't seem like you're doing it because you're always hungry. It's almost like a compulsion, like you're afraid you won't be able to eat again for a while. You eat like you've gone hungry before..."
Ezekiel shakes his head slightly and looks away. "Drop it, Stone. It's not a big deal."
"It is a big deal," Jake insists earnestly. It dawns on him then and there that since Ezekiel was so used to being on his own before coming to the Library that he never considered his eating habits to be of importance to anyone but him. No one ever asked or brought it up so why bother? The thought makes Jake feel a bit sick to his stomach but he presses on.
"It's a big deal because it involves you, Jones. It's a big deal because we need to be able to trust each other if we're going to be working together. You may not think it's a big deal because no one has ever bothered to ask before but it matters to me because you're my friend."
Ezekiel gives him a slightly panicked, distressed look and it's an expression that has no business being on his face. It's completely different from the usual carefree grin or snarky smirk. This expression is guarded and uncertain, full of suspicion like a silent question as to why anyone is bringing this up. "Stone, seriously, leave it alone."
Jake sighs in exasperation and shakes his head. "Listen kid, we all have a couple skeletons in our closets that we're not too proud of and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, I won't push you. But I want you to know that you can tell me or Cassandra or Eve or Jenkins because we care about you, alright? I know you're not used to that, hell most of us aren't to be perfectly honest, but we're a team and we're your friends. You don't have to hold all this in if you don't want to."
Jake leaves it at that then, fully expecting Ezekiel to shut down and never bring it up again. For several long minutes, nothing but silence passes between them. The sun sinks lower outside and the beams of light cut through the glass cases and reflect prisms all over the room. Ezekiel sighs and picks at the tendrils of caramel peaking out of the broken end of the candy bar.
"I ran away from home when I was seven," he says finally, his voice quiet as he speaks. "Didn't have the best childhood, nothing too dramatic but it certainly wasn't great. I can count on one hand the number of times I actually saw my dad and my mom was gone nearly as often. Figured I could cut it on my own well enough without them so I left."
He smiles humorlessly before continuing. "Thing is, the streets aren't really that kind to a seven-year-old kid with no family. I got by in the end but it was tough. Learned pretty early on that there might be times where I didn't eat anything for a day or two. There might be times where it was longer than that." He shrugs and pulls a sticky, caramel-covered peanut from the open end of the candy bar and chews on it deftly.
"I learned how to pick pockets and found out that I was pretty good at taking things when people weren't looking." Ezekiel smirks again but it's dull and the expression doesn't even come close to reaching his eyes. "I got picked up when I was about eleven and bounced around in foster care for a while. It was always temporary, though. The social workers didn't even try to get in touch with my parents; they had given me up as a lost cause."
He takes a small bite of the candy bar and looks out across the room. "I cut out again when I was fifteen and never went back. Didn't really hold down a job until MI6 got ahold of me a few years ago. Did a couple of odd jobs for them here and there but then I got the letter from the Library and, well…" he fades off and gestures to the room with one hand.
Jake keeps his mouth shut partially out of respect and partially because he doesn't know what to say. There was so little he actually knew about Ezekiel Jones until now that it almost felt like he was intruding on something very deep and personal now that it was out in the open. He wants to say something but he doesn't know what so he just sits there quietly.
"You said I eat like I've gone hungry before and the truth is you're right," Ezekiel continues, taking another bite of the candy bar. "I spent a lot of my time going hungry when I was a kid, even before I ran away. With two parents who were never home and more than likely forgot they even had a kid, there was no point in stocking up on groceries. The only thing that saved me there was Mrs. Weir down the hall leaving plates of food on our doorstep a few days a week."
Ezekiel looks at him then and his expression is resigned like the explanation that he had been homeless and essentially starving on the street is just a fact of life. "I used to go for days at a time without eating, sometimes to the point where I would pass out in an alley. I got better at it after a while but I taught myself to eat like I shouldn't expect the next meal to come for a while. Most of the time it didn't come down to that but occasionally…" he fades off and sighs softly. "Well occasionally I was glad I did it because those next few days were rough."
Jake looks at him then, really looks at him, and he's suddenly reminded of just how young Ezekiel is. The younger Librarian puts up a big game and it's easy to forget he's still just barely out of his teens. Jake knows he's certainly guilty of it and he silently makes a promise to keep that in mind the next time Ezekiel starts grating on his nerves.
"Jones," he begins but stops to correct himself. "Ezekiel, I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time and getting onto you about your eating habits. Had I known all that-"
"You would have treated me differently," Ezekiel cuts him off gently and shakes his head. "That's why I don't tell people, mate. I don't want the pity or the sympathy; it doesn't change anything and it doesn't solve it. I got through it and I'm here now on the other side." He offers a flash of his usual smile and shrugs. "I'm Ezekiel Jones. I can take anything that comes my way."
Jake smiles a little and nods. "You're right, kid. I won't give you anymore grief when you go on your junk food binges." He leans over and nudges his shoulder again. "Thanks for telling me. I know how hard it can be to talk about stuff from your past."
Ezekiel just shrugs and waves one hand flippantly. "Meh, it's over now. Haven't thought about it for a while." He finishes the candy bar and brushes his hand off on his pants leg. "Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry."
Jake laughs softly and stands up, offering the younger man his hand. "Come on, kid. Let's go find something for dinner." He pauses and looks at Ezekiel over his shoulder. "Maybe stay away from cereal for a while though."
Ezekiel smirks and nods. "Deal."
Thanks for reading guys! :D