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Eve had just climbed into bed when her phone buzzed on her nightstand.
Meet me in the Library tomorrow morning at 7? Wear comfortable shoes.
Anything I should worry about? She quickly texted Flynn back.
Nope. Came the quick reply.
Ok. See you then.
Good night. :)
Night, Librarian :)
Closing the texting screen, she set an alarm for the following morning, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning, she arrived at the Annex at 6:58 on the dot, and was pleasantly surprised to find Flynn already waiting for her.
"Good morning," he greeted, running his eyes over her attire. "Dressed warm enough?"
She glanced down at the scarf wrapped around her neck and her warm jacket and shrugged, "For what?"
"Do you have gloves? Maybe a hat?" he ignored her question.
Eve pulled the requested items from her jackets pocket, "Yes. Where are we going?"
Flynn grinned as he finished setting the back door. "It's a surprise!" he told her as the doors popped open. Winking, he took her hand and tugged her towards them, "Do try to keep up."
Before Eve could respond, they were stepping out from what looked to be a supply closet onto a very busy concourse. People were wheeling luggage every which way, talking on cell phones, and luckily ignoring where they had just emerged from.
"What-," Eve began but stopped when Flynn nudged her shoulder and encouraged her to look up. "Grand Central?"
"It's said that the constellations are backwards to give viewers the illusion of seeing them all from heaven like God rather than how we see them from Earth. There's Capricorn," he pointed out her zodiac.
"Whoa, I never knew that," she admitted as she looked up. Sure she had been to the busy terminal before, but she never really took it in. "So, what are we doing here?"
"Come here," he began to tug her down the ramp in the direction of the dining concourse. He led her to a corner underneath an arch. "Wait here," he gently pushed her close to the wall before crossing the aisle to stand under another arch corner.
Eve did as she was told, and moments later, she heard his voice clear as day, "I pay attention too." She turned with a smile on her face to find him walking back towards her, "So we're not hear to defeat existential magic evil?"
"Nope," he took her hand, "Hungry?"
She nodded and he handed her a MetroCard, leading her towards the subway tracks. They only had a short wait before the train arrived with a gust of warm air and he ushered her through the crowd of people with his hand on her back. The car was crowded, and they found themselves wedged up against one of the poles. Eve wrapped one of her hands around it for stability and she smiled when she felt Flynn's arms snake around her waist and grab a hold of it as well. She let the gentle rock of the train push her back into his arms a bit.
"It's just one stop down," he said quietly into her ear.
She tried to crane her neck to get a good look at him, but was unable to do so, so she just nodded, knowing that he could feel her movement.
The train soon announced the Times Square stop, and they shuffled off the train and took the stairs up to the street level, the icy air above a stark contrast to the warm air in the tracks below. Flynn tugged her to the side, out of the way of the tourists and locals so that they could pull out their gloves.
"Ready?" he asked, taking her now gloved hand into his own.
She finished pulling on her black beanie, "Yeah."
Flynn tugged her hat a little farther over her ears, and then they entered the busy crowd. "It used to be called Longacre Square. They remained it Times Square after the New York Times moved into the Times Building."
"Is that girl…" Eve trailed off as she tried not to come to a halt in shock.
Flynn followed her eyes, "Just about naked? Yep."
"It's like thirty five degrees out!"
The young woman in question appeared to be wearing nothing but a thong and body paint, making her resemble the Statue of Liberty. Eve wasn't sure if the Santa hat perched atop her head was a last ditch effort for warmth, or in the spirit of the holidays.
"There are usually a bunch dressed like that. A few Elmo's, maybe a Dora or two as well."
At Eve's horrified look he hastily continued, "Um, I mean the Elmo's and Dora's are in full body costumes. Not body paint. The charge tourists for photos."
Eve shook her head in wonderment as they continued on.
"Usually the Naked Cowboy is here with his guitar too."
"The Naked Cowboy?" she raised her eyebrow.
"He wears a cowboy hat, boots, and tighty-whiteys. Usually causes quite the foot traffic jam."
"I can imagine," she replied dryly.
"Hey, wait right there," Flynn dropped her hand and fumbled in his coat pocket for his phone.
Seeing that he was trying to take a picture of her, she quickly held up her hand, "Not so fast Librarian. Get over here."
He obeyed and she took the phone from him and pulled him in close to her. Angling the phone to catch part of the Jumbotron in the background, she snapped a selfie of them. "That's better," she showed him the photo and pressed her lips to his cold cheek.
He looked at their rosy cheeks and the happy sparkle in Eve's eyes and couldn't disagree.
Their fingers found one another again and he led them towards another set of stairs back down into the subway. This time their car was much less crowded and they were able to grab a seat. "Six stops and we'll be there," he told her.
"Be where?"
"Breakfast."
"Do I get any other hints?" she asked slyly.
"Nope," he wrapped an arm around her back, bringing her in closer to his side and kissed her temple.
Eve smiled, with a response like that she supposed she couldn't complain. It was nice to be the center of Flynn's attention without the threat of something catastrophic happening dangling over them. She quickly decided she could get used to the feeling.
Ten minutes and a short walk later found them in front of a small storefront with a small line out the door.
"Barney Greengrass?" she asked him, taking in the signage.
"Only one of the best New York authentic bagels you will have in your life," he explained.
Her stomach grumbled at the thought and luckily the line moved quickly. A few minutes later, they found themselves back on the street, bagels with the perfect amount of schmear on them, in hand.
"Oh my God," Eve moaned, closing her eyes after the first bite. "That is amazing!"
The bagel was still hot from the oven, melting the cream cheese just so, and the crust had the perfect amount of crunch.
Flynn pulled off one of his gloves to wipe a bit of spread from her cheek and neither could tell if her flushed cheeks was from the cold, or the intimate gesture. They finished their breakfast in relative silence after that, and when they were throwing their wrappers in the trash Flynn spoke up, nervously scratching his neck, "I was going to take to eat outside of Tiffany's, but it's not exactly close by, and I think these are the best bagels."
"You were going to take me to have breakfast at Tiffany's?" Eve asked in disbelief.
"I thought you might like it?" he shrugged.
This man. When Flynn had stopped by her apartment the previous day, she had been watching the old Audrey Hepburn film and made an offhand comment about how it was one of her favorites. "You really do pay attention," she tugged him forward by his jacket lapels and kissed him.
He grinned goofily at her when they parted, "To you? Always. We'll do it next time?"
Next time. The words rang in her ears. Yeah, she liked the sound of that. "Sounds perfect."
"Good," he replied, and then with finesse that she didn't know he had, he had hailed a cab and was holding the door open for her. She slid into the heated car and sighed as the warmth enveloped her, causing her to miss where Flynn directed the cabbie to go.
About thirty minutes later (traffic really was a bitch) they were pulling up to Central Park. Flynn paid the cabbie and they wound their way down a little path until Eve saw signs for the zoo. He flashed some sort of pass at the front gate and the attendants eye lit up with recognition, "Welcome back Mr. Carsen!" he waved them both through the entrance gate.
"Do you frequent the zoo Mr Carsen?" Eve teased as they followed signs for the Tropic Zone.
"Being the Librarian has its perks," he replied, then grimaced, "I had to do several talks for kids. Not the most captive audience."
Eve laughed at his response and began tugging off her hat, gloves, and scarf as they entered the first exhibit. They took turns pointing out the brightly colored birds flying around in the trees over their heads, and the fish in the ponds.
"Look at the lemurs!" Eve gasped as she grabbed ahold of Flynn's arm when they came to their enclosure.
"Did you know that they can't actually hang from their tail?"
"No I didn't, Encyclopedia Brown," she joked as they looked at the two lemurs perched on a tree branch in the corner. They finished looked around the heated enclosure before bundling back up to go outside. They took in the the Snow Monkeys frolicking around their enclosure, and searched for the Snow Leopard in its enclosure with no luck.
"Good camouflage?" Flynn offered.
"Or holed up someplace warm," Eve countered with a small shiver.
Flynn tugged her a bit closer to his body as they continued uphill to the Grizzly Bear enclosure.
"They used to have Polar Bears here, but after the last one died last year, they got the girls. Betty and Veronica," he informed her, pointing them each out.
"I wouldn't want to run into them out in the woods," Eve admitted, taking in their massive size.
"Me either," he agreed. "Though, apparently, they enjoy a good manicure," he motioned to their plaque where the information was stated.
"What girl doesn't?"
Flynn gave her a look.
"Hey just because I don't do it on the regular, doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good pampering every now and then."
"I'll keep that in mind," he winked.
They came to a stop at the end of the Grizzly enclosure where both Betty and Veronica were sitting in front of a large glass panel. They positioned themselves in front of the bears, and Eve snapped another quick selfie. The Harbor Seals peacefully swimming in their tanks, coming to the surface every so often to let out of puff of air before descending into the water again could have kept Eve mesmerized for hours, but it was cold so she allowed herself to be led towards the final Polar Circle exhibit. There they watched the penguins waddle around with the Puffin birds. The reached the end of the exhibit and began to put their layers on once more.
"Do I get to know where we're going next?" Eve tried.
"Nope," came his quick reply.
A short walk later and they were once again descending below the streets to the subway tunnels where Flynn guided her towards the platform where the four train was just pulling up. They hustled with the crowd and piled onto the train. The doors closed and they looked around to see if there were any open seats. Spying a lone seat, Flynn led Eve over to it and motioned for her to sit. Instead she shook her head and gently pushed him down into it before lowering herself onto his lap.
"Ok, that was a better idea," he smiled at her.
"That's what I'm here for."
"One of the many things you're here for," he amended.
Eve let his body heat slowly seep into her. He was always so much warmer than she was. She always figured it had something to do with his near-constant fidgeting, but it was in times like this that made her glad she never complained about it. Three stops later when more room opened up on the train, Flynn regretfully slid down on the bench, and she wiggled herself into the seat that he had just vacated. They didn't want to be that couple after all. But the seat was still warm, as was he, so she just tucked herself into his side for the remaining stops. When they were once again at street level she began to see signs for Battery Park and when they rounded the corner, she saw a docked ferry ahead.
"Statue of Liberty?" she asked with excitement.
He nodded, his heart swelling with happiness at seeing her so excited. They cleared the security line quickly and were soon boarding the ferry to take them to Ellis Island.
"Inside or outside?" Flynn asked once on board.
"In. Until we get closer?" Eve decided, knowing the chill would increase once they were moving.
Flynn nodded and they found an open bench near a window so they could decide when they wanted to go out on the main deck. Eve tried her best to pry information about the rest of their itinerary out of Flynn on the journey over, but he remained stubbornly, tight-lipped. When they got closer to the Statue, they moved outside to the upper deck to get a better look. Eve snapped a few photos on her phone and after some careful maneuvering, managed to frame themselves with the iconic statue in the background.
When the ferry docked, they disembarked onto the island and followed the other tourists inside the statue. They explored, and poked around the museum and before they knew it, it was time to get back on the ferry and head for the mainland.
Flynn glanced at his watch, "Are you up for lunch yet?"
"I could eat," she nodded, having worked up an appetite after walking around all morning.
When they got back to Battery Park, she followed his lead back to the subway and when they emerged again several stops later, they seemed to be back in the Times Square Area. They walked for a few more blocks and then he was ushering her inside a restaurant.
"You can't leave New York, without having a slice of Junior's cheesecake," he explained as they were seated and handed menus. After finishing their meals and splitting the most divine slice of chocolate mousse cheesecake she had ever tasted, Eve concluded that Flynn was correct.
Flynn glanced at his watch again after he finished signing for the bill, "Would you like to know what we are doing next?"
"Yes!" Eve's eyes sparkled with excitement.
He slid two tickets across the table to her, hesitantly waiting for her reaction.
"Chicago?" she gasped.
"I may have heard you singing it in the shower a while ago," he admitted.
Eve flushed.
"But you sounded very nice," Flynn was quick to add sweetly.
"You, Flynn Carsen," she reached across the table to cup his cheek, "are amazing."
Flynn covered her hand with his, giving her fingers a small squeeze. He didn't want to break the moment, but after a few beats he had to, "Ready to head out?"
"Yeah," she said softly, letting her hand fall back to the table.
They redressed for outside and made the short walk to the Ambassador Theatre.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Flynn asked as they settled into their seats.
"I could go for a hot chocolate."
"Coming right up," he said before heading off.
While he was gone, Eve thumbed through her Playbill and took in the amazing architecture of the theatre.
"It was built in 1921," Flynn suddenly reappeared.
Eve gratefully took the proffered drink and wrapped her cold hands around the warm styrofoam cup.
"It's beautiful."
"One of my favorites," Flynn agreed. "It was actually designed to sit on a diagonal, to maximize seating."
"Neat."
The house lights began to flicker, signaling the show would be starting soon. Eve switched her cup to her left hand, leaving her right to tangle with Flynn's between them for the direction of the show. And three hours later when they were both on their feet with the rest of the audience applauding the actors, she turned and pulled him into a kiss. "Thank you for today," she murmured in his ear.
"You deserve it," he replied. "Sorry if I don't make that obvious all the time. But, the day isn't over yet."
"What more could you possibly have planned?"
"You'll see," he teased, helping her into her jacket.
When they exited the theatre, it was dark outside. "It's just a short walk."
"Ok," Eve looped her arm through his and let him navigate the busy sidewalk. True to his word, a few minutes later they arrived at Rockefeller Center and her jaw dropped in shock. "Holy shit," she whispered as she took in the scene. The large Christmas tree was decked to the nines in beautiful lights, and lovely angels and lit up garlands were placed about the plaza. Feeling Flynn nudge her hip, she allowed him to spin her slightly. Following his pointed finger she saw 'next show in 00:10' lit up across the street. When the ticker reached zero, festive music began to play and the building was lit up with a light show splayed across it.
"Incredible," she breathed out when the show came to an end.
"Yeah," he agreed as he watched the lights reflect in her eyes.
They made their way closer to the tree and asked a tourist to take their picture.
"Not worried someone is going to try to run off with your phone?" Eve teased after his phone was safety back in his possession, with a very nice photo of them added to it.
"Nah," he shrugged, "That's what I have you here for."
She couldn't help but laugh. Working their way back through the crowd they stopped at a railing overlooking the ice skating rink. Eve looped her arm through his, cuddling up close to his side and rested her head on his shoulder as she watched the skaters.
"Want to give it a go?" he asked.
"God no," she shook her head. "I'm much too old to be falling on my ass in front of hundreds of strangers. I can't imagine you'd be much better with your gangly limbs."
"Gangly limbs?" he gasped in mock horror. "I'll have you know…that you are probably, absolutely correct. I might go down before you."
"Best not to end the night at a hospital then."
"One more stop for the night," Flynn said after they had watched the skaters for a bit longer.
Although the temperature had dropped with nightfall, Eve wasn't in a hurry for their day to end, so she opted to walk to their next destination. About a half an hour later, they arrived at the Empire State Building.
"Can we go to the top?" Eve asked with all the excitement of a child.
"Of course," Flynn ushered her in off of the street.
Eve ignored all the Art Deco in the lobby and headed straight for the elevators. They stopped off at the second floor for their tickets to the top and to clear security and then they headed to the 86th floor. They walked out onto the observation deck and took in the city below them. After completing the circuit (with Flynn pointing out different landmarks) they returned inside to get the separate elevator to the 102nd floor.
"It's incredible," Eve stared out at the lit up city.
"It really is," he agreed.
There were only a few other people around them so Eve reached behind her and grabbed Flynn's hands, pulling his arms around her waist and then leaned back against him.
"Today was ok?" his voice husked in her ear.
"Flynn, today was so much more than ok," she crossed her arms over his, locking them in place.
"Good," he dropped a kiss on her neck where her scarf had slipped down, his slight stubble scratching her pleasantly. "You know," he began, "Static electricity gathers at high heights."
"Yeah?" Eve was unsure where he was going with his fact.
"Mmmhmm," he nodded. "They say under the right atmospheric conditions, couples can experience a slight electric shock when they kiss."
Eve felt his lips curl into a smile against her neck when he finished, "Is that what they say? Maybe we should test it out?"
Before he could reply, she spun in his embrace and slated her lips over his. He responded eagerly, and she sighed into his mouth when he deepened the kiss. She cupped the back on his neck, and his hands were resting on her hips, anchoring themselves to each other.
"Did it work?" he asked when they parted with slow kisses.
"I don't know. I don't think we need high altitude to create sparks," she laid her head on his chest, listening to his still rapidly beating heart.
"No, we don't," he agreed. "Ready to head home?"
"No," she tightened her embrace, "but we probably should."
The ride back down to street level and sneaking back to the supply closet in order to get back to the Annex passed in a blur for Eve. The Annex was, of course, desolate by the time they returned which she was glad for. She felt like her and Flynn were in their own little bubble, and she wasn't quite ready for it to burst.
"Stay with me tonight?" she caught his hand with hers.
Flynn looked at their joined hands and then into her eyes. He was almost knocked off his feet by the emotion reflecting back at him. He wasn't completely sure what she was offering him. It wasn't uncommon for them to share a hotel room when they were off on a mission, or to fall asleep on one of the couches in the Library together when doing research, or more frequently, spend the night together at either one of their apartments, but they had yet to cross that line. Yet, she had blindly followed his lead all day, and he would do the same for her now.
"Of course."
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