Gansey/Eve
Gansey is aware that she should probably be worrying about Ronan. She should usually be worrying about Ronan. But she lets it go this once because it’s not often that she knows she should be worrying and manages not to. It’s not often that she’s not worrying, period. Anyway, she’s pretty sure that Ronan is with Leah, and even if they do stupid things together, she’s pretty sure that Leah won’t let Ronan do anything so spectacularly dumb that she’d actually get hurt. It was a miracle that she’d managed to drag Ronan to the library for any period of time, and she’d actually done her Latin homework, so Gansey feels like she’s fulfilled her duties for the day. Which means she’s allowed to sit here and not worry about Ronan and look at Eve instead. She’s lucky that Eve is such a dedicated student, because her attention to her work means that Gansey can stare for long periods without getting caught. It’s a dangerous indulgence, she knows, and a foolish one. Besides, it means that she isn’t getting any of her considerable amount of homework done. It’s not like her grades are in danger, she thinks, trying to justify it to herself. Her eyes go back down to her calculus worksheet when Eve’s flick up, though not fast enough. She can feel her cheeks burning when Eve says, “You alright, Gansey?”
“Yeah of course,” Gansey says, pointedly keeping her eyes fixed on the paper.
“What are you working on?”
“Um. Math?”
“I can see that, I meant more specifically.”
It occurs to Gansey at this point that she has no idea what the worksheet is about. Deciding that honesty is the best policy, she says, “I’m really not entirely sure.”
“I wondered. You seem sort of out of it.”
“Just distracted.”
“Ronan?”
“What? Oh, no. She’s fine. She’s probably throwing eggs from the roof with Leah again. It’s their new hobby.”
“Expensive,” Eve comments, and Gansey hums in assent. “What is it, then?”
Gansey bites her tongue to stop herself from saying something ridiculous like you’re pretty or let’s go make out in the stacks. “Nothing.”
“Gansey. You just said you were distracted.”
“Oh. You know. Glyndower.”
“Should have guessed,” Eve says, and returns to her homework.
Gansey watches as Eve’s hair sweeps over her face and as she reaches to tuck it behind her ear. “Gansey,” she say nonchalantly, “I can tell you’re watching me.” Gansey makes an inarticulate flustered noise as Eve looks up again. “You’re really not that subtle.”
“I’m sorry,” Gansey says, bright pink. “I’ll stop.”
“I don’t mind,” Eve says, making a show of pulling her textbook toward her. “It’s sort of nice. To be looked at like that.” Gansey can’t decide whether she wants to hide on the table or press the issue further. Luckily for her, she doesn’t have to choose because Eve continues, still staring at her textbook though she clearly isn’t reading it. “I don’t think I’d mind if you kissed me, either.”
“Oh?” Gansey asks, surprised that she’s actually capable of making a sound.
“There’s a little nook by the agriculture section where no one ever goes because. You know. No one here cares about agriculture.”
“Except Ronan.”
“Luckily, Ronan isn’t here.” Eve finally looks up from her book and there’s something wary in her eyes. Gansey realizes that Eve isn’t sure whether or not she’s overstepped.
She does a very poor job of biting down a smile as she says, “Eve Parrish, have you been scouting the library for makeout spots?”
Eve blushes and Gansey thinks how unfair it is that it only makes her prettier. “I just noticed that it’s a quiet spot.”
Surprised that her giddiness isn’t affecting her voice, Gansey says, “Do you think your history homework will survive without you if you took a, ah, brief vacation to the agriculture section?”
“I think it probably would,” Eve says, slow and thoughtful, like she’s really considering the question. “Only one way to find out, I guess.” And she shuts her book and gets up, heading toward the agriculture section. It takes Gansey a moment to shut her book and follow her, because the more she thinks about this, the more there is no possible way on earth that this is actually happening to her. She scrambles out of her chair and catches up to Eve, grabbing her hand. There’s something she has to ask before she lets this go any further.
“Eve?” She says, and for the first time, she fails completely at hiding her emotions. She sounds, she realizes, frightened and nervous and messy and she wishes she could tuck all of that back behind her Aglionby blouse.
“Yeah?” Eve says, turning to her, concerned. They’re standing in an aisle of books, out of sight of the desks in the open area of the library.
“When you said before, you wouldn’t mind me kissing you --” She pauses and concentrates hard on saying the next part without sounding pathetic. “Did you mean you wanted me to kiss you, or just that, I don’t know, you knew I wanted to and you’re bored and sad because of Blue and just want to be kissed and --”
She’s cut off when Eve moves forward, burying both hands in Gansey’s hair and kissing her hard. There’s a pure, silent moment where Gansey doesn’t think anything at all before she reaches up to put her arms around Eve and kiss her back, the tip of her tongue running along Eve’s bottom lip. Eve pulls back only to kiss her again, and again before she runs her thumb over Gansey’s lips. “In case that didn’t make it clear enough,” she says, “I meant that I wanted to kiss you and I couldn’t come up with a better way to say it.”
“That’s okay,” Gansey says, a little breathless. “I think I get the message.”
“I’d be happy to keep explaining, you know.”
“Mmm,” Gansey hums soft and low. “That sounds like a good plan.” And Eve pulls her closer to kiss her again.