There was about an hour left before closing time and Stephen could barely wait to leave the place. The university's library was one of his favorite places even though he worked there as a volunteer, but today he was very tired which made him exceptionally annoyed by almost everything. Wong was giving him his patented look of disapproval that only managed to irritate him, but he couldn't complain, not when his glare managed to chase away what seemed to be the last student in the library.
"I'm going to do my rounds, I'll be right back in half an hour." He needed to check whether there was anyone left before they locked the doors, to return some books on their shelves while Wong was doing his part.
There were forty minutes left before closing time, but Stephen was exhausted so he wanted to start a bit earlier.
He dragged his feet for a few rows, pleasantly surprised every time there was a clean table left amongst the shelves, there were of course a couple books around, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, which significantly improved his mood. He was about to turn a corner when his ears picked up a muffled curse, the sound of books hitting the floor and just like that his irritation returned back. There was still someone left despite the fact that he had only ten minutes before having to lock the doors and that someone wasn't even bothering to be careful with the books. Stephen knew that he shouldn't take it personally, but he had his share of students acting as if the books were not important. He slowly rounded the corner wanting to catch the rebel who dared to mistreat the books and froze at the sight ahead of him.
There, using the books as a stepping stool, was a student who seemed to be around his age and who was valiantly and stubbornly trying to reach a book on the highest shelf. His shirt had risen up, so Stephen could see his lower back, was barefoot, one arm stretched out towards the book, his brows furrowed in concentration, his gaze pointed on the book and his tongue peeking from the corner of his mouth. He also had messy brown hair and for a second Stephen stood there mesmerized by the quite adorable sight, but then his gaze fell on the books under the guy's feet who had decided that four thick books weren't enough for him and lifted himself on his toes.
Somewhere in the back of Stephen's mind he knew that he was watching an accident waiting to happen, there was no way for the guy to keep his balance and get the book at the same time, but he simply ignored the urge to help. He was too annoyed by the use of those books as a stepping stool, so he simply said,
"Hey...you can't use the books as a stepping stool."
His words startled the guy who as expected lost his balance, managed to knock down more than a couple of books off the shelf and was about to hit the floor when Stephen's instincts kicked in. He rushed forward and managed to steady the guy by wrapping his arms around his waist, scowling when a book hit his shoulder on the way down.
The guy froze in place, his hands gripping Stephen's shoulders in an attempt to keep himself upright before he let out a shaky sigh and mumbled,
"Thanks." then their eyes met and Stephen's breath caught in his throat.
He had such beautiful brown eyes, big, expressive, framed by long and thick eyelashes, there was flush on his cheeks a clear sign that he was embarrassed and just like that he chased away anything on Stephen's mind.
It took him an embarrassingly long time to pull back and put a decent distance between them even though he couldn't ignore the way his hands tingled with warmth and even a longer moment to force himself to talk.
"The books are not meant to be used as a stepping stool, you almost broke your neck and made a mess." That was definitely not what he was supposed to say because the moment his words reached the other guy, his embarrassment got replaced by anger.
"I know that, but as you can see not all of us are born tall, and it's not my fault that the shelves are so high…" the anger slowly getting overshadowed by petulance and followed by an adorable pout before he continued with a renewed vigor,
"You need something...a small chair or a ladder, because I used four books and still can't reach the book."
"It's not the books’ fault that you're short." He blurted because something about the guy wouldn't allow him to act as strictly and professionally as he always did.
"I'm not short...I'm not a giant like some of you...at least I'm not as rude as you." He argued without much force, it seemed that he was as tired as Stephen was.
"You've made a mess of the books and you're currently standing on them barefoot…" Stephen pointed out and firmly pressed his lips together to stop his chuckle from leaving his lips when the guy's ears flamed red in embarrassment.
"I couldn't step on them with my shoes on, it would ruin them…" he turned to look at his feet and bit his lip in worry before he said,
"I really don't remember what happened to my socks...this is not better is it ?" he didn't wait for an answer, he simply carefully stepped down and started picking up the fallen books.
"I honestly didn't mean to make a mess, or cause any trouble, but I've been trying to find that book for weeks and now that I did, I can't even grab it." He turned to glare at the book, giving out the impression of a wet kitten, then he turned that glare at Stephen who apparently forgot that he shouldn't look amused.
"Laugh as much as you want, I'm going to complain to your main librarian, or I'm going to invent something...yes there must be something that would help me… " he yawned, rubbing his eyes, looking unexpectedly cute.
Stephen took pity on him, far too familiar with studying for days with minimal rest, so he stepped forward and in one smooth motion he grabbed the book and offered it to the guy.
"So unfair…" he mumbled before he gave him a wide grin as his eyes lit with gratefulness when he took the books,
"Thanks. Do you need help with the books ?"
"Actually...it's closing time, so you should go." he replied.
The guy's eyes widened as he exclaimed,
"Shit….sorry." he rushed to leave, barely avoiding tripping over the fallen books, he managed to reach the end of the hall when he cursed once again and quickly returned to pick up his shoes.
"Forgot my shoes...sorry." he mumbled before he turned to leave once again.
That was when Stephen remembered,
"Don't forget to check out the book."
"I'll return it tomorrow, I promise." He stood with his back turned on Stephen, his shoes still in his hand while he rocked on his feet.
"Fine...just tell me your name, so I can check it out for you," he yelled.
"Tony! It's Tony." was the reply before he started walking away once again.
"Tony who ?" Now it was clear that Stephen was playing with him.
"You're smart, you'll figure it out." and he was out of the library before Stephen could say anything else.
He picked up the books, put them in their place and went to meet Wong who was smirking at him.
"What ?"
"Nothing, I'm just saying that your mood has improved."
"Shut up." He mumbled completely ignoring Wong's chuckle, but he couldn't wipe away the amused smile on his face.
He swore to himself that he wasn't going to complain about his job, not if he got another chance to see Tony, but he wasn't going to tell that to Wong. Maybe he had to loosen up a bit, after all there were exceptions to every rule.