by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: The Librarian
Characters: Charlene, Flynn Carsen
Words: 600
Tags: Christmas, Fluff, Friendship
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Written for the sweetandshort challenge on Dreamwidth for the prompts "handmade gift" and "secret santa". This fic was written to take place somewhere around the time of the second movie.
Charlene sighed and slapped her pen onto the desktop. "Flynn," she said sharply, "you've been off work for almost two hours now. Don't you have someplace else to be?"
Halting mid-sentence in his latest ramblings about some historical event she frankly never cared about, Flynn shrugged. "Not really."
"You don't have a party to be at?"
"I'm going over to my Mother's in the morning. Nothing til then."
"It's Christmas Eve," she stressed, desperately needing him out of her hair. "You must have something better to be doing."
"Not really. And I know for a fact your shift ended a while ago, too."
Charlene finally turned away from her paperwork and crossed her arms. "Yes, and I will be going home as soon as I finish these quarterly reports. Something which I could be done with already if I had a few minutes of peace."
The young Librarian actually deflated at that, a brief look flashing through his dark eyes that made Charlene feel as if she'd kicked a puppy. As was often the case with Flynn, though, it was covered a minute later with that too-bright smile and endless energy. "Sure. I was, uh, heading out anyway." He flashed a warm smile that felt a good deal more genuine and offered a shy wave. "Merry Christmas, Charlene."
Feeling some of her frustration leak away, Charlene managed a smile of her own. "Merry Christmas, Flynn. I'll see you next week." As he turned to leave, she quickly added, "And you're not getting paid for these last two hours. It's not our fault when you don't clock out on time."
He laughed and called back over his shoulder, "I did clock out, actually. Have a good night."
Alone at last, Charlene breathed a sigh of relief and picked back up her pen. Only a few dozen more reports to sign off on, and she could be heading back to her own warm, cozy apartment. Not that the Library wasn't home to her in its own way, but the high ceilings and marble surfaces didn't lend much warmth to its occupants. At least, not up here where her office was; the main Library downstairs was always much more comfortable.
As she turned to her computer to make a quick note on the security budget, Charlene was surprised to find a tiny wrapped package beside the keyboard. Frowning, she picked it up and carefully turned it over, checking for any signs of booby-traps. It seemed safe enough.
She peeled off the red ribbon and brown paper wrapping. Underneath, there was a small wooden box with a beautiful etching of the Tree of Knowledge delicately worked into the lid's surface. Leather strips with brass tacks formed the hinge, in the style of antique jewelry boxes. Inside was a lovely quill pen with a leather holder and an inkwell.
It was perfect. So much so, she had to wonder how Flynn knew it would be. (Then again, he did have a talent for reading people, just maybe not for connecting with them.) There was no doubt in her mind that he was the one who'd left the gift. She and Judson had stopped with formal gift exchanges a long time ago.
Closing the lid again, warmth filled Charlene as she brushed her fingers over the intricate etching. She wondered how long he'd spent making it.
"Okay, fine," she sighed, knowing both the Library and Judson would hear her, "I guess he isn't so bad." She also made a mental note to log his last two hours as a Christmas bonus. Tis the season, after all.