by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: The Librarian
Characters: Nicole Noone, Flynn Carsen
Pairings: Flynn/Nicole
Words: 1,035
Tags: Light Angst, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Warnings: None
Author's Notes:
Originally posted to SquidgeWorld and Dreamwidth on Oct 6th 2024. Written for the Octoberfics challenge on tumblr.
The usually calming presence of the Library hummed uncertainly through the air around her as Nicole marched her way through the ancient astronomy reference section. Her boots thudded heavily over the polished floors. She could feel the obvious concern from the Library shrouding her, as if trying to comfort her, but she shrugged it off and kept walking.
It wasn’t until she was deep within the secluded section, with high shelves forming a barrier on all sides, that Nicole let herself stop and take a few breaths.
“Stupid Librarian,” she muttered angrily, heart pounding loudly in her own ears. She shot an accusing glance at the high ceiling of the building overhead. “It’s your fault, y’know. You were the one who picked that reckless, foolhardy geek to be your new Librarian.”
Her breath stuttered, and Nicole pressed her lips tight out of fear of the sob that surely working its way up her throat. She was not going to cry over something so idiotic.
“Nicole?”
It was Flynn’s voice, accompanied by a set of hurried footsteps approaching. Of course he’d found her already. Flynn may be clueless in a lot of social areas, but one thing he was still scarily good at was reading people. Somehow, he always manged to sense where she would retreat to when something had upset her. It might almost be sweet, but in moments like this, it could also be terribly inconvenient.
“Go away,” she said roughly, refusing to look his way. If she did, she knew the warmth in his eyes would be enough to break her down, and that couldn’t happen.
The approaching footsteps halted immediately. “Nicole, what’s going on?” he asked, genuine confusion in his tone that made her feel like she’d kicked a puppy.
“Get out,” she demanded coldly. Her arms crossed in front of her in a rather poor imitation of a shield, but then, it was intended more as a barrier to keep everything in rather than Flynn out. If it happened to have that side effect, she could feel bad about that later.
“Is this about the waterfall? I had to try to reach the statue, it would have disappeared in the mudslide if I hadn’t grabbed it first. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you—”
“You didn’t,” she cut him off.
Which was a lie, of course. She had been absolutely terrified when Flynn had run out across that ledge, the waterfall crashing down less than a meter away. When he’d lost his footing and she’d seen him disappear… the feeling that ripped through her chest in that moment was one Nicole would do anything to never feel again. She was pretty sure she didn’t breath until she’d caught sight of Flynn again, safely on the other side of the waterfall and with that stupid statue to top it all off.
A tear slipped down her cheek and Nicole swiped at it in frustration. “Go away, Flynn. I just want to be alone.”
“Okay,” he said gently. “I can leave if that’s what you actually want, but I don’t think it is.”
“Oh?” Nicole whirled around to face him, hands on her hips and muscles practically vibrating with the need to punch someone. Anyone, really. “And how do you know that? Another thing you were able to read off of me?”
Flynn shook his head, holding up his hands as if surrendering. “No, I just know you better than that.”
And that really wasn’t fair. How was she supposed to stay angry when he said things like that?
“You push people away when you’re scared,” he continued, voice still incredibly soft, as if the air around them was delicate enough to break at too much disturbance. “You push them away because you don’t want them to see you scared. Because you don’t want it to hurt as much when you lose them.” He lowered his hands and took a step back, giving her a little more space. “If you want me to leave, I will. But I just want you to know that you don’t have to hide from me. You don’t have to push me away, Nicole. I’m here for you, any time you need me. I’m not going anywhere.”
The words brutally burned their way through her barriers and left her open in a way she would never be comfortable with if it were anyone else talking to her. It was the best kind of pain, she decided. The kind that reminded her she was still alive.
Nicole roughly brushed a tear from her cheek. She rolled her eyes and held out a hand to him. “Fine,” she said, as if she was the one doing him a favor — and she knew he’d let her hold onto that pretense. “Come here.”
Flynn took her hand and stepped in, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close. It was her favorite thing about him — how safe and protected she always felt when he held her like this. Being the one who was supposed to protect everyone else… sometimes it was nice to feel a little of that in return.
“If you ever scare me like that again, I’ll hurt you in ways that will make you wish you’d gone down in that waterfall,” she told him.
He let out an amused huff before brushing a light kiss onto her forehead. “Well, I can’t make any promises, but I will try. Getting almost killed isn’t my favorite pastime, either.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she muttered back.
A few more tears managed to work their way to the surface. Nicole buried her face against his chest and stopped fighting them, letting them fall freely. Flynn’s hand came up to cup the back of her head and he tightened his hold on her, leaving no space between them.
“It’s okay,” he whispered against her hair. “I’ve got you.”
From anyone else, she would never dare let herself believe those words. But coming from Flynn? She had no doubt in her mind that he meant every word.
Nicole sighed and closed her eyes. She was always the warrior; the protector. For once, she was going to let herself be the one who is held.
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