Chapter Text
“Please don’t say I’m like your mother.”
“No,” says Cassandra, a soft look in her eye. “Nothing like that.”
Oh, Eve thinks.
Oh.
---
Eve has seen Cassandra at her worst; defeating Lamia in the blink of an eye, planning the deaths of millions without a second thought. The Apple of Discord’s magic had twisted Cassandra’s gifts, and she thinks her Cassandra would never truly be capable of such things.
But she also knows the potential is there. Cassandra’s worst self without the ability to wield magic was terrifying. But with magic? She could destroy the world in an instant.
Sometimes she thinks the most dangerous artifact in the Library is Cassandra herself.
And yet -
She watches this version of Cassandra perform magic, all poise and grace. No fear of the primal forces she bends to her will, yet no temptation to dominate. Eve has come to learn that magic is not black and white, but a wild force. How you use it reveals your character. This Cassandra is very much like the magic she wields - an ever shifting shade of gray.
She’s heard Stone recite Byron: She walks in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright, meet in her aspect and her eyes.
Eve thinks the poem was written for her.
---
Jake lunges at her hand for the paper, and Cassandra dodges. “Well if you’re not going to call her-”
“I never said I wouldn’t!-”
Eve sneaks up to Cassandra, who is hiding the piece of paper behind her back. She snatches the note and holds it above her head out of Cassandra’s reach, who tries jumping for it before giving up.
“Why are you so tall!” she exclaims, smacking Eve’s shoulder.
“And what’s this?” Eve asks, a mischievous look in her eye. She opens the paper to see a phone number.
“Italian area code…Cassandra, did you get that girl’s number?!”
Cassandra looks down sheepishly. “I didn’t ask, she just, uh, gave it to me.”
Eve barely keeps her jaw from dropping. Cassandra has game, and she’s not even trying. There’s a light blush blooming on Cassandra’s cheeks, and she looks so adorable Eve can’t resist teasing her.
“Well, look at you, Prince Charming! First the girls in town, now an Italian diplomat!” She hands the note back to Cassandra, and turns to Stone and Jones. “Boys, looks like you could learn a thing or two from your colleague here,” and winks at Cassandra before walking away to the sound of her three Librarians good-naturedly teasing each other.
Before rounding the corner she glances back and sees Cassandra has gone as red as her hair.
---
Flynn is gone, and Eve is tired. She has been seated at the desk for over an hour trying to finish her mission report, and she can’t focus.
She used to hunt WMDs while people tried to kill her, all with laser focus. But a break-up with a person she barely saw most of the time, and never went on an actual date with? Someone she never had an in-depth conversation with, unless it was about an artifact or magic? This is what distracts her?
Part of her wants her to get her shit together, stop moping, and finish the damn report. The other half wants a stiff drink, a bath, and then to sleep for 12 hours.
She decides both are in order. After she finishes the report – she can finally relax.
Five minutes later, and she’s still staring at a blank page in a stupor. Where did she go wrong? Why couldn’t she convince him that they needed him here?
“Flynn’s an idiot,” states Ezekiel, running by her toward the front door, and scaring the crap out of her in the process.
“What? No he isn- wait, Jones where are you going?” But he doesn’t stop, and it takes 2 minutes for him to return, time which Eve spends half-heartedly trying to continue writing her report, and only gets two sentences written. Technically, one and a half. She’s rounding up.
Ezekiel walks back into the room, and puts his newly obtained pizza box down on the table, and turns to look at her, a serious look on his face. Eve has never seen him like this. Or seen him wait before inhaling an entire pizza.
“Flynn’s an idiot.”
“You said that already.”
“I meant it both times. Look Baird, as much as I don’t like to admit it, Flynn and I have some things in common: we’re both geniuses, and we like to do things our own way. I’m obviously more awesome than he is-“
“Alright, we get it, you’re soooo awesome. Get to the point.”
“The point is that, I know how to adapt. We all do. But Flynn doesn’t want to change. He wants everything his way. In this job, you have to learn and grow if you want to avoid becoming a grease stain on the wall.”
“Colourful imagery,” interrupts Stone, who walks into the Annex with Cassandra, both carrying a stack of books, which they place on the main table.
Ezekiel rolls his eyes in frustration. “As I was saying, Flynn knows how to learn, but he doesn’t want to grow. For you, or even for us. That’s selfish.” He holds up a hand to stop Jake from interjecting again. “And yes, I know, I am the king of selfish - so I can call it like I see it.”
Turning back, he grabs a fresh slice of pizza and starts walking toward the kitchen with the pizza box in hand. “If he doesn’t want to grow up to be with you,” he says through a mouthful of food, “then he’s an idiot. You can do better.” Eve watches him leave with a shocked expression on her face.
Jake is quick behind him, shouting for pizza. Cassandra stays behind, walking slowly toward where Eve sits at her desk. Eve is broken out of her trance with the movement, and quickly looks down to her report, trying to act casual.
“So, how goes the cataloguing?” she asks nonchalantly.
Cassandra doesn’t even bother playing the game. “I didn’t think Ezekiel had that in him.”
Eve still keeps her head down. “He’s certainly always full of surprises.”
“Or maybe we underestimate him.”
Eve looks up at that statement. Cassandra has a point. “Maybe you’re right.”
Cassandra smirks at that. “Now you see, if I was Ezekiel, I would respond with – “
“I’m always right!” they both exclaim in unison, and then laugh together, breaking some of the tension. Eve sighs and looks back down at the mostly blank page, feeling Cassandra’s eyes on her.
“For what it’s worth,” Eve hears, “I agree with Ezekiel. But you’re allowed to take some time to process it all. Don’t worry about the report tonight. Come and join us for pizza.”
She walks around the desk and pulls Eve up by her arm, who has suddenly lost the will to do any work whatsoever. “Come ooooon, Guardian. Have to keep your strength up!” They link arms and walk together down the hall toward the kitchen.
“Did you know, the smell of pizza triggers my synesthesia? Right now I hear Disney songs in my head.”
“Oh dear God. Wait, which ones?”
“Mostly Mulan.”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad then.”
“You want to watch it after?”
“Hell yes.”
---
After the post-mission debrief about their tentacle monster debacle (those are normal words for her now. This is her life. It still blows her mind) has come to its official end, Eve decides she has to ask. It’s not prying, per se, she’s just…curious.
“So, are you going to keep in touch with Lucy?” she asks as casually as possible.
“Well, she’s a friend. It’d be rude not to,” replies Cassandra.
Eve knows she’s not actually jealous of Lucy. She’s the Guardian; she has her own important set of skills she brings to the team, and she wouldn’t change that for anything.
But, maybe, a small part of her was envious seeing the way Cassandra and Lucy interacted – both of them so excited, passionately talking about their love of physics and math, learning from each other. Seeing that enchanting spark in Cassandra’s eyes directed Lucy’s way as they spoke about the wonders of magic.
Eve laughs at herself. Enchanting? You’re making magic puns now? The others would have a field day.
Wait, I think Cassandra’s enchanting?
Oh shit.
Before she can continue to freak out, Jake interrupts her train of thought.
“I think we should keep an eye on Lucy,” says Jake. “Who knows what kind of trouble she might cause. She could get people hurt.”
“Yes, well, we also don’t want her to get hurt,” Cassandra says with a pointed stare.
Jake nods. “Of course not, Cass. But you know how I feel about magic. And we’ve basically given her a free pass to continue doing what she’s doing. And that ain’t good, in my estimation. What if she’s not more careful?”
“I trust her. But, you have a point. I’ll keep in touch with her. If anything I hear sounds really, you know, magicky and dangerous,” she says, her hands flying around, “Then we’ll step in. Sound fair?”
“For now.”
“Jacob, she’s a good person, just trying to make sense of the world around her. Isn’t that what we do? What kind of person would that make me if I stopped her from achieving her happiness, like I have here?”
“Because you have a team to support you!” he responds, starting to sound agitated. “We balance each other out. Lucy doesn’t have that.”
“Oookay,” says Eve, aiming to prevent a full-blown debate. “We’ve made our decisions, now we have to live with them. I think everybody could use some R &R. Barring an emergency in the clippings book, you all have the day off tomorrow. Now, I think we’re all done here, so I’m heading to bed.”
Cassandra stands up. “Same here. I’ll walk with you.”
Jake and Ezekiel head off to the kitchen to grab a late snack, and the two women head down the corridor toward the bedrooms.
They walk in silence for a few moments before Eve blurts out, “I’m happy you didn’t go with the Ladies of the Lake.”
Cassandra smiles, and then frowns after a moment. “Why, because you don’t agree with their stance on the use of magic?”
Eve shakes her head. “I know that we often have differing opinions on magic, but that’s not the reason.”
“Oh, okay,” Cassandra says in a calmer tone. “Then why?”
“Would’ve been weird without you here,” she says with a shrug. “Can you imagine just me and the guys? It’d be bickering around the clock, I’d never get anything done,” she finishes with a teasing grin.
“So I’m the babysitter, am I?” Cassandra replies, nudging her shoulder.
“Couldn’t keep ‘em in line without you.”
They come to a stop at the entrance to Cassandra’s room. Eve is exhausted, and longs for sleep. But as she looks at Cassandra, she feels reluctant to leave.
Cassandra makes it easy for her when she reaches out, and rests a hand on her arm in parting. “Good night, Eve.” She turns and shuts the door behind her.
Eve is left alone in the hallway, staring at a closed door. “Good night, Librarian,” she whispers.
---
It has officially been a long day. After meeting the human representation of the library and having to work with both a very awkward Flynn and Moriarty, all Eve wants to do is grab a beer, eat her weight in mac and cheese, and binge watch some Netflix.
The Annex is blessedly quiet after the Librarians all went off on their own. She finishes up her report quickly and heads to the kitchen, ready to cook up a storm when she is stopped in the doorway by the sight of Cassandra at the stove, stirring a pot of noodles. Eve sees two opened boxes of macaroni beside her. Cassandra turns at the noise.
“I’m making mac and cheese!” she says perkily. “You interested?”
“You read my mind! I was planning on making some. Wait, you didn’t use magic to read my mind, did you?” she teases. Oh God, I hope that’s not an actual thing, she thinks. I’d never be able to look her in the eye again. She makes a mental note to ask Jenkins if that's something one can do with magic later.
Cassandra rolls her eyes, but smiles at the joke. “No of course not - it’s one of my favourites.”
“Well, if you’re willing to share, then absolutely,” Eve replies, grabbing a beer from the fridge. “But you know what I like to add? Bacon. We have any of that?”
“Two words: Diced. Prosciutto.”
Eve actually groans with happiness. “You are officially my favourite person,” she states, and Cassandra beams at her.
A peaceful semi-quiet falls over the room, as Eve cracks open and drinks her beer while Cassandra turns back to start dicing the meat, both women lost in the thoughts in their own heads. Eve is startled when Cassandra starts speaking quietly, still facing away from her.
“When I was working as a janitor, I couldn’t afford much. Mac and cheese was cheap comfort food. Every once in a while, if my hallucinations were particularly bad that day, and I had the cash, I’d treat myself and splurge for prosciutto, salami, or whatever to add something extra. It always made me feel better.”
Eve’s heart breaks a little at the story. She can’t imagine what it must have been like for Cassandra, with a ticking time bomb in her head, so alone and afraid. She decides then and there that Cassandra will never feel that way again if she can help it.
“Is something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I’m okay. I’m, uh, actually making this for you,” she says, looking up hesitantly at Eve.
“For me?” she says, taken aback.
“Yes. I know today wasn’t an easy day for you, so I thought maybe I could help cheer you up. With mac and cheese. I mean it works for me, and I didn’t know you liked it, but I thought since it worked for me, I might as well make some and if you didn’t like it, I could eat it–”
Eve places her hands on the other woman’s shoulders. “Cassandra, breathe,” says Eve, cutting off her increasingly fast rambling, as Cassandra hadn’t taken a breath for a full 30 seconds and her face was getting very pink. (Eve doesn’t want to assume she’s blushing. A very small part of her hopes so, and she crushes that feeling down as far as she can).
“Thank you,” she continues. “This is the nicest thing- well, this is really nice. But be warned,” she adds with a smirk, “I could eat this whole pot easy. So you best serve yourself first.”
Cassandra shakes her head in amusement. “You, eat this whole thing? You’re a beanpole! No way you can eat it all.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Oh, you’re so on.”
“Loser has to catalogue the 17th century folios.”
“Which region?”
“All of them.”
“You’re the worst.” Cassandra pretends to think about it for a moment. “I’m in.”
Eve wins, of course. Cassandra puts on a pout as she leaves, but Eve can see the smile she fails to hide as she exits the room.
It’s as big as Eve’s own.