Title: You Can't Take That Away
Author: Daisy
Fandom: The Librarians
Setting: The Library
Pairing: Jake Stone/Ezekiel Jones
Characters: Jake Stone, Ezekiel Jones, Jenkins, Eve Baird, Cassandra Cillian
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance
Rating: T
Chapters: 1/1
Word Count: 1124
Type of Work: One-Shot
Status: Complete
Warnings: Pre-Slash, Slash, Gay, Yaoi, PTSD, Nightmares, Sweetness, Sass
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Jake Stone can't quite put his finger on it, but whatever it is, it's bothering Ezekiel just the same.
AN: SO. I watched And The Point Of Salvation last night, and my feels for this ship amped so much I couldn't help but write something. I have done so good for the last seven episodes, and now I can't keep myself from writing them. I could scream my love for this ship from the roof (but I'd fall, it's a steep incline), so instead I'll just leave this here. ;D By the way, I listened to You Can't Take That Away by The Friday Night Boys like, on repeat the entire time I was writing this. I have such feels for this song, it's going on the playlist.
You Can't Take That Away ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It came, at first, in small snippets and at that in-between space that wasn't quite awake or asleep. A pained face here, a sentence out of context there, but always there was the lingering thought of I can't watch you die, again. Jake Stone wasn't sure what was happening, but he seemed to be the only one that woke with a need to see their resident thief and be sure that he was okay. The Ezekiel he would see in his dreams, it went beyond what Cassie or Eve remembered. Flashes of the Aussie pleading with them, crying, his voice cracked, these things haunted even his good dreams, turning them sour and leaving him concerned.
It was, maybe, the fourth night in a row that he'd had a nightmare that he could hardly remember when he woke, and finally he couldn't take it anymore.
When he arrived at the Annex, a bad habit for sleepless nights, he found he wasn't the only one who sought comfort from the Library. As luck would have it, the other occupant, leaned over the desk and eating a donut, staring at his phone, was the very man that he'd been dreaming about. Now, the dreams he'd had lately didn't wake him in the usually hot and sweaty way, and this new cold-sweat, nightmare-fueled Jake couldn't hold himself back from sliding behind the thief and pulling him back by his hips into a hug. As if to simulate some form of normality, he rested his head on the other's shoulder, ignoring the nonplussed Australian in his arms.
"Looking up your latest project?" He questioned, voice soft and breath warm against Ezekiel's neck, making him shiver.
"Why would I need to look it up?" The fragile chuckle on his lips made the other pause, and it was obvious he wasn't getting anywhere with feigned narcissism tonight, "What are you doing here so late? Couldn't sleep?"
"I'd venture to guess you couldn't, either." A soft nod was all he needed to assure him he was right. Gently pressing his chest to the lithe male's back, he kissed at his neck without seeming to realize just what he was doing. "It's okay, you know." He whispered, as if he knew what was up, "If you need to talk, I-"
"Just stop." Okay, so that was a bit more breathy than he'd expected, but Ezekiel Jones did not admit to weaknesses like nightmares and not understanding where they were coming from, "I don't need to talk about it." Maybe what he needed was something to distract him… "I'd rather just forget, you know, mate?"
"Yeah?" The question came out as a soft breath, and those stormy blue eyes locked with dark brown for a split second before the thief had swiveled around in his seat, pulling the other in for a kiss that left them both confused, breathless, and otherwise feeling maybe a bit better. Of course, the shortened distance between their gazes did nothing to alleviate the sudden weight of the room around them. Jake couldn't help but feel as if Ray was urging them, silently, to continue, as if helping his fledglings realize what it was they wanted.
"Yeah." Always full of confidence, it seemed the ball was back in Ezekiel's court, and with the elder not chancing to move, he took the initiative and pressed in for another kiss. If nothing else, his mood was lifting with the prospect of having attention, any at all, focused on the him of Right Now, and not the him he couldn't remember. There had been too many questions, too many errant thoughts, too many bad dreams, but this, this very easily topped his 'good day' charts for this week.
Their mouths melded a second later, with the elder man giving a slight incline of his head and working the other's lips apart. While it started as a hungry, needy sort of kiss, their movements soon devolved into soft, gentle presses that stole their breath with the sheer amount of time they spent on it. Jake pulled back first, panting slightly and offering a gentle smile.
"Do you feel better, now?" He whispered, just a scant few inches from the other's tantalizing lips.
"A little." Trying to scoff it off, he added a quick chuckle when he saw the crestfallen look on the elder Librarian's face, "You could probably make it feel a lot better, though, right, mate?" That brought a tinge of pink to the other's cheeks that Ezekiel prided himself in. He would never do anything as wonderful as making Jake blush again, that much was a given.
"I could," This time, it was Jake's turn to smile, leaning in for another kiss before pulling back, "But I think that's enough for now. Wouldn't want you unable to work, you know?" Tilting his head, he gestured towards the area they had last left the cots, "But I could give you a little preview if you'd like."
"Yeah!" Though he hadn't quite expected just what had happened when they'd laid down, pressed together in the small one-man cot. "A-are you spooning me?"
"Think of it as an assurance," The elder murmured into his ear, chest pressed to the smaller's back and arm slung around his waist, "You've seen the sappy, cuddly side of big ol' Stone, so there's only one other you can see before you decide if it's what you want. If so, then we've got a long time to figure out how you like to spoon. If not, then we can keep it for this one time." Though, honestly, he wasn't sure if he really could keep it to one time. Hopefully, this would be what he would dream about for a long time. It was good to see that confident, happy smile back on those haunted lips, something that sat well in the big bear who seemed apt to keep his smaller associate close to his chest throughout the rest of the night. Especially when the couple finally found a sound, sated sort of sleep.
Jenkins had to admit, he was rather surprised to walk the Library only to find their two Big, Strapping Young Men (™) cuddled up together on a single cot. If he hadn't known better, he'd even think that, maybe, it looked like Zeke was enjoying himself, the little smile on his lips looking far too contented to be accidental. Even still, he figured it best not to alert Eve or Cassandra, and simply lightly bumped the wooden stand of their makeshift love nest, clearing his throat.
"Cassandra and Eve will be here soon." He offered, before disappearing around the corner, leaving the boys to sort themselves out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AN: