When Jacob stumbled through the Backdoor,he had not been expecting to fall into Jenkins’s arms. Unfortunately forJenkins, Jacob’s nose was leaking more blood than he was sure he actually hadin his body, and unfortunately for Jacob, Jenkins had seen the blood quicklyand let Jacob fall as to avoid getting blood on his nice suit.

Jacob fell to the ground with a groan. Heangled his face to the side so he could peer one eye up at Jenkins and, in apitiful voice, said, “How’s it goin’, J?”

Jenkins stared back down at him,unimpressed. “I told you not to go on that mission alone.”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a littleindependence,” Jacob mumbled. He crawled backwards until he was on his kneesand got up jerkily to his feet. He careened haphazardly to the table in thecenter of the Annex and fell on it, leaning against it heavily. Jenkinsfollowed him slowly. “Got the job done, didn’t I? No problems here.”

“Except your broken face,” Jenkinsdeadpanned.

Jacob waved him away, muttering, “My faceis fine, J. No worries. Just need a pack of peas, and I’m good.”

He heard Jenkins sigh and glanced over tofind him shaking his head. “You know, it’s that kind of thinking that will leadyou to your death, Mr. Stone.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes at him. A headachewas pounding through his skull, but he was still able to come up with a wittyreply, “Y’know, it’s that kind of talkin’ that makes everyone think you’ve gota tree branch up your ass, Jenkins.”

He watched anger burn through Jenkins’seyes, but the caretaker quickly wiped it away and marched over to his desk. Hebent down, rifling through it, until he came up again with a vial of cool blueliquid. He walked back over to Jacob again and held out the vial to him. “Takeit. It’ll help with the pain.”

“Don’t need it,” Jacob mumbled. He limpedpast Jenkins, barely refraining from pushing through him, and miraculously madeit to his own desk. He sat on top of it and grabbed a box of tissues. Hebrought it to him and began to dab at his face. Unsurprisingly, it did verylittle.

He glanced up to find Jenkins still turnedaway from him, shoulders tense. Jacob rolled his eyes only to immediatelyregret it when it made his headache worse. He was sick of everyone always coddlinghim when he got hurt.

Well, that wasn’t accurate. He was sick ofJenkins coddling him.

Baird dealt with it dutifully, telling himto rub some dirt in it and she’d see him in the morning. Ezekiel poked fun, andeven Cassandra knew when to let things lie.

But Jenkins never let it go. He was alwaysyelling at Jacob, telling him that, for one of the smartest people in theworld, Jacob was the biggest dumbass he’d ever met. Or, that, if he knew halfthe things about actually dodging a punch that he did about art, he’d neverhave to worry about getting himself hurt ever again.

So Jacob really shouldn’t have beensurprised when he heard, “It astounds me Mr. Stone, really, how a Librarian ofyour stature is able to create the biggest, stupidest mess of yourself after ameager twelve hours.”

Jacob sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, c’monman, don’t start with me.”

Jenkins turned around at that, one of hiseyebrows slowly creeping up. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me,” Jacob snapped. He wasn’t exactlysure where this anger was coming from, but he was sure he wasn’t about to shoveit away now. “Don’t start with your high and mighty bullshit that I should takebetter care of myself and learn to use my words instead of my fists. We all can’tbe master swordsmen like you, Jenkins. Brawling is to me as fencing is to youand all that shit.”

“There is nothing to be proud of in yourfighting,” Jenkins said, voice tight, obviously catching the small grin onJacob’s face. Jacob wiped it away quickly and replaced it with a frown, butJenkins wasn’t done yet. “The way you fight is despicable. It’s embarrassing towatch. And, quite frankly, I’m pretty sure you end up getting yourself morehurt than your opponent.”

“So what?!” Jacob said, his voice rising. “Whatdoes it matter if I get hurt? As long as the job gets done, who gives a rat’sass?” He growled angrily, refraining from shoving his hand with its bloody knucklesthrough his hair in his frustration. “Why do you care so much if I come homewith a few bruises to my face or a cut to my lip? I don’t see you fawning overthe others when they get hurt!”

“What are you talking about?” Jenkinsasked, voice annoyed. He huffed, leaning against the table and staring right atJacob. “I take care of them just as much as I do you. I do not favor any one ofyou when it comes to treatment.”

“Yeah but then you do stuff like put me onbedrest or ban me from missions,” Jacob pointed out. He was off the table now,standing on his feet, wobbling only slightly. He shoved an accusing finger inJenkins’s direction. “You’ve never once put either of them on bedrest, and onetime Ezekiel broke his arm! So why me, huh? Why do you wanna punish me so much?”

“I-I,” Jenkins stammered, and if Jacob hadbeen closer, he would’ve noticed the red creeping across his face. He’d neveractually suspected that Jacob would notice him coddling him more than theothers. He wasn’t even sure he’d actually realized he’d been doing it untiljust now.

“Because, I mean,” Jacob was stillshouting, “I’m goin’ to get hurt. I’m goin’ to continue to get hurt! And if youcan’t let me deal with it like an adult and stop treating me like atwo-year-old, then I’m just gonna stop showing up here after missions. There’sno reason why I get put on a tighter leash than everyone else when I’m the mostlikely person here to know how to take a few punches to the face.”

“Th-There is,” Jenkins managed to get out,“a reason…I mean.”

That brought Jacob to a stop, and hesuddenly realized how light-headed he was. He stumbled back and leant againstthe desk. He narrowed his eyes at Jenkins, spitting, “Is there? Enlighten me,please. I’m very curious to know why I get treated like a two-year-old whoscraped his goddamn knee on the playground every time I so much as show up backhere after a mission with a tiny bruise. Please, Jenkins, lemme know why-.”

“Because I care about you!” Jenkinssnapped at him. His breath came out in a little, frustrated huff, but he nolonger needed to worry about Jacob interrupting him. Instead, the Librarian hadbeen drawn to a pause, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes going wide.Jenkins hung his head, refusing to meet Jacob’s eyes. He said, “It’s because I careabout you. That’s why I worry so much. In fact, I care about you a lot morethan I should considering…our position. But, unfortunately even after all myyears, these types of feelings have always been the ones that have eluded mewhen trying to figure out how to control them.”

“Wait,” Jacob said. His anger hadcompletely evaporated and, slowly, a goofy grin was growing on his face. “J…areyou saying that you like-like me?”

Jenkins pulled a scowl at that, his headsharply coming up. “Don’t say it like that, you imbecile. I’m trying to make a confessionhere, but if you can’t find it in yourself to take this seriously, I willgladly-.”

“No, no!” Jacob said quickly. He shot offthe desk and limped up to Jenkins. He reached out his hands and rested them onJenkins’s arms to steady himself. He grinned up at him, eyes shining brightly. “I’mnot making fun or anything. I’m just…seriously? Me?”

Jenkins’s face grew soft at that. Hedipped his head a little, a small smile pulling at his lips. “Who else?”

Jacob laughed softly and leant upslightly, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Jenkins’s face. He pulled back,grabbed the blue vial, and shook it a little, beginning to stumble away again. “Thisshit better taste good. I swear, if it’s like that green stuff from last week, Itake back that kiss entirely.”

“Would…would you like some help?” Jenkinsasked him, and Jacob could hear the slight worry in his tone.