unexpected, what you did to my heart
the librarians, cassandra pov, s4e3 spoilers
the day after the whole debacle with his mother and santaâs sleigh, cassandra receives a present from ezekiel.
âjust so you know, you put the fear of the devil himself into my sisters. and my mum likes you, even if she does think youâre a bit weird.â
cassandra smiles, amused, maybe a little bit touched, too, and shakes her head a bit at ezekielâs fondly exasperated look. âwell, the feeling is mutual,â she says, âyour mother is interesting, thatâs for sure.â i can see where you take after her, she also thinks but keeps to herself. âas for your sisters,â she adds with a tiny smirk, âwell, i donât think theyâll give you a hard time anymore, now that youâre friends with a ghost.â
ezekiel snorts at that, and rolls his eyes. then he goes back to rummaging through the backpack heâd brought in with him that morning.
after a few more moments of searching, he lets out an excited âaha!â before pulling out a small box. from where sheâs been browsing through a book on ancient shielding spells at one of the desks in the annex, cassandra inspects the box from the corner of her eye, trying not to look too curious. itâs small, enough to fit comfortably in ezekielâs palm, wrapping paper red and gold.
she turns back to her book when ezekiel turns towards her.
sheâd have thought that things would be a bit weird between them after heâd kissed her the day before, but somehow, itâs not. nothing has really changed, and cassandra isnât sure what to think, how to feel. she supposes itâs good, that things havenât turned awkward after the adrenaline and excitement have settled post-mission.
(she doesnât think she could ever handle ezekiel treating her differently. heâs never once treated her like she might have a meltdown or like she might stab them in the back. heâs the only one whose gaze has been constant and straightforward, from the day they met.)
âhey, cass,â ezekiel calls out to her, and she looks up.
âhmm?â she asks, pretending like she hadnât been spying just seconds ago.
he holds out the box, the light glinting off of the gold swirls of the design. cassandra places a bookmark in the book, sets it down, and accepts the gift.
âi didnât get to give you my gift yesterday, what with everything that happened, so here,â he shrugs. thereâs something like nervous anticipation in his eyes, although she can read none of it in his body language, and she decides that, whatever this is, ezekiel has put a lot of thought into it.
gingerly, she unties the emerald green bow, pulls the wrapping paper apart, and lifts the lid. inside, sitting on a velvety little pillow, is a broach.
itâs diamond-shaped, a quarter the size of her palm, and silver (or is that platinum?). there are swirls on the edges, like sunrays, and in the middle, the most beautiful piece of amber sheâs ever seen. the whole thing looks unassuming, but she knows better.
âitâs beautiful,â she breathes, a smile growing on her face. she looks up at ezekiel. âthank you, ezekiel!â
âiâve heard itâs good for magic; for protection, shielding, stuff like that.â he shrugs, scratches at a cheek, and then, crossing his arms across his chest, nods towards the spell book cassandra had been leafing through.
and really, itâs the sweetest thing, cassandra thinks, smiling and taking off the pin sheâd put on in the morning. he can be so thoughtful sometimes. but then again, youâve known that for a long time.
she takes the brooch out of the box and hands it to him. âhelp me with is?â she says when he raises his eyebrows at her. âi donât have a mirror at hand,â she explains, because for some reason, the big one in the corner is pitch black and doesnât reflect anything right now. âand i donât feel like pricking myself so early in the morning.â
he nods and takes it from her, stepping closer. heâs careful, pulling the corners of her collar together and pinning it just right. then, from under a pile of books, he pulls out an old mirror. cassandra raises an eyebrow at him. âyou could have said.â
he scrunches his nose at her, an adorable habit sheâs noticed he has. âi could have.â he says, mischief in his voice, and something else in his eyes. cassandra looks at her reflection, the brooch shining beautifully against her throat.
âreally, ezekiel, itâs beautiful. thank you,â she says and raises on her tip toes to place a kiss on his cheek. (there is a split second when she almost makes a detour, just to see the look on his face. but she doesnât, in the end.)
âiâm glad you like it, cass,â he says, and goes back to his backpack.
for a moment longer, cassandra admires the brooch, before setting the mirror down and picking the book back up.
âhey,â she calls out to ezekiel, after an idea pops into her head. he looks up at her, questioning. she waves the book in the air. âwanna help me with a spell?â
he smiles (his nose scrunches again), and nods.