Summary: You are Ben's favourite librarian and he keeps coming to the library when you're on your shift. But he's too shy to talk to you so he just sits in a chair and watches you. You however have noticed the cute guy a while ago.
You put another two books away into the science section, careful not to mess up the order they were supposed to be in. One of them almost slipped out of your fingers but you managed to catch it at the last second. Pride washed through you when you put the book back onto the shelf.
The next section on your patrol was the old classics, where famous copies like The Great Gatsby or Frankenstein lined the shelves. There was a whole shelf dedicated to Shakespeare and you were proud to say you'd read every single one of them. You liked Shakespeare, you really did. After having to read his works in school you'd decided to check out his books in your free time, without the pressure of having to dig deep for even the smallest details.
And that was how you discovered your love for Shakespeare.
You put away a copy of Moby Dick and checked your phone to look at the time. It was almost 2 PM, which meant the stranger was going to show up soon.
A few minutes later he entered the library, sat down in a chair and pulled out a book to read. You didn't know his name but you'd seen him around a lot recently. He was cute, with dark hair and his leather jacket he always wore. You'd never seen him without it before, or in clothes that weren't black.
You tried to busy yourself with the next few books on the tray you were pushing along in front of you, which helped for a while. Your patrol led you from the classics to the history section to crime and all the way back to international. And still the guy kept sitting in his chair, reading. Sometimes you thought you could feel his eyes on you but every time you turned to check he was still busy with his book.
You finished your shift that day after hours of sorting books and answering questions, and when you looked over to the chair again the stranger was gone.
A few days later when you were on your shift again the strange guy was back. This time he had a different book with him - not that you were checking or anything, it was just thinner than the one before - and buried himself in an armchair in the corner.
It still seemed like he was watching you and it slowly started to become annoying. Nonetheless you smiled at him when you walked past, causing him to drop his book. You picked it up with ease and handed it back, not passing up on the opportunity to look at the title.
"Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, huh? Good choice."
He gave you a small smile in response and shrugged.
"So far it's really fun. We'll see how it goes."
He fiddled with the book, and his smile turned shaky when you just stood there looking at him. So to resolve some of the tension in the air that gave you goosebumps you gestured towards his lap where he was still running his fingers over the cover of The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde.
"Tell me what you think when you're done. It's a quick read and I like it a lot. I'd love to hear your opinion."
He nodded and gave you another shaky smile that turned brighter the longer he looked at you. It was fascinating to watch, as if his face lit up and sunlight shone from his eyes.
You resisted to roll your eyes at the thought. How cheesy...
His response brought you back to the present and you realized that you'd just totally stared at him. Your cheeks turned hot and you nodded in response before practically running off to find something else to do that distracted you from his handsome face.
This time he didn't leave until your shift was over. When you walked towards the exit he jumped out of the chair and hurried after you.
"Hey, um⌠I'm Ben by the way."
You turned to him at the sound of his voice and a small smile made its way onto your face even though you didn't really want it to.
"Y/n," you responded and watched him turn and twist the name in his head, maybe to decide if it fit you or not. You didn't know.
"Y/nâŚ," Ben mumbled. He nodded and then gave you another bright, blinding smile. "I like that name. It suits you."
You didn't really know how to respond to that. What the hell were you supposed to say after something like that?
Ben seemed to realize that he came across as a weirdo because he started to wave his hands through the air and shook his head, a slightly panicked look on his face.
"I'm sorry, I bet that sounds really weird. It's just⌠I don't know, I'm not good at the whole socializing thing. I didn't mean to creep you out!"
You chuckled under your breath.
"You literally visited me at work for like two weeks straight. And that's not creepy?"
You watched him blush and suppressed a smile. What an idiot⌠But a cute idiot nonetheless.
"Listen, I gotta go. But if you wanna talk about that book once you're done⌠You know where to find me."
With that you left, felt Ben's eyes follow you until you rounded a corner.
He visited the library the following few weeks, each time with a new book to discuss with you. He really seemed to be a fast reader. It was fun to talk about these things with him, he always seemed to have thoughts to contribute that you never would've even considered.
Ben even invited you out for a coffee once. You visited a small shop a few streets away from the library and just sat down and talked. It was then that you learnt that he apparently had six siblings, all of them idiots as he'd put it.
But other than him telling you about the stupid shenanigans his siblings got up to he was rather closed off. It was fine, you didn't mind. A lot of people had trouble opening up to strangers.
Ben left soon after when he got a call and screamed at someone named Klaus over the phone, possibly his brother.
But he had promised to show up today. And even if you wanted to pretend that it wasn't the case at all, you were still excited to see him. You checked your phone multiple times, which only made time go by slower than normal, and that didn't help with the anxious thoughts creeping up in the back of your mind.
When the clock reached 2 PM you instantly stared at the chair where Ben normally sat, only to find it occupied by a guy in a blue halfway unbuttoned shirt and wide comfortable looking pants. He had long hair that seemed well groomed, just like his beard.
Still, you were confused. This was Ben's seat. Who the hell was he and what was he doing here?
As if the guy had heard your thoughts he looked up and waved lazily, in that effortless way that made you wonder if he was high. A tattoo in his palm told you hello in bold letters. You pointed at yourself in question, which caused him to roll his eyes and wave you over again.
"Hi!," he said when you came to a stop in front of him, and you were already asking yourself why you'd even decided to go along with this. His voice was soft but he spoke slowly when he continued, "You must be Y/n. I've heard a lot about you. Ben described you perfectly, even though, well, he did go overboard on your eyes and your hair and basically everything."
Now you were really confused. The stranger must have seen it on your face because he sat up straighter and held out his hand in front of him for you to take.
"I'm Klaus, Ben's brother. Well, one of them. I bet he hasn't really told you about his family, has he? Hihi. Of course not, he wants to impress you, he wouldn't mention usâŚ"
Klaus giggled and then pointedly looked down at his hand. Before he could pull it back however you took it.
"He actually told me about you guys. You did a lot of weird stuff before you all moved out, huh?"
There was a surprised expression on his face and he gestured to the chair next to him so you could sit down. Against your better judgement you did. You still remembered what Ben had told you about Klaus, how he had suffered a lot and hence lost himself in drugs because it made life easier. How withdrawal hadn't worked, no matter how many times Ben had tried to convince his brother to go through with it.
"So⌠What did Benny-boy tell you about us? Well, me specifically?"
Klaus propped his chin up on his hand and grinned, a rather soft grin. He still gave you that junkie vibe and now that you knew who he was it made sense.
You took some time to answer, mostly because you weren't sure if you should even tell Klaus in the first place.
Before you could say anything however there was suddenly a pointed cough from behind you and you turned to see Ben. You smiled at him, happy to see him. Ben however only looked at Klaus and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Klaus just shrugged and gestured towards you.
"You know, I just came here to chat with dear Y/n about you and the whole family. Guess how surprised I was that you even told her anything. Bet you left out some of the reeeally funny parts."
Ben didn't say anything, instead stared at his brother with a frown on his face.
Klaus didn't seem to care. He grinned and pointed towards you.
"Oooh, did he tell you about that time Five time-travelled and then came back as a fifteen year-old on dear old dad's funeral? Did he? I bet -"
You flinched at Ben's loud voice. Visitors around you already eyed the three of you with judgemental looks.
"You know what," you said, rising from the chair, "maybe I should get back to work. This is between you guys."
The frown almost immediately disappeared from Ben's face and he took a step towards you, now just looking at you with big soft eyes that made you want to melt.
You took a deep breath but decided to stand by your opinion. This was some kind of family stuff and you didn't want to be involved right now. You had other problems. Listening to Klaus and his weird nonsense wouldn't be added to that list.
You turned around to leave, but you could still hear Klaus' voice as he said, "See, now you've chased her away..."
Ben only sighed deeply in response.
You tried to forget about the strange encounter and instead busied yourself with a few books visitors had left laying around. At least that took your mind off it for half an hour.
When you looked back over to the armchairs after a while the brothers were gone. With a sigh you concentrated on your work again.
You didn't see Ben again for another two weeks. You'd almost given up on the possibility that he would come back when you left the library on a Tuesday after your shift and suddenly heard a familiar voice call your name.
You fought down the smile that threatened to break out at the sound of Ben's voice but turned around nonetheless. You didn't know what you'd expected but the sad expression on his face sure hadn't been it. He walked towards you almost carefully, as if he was scared to mess things up. It hurt to see him so tentative.
You barely heard him because he almost whispered the words. You allowed yourself a small smile.
But Ben wasn't done yet. He lowered his eyes to the ground, as if there was something incredibly interesting about the tips of his shoes.
You only stood there, waiting. You didn't know where this was going to go, what he wanted to tell you - if he even wanted to say anything special in the first place.
When he looked up to meet your gaze there was still an uncertainty in his eyes that worried you. It was almost as if he was scared but you didn't know what could've possibly scared him.
Ben cleared his throat and buried his hands in the pockets of his black jeans.
"Can we maybe go somewhere to talk?"
You agreed. There seemed to be something going on and you really wanted to know what it was, at least if he wanted to tell you. Curious, you followed him to the coffee shop the two of you had visited a while ago.
It was weird to sit across from him in the small shop, neither of you knowing what to say. You waited for him to speak and Ben just kept fiddling with the menu on the table in front of him. He avoided to look at you and it really started to bother you. You hated to see him so uncomfortable.
"Hey, you don't have to tell me. It's okay."
Ben flinched at the sound of your voice and the menu slipped from his grip onto the floor.
A small smile made its way onto your face and you ducked beneath the table to pick up the menu. Ben apparently had the same idea and so your forehead collided with his with a dull thud. Both of you hissed at the impact.
You resurfaced from under the table, rubbing your forehead with a grimace. Ben did the same and when your eyes met both of you burst out into laughter. That seemed to have broken the ice because when you calmed down he shot you a small smile. You smiled back, happy that the accident had apparently brightened his mood.
The waiter came over and took your orders. It kind of disrupted the mood and you were relieved when he disappeared again.
Ben rested his chin on his folded hands, elbows propped up on the table. He looked at you, and there was a strangely soft expression on his face that you couldn't decipher. But it disappeared again just as quickly and he sighed, dropped his hands to fold them instead.
"Have you⌠Have you ever heard of the Umbrella Academy?"
You were surprised that he suddenly spoke up. You frowned, trying to remember where you'd heard that name before. Then it clicked.
"I think so. That superhero group, right? The kids?"
Ben nodded. He took a deep breath and then continued, voice suddenly so low that you had to lean across the table to understand him properly.
"Well⌠That's my family. Now that you've met Klaus it's hard to deny. We are seven siblings, you might remember them. We're obviously all adopted."
A nervous laugh escaped his mouth. You just sat there, trying to digest the information.
"You⌠are part of the Umbrella Academy."
It came out more as a question than a statement. Ben nodded, an awkward grin on his lips while he played around with his hands.
"Yeah. I'm Number 6, the - "
"The Horror!," you finished. You could still remember the uproar they'd created in the news from when you were a child, how your parents had tried to keep the headlines away from you because they thought the news were too bloody and violent and they didn't want you to read them. Obviously you'd still snatched one or two newspapers because you'd been curious.
Ben nodded, still fiddling with his hands.
"The Horror, exactly. Well, you've met Klaus already. He's Number 4, The SĂŠance. Works as a nickname because he can see the dead. That's also why he's always high, because he doesn't want to face all the dead people around him. He can also summon them. Saved our asses a couple of times."
You didn't know what to say to that information. It seemed impossible for Ben to be The Horror, he was so sweet and nothing like the headlines about him that you remembered. Klaus' branding made more sense.
Still, you gestured for him to keep going.
"I guess naming them all from the top makes the most sense. There's Luther, Number 1. He has super strength. Then Diego, Number Two, The Kraken. He can manipulate the trajectory of things like bullets and throwing knives. All of that."
You remembered reading about The Kraken. Back when you were little you'd thought he was cute.
"So, that's 1, 2, 4 and 6. What about the rest? Wasn't Number 3 a girl? The Rumor or something?"
Ben nodded. "That's Allison. She can manipulate people, make them do whatever she wants them to. Dad abused that power when he made her manipulate Vanya when we were younger. Um, Vanya is Number 7," he added when you frowned.
You couldn't remember Number 7's nickname even though you tried. But the name Vanya struck a chord.
"Wait, Vanya Hargreeves, the author? I read her book ages ago. She even visited our library to read it to people."
"Yeah, she's the White Violin. Her power is soundwaves. That and she plays the violin really well, I guess that fits her name. She's really talented."
You smiled. Ben really loved his family it seemed.
"And what about Number 5? Didn't he have teleportation?"
"He does. But it's not just teleporting from one room to the next, Five can also jump through time. Got him in a lot of trouble, he was gone for years before he reappeared at dad's funeral."
You frowned. You'd never heard of Five's disappearance.
Ben chuckled. He finally stopped fidgeting and instead offered you a soft look.
"Now you know about my crazy family. Any secrets I should know about you?"
You snorted, couldn't help but smile at his far more relaxed demeanour.
"Nope, not as far as I know. I'm pretty sure my great-grandma might've killed her first husband but the case was never solved, soâŚ"
You bit back a laugh. When Ben's eyes turned wide you had to fight to keep it in but he slowly seemed to realise that you'd been joking because he shook his head at you with an exasperated sigh. It was at that moment that you burst out laughing, and he soon joined in.
You were once again interrupted by the waiter who brought your drinks. Still chuckling you reached for your latte and took a sip, just to pass time until the waiter would leave. You rolled your eyes at Ben over the rim of your cup, watched him grin and shake his head.
You still stood by your opinion, he was really cute.
When you were alone again you set down your drink, your chin propped up on your palm. With the other hand you mindlessly stirred your latte. You couldn't help but watch Ben enjoy his drink, the way he slowly sipped his coffee, and your cheeks turned hot when his eyes suddenly met your stare.
"See something interesting?," he asked and set down the cup. He didn't manage to hide his smirk though.
You grinned at him and shrugged.
"You're just cute, that's all."
Ben had taken another sip of his coffee while he waited for you to answer and now he choked on his drink, making you giggle as he set the cup back down and coughed, hunched over with his hands clenched into fists.
You shook your head with an amused smile.
Ben nodded and then coughed another two times. He cleared his throat with a grimace.
"I'm cute, huh?," he asked, voice still a little strained.
"I mean, you were before you almost coughed your lungs out."
You stuck your tongue out at him with a smile. You received an amused grin in response but there was a blush on Ben's face.
"Ouch.," he commented, still grinning.
When the waiter came over for the third time to ask if everything was fine you decided to pay and leave.
The day had gone on, the sky was slowly turning dark and you hadn't even noticed. Only a few people were still outside, and so you were mostly left alone.
Ben managed to somehow get you to talk about your favourite books, probably because he knew by now that you couldn't shut up about them. You could see him smile at you even in the low light. In turn you asked him about his siblings and it was fun to watch him talk freely because he could now tell you about them without having to keep things to himself.
At one point you just walked next to one another in comfortable silence. Your thoughts were still stuck on that story of Five's disappearance and you wondered how he must've felt for all those years, all alone with no idea if his family was okay, if they were even still alive.
You were shaken from it when a warm hand suddenly wrapped around yours. Blood shot to your face and you glanced at Ben next to you who avoided your gaze at all costs. Your lips twitched while you twisted your hand to intertwine your fingers with his.
This time you could audibly hear him gasp. You smiled to yourself.
He walked with you until you stopped in front of your door and turned around to face him. For a moment you just stood in awkward silence, and you couldn't think of something to say no matter how hard you tried.
Ben was still holding your hand. He smiled at you, a little bit unsure and awkward, just like the first time you'd talked. Something fluttered in your stomach as an idea started to form in your head.
"WellâŚ," he started, but you cut him off, stood up on your tiptoe and pressed your lips to his.
Ben just stood still for a moment before he let go of your hand to pull you into his arms, softly returning your kiss. Your hands gripped his black hoodie and pulled him even closer, eyes falling shut the longer you stood there like this.
When you finally broke the kiss it was as if you'd just been awoken from a dream. A ton of sounds hit your ears all at once; the crickets somewhere in the grass in your neighbour's garden, a dog that barked in the distance, a TV and so many more.
Ben just smiled at you, that soft smile that always made you weak, and pulled you back in to peck your lips once more.
And while you buried your hands in his hair you decided that you'd never been happier than with him right now under the stars.
@datfearlessfangirl @whiger-01
