Archive of Our Own

Quiet.

It was an aspect of the library that Sage appreciated. The serene environment was relaxing and helped provide the focus one needed for studies and thinking. 

And with the plethora of books the library contained, it felt like there was so much knowledge to be uncovered. So when learning that students could volunteer to be library assistants after school, Sage took that opportunity. She found organizing the shelves in an orderly manner to be an enjoyable task and appreciated how well acquainted she could become with the layout that a simple visit during lunch time would not offer. It became a sanctuary from the bustling noise of other areas in the school.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Following her typical after school routine, Sage made her way through the shelves, returning books back to where they belonged. Another peaceful afternoon, just as the way it's always been. Or so she expected.

Suddenly the doors burst open, causing Sage to pause and look over. A bee mobian buzzed in the doorway, hair and jacket disheveled, messenger bag slung around a shoulder with the flap still open. His eyes met Sage's, and upon spotting her he quickly rushed towards her.

"Please tell me you're still open!" he shouted.

"SHHHH!" a student sitting at a nearby table with a book hissed, shooting a glare in his direction.

"Oops," the teen bee nervously chuckled. He turned back to Sage, this time whispering. "Uh...are you guys still open?"

She blinked. "You were able to enter, were you not?"

"Oh! Oh yeah..."

Sage glanced at the clock on the wall. "We're open for another hour and a half."

"Really? That's great! That means I'm only maybe...60 percent doomed then! Not too bad," the bee said.

Sage stared back, puzzled.

"Uh, listen. I'm looking for a book to help me finish a history report. It's um, due...tomorrow. I totally didn't forget or anything! I mean, I do have some of it written...well, some notes and stuff at least. But I forgot some details and the teacher does want us to use a book for reference, too. Can you pleeeeaaaaase help me?" he clasped his hands and looked towards her pleadingly. 

Sage put the books she was holding back on the nearby cart. "What's the topic?"

"Ummm...something about the Marina Madness...evolution?"

"Do you mean the revolution?"

The bee snapped his fingers. "Yeah that!"

"We should have something, I'll search our database."

"Alright! Thanks so much, uh-" the boy squinted at the nametag Sage was wearing. "Thanks Sage! That's a nice name, it's like the flower! Mine's Charmy, by the way."

Sage hummed in response, making her way to the front desk computer, Charmy trailing behind her chattering away. 

"I haven't been here much despite being at this school for a few years...WHOA! YOU GUYS HAVE THIS MANY COMIC BOOKS?!" The bee brimmed with excitement in front of the collection of graphic novels that sat on several rotating bookcases, spinning one of the cases around to look at the contents. 

Sage turned around quickly, an edge lining her voice. "Please lower your volume output."

Charmy shrank under her gaze, twiddling his fingers. "Um right, right...heh, sorry." He gave an apologetic smile. 

Sage turned back and once again made her way towards the front desk.

"I don't go to libraries much," Charmy remarked as he looked around. "For some reason I seem to get in trouble whenever I go to one."

"I find that entirely plausible..." Sage murmured. The sooner she could help this boy locate the book he needed the sooner he could hopefully leave. Once at the desk she quickly searched the library catalog.

"We have a book covering Marina Madness's history, the records show it should be available. This way." 

Sage knew exactly where the history area was, and without another word she made her way towards it, Charmy once again following her. He hummed behind her, giving little ooh's and aah's as they passed by some of the paintings and posters on the walls. She felt a bit irked...was this boy ever quiet? 

"Here we are." Sage stopped in front of a shelf, scanning the rows of books. She paused, scanning again. "It's...not here."

"What?!"

"According to the call number that was listed in the database, it should be right here." Sage pointed in between two books. 

"Maybe the computer was wrong?"

"No...it might have been incorrectly filed and misplaced." She gave a sigh, and started to check the nearby shelves.

Charmy buzzed beside her. "Do you think someone stole it? Like they just walked out with it?" 

"Hmm...that is a possibility."

"Oh no!" he cried. "Now I'm 140 percent doomed!" 

Sage looked over at the bee. "I...don't know if that calculation of yours is logical. But while the probability of the book being taken without proper checkout procedures being conducted isn't zero, I don't think it was actually taken. The more probable outcome was that it was incorrectly shelved." She grabbed a book off one of the shelves. "Such as this one..." Without another word she headed off to a different area. 

Charmy followed close behind. "Does that happen a lot?"

"Everyday. Someone is always putting a book where it doesn't belong. We also have some new assistants who still have not acquainted themselves with the organization system and have been contributing to the problem." She stopped in front of a shelf and put away the book she was carrying, grabbing another in the row above and placing it on a shelf behind her. 

"How do you do that?" 

"Do...what?" 

"That!" Charmy waved his hand. "You just grab a book and know exactly where it should go!" 

"The call number..." Sage answered. "It helps to keep books organized by their subject matter, publication date, and author. That way it can be easy to locate what book you need." 

The bee flew up to one of the high shelves, leaning in towards a row of books. "But there's so many different numbers! These are different from the ones back in that other section."

"I've memorized most of them."

He stared at Sage for a moment, then his face lit up with an idea. "Wait here!" He flew off in a rush, then returned a few moments later holding a book. "Where does this one go?"

Sage took the book and studied it for a moment, then navigated through several shelves with Charmy observing until she came across the fantasy section, placing the book where there was a small empty space left from when he took it moments ago.

"Wow! That's amazing!" His eyes practically sparkled as he looked towards Sage. "It's like you're a computer or something!"

"I've volunteered here for two years now," she responded. "And I am an artificial intelligence program."

"Ohhh, is that why you're all floaty and stuff? I thought you were an angel or something."

Sage blinked in surprise. Usually she was often mistaken for a ghost by others. This was...new.

"I'm gonna go grab another book! I want to see if you can find where that one goes too!" 

"Please do not. What about your report situation?"

"OH! Oh yeah, that!" Charmy grasped at his hair. "What am I gonna do?!"

"I will help you search, if we both examine the shelves we'll increase the probability of finding it." ‘And I can return to focusing on my tasks for today,’ she thought to herself.

The boy brightened up. "Really? Thanks!"

The two moved their way through some sections examining the spines of the books, Sage informing Charmy the title and call number they were looking for. 

"Oooooh a chao raising book!" Charmy gasped, yanking it off the shelf and flipping through it. "My sister would like this. Well, she's already pretty knowledgeable on raising chao. Oh, she's not really my sister either. She feels like it though! See, her mom and my dad have been dating for a long time now. They practically spend everyday together! I don't know why they just don't get married already. Speaking of my dad, I bet he’d be thrilled if he was here. He loves solving mysteries and looking for missing items."

Sage remained quiet as he rambled on, skimming through the rows. 

"Sooo...besides putting the books away, do you read any of them?"

"...I do."

"Which ones?"

Sage stopped and glanced at Charmy for a moment. Usually patrons of the library would ask her where a section was, if there was a certain book available or if it could be put on hold once it was returned, or to alert her that the printer was out of paper or ink. This was the first time someone wanted to inquire what books she read.   

"Numerous categories. History, sciences, and technology books are quite engaging," she answered after a beat.

Charmy hummed in response. "That's kinda like my big brother. He likes studying history and stuff. He also likes reading language books. And poetry."

"I've read some poetry books. I appreciate it when the author is efficient with their writing."

"Wanna know a secret?" Charmy gained a mischievous grin. "My brother also writes poetry. He has a journal he writes in. He doesn't really like anyone to read it though. Once I got caught and he got super mad at me. But sometimes I still sneak into his room and read it every now and then. Some of his poems are silly." He giggled as he thought back on one he read. "But some of them are actually pretty nice! I like them anyway. I think he's even written a few about me." 

"You...still read it? Why?"

The bee shrugged as the two moved to another section of bookshelves. "I don't know, sometimes there's nothing else better to do. Do you have any siblings?"

Sage gave a small nod. "I have 3 older brothers...and an older half sister."

"Wow! So you're the youngest too? Then you totally know what it's like!"

She leaned her head to the side, staring questioningly. "...What it's like?"

"Yeah! Like, isn't it kind of fun annoying them sometimes? I mean they can be pretty annoying, too. Especially when they want to act like a know-it-all." Charmy rolled his eyes and gave a brief scowl. 

Sage pondered for a moment. "I'm...I don't believe we've had many moments like that. My sister, I only see her occasionally...we didn't initially harmonize too well, but our relationship seems to be satisfactory for now. Two of my brothers often propose for us to conduct in socialization. Though usually that means they want me to watch an idol performance or a movie with them. My eldest brother, we don't often spend much time together either." She drifted in the air, contemplating a bit more. "However...he does enjoy cooking. We don't require sustenance with food, but our father does. I like to help our eldest brother when he's cooking, but I think there are times he'd prefer I left him alone."

"How come?"

"He doesn't like it when I seem to question if the ingredients he's chosen are truly right for the recipe. He also says I don't admit when my calculations are wrong."

"Do you?"

"Absolutely not."

Charmy burst into a fit of giggles, Sage staring at him incredulously. 

"I do not see how that is humorous." 

"It just s-sounds like my b-brother and I," Charmy gasped out in between chuckles. "I mean…okay, sometimes I am wrong...but I'm not going to tell him that! Well, not right away at least." He gave a lopsided smile. "I guess you and I are alike in some way."

Her eyes widened slightly and she gave him a baffled look. Her and this bee? Being alike? The idea was absolutely absurd.  

"Let us keep searching..." She floated around the corner to move into the next aisle. The pair settled into silence. Of course, it did not last very long.

"Have you read this book?" Charmy pulled out an astronomy handbook, waving it in the air.

"I have."

"Ooooh! So if we went stargazing together would you be able to point out all the constellations?"

Sage's hand froze as she was pulling out a book she noticed in the wrong spot. "I...I suppose so."

“Cool!” Charmy returned the book to the shelf, giving a stretch as he hovered in the air. "So is there anything you haven't read around here?"

"There are some."

"Hmmm...have you read any joke books?"

Sage tilted her head. "Joke books? No...I suppose I have never seen any reason to."

Charmy gave a dramatic gasp. "Whaaaat?! Knowing jokes is super important! You never know when you need to tell a good joke!"

"I've...never found myself in a situation where that knowledge was required."

"If you want to get someone to smile, it'll come in handy!" The bee grinned. "I'll show you!"

Sage gave a quizzical look as Charmy cleared his throat.

"Did you hear about the kidnapping at school? It's okay- he woke up!" He started cackling at his own joke.

Sage stared at him, unimpressed. Once Charmy noticed the lack of enthusiasm from her, he immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"Uh didn't like that one, huh? Let's see..." He tapped his chin in thought. "Don't worry I'll find something you'll like. After all, hive got jokes for days! ...Get it? You see what I did there?"

"..."

"My brother told me this one- okay, what did the ninja say when told he couldn't throw a ninja star? Shur-nobi! Wait, no...shoe...what was it again...sure he can? Shuriken! Er, actually forget this one, it doesn't count!" He bit his lip. "Hmmm...where does the library keep the books about paranoia?" Charmy leaned towards Sage for a dramatic effect, lowering his voice. "Right behind you..."

She pursed her lips.

"I asked the librarian for books about silence. She didn't answer."

Sage's lips twitched, a faint smile appearing on her face. When she realized what was happening, she quickly brought a hand to her mouth and turned away. Charmy's eyes began to twinkle.

"Ah! You smiled!"

"I think you experienced a sensory illusion."

"Nope! I saw that, it was totally a smile! I got you! I got you!"

Sage shook her head, focusing back on the search.

"Just admit it, you can't resist the Charminator!" he struck a pose.

"Did you say something? I seemed to have checked out of the conversation."

"Hey! Don't- ...ohhhh! Oh! I get it!" he started to laugh. 

Sage couldn't stop her smile from growing wider at the contagious sound, and to her surprise she started to giggle along. She noticed someone who was browsing further down the aisle shot them a dirty look, suddenly realizing the two of them were getting a bit loud. 

"Th-that's enough," she said, composing herself quickly. "Let's proceed to the next section, I do not see what we are looking for here, either."

Sage circled around the corner of a shelf into the following row, Charmy moving to a shelf next to her. For a while, they worked in silence. When several minutes had passed and the bee hadn't uttered a word, Sage grew curious. She glanced over, startled to see he was looking right at her. Once their eyes locked on each other's, Charmy quickly averted his gaze, pretending to be engrossed by the books in front of him. 

"Is there something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing..."

Sage narrowed her eyes slightly. "You do not sound confident with that answer."

"Okay, okay! I was just thinking...you should smile more, you have a really nice one." The bee's cheeks seemed to be tinted pink, but whether it was from the sunlight peering through the window causing an optical illusion or another reason, Sage couldn't say for certain. 

"Oh..." She felt an unusual heat sensation settle on her cheeks. 

The two went back to silence again, turning their attention to scanning the book titles. Sage was usually so content with a quiet environment, but the current silence brought an unease she couldn't quite place. Her form flickered a few times, feeling a mix of various emotions at once. Something captured her attention, giving a much needed distraction from the bubbling inner turmoil as she felt annoyance take over its place.

"Another misallocated book..." Sage murmured as she removed a guidebook about drums that had been placed in between software engineering books.

Charmy peered over. "Oh, the drums! Can I see?" She passed him the book, and he started to leaf through the pages. 

"Do you play the drums?"

"Um...a drum. We can't afford a full drum set like this," he said as he tapped at the front cover image. "But I would like one someday! I want to play all the different sounds! What I have is a marching bass drum, which is…usually played in an ensemble, since one drum doesn’t have much variety of notes.”

“Ensemble…” Sage said. “Are you part of the school’s marching band?”

“Um…I was, for a little while. Until they, uh, kicked me out.” Charmy’s expression grew sheepish. “The instructor didn’t like how much I would improvise. I don’t think the other students did, either.”

“I see…” 

“But it's still a lot of fun to play! I've had my drum for a long time." He smiled at her. “I could show you sometime. Maybe you could even give it a try!”

“I’ve never played a musical instrument before…but a new experience sounds intriguing. Perhaps indulging would be-” Sage hesitated. Was she actually…considering spending more time with this bee? She shifted her attention to the book in his hand. "Here, allow me to return that to its rightful place." 

“Oh…yeah.” Charmy handed the book back to Sage, and when she started to leave he fluttered behind her. “I do mean it though. I could also try playing your favorite songs! It might not sound very great with just one drum, but like I said I can improvise!” 

Sage kept her focus on the shelves ahead, turning once she recognized the one that contained music and other artistic recreational themed books. She was about to head back to the section they had been inspecting after she returned the book, but a quick skim of the row made her hang back.

"Wait. That's...." Her hand withdrew a book from the end of the row. The Encyclopedia of Marina Madness read the title. She turned and handed the book to Charmy, who was hovering behind her. "I am unsure who would make such an oversight and place it here, but the book you are needing has been located." 

“Wait- you found it?!” He pumped his fists energetically. "Yes! WE DID IT!"

"As I stated before, lower you-"

Sage was cut off as Charmy suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. She froze, shocked by the sudden contact. 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're a lifesaver!" He nuzzled his cheek against hers.

Sage felt that strange heat again as it started to burn her face. She hoped she wasn't facing some sort of malfunction. Maybe she would do a maintenance check that evening at home to be certain.

Charmy pulled back, joy emanating off his face. "Wow, we actually found it out of all these books! Man, I'm hungry. I could go for a snack. Here, let me give you something too!" 

"I established in an earlier conversation that I don't require food for sustenance..."

Charmy didn't pay attention to Sage's words as he continued to rustle through his messenger bag, pulling out a honeybun and pushing it into her hands. "Here! I love these. My brother says they're too sugary and I shouldn't eat something so unhealthy. But my dad still gets them sometimes because he knows they're my favorite. He says it doesn't hurt to have a bit of comfort food now and then." He pulled out another honeybun for himself.

"Consuming food or drink in the library is prohibited..."

Charmy hesitated, then put his snack back in his bag. "Aww, alright then... Well, I guess I better go get this report done now that I have what I need." He heaved a sigh.

"I have my own set of tasks I should return to. I am pleased we were able to complete our search," Sage said. She glided towards the front desk, gathering stacks of books from the return bin located right next to it. As she became situated, she noticed Charmy had picked a table that was closest to the desk. He begrudgingly set up his workspace.

The two focused on their own respectable projects. Sage worked on processing returned books, occasionally assisting some students that had trouble with the self checkout kiosk or any questions they had. In between her own work, she observed that even when working on an assignment the bee didn't stay quiet for long. Soft humming, tapping of his pencil or fingers against the table, or occasional buzzing from his wings filled the air. To her surprise, it did not bother her as much as she would have thought. His unique personality shining through even while writing a report was...charming, in a way. 

"How do you spell infrastructure?"

Sage glanced up at the break of silence, seeing Charmy looking right at her.

"I-n-f-r-a-s-t-r-u-c-t-u-r-e."

"Thanks! What about occurrence?"

"O-c-c-u-r-r-e-n-c-e."

"...And perseverance?"

"Do you require a dictionary for assistance?" 

"No..."

Sage returned to the stack of books she was scanning through the system. 

"...But I could use an eraser."

Sage opened a drawer that kept spare supplies for use, noticing that there were no erasers available. "I will lend you one of my own." She reached into her bookbag underneath the desk, then approached Charmy at his table and placed an eraser by his hand. He picked it up, noticing it was shaped like a ferris wheel.

"...Huh."

"Is something wrong?"

"You have something like this?"

"It is a necessary tool for writing assignments."

"No I mean, I thought you would just have a regular boring eraser."

"...I apologize if it is inadequate."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Charmy waved his hands frantically. "I'm just surprised you have something like this. I like it though, I wish I had one too!"

"It...reminds me of theme parks. My father is quite fond of them, and it reminds me of times when we have visited them together." Sage smiled softly. "Father hopes to open a theme park of his own someday."

"Oooh I'd love to go! You gotta tell me when it opens!" Charmy looked up at her eagerly.

"I...I am uncertain when that goal will be achieved."

"That's okay! I hope it can be soon though!" He looked down at his paper and made a face. "Man, I wish I was riding a rollercoaster right now. Or a ferris wheel!" 

"Wouldn't a ferris wheel feel redundant? You can fly at rather high altitudes, can you not?" 

"Yeah, but sometimes it's nice to have something else carry you up that high so you can take it easy instead. Plus you can ride with someone too!" 

"I suppose that is true..."

Charmy beamed, then returned to working on his assignment. Sage gathered some of the newly returned books and added them to the return cart she had been working on before the bee had entered. The sun continued to set, basking the library with a warm orange glow. Other students that had been spending time reading or working on their own homework slowly filed out as more time passed. The library grew increasingly empty save for Charmy and Sage.

"Uh, when do you close again...?" Charmy asked as Sage happened to pass by him to throw away scrap paper she found lying around.

She glimpsed at the clock. "In 5 minutes..." She noticed from the corner of her eye the bee stiffened. "I am managing the closing procedures today so...I will permit you an extra 15 minutes."

Charmy visibly relaxed. "Thanks! You're so nice."

"Please ensure you use that time efficiently."

Sage patrolled the library, tidying up any books that appeared to be slanted or threatening to fall off the shelf, along with anything else that appeared to be out of order.

"Um..."

She turned towards the voice after rearranging some textbooks that were out of order. Charmy stood beside her with his report in his hands, fiddling with the papers for a moment before shyly looking up and holding them out towards her. "Would you like to read it?"

She flickered, caught by surprise at the request, but held a hand out and accepted the papers from him. Sage read through the report as Charmy pulled and tugged at the edge of his jacket, antennae twitching every few moments. 

"There are several punctuation errors and grammatical inconsistencies. You also have a run on sentence in the second paragraph."

"Aww man, I knew something would be wrong," the bee sighed, antennae and wings drooping.

"...But it is a satisfactory report overall." 

He quickly perked up. "Do you...like it?"

Sage gave a nod. 

"Yay! Alright!" Charmy sprang up and flew a loop-the-loop in the air. "Boy, am I starving! Usually I would have dinner by now but, you know, report to write and all. I'm glad that's over with! Ooh I can't wait to see what Mom made for tonight!" He babbled on as he packed up his things and started to head for the exit. 

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

He stopped and turned around, giving her a puzzled look. Sage stared back expectantly, but when he didn't get the hint she held the papers out towards him.

"OHH! My report! Almost forgot, hah.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 

He drifted back towards her, reaching out to take back the report. As she handed it to him, their fingers lightly brushed against each other's. Sage glitched momentarily, her eyes meeting Charmy's. The two gazed at each other, stares lingering a bit longer in the gentle stillness.

"Um...thanks again," Charmy finally said, slowly flying backwards towards the door. 

"...Sure."

The bee started to eagerly wave until he bumped into a pillar, giving a small grunt in response. Sage tensed and opened her mouth to ask if he was alright, but he quickly regained his bearings and flashed a thumbs up. 

"I'm okay! Bye!" And with that, he was out the door. The library settled back to its tranquil atmosphere, the setting sun glittering through the windows.

Quiet.

...

Too quiet.

Sage picked up the discarded history book from the table, deciding she could put it away before heading home. She paused when she noticed something sticking out of the middle of the book. Curiously, she pulled out a folded paper.

On it were several words near the top, some scratched out, Sage realizing they were the same words Charmy had trouble spelling earlier. But near the bottom...was a doodle of her, surrounded by sparkles and stars. "Library angel" was written next to it.

She gazed at the paper. She should probably just throw it away, and yet...

Sage retrieved her book bag from behind the front desk, gingerly placing the paper in one of her notebooks. She glanced at a few books that had been left on the desk that were needing to be placed on the returns cart, one in particular catching her interest. 

A book on various jokes and puns. 

...Perhaps she would also check out a book for herself before leaving today.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Charmy hummed absentmindedly as he made his way home, reaching into his bag for the remaining honey bun he had to hold him over until he could have dinner. His brows furrowed in confusion as he felt his hand enclose a tiny object, pulling it out.

It was the eraser that Sage had lent him. He had forgotten to return it to her.

He looked down at the object sitting in his palm, a smile spreading across his face as his chest became giddy with excitement.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the library again tomorrow!"