FIC: Young Avengers: Reprimand
Title: Reprimand
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kate/Eli
Word Count:860~
Summary: For the prompt: "Young Avengers, Kate/Eli, their extracurriculars tend to get in the way of Eli's after-school job."
Notes Let's play spot the obscure reference(s)!
Eli's supervisor, Mr. Drummond, eyed him critically over his coke-bottle thick bifocals and scowled. This was the third time this week that Eli had shown up late and slightly rumpled to his job at the library, and he knew from the baleful look in Drummond's watery blue eyes that it wasn't going to be excused for much longer.
In his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of purple and black sneaking around behind the stacks. Kate, his brain insisted though he knew she had gone home after their victory over yet another time-consuming D-list loser. Even the possibility made it ten times harder to concentrate on Mr. Drummond's spittle-punctuated blustering about his poor work ethic, general lack of upstanding moral character, probable drug use, rap music, texting, and perpetuation of the modern blasphemy that was e-books.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he really needed a new laptop now that the old desktop computer at home had stopped working entirely, and that he could quit as soon as he earned enough for that. When that day finally came he would have some choice words for Mr. Drummond, but for now he simply had to grind his teeth and hope that one vein in his forehead (the one Kate always made fun of) wasn't standing out.
When the old man was finally done with his ranting and raving he shoved a pile of books into Eli's hands and wheeled the cart forward hard enough that it rammed into his knees. Eli held back a curse only by literally biting down on his tongue as he limped toward children's section to re-shelve.
As always, that job went slowly since he frequently had to pause and count to ten in order to avoid the small children weaving around him and over his toes in a blur of misplaced books and manic energy. He really wanted to kick them all out. Unfortunately, that was sure to earn him the ire of Mrs. Denburg and her foghorn.
Once the cart was finally clear Eli looked cautiously around to see if he were alone yet. Both Denburg and Drummond were up at the front desk, and another glance over his shoulder revealed someone watching him from behind a nearby shelf.
He abandoned the cart to the attentions of ten hyperactive preschoolers and (with stealth skills worthy of Captain America) sneaked behind the shelf, nearly coming nose-to-nose with Hawkeye.
"You're still in your uniform," he said, making it sound like a question instead of a flat statement of fact.
Kate shrugged one (bare) shoulder and pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose. "Haven't been home yet. I wanted to make sure you got here okay."
"I'm going to get fired," Eli hissed, picturing his Drummond's reaction to finding him talking to a superhero behind MYSTERIES A-D. In his mind, it involved a whole lot of hollering without actually raising his voice. The man had it down to an art.
Once again Kate shrugged, unconcerned with the state of Eli's employment. It wasn't as if she'd ever had to worry about keeping a job, Eli thought peevishly. Before he could work up much resentment toward his girlfriend, though, she pushed him up against the shelf with one gloved hand on his chest.
"Shh." His eyes widened slightly when she leaned in for a sloppy kiss, smearing lipstick all over his lips and chin. "So getting fired."
"It'll be okay."
He heard shuffling nearby, Drummond by the sound of the heavy footfalls.
"I need the money," Eli insisted, though he knew that when Kate was in this mood there wasn't much he could do to stop her. Especially not when she was nibbling on his ear that way.
"I've got money." He snorted, but his next breath only drew in the scent of clean sweat and lilacs that could produce a reaction in him like no others. It really wasn't fair how little of a chance he stood.
"I need this job." He caught her wrists in his hands and backed her up against MYSTERIES E-H for one last kiss. "Later, Kate."
She frowned at him, annoyed, and he rolled his eyes. Without another word she took a book from the shelf behind her -- he didn't think she even looked at the title -- and marched up toward the front desk in full superhero costume. Eli shook his head in disbelief and turned around, only to find that Mr. Drummond was standing at the end of the row.
From the expression on his face, he'd been standing there for a while.
Just when the silence stretched to a point that Eli thought they might both die from sheer embarrassment, the old man collected his jaw from the floor and seemed to work up the nerve to speak.
"That the reason you've been late?"
Eli looked back toward where Kate was now walking out with her book and nodded mutely. It was true -- kind of.
Mr. Drummond lapsed back into silence for a moment and then nodded before he shuffled away into the other shelves.
He never bothered Eli about being late again.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kate/Eli
Word Count:860~
Summary: For the prompt: "Young Avengers, Kate/Eli, their extracurriculars tend to get in the way of Eli's after-school job."
Notes Let's play spot the obscure reference(s)!
Eli's supervisor, Mr. Drummond, eyed him critically over his coke-bottle thick bifocals and scowled. This was the third time this week that Eli had shown up late and slightly rumpled to his job at the library, and he knew from the baleful look in Drummond's watery blue eyes that it wasn't going to be excused for much longer.
In his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of purple and black sneaking around behind the stacks. Kate, his brain insisted though he knew she had gone home after their victory over yet another time-consuming D-list loser. Even the possibility made it ten times harder to concentrate on Mr. Drummond's spittle-punctuated blustering about his poor work ethic, general lack of upstanding moral character, probable drug use, rap music, texting, and perpetuation of the modern blasphemy that was e-books.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he really needed a new laptop now that the old desktop computer at home had stopped working entirely, and that he could quit as soon as he earned enough for that. When that day finally came he would have some choice words for Mr. Drummond, but for now he simply had to grind his teeth and hope that one vein in his forehead (the one Kate always made fun of) wasn't standing out.
When the old man was finally done with his ranting and raving he shoved a pile of books into Eli's hands and wheeled the cart forward hard enough that it rammed into his knees. Eli held back a curse only by literally biting down on his tongue as he limped toward children's section to re-shelve.
As always, that job went slowly since he frequently had to pause and count to ten in order to avoid the small children weaving around him and over his toes in a blur of misplaced books and manic energy. He really wanted to kick them all out. Unfortunately, that was sure to earn him the ire of Mrs. Denburg and her foghorn.
Once the cart was finally clear Eli looked cautiously around to see if he were alone yet. Both Denburg and Drummond were up at the front desk, and another glance over his shoulder revealed someone watching him from behind a nearby shelf.
He abandoned the cart to the attentions of ten hyperactive preschoolers and (with stealth skills worthy of Captain America) sneaked behind the shelf, nearly coming nose-to-nose with Hawkeye.
"You're still in your uniform," he said, making it sound like a question instead of a flat statement of fact.
Kate shrugged one (bare) shoulder and pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose. "Haven't been home yet. I wanted to make sure you got here okay."
"I'm going to get fired," Eli hissed, picturing his Drummond's reaction to finding him talking to a superhero behind MYSTERIES A-D. In his mind, it involved a whole lot of hollering without actually raising his voice. The man had it down to an art.
Once again Kate shrugged, unconcerned with the state of Eli's employment. It wasn't as if she'd ever had to worry about keeping a job, Eli thought peevishly. Before he could work up much resentment toward his girlfriend, though, she pushed him up against the shelf with one gloved hand on his chest.
"Shh." His eyes widened slightly when she leaned in for a sloppy kiss, smearing lipstick all over his lips and chin. "So getting fired."
"It'll be okay."
He heard shuffling nearby, Drummond by the sound of the heavy footfalls.
"I need the money," Eli insisted, though he knew that when Kate was in this mood there wasn't much he could do to stop her. Especially not when she was nibbling on his ear that way.
"I've got money." He snorted, but his next breath only drew in the scent of clean sweat and lilacs that could produce a reaction in him like no others. It really wasn't fair how little of a chance he stood.
"I need this job." He caught her wrists in his hands and backed her up against MYSTERIES E-H for one last kiss. "Later, Kate."
She frowned at him, annoyed, and he rolled his eyes. Without another word she took a book from the shelf behind her -- he didn't think she even looked at the title -- and marched up toward the front desk in full superhero costume. Eli shook his head in disbelief and turned around, only to find that Mr. Drummond was standing at the end of the row.
From the expression on his face, he'd been standing there for a while.
Just when the silence stretched to a point that Eli thought they might both die from sheer embarrassment, the old man collected his jaw from the floor and seemed to work up the nerve to speak.
"That the reason you've been late?"
Eli looked back toward where Kate was now walking out with her book and nodded mutely. It was true -- kind of.
Mr. Drummond lapsed back into silence for a moment and then nodded before he shuffled away into the other shelves.
He never bothered Eli about being late again.