Maya had her priorities.

Now that she could could see, honest to goodness visible light spectrum see... Maya had to go back to the library. It had nearly killed her to be there for a mission, recently, and not be able to do more than stop and touch the spines. Later was what she'd promised herself.

Later was now.

She was giddy from the moment she stepped off the bus. Sure, the Mansion had a small library and part of her volunteer work went around maintaining that, but the Mansion library had absolutely nothing on the New York Public Library. And the NYPL had nothing on the fact that she could sit on the bus and people were rude to her! It was awesome! She didn't stand out with her hair so brown. She didn't at all look like the long-time X-man, Ghost.

Maya, was Maya.

And Maya was gonna get her some books.

She flitted between sections, picking one up wherever she went, drunk on the power to actually hold weight in her arms. In front of the vegetarian cookbooks, she stopped with her arms overfull of books in order to read the spines and choose her next favorite. She rocked from her toes to her heels in her yellow ballet flats, and back again. Maya was actually matching again in a pale sun dress that faded from white to a riot of little flecks of colors all cinched beneath a wide yellow belt.

Now that she could see, Cafas' publicist would hopefully stop texting her hateful things.

So Booker was throwing himself into his work. After the disaster with Juliette a few days ago, Booker was still trying to get his bearings straight. He still couldn’t believe that he had kissed her! It had been exhilarating, sure, but the woman had already admitted she was with another man. Still, it wasn’t as if he had forced his kiss upon her. She kissed him back, he felt with, with just as much fervor as he kissed her. But really didn’t mean anything, did it? She could have been too shocked to react properly. Maybe she only did it because she was scared he would say or do something? Did that make him a sexual predator? Booker’s mind whirled in a confusing tempest, unable to pick out up from down. The only thing that made sense to him right now was work; the library always made sense.

Booker was taking more shifts than he really needed to. Booker had always been a workaholic for his library, taking a couple extra shifts now and then. Not because he needed the money but because he really just liked the environment. He loved the library. He was one of those few individuals who truly liked his job and had no problem being surrounded by it. It helped to center him, to keep his head clear, to ensure that the man could have a few Zen moments throughout his day. Today was one of those days where he really wanted to be Zen.

So, coming in early, Booker busied himself with the book drop, with schedule, with talking to vendors. Before the day was half over, he had already finished most of his work. He needed to slow things down. Sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen, the librarian quietly rapt his fingers upon the hard wood in a rhythmic tune. Over and over, ba-ba-ba-dum ba-ba-ba-dum ba-ba-ba-dum, until finally he knocked his knuckles upon the wood. This wouldn’t work, he needed to do something.

His eyes flipped over the schedules. One of his workers called out sick today and she had shelving duty. He sighed in relief, finally, something to keep him busy and mindless. Removing himself from his chair, Booker picked up his dusty, grabbed his lemon-yellow half-cart named ‘Lil Thor, and rolled it out of the room.

Making his way to the bookstacks, Booker was all smiles as he passed people, giving them a nod of his head, and ignoring the catcalls he would get every now and again. He would ask them to keep it down but he knew that the second that he passed, that they would clam up.

”Want fries with that shake! Yum!”

Do not engage, do not engage, do not engage… the man repeated to himself as he wound his way towards the lifestyle section. Breathing a sigh of relief at the tranquility, Booker straightened up, removed his clipboard from his cart, and pulled a pen from behind his ear. Today attire was similar to what Booker wore all the time: a very light color of blue, button up shirt, dark slacks, and a very nerdy bow tie that featured characters from the 8-bit arcade game Puck-Sir. Booker always had the appearance of quite the character but he didn’t care what people thought of him, he liked what he liked.

Of course, now what people thought of him was precisely on his mind. What did people think of him? Mainly, what did Juliette think of him? The way that she ran off after they kissed, ugh, it made his heart feel as heavy as a stone. But, again, he was thinking about something that he shouldn’t. Focusing on the task at hand, Booker once again looked at his list of shelves, armed himself with his duster, and pushed off to get lost in the stacks.

It was only a little bit after the man started, weaving through the shelves, a slight whistle on his lips as he dusted and picked up stray books, that he came upon a rather odd sight. Down the way he saw a slip of a woman with brown hair and a smile on her lips. She was rocking back and forth on her heels, looking over books on the shelf. While that wasn’t in and of itself an odd occurrence, what was that how many books she was laden with. Booker was actually a little worried she would topple over given how many she had. Still, it was amusing to watch.

Unable to not be a gentleman, Booker tilted his head, moved down the aisle, pretending to dust a little more as his eyes narrowed upon her. It wasn’t until he was next to her that the man finally couldn’t hold his tongue any long and he cleared his throat to get her attention. Whenever she would greet him, he would give her a beaming smile.

”Afternoon,” he said cheerily. ”Um, picking up some light reading, I see? Do you need any help?”

There it was. The most tempting morsel of a book Maya had ever seen. The Big, Fat Compendium of Noodles. It was on the top shelf, which wasn't a big deal since she was rather tall for a lady. What was a big deal were the books already in hand. Maya looked at her armfull and the Big Compendium.

She stubbornly balanced everything into one arm (and shoulder) and reeeached up. That was when she sensed a man approaching. He spoke a gentle introduction, but Maya froze. She knew why he was there.

It was the Library police!

He was good natured and Maya was more than radiant with her good mood, despite the fact that she was sure he was here to make her weed through her bounty of books and possibly not take so many.

"Good afternoon!" She couldn't help but beam at him despite her suspicions. Maya laughed in self-deprecation for her predicament. "Is it that obvious?"

She had set her fingers onto the compendium and wiggled them into the dip behind the spine, but now she was more than a little stuck.

"Uuuhm. Yes. If you could maybe help take something? But don't put them away, okay? I'm going to read every single one." She fretted. It was then that she felt a shift in her personal stack of books.

It was honestly quite the sight to bear witness to. As he stood and observed the woman for a second before he actually spoke to her, he found himself thinking on why this looked so familiar. He had clearly seen people check out books before, but rarely in this quantity. The vast majority of people who did tended to be either college students who were trying to student anything and everything at the last minute, or they were poor vagrants who were trying to steal books in order to have more pages to stuff into their clothing come winter time to keep warm. Either way, there were certain individuals who checked out their own bodyweight in books and this woman didn’t really seem to fit either mold.

After a few moments of watching the woman try to play a life-sized game of Book-Jenga with herself, the librarian couldn’t stand back any further. With a kindly smile upon his lips, the jade-eyed man stepped forward and greeting her with a cheery smile. Of course he couldn’t help but point out that she had quite a reading list gathered.

>> "Good afternoon! Is it that obvious?"

He beamed. ”A little bit.”

A cursory showed that the books were of all sorts, an assorted hodge-podge of cookbooks, non-fiction, trashy romance, and history of modern warfare, just to name a few. Booker was impressed with the selection but watching as she struggled to reach on final book, a real whooper about noodles, the man had to intervened. He reached out instinctively, watching as she struggled with the tower books she held, hands at the ready to assist.

She needed help. He didn’t know if she would be one of those types that were too stubborn to accept it, but he asked anyways.

>>"Uuuhm. Yes. If you could maybe help take something? But don't put them away, okay? I'm going to read every single one."

The towering was leaning. He didn’t even let her finish her sentence. The second that he heard yes, the man stepped his towering 6’3 frame over and placed his arm out, catching a few books that seemed ready to spill over her shoulder. Holding them in place, the man chuckled as he split her selection in half, picking it up with his large hands before tucking the halved tower against his body, then reaching out to take the other half. Though he had a far better grip and could easily lift them, the books weren’t the most stable and even in his expert arms they started to waver.

A small squeak fell from his lips as he struggled to balance them, but seeing his little half-cart off to the side, Booker reached out with his foot, catching the bottom with the tip of his shoe and managed to pull it over slowly, ever so slowly. When it came within reach, Booker popped first one stack onto the half-cart, and then the other. The cart was already looking full but there was enough for more. Smirking he pulled it over, shaking his arms out, as he returned to the interesting patron, watching to see if she still needed help to get that last book.

”You must really like noodles…” he said with a laugh and then looked back to her selection. ”I…have to say…I’ve seen some people check out books before, but I feel like you’re going for a library record.”

He swooped into action before anything fell, and for that Maya was grateful. It wasn't until her arm was entirely unburdened that she realized just how much she had stock piled.

“I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow, if we're being honest.” Maya slipped the big compendium out of it's spot and very nearly dropped it just because of the weight. It was heavy! And she hadn't been lifting even the weight of her own clothing very well by the end there.

“I want this one because of the pictures!” Her excitement was infectious and earnest. Holding the book up in front of her at arm's length had her arms shaking from effort. It was worth it, though! Noodles! She could make some from scratch. Ro would love them.

“Thank you for the assist. I hope I'm not over my limit.” There was no way she wasn’t, but she could hope. Maybe if she shared her reasoning, he'd take pity on her.

“I used to help run a bookstore here in town. I had to give it up for a few reasons, but I had a medical thing where my vision went bad. I couldn't see well enough to read. Or, see at all really?” She made it a question even though it was a statement of fact. That softened the news somehow. Really, she didn’t want him to be sad. It was silly to be sad for something that was a fact, and doubly silly to be sad for something that had been resolved.

Maya hugged the book to her chest. She wasn't fishing for pity and she wasn't bitter, from her tone. She was just undeniably happy to be here.

With the book’s weight closer to her core she could manage. That was how she'd managed to stack herself up with so many. Her arms might have been pathetically weak, but her body was solid.

“You see, I have to make up for lost time, now that I'm better.”

Booker had every intention of stepping forward and rescuing that last book for the woman, but before he could fully turn back around from placing her books upon his cart, he watched as she reached up and managed to snag her fingers under the spine of her treasure. Crossing his arms over his chest, the man chuckled as she managed to pull it down without dropping it on her head and sighed, cradling it to her. Victorious in her endeavor, she held out the book for him to see and show that she had indeed been successful. He offered her a small clap of approval.

>> “I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow, if we're being honest…I want this one because of the pictures!”

Honestly, he had seen people reach for lesser things for far stranger reasons. But seeing the look of mirth upon her face, the happiness that exuded from her for having gained the book that she was after, the man couldn’t help but feel happiness in return. The two emitted warm and happy fuzziness that joined and bounced off one another. Just as she was giddy, bouncing her feet, Booker found himself doing the same thing in return.

He couldn’t judge her for her want of such a large and pretty book so he dipped his head with a grin. ”Well that’s as good a reason as any to get a book!” he beamed happily. ”Just make sure the next time it doesn’t fall on your head.”

Looking back at the cart of books that she had already pulled from the shelves, he started to do a mental count of just how many she had. There was a limit to how many books a person could check out and it looked like she was already pushing past that limit.

>> “Thank you for the assist. I hope I'm not over my limit.”

”Well…” he started to say.

>> “I used to help run a bookstore here in town. I had to give it up for a few reasons, but I had a medical thing where my vision went bad. I couldn't see well enough to read. Or, see at all really? You see, I have to make up for lost time, now that I'm better.”

Booker listened attentively. He was always a good listener, at least that is what the majority of people told him. He didn’t really see anything special in it. He was respectful and the man loved to listen to tales; any that people were willing to share with him. He read about lives in books and stories, but hearing it from the horse’s mouth was an entirely different feeling. It was a akin to listening to a storyteller around a fire, holding a person’s attention as they weaved their experiences about them like a fine blanket. Booker loved to feel wrapped up in the tales of others and the more they were willing to share, the better.

Though the story that the young woman told him was not one that he was fully expecting. She had apparently been ill, ill enough that her eyesight had been diminishing. It was tragic for him to hear, to know that this person was denied the gift of literature and words. It made his heart swell a little in sadness for the young creature but she admitted that she was all better now. This brought an earnest and relieved smile to his lips. He liked a good happy ending.

”Clearly you do have to make up,” he said with a small scoff. Tilting his head as he observed her closely, then looked back at the stacks of books she was getting ready to check out that occupied his cart, the man just smirked. ”Don’t worry about the limit. I can override it for you.” He said with ease. ”What you should be more worried about is how you’re getting all this home.” But, those were problems for later. Standing up straight and give a small bow of his head, he introduced himself by sticking his hand out for her to shake. ”Name’s Booker B. Bookman, librarian. And I would be happy to be your personal Book Sherpa.” He grinned wide. ”Anything else catch your eye, Miss….?”

He understood! She could tell that he was empathizing and possibly even a fellow bookworm. Wait. He worked here. Duh he was a bookworm.

"No," She was aghast once she heard his offer, even if it was secretly what she'd been hoping for. "I can't let you bend the rules for me. I don't want to get you in trouble. I can..." She looked around for an idea and got a renewed sense of giddiness because she could see the things around her painted by the morning light streaming through tall windows. "I, uh, I'll just... read some really fast while I'm here?" She smiled through that terrible attempt at a solution. Maybe... she didn't need all of those books. But she did want them.

Getting things home was a legitimate concern. Maya worried at her bottom lip. "Yeah. I'll have to weed through things. Maybe just the vampire bodice ripper and I'll put back the barbarian one." Dusk, the book adaptation was supposed to be mind-numbingly dull, but she'd wanted to read it as a sort of show of support for Cafas' promotional efforts. But... the barbarian one had looked kinda funny...

> ”Name’s Booker B. Bookman, librarian. And I would be happy to be your personal Book Sherpa. Anything else catch your eye, Miss….?”

He was radiant and she echoed his happiness because she could even take him up on his handshake! She tried to grip his hand as good and strong as an X-man should, but it had legitimately been a while. It might have been too soft given her lack of strength.

"Maya Swift!" She laughed at his name, immediately sure he was joking. "C'mon. You can't really be a Booker B. Bookman. That's absolutely too perfect." She was ready to be proved wrong, but she'd been lied to too many times before to be duped this time!

"I'm no Sherpa, but Dewy Decimal runs in my veins." She knew where to find what she wanted, if she wanted it. But really... Did she need more books? There was room on his cart... "Okay. No more books. But Mr. Sherpa-man, you should show me the sights. Find me something... I don't even know. Surprise me!" She was sure he had something. People with passion always had something they could share their passion about.

Alright, it was safe to say that the woman was absolutely adorable. Her enthusiasm and sunny demeanor were infectious and Booker just found his own sunny attitude magnifying ten-fold in the woman’s presence. It was sad to hear that she had been so ill that she had been deprived of books, but the man was happy to know that she was doing much, much better. No one should be denied literature in any manner and he was happier to know that she could enjoy the medium again. However, the problem came in that she was so excited to get back onto that horse that she was willing to literally bring half the library home with her. It made him chuckle, but the realist in him also had to wonder just how on earth she was going to get any of these home.

Still, despite laws about limits per customer and so on, the man was still willing to help her check out her books. He had override codes for the system and it wasn’t as if the library didn’t make exceptions before. If he could help someone regain their love of the written word, then who was he to stand in their way quoting rules? It was madness. The main tenant of a librarian’s job is supposed to be a gatekeeper of information, to aid those who willingly sought it out. He wanted to help her and help her he would.

>> "No…I can't let you bend the rules for me. I don't want to get you in trouble. I can…I, uh, I'll just... read some really fast while I'm here? Yeah. I'll have to weed through things. Maybe just the vampire bodice ripper and I'll put back the barbarian one."

Ah Dusk. He remembered when that book first came out. The bevvy or teenager girls, soccer moms, and some boys, had haunted the library for weeks in order to check-out a free copy of the book. Not really knowing the sensation that it would become, the library only ordered two copies and those copies were always returned soaked in teenage tears and the occasional smear of lipstick on the chapter titled “Nedward”.

”Really, it’s no problem,” he said with a chuckle as he saw her picking up the barbarian romance novel Sheath Mine Broadsword. ”I would honestly hate to deprive you of that one,” he said pointing to the book. ”If you think the cover is hilarious, wait until you read it.”

Before she could protest, Booker placed the high-fantasy romance novel on his cart behind him and smiled sweetly. It was clear that she wouldn’t be leaving the library without it.

Once the book choice was made for her, Booker gave the woman a cheeky grin and extended his hand for her to shake. He greeted himself, full name and all, and his title, and an offer of his assistance for the rest of her stay in the library. The giggle on her lips and the disbelief in her eyes already signaled to him what was going to come next. Booker hardly went a day without hearing it at least once so he would not be offended when she questioned his name; which was coming three…two…one…

>> "Maya Swift! C'mon. You can't really be a Booker B. Bookman. That's absolutely too perfect."

At least he had her name now, even if she didn’t believe his. Chuckling and placing his large hands upon his hips after shaking hers, he shrugged his shoulders innocently. ”One-hundred percent true,” he announced. Reaching into his backpocket, he pulled out his wallet and produced his worker I.D. here at the public library. There, printed, was his name Bookman, Booker B. He waited until she read it before he put his card away, and returned his wallet to his pocket. ”And I’m pleased to meet you, Ms. Swift.”

There. His services were offered. Given the amount of books she had, amybe that was dangerous but the man still wanted to be assistance. She eyed him curiously, clearly torn between what she wanted to do. She wanted to read everything, that was clear, but that may not have been logistically possible, still he was a librarian, in a library, and he was here to help.

>>"I'm no Sherpa, but Dewy Decimal runs in my veins…Okay. No more books. But Mr. Sherpa-man, you should show me the sights. Find me something... I don't even know. Surprise me!"

For the briefest of moments he was sad that she didn’t want to check out any more books; he never meant to dissuade her from her endeavor. But, she didn’t seem all that broken up about the matter and instead proposed something different – she wanted him to show her something special, something that she didn’t know about. Booker paused, his lips twisted in thought as a soundless hum escaped his throat. There were always the tours but those were so standard that if she really were a book lover, she would’ve seen them before. No, in honor of her regained health, and eyesight, she needed to see something special, some amazing, something…rare…

He smiled; a broad, sunshiny and illuminating smile. Oh he had the perfect thing in mind. Turning around, he took hold of her cart of books (she could decide if she wanted to remove more along the way) and started to push it down the aisle. ”Come on,” he said mysteriously, in a low voice. ”In honor of your health, I think I have the perfect thing for you to gawk at.”

And with that, he pushed his cart, beckoning her to follow.

It was 100% true. Maya ran her finger along the ID as she leaned in close. It was then that she realized that her power wasn't on. Her power... wasn't on. She couldn't sense the air around her, she'd had to use her finger to feel the texture of the ID card. It didn't seem fake, but what did she know? Her power was off.

Was it her? Did she go too far in trying to pack her power together? Maya attempted to relax somewhat as Mr. Booker the Sherpa tucked his wallet back away.

Oh. Was she staring? It was only because she was confused about her power, surely. She tried and failed to bring up a little breeze.

It wasn't time to panic... yet. But, she was panicking a bit.

> ”In honor of your health, I think I have the perfect thing for you to gawk at.”

Yesssss. Maya did a little clap and tiny celebratory dance. "I knew it! The people with passion are the best to ask about the things they love and you love it here, don't you?" Maya shelved her big fat compendium into the cart and let Mr. Sherpa push. Her hands clasped behind her and she locked her elbows as they walked, excited.

Meanwhile, her power continued to malfunction.

The I.D. card seemed to clinch it, yes, that was in fact his real name. Booker knew that that fact surprised people, but the brunette in front of him seemed particular perplexed by it. She took his card, casually running her fingers along the edges of it, maybe trying to test if it was real or fake. He didn’t know why she seemed so interested in it, but the librarian didn’t want to interrupt her, instead just keeping quiet until she was done giving it a once over. When it was returned, he slipped it back into his wallet, his wallet finding its way back into his pocket, and that matter was done.

In honor of her good health, she wanted to see something spectacular. Tilting his head in thought, Booker tried to think of what wonders he could show this woman. She was in possession of her health again, she wanted to see something special, and with all that in mind, there was really only one thing that Booker could think of that she could see; something that not everyone had a chance to see yet. So, with a grin on his lips, the librarian nodded his head as he stepped aside for her to play her giant cook book of pasta onto the cart.

He knew preciously what to show her…

>> "I knew it! The people with passion are the best to ask about the things they love and you love it here, don't you?"

He beamed proudly and nodded his head. ”You’d be hard pressed to find someone who loved it more.” A bright, sunshiny expression on his face, Booker took hold of his cart and began to push it down the aisle. He has something amazing in mind.

As they made their way out of the bookstacks, Booker took a small detour to stop by a nearby reference desk. From there he took a few steps away from his new friend and pushed the cart behind the desk. With Maya’s books now protected behind the impenetrable desk of a librarian, Booker returned to her with a grin.

”Don’t worry. Your books will be safely protected while I show you the amazingness.” A firm nod of his head and Booker took the lead, marching away from desk with Maya following behind him.

Marching through the halls and rooms, it quickly was becoming apparent that there were less and less people the deeper that they delved into the expansive library. Booker whistled to himself, a small hop in his step as he could feel a tingling under his skin at what he was about to bring his new friend to. Truth was that this display had not been open to the public yet and only staff had seen it. Booker was excited for someone to actually see this display, so much so that it didn’t bother him this wasn’t entirely right. The displays were rarely, if ever, shown to the general public before unveiling, but giving what he has seen some of his co-workers do just for the heck of it, the librarian figured he was safe.

As he turned down a well-lit hall that was decidedly emptier than all the others. It was only a few more steps before the librarian came to a large pair of wooden doors with glass panels. Dark inside, it was impossible to see anything from their position, but Booker was all excited grins as he pulled out his keys and fished for the right one.

”Okay, so I have to admit, this is pretty amazing. The public hasn’t seen it yet,” he warned. ”But I’ll make a special exception in honor of your health. Just, you know, don’t touch anything.”

Taking a breath, Booker unlocked the doors and pushed them in. He took a few steps inside, enveloped in the darkness and disappeared. After a second, there was a click and lights came on, revealing a fairly small room but with some absolutely amazing décor. In the center of the room there was a pedestal where on top was situated a large, glass case. Inside there look to be two very old and very large books. The text with which they were written looked old, completely hand written but with utter perfection. Around this display were several tall panels of black, each one etched with white lettering with history about the object being displayed – and its name.

Booker smirked as he stepped aside to allow Maya to view it. ”This is the Gutenberg Bible. Completed in 1455 and still in perfect condition. Talk about enlightenment.” Arms folded behind his back, he smirked and waited for her to advance upon it.

They safely stowed her books. She was nervous about that, but if Mr. Bookman said it was safe, it was safe.

He whistled. Maya tried to identify the tune. Oh! From that one song! Something about sunshine and dancing. What was the name? It was on the tip of her brain! Since she couldn't figure that out, Maya stepped with pep to the beat instead, until the chorus approached.

She pointed at him when it hit, excited. "I can't stop the feeling! So just dance, dance, dance~" She was so excited to have placed it, it didn't even embarrass her to be softly chorusing alone in the hallways with a practical stranger. Maybe she should have been wary that they were going deeper into the library where fewer and fewer people could be found. Maya certainly noticed, but she'd decided long ago to put her trust in others, even if unfounded.

If her power was broken, she probably shouldn't be trusting as fully, but that's who she was. Maya believed that to earn trust, you had to give it first.

The little song and dance was just because it was a fantastically good day and Mr. Bookman didn't at all make her feel stupid for being silly.

She bounced on her toes again when faced with the prospect of darkness. Again. So different with working eyesight!

> "Just, you know, don’t touch anything.”

"Sir, yessir!" She tried to marshal her silliness and excitement. He seemed... nervous. Maya collected her hands and folded them behind her body to keep them from exploring without her.

It was behind glass... Maya tried not to be disappointed as she approached. She kept her hands behind her and leaned over to see what she never would have been able to decipher had she not been solid.

"This is..."

> ”This is the Gutenberg Bible..." He affirmed.

He had stats and dates, but Maya was laser focused, eyes roving down the pages that were left open.

"I've never seen it." For some reason the room commanded a hushed awe. It was amazing to see and took willpower not to just press her nose up against the glass. "And I didn't realize it was partly illuminated. Or partly red and blue. Look at those huge margins!" She dropped to inspect it from the sides and look under at the binding and cover.

"Wow. I think you win, Mr. Sherpa. I am surprised and impressed." Not in a hundred years did she guess that this was where they might be going. Maya beamed up at him from behind the case.

Booker enjoyed music. He enjoyed music of all kinds. But as a normally peppy person, it wasn’t a surprise that Booker tended to prefer the more energetic and happy tunes. Even when he was just walking, with no intention of actually singing out loud, the man would still finding himself humming some rather happy tune that managed to dig deep into the core of his mind. In this particular instant, he was absentmindedly humming the energetic tune of “Can’t Stop the Feeling”. His new friend, Maya, seemed to catch onto his as she just grinned and hopped alongside him in tune with the song until finally she jumped and pointed at him.

>> "I can't stop the feeling! So just dance, dance, dance~"

Nodding along with her singing, Booker started to groove, doing a little step, a little swing of his hips, and he started to sing along with her on that last line. He descended into giggles after that but forced himself to march on lest the two of them get in trouble for causing too much of a ruckus in echo-y, library halls. Still, he couldn’t help but grin excitedly and bounce along with the young woman.

”Oh my god, I love that song,” he fawned. ”My sister not so much but she can’t stop me from humming it.”

Chuckling he continued to lead on until he had reached the super-secret display room that he was about to show her. The room wasn’t exactly ready for the public yet, but it would in a couple days. Really, he didn’t see any harm in showing Maya, so long as she didn’t try to bust the item out of its case and run off with it. But he was sure she wouldn’t make it far – the guards near the entrances would get her.

After he told her not to touch anything, and got confirmation from her that she wouldn’t, Booker unlocked the doors, stepped aside, and smiled tenderly as he flicked on the lights. The room was sparse still, but the main draw was the display describing the conception of the Gutenberg Bible, important dates, and then, finally, the two books side by side on their pedestal, safely behind glass. They were masterpieces, an opinion shared by many, including himself. It was a testament to the time and patience that the early scribes possessed, a symbol of what could be done to merge beauty and knowledge. To be honest he thought he was going to have to explain the manuscript a little, but found, swiftly, that it wasn’t necessary.

>> "I've never seen it… I didn't realize it was partly illuminated. Or partly red and blue. Look at those huge margins!"

He couldn’t help the grin on his lips. She actually knew about the book. So many people didn’t, hence the reason for the display and presenting all the information about. It was nice to watch someone who truly and deeply appreciated it. Booker stayed back, his arms clasped behind his back as he bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. Watching as Maya marveled over every little detail about the manuscript was both entertaining and extremely satisfying. He was glad he brought her here to look at something that could truly cause her to stare in awe.

>>"Wow. I think you win, Mr. Sherpa. I am surprised and impressed."

He chuckled, choosing now to finally advance. She looked like she wanted to press her face up against the glass like a child staring at sweets in a window. ”I’m glad I could provide you with that,” he said warmly, the straightened up. ”This is why I like working here. I like to see people become…inspired. There is really no place in the world that can do that like a library.”

He had a sister! Maya was forming a very impressed opinion of Mr. Bookman and a sister fit that profile. Only children were rarely as amenable, she'd found, and Maya was wholly qualified to make the judgement since she'd been raised as an only for most of her life.

Mr. Bookman was gracious enough to let Maya fawn over the manuscripts for a while, but without opening the case, there was only so much that could be seen. An impish part of Maya tried to flex her power just to see if she could get a page to move, but she had no such luck.

She really had broken her power somehow.

"I'm not sure anyone was inspired at my bookstore. But there was coffee. And I really enjoyed welcoming everyone and finding out what people liked and helping them find more of that." Maya straightened her back and smoothed her skirt down to pull herself away from the Gutenbergs.

Somehow she'd lost just a little bit of her sparkle.

"That was another life, though. You seem to be doing a great job here, Mr. Bookman. It's easy to tell when a job is someone's passion instead of just a way to earn money. You're practically glowing just being here. It's fun to see."

Even as he walked up to her, Booker didn’t want to bother the young woman as she peered at one of the most inspirational pieces of literature that he had ever set eyes upon. It was a risk bringing her here because the last thing he wanted to do was to put the item at risk before it was properly ready to be looked at. But even so, the librarian was willing to risk it if only to see the look of awe on Maya’s face. So he stayed back, he trusted her to be respectful, and the man said nothing for the longest time as she fawned over the manuscripts.

He noticed nothing about her tried to affect the books in any manner, instead just watching her movements, thinking she was just another eccentric like himself. She frumped a little, but the man hardly noticed, even as she straightened up and gave him a sigh. Concerned that something was wrong, he opened his mouth to ask but was cut off when she started to speak.

>> "I'm not sure anyone was inspired at my bookstore. But there was coffee. And I really enjoyed welcoming everyone and finding out what people liked and helping them find more of that."

He smirked a little. If he had been a better business man, he might have considered owning his own bookstore but that was a responsibility he didn’t know he wanted. He wanted to help store and hand out information to anyone who would ask, not just those with money who wanted to read. But, still, he had respect for the profession, especially seeing that he had visited many bookstores in his life.

”You’d be surprised how inspiring a good cup of coffee and a good book can be,” he said warmly.

However it seemed that the comment she had made carried a bit more weight than he had initially figured. There was a slight, very slight, change in her demeanor that he could observe. A small twinkle had died away from her eyes, however briefly, as she turned to face him, almost as if she were talking about some lost love.

>>"That was another life, though. You seem to be doing a great job here, Mr. Bookman. It's easy to tell when a job is someone's passion instead of just a way to earn money. You're practically glowing just being here. It's fun to see."

He grinned wide at her compliment. Booker had heard similar words before but the man was thankful every time he heard it. it was refreshing to know that, even though he wasn’t trying, that the librarian could actually give off that air of something who did care about his job. Who cared about the place that he worked. Who wanted to ensure that anyone who came into his library would find exactly what they were looking for because he would help them, no matter how busy he was.

He beamed happily. ”Thank you,’ he said with a dip of his head. ”I do what I can to make sure that people find what they want when they’re here.” He grinned. ”Still, a bookstore sounds amazing. And, if you’ll excuse me, sounds like you really loved it.” He didn’t want to ask her why she wasn’t there, but instead inquired differently. ”Um, what was the name? Was it here in New York? I’m at bookstores all the time. Maybe I was there once. I’m always out looking for a good one.”

Maya could feel herself spiralling into a funk and this man had so much sunshine, she just couldn't bear for that to happen. She pulled her hands away from tangling and untangling her fingers together and gave her cheeks a quick patpatpat. There. Much better.

"It's the Full Circle bookstore, you know, the one that during the riots hid all those humans? That was me! I was in the doorway with a broom and nobody even dared. And you know what? It's actually still there despite everything.

"My ex-husband turned out to be a terrorist so the FBI confiscated all of our jointly owned business ventures and bank accounts and, you know, since it was true love like in the story books they were all jointly owned—" Everything just sort of fell out of her mouth in one big tumble. Where was she going with that? Ah. Yeah. "I don't think I'll be owning and operating the Full Circle any more. It's been maybe... 3 years now? Wow." She should follow up on that.

"I really did love it, but I have other ways to invest my time now." Freed from the fetters of commercial investiture, Maya was asserting herself more on the X-men team. Recruiting, security, missions, training, anything they let her do, really.

"Sorry! You asked the name and I think I overshared." He just... seemed like such a good listener. "If you need to overshare back, I do know how to not talk." She zipped the air in front of her lips and tossed an invisible key backwards over her shoulder.