The warm hush of turning pages filled the air, soft and sacred. Sunlight bled in from tall, arched windows, casting quiet shadows between towering shelves. The world outside was moving fast, loud, and busy... but in here?

Jude Moreno had one earbud in, the other dangling against his chest as he skimmed a worn business book with half-interest, flipping pages as if the words would arrange themselves into something helpful. His other hand clutched on a cheap papercup of coffee he smuggled in like contraband. It was lukewarm, and probably stale. But he didn't care.

When did he even care about anything? 

He couldn't even fix his bed hair, bother to change his sock that had holes nor give a damn that he went out with mismatched pair of them. It makes it look like he was too busy dealing with a sick mind to care about his physical appearance. Thankfully, the library was free theraphy. It was an escape. Cheap therapy wrapped in ink.

Feeling his eyes strain, he decided to take a break. He closed the hard-bound book and dragged it across the table until he had to finally carry it back to the shelves.

However his eyes caught something new and unfamiliar between the shelves to where he was headed. A tall man stood there tall, elegant and leaning slightly to the side as he reached for a particularly high shelf. It was not like Jude was the only person here in this library but this specific man stood out as he didn't belong in such a humble space. The library was owned by an old Veteran that passed away recently, and it became a dumpster of old, random books. Everyone in town that needed to throw old papers gets dumped here without a question. That's why this enigmatic man's presence is a large question.

His suit stupidly looked expensive; dark slacks, pressed crisp and shoes so polished that they made Jude glance down at his sneakers and mismatched socks with a twinge of shame. His looks was definitely out of this world too.

Jude started to think that maybe this man jumped out of a novel's page. He hasn't seen a good face around this small town in ages.

The man didn't see him yet despite walking a bit more closer. His head tilted, reading the spine of a thick hard-bound book.

Jude cleared his throat in attempt to gain some attention. Yet no reaction.

He done it again, this time, a little louder. But the man didn't even flinch nor give him a glance. Nonetheless, Jude understood why the man wasn't willing to be disturbed. In his hands, he held an old R18 Gay French Novel, seemingly in deep thought.

Yet by the time this man looked at him, he quietly placed the book back and grabbed a different one, shifting to "Human Behavior in Business Markets". Their eyes locked.

"Oh," the man said, voice mellow baritone with a polite lilt. "were you reaching for this?"

Jude blinked, straightened up and shook his head. He instinctively had a defensive stand. "Nah, you got it first." he played along.

The stranger held the book out. "Take it."

"uh... sure?" Although this was not Jude's intentions but looks like he's stuck in it.

A small smile curved on the stranger's lips. The kind that didn't show teeth, but felt full somehow. Jude started to think that maybe this man had been toying with him in the first place. "I'm donating this library another three thousand books next week. I'm not going to run out of things to read."

"...Damn. Okay, flex much?"

That made the stranger laugh. And God, it was a good laugh. Quiet. Honest.

"I'm Elias." he soon offered.

"Jude." He took the book instead of shaking the outstretched hand, purposely brushing their fingers in the progress even though he couldn't possibly follow through.

Maybe Jude was lonely and bored that he came up to this handsome stranger. Maybe it was the Gay French Novel he caught this entitled-looking man was holding. Or maybe it was the glint of obvious happiness Elias had in his eyes as if he was only waiting for someone to come and shake him off from his lonely trance.