AU: The Grey Rose

Context: Just some wholesome stuff that's also hinting at the next chapter of the book :3

Sorry this one's short, today was really busy T>T

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[3rd Person POV]

M walked into the castle library, smiling as he made a beeline towards the same section he's been visiting for the past few days. The librarian, Scarlet, looked up for a moment to see who it was and smiled as he saw his frequent visitor once again.

As M picked up a few books from the shelf, checking their titles, Scarlet places a bookmark on the page he was reading and puts his book down. He props up his head with one arm on his desk and he turns towards M.

"He finished the last haul's book already?" Scarlet says, chuckling.

"Well it's not like he has much else to do." M replies, checking one book's title then putting it back. "Dad and pretty much everyone else in the castle has been insistent on Sabre following doctor Cardinal's orders while he's recovering, despite his objections. Dad doesn't want him risking exerting himself too much since he got pretty sick because of being caught in that storm."

"I'm sure there'd be a guard or two stationed in front of Sabre's room if Carmine didn't have a cooler head about it." Scarlet laughs.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he thought about it for a bit. Sabre wouldn't like that though, so it's definitely a no-go."

"It's nice that you've been bringing him his favorite books to keep himself occupied while he's stuck in his room for a while." Scarlet says, reaching under his desk. "Speaking of, that folktales book he was waiting on finally got returned. Want to bring it to him?"

"Of course!"

M rushes over with a heavy armload of books, all from the mythology section. Scarlet shakes his head, amused, and places the gilded-edged green book in a basket on his desk, then pushing the basket towards M.

"Use this so you don't risk making yourself go toppling down the stairs on your way up carrying all of that." Scarlet smiles. "Carmine would lose it if the both of you needed medical attention."

"Oh, thanks Scarlet! I'll bring it back down on the next run." M says, carefully lowering his pile of books into the basket with the first one.

"No problem."

M then picks up the heavy basket, adjusting his grip on it for a moment before heading back out the door with a bright smile. Scarlet picks up his book again and opens it to the bookmarked page, leaning back in his chair.

The visits were a fun new routine that brightened his day, purely just enjoying the kindness between the two.