#Also please dont ask book sellers or librarians if we read a lot

[sushiburritonoms]

My fingers slipped and I wrote @sadiebwrites a little bit more of the library AU instead of doing adult things or answering the other prompts. It's not really tied together in any narrative and it's 100% self-indulgent fluff. I really spent way too many years in libraries, folks. Sorry, I'll get to the other requests soon!

Previous library AU ficlet here.

“Being a librarian is my dream job,” Ms. Mothma admitted as Luke helped put the last of her romance novels into her bag. “To be surrounded by books every day sounds so wonderful. You must read all the time.”

Luke tilted his head and desperately tried to think of the last time he’d read an actual book and not a Horn Book review on the latest trends in YA Lit or a publisher’s summary of a title. Did picture books count? He read a lot of those, over and over again until he had the lines memorized and he could recite the story without looking while he moved tiny hungry caterpillars and angry pigeons across his felt board for inattentive 4-year-olds. Actual fiction...well there were the tabs of Sherlock Holmes/John Watson fanfiction that sat unread in his browser at home. Did webcomics count? He read the latest Ngozi post last night, right before he fell asleep with his mobile phone still in his hand and Artoo purring on his chest.

“All the time,” he lied as he handed her the last book.  “Real dream come true.”

Later when he texts his bestie from grad school, he is reassured that he’s not that bad of a librarian.

haven’t read a 📖for fun in 📅 Ezra texts back. last 1 finished was for our uni’s common read program 📚🤭😊

“I was going to read a chapter of Chernow’s Hamilton biography,” Tionne told him at lunch, “but instead I rewatched Gossip Girl and drank a lot of white wine.”  Luke approved of her life choice.

“Books?” Dak stared at him with a blank face, with one of his earbuds looking like it was about to make a bid for freedom from his head.

“Nevermind,” Luke sighed.

But of course, there’s always one overachiever on staff.

“Of course. I always make time to read, my young apprentice,” Obi-Wan said when Luke interrupted his daily chat with retired Head Librarian Jinn. “Would you like some recommendations? I could send you my Good Reads account.”

“You know he’s not that young anymore,” Qui-Gon reminded him. “Nor are you. Perhaps you should be spending less time with your head in books and more time out there in the real world.”

“Hmmm, I suppose I would take your suggestion seriously if you weren’t haunting the very building you retired from three years ago,” Obi-Wan argued as he adjusted his delicate wire-rim glasses on his face.

“Perhaps it is not the building that brings me back, but the company, my dear former colleague.”

“Hmm perhaps.”

Luke tiptoed away with a silly smile on his face. Old people in love are so cute, even if Obi-Wan was an insufferable perfect librarian.

-----

On weekdays, when Luke was not lying to kind older ladies from the City Council, he was often hiding from his mortal enemies.

“Din! Hide me.”  Luke ducked into the Children’s Room reference desk and waved his crush over with a grim look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Luke was slightly impressed and slightly worried when he saw Din’s hand automatically drift towards his waistband, in search of a weapon.  Their State was NOT open carry, but that was Future-Luke’s problem.

“The Imperial Solutions vendor is here,” Luke hissed. “They want me to be the majority vote to petition the county to switch to D. Star and I refuse, Din. I REFUSE.”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” Din replied.

“Imperial Solutions is evil and they’re gonna own us all!”

Din opened his mouth to reply but before he could say anything, a deep freeze fell upon the Children’s Room. Small infants started to wail and toddlers dropped their blocks and looked up in helpless confusion.

“Ah Mr. Skywalker,” a smarmy voice calls out.  “There you are, young man.”

“Hello Mr. Gideon,” Luke mutters. “It’s a ...pleasure to see you again.”

“I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by to see if you had considered last week’s presentation.” Mr. Gideon had the biggest, fakest smile to ever don a human’s face. He looked like just being inside of the Children’s Room was causing him to melt. But then Imperial vendors were never children--they were hatched from some dark dank cave in Illinois.

A three-hour presentation. Yeah, Luke had considered it right out of his head.

“Oh ah...gosh Mr. Gideon, it was a long...long...presentation and I’ve been so busy. In fact, I’m so, so, sorry but I’m kind of in the middle of something.” He gestured to Din, standing in front of the reference desk.

Din glared at Gideon for a moment before he slowly sat down on the patron’s side of the reference desk.  “Ah...right. I need a book. For my kid.”

“Great! What’s the title of the book?” Luke said as he saw Gideon roll his eyes.

“I don’t remember, but I know the cover is red,” Din replied. There was a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.  “Then after we find that book, I need all the books about whale sharks. In Spanish. Can you help me?”

“Of course! So sorry, Mr. Gideon! If you have to go I understand!”  Luke shrugged helplessly. “This is gonna take a while!”

The two of them kept their heads buried over Luke’s shared screen until Gideon stomped away. Then they fell apart laughing.

“Whale sharks?” Luke giggled. “Why whale sharks?”

“They are the biggest fish in the ocean and their mouths are 5 feet wide,” Din said robotically, obviously quoting from something.

“Grogu’s into sharks now?”

“Blame Baby Shark,” Din groaned and laid his head on Luke’s desk.

Oh God. Luke winced and reached over to massage Din’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Do do do dodododo,” Din hummed tunelessly.

Luke is going to have that damn song back in his head for the next year...but he’ll sing the song for library staff karaoke night if it means he gets to keep rubbing Din’s shoulder AND be protected from Gideon at the same time.  He’s got a mean singing voice after all.