"Because you stink, Warren," he muttered, and immediately moved to avoid the sharp slap to the arm that was undoubtedly heading his way.
"Isn't all this on the internet? I thought they were supposed to be digitising libraries these days," he muttered, as they entered the room, and he returned the squeeze of her fingers. He didn't say anything in response, but he knew that she wouldn't take it as cold or hostile. He simply didn't know what to say about their time apart, not yet. It was getting better, but it was still raw, in many ways, and he figured it would just take time. Plus excursions like this, and with that, he pictured her, a few years younger, worrying her bottom lip over a musty book until the administrator came to tell her it was time to go. He blinked a few times, and the mental image disappeared.
He sighed, and gave their cards over to the librarian, who looked them up and down with a critical gaze at first, before she seemed to recognise Lux in the back of her mind, and relaxed slightly. She led them over to the genealogical section of the records hall, and after admonishing them not to mess with the historical records too much, left the room, shutting the door with a quiet click behind her.
"Okay," he sighed, with the resigned voice of a man being led to the gallows. "Give me something to start with." He unpacked his back, carefully laying the Irvine Book of Shadows on top of his notes, and turned back to Lux.