#with ⭐ because you can't escape him even if you try

[rin-hanarin]

Statements like "If anyone is hetero it's Gale" make me lose years of my life as one of like, 5 to 10 people who romanced him with a man.

[nagisadelune]

Headcanon: Cooking For Artem

(Definitely not edited)

YEAH BOIIIIIIIIII! IT'S OUR FAVORITE SENIOR ATTORNEY, MR. ARTEM WING'S BIRTHDAY! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Okay, so I wanted to write something for Artem's birthday that is coming up (April 26th) because why not? Anyways, I know that I haven't written anything in awhile, but I hope that this kind of makes up for the sudden increase of workload. Either way, I hope you enjoy this one!

For our timeline, you can basically imagine any timeline. Whether you want to be dating, married, engaged to him; imagine this however you would like to. Also, I would like for you to imagine that you're working at Themis as Artem's partner if you decide to not be Rosa.

⭐⭐⭐

"How come you're yawning so much?" Kiki asks you in the middle of her story. With the new case that you and Artem received a couple days ago, you two are both swamped with work, trying to sort out the paperwork and known evidence. As much as you love working here, it definitely needs a lot of time and effort to get it done.

After taking a sip of your fresh coffee, you look at her to explain, "Mr. Wing and I just started a new case, so we needed to put in some overtime to get through what we wanted." Kiki only nods in response before taking a sip of her coffee. Suddenly, you notice the confusion in her eyes.

"I don't think that explains why you're so tired though?" she asks, staring into the reflection of her coffee to put the pieces together. "Even if you and Mr. Wing work overtime, he would make sure that you two get home decently on time," she continues before squinting at dark circles, "and you seem to be yawning more than the previous times that you two worked together into the night." You look back down at your coffee cup to hopefully hide your face a little; you didn't want her finding out about your plan and blurting it out to the entire office.

"Y-Yeah, I just didn't sleep well," your voice trails off before you take another sip of coffee. Although you can't exactly see her face, Kiki's studying eyes seem to bore a hole into your forehead. When you finally pull the coffee cup away from your face, Kiki's eyes seem to widen, seemingly putting the pieces together.

"Did you prepare something?" she asks teasingly, poking at your arm. With the blush in your cheeks, you realize that she knew your plans. With a sigh, you can only nod at her response where she excitedly places down her cup and claps her hand like a child who just figured out the hardest math problem in the homework. "What did you prepare? A gift? Or something more?" she begins bombarding you with questions, trying to figure out more about your little surprise. Suddenly, her voice seems to cut off, and you watch her freeze up in front of you. "G-Good morning Mr. W-Wing," she greets, stuttering on her words. Confused, you turn around for your eyes to meet with a familiar chest.

"Good morning," Artem greets with a slight nod. "If you don't mind, I would like my partner for the new case we're working on." Kiki can only nod and excuse herself awkwardly before escaping the senior attorney's gaze. You look back at Artem confused before he looks down at you. "Sorry to disturb your conversation, but I think I found another clue for the case," he explains briefly, catching your attention. The two of you start walking back to his office as you discuss the details.

"Does it regard the testimony of the main suspect?" you question, your thoughts returning to the case. Artem nods to confirm your suspicions before explain his train of thought. While you try to keep your mind on the task at hand, you feel the drowsiness catching up to you, making your steps slow down. Before Artem catches you lagging behind, you try to catch up to him again, but you awkwardly trip over your own feet, causing you to yelp slightly. Closing your eyes to brace for the impact of the hard floor, you feel yourself hitting a softer surface, hands on your arms and a familiar scent hitting your nose. Opening your eyes, your eyes land on the fabric of a suit, making you rush to stand.

"Are you okay?" Artem asks worriedly, looking over your body to visually check everything. Feeling the blood rush to your cheeks from the situation, you can barely give him a verbal response and look at him, making you choose to nod instead. With a sigh of relief, Artem appears to relax a little before checking you one more time. "Did you not sleep well last night?" he wonders aloud, and you're sure that he noticed the dark circles under your eyes.

"I slept well, but I guess I didn't sleep enough," you answer carefully, your voice small enough for only Artem to hear. Artem shakes his head helplessly before you two step into his office. The thud of the door shutting wakes you up slightly, but you can't help but to yawn and take another sip of coffee.

"It is nearing the time for lunch, so maybe you need some energy?" Artem pieces together before grabbing his phone from his desk. "Let's order some food, so we can eat twelve. Do you want your usual order?" he asks, scrolling on his phone screen. With your tired brain, you just process the situation, making you wake up instantly.

"A-actually, I don't think we need to order anything," you suddenly state, making him looking up from his phone confused. Without another word, you walk towards your bag and rummage through the contents from the specially packaged items. With your back facing towards him and his eyes on you, the nervousness finally hits you; you can only hope that he likes your little surprise for him. Your hand brushes against a familiar fabric texture and holds onto it. Carefully, you begin to dig it out of your bag, making sure your wrapping doesn't get too ruined. When you lift the two surprises out of your bag, you turns towards him, and his eyes stare at the two items in your hands confused.

Before you get the chance to explain yourself, Artem suddenly pieces the clues together, "Did you wake up early to cook for us today?" When he completely figures out, you can only nod at his response.

"I decided to cook today since you always cook for us and handle my meals even though that's supposed to be my responsibility," you explain quietly. With a small pause, you realize how the air in the office turned awkward, making you explain yourself further. "W-well I technically didn't really cook much; I only made the rice, cut up some vegetables, cooked it together with some meat, and arranged it. It really isn't much compared to what you do, but I just wanted to return the favor after everything you've done for me," you ramble quickly before realizing that you just made the situation even more awkward. In an instant, you try to hide your face and clear your throat. "W-we don't have to eat it if you don't-" you shyly start again before Artem cuts you off.

"You cooked for me?" Artem whispers, his tone reflecting his touched and confused feelings. You nod again at Artem before you hear his steps approach you. The load in your hands seem to lighten, and you see one of the lunch boxes you packed in Artem's hand. "Let's just eat here then," he softly offers, a small smile on his face. You nod with a smile on your face, feeling slightly relieved that he accepted your gift. After unwrapping and reheating the food, you two are seated on the couch and eating the meal you prepared. However, there's a slight problem: you messed up the seasoning; you only realize it after you take a bite and realize how bland the meal is. Sadly, Artem already had a couple bites while reading the document on his tablet, making you cringe at your mistake. You can only await his comments about the food, making you try to distract yourself by reading a document for the case.

An awkward silence lands over you as you nervously scan through the lines of the document. Although you feel like you need to break the silence, you know that it would still be too awkward for you. The most you could do was to shovel your bland stir-fry into your mouth and to cry internally about forgetting to season your own food. Seriously, how do you forget to season vegetables and meat? While you're mentally kicking yourself about this, you manage to not hear Artem trying to call your attention to the point that he needs to tap you on the head. When you realize what just happened, your cheeks burn red from embarrassment. Trying to compose yourself, you look up to see Artem staring at you blankly.

"W-what is it? D-did you f-find anything?" you stutter out, making you internally scream at yourself again. At the worst possible moment, your tongue slips on the syllables of your words, and you can only hope that Artem notices your nervousness.

"Not yet," he answers softly, "but you have been awfully quiet. Is everything okay?" Of course, he would notice; the top attorney of Stellis would definitely notice any abnormal behavior out of his partner.

You only sigh in defeat before you admit your mistake: "I forgot to season the food, so I just gave you bland food." You want to bury yourself into the ground, so your embarrassment can disappear. However, Artem's reaction catches you slightly off guard.

"The food was fine," Artem responds in an attempt to ease your feelings. "Yes, it was bland, but that's an easy fix compared to cooking it incorrectly." While honest with your cooking, you can't help but feel him picking at his words to not offend you. Because of this, you still feel upset about your lack of memory and don't notice him watching your face twist at your cringe. He carefully sets down the empty container and gently places his hand over yours. Not expecting his warm hands on yours, the blood suddenly rises in your cheeks, and your heart pounds against your chest. "Bland food is better than burnt food. I'm just glad that someone even tried to cook for me, alright?" Artem comforts you as his fingertips slightly press into your skin. You can only nod at him and not make eye contact, slightly relieved by his reaction.

"Next time, I'll make you something better then!" you promise out loud, finally making eye contact with him. With a bright smile on your face, his eyes widen in shock before a moment before returning your smile. His hand squeezes yours for a moment before letting go and turning his body towards you.

"Maybe you should try to cook when we're not overloaded with a case. I know you forgot to add the seasoning because you didn't get enough sleep last night," Artem reasons, patting your head. In shock, you stare at him, trying to piece together how he figured it out.

When you get stuck, you finally ask, "How did you know that?" Your eyes try to blink the tiredness away from your eyes as he stares at you with a smile on his lips.

"I know the work we have to do, and we're partners. Do you really think I wouldn't be able to figure out that you didn't sleep enough after seeing you get more coffee?" he asks. Trying to figure out how he knew you grabbed more coffee for yourself, he awkwardly clears his throat to cut off any questions you have, "I mean, you rarely get coffee around noon since I tell you that I'm going to order lunch soon." Understanding his logic, your cheeks grow red from embarrassment as he seems to read you like a book. Hiding your hands in your face, you hear Artem move off of the couch for a moment and walk to somewhere near his desk. You look over at him as he searches for something in his closet.

"Do you need any help looking for something?" you ask cautiously before standing up. You are about to walk over to him when he finally pulls out a folded blanket from the closet. Glancing over at you, he shoots you a small smile before closing the door and walking towards you.

"Lay down," he tells you, and you can only warily relax your body on the couch. He sits down beside you before unfolding the blanket and covering your body, adjusting the edges of the blanket to cover the entirety of your back and shoulders. "Take a rest. I have energy because of your food, but you must be exhausted from cooking in the morning," Artem quietly explains as he carefully tucks a pillow underneath your head. Before you can protest that two minds are better than one in the new case, he cuts you off, "Not having enough sleep will impede your logic and thinking. It's best if you sleep and let your mind process it for a bit." While you acknowledge that his explanation makes sense, you can't help but feel like you're not doing your part of the work for the case.

"But I want to finish another part before I rest," you complain quietly, almost feeling your lips pout. Although you want to keep working, your body feels warm under the blanket, slowly lulling you to sleep. "I should at least finish reading the document," you mutter out as you curl up under the blanket. Within another minute or two, your mind already eases your thoughts into silence, and you're sleeping soundly with the blanket covering half of your face. When you stop talking, Artem glances over to see you sleeping peacefully like a child and chuckles at you. His hand carefully brushes your hair away from your face, and his voice quietly mutters something.

"Thank you for today. Sleep well."

⭐⭐⭐

Okay, I'll admit that this one is really sweet. I swear someone is going to get diabetes from reading these sort of things lol. Anyways, I hope you liked this one! I know that this isn't exclusive to Artem's birthday, but I still wanted to write something sweet because it is his birthday. Anyways, I hope to see you in the next one!

[cosmic--dandelion]

So what did I actually think of Helluva Boss Season 1, Episode 8: Queen Bee?

Things I liked:

⭐ Throughout the entire episode, the focus is entirely on Loona, and even though takes up a large chunk of the screen time in the latter half, it very much feels like Loona's story.

⭐ It's amazing how one episode can totally change your view on a character. Now, Loona is not and never has been on my top favorite character list. That said, it's pretty ironic that I feel like I learned so much more about her just by watching her struggling like hell to socialize at a party than I did in Seeing Stars, where we got to see her entire backstory.

Anyone who's ever been the new face at a giant, noisy blowout party where everyone else is part of a pre-established friend group knows what it's like when the guy who invited you leaves to get drinks and leaves you all alone in a sea of unfamiliar faces. It's easy to forget because of her in your face attitude, but Loona is actually pretty introverted. The episode handles the awkwardness just right, communicating Loona's shyness without turning her into a blushing, trembling mess.

⭐ Loona's humiliation and jealousy over Bee is written with a surprising amount of emotional realism for a quirky dark comedy like Helluva Boss. I love the fact that Bee's just a genuinely nice person rather than some stereotypical alpha bitch Loona has to "rescue" Tex from, but she's still gorgeous, rich, famous, popular, and has fucking MAGICAL POWERS. Poor girl just can't compete with that.

⭐️ Blitzø instantly out of his angst coma from the last episode and breaking every speed limit on the seven rings when Loona needs him. Helluva Boss is a bleak, cynical show about sweary, sex-obsessed demons who kill people for a living, including children, but Blitzø is far from a perfect man or a perfect father, but in every scene where they're together, you can tell how much he loves her. There's so much genuine human warmth and sincerity on display here that's completely missing from most animated adult comedies.

⭐️ This face.

⭐️ "Yeah, that's my dad!"

Seriously, I'm almost glad that this episode debuted after Seeing Stars because I would not have been able to handle watching all this character development and father-daughter bonding, then watch Loona knee the poor guy on the crotch from trying to hug her.

Also, Blitzø and Bee's drinking contest acting as an ice breaker for Loona to make some friends was a really clever touch.

⭐️ Bee's concern over Blitzø. I don't care what anyone says, making the sin of Gluttony an empathy/emotion eater who gets high of the energy of people overindulgence at parties is incredibly creative. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, gluttony isn't just about eating too much; it's about a deep, ardent longing for the pure sensory pleasure of sumptuous food and drink. Bee's motivations make sense here: Blitzø isn't drinking too much because the liquer tastes good or he enjoys being drunk, he's actively destroying himself and trying to kill every braincell that remembers what happened at Ozzy's. She can probably sense the pain he's trying to escape. Plus, he was in serious danger of drinking himself to death or getting molested, which would have put a damper on the party.

⭐️ Loona giving no fucks. Damn, girl, even Millie was scared to tangle with Asmodeus. She really comes across as if she has nothing to lose.

The fact that she backed down purely because she didn't want to make Vortex uncomfortable is cute. See, she is capable of being considerate sometimes.

⭐️ LOONA TAKING CARE OF HER DAD

This is seriously one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. I love how it takes time to build up the atmosphere. I love how the scene moves at a nature pace instead of Helluva Boss's usual permanent sugar high setting, allowing for quiet little moments like Loona putting a blanket over Blitzø.

This is the first time you really see Loona and Blitzø acting like equals instead of Blitzø coddling her and Loona shunning adult responsibilities. This is probably the most vulnerable and honest she's ever seen him, and instead of being angry or disgusted, she just gently reassures him that she'll never abandon him like so many others have.

⭐️ I loved the fun atmosphere and the bubbly, candy-coated aesthetic, especially after the 20 megaton angst nuke that was dropped on us in the last episode. The story is simple and compact with a clearly defined beginning; middle, and end; no loose plot threads; no unnecessary characters.it would have been a great way to end the season.

Things I didn't like:

💀Loona abruptly changing her mind about the party after this one dude flirts with her. Feels kind of contrived.

💀"Cotton Candy" is catchy enough and pretty on point for a Kesha song (unsurprisingly, considering that she wrote it herself, but it's very repetitive. This makes it all the more frustrating that an absolute banger like "Monster Ball" was languishing in the end credits.

Final score: 9/10

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

⭐star⭐ hiiiiiii. I just read the latest chapter (ch 2) of Flightless Birds and my soul has still not reattached. I would love to know your director’s cut thoughts on either:

1) the scene of Jamie going back to get his car and seeing the blood

2) Keeley’s overall struggles with seeing how Roy and Jamie have grown closer without her

If neither of those are striking the iron for you, anything from The Hedgehog’s Dilemma regarding Jamie’s dad’s visit would also be most excellent!

I hope this missive finds you well <3

The scene of Jamie going back to get his car and seeing the blood

This scene just sort of... came upon me as I was writing as a two birds/one stone type of situation. Bird #1 was that I remembered partway through the chapter that Jamie hadn't retrieved his car yet. Bird #2 was that Jamie spends most of the chapter working up to his big breakdown at the end, and that Roy and Keeley aren't fully aware of how badly he's doing — which meant that I needed a) something to trigger the panic attack, and b) for it to happen somewhere neither of them would know that it had happened. And then when I got this ask I realized that I had completely accidentally built in a recurring motif of like. cars as a representation of Jamie's relationship with his dad and how it's inextricably tied up not just with his career as a player but with the wealth that comes with it; how Jamie's constantly trying to buy James' affection or at least stave off his violence with gifts, his entitlement over Jamie's wealth and belongings and indignation when Jamie has something nicer than what James does, how escaping his father means leaving behind things that he loves — Man City and Georgie when he's a teenager and his car, but also that he can get them back, even if it involves confronting some trauma first.

Keeley's overall struggle with seeing how Roy and Jamie have grown closer without her

This was one of the main parts of the fic that I thought about during the planning phase. Keeley and Roy's relationship progresses a little slower in THD than it does in canon just because Roy's not relying on her quite as much for like. all his non-work and non-family social interaction and later is busy taking care of Jamie in the lead-up to his father's visit. At that stage, she's pretty content with how things are going: she has fun hanging out with them separately and together, she doesn't have to listen to them complain about each other quite as much (they still do, but now it's affectionate so it's much less annoying), and Jamie has someone looking out for him in a way she doesn't really feel equipped to do.

And then their fledgling little QPR experiences trial by fire via moving in together at a point where she's both the only one who's able-bodied and not freshly traumatized and working full time, and on top of that already overwhelming situation, being around each other all the time makes it clear that there are ways that Jamie and Roy are close to each other that they aren't with her. I think with Jamie's recovery especially, she's trying really hard not to feel hurt by the fact that Roy is the one he's opened up to about his dad and that he's the one he turns to when he's upset because she does understand, rationally, that it's not a case of Jamie trusting Roy over her but of Roy being the one to discover the abuse and establishing himself as like. The Person Who Looks After Jamie, and also that when Jamie's really upset, he usually wants to be held for a much longer time than she tends to prefer for her cuddle sessions and also isn't especially compatible with her work schedule.

But at the same time, it does make her feel guilty and hurt that she not only can't seem to give him that kind of support while Roy's recovering but that Roy doesn't seem to trust her to do it properly (this, of course, has much more to do with his own hangups that it does with not trusting Keeley, but she doesn't know that), and so there's a part of her that worries she won't have a place in the relationship once they're both doing better, but is also kind of resentful of the fact that she's ended up in this role as the caretaker and the one that has everything together because she likes doing things for her friends and cheering them up when they're having a hard time but she's never been the biggest fan of looking after people, per se. Anyway the solution is communication and they will get there eventually.

James' visit from THD

James' visit in chapters 5 and 6 was the hardest part of the fic to write, not because of the character voice but because he's just such a relentlessly unpleasant to write. From his perspective, the visit is about reasserting control: he deliberately keeps Jamie guessing about their plans, inserts himself into any part of Jamie's life where he can tell Jamie doesn't want him just to show that he can — he doesn't necessarily care about what Richmond training looks like or where he lives, but he wants to show Jamie that he doesn't have anything that isn't also James'. But at the same time, I did want him to feel like a fully-fledged person operating according to his own complex and deeply dysfunctional internal logic. He's petty and malicious and violent but that's probably not how he'd think of himself, you know?

[thebreakfastgenie]

hi! a ⭐ for your fanfic director's cut! :)

Thank you so much!!! I'm finally able to get this after being at work and in class!

I could choose so many things, but I'm going to talk about the play's the thing because I just really love it.

If there is one thing from this fic I want to talk about beyond the scope of the fic it's this:

He still knows the part, or most of it. The part from the audition he can still recite from memory. In med school, sometimes, he’d do it during autopsies, as a way of making conversation with his patients. Someone had caught him, once, and after that he’d stopped, but he still knows the words. 

There's something about still remembering something you memorized long ago. And the image of Hawkeye reciting Shakespeare to the bodies just stirs something in me. He cares about his patients so much, I really believe he'd try to "get to know" even the dead ones. (I did forget Ducky in NCIS used to talk to the bodies, because nature is healing.) And getting caught, getting weird looks, when what he was doing was harmless and kind... I could scream about it. I want it to escape the bounds of this fic. Maybe there's another fic in it, idk.

There is something so delicious about Hamlet and its themes of madness. Writing this fic made me a little crazy and it made Hamlet kind of my Shakespearean tragedy in a way it wasn't before. But then writing always makes me a little crazy, so maybe I was projecting.

More under the cut because I have a lot to say.

Hawkeye doing theatre at some point is something I really love. I don't necessarily see him as a total theatre kid, or at least, not a modern theatre kid. I definitely see him as kind of a casual theatre kid. We know he likes going to the theatre. But I absolutely believe he was telling the truth about playing Hamlet, and "I lied about Hamlet" was a half-joking attempt to get out of helping. So I wanted to tell that Hamlet story.

Early on I hit on the idea of Hawkeye doing this one play and not doing another one. I'm not sure exactly where that came from, if it was just because he never mentions acting any other time, or some kind of nod to claiming he was lying, or something else entirely. But once I hit on that, I knew I wanted him to have done the one play and been really, really good. I love hidden talents anyway, but from the beginning I knew he was a little too good, and that's why he didn't do it again. I didn't want to decide what his reasoning was. Did it scare him? Did he love it enough to throw himself fully into it, but he loved medicine that much too, and knew he couldn't give his all to both? Is it both of those things, and/or something else? Your guess is as good as his.

There is something so delicious about Hamlet and its themes of madness. Writing this fic made me a little crazy and it made Hamlet kind of my Shakespearean tragedy in a way it wasn't before. But then writing always makes me a little crazy, so maybe I was projecting.

Writing Hawkeye acting was hard. I have read and watched and listened to Alan Alda talk about acting a lot and I did not want Hawkeye acting to be Alan Alda acting. Happily for me, I had already decided on Hawkeye memorizing the audition soliloquy by accident, and then I found out Alan Alda is terrible at learning lines.

I think the audition is the most visceral image for me. Hawkeye sitting on the dusty floor backstage lost in the play, memorizing the soliloquy by accident. This is definitely a little bit of me. I've memorized things accidentally before. There's something charmingly freakish about it and it felt right for Hawkeye. I love the idea of him stumbling into acting and not realizing just how good he was. He memorizes it because he doesn't know he doesn't have to. And, of course, because he can't hold the script and the skull. Hawkeye turning up to audition with his own skull and the lines memorized is just the kind of earnest overachiever nonsense I love.

And oh, that skull. That one throwaway joke in The Billfold Syndrome ("I was pre-med. I was the only one who could get my hands on a skull!") did something to me. Stealing the skull is college boy shenanigans, but at the same time respecting it is Hawkeye. I think I was probably influenced a lot by the episode Hawkeye because he's very theatrical in that and he talks about theatre and he also talks about the human body. He really finds human anatomy incredible and beautiful.

There's a line about that skull that has an interesting (to me anyway) origin.

He can’t let his precious cargo touch the ground.

When I was a teenager, I was a volunteer at the Toledo Zoo (fun fact they sell Tony Packo's pickles there). One of our responsibilities was educating the visitors using biofacts and at that time the teenage volunteers were entirely responsible for the extensive biofact collection. The biofact collection is now part of the zoo library (the teens still check them out and use them) which is better, but I think it's really cool that a rotating group of teenagers maintained this collection for years and did a great job. I certainly felt that sense of importance.

Biofacts are taken from animals after they've died of natural causes (except for a few which were donated and may not have known origins). They are things like skulls, pelts, feet, etc. There are a lot of rules about how to handle biofacts. This is of course because they're fragile and valuable, but it is also to show respect because they were once alive. One of the rules is that biofacts never, ever touch the ground. So I applied that here, to this human skull that is a specimen in an anatomy lab. Quite frankly, considering this fic is set in the early forties, the skull is likely to be less ethically sourced than our biofacts. Hawkeye has a deep respect for human life, so I thought he might feel similarly to how I felt about biofacts. We carried them in bags, too.

The only problem I have with the audition scene is this line:

He can’t figure out how to manage holding the script in one hand and the item in the other, so he lets the others go ahead of him while he sits in a corner and stares at the page.

I don't love the word item there. It feels almost too clinical, but I couldn't think of an alternative. I wanted to make it clear he wasn't planning to take the bag, just the contents, but I didn't want to reveal what was in it until he got out onstage. This bothered me enough that I brought it up to @hamiltonsteele (this was the first time she helped me edit!) and she reassured me but I'm still not over it.

Hawkeye getting strangely attached to the skull and thinking he's going to miss it is just something I felt. I've had various situations where I become attached to certain objects for a time. Grable recognizing the skull just had to happen, it was one of those scenes I could just see.

Hawkeye's alma mater, Androscoggin College, is Bowdoin. To quote my dad, it could be Bates, which is also on the Androscoggin, but Bowdoin is a better college and where the author of the book went. I wrote Hawkeye's college as Bowdoin (by the way if you're ever in Brunswick, Wild Oats bakery is the bomb). I didn't go so far as finding out where anatomy classes were actually held in the forties, but I did go on the Bowdoin website and find a building that is currently a science building and existed in the forties. Originally I had the room number as higher, but I changed it to a low ground floor number to ensure such a room was possible. I told you, I went a little crazy.

The big surprise about this fic was Gloria. Her role grew naturally. Originally, she was just a good line. What reason would a male pre-med student give for auditioning for a play? To flirt with a cute girl, of course! I wanted Gloria to be kind, so I had her smile at him during the audition, and it just grew from there. The Hamlet/Ophelia thing had too much potential to ignore. Mayer is my grandmother's maiden name; my great-grandfather worked in the ticket office on Broadway. Once I had created Gloria, I remembered that Bowdoin wasn't co-ed yet, so I quickly googled women's colleges in Maine at the time and had girls come to audition for the female roles.

He falls into bed well after midnight, exhausted and he sleeps perchance to dream.

This line is an intentional reference to both Hamlet and Dreams and it's supposed to evoke that dead sleep of exhaustion, but really as long as it evokes something other than regular sleep it's doing its job.

The contrast of flesh-and-blood bodies with the skull is one of those things that I don't know if the readers pick up on, but it matters to me and I love it. In that same scene, Hawkeye forgetting his cast mates' names and only knowing them by their roles. He calls Brian Polonius in the next sentence and can't even remember Greg's full name.

The cast party is probably one of my favorite scenes. Gloria being sexually forward was important to me. She wants him, she's confident, she's enjoying this. If anything, Hawkeye's the one being a little romantic.

He thinks he could kiss her for an eternity.  But Gloria has other plans.

Of course, that's partly because he's just being weird in general by this point.

It’s a doublet, really, he hasn’t changed—he’s still dressed as Hamlet. 

This is one of my favorite lines and I'm not sure why. I think it's the rhythm of it.

Again, I wanted Gloria to be kind. I'm not sure how clear this was, but in my mind, Gloria knows there's something going on beyond the alcohol, but telling Brian he'd had too much to drink was both tactful and easier to explain.

Hawkeye and Gloria seeing each other again and having a nice one night stand was me being a sap. I always want to make people see each other again because it's so interesting. But I think it works. It shows that the fog has lifted. He's successful, academically and personally. But Hamlet is still in him. Gloria greeting him with a Hamlet reference makes sense because that's how they met, but when you think about the last time they saw each other, it's an interesting choice. I did that on purpose. Gloria is a little like him. They're attracted to each other for a reason. And I had to give her a good future.

In med school, sometimes, he’d do it during autopsies, as a way of making conversation with his patients. Someone had caught him, once, and after that he’d stopped, but he still knows the words. 

I'm just in love with this as a concept. Hawkeye having a bedside manner, even with dead patients. Reciting Shakespeare to them. Getting caught! People thinking it's weird! I just have a lot of feelings about this image. Also I fully forgot Ducky from NCIS used to talk to the bodies (nature is healing).

This will never feel like my first MASH fic, because before I even had the idea I had several WIPs in various stages, including safe travels which was almost done. But it was the first MASH fic I posted.

Thank you so much, this was so fun! You probably got more than you bargained for, lol.

[lettalady]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines.  Or, send in a ⭐star⭐  to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

Oh giving me free reign is a dangerous dangerous thing. (That being said, ILY for it.)

My brain is currently in Helmut why would you mode so let's look at LJH proper. No, I won't dwell further on The Great Grate Escape, you're safe from hearing me darkly mutter about that... but looking at Helmut's choices and how they lead to the admittedly brief situationship with Dove. (At least in the story proper but we're not talking about The Great Grate Escape. Nope. Nuh-uh.)

[ Again going under the cut for length and spoilers ]

It's murky and grey, as is Helmut's world, but I tried to draw the connecting dots between the past infatuation that he tried hard to squash, and how their worlds intersected again. Granted, once again there were options for ways it could go. (Not even considering the What If scenarios that I dabbled in exploring because it's so tempting to sidetrack down one of those paths.) That caught moment of him catching sight of someone he thought likely died, and then the blink-shift into fury that she survived the day when his family perished only to bottle it because there are other things to focus on. He's looking for opportunity while he's got this moment of freedom care of Bucky's actions and damn if he's going to miss having a little fun at Sam and Bucky's expense. But, I'd argue even then he's not thinking about how to find a way out and remain at large. He's thinking of the inevitable return to prison, or manipulating someone into fulfilling that death wish he has.

And then - Sharon plops that ghost from his path directly before him, leaves her in arm's reach and walks away. Kerosine, tinder, lit match - because oh look they're both Sokovian let's see what happens and ooh I think they do know one another. (If I hadn't wanted to follow the events of the show that would have been so fun to explore Sharon's motivations and how she was trying to find a foothold to get Zemo in her pocket. I've got some notes that may turn into a What If eventually. We'll see.)

Helmut's control slips and we catch a glimpse of that EKO Scorpion Commander, the man that likely served on the death squad before being promoted to running it, the man that lost. everything. Fed by his own survivors guilt and the choices from the day Sokovia flew and fell, he wasn't going to stop unless an outside force stopped him. (... I honestly can't remember if I posted the What If when she says something to get him to loosen his grip. If not, as mentioned above, it's in m y notes and waiting.) The fact that she fights his hold and then doesn't speaks volumes to her headspace and survivors guilt but that's a whole other rambled commentary.

I played around with the idea of an ebb and flow to that fury specifically directed at her because she knew what he lost and mourned his family too, but liked the examination of his guilt and how that leads to his instinct to uphold a promise made from that lifetime. His long span of time in solitary plays into how he tests to see if her infatuation still holds, and why he allows anything intimate to occur between them.

... I've totally forgotten where I was going with this. I guess I'm taking the long way round saying that there were so many variations to the building blocks ultimately used. There's a darker much much darker Helmut somewhere out there in the notebooks that never quite forgave Dove for the sin of surviving Sokovia's fall, and relished reminding her of it at every chance. Ultimately LJH proper needed our Zemo to make things work.

[nelapanela94]

⭐I hate you - Love lies under bickering and glares. TW: enemies to lovers, fluff, mention of injury. [W.C: 1.4k]

⭐ Now that you know what you want to be. - All you can do is fantasize with his hands touching your skin, with his lips closing on yours. There is nothing more miserable than having water so close and not being able to drink it. You make the decision to walk away from his life for the best unaware that one day fate would wink at you. TW: Modern AU, Boss Levi, Married Levi, (but not with you :( ) Secretary reader. [W.C: 1k]

⭐ Breathing the same air - Levi falls in love with the owner of a flower shop, but he's afraid to ask her out because he thinks he's not good enough. TW: Fluff, post war, self-loath from Levi. [W.C: 3k]

⭐ We were always the best team - You're a proud soldier with noble roots who is forced to marry Levi in order to retain his bloodline. But the plans don't go as expected. TW: angst, arranged marriage, poetic like smut [W.C: 1.5k]

⭐ Home - You hurt Levi like no one else ever has, but not even the inmensity of the sea that splits your apart can thwart the feelings he had amass. Four years later, Levi finds you under the rubble, and you surrender, convinced that he's seeking for revenge.  TW: Angst, love during war times, canon violence. [W.C: 1.6k]

⭐ You made it - In the city bereft of sunlight, you and Levi had nourished a bond you can't put a name on. He loves you, but the circumstances blur the future he dreams of; all he fights for is to build a life with you above the ground. But his plans are truncated, and you must take separate paths to escape from that abyss, sacrificing your hearts along the way. TW: implied prostitution, nothing explicit; angst [WC: 2k]

⭐Love woven in the simplest form - Three seconds it takes to change everything you knew about him, to bring down the castle he built during years. As time move on, the wound slowly heals, but reopens when your paths recross on the other side of the sea. TW: depictions of war. Levi as a Marleyan warrior AU [WC: 3.5k]

⭐Onions - You left Levi on his own facing an enemy that outstrips him, too strong that makes him weep like a big baby he is. From then on, Levi will be more cautious when facing the fearsome power of… onions. TW: Fluff, Modern AU [WC: 1.3K]

⭐ Love until dawn (and break the spell) - Love is meant to be given without asking for anything in return. Even if it hurts and worms us inside? Even if our heart cries? The heart is a fool and doesn’t know when it’s enough. Love. Even if it’s living in an illusion of hours. TW: Angst, a bit of SMUT (Oral male receiving), mild language [WC: 4k]

⭐ Vi - Unconditional love, dreams to fulfill, a home, you couldn’t have it all at the same time, and despite the adversities and headwinds, Levi and you come out of the disaster unscathed; however, happiness only lasts an instant, preparing you to take it all away. One Saturday afternoon, your lives crumble along Wall Maria. - TW: Drinking, mentions of death, angst, coarse language, teenage pregnancy, attempts of sexual assault, mentions of abortion, a lovely super soft, non-explicit smutty scene, poor emotional management. [WC: 10.5k]

⭐Eggs and marmalade - Years after the war, Levi and you have earned the respite you deserved. You both live a quiet life, sticking to the routine, until one day, unexpected news turns your world upside down. - TW: A bit of mild language (It’s Levi’s fault) [WC: 5.5k]

⭐ stitches and rivets - headcanons, Levi meets a seamtress in Shiganshina because the SC doesn't come in his size. He never imagined that amidst piles of fabric scraps he'd meet the love of his life. - TW: civilian reader, fluff, +16, pregnancy, [WC: 4k]

⭐So, can we try again next week? - Reader takes Levi to his first picnic date, but he can't stop grumbling at the grass pricking his ass. TW: fluff, Picnic date, Levi acting like a brat [WC: 2.3k]

⭐ Levi with a paraplegic S/O - Due to an accident, reader loses the mobility of her legs, and riled by the injustice of life, she wishes to be gone. But Levi will always be by her side. Unconditionally. TW: mentions of blood. [WC: 1.5k]

⭐ Good boy - Headcanons. Behind this scowl hides a Levi who only wants to be cosseted. TW: sub!Levi, little smut at the end [WC: 600]

⭐ Happy birthday Levi - For Levi's birthday, reader plans a trip to witness the breathtaking Northern lights, but his hurtful words threaten to ruin everything. TW: fluff, Levi being a jerk, swearing, written for Maxene's Christmas Collab [WC: 1.7k]

⭐Our red thread - Doomed to spend eternity in a wedge between heaven and hell, mourning a love that could not be, Y/N has only one way to escape her desolate fate. Will she find a way to make Levi aware of the feelings she has secretly harbored for him? TW: angst, typical cannon violence, love that transcends over time [WC: 13k]

⭐Because I was falling in love with you - It's been a mistake, and now you face the consequences all alone. Broken-hearted, you struggle between dreams and a life imposed by destiny, and when you thought everything was falling back in place, a knock on the door makes it all crumble. TW: SMUT, oral!male receiving, penetrative sex, angst, hurt/comfort, unwanted pregnancy, mention of abortion. [WC: 11.5k]

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

For the Writing Asks

If it be your pleasure to cross the sleeping green between

💎 ⛰️ ⭐

If it be your pleasure to cross the sleeping green between

💎- What was your favorite part?

I think my favorite part - in a fic of favorite parts - was the bit with Scott and Steve in Steve's shower. I felt it was sexy and sweet all at the same time. Scott is always so On. So In Control and In Charge that he never gets to just let go of that side of himself and be taken care of. Steve takes that on without some gross dominating macho attitude. He lets Scott just be vulnerable without thinking of it and without making Scott think about how he's letting someone past the walls he's built around himself. It becomes very organic.

⛰️- What was the hardest part?

Two parts. The first hardest part was the food fight in the kitchen. It was like choreographing a dance or a battle/fight scene. I had to make sure I knew what was where at all times and what the guys were doing/holding/thinking/throwing on each other.

The second hardest part was gracefully maneuvering Steve going from rimming Scott to being ready to kiss him again because I constantly had Becky's voice (from Clerks II - I can't escape that Kevin Smith crap no matter how hard I try) going, "You never go ass to mouth!" So trying to figure out the most graceful way for Steve to deal with that before he kissed Scott again, without having him have to run back to the bathroom to brush his teeth, was kind of agonizing. Because I'm sorry. I'm not going to write gross, unhygienic, and unrealistic sex scenes. I read one of those recently, and despite the fic itself being gorgeous overall, when I read that sex scene the way that author wrote it - no doubt they're just not very well-versed in sex even in a writing standpoint - I just noped the hell out of it. I don't want people to feel like they have to nope out of my sex scenes for being wrong and gross.

⭐- What’s a scene/paragraph you’re proud of?

I'm proud of quite a few of them, but I'll provide two:

1

“Uh...JARVIS?” Steve inquired.

“Yes, Captain Rogers. I thought it best to have a cleaning crew come up to take care of the mess so that you and Mr. Summers could focus on your team leadership bonding exercises. This way, when you are both ready to resume the pie-making portion of your...bonding exercises, you would not have to be delayed by cleaning up. Also your clothes are already in the wash, and I do believe that Mr. Summers could borrow some of your clothing until his are clean. You know. When you are finished with your...bonding...exercises.”

Steve cupped his hand to the back of his neck and offered a half-wave when he was noticed by the cleaning crew. He smiled and stammered a nervous thank you before he backed into his bedroom and closed the door.

Then locked it.

“You know, JARVIS, you’re beginning to sound a lot more like your father there,” Steve remarked as he turned around. His eyes honed in on Scott lying on his bed. Naked. The towel hung over the back of the chair at his drawing desk.

“Thank you, sir. I take great pride in that compliment,” the AI remarked. “And now I suppose you would like to be alone with Mr. Summers?”

Licking his lips, unable to look anywhere other than Scott lying on his side on the bed, Steve nodded first, spoke second.

“Very much alone with Mr. Summers, JARVIS, thank you.”

“Then if there is nothing else you require...”

“Nope. That’ll be all,” Steve remarked as he started to walk toward the bed, his fingers beginning to tug at his towel.

“Yes sir. Very good. Oh and in light of your new circumstances, I have now taken the liberty of adding a new supply of lubricant to your accumulated shopping list. I have even changed your usual brand to the one Mr. Stark prefers.”

Steve’s movements paused, and he blushed from ear to ear while Scott covered his mouth and laughed behind it.

“JARVIS, OH MY GOD! Please!” he exclaimed, his chest shaking with laughter even though he felt so embarrassed to have this conversation with Tony’s AI-Son in front of who he was hoping would become his boyfriend.

“Very good, Captain. I will leave you to it.” There was a pause and Steve assumed that they were finally alone, save the people in his kitchen. “Oh, though I should tell you that this delivery can be expected in a week, given the holiday, but if you do not have enough to last you until then...”

By this point, Scott had rolled onto his stomach on the bed, grabbed one of Steve’s pillows, and buried his face in it to muffle great roaring guffaws. His whole body shook, and Steve couldn’t look away from the lines and muscles in his back.

“I’ll manage, JARVIS. Thank you. Really. I’ll...we’ll be fine. Thank you. Now...I’m sure you can...”

“I will gracefully bow out, Captain Rogers. Good luck with your endeavors with Mr. Summers.”

And with that, they were blissfully without further comments.

2

“Fine. I’ll say it. Eventually, we went from hero and sidekick to...boyfriends and Captain America never let me be bullied again,” Scott finished and grumbled as he started to pull back from Steve so he could curl up in a ball of embarrassment.

For a split second, Steve felt his heart twist and break at the confession, not of a gorgeous adult man lying in his best after fantastic sex, but of the near-teenager who crushed on him and just wanted him to save him from bullies and then love him like he hadn’t been. Scott gave him so much to chew on in regards to the image they’d made of him even while he remained in ice instead of here to create his own reputation. He wouldn’t have let those little shits bully Scott, but it would’ve taken a longer time before Steve outed himself as bisexual, so that tender prepubescent boyfriend fantasy would’ve taken longer to manifest. That said, the moment he felt Scott trying to cringe away, Steve held him even tighter and focused on the here and now. He pressed his lips into Scott’s bronze hair, loving the scent of his own shampoo steeped into those locks, and then he cupped his lover’s chin and lifted his face until he could kiss the insecurity right away from those courageous lips until they parted and responded to him with a needful hum.

Scott pulled back only when he needed to catch his breath. His head and heart battled each other, his desires fighting for the right to see the light of day instead of his pessimistic logic always ruling instead. He looked at Steve’s face and brought one hand up to touch his cheek, feeling the chiseled jaw he’d seen clench so many times preceding a fight.

“You aren’t laughing or calling me pathetic,” he remarked with some surprise and found his own cheek held gently in Steve’s palm.

“Because you’re not pathetic, and what you said wasn’t funny. It was heartfelt and sincere, and I wish I could’ve been there for that kid who’s turned out to be one of my feistiest friends and fiercest sometimes rival and...” Steve sighed and kissed Scott again. Brief and firm and steeling himself for what was left to say. “Listen. I bet I could run into hundreds of kids who had similar fantasies to yours, sweetheart, and obviously, without talking to Stephen Strange or...probably Loki about it and then being warned heavily against it by Wong, I can’t go back in time to rescue you from those little assholes who deserved to be, at the very least, shaken until some sense formed in their heads. I can’t do that, but...I can have your back now. When you want it...when you need me, I can do that, and here’s the thing, Scott. You’re no one’s sidekick. You shouldn’t ever want to be.” He watched Scott’s features for any sign of discomfort or that he was about to run. “And...I mean, if where we’ve landed today isn’t an indication of my interest in you then maybe you’ll let me take you out on a date sometime. Boyfriends sounds like a pretty good deal to me. If it still does to you...after all this time.”

Scott was way too good with long, heavy silences. He liked to put his thoughts together so that he didn’t react just with his emotions. He was bad at emotions. Leaders who took the whole safety of their people on their shoulders couldn’t afford emotions; or so he’d been disciplined to believe. This time, though, he didn’t want to hover over any number of answers he could give because there was only one.

“Sounds like a fantastic deal to me, Steve. I...” Scott laughed and turned his face to kiss Steve’s palm. His all over the place feelings leaked into his voice, the way it hitched, the way he attempted to not sound like a teenager with a crush. “...it’s been a long time since I went on a date. Not sure I even remember how dates work. I think the whole dating routine has changed, too, so I’m not even sure what the protocols are anymore.”

Thanks for the asks!

Writing Asks

[nagisadelune]

Headcanon: Luke as Your Tutor (Part 1)

(Definitely not edited)

Time for another headcanon! As much as I want to imagine this one in the real universe for Tears of Themis, this one is going to need to be its own little AU, so here we go!

For the timeline, imagine that you are in high school with Luke and Rosa. Let's just set the age to around 16, and assume that Luke hasn't left yet.

⭐⭐⭐

"UGH!" The loud crash of your head on the table surprises Luke and Rosa who stare at you. With finals coming up, you know that studying is your first priority, but nothing seems to be sticking in your head. Even with the water and snacks in the library, you still can't seem to understand the topics on your notebook. Rosa peers over you to take a glimpse at what you were reviewing this time.

"Physics?" she questions, noticing the various force diagrams scribbled in the lines of your notebook. You can only sigh as you nod your head a little. For some reason, you know how to do the questions in theory, but you keep getting the wrong answers because you misunderstand what the question asks for.

After lifting your head up from the desk, you begin explaining how you feel, "It's like I know how to do the questions and apply what I need, but the question asks for something different than what I expect." Understanding your frustrations, Rosa just pets your back to show her sympathy. While she tries to comfort you, Luke grabs the notebook and textbook from you to read the question.

"Yeah, I understand what you mean," Luke cuts in. "Sadly, the only way to fully understand what the questions want is by doing them over and over to practice." You sigh, knowing that he's right. Suddenly, you remember what you might've written in your notebook and carefully pull back your notebook from his grasp, trying to hide your red face.

For awhile now, you've taken interest in Luke: he is always such a sweet guy towards you and goes out of his way to make sure you're safe. Maybe it's because you're best friends with Rosa, but you find him to be extremely caring towards you. However, that's where it gets complicated; you and Rosa are always together since she takes you under her wing as her junior, and it's hard to differentiate his feelings towards you and Rosa.

Either way, you like him to the point that writing his name in the corner of the paper helps you calm down and focus on your thoughts while working on homework or a test. Because of this, you forget that his name is written in the corner of a couple pages in the midst of your frustration; the only thing you can do is hope that he doesn't notice it.

To hide your red face, you prop your elbow on the table and hold your temples with your thumb and middle finger. Hopefully, this seems natural to the two people who are worriedly looking at you. You start getting ready to attempt another question from the textbook when you hear Luke speak up from in front of you.

"We can tutor you if you want," he quietly offers. You look up from your paper to see Rosa nodding happily.

"Yeah, I think that it must have to do with the wording of the questions since I know a lot of people who didn't understand it until someone explained it," Rosa explains with a smile on her face. "Trust me, I was one of those people before Luke explained it to me last year." I glance at him and notice his ears turning red from her compliment.

"I'll be back," Luke awkwardly coughs out before quickly escaping the room. While he leaves, his cheeks are already starting to turn red. Your heart sinks thinking that he might actually like Rosa, but you hide it to avoid any conflicts. You watch his figure become smaller before eventually turning back to Rosa who has a mysterious smile growing on her face.

"My beloved junior, you have someone you like, don't you?" she playfully asks, lightly pushing your shoulder.

Immediately, you start panicking, "M-me? No. No way. No one I like. I don't like anyone. I mean who would I-"

"Y/N, your face is so red now," Rosa cut me off. "As your senior, you know you don't have to lie to me." You immediately want to hide since she read you so easily. You can only nod slightly and not make any eye contact before you feel a hand softly pat your head. "No need to be shy. It's normal to have someone you like," she comforts you in a soft tone.

"Was I too obvious?" you mumble, trying to hide your face from her. You were definitely not expecting Rose to notice your little crush towards her friend.

"Not at all," she responds. "In fact, I think I'm the only one who would know." A small weight seemed to come off of your chest when she explains the situation. "So what do you like about Luke?" Rosa suddenly asks. In an instant, you feel your heart beating out of your chest and the blood rising into your cheeks. Before you can even stutter out an answer, Rosa looks at you shocked and questions almost too loudly, "You like him that much!?"

"Rosa, please don't expose me that much!" you exclaim before covering her mouth and looking around the library. Luckily, there aren't many students in the library since today is Friday, but you prepare yourself for making apologies to the other students there. You also don't know if Luke is nearby, and you hope that you never have to find out his reaction to what she just said.

"Sorry, sorry," Rosa starts apologizing in a hushed tone, pulling your hands down from her mouth. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you liked him though?" You can only look down at your twiddling fingers as you try to form an answer.

"I felt like he liked you, and I didn't want to make anything awkward between the three of us," you murmur, picking at the dirt underneath your nails. "I don't want to ruin any relationships with you guys because I'm pretty happy where we are as a group." You have to stop yourself short to make sure you weren't rambling to your busy senior, but when she doesn't respond, you look up to see her soft smile.

"You wouldn't have ruined anything no matter what. Even if he liked me or you, you're allowed to have your feelings," Rosa softly speaks in an attempt to calm your nerves. "Plus, do you really think I would resent you or something for liking my childhood best friend?" You could only shrug to her question as you contemplate what would have happened in a different universe.

"Do you think he even likes me in any way? Even as a friend is fine," you ask her, embarrassed to be asking such a question. You can hear Rosa stifle a small laugh before she tries to respond to you.

"I think he at least doesn't mind being near you," Rosa answers after calming herself. "If he really couldn't stand you, why would he be here with all three of us?" You automatically think of an answer, but you keep it to yourself knowing that Rosa could easily refute your statement in an instant. Slowly, you shake your head no, and Rosa squeezes your hands. "Trust me when I say this: just be yourself around Luke. Either way, he will care about you," she whispers to encourage you. You can only nod before you hear Luke hurrying back.

"Are you guys okay?" he asks concerned, looking between you two. He seems to be sweating a little bit while carrying a plastic bag. His hair sticks a little to his forehead as he tries to wipe the sweat away, and you have to mentally tell yourself to stop staring before it becomes too obvious.

"We're okay," Rosa answers on our behalf. "Our little junior was just getting stressed about that physics final she has coming up, but I should be able to help her." She makes a little lie up to cover for your confession to her. Seemingly understanding the situation, Luke nods before setting the bag down on the table.

"Well maybe it was a good thing that I ran down to the convenience store for some snacks," Luke sighs in relief, revealing the various chips and candy he bought from the nearby store.

"Senior, why so many snacks though?" you question, picking up a packet of gummy bears. You raise your eyes to meet his, but you freeze as his eyes are deeply looking into yours. For a moment, time stops, and you can only hear your heartbeat and barely feel your breaths.

"Our favorite junior deserves some snacks for working so hard," his clear voice rings in your ears as it seems like you two are in your own world. His soft smile seems to radiate the warmth of sunlight, and your body warms from the inside. You clear your throat before looking back at the candy packet in your hand.

"Thank you," your shy voice thanks him, your eyes not able to meet his anymore. You can barely hear him respond back before you open the packet and try to distract yourself from what just happened. Snacking on one gummy, you focus your eyes on the notebook in front of you. However, your mind can't seem to focus on your work, distracted by a certain someone in front of you. While your hand instinctively reaches for the corner of the page, you have to stop yourself because it would be way too awkward to explain what you are writing.

As if on time, Rose suddenly stands up from the desk and starts freaking out, "I totally forgot I have to get back home and help Granny down the street with dinner!" Luke and I look at her shocked; she's never late to help Granny with dinner. "I have to run back right now. Luke, can you tutor and walk Y/N home when you guys are done studying?" Rosa quickly asks as she stuffs her thin jacket and study materials into her backpack. You help her gather her items to speed up the process.

"Yes, don't worry about us," Luke reassures her. "Just get going before Granny gets too worried about you." You see her barely nod as she slings her backpack over her shoulder and leaves the library. Watching her diminishing figure disappearing down the stairs, you can only sigh at the timing.

"I've never seen Rosa run like that or be late," you comment out loud, noticing her uncharacteristic behavior.

"You're right about that," Luke agrees as he peers behind himself for a second before setting his eyes back on you. When you look back at him, you feel frozen seeing him watch you. In the panic, you don't realize it, but she just set you up with Luke. When you realize it, you feel your heart racing and your mind wandering. The vibration from your phone pulls you away as you look at the text message from Rosa: "Good luck."

⭐⭐⭐

Okay, so this is way longer than I thought. I'm going to be making this a two-part headcanon, so you can enjoy the amount of fluff and not-angst this story has. Either way, I hope you liked it! See you in the next one!

Next: Luke as Your Tutor (Part 2)