2025-01-06 18:54:32 ¶ ● ⬈

somuchbetterthanthat:

> Once again thinking that Elias having lunch with the library staff weekly implies he has lunch with EVERY department staff during the week. Once again obsessed with the thought of Martin, on his first Archives Lunch with Tim, Sasha, Jon and Elias, discovering that Elias Bouchard, who is always mild, just the right side of a bore, except when he suddenly stares at you and it feels like he knows all your darkest, deepest secrets, and it amuses him, TURNS INTO A WILDLY DIFFERENT PERSON around Jonathan Sims

> I need Martin to spend that first lunch watching Jon and Elias debate whilst staring into each other’s eyes for almost an hour, Jon snarking more and more rudely and Elias’s eyes shining brighter and brighter, until Elias casually fixes something on Jon’s suit that sends Jon FLUSTERING. I need him to try and look at Tim and Sasha with wide, baffled eyed and they do have a minute of commiseration like “oh yeah, man. Yeah.” but then, well, they’re used to it, so they just start their own conversation on the side

> They do try to include Martin but eventually they get into something he doesn’t know that they’re passionate about, and so Martin like, gently fades into the background (as usual) and keeps listening to JE, until it almost feels comfortable, to disappear, if sharply lonely, and the moment he thinks that Elias SUDDENLY turns his head around and goes “and how has the new work been treating you, Martin?” and behind him Jon’s eyes finds him as well, and beyond his general contempt for Martin there’s the hint of fear there - that Martin will complain about Jon. To Elias.

> “FIne,” says Martin, voice a bit too high, and does not think how hot it makes him feel to have BOTH Jon and Elias stare at him Like That.

> (((ALSO: Archives lunch imply years and years and years of Elias and Gertrude having lunch regularly. You’re welcome.)))