The Hope That Starts

He's not the brooding one. He's not the dangerous one. He's the one who knows every Doctor Who episode by heart, takes sandwiches very seriously, and has spent the better part of a year being patient with a woman who doesn't deserve it.

Harrison O'Neil is fine with who he is. He just hasn't met anyone else who was.

Then Zelda Fitzpatrick shows up on tour with a camera, lightsaber-green eyes, and an apparently encyclopedic knowledge of Tolkien — and she looks at him like he's exactly who she was hoping to find.

There's just one problem. He's not available. And Zelda, being Zelda, is going to respect that even if it kills her.

So they watch Doctor Who on the tour bus. She makes him sandwiches that ruin him for all other sandwiches. He starts to understand what it means to actually be seen by someone.

And then everything falls apart in the worst possible way.

Slow burn. Found family. Closed door. For every nerd who ever waited to be someone's first choice.