apocalypsehowcomm | [closed] we’ve got an uphill battle, but we'll make it through

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[closed] we’ve got an uphill battle, but we'll make it through

Who: Jon and Martin
When: Top of October
Where: Their apartment, ADI housing B4
Summary: Elias has been missing for a few days now, and the boys are starting to wonder if it's actually on purpose or not.
Warnings: Potential spoilers for pretty much everything in The Magnus Archives

On one hand, Martin would like to think he doesn't care very much about what Elias does. Sure, the man terrorized him and Jon for years and now they've had a shared flat for a few months, but that doesn't mean he needs to monitor everything he does.

On the other hand, he absolutely has been, because Elias is suspicious and not to be trusted. Meaning when he just... doesn't come home one day, it's odd, but it's not that odd. When it's coming on three days, now it's becoming a concern of if he's up to something.

"Hey, Jon?" Martin calls out through the apartment from his current position of peeking suspiciously into Elias' bedroom. "Elias didn't... say anything to you last time you saw him. Did he?"

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Jon pushes away from the table and stands up. He heads over towards the room that was Elias's.

"That's odd. I don't think- I hadn't noticed him being gone." Which sounds awful but he's very good at getting engrossed in things he's doing. "It is a bit odd, unless he's found a way to go somewhere else."

Jon wouldn't put it past Elias to have conned or tortured someone into helping him.

"That's sort of what I'm worried about, actually?" Martin doesn't really want to say that he's been keeping tabs on Elias because that would tell Elias he cared, which-- he does, but that's besides the point. It was to get ahead of him in exactly this situation, and it seems like he's already behind. He fidgets in the doorway, stepping to the side as Jon follows.

"He only does stuff when he's, you know. Up to something."

"It is concerning, that's for sure." He doesn't like the idea of Elias out in the world, doing whatever he wants. He's far too good at manipulation for that.

"Mmm, I suppose it's too much to hope he's just spending his time organising ADI's spreadsheets."

Martin huffs just a bit, muttering to himself. "I hope they never let him near a scheduling spreadsheet ever again."

Finally he decides he's going to look around, look for... something, even if he hasn't figured out exactly what yet. He goes over to the dresser, pulls open a drawer and looks inside accusingly. It's empty, and that's one part disappointing and one part relief. "I mean, he's got to be doing something with it, right? Even part of his-- his 'grand master plan' or whatever before involved laying low while we tied ourselves in knots. I get that he doesn't have all his connections here, but maybe he's found something."

"Monday: Order stationary, Tuesday: Meeting with donors, Wednesday: apocalypse, Thursday: collect dry-cleaning."

Jon steps into the room warily, like he's afraid something might jump out at him. It doesn't seem that far fetched considering whose room they're entering.

"If anyone could, it would be him. Two-hundred years of biding his time and plotting."

Alright, that makes him snort a little laugh. "You'd think he'd get someone else to get the dry cleaning. Too much floating in the sky and reciting terror poetry." Martin idly tries another drawer, but comes up empty.

"I mean, he... he's got to be doing something. Right? Unless this-- this place is bigger than him, too. But I don't even know what that would be."

"I'm not sure how good the servitors would be at that kind of thing," he says, possibly giving it a bit more thought than it really needs. "They were very- single-minded."

He remembers the feeling of them bending to his will, recognising him.

"It isn't impossible. I mean, the entities were bigger than all of us. Bigger than him in the end."

Martin really, really wants to joke more about some weird spirits bumbling about with dry cleaning, but the reality of it all- the thought that they were probably people, or the terrible things that were happening because of them- shuts out any bit of fun to be had. In the meantime, he's still picking over the room even though there's really nothing to be found.

"I mean, yeah, it-- I guess. But everything here is just a little... off, from what it's-- not, supposed to be, I-I suppose, but-- you know." He's turning his hands one over the other to try and make sense of this in his mind and his body. "I just don't know, and it's frustrating to... to be behind him again. Whatever he's doing."

He deflates a little, realising that he's rather destroyed the mood. Stupid. Sometimes he really needs to just let a joke be a joke.

"I know. We don't know enough about this world. Things are similar enough that it feels like they should work the same but... we don't know that. Not really."

Aw, no, buddy. It takes Martin a moment to notice, but he reaches out, takes his hand in a silent gesture to give a little squeeze. It's okay. He's okay.

"It's really hard to tell if it's... you know, is it off because of this world, or because of them, or, or--" He sighs before regaining his speech. "I know I don't need to be telling you this. But if you find any, uhm... cryptic notes or something in here, let me read them first, okay?"

See, he can make jokes about horrible things too, it's fine.

Jon squeezes Martin's hand, and gives him a small smile. He's so grateful that Martin is here. That neither of them is alone.

"It's hard not knowing," Jon admits. He'd become so used to it that secrets and mysteries had become something exciting. But now? It's torture.

"I promise I'll let you have first look at any post, yes."

"Was a lot easier when we could just ask the gigantic eyeball anybody's location, huh?" He finds it in himself to chuckle, because-- well of course it was easier, the cost was simply too much to bear. "But I, I wouldn't trade anything for that again if I get to be here with you. Or... or anywhere with you, uhm, r-really. That we got to be anywhere at all is... well, uh, y-you, you know."

He doesn't need to fill in those kinds of details, where they were, what they'd done, even if sometimes he swears he can feel his hands on the knife and the blood all over again. He forces himself to put it out of his brain, focus on the here and now, and hold on to the very alive and human man at his side. One step at a time. They just have to be careful.

"It definitely had its uses," Jon replies. There was a confidence and comfort which came from knowing basically everything. "I should have solved a ew conspiracy theories while I had the chance really."

He smiles at Martin. "I'm glad I'm here with you, Martin," he replies. And it's true. In the end, he couldn't have borne Martin dying. He wouldn't have been able to continue.

That pulls him back out of it, giving a kind of ugly snort at the realization. "I should've asked you about a lot more cryptids. D'you think you would've known about Loch Ness? Maybe it's better we don't know, you know, keep the mystery alive."

The moment is, again, happy and warm, and Jon's smile makes his heart lift so easily he leans over and gives him a kiss on the forehead, then a few more smaller ones down the side towards his temple. "Anywhere you are is where I want to be. And hey, if Elias really is gone, we've... got the place to ourselves. At least."

Jon frowns and gives that appropriate thought. "Not sure. Maybe? Although if no-one has seen it probably not?"

He had never been entirely clear on exactly how it worked, and of course, Beholding was more interested in terror.

He tilts his head to give Martin better access, his expression soft and fond. "I suppose we do. We could do anything! We could... play cards? Drag the duvet out to the sofa and watch a documentary?"

Martin is going to take every single bit of access Jon will give him to press little kisses down the side of his face and to his neck, circling around to wrap his arms around Jon from the back. No Elias means no judgement about all this, even if he is off watching somewhere. Well, be jealous Elias. Now Jon gets many kisses and no terror and there's nothing he can do about it.

For now, he just chuckles at Jon's suggestions, not lifting his head from the crook of his neck. "Maybe we order in some Chinese and watch a terrible movie? Must be something on the telly. Or, you know, streaming." He'd suggest going out, but there's really nothing that makes him want to leave Jon at any point at this moment, so he absolutely won't.

Jon makes a soft noise, almost a squeak, when Martin keeps kissing him, like he can't quite believe that he gets to have this. It feels so nice. They'd had such a short time together in the cottage, and they'd both been... recovering. Traumatised.

They still are.

"I like the sound of that," Jon says. "We never really got chance to do things like that did we?"

God, he's cute.Some part of Martin just wants to squeak back and squeeze him, but he won't because he's... remotely trying to keep it together.

"Not unless you count the cabin with no cable. And me having a proper fit every time you weren't in eyesight for a week, sooo. I'd say this is probably a lot more low-key." He looks as if he's about to talk more, but instead sneaks in and gives Jon another quick kiss before resting his head next to Jon's on his shoulder.

"I'm glad we can. I'm-- I think that's the perfect way to celebrate having our own flat. Being as normal as, as absolutely possible."

"You had come out of a rather traumatic experience," Jon points out. He had hardly been bothered by Martin wanting to be near him. He'd wanted Martin to be close to him too.

"Yes, it does sound lovely. Just you and me, together."

He just snorts. "I think most of our lives are a tramatic experience. I mean, we're-- we're making an event out of doing the most normal thing in the world. This is exciting, I'm-- I'm excited about this!" Martin lets a few stray giggles slip, but doesn't let go of Jon or in any way move. "This is... this is perfect, I think. Anything with you is perfect."

"You might have a point there," Jon says, although he knows other people had the worst of it.

"I think you're giving me too much credit but- I'm looking forward to it too. We could get ice cream too?"

"Shush. If you're going to take credit for all the awful things you have to take credit for the very, very good ones. Like being here, and now, and this." He presses another kiss into the juncture between Jon's neck and shoulder before he pulls away just enough to properly stand.

"How about you pick a place, and I'm going to harvest every pillow in the house to the couch. Deal?"

"It's not the same," Jon says grudgingly. The bad things are his fault and hurt people. The good things were quirks of fate and obviously Martin had made most of them happen.

"Deal. Grab the duvet too?"

Nope, no bad things, and Martin makes a face before kissing him one more time on the forehead.

"Of course. Meet you there."

It's never felt better to be able to close the door on Elias, his room and presence, than it has right now.

He scrunches his nose up at the kiss but the expression sades into a smile quickly.

"Yeah. See you."

He heads back into the kitchen to look up food places. It feels like ages since he did something this mundane.

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[closed] we’ve got an uphill battle, but we'll make it through

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