apocalypsehowcomm | [closed] wanna help my worlds collide? let's make a bow with old cut ties

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[closed] wanna help my worlds collide? let's make a bow with old cut ties

Who: Cortana, Martin, and Jon
When: Early August
Where: ADI Canteen
Summary: Cortana and Martin have become rather nice work friends. Meanwhile, Cortana and Jon have become rather bad work enemies. Time for her to figure out they're dating.
Warnings: Nothing in particular except for some likely judgement of Martin's life choices.

On days where things are normal, Martin tries to enjoy the mundane aspects of his job. He can wake up with someone he loves, get dressed, go into an office and-- well, regardless of the fact that he's still researching occult horror beings, that's how it's been for so long even that feels pretty okay. It's good, actually. There are dangerous times, but this itself is good.

So when it becomes time to eat something, he's determined to keep that mundane aspect too, even if it involves dragging his boyfriend bodily from his desk. It's during one of these instances where they've gotten some food and Martin is looking around for a seat where he sees Cortana across the way, and frees a hand to wave while starting to walk over.

"Cortana! Hey!" He smiles over at Jon as they start moving, looking confident. "C'mon, we can sit over here, she's really nice."

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It's a nice routine to have, one that he has grown to enjoy more than he'd thought he would. They'd had lunch together sometimes when they'd been in the Archives, but Jon had been intensely paranoid at the time so it hadn't exactly been the best of times. But this? This is... absurdly normal.

He is surprised when Martin calls out to someone; he forgets that Martin knows people here. Has friends. Jon's never been very good at that.

"Ah, we met briefly."

He really isn't very good at that, is he? Cortana's smile is wide when she sees Martin but then her eyes land on Jon and her expression shifts to somewhere between a grimace and a startled frown.

This guy, really?

"Hello Martin. Friend of yours?"

"Uh." He's ready to give a little laugh to Jon and pass it off, but Cortana's expression is now making him remember that sometimes Jon Doesn't Get Along With People. But surely, it can't be that bad, and in his optimism for the situation just lets out a nervous chuckle.

"Uhm-- yeah, actually, I-- didn't know you'd met! Jon is, uhm, Jon is my boyfriend." He gestures to Jon beside him, as if that helps the situation any. "Jon, uhm, h-how did you meet Cortana?"

He bumps his shoulder gently against Martin's in gratitude and maybe just a bit of an apology. He knows that he isn't the nicest of people.

"Ah in ADI. I think she'd only recently arrived."

Cortana carefully schools away the grimace that tries to spread across her face at that.

"You did mention having one." She raises an eyebrow at Martin, an expression that hopefully ought to clearly communicate this one? out of all the guys here? really? to him.

She sighs before taking a seat, whichever seat puts her furthest from Jon while still being at the table. "I'd just got out of orientation, actually. We had an argument about magic and zombies that he was way too interested in."

Sorry Cortana, he's really gay and that little shoulder bump makes him smile like a mushy idiot before he collects himself. It also means his look towards her is him trying to get his shit together, but mostly he still just looks like a big idiot. Trying to salvage this, he gently pulls Jon towards a seat, and takes one for himself in turn.

"Oh. Uh-- well, sorry if that was, uhm, a bit personal." He knows he doesn't need to look at Jon with the face of 'why' for him to understand it radiating from Martin like a signal. "Just-- always trying to figure stuff out! Aren't you Jon? You know, so we can help everyone."

"I'm a researcher," Jon protests, mostly aimed at Martin who knows him. "It's my job to understand these things."

And if it had maybe fed his patron just a bit, then... it was better than eating people's trauma via dragging a statement out of them, wasn't it?

Honestly, the shoulder bump has kind of clued her in that yes, these two really do care about each other in that way. Blegh.

Clearly, if she wants to continue being friends with Martin, Jonathan Simms comes with as part of a package deal. It'd be cute if he weren't such a creep.

Her eyes narrow.

"Helping. Really? Because I think we have a very different definition of helping." It's not the argument itself that upset her so much as the way he looked at her, like he was excited or even hungry to see her trying not to relive the worst thing that has ever happened to her... and the feeling she gets that Martin in fact knows exactly what she's talking about and is trying to smooth things over by bullshitting her.

Okay, that's-- this might be bad, actually. Martin huffs a little sigh, because he knows what Jon was doing for this kind of reaction to come up, but he can't exactly tell him not to. Something something there's consequences to things and something something something. But this is getting actively hostile, and he raises his hands towards Cortana, palms up.

"Okay, okay, it's-- it sounds like Jon-- and I have, uhm, struck a nerve with this one. I'm sorry. It-- it's hard not to be interested when things keep happening and they m-might be our only clues, you know?" He looks towards Jon like he might offer up an apology, though he's not expecting one. "Again, I, I c-can't speak for him or, or anything, but I don't want to make things bad here."

Jon clenches his jaw at Martin's stammered explanation, and the look he's given. He hadn't done anything! Not really. He hadn't got a statement from her, even though he wanted to.

There's an even chance she would have hated him anyway just because of everything about his personality.

"I'm... sorry," he says after a moment. "I get invested in things and forget that my academic curiosity and desire to not see the world end is occasionally offputting."

You know Jon, you might have gotten ...not a statement (You don't want that statement. Like yes, technically you do, but also you really really don't.) but some basic Halo zombie facts, like how they're actually very intelligent and can use weapons, pilot vehicles, and fly spaceships.

It's probably even visible in the way she starts to relax and let out a sigh ...and then you gotta go make that passive aggressive non apology and she promptly tenses again, her fists balling up so tight that if she had human skin and blood vessels her knuckles would be turning white as she looks at him with the sort of expression that might just remind one about all those dumb cheesy science fiction stories where the AI decides to murder everyone.

She doesn't say anything ...yet. Might wanna interrupt this before she does, Martin, lest she go scorched Earth.

Oh christ. Okay, this is. This is happening. Martin hisses a moment through his teeth and then moves to put himself between the two, as if that's... really going to help, but hey. Attempts are being made.

"Listen, I-- Cortana, please. I know he can be a bit abrasive, but he-- he really doesn't mean any harm, and-- look, I wouldn't, I mean, I wouldn't like him so much if he was really a bad guy." He looks sympathetic, but also just slightly desperate. "Come on, can't... can't we talk this out? Like friends, with the, the uh, benefit of the doubt here??"

The trouble is, Jon has always been this way, even before the Eye, or the Magnus Institute. Martin from a few years ago would have agreed with Cortana.

The trouble is he hadn't even been attempting to be sarcastic, just making a statement of fact.

He sighs and stands up. "Look, Martin. I will go and you can have lunch with your friend." He smiles at him. "It's fine."

He's got plenty of work to be getting on with.

Is he even going to try to work on not being obnoxious?

Cortana is, honestly, happy to see him go, but unlike Jon she actually has some idea of how not to be a total asshole and she's pretty sure chasing off a friend's boyfriend is at least kind of douchey? Especially given that he was here first and she doesn't even need to eat.

"No, wait, you were here first-" She gets to her feet, "-I don't even need to eat..."

This is trying, and that's the worst part. Martin knows in the past he wouldn't have defended Jon this heavily, but it's important to him that other people at least know who Jon is, who can care about him. It's not like Martin's trying to distance himself, he just knows Jon needs support- a lot more support than he can give on his own. But that doesn't make any of it easy.

All the overlapping talking just gets him to sigh, shoulders falling. "No, it-- I'm sorry, this was my bad idea. Cortana, you don't have to go, we, we can pick any table, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bother either of you." Oops, now he seems sad, though he's obviously trying not to show it.

He hates this. He can't even keep his mouth shut for five minutes to make Martin happy. Some boyfriend he is.

And now Martin is sad and he hates that too. It makes guilt prick at him. He rests his hand on Martin's shoulder, gently squeezes it. "You didn't bother me. You never do," he promises. "You stay. Have a nice chat both of you. I'll be fine. I promise."

Well now they're just going in circles. Cortana sighs.

"You know what? How about we start over." She offers her hand to Jon. "I'm Cortana." She's not really sure what to do or say next-how about she doesn't bring up the zombies again-and the awkwardness probably shows.

They're both trying, and it does in fact warm Martin's delicate little heart. He's about to let Jon go when Cortana makes a step in the resolution direction, and he smiles as he looks between them both. See, maybe there's still a chance Jon can make a friend here, and that would frankly make Martin happier than just about anything here. So he just looks hopefully towards Jon that he'll play along and reciprocate the gesture.

He stares at her for a moment, because this doesn't normally happen. Second chances don't happen for him.

But Martin is smiling and he really doesn't want to make him unhappy. He takes the offered hand and gives it a shake. "Jon. Please to meet you."

It's possible Jon might tell that she's a little twitchy, a little hesitant, though she does shake his hand, smiling awkwardly all the while.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Jonathan Simms." Not really, though she is glad that Martin's boyfriend seems to genuinely care about him. He might be able to know this-that her words aren't entirely sincere but her assessment of him has somewhat improved. Or not. He may or may not also pick up that she has an aversion to calling him Jon-that name already belongs to someone else in her mind.

To be completely fair, most people are twitchy and nervous around the both of them (but especially Jon). What matters is she's trying. They're both trying FOR him, and that's the most heartwarming thing he could ask for.

"There we go. Right proper friends. Thank you two very much." He is, actively, very pleased and maybe slightly smug that people actually listened to him for once. "Now, I think we should eat. Especially you, Jon."

Jon is often twitchy and nervous around people. It's why he'd covered it up with arrogance a lot of the time. Safer. Keep people away and from taking advantage, or being cruel.

He gives Martin a small, fond smile, and nods. "Yes, Martin. I'm not going to starve if I don't eat lunch occasionally, you know?"

"Pretty sure it's still better to eat lunch than not." Now you have two people pestering you about taking care of yourself, Jon. After spending so long with the Chief, this sort of thing is basically second nature to Cortana.

Then again, it's no skin off her back if Jon ends up fainting because he skipped meals too many times.

She, on the other hand, literally cannot eat, and thus makes no motion to do so.

Thank you Cortana. Someone needs to make Jon eat. He certainly isn't going to do it himself. Case in point, he gives a little nod to Cortana as if to say thank you, and then directs it right at Jon. You know. The Look.

Once he's done that for a few moments though, he does give Cortana little nod. "And you're still welcome to join us. If, if you'd like."

He gives both of them a sour look. Martin is bad enough, but now Cortana too. "Fine. I will eat lunch," he agrees. Even if a lot of the time it isn't really food that he craves.

"Yes, company is welcome. I'm a bit of a recluse at times as Martin likes to remind me."

"That's not surprising." Sorry Jon, but it's pretty clear you have regular friendly interactions with people basically never, because you clearly don't know how to do it.

And because apparently she's joining them both for lunch now, she'll sit back down and make herself comfortable. "I still can't eat, though." Which is too bad. She's really curious about taste.

It's about the rituals of being a normal person more than it's actually about the food. As far as he's concerned, he feels most like a person when he's doing things that are Irrefutable Person Things, like eating and sleeping and talking to friends. So with great triumph, he will put his food down and go to sit, tugging a bit on Jon's arm to sit as well.

"Oh, right, you can't-- do you miss it? Er, I mean, I don't know if you ever had it..." Oh good, now he's the one making this weird.

He bites his tongue to avoid a sharp retort. He doesn't want to start the argument off again. He knows he isn't good with people.

He lets Martin tug him down into the seat next to him, and gives his boyfriend a soft, fond look. "Is there a particular way you require sustenance?"

"Never tried it. Not that I really want to - taste seems interesting, but digestion seems like a nightmare." She scrunches her nose up a bit as she leans back in her chair, makes herself comfortable. "No offense."

John's question is given a fraction of a moments consideration. "I'm continuously processing data, but that's more like breathing than eating." Maybe Jon will catch it, the fleeting memory of suffocating, of desperation, of needing to breathe but knowing if she does she will let something in, something terrible.

She firmly shoves the thought back into the furthest recesses of her mind.

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[closed] wanna help my worlds collide? let's make a bow with old cut ties

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