Work Text:
“Where did Georgie say she was headed?” Martin asked from the kitchen where he was making tea.
Jon sank into an overstuffed armchair. It was a hideous, paisley thing but what it lacked in aesthetic it more than made up for in comfort. “Somewhere in Scotland.”
“Scotland is a big place.”
“It is,” Jon agreed. “She’s touring an assortment of allegedly haunted places up there with another ghost hunting group. They are pooling resources and doing some kind of crossover series.”
“Oh, that sounds nice.” Martin handed Jon his tea and sat himself on an equally ugly couch.
“If you like camping in the cold, damp north and drafty, stone ruins.” Jon shook his head. “For all its horrors, I rather prefer the Institute. At least it’s dry and more or less climate controlled.”
Martin leaned forward to set his tea on the table but the sofa had practically swallowed him. He gave a few halfhearted attempts before accepting the inevitable and sinking back into the cushions.
Jon chuckled at Martin’s predicament. “I should have warned you, Georgie’s had that couch since uni. I keep telling her she should get something with more support. It’s not good for your back.”
“I can see why she kept it, it’s comfy.” Martin blew the steam from his tea and took a sip. “It didn’t swallow the Admiral, did it?” He checked under the throw pillow next to him.
“No, he’s holed up under Georgie’s bed. Has been since I got here. I tried to get him to come out but you can see how well that went for me.” Jon held up his hand to show off several deep scratches. “He knows I’m here to give him his pill and he is not having it.”
Martin grimaced at Jon’s hand. “Well of course not. He can tell you’re nervous and he’s going to keep hiding until you’ve calmed down.”
“I am calm! I have tea. See.” He took a swallow from his cup and winced from the hot liquid. Jon huffed in response to a look of disbelief from Martin and made the deliberate effort to relax.
“It’s not just that,” Martin soothed. “Did he ever hide from you when you were staying with Georgie?”
“It might have taken a couple of days for him to warm up to me. But then it was all headbutts and belly rubs.”
“And how long has it been since you were last here?”
“The better part of a month.” Jon sighed, reluctantly conceding the point. “Maybe longer.”
Martin nodded sagely and took another sip from his tea. “So mom’s gone and there’s a strange man in the house.”
“I don’t think it’s that, well maybe a little, but mostly it’s that he knows what’s coming.” Jon nodded to the prescription bottle on the end table. “The Admiral is too smart for his own good.”
Martin considered the situation for a moment and nested deeper into Georgie’s hideous couch. “He sounds like an affectionate cat--”
“You’re not wrong.”
“--so he’ll likely come out on his own, given enough time.”
Jon arched a dubious eyebrow “How much time?”
“At least until you’ve managed to calm down some more.”
“Martin--”
“You’re a stressed out mess, Jon. That much is obvious to anyone with eyes, let alone a cat. The Admiral isn’t going to come out of his own volition until he’s sure you’re not going to freak out at him.”
“I would never hurt the Admiral.”
“I know that but to a cat you’re a sack of unpredictable, nervous energy that might lash out and attack him with little to no warning.” Martin gestured with his mug to Jon’s scratched arm. “And from his perspective he’s already had to defend himself from you once.”
Jon opened his mouth to retort then closed it with an impatient sigh. “So what, we just wait him out?”
“Pretty much, yeah.” He took another draught from his mug.
At some point Jon’s leg had started to bounce with pent up nervous energy. He ran a hand absently along his thigh a few times, eventually stopping to rest on his knee. “I’d much rather be doing something.”
“How about this.” Martin scooted himself sideways along the couch and patted the space next to him. “We put on a movie or something and see if the Admiral comes out to join us. The more we ignore him, the more likely it his he’ll want to come out and see what's going on.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Jon admitted, levering himself from the plush armchair.
“And if it gets you to relax even a bit then I will consider that an added bonus.”
Jon shot him a look that tried and failed to be annoyed. Martin simply grinned back in that cheerful way that was so very... Martin. “Do you want anything while I’m up? It doesn’t look like you’ll be escaping that couch anytime soon.”
“More tea would be nice and if you had over the remote I’ll put something on.”
He traded Martin the remote for his mug and went to busy himself in the kitchen. By the time he returned the opening credits of some mindless series Martin had queued up on Netflix was playing.
Jon settled down next to Martin, attempting to give him some space but the aging springs sank deeply beneath them. It was easier to sit shoulder to shoulder than keep trying to climb out of the basin formed in the center of the couch.
“Looks like it’s trying to swallow us both,” Martin laughed nervously. “Do you want me to move to the chair?”
“Don't be silly. Then you won’t be able to see the screen properly. It’s fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Now who’s the one that needs to relax?”
The tension eased from Martin’s shoulders but his ears stayed noticeably red through most of the first episode. Not that Jon would admit to paying attention to that sort of thing.
It wasn’t much longer before Jon felt himself start to nod off. The host’s voice on the telly was low and calming. The sofa under him was soft and comfortable. Martin was a warm, soothing presence beside him. Jon shifted deeper into the couch cushions and let his eyes slip closed.
Jon was pulled from slumber by the sharp points of the Admiral’s claws kneading into his thigh. He needed his nails trimmed but that was a problem for Georgie when she got back. The long haired orange and white cat had curled up on his legs and was purring with wild abandon. Without opening his eyes, he reached down to absently scratch behind the Admiral’s ears and under his chin.
There was a slight shifting of movement under Jon's head. At some point after he’d nodded off he must have subconsciously curled up against Martin. His head was on a throw pillow but he was practically in the other man’s lap with Martin’s arm draped across his shoulders.
Jon cracked an eye open and though it was blurry without his glasses, he could see the show had been paused while Netflix asked if they were still watching. The steady rise and fall of Marin’s chest hadn’t changed since the Admiral had made his presence known. With everything he had gone through recently, Jon was loathe to wake Martin just yet.
At least that’s what he told himself as he settled back against Martin’s chest and let the sound of his heartbeat lull him back to sleep.