Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tim has never been stood up before. It’s not that he’s never had a bad date, or he’s arrogant. He just knows that people on dating apps see his picture and show up in hopes that he’s not a catfish, or those he asks out with his most charming smile and an added wink for effect don’t tend to turn him down. Ever. Count this as a first, he supposes, staring out the window of the local sandwich shop with practiced ease. He might not have ever been stood up, but he can handle this. He’ll kick back and wait. Casually.

Sasha promised beforehand that this would be good for both of them, the other party included in that little tidbit. His date is supposed to be a man in desperate need of a day out of the office. Tim planned for this. What he didn’t-- and never did-- plan on is not having a date to do these things with. But he arrived at the shop five minutes early so that he could sit by the window and look aloof and perhaps a bit more attractive in the daylight, and then he spent the next twenty minutes waiting. He’s been on plenty of first dates, this one shouldn’t be any different.

Except this date is a party of one, for now, and Tim doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t even know who the guy is, so it’s not like he can call him up and ask. Sasha and her blind date idea really backfired. He pulls out his phone, not missing the pitying look from a couple of the other customers, and starts to text Sasha.

T: great date. real minimalist and a cheap bill thx

He stares at the phone screen until her text comes back.

Sunny: ??? Gonna need an explanation

T: guy didnt show up

my hot ass is sitting in this shop alone

i look like a romcom gone wrong

Sunny: Shit

Sunny: I knew he was flighty but I didn’t think he would do this

T: so i should go home

Sunny: No I’ll solve this just gimme a sec

He slips his phone back into his pocket and sets his feet on the empty chair across from him. If he’s going to be stood up, he might as well just enjoy his time. With a wave, the waitress comes over and he orders for himself, casting one sly look at the door. His fingers trace the condensation left on the table by his glass. He made a smiley face, then a star, and then an eye. 

How often did this happen to normal people? Being stood up sucks. He feels… well, not particularly upset, but irritated, at least. Weekends are for staying at home in your pajamas until the night time, when you go out with friends. He could be at home. He could be on his couch, watching cheesy old action movies and texting Sasha and Martin until they go for drinks.

The sound of the door chime snaps him out of his daydreaming. He looks up and meets the eyes of a short, stick-thin man with his phone pressed to his ear. The man must be getting chewed out, because his face is flushed with something like irritation and he ducks away from Tim’s gaze. It’s cute, to be honest. He draws a hand through his grey-streaked hair and-- no, he can’t really be old enough to be grey, right?

He turns away from Tim, but he’s still audible, just barely over the overplayed pop playlist the shop is forced to play. “Yes, I know, I-- I’m sorry. You can take your pick for lunch this whole next wee-- yeah, okay, okay . I’m there now. Yeah, he’s here. Can I go now?” He pauses and his shoulders tense, “I’ll tell him those words exactly. Alright Sasha, bye.”

At Sasha, Tim lights up. His feet drop off the chair and he sits a little straighter. The man finishes the call and Tim can see him tense up even more before he turns back to Tim’s little table by the window. He flushes once more, this time in embarrassment, and approaches. “You’re Tim, right?”

Thirty minutes ago, when Tim expected this line, he prepared with a smooth ‘you can call me whatever you want if it means you’ll stay’. But now he just nods, mouth dry, tracing the sharp angles of the man’s face and halting on his intense eyes. That gaze could peer into his soul, that’s for sure. “Yes,” He says finally, moving his tongue even though it felt like lead, “and I don’t even know your name.”

“Apologies, Sasha called in a huff, so I got it from her.” He cringes, and chooses to slide his jacket off and drape it over the back of his seat instead of look at Tim any longer. In a quieter, still embarrassed tone, he says, “I’m also sorry about being, well, late. I’ve been told to tell you, in these exact words, that I am an ass and I try to weasel my way out of all interactions.”

Tim gives a laugh and waves his hand like he hasn’t just spent half an hour waiting nervously in a sandwich shop for a date he didn’t think would show after minute eleven. “Don’t worry about it, you’re here now. Sasha can be a bit persistent.” He watches the man take his seat and leans forward on his elbows, “I do need a name though.”

“Jonathan Sims, but you can call me Jon.”

“Jon.” Tim lets it roll off his tongue, and doesn’t miss the quirk of Jon’s lips when he says it. “So Jon, how do you know Sasha?”

Jon’s eyes focus back on Tim and he’s once more struck by the feeling of being watched, but turned up to ten. It makes him shiver, but he hides it by reaching for his glass and taking a sip. Jon takes the opportunity to start talking. “Work. I’m a researcher and I go to her whenever I need help. Even though I’m not very…” His hand gestures incoherently in the air in what must be a reference to the whole date so far, “Social, she made an effort to be my friend. Practically forced me into it, actually.”

Tim laughs harder than he thought. Something about the way Jon says it with his posh accent makes it funnier. “That sounds like Sash. I’ve known her since uni. We made out at a party once and decided that being friends works better.” Jon’s face twists into surprise and then he nods with a sincerity that speaks of a similar situation. Maybe Tim would ask, later. “So you work with Sasha. You must know Martin, then?”

At the mention of the name, a wave of different emotions passes through the expression Jon gives him. “Yes, though we don’t work together much.”

“Ah. History there?” He has to pry.

Jon pauses to order his food, as Tim’s arrives while he is speaking. Once the waitress leaves, he sighs. “I just think he’s--” he waves his hand like the word is a gnat he has to catch, “clumsy.”

The word draws another laugh from Tim. “Yes, you’ve just described Martin Blackwood in one word: Clumsy. But he’s endearing. Lots of passion in that one. He’ll make some guy happy with his freckles and his tea.”

“Have you two...?”

“No.” Tim grins, settling back in his seat and ignoring the buzzing of his phone, “We all go out for drinks. We’re pretty good friends, I’m surprised you haven’t come out with them, or come up in conversation, for that matter.”

Jon shrugs and turns his head to watch a set of dogs walking past the window. Tim admires him while he does this, tracing the frames of his glasses over to his dark hair and then to his neck, watching the bob of his adam’s apple when he swallows. Jon starts talking and Tim nearly misses it, so fixated on the movements of his lips. “Like I mentioned, I’m not very social. The reason I was late today was because I wasn’t going to show up. I got-” Jon stops and looks at Tim- an indescribable, yet soft emotion on his face, “I got scared and when it comes to people I react… well, badly.”

The truth of his words sink into Tim slowly. It’s sweet, it really is. He might date more frequently than some people, but he also doesn’t see romance as a big thing. To Jon, this might be the start of a time-consuming and important relationship. First dates don’t always lead to second dates, but if it did, then there start to be expectations and effort required. Tim can do that, sure, but it doesn’t scare him like it obviously does Jon.

“Hey.” He smiles as he reaches across the table and leaves his hand open for the other to take if he likes. After a moment of hesitation, he does. Tim squeezes it gently. “What’s the worst that could happen?” When Jon opens his mouth to respond, he shakes his head, “Don’t answer that. Let’s make a deal: This is a casual date. You don’t have to worry about anything and if, at the end of this, you don’t want to be together, we leave friends and nothing changes. If it’s more, well, I know a great Thai place a couple blocks from the pub Sasha, Martin, and I go to. Sound good?"

Jon relaxes for what might be the first time since entering the building. They’re interrupted by the waitress bringing his food, but as soon as she leaves, he says, “Sounds good. I suppose this isn’t the best date you’ve ever been on, though.”

“No, but it’s shaping up to be a good one.” He puts a little sappiness into his words and they hit the mark. A soft smile lines Jon’s face and he takes a bite of his sandwich in lieu of a response. Tim wants to see that smile more, he decides right there. 

They eat relatively quietly, with a couple of pauses for light conversation. Jon mentions a love of cats and Tim launches into a story about him and his brother trying to hide the fact that they had taken in a stray. In the end, their parents made them put her back outside, but they still fed her when they could. Danny still has a scar on his arm from the moment she jumped out of his arms to escape his dad’s angry yelling. Jon laughed at the funny parts and shook his head sadly when they had to get rid of the cat.

When the waitress arrives with the check, they both reach for it, then stop. Jon says “It’s the least I could do” at the same time that Tim goes “It’s not a big deal”. They stare at each other, then Tim breaks and gestures to the check. “You get this one, I’ve got the next one.”

Jon thanks him and gives the waitress his card when she comes back. They both stand and Tim waits for him to grab his jacket before walking out together. “So what now?” Jon asks, stepping closer to Tim so that the sidewalk is more open for a man and his stroller.

That is a great question, Tim thinks as he walks. Instead of saying that, he shrugs. “Day’s open on my end. There’s an art museum nearby. You’re a researcher, you have to know something about art, right?”

“I research the supernatural. There’s not exactly a whole host of haunted paintings needing to be studied.”

“Heh, host .” Tim nudges Jon with his elbow. The other man scowls. “Get it? Like, possession.”

“I got it.” Jon rolls his eyes, but he does crack a smile. “Let’s go see the not-haunted paintings.”

The art museum isn’t really a museum, more of a gallery. Tim doesn’t tell Jon that, though, and Jon doesn’t point it out when they enter. There are a couple rooms to go through, and he enjoys pointing out a couple of works that are by friends and watching how Jon’s eyes light up in fascination. There are some good pieces here, but Tim chose it to watch his date react to each piece. The soft, thoughtful looks he gives with his head tilted and when he sees one he doesn’t like and scrunches up his face, eyes screwing up behind his glasses as if it would look better if it were blurry.

After two hours, Tim drags Jon out of the gallery and toward the park. This date isn’t over by a long shot, and he makes sure to prove that by slipping his hand into Jon’s. Delight bubbles up in his chest when he feels the hand in his squeeze once and stay put. Progress. They stay like that and wander around the park, commenting on the people around them, Jon with accurate assumptions and Tim with wildly inaccurate ones that would either make Jon huff out a laugh or roll his eyes with a groan. Both responses made him want to pull the shorter man closer and maybe even press a kiss to the top of his head.

He keeps that to himself though, because as lovely as it is holding Jon's hand, he seems to be shy about getting too physical. Any attempt to walk closer ends with Jon stepping back, so he eases up. Learning boundaries on the first date is Tim's specialty, and his date has a lot of them. To his delight, though, Jon is comfortable with romantic things, but his face lights up like flash paper when Tim makes the slightest comment.

They're sitting on a park bench at the moment, Tim's arm stretched across the back, but not touching Jon, and Jon sitting stiffly upright as if a ruler was taped to his spine. Tim says "It's a good thing you're cute when you're tense, because you haven't relaxed since the cafe." and right on cue, Jon flushes.

"I'm not cute. " He wrinkles his nose in disgust as he says it and yeah, it's cute. "And I'm not always tense. I'm just… thinking."

"About?" Tim slides his arm back to his body and turns to meet those intense brown eyes.

He doesn't answer right away. Just like with everything else, Jon takes his time to think about his answer harder than most people did about their thesis papers.

Finally, he adjusts his glasses and says in a serious tone: "I think this date is going well."

Tim should wait for an answer, but he can't help but add "and you solved world hunger?" to the moment. The glare he receives doesn't hide the smile twitching at the edges of his lips.

“And the last time a date went well it turned into a relationship that didn’t end well.”

“So you’re comparing me to this ex that was probably not nearly as charming as me?” Tim rolls his eyes, “Come on, I’m my own person, and unless you have a very specific type, anything we have will be different.”

Jon’s still not looking at Tim, but he does seem to let go of a tiny amount of stress in his posture. “There are things about me that you might not like, that no one seems to like.”

“Like what? Let’s just get the warnings out now. You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

He scoffs and says “You can’t have many.”, but that does seem to ease him more.

“Oh believe me, Sasha can hand you a list. Fine, I’ll go first.” Tim starts counting on his fingers in dramatic fashion, “Reasons people have dumped me: I’m too casual, I’m not sincere enough, my relationship with Sasha is threatening, my work is more important, ect. How’s that?” He didn’t expect to be discussing this on a first date, but to be fair, nothing has gone quite like he’s imagined. Prior to this point, he gaged it as a good one that would lead to more, but now? Well, he’ll have to do some real work to figure this man out.

Jon finally looks at him, but his expression is nearly indecipherable. He looks surprised, almost. “I’ve been told I’m too serious, not caring or affectionate enough, and I put my work in front of everything, including myself.”

They both stare at each other, taking in the information, and then Tim starts laughing. Jon, at first, looks offended. Then he smiles and shakes his head. A few people nearby give passing glances and move along. Just two grown men, sitting in a park in the midafternoon sun, seemingly amused by nothing. “We’re quite the pair.”

“We’re going to get along like a house on fire. And I mean that in the best way.” Tim grins at Jon.

“Normally there is nothing good about a house on fire, but I can agree with you there.” His tone is dry and Tim watches him readjust his glasses. “Now, what’s the next part of this date?”

Tim straightens up, excitement lighting up his whole body. Suddenly, and without his brain’s permission, he says, “Well, I was planning on walking you home, if you’d like? We have spent a good portion of the day together, and dinner is usually a more serious date, so we can do that another time. Maybe next Friday?”

Jon’s face is notably red. He stands up and offers his hand to Tim, who takes it willingly. “I think that’s a great plan. But, considering that’s almost a week away. We could get lunch some time during the week?”

Tim nods enthusiastically. “I like the sound of that!” They start walking and Tim let’s Jon lead without question. He didn’t mind walking in the opposite direction of his place, and wouldn’t even bother asking how far it was. The more time he got to spend watching the shorter man observe the shops, the people, the scenery, with those beautifully intense eyes... Well, he figures it’s worth the walk.

They talk, of course. Tim mentions his study on local thrift shops for a report and Jon launches into a rant on the usefulness of secondhand shops and how they benefit communities. Content to let his date stand on the soapbox, Tim just listens and chimes in with agreement or questions here and there. The passion for something as neutral as thrift shops is really cute. Jon starts gesturing with his free hand, and Tim isn’t even sure if he knows he’s doing it when he almost hits a pole with it. It’s the most adorable thing he’s seen yet.

Jon cuts himself off when they arrive at his place. “Ah, sorry for going off on a tangent.”

Shoving down his disappointment, Tim lets go of Jon’s hand and turns to face him. “I didn’t mind at all. You’re educated and you’ve got the info-dumping to prove it.”

That makes Jon flush and Tim feels another rush of pride in getting that out of him. “It- it’s not exactly a trait that most people like, but I suppose if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“This has been fun, more fun than I thought.”

“Agreed.”

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Oka-” Tim is cut off in surprise by Jon stepping closer and looking up at him with those dark eyes. He’s used to dates ending with kissing, hell, more than just kissing, but Jon isn’t the type to just-- oh he is . Tim leans down so that Jon can kiss him, and kiss him he does. It’s delightful, not too long, not too chaste. Jon’s lips are dry and Tim has the feeling that he picks at the skin habitually, but he presses himself against Tim and that more than makes up for it. His arms wrap around the shorter man and he pulls apart, pressing his forehead to Jon’s gently. 

They stay like that for just a few moments, looking at each other with very little distance between them, before Jon presses one last kiss to Tim’s lips and pulls back. “Ask Sasha for my number? Then you can take me to lunch any day you like. Promise I’ll show up on time.” His wry smile makes Tim smile, like a hopeless romantic.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll-- I’ll see you.”

“See you.” Jon says, then turns away and unlocks the door. Tim waits until he’s inside and the door is closed to pull out his phone and demand Jon’s number from Sasha.

Sunny: See I told you it would be good for you both

T: yeah yeah whatever pls right now

Sunny: Fine. Drinks later tho and you fill us in on everything

T: deal

As soon as he has Jon’s number, he saves it and sends him a text.

T: tuesday at noon work for you? -xoxo Tim

(eyes emoji): If I’m not lost in my work, you have permission to come drag me away from my desk

T: im gonna hold you to that

(eyes emoji): I’m counting on it

Tim grins and puts his phone away, intent on getting home and changing before drinks later. He’ll be grilled to death by Sash and Martin, but he didn’t mind. He has at least two more dates scheduled and he isn’t planning on missing them anytime soon. For a shitty start, this is starting to look like a good relationship. He won’t let it get to Sasha’s head, though. She can’t know that her blind date idea worked too well or she’d never let him hear the end of it.

Chapter Text

"You can't just off-handedly mention knowing a famous person and not follow up with a story!"

"I was just telling you a story about my ex and her new girlfriend losing the cat."

"And you glossed over the fact that your ex's new girlfriend is Melanie King-- "

"--Besides, I'd hardly call her famous--"

"--and that Georgie has a type for temperamental short people."

"Hey!"

Tim gets a pillow to the face for that comment. Tucking it securely under his arms, he grins back at Jon, who's sitting opposite him on the couch. It took two months for Jon to open up enough to invite Tim over and two more months for him to even mention having friends outside of work. It's like a game now. Having a partner who can tell you the percentage of water in nearly every fruit but won't say what their favorite kind of food is (Indian, he finds out one night after a date to a local restaurant when Jon mentions in an off-hand comment that the curry there reminds him of a place by his grandmother’s house)  gets to be a matter of "how can I ask a personal question without asking a personal question outright". Tim, luckily, loves games.

"Right, sorry. Short people with attitudes. " He clutches the pillow and watches Jon pout before handing it back. "I don't actually believe that The Admiral is the name of a real cat anyway. Who names their cat The Admiral ?"

Jon's face turns fond and his fingers trace the edge of the pillow. "The Admiral is his own cat, thank you very much. Georgie decided that he needed a name deserving of his superior nature and he latched onto that one rather quickly."

Tim doesn't understand pet people. Danny owns a labrador that he takes everywhere and treats like his own kid. It's been a long time since he's even thought of owning a pet, but adults seem to melt into that baby voice around their pets all the time. Maybe he should take Jon to see Danny and Grim sometime, just to hear that baby voice come out of someone so tightly wound. Is Jon even capable of it? Further research required.

"Danny named his dog Grim. It took like, two days for him to decide. Black lab who looks like you caught him stealing the crown jewels every time you even sort of raise your voice at him, it kinda fits."

Jon nods thoughtfully and Tim can see the rush of information swirling around at 200 wpm. When that look appears, an encyclopedia-worthy fact usually follows. It's charming, and it's Jon's way of saying "I'm engaged in this conversation and I'm trying to show it". True to that thought, Jon says "Labrador retrievers were originally fishing dogs." and then, to keep the conversation from stopping, he adds "Does he take Grim on his trips?"

"Sometimes. The long ones where he's kayaking or backpacking with no guarantee of food, he just leaves Grim with me or a friend. He just came back this morning from a diving trip in Australia, so I'm going over tonight to have dinner and give the old dog back." Tim tries not to sound too excited. He likes hanging out with his brother, genuinely, and hearing Danny tell stories is like reading a good book.

As if Tim infected him with excitement, Jon's eyes light up and his voice gets soft. "That sounds rather fun. I should call Georgie and see if she wants to catch up some day."

“What are you going to do if Melanie is with her?”

Jon’s face sours a little, but he doesn’t seem annoyed. “Maybe I’ll bring you for protection.” At that, Tim laughs. He really doesn’t think Jon is being serious, and his partner only lasts a couple more seconds before laughing too. “No, I don’t think it’ll be that bad. We clash, but ultimately she cares about Georgie and Georgie cares about me. We have a strange, complicated relationship. She stabbed me, once.”

Tim doesn’t know what noise comes out of his mouth, but it falls somewhere between shock and incredulity. “No. Way. What happened?”

“It was an accident, to her credit.” He starts, threading his fingers through his hair to catch a few stray strands. “I was picking up something from Georgie’s flat and didn’t know that she was staying there. I just let myself in, intending to grab it and leave, and she surprised me when I reentered the living room. She said later that she thought I was an intruder?” His hand moves down from his hair to his shoulder, where he pulls back his shirt to reveal a small, raised white line standing out against his dark skin. It isn’t very long, but Tim can imagine how much it hurt at the time.

“Did she at least apologize?”

Jon laughs. “I’ve never heard Melanie apologize for anything. Not to me, at least.”

“Well, if I’m going to meet her as your bodyguard, I’ll make sure there aren’t any knives around.” Tim tries to make his voice sound as cartoonishly superhero as possible, and he succeeds in making Jon grin.

He says, with absolute sincerity, “You’ll be meeting her as my boyfriend, not my bodyguard, but I appreciate the sentiment.”, and the words make Tim’s heart do flips. Months, it’s been months since he’s first heard that word come out of Jon’s mouth, but it doesn’t stop making him giddy. It’s a gift that keeps on giving, and if the knowing look on his face is any indication, Jon knows this and is using it to his advantage.

Tim clears his throat dramatically and leans against the couch. “We should have a group night out, then. Invite them, Sasha, Martin, and hell, maybe even Danny.” He raises his eyebrows with a ‘please consider this seriously even though you hate groups of people’ way. Jon gets the message.

“I will talk to them about it, then. They should be available most weekends.”

“Excellent. Now, I believe we have a nature documentary to watch and take out to order.” He presses a kiss to Jon’s head and heads to the kitchen for the menu stuck to the fridge with magnets.

Tim then proceeds to forget this whole conversation for nearly a month until one day when he visits Jon at work during his lunch break. He's done it many times now, but the Magnus Institute is still creepy. The researchers stay on the second floor, but he hears stories about the archives and the haunted stuff they keep in storage. Martin usually gets the chills just talking about it. Tim has only seen the halls and a handful of rooms like the library, but there's an eerie vibe he gets from the whole place, like every time he steps in there he's being watched. There are no visible cameras and most of the employees seem to have their noses stuck in paperwork, but it persists.

The feeling simmers, a bit, when he sits next to Jon. He slings his arm over his partner's shoulder and shoots a wink at Sasha and Martin. They're all sitting within arms reach of one another, but no one is particularly bothered by the proximity. Jon rambles on about someone's claims that their piano plays itself at night and when they're gone at work and how ridiculous they were for believing that it's haunted, all while he opens the container of whatever Tim got him (soba noodles with all his favorite toppings) without even pausing for air. It fascinates him that Jon can just do that. Information spouts from him like a faucet, and he doesn't even sound condescending when he rambles. He just sounds like a professor who loves his job.

Sasha shoots Tim a look every now and then, as if to say 'are you positive this is the one', but Tim just claps his hand together at the end of the tirade and says "Fascinating stuff, dear, really. You should save that one for a party."

"A party?" Jon asks, nose scrunching up in disgust.

Tim nods seriously. He side-eyes the others, who are now starting to smile, while he rests his hand on Jon's. "All of your weirdest stories! Gotta save 'em. That way, when you're at a party, you can just tell them that instead of saying anything personal."

His face doesn't change. "Why would I need party material if I'm not going to a party anytime soon?" He asks, moving his hand out from under Tim's to take another bite of noodles.

"Well you never know when- hey wait!" Tim reaches for his phone quickly, startling everyone at the table, "We were planning a party!" A couple people within earshot give them weird looks. He guesses Jon isn't kidding when he says he's not very popular at work.

" You were planning a party?" Sasha snorts, looking at Jon. Mouth still full, he shakes his head, pointing at Tim.

"Okay, so I'm planning a night for a group of people to get together, but there will be food and drinks and maybe party games."

"Games, like we're schoolchildren." Martin takes his glasses off to clean them. He looks between Tim and Jon with curiosity. "Okay, when?"

Tim nudges his partner with his elbow. "Probably Friday night. Someone has a celebrity guest whose schedule we have to work around."

"She is not a celebrity, she starred in a YouTube series about ghosts ." The sarcasm drips from his words, which is so lovely that Tim thinks he'll keep poking that bear.

"Wait, Melanie King?" Martin exclaims. They all turn to stare at him. "What? She's cool."

Sasha voices her agreement and Jon groans. "See, now you have to invite her."

"Okay." He drags out the last syllable dramatically and searches for his phone. Once in hand, he sends a text. The response is nearly immediate. "Georgie says they can do Friday."

"Great! I'll call my brother, and then we've got everyone."

Tim barely unlocks his phone before someone behind him chimes in. "Party planning, are we?" They say, and Tim represses a shudder. That’s the embodiment of upper management if he’s ever heard it.

"Mr. Bouchard." Sasha quickly drops her amused expression in favor of something more neutral.

He laughs, which doesn't sound much better than his voice. "Please, Sasha, to my employees I'm Elias. And to employees' boyfriends." He places a hand on Jon's shoulder and Tim sees his partner stiffen. Something’s wrong. "Aren't you going to introduce me, Jon?"

"No. I wasn't, actually." Jon says with a cooly polite tone, "He was just leaving."

"Ah, a shame." Elias tuts, "Maybe some other time we can talk, Mr. Stoker."

The fact that he knows Tim's name doesn't nearly bother him as much as the fact that Jon is still uncomfortable. It makes his own emotions very hard to control at the moment. Martin clears his throat and starts asking Elias about his latest project or something, while Jon stands and practically pulls Tim out of the room.

"What was that ?" He asks, opening his hand to gauge Jon's mood. He doesn't take it, so Tim drops it to his side and gives him space to breathe.

When he speaks, it's low and reserved. "Elias asked me to be the new head archivist a couple days ago. I told him I'd think about it and he's been hovering ever since."

That sounds like a promotion, but Jon isn't acting like it's a promotion. "What's wrong with being the archivist?"

"The last one mysteriously disappeared, and is presumed dead, for one thing." He huffs out, crossing his arms, "And for another, I'm not qualified. If anything, he should have asked Sasha. She worked in and then transferred out of archival storage, and she's better at research. I’m just a researcher. But he asked me and he's creepy about it."

"Yeah, I got that." Tim attempts to lighten the mood, but Jon doesn't laugh. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "Hey, maybe you could suggest Sasha? Or just reject him. It's not like he can make you run the archives."

Jon sighs with an expression that says 'you don't understand how this works'. Tim doesn't press him, instead choosing to press a light kiss to his own hand and blow it gently at Jon. A ritual that they do when his partner is not ready for touching. Jon smiles at that, at least.

“I can go, then. Let you get back to work?” He offers.

Jon nods softly. “Sorry to kick you out, but I won’t be very fun at the moment.”

Tim steps away, only bothered by his inability to help. “I’ll take you for Indian tonight? We can talk then if you need to, when you feel better.” He pauses to check for his wallet and phone, then gives Jon his best smile. “I will take over all social outing planning until further notice, rest assured.”

At that, Jon relaxes and gives him what could be considered a pleased face. “Thank you. I’ll see you tonight, and text me when you get home.”

“Will do.” He blows another kiss, then heads out.

Planning a social gathering is not that hard, Tim finds out. So long as there is a promise of food and maybe some games, they all vow to come. Danny claims that he’s bringing Cards Against Humanity and the Indiana Jones movies that he brings with him on trips with his portable CD player. Tim jokes that his little brother is literally the only person who would want to watch that, but he knows for a fact that Martin has a crush on Harrison Ford, so he lets it slide. Everyone else told him that they would bring something to make it fun. Since they were bringing together some different groups, Tim knows that he and Jon will have to work a little bit to get things flowing smoothly.

He really shouldn’t have been worried before, he thinks as Georgie and Melanie enter with alcohol. Jon hugs Georgie hello and gives curt nod to Melanie, which causes both Georgie and Tim to laugh. While he may have never met her, he pulls her into a hug and does the same to Melanie, who awkwardly pats him until he releases.

“It is really great to meet both of you. I am very excited about all the things you can tell me about Jonny here.”

Jon’s face goes scrunchy when he hears his ill-favored nickname, but he quickly shoots back with “There will be time enough for that later. We’re just waiting on Martin, as usual, if you girls want to get settled.”

“Will do.” Melanie replies and pulls Georgie over to the couch where Sasha is already chatting away with Danny. They had been bonding about their last marathon that they were apparently both in without knowing.

Tim turns to Jon. “You’re going to be pleasant tonight, right?”

“What do you mean?” Jon gives him a look that said he was more confused than he let on. “I’m perfectly pleasant around most of these people.”

“‘Most’ being the term I want to land on here.” Tim shuts the door and pulls his partner into the kitchen. “I know that Martin isn’t your favorite, but you have to think of him outside of work differently than him inside of work.”

“Okay?”

Tim sighs. “Meaning Work Martin is messy and works slower than the others, but regular Martin is a good friend who really cares about us. We love him for who he is, right?”

Jon nods along, lost in thought. “Right.” He grabs some glasses and gives Tim a softer look. “He’s not so bad. I just get… focused. At work, I mean.”

They head out to the living room together and Tim slings his arm around Jon, giving him one light squeeze on his shoulder. “I know. Now let’s have fun!” Jon lifts glasses to show everyone and they start pouring drinks, alcoholic and not. Right when Jon disappears into the kitchen to store the drinks and check on the food, someone knocks. Tim pauses his conversation with Melanie about trespassing laws and gets up to answer it.

Martin stands sheepishly with a pan in his mitted hands. “I’m so sorry, this took forever to finish and then I nearly forgot to change after my workout and-”

“Hey! Hey, all good. What is it?” Tim asks as he lets the other man in.

“Welsh cakes?” He pulls the top cloth back to reveal delicious looking cakes. “Old family recipe that I dug up. I’ve been… attempting baking in my free time.”

True to that statement, Tim notices the cakes are cracked and crumbling, but they smell too good to go uneaten. “We appreciate that, Martin. Jon’s in the kitchen. He’ll tell you where we can put those for an after-dinner treat.” He pats him on the back and sends him off in the direction of the kitchen.

Returning to his seat, Tim arrives just in time to hear Danny regaling the girls with a story from their teenage years about the time they snuck out to a party and ended up halfway across the country with their childhood best friend and a chicken. He listens along, chiming in with “That’s not quite what he said” or “That hen really cut him up”, but enjoys watching the others enjoy the story. Jon comes in part way through and leans against the chair Tim had sat in to listen to the story. At one point, he rests his hand on Tim’s shoulder and Tim takes it as a sign to initiate touch. He reaches up and takes Jon’s hand in his own. With a quick glance to check that it was indeed okay, he starts to lightly rub his thumb pad along the back of Jon’s hand. When the story ends, Georgie pulls out her phone to share pictures of the Admiral and she and Jon share their own tidbits about the little man.

Dinner ends deliciously and everyone settles into a comfortable silence by the time Tim clears the plates. Martin offers to help so that he could bring out dessert and Tim accepts. They move about in the kitchen setting the plates in the sink and pulling out dessert plates and new forks. Tim jokes about not having enough, but somehow Martin digs around and pulls a couple out of the back. He doesn’t even know where those came from.

 “Must be the ghost’s forks.” Martin jokes.

Tim laughs. “Maybe I should tell them that they’re free to use mine. That’ll stop the night hauntings.” He wiggles his fingers and edges onto a spooky voice for dramatic effect. It works, and Martin nearly drops the forks laughing at the stupid voice. The two share that moment and then head out.

When Tim lifts the cloth on the cakes, everyone cheers. Georgie and Sasha, who rejected the Indiana Jones idea, fight over a good show to watch together and settle on a cheesy action movie that they could all roast. Jon compliments Martin on his baking, which makes the other man fall into a pit of stutters and smiles. Sasha and Melanie chime in with their agreement and then the rest of them do as well. Tim just silently thanks the beings that are that his friends all got along. For the most part, he amends, as he watches Melanie flick a piece of cake at Jon from across the room and hit him square in the forehead.

They had to turn off the movie halfway through because it was God-awful. It’s from the 90s, sure, but that doesn’t excuse the sexism. Or the racism. Or the horrible, horrible acting. It wasn’t even funny-horrible. Tim thanks the two for messing up his suggestions page and turns the TV off. Danny gives him a thumbs up and then proceeds to pull out Cards Against Humanity. 

“Alright guys. I want to see what you’re made of.” He grins while Tim groans.

“Okay, fine. I’ll play a couple rounds.” He says.

They play through the whole deck. Each player has wildly different humors, so it’s impossible to get a card from each person without questioning their sanity a little. Jon is almost too literal, but it makes getting him to settle between the wildest scenarios all the more entertaining. Georgie seemingly picks at random, while Melanie has an uncracked algorithm to choosing her favorite. Sasha and Tim just choose what makes everyone laugh. Danny and Martin make strange choices, but Tim already knows what Danny would go for so he gets quite a few cards from his brother.

“I quit!” Sasha throws down her cards well before the rest of them finish counting. It looks even, but Tim has a feeling he won. One by one, they lay down their cards. Jon first, then

Melanie, Tim, Georgie, and Danny. Martin ended with one more card than Tim’s brother and flushed when the whole table erupted in whining and congratulations.

“He put something in those cakes!”

“We’ve taught him well!”

“I should’ve cheated better!”

“Rematch!”

Tim claps him on the back and stands from his chair. “Alright, I’m getting another drink. Anyone want anything?”

Georgie stands too. “I’ll go with you. I want to raid your snacks.”

No one else says they want anything, so Tim and Georgie go. Tim points Georgie in the direction of the snacks and starts to fill the kettle with water. He asks her to toss the chamomile off the top shelf and catches it when she finds it and throws it to him. She also pulls out a tin of biscuits and pops off the lid. “So…” She starts. Tim sets the kettle on the stove and leans back against it to give her his whole attention. “Jon seems happy.”

“I’m glad you think that. I think so, too.” Tim smiles.

“He really, really does.” She places the tin on the counter and joins him in leaning on it. “When we were together, I thought I could love him enough to keep him from being unhappy, but it never seemed to work. We were young, though, and we didn’t know who we were. With you, though, he’s more himself. Comfortable, I guess.”

“That’s what I aspire for him, that comfort.” Tim says, taking a cookie out of the tin. “I want him to feel like he doesn’t have to present the best version of himself. He should be any version of himself and be happy with that identity.”

Georgie nudges him with her shoulder and swipes the rest of the tin. “You sound like my therapist. Or an ad campaign.”

“Ad campaign for what?” He calls after her as she leaves the kitchen.

She calls back. “A cult!”

At the end of the night, everyone deflates. Martin has to leave early because of a morning assignment and then after that they just kind of fade out of energy. Jon puts on a documentary about the arctic and Melanie immediately tells Georgie that they have to leave. After some bickering between the three, Georgie relents and they bid the rest goodbye. The remaining two claim that they could go all night, but fifteen minutes later, Sasha stands up and declares “I’m falling asleep just thinking about the arctic. I’ve got to go jog home or something.”

Tim can see that Jon doesn’t like the thought of driving people out, but he also knows that his partner’s social meter had run out hours ago and he is desperately waiting for everyone to leave. “I’ll walk you out.” His partner says, most likely in a last ditch effort to stay polite and social. Tim appreciates it, at the very least. Sasha nods and they walk to the door together.

Danny, who had been so quiet that Tim almost forgot his existence, slides across the couch and leans in toward Tim. “You really love him, yeah?”

Tim jumps a little at the question, glancing back at the door. They are still talking quietly. Jon must have thought of something work-related. “Yeah. I think he’s brilliant and funny and he gives me something new to consider every day.”

“Considerations…” Danny trails off like he’s chasing a thought. “Marriage?”

Tim pauses. Marriage is a big word in their family. The Stokers do not take love commitments lightly. “Eventually, I think. If he wants to, that is. We haven’t exactly discussed it.”

“Right. You haven’t even got to talking about moving in together.”

Tim shoots a look back at the door. Jon is still talking to Sasha, which actually impressed Tim. “Hush, you. I don’t see any chat about getting Grim a new parent.”

His brother rolls his eyes in a younger sibling fashion. “I’m… talking to someone.”

“Just talking?”

Danny makes a face and turns back to the TV. With his big brother instinct, Tim knows that he’s calculating the amount of information he can give so that when they do meet, Tim won’t immediately embarrass anyone. When he finally does come up with a response, he opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it again. “She’s a little introverted. I’m working on it.”

“So even the Stokers have a type.” Jon quips from behind Tim as he enters the room as well as the conversation.

He and Danny laugh at that. Tim feels a little stab of pride at Jon for coming out of his shell these days. Jon blames him for it, but he even hears from the others that he does this at work. Martin even mentioned that they had a conversation without Jon insulting him. It felt really, really good to hear that, because that means his partner is more comfortable with himself.

Danny sits back and makes room for Jon. “So it seems. I’m going to get her to go to Pride this year, I think. She keeps saying how much she wants to go, but there’s a lot of people. I told her I would go with her and bring along some friends to give her a group to feel comfortable in.” He smiles at the thought. “She actually said she would consider it.”

“Oh yeah?” Tim looks over at Jon, who had mentioned something similar earlier in the month. “We should all get t-shirts with a cool group name. Maybe it’ll be everyone’s individual flags?”

Danny nods enthusiastically. “That sounds great! I’ll ask her about that. I know the trans flag for sure, but she might want another one, so I’ll double check.”

“Sweet. Now we just need a group name.”

“Super Squad.”

“No, actually. Jon?”

“Hmm?” His partner had been observing, but now he focuses on Tim’s face. “Oh. I have no idea.”

“But you’ll come?” Tim asks, already sure of the answer.

Jon pretends to mull it over before agreeing. “Yes. As long as you don’t make me name the group.”

Danny laughs while Tim holds out his hand to shake. “Deal.”

Once Danny leaves, Tim turns off the television. He and Jon usually watch something until Jon feels the need to go home, but tonight, Tim wants to talk. The sound of the TV powering down draws the other man’s attention from wiping off the coffee table. Tim gives him a reassuring smile and sets the remote down. “Tonight was good.”

“Yes, I had fun.” Jon replies, setting the wipe down and sitting back. He knows what’s going on. Tim can tell by the way he sits reluctantly, like he would rather be neck deep in work at the office than here.

He laughs softly. “It’s okay, I’m not critiquing your performance or anything.”

“So what is this about?” He says it just a bit too sharply to be casual.

“I just… want to know what you think about staying over. Just for the night.” He adds, seeing apprehension color Jon’s face. “I’m not asking you to move in or anything, but how would you feel about sleeping here? On the couch or… elsewhere. There’s really no pressure.”

By the end of his talk, he had basically torn a hole in the one leg he grips for comfort and his heart had twisted itself into a knot. Jon doesn’t look thrilled at the idea, but he also doesn’t seem disgusted by it. “‘No pressure’. Except you’re asking to initiate the next step in our relationship and I’m the linchpin here.” He sighs and twists the hair tie around his wrist. That’s his usual tell that he feels anxious.

“You know what? It doesn’t have to be tonight. You can consider it and let me know any of the other thousand times you’re over here.” Tim forces himself to stay seated. Any indication that he feels nervous will only make Jon feel more burdened to answer.

They sit quietly before Tim finally decides to get up. “I’m grabbing a drink from the kitchen, do you want anything?”

“I could stay the night.” Jon says softly. Tim looks back at him, surprised. He sits with one hand on his leg and one on the arm of the chair, like he’s contemplating a quick escape and needs the perfect angle to boost himself up. The way he speaks says he’s still thinking it over, though.

Tim doesn’t have anything near him to collapse on out of nerves, so he just stands and interlaces his fingers. “Yeah?”

“Yes. Though, in the future, I think my flat would be more adequate for two people in the long-term. It’s mor-”

Tim cuts Jon off with a hug that lifts his boyfriend off the couch. He hears the soft grunt of his partner and sets him back down. “Sorry- I got excited.” He says quickly, not quite releasing him yet.

Slightly crooked glasses look up at him from their spot. “I gathered that.” While his tone intends to be dry, his smile makes it hard to sound anything but teasing.

“Hush you.” Tim pulls him in for a proper hug. As he leans to rest his head against Jon’s hair, he mumbles “Do you really want to move in together?”

Jon begins to twitch and stumble over his words. “I mean- well, eventually, you know- we are in a relationship and- and the natural progression of that is taking steps, which includes, you know, moving in? Not yet, of course, but I don’t intend on breaking up, so that’s where this will lead eventually. ”

“Eventually.” Tim hums, walking to the kitchen. “I like the sound of that. It’s like ‘continually’. It’s happening now and later.”

Jon follows him. “Right. Sort of.” He says in the same way he usually does when he wants to correct Tim. Surprisingly, though, he let's it go.

Tim allows the silence to fill the gap as he fills a glass with water and lets the sound of it calm him. When he gets excited like this, he usually jumps too far ahead and scares partners. It doesn’t help that he just talked to Danny about marriage. Of course, he never lied. He wants to marry Jon some day, if that’s what Jon wants. Hell, he would settle for being his partner until they died of old age together in the nursing home. Nothing serious, of course.

He drinks half the glass and then dumps the rest down the sink. Jon chides him about wasting water, but he can’t kick the habit. He presses a kiss to his partner’s head along with an apology and says. “Let’s go to bed, then. You’ve got work tomorrow.”

“Mmm.” Jon reaches out for Tim’s hand and follows him into the hall. “It’ll be Sasha’s first day as Head Archivist.”

“Oh yeah?” Tim feels a little stab of jealousy that she told Jon first, but he pushes it down. “That’s amazing. We’ll have to take her out to celebrate sometime.”

“Yes, we should.” Jon nearly whispers. When they get to the bedroom, Jon appears more reserved. Tim gets to work trying to make this room as non-threatening as possible for him. He grabs an extra blanket and pillow out of the closet and lays them out on the side of the bed that Tim doesn’t prefer as much. He usually sleeps in the middle, but he can make this sacrifice for the night. Jon watches this for a moment before he says “I don’t even have clothes to sleep in.”.

“I’ve got you covered.” Tim smiles at him and gestures to his dresser. “Second and third drawers down.”

He hears rustling behind him while he organizes the bed. When he turns around, Jon looks almost ridiculous in Tim’s comfy clothes. Jon is already smaller than him, but Tim also prefers his lazy day clothes to be looser, so now he almost looks like a kid playing dress up. Almost. Tim can’t help a small laugh bubbling out of his mouth, which makes Jon frown. “I look stupid.” He pouts, which makes him look even younger.

“No, you just look small.” Tim teases, leaving the bed to wrap his arms around Jon. “But it’s adorable.” He lilts the word in a way that he knows Jon hates and gestures toward the bed. “All made up for us! I’ve got plenty of layers to swamp you, ‘cause I know you like to be buried in a pile of warmth while you sleep. And there’s an extra pillow if you want to put a barrier between us.”

Jon observes it all and then rolls his eyes. “I’m not afraid of touching you while we sleep, Tim.”

“Okay! Just giving you the option. I know how clingy I can be.”

“Just because you want to cuddle doesn’t mean you’re clingy. It’s how you show your love.” Jon quips out, surprising Tim. His boyfriend observes everything, but he doesn’t always apply it to the right situations. “I appreciate the thought, though. You’re very considerate.”

“As are you, in your own way.” Tim shakes off the previous feelings and once again wraps his boyfriend up in a hug. “Now, I am exhausted. Time for bed?”

He hesitates there. Tim notices his eyes tracking the room around the bed. “I think I’ll stay up for a while longer, actually. Just to get comfortable so I don’t toss and turn all night.”

Pushing down a stab of worry, Tim lets him go. “All right. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yes. See you in the morning.” He says quietly, reaching out a hand to Tim. When he grabs it, his partner pulls him in for a quick kiss before leaving to the living room. Tim can’t help his worry, but he leaves the door open anyway and lays in bed.

He is a remarkably light sleeper. Not many know this, but Jon did. They divulged all their little meaningless secrets on a picnic date, once. Tim has to play a sound machine and keep the fan running on noise mode just to drown out the little creaks and cars and anything else that could keep him up. When he was a kid, Danny had night terrors that woke Tim up. He always crawled out of his own bed and over to Danny’s. As a kid, there’s no way to know how to deal with night terrors, but Tim would wake his brother up and crawl into bed and tell him stories until he fell asleep. Then Tim would listen to his brother’s breathing even out and rise and fall and he would drift off too.

He sleeps alone more nights than not, now. Jon never slept over and Tim hadn’t had anyone over for a couple months before he met Jon. The presence of other people makes him less jumpy. Why should he worry when someone else is in the room and fast asleep? They have no problems, so he shouldn’t either. That’s what he blames it on, anyway. Not that he only wants Jon so that he can sleep through the night. Now he’s overthinking everything.

By the time Jon comes in, he had convinced himself that his boyfriend left at the first chance he got. He sits up, looking over at the shorter man in the dark who obviously attempted to be quiet as he navigates the room. He sheepishly crawls into the bed and rolls onto his side to face Tim. “I thought you were asleep.” His apologetic tone is paired with a hand reaching out and squeezing Tim’s arm.

“I was worried about you. Thought you might get lost.” He laughs to dampen his anxiety.

“You thought I wouldn’t show up. Like our first date?” He frames it like a question but Tim knows he doesn’t mean it to be one.

He reaches up and holds the hand that was on his arm. “Sort of. Not because of you!” He says quickly. “Just in my own head a bit.”

“Timothy Stoker, are you worried ?” Pleasant surprise laces itself into the question.

“No- Well-“

Jon’s laughter quiets Tim’s spluttering words. The blanket shifts as Jon slides over to his boyfriend and enters his personal space. “I want to move in with you.” The whispered words feel sweeter than anything Tim could find outside of this room.

“You do?” He finds it hard to breathe, but his lungs persist in shoving the words out. He really didn’t think he would hear those words for another year.

“Yes. Specifically, I want you to move in with me. I said before that my apartment would be better, but I thought about us and I found that it would also benefit you to live with me.”

“Oh?” A smile breaks out on Tim’s face. Or maybe it was there the whole time. “You’ve done some thinking? Made your little pros and cons list up?”

A soft groan emits from Jon and his head falls back on the pillow. “Yes, I did. Is there a problem?”

Tim props himself up a bit more. He would like to do this with the lights on, but he doesn’t want to risk doing that and watch Jon lose his confidence in the vulnerable state they’re in. “I thought you wanted this to be an ‘ eventually’. What changed?”

“I… did some relabeling. I think I was equating ‘moving in’ with ‘getting married’ and that was all too much for me. But we are two mature adults who can share a space and get married when we want to. Which will not be now.” He adds and Tim watches his outline shift back up a bit. “But I want to.” He murmurs like it was a prayer he wants only them to hear.

“Me too.” He replies, just as soft. “You’re incredible, you know?”

“I’m starting to get that.” Jon says with a yawn to split the last word.

Tim lays down fully now and reaches his arm around to lay on his partner’s hip. He doesn’t know if he can sleep at all now with the excitement of the last few minutes coming to rest in his chest. It bubbles and threatens to burst out of him in a series of maniacal laughter that may leave him single. Instead, he leans over and very gently presses a kiss to Jon’s lips, thankful that he got it right and didn’t somehow kiss his eye. “You have made me so, so happy and I promise you won’t regret living with me. I’ll be like a perfectly trained dog. Or maybe like The Admiral. He was a pleasant housemate, right?”

“More like the landlord.” Jon says wryly as he settles down into the pillow. “But I know we’ll be just fine. What’s the worst that can happen?” He echoes Tim’s words from their first date and Tim has to roll his eyes at that, even if Jon can’t see it. He loves this man, and he makes sure to tell him so before drifting off to sleep.