Archive of Our Own ^beta

"So, which of you is the girl?"

Jon froze. "Ah, neither of us. That's sort of the point."

"Yeah, but one of you has got to do the, you know," James gestured with his hands. Jon resisted the urge to wince. "Taking."

Jon shook his head, trying to fight down the familiar panic of being perceived in that light. "Ah, no, we umm, we don't really-"

"Oh, do you swap?" 

Jon glanced up at Martin, but he was stood talking to some of the other party guests, completely oblivious to Jon's crisis. "No, we just don't- Sex isn't, it's not a-"

"He's gone all red." One of the others, Matt, laughed. "That means it's you, right?"

"We don't have sex." Jon said, a little too loudly. A few people on the outskirts of their conversation glanced towards them, confused. "We don't-"

James frowned. "I thought your lot did?"

Jon felt sick. His hands shook as he fought to stay calm. Already, he could feel the harsh press of panic against his ribs, the pit in his stomach widening, threatening to consume him entirely. 

"Hey." A hand on his shoulder, calming and gentle. "Do you want another drink?" Martin asked, staring down at Jon, a small smile on his face. One glance and Jon could tell the smile was fake. It didn't reach his eyes, which were full of a furious light that didn't suit Martin at all. 

"Please." Jon held up his glass. 

"On it." Martin took the glass and turned towards the others. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal Jon for a bit. I was telling Susanna about our plans for the garden and Jon's the one with all the knowledge."

"Oh, go ahead. Have fun." Matt winked at Jon, who repressed a shudder and followed Martin out. 

Outside, Martin bundled Jon into his arms. 

"What about Susanna?"

"That was a ruse. You looked like you needed rescuing." 

"Thank you."

Martin hummed. "We don't have to stay if you don't want to. I heard what they were saying." 

"It's alright."

Martin gave him a look. 

"Well, okay, not it isn't alright, but it's nothing I haven't heard before." 

"That doesn't make it better."

"No," Jon sighed. "No it doesn't. Thank you for not just jumping to my defence."

Martin frowned. "You don't like kissing?"

"I like it a lot." Jon sighed. "But people assume that my asexuality is exactly the same as their mental picture of asexuality and draw conclusions from there."

Humming, Martin ran a hand down Jon's back. Jon had explained his boundaries to him back when they had started dating. They'd tiptoed around them at first until Jon had sighed heavily and asked Martin why he was being so bloody careful with him, prompting Martin to almost drop the mug he was holding in his rush to assure Jon that he'd done nothing wrong. 

"Let's go home." Martin said. "This party is a lot, let's make our excuses and escape." 

"You're sure? These people are your coworkers, we don't have to leave on my account." 

"Don't worry about that, I'd much rather be at home with you, curled up on the sofa reading a book than here with these people."

"Thank you."

"It's fine. Come on, I need to get my husband home so that we can have non-sexual cuddles like adults." 

Jon snorted. "You make it sound so romantic."

"What can I say, I'm a master of romance."

"You've swept me off my feet." Jon deadpanned. "I'm helpless against your charms." 

"Wait until I show you the matching sweaters I got us."

"Okay, but that actually sounds fun." 

"Really?" Martin raised an eyebrow. "Matching sweaters?"

"Ones with a horrible pattern on them." Jon grinned. "The ugliest things you've ever seen." 

"Wow and we thought I was romantic." 

"I have my moments." He held out a hand for Martin to take. "Shall we?"

Martin grinned and took his hand. "Of course."