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Basira is waiting for them outside the tunnels. Her usual maroon hijab is slightly frayed and she has a set of deep eye bags. She seems to relax slightly at the sight of Jon and Martin, relieved that they're at least unharmed.
“Good, you’re back.” Her sigh is a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
“Hello to you too, Basira.” Even though he feels a pang of pain at the reminder of why Daisy isn't by Basira's side, Jon can’t help the subtle smile that still hasn't left his face just from having Martin standing next to him.
Martin nods at her from beside Jon, too tired to initiate the conversation himself. He takes a deep breath to remind himself that he's allowed to have this now.
Jon squeezes his hand. Basira zeroes in on it with a raised eyebrow but says nothing.
“What happened to Lukas?” Basira looks from one to the other, scanning for injuries.
“I took care of him. He’s dead,” Jon says matter-of-factly.
“That’s… That's good. I’m glad you’re alright,” she admits, trying to look nonplussed. “Still, I called the Met for backup, they’ll have to look into his 'disappearance'. You two need to get out.”
“Of course…” Martin half-whispers with guilt, but Jon only pulls his hand closer until their arms are pressed together.
“Where can we go?” Jon asks.
“Daisy had an old car at the parking lot on Sydney Street.” Basira hands them the key. Jon immediately Knows that it’s for a silver 2006 Toyota Yaris.
Then Martin takes a piece of paper with a hurriedly scribbled address on it from her.
“Don’t go through your homes. The sooner you’re out of London, the better.”
Knowing what the paper says without even glancing at it, Jon wonders, “Skye? Isn’t that a bit too far?”
“Just far enough, in fact. No one is going to look for a Londoner in Skye. After all, middle-of-nowhere is kind of the point of a safehouse.”
Jon sighs and looks at Martin with concern. “It’s a long trip, are you okay with that?”
However, Martin seems to have cheered up, finding enough energy to roll his eyes with fond exasperation. “Of course I am. Besides, would be nice to get to experience country life for a while. Might be a good change of pace.”
Jon visibly relaxes at the glint of newfound excitement in Martin's eyes.
"You should get going, you don't have much time." Basira reminds them.
"You're right." Jon turns back to Basira with worry. “What about you and Daisy?”
“I’ll go look for her. We'll be...” Basira says curtly, “I’ll be fine. Now go already.”
“Thanks again, Basira,” Jon gives her a quick hug, while Martin simply puts a hand on her shoulder, wanting to offer her some comfort but unsure how welcome it would be after so many months shut away by himself. Together, they head out of the Institute.
They don't realize just how much they'd lost track of time in The Lonely until the eternal unmoving traffic of the London rush hour catches up with them, making the passage of time impossible to ignore. The honks and yells of their fellow drivers make it clear that there is no way that they’re going to get out of London fast, much the opposite.
Their hurry quickly transforms into stress for Jon as he glances at the rearview mirror, certain that any minute now he’ll see the flashing red and blue lights of a patrol car. Somehow, the Knowledge that the police haven’t even started a proper investigation yet does nothing to soothe his nerves.
His left hand remains steadily linked with Martin’s, who is spurred on by a burst of adrenaline and excitement from his own unfiltered emotions, and the stress of getting away.
Martin begins the trip complaining quietly about the other drivers’ inconsideration and impoliteness and ranting about how “this really wouldn’t be such a problem if stupid bosses let people get out at different hours to avoid the rush.”
Eventually, he gets tired of waiting for the other drivers to regain their senses and be quiet.
“Seriously! We’re all stuck here anyway, what’s the point of giving everyone else a headache?” Jon chuckles and nods in agreement.
About an hour and a half later, when the frozen traffic still shows no signs of letting up and every other driver appears to have finally accepted it and stopped their frantic honking, Martin's euphoria and adrenaline begin to wear off and he starts looking tired again, sinking into his seat; the rush of adrenaline leaving him for a mix of relief and exhaustion. All while his mind still tries to keep up with this much excitement after so many months, and especially, this much interaction in a day.
They need to rest. They still haven’t gotten to Scotland, but there’s no point in driving all night long when they’re safe already. Jon pulls over to a hotel near Manchester, just off the M6.
“Why are we stopping here, Jon?” Martin asks groggily, unhappy with the idea of resting now.
“The police aren’t going to look for us here. They don’t think we’re that important to the investigation yet, and it’s getting late."
“I could take over for the night, I haven’t done anything all the way here, I’m not—” he’s cut off by one of his own yawns.
Jon raises an eyebrow at him and Martin flushes with embarrassment. “You were saying?”
“Fine,” Martin huffs, “you win. But, for the record, tomorrow I’m driving.”
The hotel looks almost empty; just a couple of cars are parked out front, and most of the lights from the windows are turned off. They ask the tired receptionist up front for a room, who reluctantly gives them a room; annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of the show they'd clearly been watching on their phone.
As the receptionist hands them their keys, they don't bat an eye at their lack of luggage or any bags, wanting nothing more than to be left alone again.
The room isn’t very big. It has two queen sized beds covered in pristine white sheets and a desk against the wall with a small TV screen and an electric kettle on its surface.
Martin sits on the bed which is nearest to the window, trying to blink away sleep, and Jon takes it upon himself to make them some tea, with relative success. Martin smiles softly at Jon’s nervousness and offers to help, but Jon tells him between gritted teeth that he can manage, that Martin can rest. The truth is that he likes seeing this caring side of Jon, so he gives in, takes off his shoes, and lies back against the headboard of the bed, until Jon brings over their mugs and Martin taps the space next to him for Jon to sit there.
Jon tries his own cup of tea, grimaces and gets up to put another of the small sugar packages in it.
He coughs. “Umm, would you like some more sugar too...maybe?” He offers Martin.
He just smiles and sips his tea contentedly, “It’s fine Jon, it’s perfect as is.”
Jon laughs out loud, “It definitely isn’t, I should have let you make it.” He frowns slightly. He was hoping he could at least help Martin with this .
“Alright, it’s not technically perfect, but it’s warm, and you made it, and it’s exactly what I need right now.” Martin reaches out a hand to hold his. And it’s true, it’s imperfect; a bit oversteeped, slightly bitter, but that makes it more real, more Jon, and that, in turn, serves as a reminder that this is real, that Martin is cared for.
Jon finally accepts it and sighs, settling down next to Martin again. He presses his shoulder against Martin's side, suppressing a small shiver of cold, a leftover of The Lonely. This reminds him of Martin’s own state. He can't help but realize that if he's still suffering the lingering effects after such a short encounter with The Lonely, Martin's probably having a harder time shaking off the reminder of it.
He looks at the man beside him, taking note of Martin’s once again fogged up glasses, but this time with the steam from the tea, and of the warm vibrant eyes staring back at him through them.
As soon as Martin notices Jon's shivering, he picks up a blanket at the foot of the bed, draping it over Jon, who immediately pulls it over Martin’s shoulders as well.
“ You’re cold,” Martin complains, trying to give the blanket back fully to Jon.
Jon rolls his eyes, “You’re even colder, I’m not.”
“Yeah, no. It doesn’t matter, you're still cold anyway.” Martin scolds him.
“How are you feeling?” Jon deflects before Martin can think of slipping out of the warm blanket again, taking care to keep any static out of his voice.
“Good.” He pauses as Jon looks at him with disbelief. “What? It’s true!” He defends his words. “Right now, everything is much warmer. It’s like being slightly drunk, and giddy, and cozy all the time.”
Jon finally relaxes, “Alright, just tell me if you start feeling hungover.”
Martin tsks and rolls his eyes.
“Your words, not mine,” Jon points out.
“Fine. I’m still a bit scared of what’s going to happen once the novelty of being safe wears off, but I think I can count on you for that, hmm?” Martin rests his head on Jon’s shoulder contentedly.
“You’re right, I’m not gonna let you deal with this by yourself. I’m here for you.”
Martin blushes and closes his eyes for a second.
“Enough about me! How are you feeling?” Martin exclaims, his voice an octave higher.
“Me? I’m just fine, I’m not the one who got directly targeted by an avatar of The Lonely.”
Martin raises an eyebrow at him. “You can’t really believe that.”
“What? That nothing happened to me?”
“Yeah. You went into The Lonely for me. Like it or not, you’re not completely immune to the Fears, Jon, and you’ve been shivering every once in a while just like me."
Jon clenches his jaw, as though maybe stopping the shivers now can convince Martin that he is completely fine.
Martin looks unsurprised and continues, "Come on! Sure, these past few months have sucked for me, but you’ve been through hell and back several times!” Martin’s disbelief escalates to concern. “And, excuse me if I don’t believe that Lukas didn’t try to get into your head, given that I know first-hand that you had to kill him.” Martin places an arm around him in stubborn protectiveness.
Jon gapes for a moment. “I just… You… I’m used to it, I’m just worried about you—”
“—Yeah well, so am I.”
Jon sighs. “Alright, you’re right. I might still be a bit shaken by Not!Sasha, and Trevor and Julia… and well…”
“God… Jon, I’m so sorry. I wanted to help so much, but I—, I was afraid Peter would find out and then…" he trails off, "whatever, a lot of good that did me anyway.” Martin’s voice is tinged with regret.
“It’s not your fault, Martin. He would have done it anyway, and he’d just have sent you into The Lonely earlier if you’d tried to stop him…” 'and maybe then I wouldn’t have gotten to you in time' goes unspoken.
They fall into silence and lie down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Eventually, they fall asleep right where they are, hand in hand, Jon’s face nuzzled into Martin’s sweater, and his arm curled around Martin comfortably.
Jon blinks his eyes open to the sunlight coming in through the window by the bed and immediately sits up with a start as he notices that he is alone. Martin isn't by his side like he'd been last night.
He turns to look at the other bed in the room. Maybe Martin’s nightmares had woken him up in the middle of the night, and he’d had to move there. Jon feels a niggling guilt at the possibility, but it doesn’t matter for long; it is soon replaced with a mounting fear, given that Martin isn’t there either.
Jon gets to his feet and rushes over to the silent bathroom, which is predictably empty.
"Martin? Are you around? Martin !” He tries opening the door to the room and calling out to the hallways, not caring who he might wake up or how early it is. The Eye has gone radio silent, decidedly unhelpful to Jon’s plight.
Suddenly, the elevator doors open, and a sleep-addled Martin rushes out.
“Jon! I could hear you all the way up here, what’s wrong?”
Jon gapes for a few seconds. It’s not like anything is wrong anymore. He's unsure of what to say now. He sags with relief, sleep wanting to claim him again all of a sudden, feeling much more like his usual self right after waking up.
“Nothing now. Just, you weren’t there… I got worried,” he admits.
Martin gasps with regret. “Oh, of course. Stupid—” He stops himself and takes Jon’s hands in his own. “I’m so sorry, Jon. ‘Was just hungry, went to get us some breakfast…” The remaining silence stretches on for a few moments.
“It’s alright. I’m okay. We’re okay,” Jon finally smiles, no longer worried that The Lonely has taken Martin from him while he was sleeping right next to him. “And the breakfast?” he muses, noting Martin’s very much “empty” hands.
“They didn’t have any! Can you believe it? Apparently, we’re just supposed to subsist on the mediocre tea in our rooms.” Martin grows indignant.
“Trust The Eye to guide us to the one hotel that can’t even manage to fit the definition of Bed & Breakfast," sighed Jon.
“We’ll have to look for a place to eat, then. We skipped dinner yesterday, and I’m not letting us drive to Skye on empty stomachs. There’s no point in rushing to the safehouse if we collapse from starvation halfway there.”
“Come on, let’s pack up our things. There’s a diner next door where we can eat,” Jon assured him.
“Alright, sounds like a plan.”
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Martin wrings his hands.
“Yes, of course. I Know we’re going the right way, Martin.”
Martin still doesn’t look sure. “But can we trust the Eye’s knowledge? It could be misleading us into some avatar’s den or something…” Jon raises an eyebrow at him. “Or maybe it just doesn’t want us to get that far away from its precious Institute! Have you perhaps considered that?”
“I understand your worry, and normally I’d be worried too, but I have enough Knowledge of where we’re going that it’s hard to think that. It’s like I have it all mapped out, and it all matches up. So I’m sure, whatever reason it has, it doesn’t mind us going to Daisy’s safe house. And it’s not like we have many other choices right now, do we?” Jon drops his left hand to hold Martin’s reassuringly.
“You know? We could always use Google Maps just to be completely sure!”
“We are trying not to use localization services, just in case someone can track us down that way. I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to go with the Eldritch Knowledge for now."
“Ugh, fine. I understand, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!” Martin complains and crosses his arms. Jon sighs, missing the warmth of his hand momentarily. “Can I at least put on some music?" Martin adds. "The road is terribly dull…”
“Yes, Martin, you can have the AUX. You could’ve just asked for it,” Jon rolls his eyes fondly as Martin rummages inside the glove box for the wire, pulling it out with a triumphant, “Aha!” and plugging it into the car.
“Alright! What are we in the mood for, huh?”
“In the mood for? I don’t know, something entertaining? That was the point, wasn’t it?”
“You can’t just say that! That tells me nothing… I’m just going to put on a generic Spotify road trip playlist if you don’t say anything!” threatens Martin.
“How do you even know if you’ll like the songs if you didn’t make the playlist?” Jon says with slight disbelief.
“Well, maybe I will, maybe I won’t! It’s like the radio!”
“Alright, but, since I'm the one driving, I can say which ones we skip.”
After a few hours spent browsing Spotify playlists, they end up forgetting that there's music playing in the background as they watch the road go by.
“Hey, Jon?” Martin tries to get his attention.
Jon hums in response.
“I’ve been thinking since we left that hotel, should we stop by a supermarket while there are still large cities nearby? It might be easier to get anything we need here than at Daisy’s safehouse.”
“You don’t mind us stopping for longer?” Jon asked, remembering how Martin had been the most reluctant about stopping for the night.
“Well, it’s a long trip already, and I wouldn’t mind some snacks either. We should at least buy some lunch. Besides, we’ve already figured out we’ve got time to get there. We’re not even in England right now, I think we can take it easy.”
“Alright, how does Glasgow sound? There’s a Tesco there that we could stop by.”
“Wait! Can we take a walk since we’re there? I haven’t travelled a lot before.”
“Sure, if it’s not pouring when we arrive…”
"Fair enough. Well, then whatever time we have!” Martin clapped his hands eagerly.
“Ok, so we need food, hygiene products, and at least a change of clothes!” Martin lists off at the door.
“I think whatever’s left in Daisy’s card should be able to cover it. Let’s not splurge though, I’m not sure how much that is.”
“You got it!” Martin gives him a thumbs up, already grabbing a cart by the door.
“I guess we’re going to need some canned stuff… Just, not peaches?” Martin grimaces as they look around.
“Never. I think we can do without those.” Jon assures him as he grabs some other things off the shelf.
“Hey! Would you rather we bring along something to make sandwiches or some premade ones?”
“Pre-made for now and something to make them along the way?”
“Alright!” Martin almost races to the shelf with the sandwiches and grabs two packages without thinking about it much.
“I didn’t say we needed to run! Didn’t you say yourself that we have time?”
“Um, yeah, but it’s a good day outside so far! We have to enjoy it before it worsens!”
“Martin… It’s already raining.” Jon points out through the window.
“That’s just a light drizzle!”
Jon sighs. They’d better get that change of clothes then. He has a feeling they're going to need it. He grabs an umbrella and puts it in the cart. “Just in case."
Martin grabs a map of the roads, giving Jon a pointed look. "See? No google maps and no Eldritch fears. We can just do this the old-fashioned way!" He isn't going to let the Beholding dictate the roads they take. No way.
“Why are you grabbing toothpaste? Shouldn’t the hotel sample we got last a few days, at least until we get settled in? And...strawberry?” Jon picks up the tube Martin just left in the cart, confused.
“Do you prefer the new watermelon one?”
“What?! No! It’s just, do you need another toothpaste?” Jon wonders.
“Oh no, it’s not for me. I’m perfectly fine with the mint one we have. I like it! But you , however...it was obvious this morning that you didn’t like it. Sorry Jon, but your face was pretty funny!”
“Alright! So maybe I didn't like it. I don’t need kids’ toothpaste anyway!”
“Sure, you don’t. But you’re not harming anyone by not hating brushing your teeth. Besides, it’s stupid that adult toothpaste doesn't come in more flavours.”
Jon stares at the tube for a moment and finally relents.
“Well… I’ve never tried it anyway. I guess it can’t hurt.
“Yes! Alright, now let’s go through the checkout and enjoy the city!”
“You mean the rain,” Jon mutters with an amused sigh.
“Hush! Let me have this.”
Jon raises his hands and acts like he hasn't said anything.
Once outside, they pack everything inside the car, and Martin leads Jon by the hand down the busy streets of Glasgow.
“You know we’re not even close to the touristic part of the city, right?” Jon looks around.
“I’m doing tourism, so it’s touristic for me.”
It's not like Jon can argue with that, after all.
A few streets further, Martin stops in front of a house like any other and takes out his phone, opening the camera app. The only remarkable thing about it are the flowers growing in the pots hanging from the balcony, where Martin's phone is pointing.
“Martin! You’re going to break your phone taking it out in the rain like that!” Jon immediately opens the umbrella and covers him with it. Martin might be fine in his raincoat, but his phone definitely won’t be!
“Oh great, come here!” Martin puts his arm around Jon and turns them both around, pointing the camera at them.
Jon laughs, startled by Martin’s enthusiasm.
“See? Now that’s a perfect photo!” Martin shows off his improvised selfie with pride, a beaming smile on his face.
Just then, a powerful gust of wind hits them full-on, almost making Jon lose his grip on the umbrella. They realize that the actual rain has finally caught up to them and is now splashing them as puddles begin to form on the floor.
Martin pockets his phone in the blink of an eye and, holding onto each other and the umbrella as best as they can, they race the few streets back to the car.
With the doors closed, and the sound of the rain trapped outside the car windows, they take stock of just how soaked they are and, inevitably, burst into laughter.
“Was that drizzle too?” Jon asks, poking fun at him.
“No, it wasn’t!” Martin admits breathlessly. “I still got to sightsee though, there was enough time for that!”
“Yes, there was,” Jon admits, his voice soft. “Now, back to the road?”
“Back to the road.” Martin takes the wheel this time, and they make their way slowly past the curtain of rain covering the city.
They finally get to the interesting part of their trip, or at least, what Martin seems to find interesting as he sees the forest all around them. He forgets that they haven’t put on any music since they got back in the car, even though Martin is the one driving this time, and it would be his turn to choose the songs. Jon isn’t complaining about that. Being a copilot means he has some time to think, and he can look at Martin's secret smiles of amazement without crashing the car, which is definitely an advantage.
Knowing that they haven’t gotten as much time to explore Glasgow as Martin would have liked, he decides he's just going to have to make up for it. They seem to have left the storm behind for a while.
“Take the next right, trust me,” Jon calls out to him.
“Huh? But the signs clearly say that the main road is this one, is there a creepy thing over there? ‘Cause I’m not sure I want to see what that is,” Martin answers sceptically.
“It’s a surprise, but I promise this isn’t the Beholding's plan.” And it really isn’t, he isn’t even using its Knowledge. He’s just seen the Loch Lomond exit sign on the road, but he still wants it to be as much of a surprise as possible.
“Fine, your turn to pick the detour after all.” Martin relents and joins the cars driving into the park.
“A lake beach, isn’t it too cold for that?” Martin tries to seem sceptical, but his voice can’t hide the awe he feels at the beautiful sight.
“Beaches have their own charm when it’s cold. You don’t need to get in the water for it to be fun,” Jon recalls his own childhood when he spent entire evenings drawing in the sand and trying to skip stones when the sea was calm. “Besides, do you see the cold stopping anyone?” He gestures at the few families who are enjoying the moment of respite from the rain in the park.
He holds out his hand. “Do you want to go for a walk at least?”
Martin takes it, nodding enthusiastically.Like before, his face shows the excitement he feels.
Soon enough, Martin’s phone is in his hand again to take pictures of the ducks calmly floating on the water first, and the landscape second, before dragging Jon into another selfie, who goes much less reluctantly than the previous time, his smile coming more naturally.
They both have to admit that the journey is much more pleasant if they use their time to take in the sights and stretch their legs. Once back in the car, they aren’t dreading the many hours ahead of them as much. What harm is there in losing a bit of sight of the danger they have just escaped? They clearly deserve a break, and this trip is starting to seem like the perfect chance for it.
From there on, they drive along grass-covered hills, cut-through by winding trails in the distance. They take their time to look out the window now that the road is less busy, and they don’t have to be as alert of other drivers.
After a few hours of lighthearted talking, spurred on by the peacefulness of the scenery, Martin suddenly falls silent upon the view of the valley around them. Three small mountains stand proud around the road, clouds graze the peaks and draw the relief of the slopes with their shadows.
“Jon, are you seeing this?” Martin points out excitedly, taking one of his hands off the wheel. Jon stops looking at the map and his breath catches in his throat.
“Yes, it’s certainly impressive,” Jon agrees, already looking for a place to stop where they can switch places. Just so Martin doesn’t have to keep his eyes on the road, which, worryingly, seems to be becoming the lesser of his priorities.
Soon enough, they find a viewpoint by the side of the road where there's another car parked. Two people are taking pictures with both a professional camera and a polaroid by their car. Martin pulls over immediately and is out like a flash, phone in hand.
“What is this place, Jon?” He inspects the landscape, turning every which way to take it all in, as though also trying to take a mental photograph of it, along with snapping pictures of the mountains from every angle.
“We're in Glen Coe, and these are The Three Sisters or Bidean nam Bian in Gaelic. This area of Scotland also has the highest mountain in the United Kingdom, the Ben Nevis, North of here.” Half the Knowledge is the Eye's and half is his, though he can’t clearly tell apart which is which.
The two women from the neighboring car stop taking pictures and one of them approaches them with a bounce in her step, the other stands a bit further back eyeing them warily “Is this your first time here too?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Martin replies enthusiastically. “We’re going to a friend’s house and got caught up in all the wonderful sights.”
Jon looks slightly alarmed for a moment at how close Martin is edging to the truth, but it is undeniable though that both the women smile at his comment and seem to relax at Martin’s amiability. He has always been the best at making others comfortable.
“Oh, you couldn’t be more right! Isabella and I have been wanting to go on a roadtrip to the Highlands for forever. I’m Lucy, it's so nice to meet fellow travellers!"
"Wonderful to meet you as well. I'm Martin, and the one brooding over there is Jon.”
The aforementioned gapes for a second. “Me? I am not brooding, I am just—” then he seems to realize that ‘admiring how cute you are when you’re excited’ isn’t really a good come back, and adds reluctantly, “glad to see you happy.”
Martin blushes furiously, caught off guard.
“I know what you mean. My dream destination is Venice, but going there instead was out of the question, not with how my wife gets about the Highlands. Some days I think she only proposed so we could come here on our honeymoon. In her heart, I’ll always be second to Scotland.” Isabella leans in towards them, like she’s sharing a secret.
“My darling, you know I love you, but really, what else was the point of the wedding?"
"Congratulations to the wives," Jon says honestly.
"Thank you!"
"What about you two? Any plans for a ring?" Lucy raises an eyebrow at them.
"What?" They simultaneously blurt out.
"Are you already married?" Lucy asks apologetically at their obvious confusion.
"No, we…" Jon finds himself without words. What are they? He doesn't want to deny it too harshly in case he makes Martin think he doesn't want anything, but he can't know whether Martin really wants them to be together, together. "We um… Haven't talked about that yet.”
"Sorry! Totally didn't mean to be nosy or anything, you two make a great couple anyway!"
"That too…" whispers Martin. Fortunately, they don't seem to hear him, or if they do, they don't understand what he means.
"So, where's your friend's house? Any good views?" Isabella wonders.
"We haven't seen it before, but we've heard wonders of Skye," Martin answers seamlessly.
"Oh my goodness! That sounds dreamy! I've heard there are so many cows there!"
"We'll see them in Elgin, stop fretting. You'll have your fashion cows," jokes Isabella.
"We're going to see highland cows?" The realization seems to strike Martin like a surprise akin to a birthday present.
Jon is confused for a second, he was already counting on seeing the regional species. "Well, yes, they're common around the Highlands, I don't see why we wouldn't?"
"Jon! Why hadn’t you mentioned that before? We're going to get to see fluffy cows, good cows!"
"Good cows?" Jon blinks, taking in Martin’s excitement.
"Yes, the bestest of cows! I need to save space on my phone for them!" Martin taps the back of his phone ecstatically and Jon laughs.
Jon can’t help the warm feeling in his chest at this facet of Martin. "We'll have to make sure to see lots of good cows then.” Martin smiles at him.
"And where are you two going?" Martin asks, returning the question both out of politeness and curiosity.
"Fort William first! I'm gonna show off a bit of archery. Not to brag, but I've been practicing since I was a kid, and we have costumes for the medieval fair and everything!" Isabella perks up as she details their plans.
"Wow, archery? That’s impressive,” Jon ignores the way the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end with the sole mention of something so closely related to The Hunt. The Eye senses a statement that interests it even without its usual painful hunger associated—it’s still satiated from Lukas' statement, but unable to help itself from wanting another victim.
"And then we'll head to Inverness, not without stopping to see castles obviously. We definitely need pictures with old monoliths. We're a bit obsessed with Outlander, but I’m hoping the rocks don’t actually have some sort of dream-inducing magic, I’d rather not end up thinking I’ve gone back in time,” Lucy jokes, but the undercurrent of fear of the Spiral reaches Jon and he knows he needs to get away. Now.
“That sounds like a truly enjoyable journey!" Jon notes politely.
Martin, who seems to have noticed Jon's sudden alarm, tries to end the conversation. "Well, we should get going, our friend is expecting us after all.”
“Of course, we won’t keep you from your friends!"
"Enjoy your trip!” Isabelle and Lucy say goodbye to them.
“Have a lovely honeymoon!” Martin waves at them as he gets inside the car. They don't talk about it until they're out of sight, but they both know that wasn't a good sign.
“Jon, are you… alright?” Martin pulls over and asks, determined. Jon knows he can’t skirt around the conversation.
Technically, now he is, but he’d gotten so used to the few hours of blissful quiet that the sudden input from The Eye’s greediness for people’s statements feels like a bucket of ice cold water. There’s nothing he can do about it right now, not without any statements at hand. At least, from the way it has gone quiet once more, it seems The Eye won’t make him take a statement for some time yet. However, they’ve still got a long way to go to Daisy’s safehouse, and who knows how long it will be until Basira can send them a few statements from the Archives.
“I’m not sure…” Jon admits. “It seems —I hope, at least— that it was more like a sudden craving than a demand from the Beholding, but, as always, the moment the Eye catches the slightest hint of a potential statement, it gets loud.” Jon looks down at his knees.
“Is it quiet now though?” Martin’s voice is filled with concern, but Jon can recognize it’s not pity.
“It is. I don’t think it actually needs a statement right now.”
“Well, at least we have some more time to get to the safehouse then. We’ll be fine,” Martin tries to calm both of them. “For now, I guess we can just hope that Basira has already sent some statements and we’ll get them soon after we get there.”
There’s a short silence as they breathe in relief. This time had been close, they can’t let it happen again.
After a while, Martin breaks the silence. “So, about what we haven’t talked about?” His tone is light, hopeful.
“You mean marriage?” Jon teases him.
“Well— No! Not that! I meant the being a couple part…” Martin fires back, embarrassed.
Jon’s eyes are drawn to Martin’s hands tapping on the wheel rhythmically and he gives in.
“I guess I hadn’t thought until now that we had that possibility…”
“Yeah, look at us, fighting evil personifications of fears and what leaves us speechless are feelings…” Martin chuckles.
Jon huffs out a laugh too.
“I want to be with you,” Jon finally says aloud. “When I went into The Lonely for you, Lukas told me I didn’t really know you. But I realized that it doesn’t matter, because I want to know you. That’s the thing about loving someone, maybe you never know everything about them, but you never get tired of finding out more about who they are.” He looks into Martin’s eyes. “Because none of it is going to change that you’re amazing and caring, and, most of all, you make me happy. Even if our lives try to screw that happiness up.”
Martin gapes for a few moments and then he pulls Jon into a hug.
“I know I’ll never get tired of the little things I can learn about you. After all, the small genuine cracks in your serious persona were what made me fall for you, and you are interesting and very, very cute,” Martin rambles in return.
After a long while of comfortable quiet Martin asks, “So does that mean I finally get to call you my boyfriend?”
“Yes, it does,” Jon replies with a smile.
The majestic peak of Ben Nevis takes them by surprise again. Well, Martin at least.
“You know it is actually quite small compared to most in Europe, right?” Jon feels the need to point out at Martin’s awe of the peak.
“Well, just like you then, and I don’t think you’re any less impressive because of it,” Martin laughs.
Jon huffs but relents and offers to take pictures of Martin, before gladly joining in his selfies.
"You know? It's a pity we can't go up the trail. Watching it from afar isn't the same." Martin pouts.
"We can add that to the list for the way back," Jon sys hopefully while they’re headed back towards the car.
Near Glenfinnan, the day begins to worsen once more and they’re caught in a dull rain. Soft, but making the road more gloomy.
As soon as they step out of the car next to the Glenfinnan monument, the cold humid air seeps into their skin. They can see the tourists in the distance, looking at the bridge from below the unshielded monument, covered in coats and umbrellas and stop in their tracks. Suddenly, the viaduct loses all interest to them.
"I think we can pass," Martin’s excitement for sightseeing finds its limit at ‘staying still in the rain for who knows how long just for an image you’ve seen a dozen times’.
Jon lets out a sigh of relief. He would go stand in the wind and rain for the train if that’s what Martin wants, but really, he doubts any movie scenery is worth that kind of wait, and he hasn’t cared about Harry Potter movies for quite some time.
They get back in the car and resign themselves to simply trying to get through this leg of the trip as fast as possible.
They’re planning on taking the trip through Mallaig’s port. As much as they’re enjoying the trip, the consecutive hours of driving are starting to tire them both out, and the ferry would be a lot faster than driving all the way around.
The road from there is smaller and winding, beautiful trees practically cover parts of the road completely and, at least, shield them partly from the light rain that keeps falling.
A few miles further, unexpectedly, they hear a low clacking of rail tracks and they see a train approach the rails at the left side of the road. In a moment, they decide that even though the rain at the viaduct wasn’t worth it, seeing the Jacobite so close is still a welcome surprise.
Martin immediately takes short videos of the few moments they see the train near them, before they finally leave it behind as the road and the rails part, and the train gets further behind.
“Guess that wasn’t so bad after all,” Martin smiles, clearly cheered up by the unexpected experience.
“It’s beautiful, and it was actually one of the first viaducts made out of concrete, even though it has mostly been reduced to a Harry Potter tourist trap.” The eye-rolling can be heard in Jon’s voice.
Mallaig is crowded. That’s their first impression of the small seaside town. The wind is now blowing harshly and every car is stuck in the onslaught of what is now a full-on storm.
Many drivers are trying to get to the ticket booth to ask when they’ll be able to get on a ferry, but neither Jon nor Martin need the Beholding to know that there is no way that any ferry would go to Skye in this weather, and if it did, they wouldn’t want to go, not with the waves as they are. Not to mention, the sea fog that has formed on the coast is enough to make Martin shiver, and Jon hurries to find an alternative route through land.
They go inside a cafe to look at the map and discuss their options, seeing as they’re not going to go anywhere right now.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get out of here for a while, not with the line that there’s going to be when the sky finally clears,” Jon tries to appear practical, even though most of his motivation to change course is his concern for Martin.
“What else can we do? You said the ferry was the fastest way…” Martin’s worry still hasn’t gone away.
“There’s a bridge right next to Eilean Donan, it’s entirely possible to cross through land,” Jon points at the semi-circular road that connects them to Skye. “Besides, we haven’t gotten to see any Scottish castles yet.”
Jon is hoping that the prospect of the sights will give Martin something to occupy his mind with, and after a few moments of thinking, he is proven right.
Martin’s face brightens once more as he gets successfully distracted by the unmissable landmark.
“Why hadn’t you told me that before? We could’ve just taken the long way around from the start!”
Jon laughs and admits that he hadn’t paid attention to it in his initial plans.
“See? This is why we needed a map! Can’t trust the Eldritch Fear Being to understand what a good road trip looks like.”
They end up deciding to stay the night in Mallaig. It's late, and everyone else seems to have had the same idea, especially those hoping to catch tomorrow's ferry. It’s difficult to find a room with so many people needing one too, but they manage to find a small B&B a little off the beaten road. And this time, they certainly pay it no mind when they get a queen-sized bed for both of them.
The next morning, it’s still raining, but the sea is more calm and the ferries have begun to continue with their course. The port is still bustling with people, but Martin and Jon pay them no mind and take their time getting ready to set off calmly.
The journey feels longer now that they’ve already seen half of the road they have to travel through, and Martin starts getting drowsy from the rhythmic beating of the raindrops hitting the car.
"You could go to sleep—the bed last night was awful. I could hear you tossing and turning for a very long time." In truth, Jon didn’t get much sleep either, but sleepless nights are routine to him by now.
"But then I'll miss all the sights!" Martin pouts, trying to shake himself awake.
"Or you could trust me to wake you up?" Jon turns down the music in the car so it won't keep Martin awake.
"I could… Only if you promise to wake me up the second you can see Eilean Donan."
"You have my word. You have time to sleep; we still have quite some road to drive back."
Jon almost doesn’t want to wake Martin up when he catches a glimpse of the castle in the distance. Even with all the twists and turns on the road, he looks peaceful, and he really needs the rest. So before they can get any closer, he finds a spot by the side of the road to park so he can give Martin a few minutes more to sleep.
Eventually, he taps his shoulder carefully and gently wakes him up.
“Martin, wake up, we’re here.” His voice is nearly at a whisper, but Martin wasn’t sleeping deeply enough, and he wakes up almost immediately.
“Skye?” Martin opens his eyes and asks drowsily.
“No, Eilean Donan, remember?”
This seems to fully wake Martin up. He bolts right up and looks up at the castle in the distance. Immediately, he starts fumbling to take off his seatbelt as fast as possible.
“We still aren’t there there. You might want to wait,” Jon says, holding back a laugh at Martin’s burst of energy.
“Look at the scenery from here, Jon! I can’t miss this chance. Of course I’m going to take pictures from both places.”
This has got to be the most touristic spot they've been to. If it wasn't already obvious from the background sound of bagpipes, which is gradually evolving from nice ambiance to headache, it would become apparent at the tour buses crowding the place. But while it's nowhere near as quiet and relaxing as the rest of their trip, the pictures of the castle from the parking lot are definitely worth it.
When they finally leave, it's late enough that the bridge over to Skye has some traffic, but not too much at all, and Martin offers to take the wheel so Jon can take his long deserved break.
On the island, Martin refuses to let Jon take over the wheel once more after the nap he's already taken. It doesn’t help that the map they've bought became pretty much useless when the difficulty of the road changed from multiple paths to a single narrow winding one, with sheep blocking the path, sharp turns, and, of course, cars heading in the opposite direction.
The last thing is what's stressing Jon out the most as he tries to get Martin to pull over onto the nearest passing place.
"Martin, that driver really isn't going to pull into the passing place for us. You can even see it from the speed he's driving at!"
"Well, he's going to have to. Seeing as he's the one nearest to a passing place," Martin huffs indignant.
"We just passed one! We could just back into it?" Jon tries to sway him.
In the end, they end up having to press the car against the side of the road, two wheels out of the path, before going back to the road as soon as the car's passed them. Martin doesn't waste any time honking at the driver, but they both agree from then on that going into passing places either way is better than expecting others to.
Some other drivers turn out to have the same idea, though, as they find themselves in a stalemate multiple times with fellow travelers who have ducked into another passing place at the same time. It takes some time of "No, you go" signs from the car windows to decide on who's giving in and continuing first.
When they're both beginning to settle into the rhythm of the road and enjoying the sights, Martin almost drives them out of the road in surprise.
"Jon, look! We found them!" Martin immediately pulls over next to a wide field surrounded by a wooden fence.
Jon steps out of the car after Martin, smiling almost as wide at Martin at the enthusiasm of his boyfriend.
There's almost a dozen highlander cows grazing almost next to the road. The fence has a sign which reads "Coo Viewpoint", which probably means that the place is slightly touristy. Jon can't deny that it's undoubtedly a good way to attract visitors.
"We should give them names, they're very nice," Martin is taking pictures of a couple of cows nearer the fence who are staring at them with curiosity.
"I don't think that's such a good idea; we're probably not going to see these same cows again," Jon reasons, but Martin breaks out the hurt look and he caves in seconds. "We could go looking for cows near the safehouse, there's probably a lot of them up North too."
"I'm going to hold you to that, and if not, I'll drag you out on cow-viewing walks. Whether you like it or not," Martin threatens.
After a few pictures, one with Martin almost getting licked by a cow being Jon's favorite by far, they set off again.
This time, it doesn't take them long for them to stop again as, a few miles further down the road, they both make the unanimous choice to park the car again.
Right on the other side of the road, there's a stunning waterfall. The rushing water from the heavy rain of a few hours before makes the small waterfall all the more impressive. And the evening sun beginning to set makes the rocks at the bottom of the fall glow golden and silver, adding to the charm of the scenery.
This is one of the views that they know a camera can't capture even close to well enough. Not that it stops Martin from trying. But it does mean that they stay there for a long time, simply enjoying the view in a comfortable silence.
There's something mesmerizing about the small unexpected wonder on their way home. And, even tired as they are, they stay there until the sun sets.
About an hour later of careful, slow driving, they come upon the small cabin. It's nestled upon a hill, quite a few miles away from the nearest small town. It's perfect, they decide as they open the door to their new home.