Chapter Text
Elias’ plans had all gone off to a great start. While it was all a bit too early to tell the success rate (he wasn’t The Web, after all), he knew that he had pushed the pieces he needed to in order to kickstart everything . Somehow he’d managed to weasel control of the Institute once more, despite his current form being incredibly young and, frankly, inexperienced to those with trained eyes. As well as that, he’d managed to pluck the hardworking Jonathon Sims from research and drop him face first into being Head Archivist. There was a world of risk with that choice, honestly. He knew Sasha James was clearly the more experienced and capable worker of the two of them, which meant that this choice would draw… unnecessary attention to himself and his decisions. However, it worked out and Jon was practically hurtling down the path towards the apocalypse, and Elias was feeling quite proud of himself.
Point is, things were good for Elias. Totally. Completely. Though, there was one little t eensie weensie bump in the road to greatness. Or, rather, a bump in his stomach. You see, with everything working out and being great , Elias had a little… well… free time. He didn’t need to constantly micromanage everything after he killed Gertrude, since he knew the transfer of Jonathon and his researchers would take a while. And, The Archivist needs to slowly learn things in order to properly feed The Beholding, so it meant Elias had some breathing room. He wasn’t some paranoid hag like Gertrude had been. Anyways, he had actually gotten to spend some time with Peter recently and, curse his lack of foresight, Elias had gotten pregnant. Blasted human body and all that. Maybe they were a tad careless. Elias would never admit that though.
And so, he sat at his big, intimidating desk, praying that Rosie couldn’t tell how tailored his suits have been getting. He tapped his fingers nervously, flicking his gaze from one room of the institute to the other, mostly checking in on the little archivists that mattered so much. Would his kid even be human ? He thought suddenly. Neither he nor his bedmate were human in any sense of the word. Hadn’t been for decades , more even. The ticking of the clock in his office – embellished in gold such that it formed the shape of an eye – was beginning to get on his nerves. He usually liked having it be just loud enough to unsettle any guests he has in his office, but just quiet enough so that they’d be too uncomfortable to bring it up to his imposing self. Now, however, it only served to remind him that the due date loomed ever closer. And he hadn’t even told Peter-
A fuzz. A loud crack of static in the air and the man at the forefront of his mind appeared like a creeping fog coating a mountaintop. He materialized in front of Elias’ desk, looming over him with his wide frame and broadening jacket. Elias noted he also had a little smile on his face, which could either be concerning or a good sign.
“Hello, Elias,” he began, taking his large, scraped-up hands out from his coat pockets. They landed on the front of Elias’ desk, causing him to lean further over Elias’ head. On any other day, this would make Elias giddy, but now it just made him feel even more nervous. Those of The Eye love watching, not being scrutinized .
“Hi, Peter ,” he replied, gritting his teeth. He hoped desperately that the man looming above him couldn’t notice how his folded arms purposely covered his stomach. Peter sighed.
“In a mood, Elias?” he asked cheekily, tilting his head to the side. In response, Elias furrowed his brows in annoyance.
“ No . I’m doing just peachy ,” Elias shot back, leaning back in his chair to get out of Peter’s stupid face. However, the motion does slightly uncover his stomach from the sweet hiding spot of the desk, and Peter does seem to notice the swell. “I just have some news that I think you should know. But that can wait , I suppose. Why did you turn up in my office out of the blue?”
Peter perks up slightly at the question. “What? I can’t pay you a visit every now and then?”
“You don’t , though.”
“Fair point. But I need to stay in the loop somehow,” Peter conceded, leaning back out of Elias’ space and shoving his hands back into his pockets. At his words, Elias chuckled internally. In the loop ? He had no idea.
“So what’s the news, then?” Peter continued with a tinge of curiosity. His eyes observed every fidget Elias made, as if trying to work out an invisible puzzle.
Elias took a deep breath, steeling his resolve. For someone of his stature, he should not be feeling this nervous about anything . He eventually said, “I’m pregnant. Around 5 months at this point, if it matters to you.” He kept his voice haughty and unwavering as he spoke, hoping it wouldn’t betray his own swarm of feelings inside. Damn hormones . Peter froze up in front of the desk visibly, clearly shocked. His normally loose and ever-changing state of being was now horribly, horribly present .
“What? Is that even-”
“ Yes. It is. Otherwise I wouldn’t have said anything ,” Elias berated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Peter still just seemed… gobsmacked. That’d be the best word for it. Elias could spot his O-shaped mouth even through that beard of his, which didn’t happen often. He groaned and stood up from his desk uneasily, his new body inhabitant making that harder and harder to do as the months progressed. In his new position, his stomach was fully visible, hardly stifled by the layers and layers of clothes he usually wore.
Peter’s gaze dropped down to the area in question as Elias carefully and precisely took off a couple of his unnecessary layers. First went a few accessories like pins and chains, which were dropped on the desk with a few clacks. Then, he pulled off his weighty overcoat, which did most of the heavy-lifting in hiding his new size; He laid that neatly over the back of the chair. Finally he took off his striking green vest, which he just placed neatly on top of the desk. All the while Peter looked on, his expression quivering in anticipation.
When it was only just a button-up and a tie between Peter’s gaze and the hill of his stomach, Elias paused and gazed upwards for the man’s reaction. For a few moments, there was just silence. Peter’s brain was processing all the details, for sure. Elias could practically see the rusty gears of his mind whirring and creaking in his head.
“H-” Peter began, but his words eluded him. He tried again. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? ” Elias rolled his eyes at that.
“I couldn’t just tell you. I didn’t even know if you’d want it ,” he answers, hovering his hands over his stomach.
“And you do? You want it ?” asked Peter, staring at the way Elias’ tie rested in an arc over his stomach. “I didn’t really expect that coming from you , of all people.” His gaze moved up meaningfully to meet Elias’ eyes.
“Yes, I want him,” Elias snapped back, meeting Peter’s gaze just as sharply. At his phrasing, Peter raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Him ?
“With The Eye, I can see him. It also means no doctors, which is convenient for me as well.” From in front of the desk, Peter hummed at the response, looking a lot less confused. Elias also could tell from his mind that he had resolved something. Peter slowly stepped around the desk to find his place beside Elias, causing the other man to pivot to meet him face-to-face.
Peter asked: “Have you thought of any names yet?” Thanks to his powers, Elias was prepared to hear that question. He could practically smell Peter’s excitement even without them, anyways.
“Does this mean you’ll be here when he arrives, then?” Elias fired back instead of an answer. He wants to hear Peter say it aloud. At the tone, Peter laughed.
“ Yes , yes. Though I can’t promise I won’t be a bit of an absent father. Though, if he’s anything like me I doubt he’d mind it all too much.”
“And if he’s anything like me , he’ll find you anyways.”
“Touché.”
The pair stood in silence, listening to the clock on the wall ticking ever forward. It’s a comforting silence, as most silences with Peter were. And there were many. Then, suddenly, a name popped into Elias’ head unbidden.
“How about Jon?”
“What?” Peter asked, looking down at Elias with a grimace.
“Jon. It’s short for Jonah.”
“What?”
“ What? What’s wrong with the name?”
“Your Archivist is named Jon.”
“So what? It’s entirely unrelated. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, really.”
“Are you serious?”
“ Yes . Is that so crazy?” Elias asked, breaking the peace to move around to the other side of the desk. He just knew Peter would pull something like this.
“Well, I thought someone as omnipotent as you would’ve seen the correlation,” Peter snarked back, narrowing his eyes at Elias. Though, he was used to fighting like this with him. Just another divorce for the books, he supposed.
“And I thought someone as Lonely as you would know when to piss off ,” Elias snarled, pointing sharply to the door. Peter sighed in defeat and circled the desk on the opposite side. He let out a huff of laughter.
“You know I don’t need to use the door ,” he replied amiably, though there was a hint of malice beneath his words. Elias glared at him and refused to give an answer. “Well, I best be off. I’ll see you in… say… four months, was it? He should be here by then, right?” Elias still just stared at him, waiting for the mountain of a man to dissipate into the air. When he did, Elias could finally breathe. Once more the ticking clock melted into his hearing and he plopped back down into his office chair.
“ Imbecile, ” he said to nobody in particular, and he used his Vision to glance around the Institute once more.
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Once the seventh month hit, Elias elected to stay at one of his many safehouses instead of going to work. It was a… frustrating development, to say the least. It meant handing over control of the Institute to Peter, even if it would only be for a few months. Although, it would be good practice in case of an emergency.
Of course, the archival workers had only learned of this development through a short, concise Email sent from Peter himself.
Elias Bouchard is out of commission. Until his return, I am your boss. Expect a follow-up Email.
“Is he serious?” Jon asked, very exasperated. He stood up out of his chair quickly, leaving it swiveling as he approached Tim and Sasha, who were both looking at one of the computers as well. “He didn’t even give us any sort of warning!”
Martin entered the room at the commotion. “Who didn’t warn us about what? Is this something about Prentiss?” He had two steaming mugs in his hands, which he then placed at the desk spots beside Tim and Sasha.
Tim hummed gratefully at the tea, then responded, “No. Big boss man is suddenly taking a sabbatical or something. Some guy named Peter Lukas sent an Email a few minutes ago claiming he’s our new boss.” Sasha nodded beside him. She blew on her tea before taking a nice long sip of it.
“And it’s ludicrous . Elias shouldn’t just be able to do that ,” Jon asserted, crossing his arms. “We don’t even know who Peter Lukas is .” His foot tapped irritably on the carpeted floor.
“Could be a family emergency,” Sasha reasoned, rising from her own chair. Though her face gave an air of suspicion. Clearly she thought it was more than that.
“He hardly seems like a family man to me,” Tim scoffed from beside her.
“ Whatever the reason, it’s entirely unprofessional. He could’ve at least sent the Email himself,” Jon interjected, his face still held in a scowl.
“Totally,” Sasha agreed, rolling her eyes. “But he shouldn’t be gone for too long, anyways. How long can he legally be out before he’s cut off?” After she said this, she picked up her mug and took another sip.
“Well- uh- Are there really any solid regulations in place for an Institute like ours? I hardly think so,” replied Martin, his tone uneasy.
“True that,” agreed Sasha. Tim also furiously nodded, a storm of righteous anger for Sasha brewing in his mind. Thanks to his own annoyance, Jon is too stuck in his own head to notice the subtext.
“Let’s just keep our heads down until Elias’ return,” Jon announced, getting back into boss-mode. “His incompetence shouldn’t impact our research.”
“Yessir,” said Tim, as he decidedly didn’t get back to his work. The others went back to their various tasks of reorganizing files, finding books, and (for one of them) reading statements.
Elias’s absence proved to be less of a hindrance than they had thought. Despite Peter Lukas’... colder demeanor, the archival workers found it a lot easier to work when there were less eyes creeping in on them. Not that they knew that there were eyes before, but it just felt like there was a greater air of privacy where they were. Tim and Sasha took advantage of that numerous times (good for them).
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“You know, I thought there’d be a lot more screaming .”
“You know as well as I do that there is nothing normal about this, Simon.”
“Well, obviously . It’s just that there’s a lot of blood. Anybody’d be screaming at this point, I think.”
“Remind me why you’re here again?”
“Your baby daddy got a little busy down at the office and needed a stand in. I’m just a nice chap like that.”
“A nice chap would look away when I’m dilated 10 centimeters.”
Simon raised his hands in compromise and placed them over his face.
“There. Better?”
Elias glared at him over his sheet-covered knees. Simon’s mouth was turned up in a mocking grin. Prick . There was a shift in the air of the room that was caused by neither avatars. The air was charged and prickly, as if lightning was about to strike. It was a sure sign.
“Simon. If you don’t get your head out of your arse and your hands under my kid, I cannot guarantee you’ll leave this place alive.” Simon obliged and caught the child before it fell to the ground. With the precision of an old man who does not need his cane, he chopped the cord and held the newborn in his arms. It wasn’t a tender embrace. It felt more like holding a very breakable piece of china.
Elias lowered his legs and sat up quickly on his makeshift delivery bed. Thanks to his abilities, he felt just fine. Fine enough to snatch Jon (the baby) from Simon Fairchild’s arms.
“Are my services fulfilled? I’ve got important places to be,” Simon asked with a flourish. He peeled the bloody gloves off his hands and chucked them over his shoulder.
“ Leave .”
“Gladly. Ciao.”
Simon percolated out of the house in a whiff of clouds and Elias was once more… alone . Maybe Peter was right about the whole lonely thing. It wasn’t half bad when your company was people like Simon Fairchild .
Anyways , he finally got a chance to look at the child in his arms. He was… small . Definitely human in appearance, at least. Pale as Peter, from what he could see under the blood. He set the baby down on some of the sheets and got redressed in one of his casual outfits. He would’ve cared to be more doting if the baby had cried at all, but he remained lying there, not a single wail from his throat. As he buttoned his fresh overshirt, he watched the child’s chest rise and fall as an indicator of breath. Clearly, it was alive. Just… quiet. Sort of like Peter, he supposed. Guess the absent father thing might work out after all.
For a while, he just sat with Jon (the baby) and pondered what his place would be in the grand plan he had for the world. He couldn’t follow every strand of the child’s existence, crawling down with feelers and seeing what exactly the future held for him. That was The Web’s job. For now he just had to frustratingly live in the moment, just Watching a single, unpredictable soul until Peter arrived.