Work Text:
Martin was getting tired of living in the archives, and Jon knew this. It wasn't hard to tell by the growing dark circles surrounding Martin's eyes. He'd been only slightly worried by Martin's rising anxiety as the days wore on. Jon would never admit but he'd grown quite fond of him.
Martin was around often, even bringing Jon unwanted cups of tea. Every time he saw Martin he grew more worried about him. He looked exhausted and was constantly clutching something in his pocket when he walked around.
One day Martin knocked on Jon's door softly. Jon knew it was Martin because he was the only person who knocked in these archives.
"Come in Martin" He called, trying to shove the affection out of his voice.
Martin pushed the door open, holding two mugs of tea. He smiled and set one down on Jon's desk without making eye contact.
"I made you some tea." Martin mumbled before trying to quickly make his exit. Jon saw his retreating figure and before he could stop himself he spoke.
"Martin." He blurted out, sounding slightly more enthusiastic than he usually did.
"Uh, yes?" Martin spun around to face him and Jon saw just how tired he looked. He couldn't let Martin leave without Jon properly assessing how he was feeling.
"Why don't you stay here while I do this recording? I could use an outside perspective on it." Jon spoke flatly, hiding his actual intentions well.
"Oh, I have some research to do…" Martin made excuses but didn't make any motion to actually exit the office.
"Martin, sit down, I'd really appreciate your insights on this particular statement." Jon was now using his " boss voice " so Martin would have to actually sit down.
Martin just nodded and made some noises of agreement. He closed the door and sat down on the opposite side of the desk.
For the first time in weeks Jon saw just how tired Martin looked. He also saw Martin's blushed cheeks and the way he smiled softly at his mug, still avoiding eye contact with him. His heart fluttered as he grabbed his own mug.
He looked down at the swirling liquid and took a deep breath. He was just a worried boss, that's what these feelings were. He was just worried about his assistant's health.
If you remove the fact that Jon wasn't this worried about Tim or Sasha he was just a concerned boss. Nothing romantic involved. At least that's what he told himself as his heart continued to race for unknown reasons.
"How are you feeling Martin?" Jon whispered into his mug. He looked up at Martin with a surprised face only to be met with Martin's equally confused face. He didn't mean to actually say that out loud. He silently cursed himself as Martin spoke.
"Tired but alright. Tough to be anything but when you have a flesh hive stalking you and your friends." Martin whispered as well, eyes wide and staring at Jon who looked even more worried than he usually did.
"That's good to hear. At least you're safe down here."
"Thank you Jon." Martin responded with a smile. His cheeks a soft pink, in this light his dark circles seemed to disappear as the smile reached his eyes.
Jon stared for just a moment. His cheeks began to heat up and he could feel his palms becoming slightly itchy. He put the mug down and wrung his hands and looked away hiding his growing smile.
He felt Martin's eyes on his neck. He tried to compose himself but he couldn't while Martin was still staring at him with his beautiful smile.
Beautiful? That was a new word to describe Martin. Objectively he was a beautiful man yes, but Jon had never been one for conventional attractiveness. He'd ignore that as he took a deep shaky breath.
"Right well, I have a statement to read." Jon's voice was shaky at best, cracking at worst.
Martin just nodded and continued to sip his tea. Jon took one last deep breath and turned the recorder on.
"Statement begins." He spoke in his regular monotone voice. He was happy he had Martin there as this particular statement was about spiders, he smiled softly as he continued. He hoped if anyone was listening to these his smile wasn't evident through the recording.
When he got a few sentences in he completely forgot about Martin sitting across from him. Everything else was tuned out as he read every word, committing the statement to memory and tape.
"Statement ends." As he finished he looked up at the chair he knew Martin was sitting in. He saw Martin fast asleep in an extremely uncomfortable position, mug still held tightly in his hands.
Jon shut the file and rose from his chair. He avoided the creaky floorboards as he walked over to Martin's side. He gently removed the mug from his hands and placed it next to his own.
He bent down and gingerly moved Martin's arm over his shoulder. He stood up with a groan, shouldering all of Martin's weight. As he did so he felt Martin begin to stir.
"Let's get you to bed." Jon whispered to Martin as he encouraged the man to take steps forward in his sleepy state.
Jon opened the door and led him into the storage room where he'd been staying.
On his way there he passed Tim. Jon looked away quickly but not quick enough to miss Tim's smirk and wink that was meant for him.
Jon rolled his eyes and continued forward. He'd have to deal with that later, or just ignore it and remain silent until he was forced to. He decided on the ladder when he reached the room door.
He opened it as softly as possible. He pulled both himself and Martin through the door shutting it with a satisfying click. Jon gently laid Martin down on his cot and pulled a blanket over him.
Jon watched for a second, a soft smile plastered on his face. He would have continued to sit there making sure Martin was alright if he didn't wake up. Of course Martin's eyes blinked open. Jon stood up quickly and turned around.
"Jon?" Martin asked in a sleep filled voice. Jon ignored the chill that went down his spine as he said his name. He remained silent as he walked out the door. He shut it and immediately collapsed onto the doorframe.
His face was painfully hot. He reached up and touched his cheeks, feeling his cold fingers calm the blood that had rushed to his cheeks. He was almost ready to confront whatever Tim was obviously planning whenever Tim stuck his head around the corner.
"Heya boss." Tim smirked as he pulled himself dramatically into the hallway, crossing his arms as he watched Jon.
"Fuck" Jon muttered under his breath. He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked forward, pushing Tim out of his way.
"I saw what you did there, very nice of you. Maybe Mr boss man does have a heart after all." Tim mocked as he followed closely behind him.
Jon just grumbled a response that didn't actually say anything. More just a general sound of disapproval.
"Would you do the same for meee?" Tim drew out with his signature smirk on his face. Tim rushed forward and slung his arm over Jon's shoulder similar to how Martin was slung over his.
"No" Jon grunted as he shook Tim's arm off of him. He didn't mind the contact sometimes but something about the feeling made his skin crawl. It just didn't feel right at the moment so he continued quickly to his office.
"He admits it!" Tim blurted out. Jon's office was in sight so he tried to ignore Tim's comments and just make it to his office.
"What?" He questioned when he reached his office door. He spun around and crossed his arms, attempting to make Tim disappear with his mind.
"You like Martinnnnn" Tim smiled widely as he copied Jon's posture, obviously in an attempt to mock him.
Jon rolled his eyes and shut the door in Tim's face. He fell into his chair and put his head on his desk.
"I'll take your silence as a yes!" Tim called to him through the door.
Jon groaned as he listened to his footsteps disappear down the corridor.
Of course Tim was right, he always was. He somehow could read someone's body language correctly before the person even admitted what he knew. Maybe he was speaking from personal experience but no one other than Tim would know that.
It made sense if he had feelings for Martin. He was pretty, kind, and only slightly annoying. A few months ago he would have told anyone off for even suggesting he would like Martin, but things were different. He was different.
He closed his arms around his head and closed his eyes. Maybe he should just actually admit to himself he had feelings, it would make this whole experience easier for everyone.
He could just tell Martin outright and be rejected, or suffer in silence as this eats away at his soul. He decided to suffer, reasoning that it would just go away and Martin would be none the wiser.
Only because there was no chance admitting would end well for him. Most likely Martin would reject him and make everything more uncomfortable for everyone. Less likely, Elias would find out firing him and not giving him a good recommendation.
There was no way Martin had feelings as well. The way he acted was just the way Martin did, there were no ulterior motivations behind his actions. Plus Jon wasn't ever that lucky.
Georgie was a fluke, someone who had the misfortune of actually caring for him. Martin was too nice of a person to be dragged into Jon's world, he ended up destroying everything he touched.
So yeah, he would never be lucky enough for these feelings to work out well for him. He would rather let his feelings fester in his chest and bottle them up until he or Martin died. Until then, he had a job to do, a job he actually somewhat enjoyed despite the worms and spiders.
Weeks passed without incident. Tim still smirked at him when he called Martin in his office, or any time he was in the same room as him. What he didn't see was how Tim's eyes would shift between the two with a knowing smile. Sometimes Sasha would smile at him with narrowed eyes as he asked for Martin to do something.
It was fine, his feelings hadn't gone away. In fact they probably got more intense as he started to leave the institute less. He was around Martin for hours, and every time they were alone he wanted to confess.
Everything was as normal as they could be until Martin brought him tea again. It wasn't a rare occurrence, but this statement was different. It took all of his energy and left him numb. That's when Martin knocked on his door.
His heart immediately jumped at the sound and suddenly he could feel his limbs again.
"Come in!" He shouted, trying not to sound as excited as he felt. He's found himself controlling his tone more often than usual.
Martin walked in with his bright smile but tired eyes. He moved slowly as he handed Jon his tea. As he grabbed the mug their fingers touched for a second and Jon's fingers became fuzzy as he pulled them away quickly.
Martin stared at him for a second longer as he stood completely still, obviously not ready to start work again. Usually this would bother Jon but today he understood the feeling.
"What's wrong?" Jon asked casually as he hid his face behind his mug. He kept his eyes on Martin's unmoving figure as he took a deep breath.
"I'm tired of being stuck here. No work life balance anymore I guess." Martin chuckled but there was no humor behind his laugh.
"Why don't we go get some lunch?" Jon asked in a slightly too high pitched tone. It was lunch time, and they had to leave at some point.
"Like in the breakroom?" Martin asked, finally turning his head to look at Jon who just smiled at him.
"No, at the Cafe down the road. I think we could both use some time away from here." Jon nodded as if Martin had already agreed. He made up his mind, he was getting Martin out of the archives.
"What about the worms? And Jane?" Martin started wringing his hands but smiled at Jon.
"We'll be fine. If anything happens I'll protect you." Jon stood up, content with his answer. He turned away from Martin quickly before the blush that was rising on his face could be seen.
"If you say so…" Martin's face flushed a bright red as he placed his mug down on Jon's desk.
Jon pulled on his coat and waited for Martin to leave his office before shutting the door behind him. As Martin grabbed his coat he smiled to himself, then immediately dropped his smile when he saw Tim watching him.
He looked at Tim as he gestured between Martin and Jon. He just shook his head no and Tim nodded yes as his smile grew. This wasn't a date, just a concerned boss building morale. There was nothing romantic about it.
There was nothing romantic about the fact that as they left the institute Martin quickly grabbed his hand as they walked through dead worms. His heart didn't skip a beat as Martin didn't let go once the worm corpses disappeared.
It was totally platonic for him to pay for Martin's food once they got to the register. It was his idea and he was the boss, obviously he should pay. He kept telling himself this was normal, ignoring the fact that nothing about this situation was normal.
They both kept looking over their shoulder as they waited for their order. Jon made it a point to look at everyone's faces, keeping an eye out for anyone who could be Jane, or this mysterious Michael.
He almost jumped as his name was called for the order. He grabbed the bag and led Martin to a table in the far corner, where he could see almost the entire Cafe and the door.
They sat down and as much as Jon wanted this to be a date, he knew it wasn't. Martin didn't think it was so it wasn't right to hope for one. Martin said his silent thank you to Jon before starting to eat.
Jon didn't start to eat until he saw Martin do so. He was too anxious to eat but he was here and needed to do something. They ate in relative silence. Jon was thankful for that because he might spill his guts if Martin even looked at him right now.
"Why are you doing all this?" Martin asked. He set down his food and looked up at Jon.
Jon almost threw his food when he looked up and met Martin's eyes. He couldn't figure out what to say with his eyes staring at him, especially knowing that Tim couldn't hear him right now.
"Because you looked like you needed it." Jon finally said as he quickly ate his food, hoping Martin would leave it.
"A couple of months ago you called me useless. What changed?" Martin tilted his head and Jon lost all agility to lie. Something about the way Martin was looking at him gave him enough confidence to do something stupid.
"Can I be honest with you Martin?" Jon wrapped up his food. He wasn't hungry anymore, not with this conversation happening.
"I thought you always were." Martin smirked as he copied Jon's actions and wrapped up his trash. Jon took a breath before answering.
"Can we go outside?" He muttered as he stood up. Martin nodded and followed him wordlessly out the door.
They stood on the side of the Cafe, coffees in hand, staring at the ground waiting for someone or something to break the silence. Somehow Jon made the decision to speak, which surprised them both.
"Promise not to hate me?" Jon asked as he continued to swirl his half drunk cup of coffee.
"No promises." Martin tried to make a joke but it fell on deaf ears.
"Martin." Jon finally looked up and made eye contact with Martin who's smile faded, being replaced with a slightly nervous smile.
"I promise not to hate you Jon." Martin held eye contact with Jon as he took multiple deep breaths. Jon's heart was beating out of his chest as he tried to prepare his dramatic speech.
"I have feelings for you Martin." He blurted out before his chest could explode. Martin's face went pale and then red. Jon continued to talk before Martin could even attempt to add something.
"It's alright if you don't have feelings for me, I understand if you don't. Honestly I would not be offended if you didn't, I mean it's me what's to like." Jon started rambling, as he looked away from Martin.
"Jon…" Martin breathed out.
"You don't have to say anything. I know it's stupid and would probably end badly. Especially with everything happening it would just be a bad idea." Jon barely took a breath as he continued to justify his feelings. He kept his eyes firmly planted on the patch of grass beneath his feet.
"Jon!" Martin said again, more instantly this time.
"You know what, just forget I said anything. I knew I shouldn't have said anything, you're probably uncomfortable with me now and I'll gladly accept a transfer out of the archives if you want one." Jon's face grew sad, he closed his eyes and kept his chin down trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.
"JON!" Martin yelled as he grabbed Jon's shoulders. Jon looked up at Martin who just smiled softly at him.
Jon didn't say anything, he just watched as Martin grabbed the coffee from his hand and placed it on the ground with his own. Jon had been so preoccupied with his own ramblings to notice Martin putting his drink down.
Martin returned his hands to Jon's shoulders. Then slowly slid them upwards to hold Jon's neck gently.
"I have feelings for you too." Martin said, pushing his head down to meet Jon's. Jon gasped as Martin's forehead made contact with his.
"You do? Are you sure?" Jon questioned. He couldn't understand anyone actually choosing to like him, let alone Martin.
"Yes you idiot." Martin laughed as he pushed himself forward a bit more.
He connected their lips and immediately Jon melted to the touch. His hands went into Martin's hair, pulling himself impossibly closer to him.
They pulled away after only a second. Jom swore it was minutes or hours. However long it was, it wasn't long enough.
His heart bloomed as Martin connected their hands. Jon reached down grabbing Martin's tea and handed it to him. He grabbed his own and they made their way back to the institute.
They both knew it was safer to continue whatever this was inside the archives instead of where anyone could see them.
They walked into the institute still holding hands, but immediately released them as soon as they reached the stairs leading down.
Tim saw them first, they walked a good distance apart but couldn't hide their glowing smiles. Martin returned to his desk and Jon stopped at Martin's desk as well.
He could feel Tim and Sasha's eyes on him but he didn't care. He was still riding the adrenaline from earlier, and did something he would definitely regret later.
"We'll continue talking later." He smiled as he leaned down and gave Martin a chaste kiss on his lips. Jon pulled back quickly and spared a glance at Martin's red face before almost running back to his office.
"TIM YOU OWE ME 20 POUNDS!" He heard Sasha yell across the room as he fled. He heard a groan come from Tim right as he shut his office door.
When the door closed he put his head against it and smiled. Martin had feelings for him. They kissed and nothing went wrong.
He had to stop himself from planning their future together. A future that involved multiple cows and a cabin in Scotland. He couldn't stop smiling even as he sat down with another statement in hand.
He opened the file and looked up at the door once more. His smile faded, but the fuzzy feeling in his gut didn't. He shook his head and went back to focusing on the statement in front of him.
He felt bad for leaving Martin out there alone with Tim and Sasha but he had work to do. He'd give his apologies tonight, for now he had a statement to record.