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Jay and Tim had been hotel hopping for a few weeks the first time it happened.
Jay woke up in the middle of the night to confused movement- the sound of digging through bags, clothing tossed around the room. He could see Tim if he squinted- dressed to leave, wearing a jacket despite how it had been too warm outside as Apollo in his chariot made the sky glow too bright during the day.
Usually if Tim couldn’t find something, he would mumble to himself as he searched- something Jay noticed he didn’t do in public, but still. Currently, his companion was eerily silent.
It’s fine, he probably didn’t want to wake me up. Still, despite this somewhat calming idea, it was odd that Tim was dressed to leave in the middle of the night. His movements were different, too- in a way that someone who did not spend as much time near him as Jay Merrick did would not notice. But Jay did.
“Tim...? What’re you doin...?” His voice was tired. He barely slept- it was rare he got anywhere near eight hours. Not as rare as before Tim, though. Tim was the one to try to get him to sleep- which made it all the more odd that he was up this late.
Tim paused a moment, not even breathing until he slowly turned to Jay in a manner not like himself.
“You okay? ‘s late...”
He watched Jay silently, and when Jay shifted he looked about ready to run. A light was flicked on and Jay sat on the edge of the bed, observing Tim thoroughly with his exhausted eyes.
It didn’t take long for his sleep deprived brain to realize this wasn’t Tim.
He didn’t panic, though. Sure, his paranoia was through the roof, but he visually didn’t react beyond recognition.
It took hours for him to pretend to sleep. He heard the door shortly after. Tim was terrified and asked him if he hurt him, anything , and it took a while to convince him that Jay was okay and could take care of himself.
The second time was just as awkward.
He hadn’t left this time. Seemed conflicted. Sat on a bed for hours staring at Jay, and Jay wasn’t sure when or if he had stopped. Jay ignored him.
The next morning, Tim didn’t know what happened, just that he was in his bed with a mask on his face, overheating in his jacket.
After a while, it started to become routine. Whenever Tim had a panic attack or was just too stressed to function properly, it would no longer be him. Jay kept the mask in his bag, away from Tim’s eyes but available to the masked man.
A few weeks after that, they grew genuinely comfortable around each other.
It was subtle hints- especially at first. The masked man would turn his back to Jay. Jay would have his back to him in return. The masked man would push food onto the desk. Jay would leave a bottle of water on the nightstand.
One night, the masked man would come up to Jay- sitting on the bed as he went through footage, taking notes. He tapped the laptop gently, getting Jay’s attention.
“Yeah, bud? What is it?” His tone was casual. Relaxed, even. He watched the masked man move his hands oddly and it took him a moment to recognize it as signing.
You do what?
That’s the first time they properly talked. Jay hesitated slightly before he could respond.
“I’m going through today’s footage. Y’know, the camera that was strapped to you? That. I have you showing up on recording, if umm. You wanted to see. Do you wanna see?”
The masked man nodded. He seemed to be a curious creature, and likely would have asked earlier if it wasn’t for the anxiety that radiated off of him whenever he was active. Jay scrolls through various timestamps he wrote notes on, and when he finds the right one, he pulls it up.
The room is silent aside from the sound coming from the speakers of the laptop. Coughing and panicked crying fades into hiccups which goes into a dead silence. The body the camera is attached to gets up and wipes its face, looking for something and not finding it. A moment later the camera is set on a table, facing Tim. His face is red, but his eyes have a dead look and dilated pupils. He sits on the bed in silence until the door opens and Jay enters, his own camera in hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. Tim tilts his head, Jay mumbles a greeting, sits down, and tosses him his mask.
The recording is paused there, and Jay turns to look at the masked man.
Why?
“Oh, like. Why do I go through this? Or are you asking why I record it? I- umm. If you’re asking why he’s crying, we’ve been stressed out recently, so it’s probably related to that...” He nibbles at the damaged skin of his fingertips and the masked man asks for all of the answers.
He continues a recording where he left off before- one of many nothing tapes they have.
“Well, we record everything in case something happens. In case we forget. In case we aren’t sure if what we saw was real.”
A pause, and he writes down a timestamp with static.
“I go through the recordings- often with Tim- in case we missed anything. I usually edit the videos we make, too. Did... Did you help edit the totheark videos?”
No.
Jay frowns softly at the answer, but understands.
“Would you like to watch this with me?”
There’s a moment where nothing happens, the masked man considering. Then he moves up behind Jay, resting his head on his shoulder. The action causes Jay to freeze, but he goes back to what he was doing.
A few minutes later, the larger man is fast asleep, and Jay can’t help but smile softly. One picture won’t hurt.
A picture on his phone in his pocket and he decides it’s probably a good idea to go to bed. He puts the laptop on the nightstand, careful to not move much, letting himself relax slightly. It was a show of trust. The masked man trusted him well enough to sleep in his presence- just as much as whenever he sat across the room with his back to Jay it was a show of trust.
He gently moves to tuck him in, but the masked man curls around him when he tries to get up. Fuck it. He lays down, pulling the blanket over them as he drifts off. It wasn’t exactly the best way to sleep- his ribs hurt, he was too warm in some spots, and one of the masked man’s cold hands was against the back of his neck. He still felt like he had the best sleep he’s had since any of the operator bullshit started.