Work Text:
Jon and Martin were finally safe. Well, hopefully, although they weren’t that optimistic given their life thus far. Still, as of now, they- they were alright! Jon wanted to laugh with relief. They had gone somewhere else. Somewhere else that was a great deal more recognisable than they’d anticipated.
They had appeared to be back at the archives. Hardly a pleasant place to be, but seeing as Jon still had the same cravings for statements (It did appear to be dulled slightly, a good sign he prayed) it could be far worse. Although, this did have a certain factor that had initially made things very complicated. All the people who had been working in archives at the time were still there. Tim, Sasha (He could see her now… he didn’t suddenly recall his old memories with her or anything but, he was able to see her now.) and even, him and Martin. That had been awkward. He must say, seeing a man who shared his face from years prior was rather disconcerting. Especially since he hadn’t known what was at play, and face stealing or mimicking creatures can be very common…
Providing explanations had been horrid, his past self’s extreme skepticism not helping matters.
Eventually, they did come to an understanding and since then, he and Martin have been able to intercept certain events. His past self was no longer taking statements, Martin never went to Carlos Vittery’s flat, Sasha was safe, Tim was well. They… were okay. Jonah was also taken care of, something Martin was adamant about guaranteeing and, well. Jon certainly had no qualms about it.
(It brought a smile to his face seeing Martin so happy. And Jonah so bloody and in pain. Not enough to kill of course, incase he hadn’t been lying. Just enough to say, put him out of commission for a good while. He had let his boyfriend do the honours as Jon got his turn already.)
And since then, with no more immediate threats, things had slowed. Jon didn’t have anything to stress about right now. No sudden promotion he was unqualified for, no avatars wanting him dead, no imminent loss of his humanity looming over him. He had a few worries of course, he doubted he’d ever be truely free. The Web and Annabelle lingered in the back of his mind. There was also the fact that the Eye still had a semblance of power over him. Because of this, Jon was currently looking into whether the fears had manifested here. Still, he was far more relaxed than he had been his first time around. So with this, he took the time to appreciate his assistants- his friends. He made a point to spend whatever time he could with them, rekindle the friendships they built in research (The ones he left to fizzle out in lieu of his position as Head Archivist. But he wasn’t going to do that this time.)
He and Sasha began braiding each other’s hair. How she managed such intricate styles he could not fathom, but either way he felt rather pretty walking around in them. Sasha seemed content with her albeit more simple braids so he supposed it was alright. Still, he might attempt to learn some new styles for her. And they often had, what would the term be… Friendly debates? They argued about trivial matters in a, non malicious way. Oddly enough, Jon found it rather enjoyable.
He and Tim had taken to going out for lunch —something he very much neglected in the past— and other means of hanging out. One memorable time they had gone shopping together and- well, while he couldn’t quite remember what exactly had happened, Jon knew it had been pleasant. He had been happy. He also found a very nice skirt which was good, he needed to rebuild his wardrobe here and it was a lovely find. And, perhaps rebuild isn’t the optimal term as Jon didn’t exactly have a… wide range of clothing prior to this either.
Although, they typically opted for more outdoorsy activities, given they are something of Tim’s area of expertise. The man managed to drag him along hiking, rock climbing, they even went kayaking once. Not again though. Absolutely not.
It had been trickier navigating a friendship with a younger Martin, given his relationship with the man but he made a point to be friendly which he supposes is better than what he’d done in the past. Jon found himself buying the man small gifts, something he realised he could do fairly easily with minimal awkwardness. It worked quite well, he liked to think that nowadays he had a handle as to things Martin would want.
His newfound friendships appeared to have also influenced his past self, as he saw himself accepting more invites than he’d have thought himself willing before. It also seemed his and Martin’s intrusion upon the timeline had also affected other things in his past self's behaviour regarding his assistants.
As, when Jon watched his younger counterpart’s interactions with his Martin, he noted somewhat hysterically, that they apparently had sped up the process of his attraction towards the man. He couldn’t blame himself of course, Martin was- well. He was likely biased but that didn’t change the fact that Jon knew his more confident and, not to be crude but- openly bitchy Martin would prove rather appealing to his younger self. That and the fact he’d always found his boyfriend visually pleasing (He wasn’t totally blind in his past) made for a solid case as to why he may catch feelings prematurely this time.
And it was quite obvious he did just that. It may be he had an advantage being this was himself just a few years prior, but Jon was sure anyone who was looking for it could easily tell. The way he all of a sudden became prone to stammering when Jon's Martin attempted to make conversation. Or how he got increasingly defensive to a point it was absurd even for him. How his gaze drifted towards Martin when he wasn’t looking (Or when he thought Martin wasn’t looking).
It was quite frankly hilarious. Jon was considering talking to his younger self about it. Not to help, he was gonna have to figure it out the old fashioned way, just to see what he’d say. Maybe bully him a bit, lovingly of course.
Still, he decided against it, it was far more entertaining watching himself flounder whenever Martin attempted to engage with him. He’d managed to disconnect himself from his past self well enough that the second hand embarrassment wasn’t all that strong. Although… was it truly second hand if it’s regarding himself?
Jon wondered if he’d later take a different approach. Good lord, if he attempted flirting. He would pay to see that.
It was Jon’s little show, and he was having a wonderful time.
At some point the topic of getting together and how they first fell for each other came up.
“God,” Martin sighed, “I swear, I must’ve pined for you for years!”
“And now that’s basically been flipped on its head,” Jon joked, huffing out a slight laugh.
Martin turned to him. “What do you mean?”
"...You know?"
"Are you sure, because I don't think I do."
"I-" Jon sputtered incredulously, "Have you seen past me! He- he's practically tripping over his feet when you're merely in the room!"
"Really?!" Martin sounded positively dumbfounded.
"Yes!"
He watched his boyfriend process this new information with wide eyes. Then Martin’s expression shifted into one Jon knew meant bad things.
“...Martin. What are you going to do.”
The man in question looked awfully betrayed at this and scoffed, “I-I wasn’t gonna do anything.”
“Yes you were, you were doing the face.”
“What face!?”
“The ‘I plan to do something ludicrous’ face.”
“What? I don’t have a- that’s not a thing I do!”
Jon shrugged, “If you say so.”
“I do!”
Not even a week later, Jon found Martin in the break room, leaning over his past self and crowding him against the wall in a way subtle enough to potentially be viewed as innocuous. If not for the way past him’s face flushed severely, and how his boyfriend just slightly smirked at that.
“Martin.” Immediately the man in question whipped around, plastering a polite smile on his face. “What are you doing?”
“Just talking to Jon,” His boyfriend calmly replied, the lying prick.
“Y-yes. He wanted, err…” Past him mumbled, eyes wide as he blinked back to reality. Good lord, his coverup was significantly sloppier than his boyfriend’s. It may be that this is what Martin meant in their past conversations, Jon really wasn’t a good liar, was he.
“Just hoping to chat,” Martin finished for him.
“Uh- yes." His shoulders hiked up in a failed attempt to appear professional and he schooled a neutral expression onto his face. "Precisely.”
A beat. "Martin, may I have a word?" He asked, just barely managing to sound casual.
"Sure." Martin smiled before turning back to face past him. "Bye Jon."
He did not miss the slight change in inflection in the man's tone, or how past him stumbled over his own goodbye.
They moved into document storage and Jon took a sharp inhale. "What are you trying to do right now?"
"What do you mean? I'm not doing anything."
"Martin."
His boyfriend sighed. "Okay, so. Remember back when I’d first started, and you were always asking me things you knew I didn’t have an answer to just so you had more reasons to call me incompetent? Hm?”
“I-“ Well, it wasn’t like he could deny it. It was no revelation that he’d been a bit of a prick when he was younger. “N-no…?”
“Sure. Anyway, this is my revenge!” Martin proudly exclaimed.
“…Meaning?"
“My revenge,” When Jon didn’t immediately understand, Martin elaborated, “Well, now I have leverage, so I get to watch you squirm! And it’s kinda funny to see younger you all nervous,”
It was hilarious. Funnier than what he’d already witnessed from the man, a very hard record to beat. “I see.”
“Seriously!” The man insisted, “You get really flustered and you stumble over your words a ton, but you’re still trying to act all stoic so you’re just-“
“Yes, yes I think I got it,” Jon cut him off.
“I’m sorry.” He was very visibly not sorry. “But I mean, come on! Don’t tell me it isn’t funny.”
He couldn’t if he tried. “…I can admit there’s a certain, aspect that is- somewhat amusing.”
“I knew you’d agree.”
When Martin had crossed paths with his past self again, striking up a conversation, past him had replied calmly enough, if a tad stiff.. He had then excused himself before promptly walking into a wall.
Jon was thoroughly entertained, it seemed his boyfriend had caused a wonderful new development. He’d be sure to thank him. (But not really because then he’d have to admit Martin was right about him finding it funny.)