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Today was really just like any other day. Jonah sat in his office, going over the month's expenses. It wasn’t as bad as previous months, though he did notice that the numbers had increased significantly since Gertrude’s death. Not that it was as much of an issue as it might be for some other people. He had enough to spare, and if the Lukases actually kept in touch at an acceptable rate, there should be no issues at all.
Jonah took a deep breath as he shoved the papers aside. He really didn’t enjoy being reminded of the Lukases' existence. Not now, at least. If there was one thing they were good at, it was being forgettable. At least that’s something they should be good at. Yet no matter what he tried, they always found a way to sneak back into his mind.
My own fault for inviting half of them to my chambers, I suppose. He closed his eyes, he needed something to distract himself.
Concentrating deeply, he tried to find a pair of eyes that could give him a glimpse of the one good thing that had been happening lately.
A flicker of annoyance passed over him as it were Martin's eyes that gave him what he wanted. It were nearly always his eyes. If he had known he’d share his fondness with someone else, he might not have picked Martin as one of his assistants.
But he was someone with no friends or close family, meaning it would be easy to hide his absence from the wrong eyes if anything were to happen. At the very least he was useful when he wanted to check up on his Archivist.
He smiled. The Archivist was making slow progress, which did leave a sour taste, but he had only been in the position for about a year, it took Gertrude quite a few years before she started experiencing any of the Eye’s effects. And with The Corruption at the doorsteps — a matter he had no intention of interfering with — he hoped it would only be a matter of time before he was ready.
My Archivist. He couldn’t contain the spark of happiness that ran through him. It was rare he felt anything for a person, at least to this extent. But this was different.
He couldn’t let it be known though, not yet at least. So for now, he’ll watch. Make sure The Archivist was ready, and that this was hopefully the one that succeeded. He definitely hoped he was the one who succeeded. It’d be a shame if he needed to find another replacement. Especially one as perfect as this one, though his stubbornness was a bit of an issue. Nothing he couldn’t iron out.
He got pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of a knock on the door.
Rosie. “Come in,” he called, pretending he was still busy with calculations.
Rosie gave him a small smile as she walked in, which he returned.
“Good morning, Elias.” She said, with a noticeable amount of force. Though her eyes did betray a strange curiosity. He could appreciate her well enough.
“What is it, Rosie?” He eyed the letter she was holding, he could guess why she was here. A rush of annoyance ran over him once more. He was really good at being unforgettable.
He pressed his lips together as she gave him the envelope. “I have a letter for you, I’m not sure who it’s from.”
He took the envelope and pretended to take a look at it. A simple glance at the messy handwriting confirmed his thoughts. He has guts, it’s been over half a year since we last talked. And after embarrassing me like that as well. He was half convinced he’d stay gone this time.
He placed it to the side, he wasn’t going to give in. “Thank you, Rosie, is that all?” He asked. The other nodded sheepishly, before walking back and closing the door behind her. He knew she lingered at the door, she always did.
He can wait. Jonah told himself, as he turned back to his paperwork. Attempting to concentrate on it.
When will he learn how to use a phone? Who still sends letters in this day and age? If I can learn it, why can’t he? He’s 150 years younger than I am!* he closed his eyes again, *I am not giving in. he told himself stubbornly.
Before reaching for the envelope and carefully opening it. As usual, the letter was folded quite neatly, with more care than most would give it, especially for a message as short as this one. There was an attempt made at writing legibly, though it was nothing like the letters he used to get back in the day. He almost missed getting Barnabas’ ones.
But that was a choice he had made. One he wasn’t entirely sure he regretted.
His eyes went over the written text. It was quite to the point, nothing like what his old companions would have written him.
Hello Jonah,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am aware we didn’t leave on the best of terms, but I thought I’d inform you of my arrival in London. We'll stay ashore for the coming month. And, if you’d allow me, I would like to take you to the new restaurant near the docklands.
Regards, Peter Lukas
Jonah rolled his eyes. He read over it again. Not that there was much to read, but he did so anyway.
Grabbing his phone, he dialled Peter’s number. As usual, he was met with an incredibly curt voicemail. He sighed as he waited an incredibly long minute before calling again.
“Hello?” A voice met him on the other side.
“Trouble finding your phone again, Peter?” He asked, knowing it would annoy him.
He was pretty sure Peter rolled his eyes at that. “Elias, you know I don’t like working with this thing. It doesn’t do what I want it to do.”
Jonah smiled at that. He had offered him help in the past, but Peter was truly hopeless when it came to technology.
He considered himself for a moment. He didn’t want to sound like he wanted to see his ex-husband, but it had been 6 months, and he did like to entertain the idea of having the other publicly apologise to him. “Are you free tonight?” He asked. “I think we have something to discuss.”
Peter grunted on the other side. “Is six thirty good?” He asked. He could do six thirty. He’d have to leave early, especially if he wanted to get ready. He had that one outfit he had been planning to wear for an occasion, this was as good as any.
“Yes, I’ll see you there.” He clicked off the call before he could hear whatever Peter was gonna say, smiling at himself, then getting annoyed that he actually was looking forward to seeing Peter again.
Would it be scandalous to look back into the archives now? Focus on that which belonged to him, even if he might never get much of a personal thing out of it.
He didn’t particularly care, as he closed his eyes and went back to what he was doing before being so rudely interrupted.
As usual, he was there before Peter. He had chosen a quieter corner, normally he wouldn’t, he quite liked the buzz. But for some reason, he had decided this was better for today.
He sat and waited, his legs crossed as he looked around him. There wasn’t a lot going on, a young couple sat near the windows. The man closest to the door seemed to have a couple of very persistent flies buzzing around his head. It didn’t take Jonah long to guess that relationship would go to some interesting places.
There weren’t any other interesting sights to behold. All the people here were painfully uninteresting.
The presence around him shifted as Peter entered the room. He had felt him before he had seen him. As usual, he slipped into his seat unnoticed, without actually walking through the damn entrance. No one was paying any attention. And if they had, he doubted Peter would allow them to notice his particular way of making an entrance.
His eyes fell upon the older-looking man’s face. Tracing the features he could recognise everywhere. The smoky, cold eyes, the stark almost fully white hair, the pale skin. It was uncanny how much they all looked like each other. If it weren’t for the always-slightly-too-friendly expression Peter wore, he could mistake him for Mordechai.
Mordechai was a lot less soft around the edges though, and always knew exactly what he was to Jonah. He didn’t have any grand delusions like Barnabas had, or like he felt Peter sometimes had.
He smiled. “You look fancy.” Peter said, his tone friendly as always, the kind of friendly that tended to lure people in.
One other thing that made Peter stand out compared to the rest of his family was just how sociable he appeared. It was quite intriguing.
A follower of the Lonely who seemed to be okay with social interactions at first glance. Anyone who knew him properly knew better though. Jonah knew that he was basically the only person who Peter willingly interacted with.
“You look like you’ve just been out at sea.” He comments. Unlike himself, Peter usually wore either his sailor’s outfit, or a simple turtleneck. He had never seen him wear anything that betrayed his riches. Even the one time he’d seen him at a funeral, he noticeably wore the least expensive outfit of the family.
Peter leaned forward, a soft smile on his face, which was almost always there. “I have been.” He said. “It’s good seeing you again, Elias.”
He knew that was a fact. Peter enjoyed spending time with him, just like he used to enjoy spending time with Peter. Before Peter ultimately went back to his ship and he barely got to hear from him. It was something he had gotten quite used to.
He also always made sure Jonah would miss him when he was gone. That he would feel utterly alone without him. Asshole. But it was to be expected, of course.
Naturally, this time was different. He ordered a glass of wine as the waiter passed by, Peter instead went with some kind of bitter cocktail. “So, don’t you have anything to say to me?” Jonah asked when they were alone once more.
Peter rolled his eyes. “Elias, it was silverware. How was I supposed to know I gave them the wrong kind of silverware? They’re all the same!” He crossed his arms.
“Oh come on, Peter, you and I both know you weren’t raised in a commoner’s household. You should know that the entrée utensils should be placed on the outside, and that you don’t even need a meat knife when the main course is lobsters.” Peter just stared at him in the dumbfounded way he always put on when Jonah talked about this kind of stuff.
“Okay, fine, I am sorry for messing up your knives.” Peter said, a slight annoyance seeping off of him. Jonah was perfectly aware Peter didn’t care, but hearing it still gave him a reason to smile.
They sat in silence for a while as their food eventually arrived. It was quite good, a simple steak, though one of the better ones he had had in a while.
“How was your journey? Anyone died recently?” He asked instead, Peter simply shrugged.
“Twas good. We had one crewmate get taken. It was about time though. She’d been with us for a while.” Jonah nodded absentmindedly. The sea wasn’t really his thing, he loved it for the fear it gave people, fear that would eventually be fed into his institute. But he’d never willingly spend any time on the waters. He quite liked land, there were people there. People he could observe.
“How’s Gertrude?” Peter asked.
“Oh, she died. Quite a while ago, actually. Haven’t I told you?” Jonah sometimes forgot that Peter didn’t just know these things. If he didn’t tell him, he didn’t know. He’d somehow completely neglected mentioning her passing in the year since it happened.
“Shame. How’d it happen?” Peter picked at the olives that had been given to them.
“Don’t act like you didn’t hope for this.” Jonah said flatly. He knew Peter was still pretty bitter about her ruining his plans. “And she got shot.”
Peter shrugged. “So, you got a replacement for her?”
Jonah smiled at himself. “Yes, I have a new Archivist.” he said, letting just a bit too much enthusiasm seep through his voice. He leaned back, trying to collect himself. “He’s… different.” He hadn’t yet decided if Jon was easier or more annoying to work with than Gertrude was. The Archivist wasn’t someone who particularly liked listening to him. But so far, he wasn’t as much of a wild card as his previous Archivist was. It helped that he was quite easy on the eyes, though.
Jonah noticed the glare in Peter’s eyes. “I’m sure he is.” Jonah audibly chuckled.
He hadn’t taken Peter for that type, and they’ve known each other for so long now. “Is someone jealous?” He teased. Watching Peter as he spotted the rare sight of some colour appearing on his cheeks.
For a moment, Jonah did entertain the idea of being here with his Archivist instead of Peter, though he knew it was an unlikely event, not until he was more prepared. And he did quite enjoy Peter as well, if for different things.
“No.” Peter quite obviously lied. Jonah leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table. Something he knew was impolite, but he didn’t find it in himself to care.
He showed off his empty left hand. “May I remind you we are divorced.” It was quite adorable seeing Peter like this. For someone who was supposedly Lonely, Peter had always seemed quite fond of him. And he liked that.
He hadn’t really taken any new bedmates since he met Peter, which was unlike himself, if he was honest. He rarely had just one companion in the past. No one minded him. No one cared. To see Peter so flustered at the thought of Jonah seeing someone other than him, truly filled him with joy.
“Yes, we are.” Peter said stiffly. Their eyes locked together for a moment, as Peter cleared his throat. He lowered his voice a bit
“Elias… Jonah, I was thinking… I know we haven’t talked these last few months. I left at an unfortunate time, and, well, I realise I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did…” Jonah bit the inside of his mouth.
He knew what would come next, and he knew what he’d say.
“If you’d allow me to, I’d like for us to try again.” He held out the ring he apparently had in his jacket. “Jonah, will you marry me?”
Jonah smiled. “Yes.” He said, as the ring slipped into its familiar place. Peter smiled too.
“How about we have a drink at my house?” Jonah suggested, to which Peter happily agreed. They paid, as he walked Peter to his car, humming quietly to himself.
“Where are you parked?” He asked, as they walked down the street.
He always disliked finding parking spaces in cities like this, there were always too few. He had found one in a nearby dead-end street. It had been calm, with not a lot of people around to witness him. “Over there” he pointed towards the little street, which was still quite a few houses down.
Peter just nodded, as they walked further in silence.
When they arrived, Jonah opened the passenger’s door for Peter to get in. Who did so with a polite “thank you”. He considered himself for a moment, there was no one else around. It was quiet, and they were out of view from the main street.
“Make some room” He demanded, as he got in as well, straddling onto Peter’s lap, his legs out on either side of him.
Peter’s hands slot into place on his hips, where they had been so many times before. He had missed this part the most.
“Eager are we?” Peter asked with a sly smile as Jonah put his arms around the other’s neck. He rolled his eyes as he closed the gap, pressing his lips onto Peter’s.
He wasted no time showing the other what he wanted, as he hungrily deepened their kiss, slipping his tongue past Peter’s.
“You know, has no one ever told you no sex before marriage?” The other said, quite out of breath, as they broke apart for a moment.
Jonah rolled his eyes. “As if this isn’t the tenth time you’ve asked for my hand.”
“Eleventh actually, you’ve said yes every time as well.” Peter added, closing the distance once more. Jonah smiled into the kiss as Peter ran a hand along his back.
“Do you love me, Jonah?” He asked. It surprised him, in all their years together, Peter had never asked.
“No.” he answered plainly. He wasn’t sure what the other expected him to say. Though his expression turned sad.
Jonah had never loved anyone, not really. He might want people around, but to say he loved them would be a lie. Such delusions had been Barnabas’ downfall.
Peter took a deep breath, steadying himself. Jonah could feel how alone that made the other feel, a feeling he both loved and hated in this very moment.
Peter seemed to ignore it, as he brought them together once more. This one could last for a few months, Jonah guessed, smiling to himself.