curriculum_fictae | [PSL] time travel, time travel

[ Martin had always known that Lukas would kill him in the end. If not along the way, then surely at the end, once he'd gotten what he wanted out of Martin, whatever that turned out to be. When the Lonely rose up to swallow him, he'd accepted his impending death with ... what?

What did he have left, really? Numbness, mostly. A hallucination of Jon in the Lonely, looking for him, but - but that was impossible, ridiculous. His mind playing cruel tricks. He settled himself down in the frigid surf, knees drawn up close to his chest, unshed tears frozen to his cheeks and lashes.

And then. A door. A door that shouldn't exist, that couldn't exist. That he shouldn't take at all. The Lonely was terrible, yes, but it was quiet, and it was peaceful. Martin was aligned enough with it by now to very nearly enjoy it, in a strange and terrible way. The Spiral would be infinitely worse than this quiet beach.

But ... it was hope, too. In a strange way. Hope enough that Martin found himself turning the door handle and stepping through, leaving the false comfort of the Lonely behind him.

The transition was unpleasant. Long. But Martin couldn't remember it after; he only remembered stumbling out through the door of a supply closet somewhere deep in the Archives, blinking up at the dim bulbs that pretended to be sufficient. What time was it? Had he escaped? Where were Lukas and Elias now?

And where was Jon? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

eyediot

[Jon clasps his other hand over Tim's, sandwiching it gently.]

Whatever you need from me to do that... Let me know. Even if-if it's to sock me across the jaw.

[He definitely feels he's earned that at least.]

From:

kayakking

Yeah, I don't think that's gonna be an issue.

[A pause.]

... So if it helps, I'd already started a good deal of cathartic petty revenge in lieu of a good punch.

Frankly, making sure all of the stables were on the bottom right probably hurt a lot more.

From:

eyediot

..........Of course that was you.

From:

kayakking

Officially? I deny everything. Never touched a stapler in my life.

From:

eyediot

Oh, I'm sure.

[Why are they friends. Why did this golden retriever of a man bother talking to him back in Research, why did he go along with any of it. He'd be lying to himself if he tried to say he didn't love the guy even a little.]

I would never dream of accusing you of such horrible office mutiny.

From:

kayakking

See? We're all in agreement.

[Just poking endlessly at the hedgehog until friends or defeat. And even as that over-confident, smug declaration happens, his hand squeezes Jon's warmly.]

From:

eyediot

[The hedgehog who is... still fairly relaxed, all things considered. Who knew having validation that he did something Good would have such a positive effect on his mood.

He squeezes Tim's hand once before pulling away and looking at the clothes over his arm.]

Should probably change.

From:

kayakking

Probably. I mean, the boyfriend's shirt look is a classic, but you ARE falling out of it.

From:

eyediot

[He nearly chokes, but catches it and rolls his eyes instead. This is going to be the death of him.]

Like you're one to talk.

From:

kayakking

Hey, I rock that cold shoulder look.

[In fact, gets that arranged right NOW. Leaning back on an elbow, shirt falling down.]

From:

eyediot

God.

[The worst!! Don't even think about how his cheeks go a darker shade for a second. Jon shakes his head, getting up to just! Go find the bathroom to change.]

You're a menace.

From:

kayakking

[Tim's easy laugh follows him in. Likely about the same time that the Martins are cackling over ridiculous murder fantasies of Peter Lukas.]

From:

eyediot

[Changing is easy enough, especially since his back has mysteriously healed of all injuries. Jon doesn't even notice it, too concerned with not tripping over himself in the small bathroom and oversized clothes.

Soon enough he comes back out, in his own clothes and feeling a bit more himself.]

There. Better.

From:

kayakking

Looking good.

[Thumbs up. Or at least not AS rumpled as he had been.]

Toss it over there. I'll grab the laundry tomorrow.

From:

eyediot

[Jon won't toss it over, but he'll walk over and hand it to Tim. Because he's polite. In someone else's home with someone else's things. God.

He rubs at one of the hole scars absently.]

It... seems like the three of you worked out the arrangement of everything. What... Should I be doing to help?

From:

kayakking

Put that big brain of yours to work in planning. There's a couple of things we need to get worked out pronto.

From:

eyediot

Liiiiike what?

[Don't ask him to plan. That's a bad idea.]

From:

kayakking

[It's a terrible idea. But it's not like this canonpoint allows any of them to understand exactly how bad Jon is at it.]

Taking the institute down. The Unknowing. The living through reporting to Elias.

...

[And there's a bit of a pause. There's more, but he decides not to say it.]

Like, you know. All that?

From:

eyediot

All in an English Friday afternoon, of course.

[Huh. Why would he hold back?]

What else is there?

From:

kayakking

Huh? [He says, eloquently.]

From:

eyediot

Surely there was something else?

[Did he misread that?]

From:

kayakking

That's a lot as is.

[There's ... a pause, and a longer look at Jon, disquieted. And.. you know, nows as good of a time as any.]

Look. There's one thing but hold until you've gotten more sleep.

From:

eyediot

.... [Unfair. But also... fair.]

All right. [This is a weird tension in the air, suddenly. Maybe he wasn't supposed to know that?]

...You remember you always hated my plans, yes?