#I'm not jumping to the conclusion that Jon and Martin are back

[portablegoose]

Woooo so the Magnus Protocol premiered and I have things to say and things to overanalyse!

As we know, 'Chester', 'Neil' and 'Augustus' are, maybe?, Jon, Martin, and Jonah, respectively. Hence this:

And, of course, there's 'J1', 'M1' and 'J2' in the trailer.

However, I've seen confusion over the fact that the third 'Error' is voiced by Tim Fearon, who as far as I'm aware has not previously voiced any characters in the Magnus universe. Even though the name is distorted, I can make out what looks to be an H at the end of the name, so this very well may be Jonah.

My theory is this: 'Augustus' is Jonah (or just his voice). However, since the body of Elias was killed in the Panopticon, Jonah does not use Elias' voice anymore. Jon, Martin, and Jonah are all disembodied, if we are to believe they are somehow inside the computer/other technology (ie Alice/Sam's phone in the pub scene) or in some way somewhere adjacent to the world of Protocol. So it could, in a dream-logicy eldritch sense, follow that Jonah is able to survive in his own creepy old ass man way, and use his original voice. Obviously, I cannot corroborate this claim in any meaningful way. We have not heard Augustus speak yet, but I think it is a possibility nonetheless.

The fact that Augustus supposedly shows up to read cases aloud significantly less than Chester and Neil could also be a clue. Maybe Jonah is weaker than Jon and Martin due to his injuries, and is therefore unable to materialise as often as Jon and Martin. Maybe the voice that speaks the true cases (because, similarly to how true statements were identified using the tape recorder in TMA, I imagine true cases will be singled out using the text to speech system) is relevant to the case itself - ie, Jonah only speaks when a case is heavily linked to the Eye, etc.

Furthermore, there's the question of who is spying on who and when/why. By this I mean that we hear our perspective switch between devices (the phone, the computer, the security camera during Colin and Sam's interaction, etc), and I believe that this happens because one or more of the 'Errors' (as I am going to refer to them henceforth) is travelling between devices to spy on the characters' conversations. What we hear is dictated by what the Errors, characters who have prior knowledge of the Fears, deem important. This is backed up by the episode's closing scene: Colin's paranoid closing lines. It is clear that Colin believes someone is listening to them, and it is implied that he has made a connection between this and the Errors. What intrigues me is the Errors' motivation for doing this at all. If what they deem important is what we hear, and this is the first that we are hearing, then it seems to me that it is Sam's arrival that has given them cause for concern, or (in Jonah's case) hope (if he is plotting to return, or something, I don't put it past the scheming weasel). So, why are they listening? And how can we really tell if what we are hearing is the spying of Jonah, or of Jon and Martin?

Another thing. Jonny makes a point of letting us know that Alice does not think the work they do is of any significance, or is checked by anyone. She constantly mentions it in passing and is very casual in her attitude towards work. We obviously have the foresight to know this isn't true. The reason I point this out is because of what Sam does when filling out his paperwork: he ticks the 'Response' box, to which Alice responds that it doesn't matter. This could be nothing, it probably is nothing, but I feel like the fact that Sam has ticked the onboarding box of a mysterious department of an already mysertious organisation might come up later...

Yes I know I am jumping to a lot of conclusions, especially where the Errors are concerned. Please take every theory you hear, from me or anyone else, with a grain of salt, this is all speculative. From a writer's perspective, I honestly think it's pretty likely that Chester and Neil aren't actually Jon and Martin, and just their voices taken by the Web or something, but shh I can dream.

Edit: oh my god they changed his name to Norris that is even worse. Jonny and Alex were fr like 'neil is too kind, we need the name to be Chester levels of horrific'

[esther-dot]

While I agree with Ary@ killing Dany, what I don't understand why Jon will take her blame and get punished while she will end up her own adventure? Why would narrative punished Jon for Ary@ actions? Why would even killing Dany be considered as crime? While I know show ending is similar to books but Jon taking Ary@ blame and punished is not narratively good. Its worse than show. Also it will plot armour for Ary@.

I'm not convinced Arya kills Dany, but if she does, I agree with you. Jon taking the blame wouldn't work for me. Others have speculated that Arya tries to poison Dany, and my supposition is that she does, Dany doesn't die, Jon goes on to kill her. That way, it wouldn't be Jon taking the blame for Arya a la Lady being killed in the place of her losing a hand or Nymeria being killed, but it is reminiscent of the Trident incident in a way, with Arya striking the first blow in a fight to protect someone, and someone else jumping in to protect her.

I expect there will be a lot of connections to AGOT in the endgame so a reference, rather than a full redux works for me. Bran is endgame king, and the first chapter of AGOT is Ned teaching him about justice. We have the kingslayer attempting to kill him in AGOT which is another clue. I believe Martin when he says he knew the endgame way back when, so I’m guessing, many answers are there from the beginning. I recently wrote this about how Jon killing Dany fits in with AGOT Ned:

I think Jon is more likely to be the one to successfully kill her, and in a way that calls to mind Ned's opinion on it, See her tears, hear her last words. That would allow Martin to make sure we see it as just/moral, bring home the Targ v Targ issue, and it shades Ned's decisions and values in a very interesting way. After s8 fans said Ned was wrong to fight against killing Dany in s1, but Martin thinks he was right to object to killing children, so for the two Targ children he was protecting in AGOT (Dany and Jon) to come face to face and one kill the other prevents the conclusion that Ned was wrong. It was the same mercy, the same refusal to see the child of an enemy as an enemy, that saved the boy who will in turn save Westeros. IMO, it's a way to uphold the belief in mercy. I tend to think it’s also Martin’s way of addressing one his questions about his beloved LOTR (what about orc babies etc). (link)

I haven't developed more thoughts on that, but that's where I am at the moment. I talked about some possible foreshadowing with "the dead man's revenge" as well.

Another reason why I object to Arya being the killer is that she is currently operating outside of Ned’s teachings about justice, so I don’t think her killing Dany fits within that initial, crucial theme. It being hard to do the act is an essential part of the struggle with mercy/justice. Someone like Jon on the other hand would provide an opportunity for Martin to wrap up his convo in a thoughtful, albeit complex, way.

Why would even killing Dany be considered as crime?

This is another reason to suspect it will be Jon. Dany will have invaded and burned KL and made a nuisance of herself, I can't imagine how the public would view killing her as a bad thing unless it were someone killing her in socially condemned context ie kinslaying, oathbreaking etc.

I mentioned the other day, Jaime has a horrible rep, but then we find out what Aerys was planning which is a layer of complexity for his characterization, and we also find out that he was ordered to kill his dad so then that's another wrinkle. He goes from without honor, to something admirable, to a blend of several motivations, to something human. I expect Dany's death to involve as many layers. It makes the sense to me that her death involves oathbreaking/betrayal, that doing the right thing marks the killer as a man without honor by some, and that he has a personal motivation as well. The only way to have any layers with the killing of Dany (when it will be so clearly right/necessary after she burns KL) is if it's Jon. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Of course, in all fairness, if people really don’t give a fuck when Dany is taken out (and we know Bran will be king so whatever happens, the Starks end up on power and with a good rep), it’s possible Arya kills her with no repercussions, maybe because, no one knows she did it. If that happens, it could be that Arya’s actions allow Jon to get the family and home he’s always wanted which is certainly, a much happier, more desirable ending for many of us. No plot armor, just a nice little culmination of her training.

But I need to reiterate, it seems increasingly unlikely we will ever get ADOS (shush, we are getting TWOW!), none of us will ever be proven right or wrong, so we don’t need to stress about different thoughts on the endgame. We each kinda get to choose our own ending (within reason!) 😅

[murderandcoffee]

A mere concept for the wingmen au: jon going through his s4 longing era for martin but instead of it being bc martin is in the lonely, its bc he mistakenly assumes Tim and Martin may be dating bc of how much time they've been spending together while they scheme on how to set up jonmartin

oh here I go again writing little scenes because I can't stop thinking about these damn blorbos (I'm setting this in like... late s1, so tim is still alive. also, jon has had zero (0) emotional development so he's jealous and confused and pining very hard lmfao)

"Knock knock, boss!" Tim poked his head around the door frame of Jon's office. As always, he had a big grin on his face and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

Jon sighed and set aside the statement he'd been reading over. "Yes, Tim?" He pushed up his glasses and rubbed his eyes; he hadn't slept well last night, and was ready for this day to be over. Thankfully, it almost was.

"Me and Martin were thinking of grabbing a bite to eat after work. You interested in joining?" Tim asked.

Jon tried to ignore the ache in his chest at the phrase "me and Martin." Of course Tim and Martin were getting dinner together--they were never apart anymore. Jon knew it wasn't his business whether they dated or not, but something about the thought of them in a relationship...

He shook his head. "No," he said, "thank you."

Tim's smile fell into a pout. "You sure? Martin says there's a wonderful little--"

"I'm sure," Jon snapped. He didn't want to hear what wonderful little restaurant Martin had suggested to Tim. Why even invite Jon? He didn't want to third wheel. He lied, "I have a meeting with Elias."

Tim sighed. "Alright, if you say so. If you change your mind, though, you know where to find me!" He gave a little wave and disappeared.

Jon dropped his head into his hands. Conflicting emotions bubbled up inside him, all too confusing and intermingled for him to name. He felt... strongly about Martin--he knew that for sure. What he didn't know, however, was what he felt. Did he hate him? Did he want him fired? Did he want to be friends? Did he--

No. Absolutely not. He would not let himself follow that train of thought to its conclusion. Whatever he felt about Martin, he was not going to deal with it. Not right now. He had other matters to attend to, things of bigger importance, like...

Like...

A warm, bubbly laugh drifted down the corridor and into Jon's office. The sound of it shoved a dagger of longing directly between his ribs and into his beating heart. Martin's laughter was a sound Jon only heard through closed doors. He had made Martin laugh one time, and it hadn't been on purpose. In the moment, the laughter had angered him--he hadn't meant to be funny, why was Martin laughing. But now...

He yanked himself out of his reverie. Focus, man, he told himself, focus! This was inappropriate. He was Martin's boss.

And, that horrible little voice in the back of his head whispered, you were too late. Tim got there before you.

"No," he growled under his breath, "there was no 'before me.' I wasn't even trying to 'get there' in the first place."

"Sorry, did you say something?"

Jon jumped. He looked up to find Martin standing outside his office with a file box in hand. Martin's head was cocked to the side, and at such an angle the hallway lights caught the curve of his neck where it connected jaw to shoulder. Jon's heart hammered, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the scare or--

"No," he lied. "No, I didn't say anything. What are you doing with that? I didn't ask--"

"Oh, this?" Martin looked down at the file box and chuckled. The sound made Jon's skin feel warm. "Tim, Sasha, and I were going to work on some reorganization before we left." He paused, then hurriedly added, "If--if that's okay with you, that is."

"That's fine." Jon waved a dismissal. "As you were."

Martin did not leave. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Then he opened it again. "Did Tim...?"

"Invite me to have dinner with you and him?" Jon finished. He looked away--anywhere but at Martin. "Yes. I'm busy."

"O-oh." Martin swallowed. "Well, er, if you change your mind..."

Curtly, Jon said, "Wouldn't want to intrude."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jon saw Martin's shoulders sag.

"Oh," he said, "alright. Maybe next time?"

Jon took a deep breath. "Maybe. Carry on."

This time, when he waved Martin away, Martin left.

Jon sat in silence. He still saw, in perfect clarity, the silhouette of Martin's frame in the doorway. He saw his bright eyes, the loose curl of his hair, the soft apple of his cheeks.

He hated it.

Or, maybe, he hated the way that he drank it in, every time Martin was before him.

He scrubbed his hand down his face.

If only, he thought. If only.

[fiendishartist2]

it's your conclusions that make mine delusions– tma

Jon's feet dangled underneath him, hanging limp. Papers fluttered to the floor, forgotten in the mad scramble between the two men. Jon's hands rested loosely around Tim's wrists, just above where his fists were twisted into Jon's collar. With his back against the wall, Jon was trapped completely under his co-worker's wrath. Tim stepped closer, crushing a lazily written report under his shoe.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Stoker?" Jon asked lightly. Tim's nose scrunched with disgust as Jon's smirk widened enough to bare teeth.

"Stop smiling," Tim snarled, "Stop fucking- what is wrong with you? Why are you here?" Although his grip on Tim's wrists remained deciptively gentle– hands poised so that fingertips just brushed skin– Jon's expression grew hungry. Entertainment flickered behind dark irises; Tim got the sense Jon was relishing in his desperation.

"I work here." Jon answered simply, unbothered despite the way Tim's knuckles dug into his throat. Tim barked out a mirthless laugh.

"Not the same way the rest of us do. Prove it- prove you're trapped by- by whatever is wrong with this place. Go ahead, Sims. Say it." He goaded, hoping Jon would rise to the bait. Jonathan Sims was perpetually level-headed, but Tim was at his wits end.

He wanted this puppeteer wearing a human face out of his life– out of all of their lives.

"Personally, I don't have any desire to leave. I'm quite happy with this job." Tim growled, rearing back and slamming Jon into the wall. The back of his head hit the damp drywall with a satisfying crack. Jon blinked rapidly, dazed.

Tim's blood pounded in his ears; he wanted to hurt this thing under his hands and he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. It was destroying his friends, creeping like a crawling rot into every nook and cranny of their minds. Slowly, it invaded– a sweet croon here, a sharp discouragement there; watchful eyes and cutting words hidden behind an open kindness that came from the confidence of security. It felt safe picking them apart sinew by bloody sinew.

Sasha was ruining herself and wouldn't listen to reason. She ran headfirst into any situation she thought would give her leads, not even bothering to tell anyone when she was in danger. She was working longer hours, talking to people in her office in secret, stashing tapes and statements in odd places he and Martin wouldn't look. Every new statement plucked from the mess Gertrude left behind sent her on a spiral, clawing for any connection to latch onto– and she latched onto Jon's words like a woman drowing. When Sasha ducked away from conversation with Tim and Martin, Jon was at her elbow, whispering in her ear. When she eyed Tim with distrust, he could feel Jon's gaze burning into the back of head. When she continued to pull away from anyone who could anchor her to reality, Jon was right there, pulling her along.

Jon's breathing was becoming laboured. Tim pressed more weight against his chest, egged on by the slight give of Jon's ribcage under his forearms.

"Kill me," Jon choked out. Tim lurched back a step, allowing Jon to take a deep breath that left him with a dry cough. His grin split his pockmarked cheeks, "Kill me, right now. Get it over with. That is what you want, isn't it?"

"You're sick," Tim spat. He pushed against Jon until he wheezed, "You're a sick little creep and I- I want you gone. Leave the Institute. Run into traffic. Anything, just- just get out." Jon's beaming smile wavered, eyes fluttering as consiousness was squeezed out of him, "If I ever see your face again-"

"Tim!"

Tim startled, dropping Jon's collar and letting him crumple to the floor. The anger drained out of him instantly, leaving a hollow in its wake.

He stared down at the man at his feet; Jon's narrow back was shaking.

Shaking with laughter.

Jon's boney shoulders jumped up and down, breathless snickering wracking his entire frame.

He peered up at Tim through spidery bangs. As if on strings, his lips were pulled into manic smile, eyes alight with joy. Hysterics were carved into every crease of his face.

"You can't. You will never be rid of me." He whispered, voice pitchy with wonder.

Someone pushed Tim aside; he stumbled out of the way without even turning to see which of Jon's victims it was. Red faced anger entered his sight, made fuzzy by the film of haze filling his brain.

Helplessness squeezed like a band around his chest; no one would believe him about Jon. Not Sasha, too paranoid to see the problem right in front of her. Not Martin, who would give and give and give to a monster who could only take. Not Elias, who had let Jon into the Archives in the first place.

"-at is your problem, Tim?! What could /Jon/ have done to-" A tinny voice buzzed beneath the rapid gallop of Tim's heart.

Jon was right– Tim couldn't do anything. Nothing would keep Jon from weaving his web around all of them; all he could do now was watch as the threads tightened and tightened until they each snapped under the tension.

Something bumped– shoved his shoulder. Salt and pepper hair left his vision and, instinctually, Tim's eyes traced the monster across the room.

From under Martin's arm, Jon pressed his face into his shoulder. Crocodile tears soaked into the soft, well-worn knit of Martin's favourite jumper. In stark clarity, Tim zeroed in on the hand that raised behind Martin's back.

Jon waved at him slowly and deliberately as he was led gingerly into the breakroom.

[yourbodymyarchive]

In honor of me officially sucking the tag dry, here are some of my favorite fics from 'The Magnus Archives' tag on AO3. In no particular order:

Making Home by hoc_voluerunt. Safehouse fic with no apocalypse. The Safehouse Fic (1/100). Features things such as: Martin and his struggle with The Lonely, the various facets of cohabiting, Canon Asexual Jon and his complicated asexuality, and Basira Hussain shutting the door in Jonah Magnus's face.

by the inscrutable decree of Providence by escherzo and Maiden_Of_The_Moon. Series of fics all set in Scottish Safehouse times. The Safehouse Series. Features: Trans Jon Sims, an unexpected pregnancy (smut will be found here), accepting your monstrosity and being Monsters because you don't want to live, you want to thrive, and Martin Blackwood shutting the door. Also various Scarlet Letter quotes and a beautiful Blackwood-Sims daughter known as Pearl.

where you go, I'm going (so jump and I'm jumping) by Aria. A multi-verse fic. Features: Martin Blackwood and Jonathan Sims falling in love in various ways, each not quite the perfect fit, and a promise to love in the only universe that truly matters. If you liked the movie "Everything Everywhere All at Once", you'll love this fic.

road trip of the damned (an ode to good cows) by SupposedToBeWriting. Alternate universe fic. No Magnus Institute here, folk, just regular drama. Features: Uni days Jon who is somehow just as paranoid as s2 Jon, a series of strange murders going back several years, Martin Blackwood's compulsion to make up white lies, and a road trip with a violent conclusion. Statement-esque plot.

what's there to do (couldn't even tell you) by emlof. A Safehouse fic. Made me cry. Features: Jonathan Sims learning how to ride a bike. Past Jon/Tim. Not my usual cuppa, but by G-d. Highly recommend.

weave yourself a web by screechfox. s4 canon divergence. Features: Annabelle Cane and her wicked (hot) ways, Jonathan Sims becoming the Avatar he once refused to become, and a Web of extraordinary design. For all those who wished Jon would just suck it up and be Evil with a capital E, I give you this fic.

without you I'll never be home by acethethicallyy. Another alternate universe. No fears, just Jon and Martin as friends who live in the same building. Features tropes such as: Didn't Know They Were Dating, Friends to Lovers, and Food as a Love Language.

house by tomatoes. Character Study on one (1) Martin Blackwood. Beautiful prose. No apocalypse. No safehouse. S4 Finale canon divergence in which Nothing Bad Happens.

Your Body, Bread & Wine by Bloodsbane. A capital-D Dark Fic. Safehouse fic. Sequel to another Dark Fic but can be read on its own. Features: homoerotic cannibalism (consensual).

I'll Walk Beside You, Love, Any Way the Wind Blows by probsnothawkeye. Alternate Universe, again. This time, it's a Greek mythology AU. Features: The story of Hades & Persephone, where Jon is Hades and Martin is Persephone, Canon Asexual Jon (bonus feat. A-spec Martin), and Martin Blackwood's Mother being her usual self.

[rubykgrant]

OK, a bit of a gore/self-harm warning for this thought...

There's no way that, upon finding out that blinding yourself is the sure-fire way to escape the Magnus Institute, Jon wouldn't have jumped to the very self-sacrificing and main-character-syndrom conclusion of "I bet if I'M the one who is blinded... then EVERYBODY can leave!". Which, to be honest, has a few dots to connect in there; he's the Archivist, so a lot of the Eye powers are focused on him, and losing him would disrupt that control. Also, the other characters work with him so much, they've got background Eye-radiation from exposure to Jon, besides their own issue of just BEING there.

Unfortunately, here's the unpleasant gore part... Jon would just be like "Don't worry everybody, I found that corkscrew Martin had before! I'm just gonna go gouge out my eyes in the bathroom real quick!" about half an hour goes by "Alright... so... bad news... I keep healing... my eyes keep growing back... but it still HURTS... and I'm losing a LOT of blood with each attempt... an 'm gonna pass ow now..." Daisy is the only one brave enough to go in there, get an unconscious Jon out, and then they all have to go through the sucky process of hooking up several hoses to rinse-out the bathroom.

Melanie is torn between mocking him, and feeling a little guilty over giving him such a hard time... but one thing is for sure, she's not waiting for another failed attempt to actually quit, and this incident has kind of put her off any extreme "bloody" measures for herself (no more Slaughter, so she's trying to chill). She still finds a way to blind herself, using harsh light exposure.

Later when Trevor and Julia show up, Jon is like "Oh! People with Hunt powers could probably hurt me REALLY bad!", and in the middle of their threatening, he asks "Hey, I get you two are mad, and y'know what? Fair is fair, and eye for an eye... so how about before you guys kill me, you stab me in the eyes? I want this because of reasons". They're honestly a little off-put, because he's taking all the fun out of this. Daisy still runs them off, and when they come back later, they DO get ONE of Jon's eyes, before Not-Sasha and Lonely Stuff happens. Jon's wound heals... but they did indeed hurt him, and that eye remains gone.

At the cabin, it fully heals, just some scar over the area. With "less eyes" it's actually harder for Elias/Jonah to find him and Martin, so they get an extended vacation being all happy and domestic. Eventually, the apocalypse still happens; Jon wears an eye-patch as they go walking about (and Martin assures Jon this makes him look roguishly handsome and NOT like a pirate), but whenever he uses spooky Eye powers, a glowing symbol of the Eye appears over the patch

Anyway, yeah; I think Jon DEFINITELY would have tried to blind himself if it meant freeing everybody and sparing them the potential pain, and I really like the idea of an Avatar of the Eye only having one eye himself, with a cool eye-patch (it's all symbolic and junk)

[mira-eyeteeth]

Oh /man/; for the fic meme, if it's not bother: you said in your answer to my comment over the last chapter of your fic that Martin WAS dying a bit a bit inside at Jon's casual "they'll think we're sleeping together". I would love to have his POV of the scene??? Because i'm still not over that conversation at all. If you feel like doing any other scene from Martin's POV though, I'm game! your story is so amazing =)

It’s no bother at all, thank you for asking me! Let’s see if I can do Martin’s POV justice, shall we?

new fic meme: send me a scene with multiple characters from one of my fics , pick a character who isn’t the POV character, and i’ll rewrite the scene from their POV! This scene is from this chapter:   https://archiveofourown.org/works/16951992/chapters/43953424

----------------

As Martin tried to get comfortable in the sleeping bag, he wondered if he should be trying to get used to this.

Martin wasn't under any illusions. Jon kept him around because Martin was useful, because he had no choice but to work with him.

And that was fine by Martin. He liked being helpful. If he could make Jon happy by being useful, then Martin was happy.

(He'd taken the memory of Jon's genuine laughter at a joke Martin had made and wrapped it up tightly, stored it away to be revisited whenever he wanted. It didn't matter to Martin that it had mostly been Jon being giddy at the prospect of getting his hands on the tapes.)

But now, Jon had the tapes. And Martin's use was at an end. Jon wouldn't want him around any more, and Martin didn't really have anywhere else to go.

He was pretty sure he'd be able to take the sleeping bag, though, so it wasn't all bad. He should probably broach the topic now so that he'd know how much time he had to get things prepared.

"Jon?"

"You're supposed to be trying to sleep,” Jon said.

"I know, I will, I just… I was thinking, will I… Do you want me to find somewhere else to live? After we get out of here? I mean, you've got the tapes now, which is what you wanted my help for. I've kind of... kind of outlived my usefulness at this point. Should I start packing, when we get back?”

"...have you determined who murdered Gertrude in the last five minutes and merely neglected to inform me?" Jon asked.

"What? No."

"Then I can still use your help, can’t I?”

Ah, that was right; the tapes weren't the end of this mystery. And Jon thought Martin could still contribute to solving it. “...oh. Yeah, I suppose that makes sense,” he replied, feeling hope start to kindle in his chest.

“And besides, we still need to work together on the next phase. You wanted the police involved in this,” Jon added.

The police were a complication, though. “Right. That’s… that’s another reason why I thought you might want me to clear out. I mean, what if they come to your apartment and find me there?” Martin asked.

“Hmn. That seems unlikely. They would need a warrant to search my home, and then they would need to show up when you were present. And even if they do find out about you, it’s likely they would merely assume we’re sleeping together. Office romances may be scandalous, but they aren’t illegal.”

Martin wondered, sometimes, if he really had made Jon forget about his confession.

He'd certainly wanted to at the time, wanted to snatch those words back out of the air and stuff them back down his throat.

He'd wanted to when he looked at Jon with his head buried in his arms, hiding his expression from Martin. Disgust? Disdain? Something worse?

And then Martin had asked if they could forget about it, and Jon had agreed, and then Jon just went back to treating him like normal.

(Like normal for a person, even, and not for a monster.)

Martin couldn't be sure if he'd brainwashed Jon or not. And he couldn't ask; the best case scenario was that Jon had voluntarily decided to ignore Martin's feelings for the sake of their necessary cooperation, and bringing it up again would only result in more rejection and another kick to his unrequited affections. Worst case, he actually had used his powers on Jon again despite promising not to, and making Jon aware of that fact would make Jon hate him even more at the same time he told Jon about his feelings again.

And when Jon said things like that, it brought all those questions back up to the surface. Jon wouldn't casually talk about others thinking they were sleeping together if he could actually remember that Martin was in love with him, would he?

Martin didn't know. Jon's thought process was entirely a mystery to Martin, which was a nerve-wracking thing to have to worry about when half of the decisions it seemed to lead Jon to were incredibly dangerous. How was Martin supposed to keep Jon safe when he was entirely unable to predict what the man would do next?

Martin shoved away the intrusive thought that whispered he could always just make Jon keep himself safe.

“...yeah, I, I guess that would probably happen. But wouldn’t that... bother you?” Martin asked.

“People making stupid assumptions? I suppose it does, on principle, but it’s not as though I haven’t had plenty of experience dealing with people jumping to ludicrous conclusions in essentially every statement I come across. I’m not about to complain about it if it works in my favour for once. ...So long as Tim doesn’t find out about it.”

Martin couldn't help the brief burst of a laugh at the mental image of Tim's reaction to the rumor of an illicit relationship between Jon and Martin of all people. “God, can you imagine? He would never let us hear the end of that.”

"It would be a rough few weeks, at least," Jon drawled.

"Yeah," Martin said. He felt simultaneously guilty and pathetic for entertaining a brief fantasy of Jon and him needing to pretend to be a couple to maintain their cover. Guilty, because Jon would hate that, and pathetic because if Martin was going to be dreaming up fantastical scenarios, he could at least have enough self-respect to have a fantasy where his feelings were actually reciprocated.

"...okay. Just… wanted to make sure. Goodnight, Jon."

"Goodnight."