[ video ]

[beholding_archivist]

...aight.

[ The video comes to life with Jon giving the camera a weary look. Though aside from his usual appearance of disheveled restlessness, he actually looks... Healthy? Like he's been having a very good meal? None of that makes him look any less concerned, however. Or less stressed. He may have gone even more grey over his own birthday. ]

So- The storm is over. And... I can't help but notice we have lost- A few of us.

[ He presses his lips into a thin line for a moment before going on. ]

No actual victims to the crash or the storm, just... [ A small gesture with his hand. ] Vanished. Their names are no longer on the network.

[ He checked. He freaking went and picked up the Communication data point to check especially for certain people but he's not going to admit how much his hands have been shaking and how long it took him to pull himself back together after seeing those names still present.

Especially one name.

A deep breath. ]

Some of those that- Left. They had information on the Atroma. And I... I never got any of that on record. I believe it might do us well to get what information is still present recorded. I ask those of you who know anything about them to find me at the former library. Yes, former. I don't think it's quite accurate anymore to refer to it that way. It's just...

[ And he shakes his head, waving the matter off dismissively before muttering. ]

...hope everyone's alright.

[ A pause, and another deep breath and he turns the video off with a soft click. ]


[ PRIVATE to Tony ]

[ -but he's really just setting the feed to a locked frequency before losing his nerves on a public broadcast. ]

Talk to me, please. I couldn't find you in the storm, I-- I... I was worried... Still am. Please tell me you're okay!

Comments

[in_extremis]

The easy acceptance of Tony's poor signalling was devastating again, and Tony briefly resented not being able to provoke Jon into lashing out at him instead because that would have been much easier for him to handle. He definitely didn't deserve this. Focusing on what Jon was trying to tell him helped Tony push that down, but he found it difficult to actually listen and try to parse the formulae at the same time, making him squint around Jon before giving a pull where he had wrapped both arms around his waist to coax him to sit as well, bringing his voice closer where Tony might be able to process it better as he drew them both up to the desk.

Helping Jon sleep, right, hadn't they talked about this before? This whole place was starting to feel recursive, space had been less fractal. "Did the storm make you want to hurt people?," he asked, the question feeling clumsy even as it came out. There must have been plenty of fear in the city, just like there had been in the tunnels, for Jon to be chewing on this problem.

[beholding_archivist]

Finding something to help himself sleep, indeed. Especially when he finds himself outside the luxury of having a certain warm body to curl up against and soak in that soothing familiarity until it lulls him into that elusive state of actual sleep. It's just not something he can demand and when Jon finds himself by himself especially in those particularly quiet hours late at night, he rather finds himself dwelling on all the things and thoughts he knows are unhealthy for him to dwell on.

That's when he would rather be able to take a nap.

He lets Tony shift his position, but shakes his head at the question before responding with a small frown directed at an empty spot next to them. "No. It didn't. But... It acted as if that's what I'm already doing..." It treated him like a monster. Like he belonged there. Welcomed him... And in a way it felt right.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Jon sighs and uses the arm he still has around Tony's back to pull his head onto the other man's shoulder before musing aloud. "The storm used our worst fears against us. I remain... Undecided. About how to feel about my experience." There is a certain comfort in knowing that he still fears turning into an actual monster.

[in_extremis]

While Tony was far from the correct person to try to help Jon talk through that complexity, a snare of magic Tony struggled to understand and vulnerabilities he struggled to articulate, he probably could have at least tried to listen. The mistake he made, he realized too late, was bringing Jon closer thinking that would make him easier to understand. The first warning was the slowing and stilling of his typically tireless fingers, worrying at the hem of Jon's shirt until they could press to the sliver of skin where Tony had secured him close around his waist. Then he was tipping his head onto Jon's on his shoulder, and he did manage to think for a moment that the language Jon was using was not quite right.

"It's a weapon," he was pretty sure he said, because Jon had to know that whatever effect the storm had on him had been deliberate, calculated and controlled, and should not be considered a force of nature. The rest of that context did not make the final cut, because Tony was very blissfully asleep.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon doesn’t notice what’s happening until it is too late. He feels Tony’s hand holding him close and the other man’s head leaning on his and hears Tony refer to the storm as a weapon, which isn’t something Jon will argue against-

And then silence.

It’s in this silence that Jon blinks twice, then glances over to Tony - Or what he can catch from the corner of his eyes.

Oh... oh. Okay. So.... Apparently they are resting now. Which is good, he supposes. But...

Tony could have let him go fetch a blanket, at least.

Jon lets out a quiet sigh and holds in a fond little chuckle before doing what he can to get as comfortable as possible without waking Tony up. He can do this. He can wait. He can let Tony have the rest he needs and maybe even doze off himself as little eventually...

[in_extremis]

It could have been the acrid smell of the forgotten experiment on the bunsen burner that woke Tony, or the ache in his tailbone and pinch in his neck from slouching in the chair very much not made for a nap. Either one should have made for a very unpleasant awakening, and Tony almost gave a start as he realized that was what happening, that sleep and finally crept up on him when he had been begging to meet it for days, and that Jon had been there, and that meant Jon was gone--except he wasn't, he was the warm weight against Tony and very much the reason Tony's leg was completely asleep. The panicked gallop of his heart took far longer to slow than it had to erupt, but Tony tried to take a steadying breath and gently check if he had drooled in Jon's hair (inevitable) without disturbing him. He very much should have left, that would have been entirely reasonable. Instead, he was still there, and Tony decided he would prefer it if Jon was always there to wake up to even if it meant this ache in his neck for the rest of his mornings, where he could delicately walk his fingers along Jon's waistband to the soft, ticklish warmth on his stomach, and trace the galaxy of the scars on his hand, well past where Tony could see as he watched the slow rise and fall down their bodies. He didn't know if Jon was actually awake when he tipped his head back to lean on Jon's and said, "I love you."

[beholding_archivist]

Jon gives a soft stir in response to Tony waking up and the body he is sitting and leaning on shifting as a result. He doesn't necessarily want to wake up, yet still finds himself with this dreadfully dry mouth that has him wet and smack his lips a few times while shuffling just a little closer to that comfortingly warm body that absolutely belongs there.

Though somewhere at the back of his groggy mind Jon knows it's Tony. And that it's Tony's arm around his middle and his fingers tickling him ever so slightly. And knowing all that only results in a content little exhale as Jon blinks his eyes open slowly only to glance up sleepily in time to pick up the man's words. It's only three little words, but those are enough to make Jon's heart beat faster and a cozy warmth to spread through his body. And he is pretty certain there is no way he isn't sporting the goofiest of giddy smiles along with a happy blush in response.

He gives no verbal reply. Only a little squeeze to Tony's shoulder with his one hand before Jon tilts his head up and back enough to press a small, loving kiss to whichever part of Tony's face he might meet. Might be his chin, his nose, his ear. Doesn't matter. Jon loves it all in return.