that one time travel psl

[eyediot]

sad bad end s5 jon and tim on a monster road trip



[Algric had given the trio a fair warning of what was happening. Not the specific details of what he was coming from, but he was from a little further along Algric's timeline, and came through Hilltop Road. Never pleasant, but he's here now. IT took a few days of settling, readjusting, and putting some firm self-imposed boundaries on himself before Jon felt comfortable enough to see the others.

After a few minutes of surprise and staring, Jon ends up sitting alone with Tim for a few minutes; the others having some things to take care of themselves. He sits there, fiddling a bit with his fingers, trying not to be self conscious. He can't do anything about the myriad of different, newer scars, nor about his black sclera or so many other things about himself now.

But god... Tim. Alive and not shouting at him right this second. How novel.]

Tim... I.. [Where does he even start.]

Comments

[eyediot]

[Jonah watches him go, just to see what direction (since he won't Know anymore), and picks out a couple other small things like socks, briefs, etc. Gets lost. Finds his way the third walk around to the dressing rooms.]

Martin?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Wow, Jonah. Good job there. How did you get anywhere without eldritch GPS?

Algric's voice comes floating out from the small set of dressing rooms. ]

Here, Jon. I'm in the one on the left.

[ ... Or, well. He would be if Jon had approached from the direction they'd come from, but he's looped around the store and is coming from the opposite direction. And without Knowing, it's hard to tell which of the two curtained stalls is occupied, right? ]

[eyediot]

[The racks and fluorescent lighting all look the same!

But the wrong side indeed. Hearing his voice eases him a bit, knowing he's there and hasn't vanished. One on the left... so he goes to the right. Doesn't bother looking since it's clearly empty and gets it open.]

You'll probably finish before me, so don't leave--

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Jonah pushes back the curtain - and there's Algric, of course. He's wearing one of the sets of jeans he'd picked out, thankfully, but he'd taken off his jumper and shirt to try on the t-shirt that he'd picked out. They're draped on the little bench off to one side.

But that's not what's going to draw Jonah's eye, is it?

Algric has always been so very, very careful around Jonah. He always takes his clothing into the bathroom with him to shower, never emerges without at least something on. Even when Algric had given him a few more massages, it never quite results in his own shirt coming off, does it? And even his pyjama shirts are made of thick (if ugly) material, no matter how warm it is in the room.

Jonah has never seen Algric's upper body without something covering it. Not until now. And now ...

Now he catches a glimpse of the scars on Algric's back. They are old and well-faded by now, having had time to heal (or reheal) over the years. But healing hasn't made them less distinct, nor does it make their artificiality less obvious. Knife marks. Shallow, mostly, and rather wild, but entirely too regular to be a mere accidental injury. They criss-cross over Algric's shoulder blades, forming thin white lines that mar the cloud of freckles that would otherwise be quite lovely on his back.

Algric makes a strangled noise. He turns instantly, but it's too late - and besides there's a pair of mirrors behind him, showing every detail. A faint bruise that's recent, from before Jon intervened in his visit with his mother. An even older burn scar right between his shoulders.

He clutches at the shirt he was about to put on, as if that will help him. ]

J-Jon!

[eyediot]

[He catches it all in a flash of a second, blink or you'll miss it moment before he realizes he's not supposed to see this and turns as Algric calls out to him.]

Sorry-- Sorry! You said the one on the left, so I went right and--

[Two steps forward, out the dressing room door and closes it behind him.

A flood of information is trying to slip through the cracks and he clenches his eyes shut, trying to force it back. He promised. But she did hurt him, in so, so many ways.

After a long minute or two, Jonah's feet finally step out of view from just under the door, going to the room next to Algric's.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Algric all but flings the curtain shut behind him, just standing next to it and holding it shut for a moment. Breathing hard, trembling all over, trying to - what? Calm down? Tell himself it wasn't so bad? Maybe Jonah didn't see. Maybe he's just reacting to having walked in on Algric.

(No, he knows better already. He'd seen Jonah's eyes track the shape of his scars before turning away.)

He shoves off the clothing he'd been trying on, leaving it a pile in the corner. Then hurriedly goes back to his faded jeans and ugly jumper. Cowering in its familiar weave for a moment, feeling protected. Needing to be invisible, just for a moment. ]

[eyediot]

[He sits on the little bench there, head in his hands and clothes piled next to him. He doesn't even need to try them on, he knows they fit. Why did he come in here? Why did he go through the wrong side?

Why is it so quiet?

Jonah swallows hard. Breathe. Picks up the pile of clothes and leaves his dressing room far too quickly to have even tried on one thing. Instead, he'll sit in the little waiting area that parents all too often leave their children to wait. He's patient.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ He waits a while, then. There's no sound at all from inside the dressing room, not even the rustle of fabric or the clink of hangers. The memory loss creeps in at the edges too. Not enough to take root, but just enough to make him wonder. Did he get lost? Did he see someone else, perhaps...? ]

[eyediot]

[It's easy to think that. The quiet and stillness making him wonder if anyone was even there now.

But the memory of Algric's voice, panicked and high, rings back in one ear.

Or maybe that's just a memory too. Why did he have shirts for him here when Algric isn't?.

He can feel panic starting to squeeze in. He sounds almost lost, like he isn't sure why he's been waiting here.]

A-algric?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Sorry, Jonah. He hates to do this to you, truly, but it takes all his willpower not to do worse.

He takes a deep breath and steps back into reality a short distance behind Jon, feet already pointed towards the exit. ]

I - I didn't find anything I liked after all.

[eyediot]

[Jonah's shoulders simply sag with relief at Algric still being here. Thank god. Though now he fights with himself over the practicality of having come and picked things out and making Algric wait miserably while he checks out, or just. Leaving.

He doesn't bother picking the clothes up, just. Touches the back of his knuckles to Algric's, testing. An offer.]

A shame. There are other days to go out, I guess. [They can always come back. Or Algric can come alone, his choice.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Algric's fingers twitch unhappily, uncertainly. But ... after a moment he slides his hand into Jon's. He's frigid cold of course, but still present. ]

Y. Yeah. No - no rush. And there's always ordering online.

1/2

[eyediot]

[He almost pulls away at the reaction, but. Then Algric's hand is in his, and Jonah squeezes it. Here. With him, here. The cold is worrisome, but he'll work on that.]

Y-yes, there is.

[eyediot]

...C'mon. Let's... Go home.

[Tentative. Still more offer than suggestion or request. He wants to reassure him, but what words will work? And with a reaction like that, physical reassurance is out of the question, no more than what he's got now.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ A hug would certainly go awry right now, that much is for sure. But as long as Jonah goes along with this for now ... Algric keeps hold of his hand, tugging him gently towards the exit. ]

Funny how Tim's place is home now.

[ It's true, though. ]

[eyediot]

...It is home, yeah.

[He smiles to himself while they leave. He'd barely spent any time at Martin's flat, and his own feels... empty now. Cold and lifeless after so long at Tim's with everyone.]

Maybe we should just get the furniture from Jon's flat and move in properly.

[curriculum_fictae]

I - I think so? I mean. We're not going back, are we?

[ Slowly, slowly, Algric uncoils. ]

[eyediot]

I've got no reason to. And Jon doesn't seem to want to, but we can ask.

[curriculum_fictae]

Right. Probably should do that first.

[ He moves to leave the store. ]

[eyediot]

[Jonah leaves with him easy as that. Doesn't try to make a case for having come out here, or having gone through picking things out. He's gotten enough situational awareness to know better. (Somewhere in the back of his mind, there's the reassuring whisper of Tim's voice "good going, boss" making him a little more confident than he is right now.]

In the meantime, wh-what could I, um. What can I fix you for dinner? O-or a film to watch?

[He's trying desperately.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Jonah is doing really really well, all things considered. As proven by the way Algric clings to his hand and consider those options. If he were feeling worse, he'd simply have let go and turned him down.

As it is, he at least ... pauses. Hearing that Jonah's trying. Knowing that he didn't mean it. Feeling miserable even so. ]

I - I think Tim has that recording of Phantom of the Opera on his telly?

[eyediot]

[Honestly, with the disappearing act before, Jonah fully expected Algric to let go and turn him down.

But with that response? He considerably brightens. Algric. Nominating theatre. Gosh.]

Yeah? I'm- I'm fairly sure he does. We can order something and settle in with that.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Look. Look. It's theatre with poetry in it, so. They can align just this once. ]

I - I suppose we didn't actually buy anything today. A-and the others are out, so we only have to feed the two of us ...

[eyediot]

[Jonah leans in a bit, tilting his head to look Algric in the face. MMmmmm?]

So it shouldn't be any problem. Whatever you like.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ That's - that's really cute? It startles Algric into blushing and looking down at him. ]

I - I - m-maybe some. Some Thai food--?