Chapter Text
When the base of the great tower finally comes into view, it becomes clear that there’s someone standing in front of it. They can see Jonah’s coat and his hair being whipped up by the cold winds of his kingdom, and Martin tries his best to sound brave.
“Well… small blessings? At least he’s not going to make us walk up all those stairs before we kill him.” A nervous little laugh pushes its way past the gaps in his armour. Jon squeezes his hand and doesn’t mention the aura of excitement that he feels emanating from the man in front of the tower. Martin squeezes back and they approach Jonah Magnus in silence.
“Hello, Jon.” Jon feels like he’s being burned and cut and burrowed into at those words, and he recoils slightly. Martin steps in front of him protectively. “Martin,” Jonah continues, acknowledging him with a small nod and an awful smile. “Punctual as always.”
“Fuck off,” Martin tells him. His fury overwhelms his fear.
“None of that, now,” Jonah replies, and Jon has to step up in front of Martin in case he has to try and hold him back. “Now that you’re here, we can begin.”
“We don’t need an invitation to end you,” Martin says darkly. “Do we, Jon?” But when he turns to Jon for confirmation, he sees the way in which he’s looking at Jonah. And he sees the way Jonah looks back at Jon. “Jon?” he asks, the steel in his voice now softened.
“You still haven’t told him, I see,” Jonah says, as if he can’t reach into their minds and own their thoughts. As if everything they’ll ever do and everything they’ve ever done was for his own personal enjoyment.
“What? Again? Jon, this is not the time to be secretive!” Martin hisses. Martin still trusts him, Jon can feel it, but he can also feel that Martin’s on a mental razor’s edge and is about to start catastrophizing. He’s afraid they’re about to lose control of the situation; that Jon’s about to slip away from him.
“Martin, please, don’t worry.” Jon tries to keep the waver from his voice. Tries to keep it together in front of their mortal enemy, for Martin. But Jonah’s smile is widening and Martin’s hands are shaking.
“I am worried, Jon. I’m very worried. This… this is me worrying! Why don’t you tell m- what haven’t you told me?”
“I... I can’t end him with this power. The Eye won’t destroy the thing it loves. But… I have a plan, Martin,” Jon says, steadying himself because he believes in it. “I have a… we have an agreement.”
“You what ?” Martin says, and his voice starts to climb in volume and in pitch. “Have you been… have you been communicating with him? In secret ?”
“I-I… I wasn’t sure that you’d agree to it. I thought it would be best if I--”
“Please, Jon, just tell me. What’s happening? What’s going on?” Jon turns his back on Jonah as if he could physically block out his long, low chuckle, and he takes Martin’s hands firmly in his own.
“Martin, it’s the only way that I can keep everyone safe. It’s the only way I can save them.”
“Jon…?”
“Martin, listen to me, he won’t harm you -- any of you -- and he’ll let you go.” Martin sucks in a long slow breath.
“And what does he get in return, Jon?” Jon can’t meet Martin’s eyes.
“Me.” Martin pulls his hands away from Jon’s.
“ What? No! Don’t be-- don’t be stupid ! You can keep me safe by staying with me!” Jon meets Martin’s gaze again and tries to make him see, tries to make him believe without words that they’ve executed plans much like this one before. The stakes might be higher and the bait might be different, but it’s Jon’s turn to put himself in the line of fire again.
“Please, Martin, it’s the only way--” Jon reaches out to take Martin’s face in his hands. Martin can’t help it and he leans into Jon’s palm for a moment before pulling away.
“ No , Jon, you can’t , I won’t-- I don’t want this! How can you even be sure that he’s telling the truth?”
“Am I not a man of my word?” Jonah’s smooth tone shatters the horrible spell that they’d fallen under. “Have I ever lied to you?” he asks.
“Shut up! ” Martin tries to block out Jonah’s words too, and he angles his body forward to lean his forehead against Jon’s. “No, Jon, please , we’ll figure something out, we'll figure something out together--”
“Yes, Martin, you’ll figure it out. When you meet back up with the others--”
“Jon, please don’t do this,” he whispers. “I don’t want to without you.”
“Please trust me. I have to,” Jon tells him, and he reaches up to push Martin’s fringe away from his eyes.
“Of course I trust you, Jon, but--”
“Martin, you know… you know I’ll always be yours, no matter what happens.” Martin doesn’t want to let him go, but Jon can feel him understanding that he can’t hold on.
“I know, Jon.” Martin takes a wet and shuddering breath. “I know.” Jon begins to fold this warm and bright thing away. He places it deep inside himself because he knows he’ll need it to face whatever’s to come. To seal it all he reaches up to pull Martin down, and he lets his mouth rest soft against Martin’s. It’s probably Martin’s angry tears that wet their lips, not his own, and he kisses them away. Their clothes brush together softly when Martin puts his strong arms around him, and he holds Jon like it’s the last time.
“Well, now that that’s all settled,” Jonah says, as if their meeting’s reached its conclusion. “Jon?” They let each other go, and Jon turns to face the man who ended the world.
“Right,” Jon says, and he tries to pull determination from Martin’s lingering warmth.
“Just one, ah, minor detail.” Jonah’s words stop Jon where he stands. He was sure that they had covered all the particulars of their arrangement in the private correspondence once conducted within Jon’s mind. “And how do I know that I can trust you ?”
Jon scoffs. “You haven’t prepared a contract?” he asks drily. “To be signed in blood, perhaps?” He looks up at the tower before him and he thinks back to when Elias Bouchard first welcomed him into the Institute.
“Please, Jon. I think we’re past that now,” Jonah replies. He pulls a tiny, elegant box from his pocket and when the knowledge of what’s inside is withheld from Jon, it hurts. Martin must have figured it out without the aid of an evil god, and he makes a high and agonized sound.
“ No ,” Martin says, when Jonah opens the box to display the simple ring inside.
“Oh come now, it’s just a symbol,” Jonah says, as if he’s unaware of the cruelty of the act. “A symbol of our promise.” Jonah holds out his hand to Jon while he looks into Martin's eyes. The implicit threat forces Jon to put his shaking hand in Jonah’s.
“ Jon! ” Martin calls out, as Jonah moves to slide the ring onto Jon’s finger. Jon looks into Jonah’s eyes with all the loathing that carried him here.
“You know you’ll only have my…” Jon swallows. “You know you won’t ever truly have my mind,” he finishes, because he needs to believe it.
“Or your heart?” Jonah asks, and he laughs. “We’ll see.” Jonah doesn’t say anything about his body, but his gaze pierces Jon when he pushes the ring onto him. As it slips down the length of his finger, Jon feels electric, like a current’s running through him. When the ring’s finally in place, Jon’s vision flashes bright and green and he feels his hair blow black as if he was buffeted by a hot blast of wind. When everything settles, he stares down at the band around his finger. He still can’t access Jonah’s thoughts, so he tests a hypothesis and he tries to pull the ring off.
It doesn’t budge.
Before he can turn to look at Martin, Jonah grabs him lightly by the chin. He leans down and he leaves the softest of kisses against Jon’s lips, where Martin’s had only just lingered. It tingles slightly, and Jon staggers back, wiping his face with his fingers.
“Well! I believe that everything’s in order,” Jonah says evenly. He looks at the two of them and he smiles. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
“Jon!” Martin cries out. “I’ll be back for you. I will!”
“I know,” Jon says, smiling sadly. “I know.”
And Jonah takes Jon’s hand, the one with his ring upon it, and he turns to lead him back towards the tower. When they arrive at the entrance, Jonah leans over to whisper in Jon’s ear:
“ How wonderful to have my Archivist back. ”
Jon turns and looks back at his love one last time before the doors shut softly behind him.