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Jon was a weird kid. He used to cry when lamps were too loud for him, he used to throw tantrums because book hadn't had good coverage, he used to be salty because of the spiders existence. He used to wear green and only green, and would refuse to leave the house without yet another book. Later he would be confused that his grandmother tolerated him all this time, until That Day.
That Day (which Jon has marked down and which he is making sure to cerebrate) started off just as normal as Jon might guess, only with exception of his grandma's headache. And so he just so happened to be "sent on a walk" in an area where he've never been before. And that was supposed to be basically it - just Jon at the age of eleven, wandering around in an unfamiliar area. Maybe kicking a rock or two, maybe reading a book(something about frogs, if he remembers correctly).
That was supposed to be it - until he met a boy.
And then his life changed.
A boy was sitting at the edge of a bench. A boy was wearing dark hoodie, and his hair was messily tied up in some form of tail. A boy was, after all, talking to a girl!
Jon squinted - he did not fancy neither a girl nor a boy that spoke to her so freely and almost careless. Jon maybe was a weird kid, but he atleast was smart enough to not let his guard down near women, even if said women looked older than him. Even if only for a few years.
-Hello - Jon's thoughts were interrupted by said women - alright, said girl, he doesn't need to be that big of a snob - waving at him in a friendly manner. Shoot, he must've been way too obvious with his staring at those two. He didn't mean it, really, it was all only about him losing himself in his thought...
Next thing he knows - he's already holding the girl's hand. It's warm, probably warmer than is normal on this - yes, warm, but still - autumn day. Jon holds it and for some reason remembers that time when he accidentally dropped a candle on himself. He felt kind of like this at first, only difference being lack of pain. Girl introduced herself, then nods to the boy on a bench, but Jon pays no mind remembering their names - after all, he will forget them as soon as he's out of this playground.
He, in fact, would not forget them.
That conversation was something grand, something fundamental for him. He returned home long after his bed time, got grounded for a week by his furious grandma, and all night was staring at the ceiling in his room, relieving those seven(my god, he was talking with those two for seven hours straight) happiest hours of his life.
***
-So, what's your name, then? - a girl asks Jon some time later, when he somehow managed to sneak out of house even while being grounded. Only then Jon realises that he never properly introduced himself, and he jumps up into standing, cheeks reddening and hand clasping loudly behind his back. God, they must think that he's an idiot because they have already introduced themselves, and he's such a fool for not thinking about it sooner, how could he..!
A boy - now in different jacket, same messy hair though - has his hand on Jon's shoulder before he could even say anything. He says:
-Shhh, easy there, we don't want you to give yourself a concussion. Relax, okay? We're just being curious - he's looking at the girl now, and she's smiling at Jon with that blistening glint of fun in her eyes. Jon is shaking his hand, trying very hard to not think about what the others might think, and introduces himself properly, with a formal tone and a gesture his grandmother tought him.
Boy and girl are looking at him for a few moments, and then start laughing.
Jon laughs as well.
***
The sky is still darkly grey with light edges, when Jon is woken up by a sound.
"It must be Gerry" - thinks Jon, while another pebble is hitting his window with a small "thump". "It must be him, or I will kill him".
And it is Gerry, but Jon cannot care less about his previous desire to kill him when he sees that Gerry is smiling like an idiot at him.
Jon is dressed faster than he remembers, and then he's outside, already talking to Gerry.
-She's never had a party, can you imagine that? - Gerry is racing back and forth, without standing still for even a second. Jon's head is hurting just by looking at him. Gerry is continuing nevertheless. -No birthday parties in almost fifteen years, what a disaster, and here I thought that her family was better than my mum. - then Gerry is holding him by the shoulders(he, for some reason, likes to do that). -Jonny, we must throw her the biggest, most posh party in the whole world, do you understand me?
Jon understands that it's four in the morning, and he's not wake up enough for this. But he also understands that over those two(just two, it felt like forever) years Agnes, the girl with a warmest smile in the whole world, had never had any birthday parties.
Gerry is still holding his hand when they're shopping in the nearest supermarket.
(Of course, it's not the perfect party, but Agnes smiles while unwrapping her scented candles of a present, and that's all that matters).
***
-Have you seen him? - Agnes asks, while fidgeting nervously on the bench. She's not used to the real London, Jon muses, she must be overwhelmed.
-No, I have not - he simply says, and Agnes's eyes are getting darker with thought, like some wet wood had been thrown in her fire. Jon simply shrugs, he doesn't want her to worry about him as well as Gerry, and lights a cigarette. He's an adult now, and he can enjoy his own fags, not just the ones these two buy him.
-I'm just - Agnes says, and her voice is somewhat weak and raspy - I'm worried. His mum is not a good woman, and he...
-Can protect himself just fine - Jon interrups, not wanting to spiral any further into worrying. He knows about Gerry's mum, of course he does, and he knows that she's that type of a woman who will leave you to die, and will say that you deserved it. - You gotta have faith in him, Ness, he'll be alright.
Agnes laughs.
-Well, I always had problems with faith. - and only then Jon realises what an idiot he was all this time. He softens, hugging her with one hand, and keeps her as close to him as possible. She's warm, almost hot even, and Jon is oh so very afraid that she'll get cold in spite all that he gives her his jacket. He hums a melody until she falls asleep on his shoulder, right there, in the middle of a London's evening. He then looks at the sky and hopes that everything will be alright with that hyperactive boy of theirs.
This day is the day Mary Keay is going to try to skin herself.
***
Gerry has not said a word. He's holding onto his cup absent-mindedly, and is looking at the distance with nothing in his eyes, and Agnes is trying her best to cheer him up. She puts on his favorite show, tries telling a joke, and even Jon huffs out a laugh a few times.
But Gerry is silent.
And that's the most terrifying thing Agnes has ever experienced, despite her being a literal incarnation of The Lightless Flame.
Jon is also silent, staring into the distance, but he's also keeping a close eye on Gerry. Then once Agnes is once again scooting through the kitchen, he's catching her elbow. "Leave it" - he mouthes, and Agnes does. She stills herself, only fidgeting with her dress, and sits next to Jon.
Eventually Gerry gets up in one swift motion and lunches forward, even moving the table. Agnes is scared up until the moment when she feels Gerry's hands on her shoulder. He's hugging them, tightly, and his breath is very erratic. Jon lets out a sigh, hugging Gerry back. Agnes also does that, making herself warmer as well.
-I - starts Gerry, but they both shush him with hug.
***
Time passes smoothly after that. College is forbidden for Agnes and Gerry doesn't really deal well with groups of "normal people", as he calls them(go figure, like Jon and Agnes aren't normal), so Jon spends most his time talking to them about his studies. They're listening to him like he's some sort of messiah, and they actually do help to ease the stress of studying. Jon's all grown up now, and he's living on his own, with only exception being one stray cat and two almost-stray people. Jon is pretty fine with disappearing mugs and food, and he's only slightly bitter about his favorite tape recorder. Overall, it's fine.
Until it isn't.
Gerry is hyperventilating, and there's nothing to be done besides sitting at a reasons distance. The other day Agnes might start crying from something within her power, and the only thing that can be done is small gestures of reassurance. Another another day Jon can physically feel his skin crawling, his lungs full of cobwebs and agonizing laughter. And it's the way they live - with constant panic, with constant worry, with the World on their shoulders and almost nothing that is truly theirs besides each other.
Then it becomes easier. Even the deepest wounds tend to heal eventually. They start talking about important stuff, about being grown-ups and about their past. And Jon would very much like to resurrect Mary Keay simply to murder her again. When he looks at Agness her hand is melting the glass she held, and he knows that she feels the same way.
Then Jon starts talking himself.
***
A loud horn is the thing that gets Jon to stop working. It's not usual for something loud happening around the Institute, especially right outside the Archives, and Jon is curious. He opens the window just in time for his whole office to hear:
-Get in loser, we're going shopping! - Gerry honks again, and Jon wants to both kill and kiss him. Then Agnes shouts:
-And by "going shopping" we mean crashing at your place and watching "Legally Blonde" for the tenth time! - and Jon can't help but smile like an idiot.
Jon looks around his office, at his surprised colleagues, at amusement and million questions in their eyes before he lets out a chuckle. He says:
-You won't mind covering for me, yeah? I still have to prove that I know every single dialogue - and he takes his cloak before exiting the office.
"My assistants may think that I'm weird" - comes a thought, that's quickly replaced when Gerry gives him a pair of identical sunglass with the "to look cool" explanation. Yes, the Archive will be full of rumors later, and yes, Archival assistants may think of him as weird, but he doesn't care, not when he looks as those two scream their lungs out to Taylor Swift.
Yes, Jon might be weird.
But those two are definitely weirder.