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Tim flipped the tape over in his hand, groaning a little when he realized it was unlabeled.
He’d have to listen to it so he'd know where to file it, which unfortunately meant borrowing a tape recorder from Jon. The other man had been holed up in an office all day, so there was no telling what kind of mood he was in.
But it was unavoidable. It would put the boss man in an even pissier mood if he found out Tim had just left the improperly filed.
So he sauntered to Jon’s office, taking up as much time as possible, but he could only postpone things for so long before he found himself standing outside of Jon’s office.
Tim listened for a few moments, and when he was sure Jon wasn’t recording a statement, he knocked, not waiting for a reply, pushing the door open.
“Hey bossman!” He called cheerfully, when he wasn’t immediately torn apart he took it as a small victory.
“Tim…”Jon sighed, shooting Tim a tired glare that really had no head behind it, “Did you need something?” He asked sharply.
“Found an unlabeled tape,” He told Jon, holding up the tape in question, “figured I’d borrow the tape recorder, and take a listen.”
“Care to join me I can pop some popcorn?” Tim teased with a cheeky grin.
Jon rolled his eyes,” With what we’ve found on these statements so far, I can imagine it would be unappetizing.”
“Was that a joke?” Tim snorted,” Are you feeling alright boss?”
Jon picked up the tape recorder, “Let’s find out what’s on that tape.” He said, quickly changing the subject.
Tim was sure he only did that because he knew it got on his nerves, the cheeky bastard. At least he’d managed to catch Jon in a good mood.
They took the tape into the break room, popping it into the recorder, hitting play.
It started out as any normal statement, recorded by the previous archivist before the statement giver spoke.
The voice that came out was chilling…
There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, but there was something haunting about a child’s retelling of the horror they experienced.
Tim swallowed hard, trying to hide his discomfort behind a thin veil of humor, “ Talk about nightmare fuel eh, Jon.” He said, looking at Jon, “I didn’t know the Magnus Institute took childrens statements.”
He regretted the words as they left his mouth, seeing the look on Jon’s face.
The other man looked like he was going to be sick. “Jon…?” Tim called out, just as the boy on the tape said his name.
Jonathan Sims…
~
Jon scrambled to his feet, his stomach rolling as he left the room, panic building in his chest.
He was sure he was going to be sick…
Not paying attention to where he was going Jon ran into a wall…a firm warm wall that wasn’t really a wall but Martin…
“Jon!” Martin squeaked, face flushing a dark shade of red. ”I’m sorry I didn’t see...are you alright?” He asked, seeing the tight uncomfortable expression on Jon’s face.
Jon mumbled a non-answer, something about being fine before slipping past Martin, disappearing into the bathroom.
Nothing about this sat right with Martin, so he followed Jon.
Martin found Jon sitting on the ground, his trembling legs unable to hold him up any longer. His breathing short desperate gasps, as if someone were squeezing his chest.
He approached with caution, not wanting to startle Jon, as he clearly wasn’t in a good place right now.
Moving slowly Martin slid down until he was on the ground, at Jon’s eye level.
He cleared his throat softly to get Jon’s attention, the other man's eyes darting to meet Martin’s, “H-hey Jon...is there anything I can get you?” He asked.
Jon hesitated, shaking his head a soft jerky motion that Martin wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been paying attention.
Martin chewed his lip nervously before asking his next question,” Is it...is it alright if I touch you?” He asked.
The words hung in the air for what felt like ages, before Jon nodded.
Martin carefully wrapped his arm around Jon, asking once more if this was still okay, receiving another jerky nod in response.
“Do you think you could breathe with me?” Martin asked, another nod. He started taking long deep easy breaths, that Jon could follow along with when he felt ready.
It took a couple achingly long moments but eventually Jon was able to copy Martin’s breathing.
He stayed there, holding Jon for as long as it took for him to calm down. Even longer when he looked down to find that the other man had fallen asleep,
Martin sat there, listening to Jon’s soft even breaths.