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Tim curled into Jonny's arms, giggling a bit as he leaned into Jonny's chest.
Jonny smiled to himself as he pulled Tim a bit closer.
This was nice.
Tim rested his forehead on Jonny's shoulder, and Jonny knew he was laughing.
Not by the sound, but by the fact he could feel it. The slight shake of laughter so different from a terrified tremble.
He was happy, sitting here. Happy with Tim. Happy on Aurora. Happy.
It was a foreign feeling, almost.
Certainly not one he's felt often enough.
Compared to the shaking moments of bittersweet joy while the doctor was here, it was so nice.
Compared to the misery and the fighting and the yelling.
With every moment every scream every sob another note another beat, all leading towards the inevitable climax. The inevitable crescendo of the song, which just happened to involve the airlock.
(He's living in the final act, he knows. The rising action bled dry and the climax having peaked.
As he stood there after the doctor was sucked into the unforgiving void, he knew it could only ever be downhill from here.)
(He didn't want to think about the good times with Carmilla. That complicated everything and made the bad times more confusing and hurt more. So he didn't.)
Compared to everything before the Airlock, Jonny's life is straight up blissful these days.
He nearly started laughing at how unreal this felt. At how odd it was.
At how stupidly happy he felt.
It hadn't even been that long, and he still felt happier than he had with eons just standing there.
Tim stepped back, smiling.
God, how the fuck had he ended up here.
How had he ever secured himself a happy falling action of his story.
(Sometimes he even dared to think he might not be a tragedy all the way through.)
"Nastya told me to tell you she finished coding some game for you to test while she finds some proper artist to commision art for it. Or whatever."
Jonny smiled to himself at the thought of Nastya. He loves her. "Yeah, uh. When does she want me?"
Tim shrugged, getting distracted by the fact his holster was crooked. Or maybe it was how shiny his gun looked. Or possibly both. Jonny couldn't tell, but tried and failed to hold back a smirk at how easily, if somehow by magic, Tim manages to fuck up the strap more "I don't know, She told me a few days back. Or maybe a few hours ago? I don't know how time works."
He exhaled slowly, resisting the urge to pinch his nose. "Tim."
"Between 6 hours ago and 3 days." Tim continued, still smiling with a wide grin.
"Tim." Jonny knew Tim was awful at time. That did not change the amused annoyance he felt.
"At some point in the recent past."
"You're impossible." Jonny shook his head. Tim just smiled.
"Yeah well, you once forgot how long it took to go between New Strophades and the nearest planet and got angry when you ran out of that incredibly specific brand of whiskey you stockpile every time we reach a decent port."
"Fuck you. That's entirely different. Aurora could have sped up if she felt like it. In fact she was going slow!"
"Yeah but she didn't go fast." Tim said, looking like that was a valid argument. Smiling like Jonny had rarely ever seen him.
"I hate you." Jonny said instead of everything he was thinking, which amounted to 'you are an amazing person and I enjoy talking to you so much. You're sweet and funny and a joy to talk to even when you are threatening to kill me.'
"Yeah, sure you do." Tim said, brushing over that statement with a laugh. "Anyways soooo Ashes might be angry with me-"
"No." Jonny said without missing a beat. (He only ever misses beats when he intends to. No matter what Brian says.)
"and I am-"
"Absolutely not."
"asking you to assist me-"
"I am not doing whatever you end this with."
"With hunting them for sport."
"...what." That was not what he had expected Tim to say. That was something he would actually be willing to do. Some part of him wanted to ask Ivy the odds of that. But she wasn't here and he didn't really feel like finding her.
"What?" Tim was smiling knowingly. Because of course he knows that Jonny would be allured by the prospect of violence and murder.
"So. Let me get this straight."
"That's impossible when I'm in the room."
"Shut up." Jonny would have covered Tim's mouth if he didn't fully expect Tim to bite him and he didn't exactly feel like losing a finger today.
"Never." Tim said and Jonny would have shot him if he wasn't genuinely interested in Tim's reply and he didn't feel like waiting for him to regenerate.
"So you're NOT asking me to be your human shield when they inevitably come in here to murder you?"
"Oh I absolutely am."
Jonny groaned.
"I just thought, I merely assumed, I made the educated assumption-”
“Tim.”
“Fine. I thought you might want to assist with the hunting before you dramatically throw yourself in front of me to save me from the bullets again."
"That was one time!" He defended, debating shoving Tim. Not only was that non-lethal, he deserved it.
"So you ADMIT it happened!" Tim had that stupidly gleeful look he always gets whenever he wins an argument or a bet.
"Fuck- wait. No. No, I have no idea what you're on about. That didn't happen. Fuck. Shit."
"Aurora PLEASE tell me you have that on tape." Tim continued, spinning towards the wall. His expression unchanging from the prideful glee.
"Aurora delete that right now." Jonny said. "As Captain-"
"First mate!" Tim shouts, Jonny flips him off as a screen folds down from the ceiling.
"I demand you delete it."
[Yes I do have it clipped. >:3] Aurora responds, and Jonny could practically hear the glee she was feeling, well actually he could hear it. The engine was humming particularly loudly at having even more content for her ‘Jonny epic fails’ video clips folder.
One of these days he's going to teach himself how to hack so he can delete the contents.
One of these days.
"Yes!" Tim shouts, pumping his fist in the air.
"Auroraaa!" Jonny whines. Pretending to be heartbroken, despite the smile pulling at his lips. Despite how stupidly happy he felt sitting here. "Please delete it?"
[No :3]
[You are adorable Jonny. ❤]
"Oh fuck off." Jonny laughed. He was smiling.
He might not know how he got here, but he was happy.
"And Tim, while however tempting hunting Ashes for sport is, Nastya wants me to do whatever you told me earlier-"
"She made a game. Or something."
"Yeah that." Jonny continued, stepping towards the door.
Tim stepped after him. "You're abandoning me to Ashes's wrath?"
"Yes. I am."
"Jonnnny." Tim whined. "Please?"
"I said no."
"But please?"
"No."
"Double please?"
"Nope."
"Triple please?"
"Tim."
"Quadruple pretty please with a cherry on top?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Jonny I'm begging you." Tim said, dramatically throwing an arm around him like a distressed and likely dying woman from ancient earth literature.
"Fine. Maybe. What did you do?"
Tim bit the inside of his cheek.
Jonny scoffed. That was answer enough. "Okay. Whatever you did it's deserved."
"I might have maybe, possibly-"
"Spit it out."
"Stole some of their gas to make an explosive?"
That explains it.
"You fucking idiot."
"Yes and? Has something new been determined?" Tim was smiling and it was so sweet and fucking wholesome that Jonny sort of wanted to run and hide.
He didn't know how to deal with sweet things like Tim.
"You thought it was a good idea to steal Ashes's, Ashes's, gasoline."
"No but I was closest to their storage room."
"You know if I think to defend you, Ashes will kill me too."
"Yes and."
"And I don't want to get blood on this shirt?"
"You can change."
"And also Ashes will be angry with me for a crime I didn't commit?"
"Okay?"
"So. What makes you think I'll help you hunt Ashes?"
"You love me?" Tim tried, and Jonny nearly choked. Because yeah okay that was objectively true. But to just say it like that. Like loving someone isn't a conscious choice with every action. And he isn't great at showing it and he doesn't know how to respond.
Tim just smiled. Clearly thinking something along the lines of check and mate.
"Yeah okay maybe." Jonny sputtered once he got the stupid mushy emotions under control. "Maybe I do. But what does that have to do with helping you with murder?"
"That's what people do with people they love." Tim argued.
"Well, not this person."
Tim just pouted. And for some reason that worked. Because Jonny suddenly wanted to help him. Damn the mushy emotions he didn't quite manage to kill.
"Okay fine. If, if and only if, I run into Ashes while I go talk to Nastya I might-"
Tim frowned, trying to look like a kicked puppy and Jonny knew he was being dramatic because Tim was obviously fighting a smile but it fucking worked anyway. He was getting too soft.
"Fine." He grumbled.
Tim smiled. Stupidly wide and brightly.
Jonny did love him. So much.
There was no way the emotion he was feeling because of Tim's smile was anything but love.
"I won't actively avoid Ashes and I'll be a diversion and maybe, only maybe lie about your location."
"Thank you!" Hearing the delight in Tim's voice was worth the very strong possibility of death this agreement ensured.
"Yeah calm down it's nothing." Jonny said, trying to force down how happy he was.
Tim was just beaming. "I love you."
"You're adorable." Jonny laughed.
Tim was just smiling. "I try. Okay. Well. Anyways. I should probably move before Ashes finds me."
"You should."
"So you're going to be a distraction?"
"If I run into Ashes."
"You will."
"That's not ominous at all."
"Yes."
"Alright. I'm going to go talk to Nastya. I wish you moderate luck in evading Ashes."
"I will take any luck I can get."
"Then I revoke my luck."
"I'll shoot you."
"And I give you more luck."
Tim looked fake shocked, holding a hand over his heart. "That is the nicest thing," He dramatically imitates a sob. "Anyone has ever done for me."
"Yeah okay. I'm going. Good luck evading Ashes, dumbass."
Tim turned to go hide, but after a moment Jonny committed, "Tim?"
"Yeah?"
"I uh, I love you too."
Tim smiled so brightly that Jonny felt like he would have been blinded if he hadn't been immortal. He pulled Jonny into another hug, lasting a few seconds before pulling back. "I love you. Anyway, I do really have to go barricade and trap a room. I'm counting on you to be a diversion. I've wasted enough time already."
"Good luck." Jonny managed around how fucking warm and happy and bubbly he felt.
"I'll need it!" Tim chirped, and continued down the hallway, fate yet to determine if he will murder or be murdered by Ashes. As he walked he ran his fingers against a seam on the wall.
Jonny stood there watching for half a second, before turning the opposite direction.
This was entirely too domestic for his tastes.
Jonny might have said he was going to talk to Nastya, but he has a mission.
Distract Ashes and be a diversion.
Jonny smiled to himself as he walked, he just felt happy.
That was new.
A good new.
As he turned the corner into one of the practice rec rooms, to see Ashes sitting there tuning their guitar, he stepped forward.
If he was going to be a diversion he was going to be a damn good one.