CHAPTER ONE CONTENT WARNINGS
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stalking
knives
knife throwing
blood
minor injuries
smoking
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Please stay safe and do not read if you will be affected by the content in this chapter <3

~~~

Martin, a large man of tall stature, wearing a pair of burnt orange trousers with a matching sweater over a white button-up shirt and a pair of rose detailed boots, looks up from his desk to see his boss, Elias, standing in the door. Elias was a proud man, who often wore extravagant suits with expensive shoes and designer glasses. Martin smiled a little but pulled himself together when he saw a second, shorter figure behind him. He stood from his desk as his smile turned into a frown as Elias and the other person stepped into the room, Elias gesturing towards him to sit back in his chair as the two other men sat across from him. Martin closed the front of the statement he was working on and after a minute of awkward silence and the familiar figure giving him an uncomfortable glare, he cleared his throat as he looked between the men.

“Martin, I know it’s been hard to complete the work with Tim and Sasha without another person, so I decided to hire a new head archivist,” Elias started and his tone grew a bit more stern when he noticed Martin’s unimpressed expression, “This is Jonathan, he is here to take over Gertrude's position, and he will be in charge of the archives from now on, if you have any quarrels about this I suggest you air your grievances now.”

“Jonathan, I’m sorry but there’s no reason we need more help, since Gertrude…” Martin paused as Elias gave him another stern look, “Left, we had organized one-sixteenth of the archives in the past six months, we don’t need your help.”

“I have to disagree, Martin, I feel Jonathan’s knowledge of archival systems could help speed up the process, we have started collecting statements again and you don’t have the manpower to keep up, I’m sorry Martin, but my decision is final. Jonathan, I will give you two a minute to say your piece, I will meet you in the hallway.”

Elias walked into the hallway, closing the door most of the way behind him and Martin heard him take a few steps down the hallway before Jonathan smiled at him and stood in front of his desk. When Jonathan placed his hand down on Martin’s desk, however, Martin stood quickly and whacked his hand away, a scowl on his face. This didn’t deter Jonathan, however, as he placed both of his on the desk and leaned over, Martin stepping back and looking the shorter man up and down in disgust as Jonathan’s smile turned into a smirk, something about the way Martin instinctively pulled away from him was entertaining.

“Martin...Blackwood is it? Yes, going by an ex-librarian with a fondness for tea and autumn colored clothing, by the looks of it you buy most of your clothing during early winter and you are in desperate need of a new white shirt without tea stains on it,” Jonathan analyzed the man and smiled again as he stood straight, flicking the statement file back open to and seeing a picture of a young woman sitting in her bedroom, looking out her window.

“How…” Martin started to question the strange man standing in front of him but decided to stop when he tried to do the same, suddenly feeling dizzy and sick to the stomach when he did.

“Anyways, I shouldn’t keep our boss waiting, should I?”

With that, Jonathan stood and turned his back to Martin as he walked towards the door. Martin, seeing a moment of opportunity, swiftly picked up his sharpened letter opener and threw it in Jonathan's direction. Much to his surprise, Jonathan turned quickly and grabbed the sharp dagger by the blade, his hand now dripping blood, but if Jonathan was in any sort of pain he didn’t show it. He gently threw the blade into the air, catching the handle end this time and throwing it straight back at Martin. Before he knew it, Martin had closed his eyes, however, a few seconds passed and when he realized he was fine aside from a slight pain in his left ear, he opened his eyes again. Jonathan had now left the room and when Martin touched his ear, he felt the warm liquid dripping down his fingers from where the blade had grazed him.

~~~

It wasn’t until Martin was leaving the building that he saw Jonathan again, who had taken off his jacket and was holding it in his arms while also having a black leather backpack covering the majority of his back. Martin took a moment to take in the sight of the man, short, maybe five foot nine, and wearing an all-black suit with red detailing that suited his slightly deep skin tone and rich black hair color. By the time Jonathan had turned around, Martin had realized he was staring and quickly turned on his heel and started walking towards the bus stop. But just as quick as he had walked away, Jonathan had noticed and caught up with him. 

“Oh, Martin!” Jonathan called out to him, a wicked smile across his face as he caught up to the significantly taller man, “I was just trying to find the bus stop, I assume this is it?” 

Martin looked at the shorter man for a second before nodding and looking out onto the street, hoping to just wait it out and not have to talk to this familiar stranger. However, his plans would change when he caught a glimpse of the tattoo on Jonathan’s neck, missing it earlier due to placement however standing closer to him and without his jacket on, Martin was able to see the dark and intensely detailed tattoo. If it wasn’t for what he knew about Jonathan, Martin could have just moved on and kept to himself but he needed to know. 

“Why the tattoo? Bit hypocritical don’t you think?” Matin says in a voice full of hatred as he turns to Jonathan “and of the eye no less, I should have known.”

“It’s just a tattoo, Martin. Please, don’t jump to conclusions,” Jonathan smirked at him “Besides, how did you even notice it? It’s barely above my collar, dear.”

Martin gritted his teeth and looked away before his blood boiled over. Luckily for him, the bus was just down the road and he was almost out of this man’s vices. Martin sighed a small breath of relief as the bus pulled up and he got his wallet out to show the driver his bus card and relaxed even further when he noticed Jonathan wasn’t joining him on this route.

His bus ride home was much more boring than the day he had at work, having accidentally left his book on his desk in his office and his phone being near flat by the time he was finally home. He unlocked his front door, the smell of old books and various herbal teas flooded into the hallways as his muscles finally relaxed fully. 

His apartment was nothing special but the landlord had allowed him to install a few extra storage spaces, most being bookshelves. His walls were lined with books, from history textbooks to folklore to paranormal investigation cases. All of Martin’s reading material was for research purposes and he amassed such a collection by way of gifts, thrift shops, and donations. The collection made his home smell of both old and new books, old tea, and leather. 

Martin walked towards his lounge, the fireplace empty with old charred logs that haven't been lit for a long time. He sat on the old, flower-patterned couch in front of the fireplace and reached for his phone in his pocket. When he turned it on, he saw the time, quarter past seven. He knew he should have gotten up and made dinner, but when he looked out the window and saw the sunset he decided to just make himself a cup of tea and sit on the balcony. He chose a rosehip herbal tea and decided to grab a chocolate cookie that Sasha had made a few days ago for the office. When his tea had brewed, he walked out to his balcony and smiled as he saw the last of the sunset. He sat in his outdoor lounge chair, an old rust metal chair that had a cushion sloppily sewn onto the seat and a blanket thrown over the back of it, staining the grey material. He relaxed as he looked over the opposite building, watching as people close their blinds and turn on their lights the darker it got. He reached over the small balcony and switched on the small overhead light. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, finding some peace in knowing he was safe.

~~~

When Jonathan returned to his apartment at the end of the day, he looked towards the stairs before unlocking his door, and when he finally unlocked it, he rushed inside and placed his bag down on the clean kitchen table, before going to the fridge and grabbing out his clear water bottle. He took a quick drink and made his way back towards the kitchen table, and placed his drink bottle down on a black, square coaster. He opens his backpack and takes out the books he brought home to analyze and annotate. 

When Jonathan sat in his chair, he looked out his large windows and smiled little when he saw the man that lived across from him. A tall, familiar man sat on his small balcony, it had been styled with an old rustic chair, a matching table, and an old camp light. It looked cozy but Jonathan’s skin itched when he thought about the rust and dust covering every surface. However, he couldn’t help but think about how cozy it would be when they shared matching chairs and a pot of tea.

Jonathan was disgusted with himself, shaking the thought from his head as he went back to working on his annotations. The books enthralled him for the rest of the night, his roommate coming home and seeing papers neatly stacked on the table with notes on the books, as well as a plate of food for her. She smiled a little and grabbed the plate before joining Jonathan at the table.

“Long day at your new job?” The woman smiled as he sat down and started to separate the vegetables into organized piles.

“No, just a lot of work, they barely got through the previous head archivist’s office and there are at least two full libraries,” Jonathan placed his pen down on the paper in front of him and rubbed his face, “Georgie, do you know where I put my cigarettes?”

“No, well I do, but you told me not to give them to you unless you threatened mine or Melanie’s life,” Georgie giggled as she put her fork down and smiled at the frustrated man across from him, “I know you wouldn’t kill me, threaten me? Sure, but kill me? You love me too much.”

Jonathan groaned and dug through his backpack until he found a lone cigarette and lighter, and headed to the balcony to smoke. His roommate gave him a disapproving glare, however, he ignored her and headed to the balcony regardless, delighted to see the handsome redhead on the balcony opposite.