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1: Georgie
For once, Jon doesn’t check who’s calling when his phone rings - he puts it on speaker so he can keep looking through his files. So, he ends up being surprised by the voice that greets him.
“Hey Jon.”
“Georgie? What’s going on, is everything okay?” They haven’t spoken in a few weeks, both busy with their work. Still, it’s rare for her to call him out of the blue.
“Yes, I just need your help real quick.”
“Well, I’m at work so I can’t really-”
“No, no, I just need you to use your spooky powers for a sec and tell me what breed the Admiral is.”
“Georgie, I can’t just-” He begins, but it’s more out of habit - Georgie is not one to let him go on about what is a ‘proper use of his powers’.
“Jonathan Sims, I’ve known you for seven years. There is literally no excuse that will fly with me.”
“Hmph,” Jon really should be used to this by now. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“Yeah, I know. Now spill.”
“Only if you tell me why you need to know.”
“Okay, so, I got this coupon for a year of free check-ups at this really fancy vet clinic, but their sign-up process is extremely convoluted and clearly meant for dog owners. I mean, who knows the breed of their cat?! And there’s not even a ‘street animal’ option! And if you pick mix you have to say what is being mixed! I swear the only thing keeping me going right now is remembering how expensive ordinary vet bills are.”
Jon listens to the rant and silently thanks her for agreeing to be the one who shoulders the brunt of the Admiral’s care. Of course, he pays his fair share of the bills, that’s his son too, after all, but when it comes to dealing with people they both know Georgie is the better choice. For his part, Jon’s glad he just recorded a statement so the Eye is more amenable to answering silly queries like this one.
“Alright, give me a second.” He’s been careful to hide his powers from his Sasha and Martin, but they’re all on their lunch break, so it should be fine. He waits for the static in his ears to subside before getting back to Georgie. “I’m getting mostly Abyssinian.”
“Thanks. I hope they don’t ask me to provide a whole family tree.”
“If they ask follow-up questions just tell them he’s a rescue.”
“Yeah, I’ll spin a real tearjerker of a story. Maybe a cat fighting ring.”
“Well, let me know how it goes.” Jon can’t hide the grin in his voice. He can already imagine the scandalized faces. “I can stop by to see him this weekend, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure thing, I’ll see you then!”
She hangs up and Jon turns around in his chair, only to be faced with Sasha’s shocked face. Well. So much for trying to hide.
2: Tim
“I am so glad I can finally talk about your spookiness! It’s been torture trying to be subtle!”
“Tim, you were not subtle in the slightest.” In fact, he had given Jon more stress in the weeks before the reveal of his powers than ever before.
“Well, I said I was trying, not that I was succeeding.”
They’re taking their lunch together like they used to do in research. Jon can’t deny that he misses those times - when it was easier to keep his powers under control, even though Tim’s investigative mind had locked onto him easily. He’s tried (not succeeded) to put some distance between them since he became his boss. Of course, Tim caught onto his idea immediately and started being his friend even more aggressively. Secretly, Jon’s glad - he needs someone to keep him grounded.
“Anyway,” Tim picks up the conversation again. “Have you thought about what I told you?”
“Don’t start this again. I don’t have a crush on my employee,” Jon makes sure to stress the word. “And he certainly doesn’t have one on me.”
Tim rolls his eyes and throws a fry at him.
“You’re just saying that because you’re too concerned about being unprofessional. Let me ask you this - if we were all assistants working under Gertrude, would your opinion be different?”
“Well, of course it would! But we aren’t and-”
“So you did think about it!”
Jon is glad his dark skin doesn’t betray how much his face is burning.
“You know what, fine, if you don’t believe me, then ask the Eye if Martin has a crush on you!”
“I am not doing that! It’s an enormous breach of his privacy, not to mention that it’s not a proper use of my powers and-”
Of course, the Eye drops the knowledge into his brain anyway and Jon can only hide his face in his hands.
“From what I know about the Eye, this is exactly what it’s about.”
“Regardless,” Jon tries desperately to remedy the situation. “It’s unethical.”
“Fine then, I guess I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.” Tim’s grin promises nothing but mischief and trouble in Jon’s future.
“Maybe you should fix your ‘matters’ with Sasha first.” Jon says without thinking. Tim’s exaggerated outrage is what clues him into what he just said. “Oh, sorry. Was I not supposed to know about that?”
You’re like a gossiping schoolgirl, Jon scolds the Eye. It does not bother to respond.
3: Sasha
For being the one to discover them, Sasha’s scepticism about his powers was quite strong. Even after he had explained everything to her and Martin, she seemed to not quite believe him. Thus, she had taken it upon herself to gather evidence.
Apparently, this meant that Jon was now subject to hearing all about the objects in Artefact Storage.
“Okay, so there’s this mirror that curses you if you think about breaking it. Would it still curse me if I thought about someone else breaking it, not me?”
“Yes.” Jon doesn’t bother to look up from his work when Sasha comes in, armed with her daily file.
“What if I thought about it breaking accidentally?”
“Yes.”
“What if I imagined shipping it to a different country to get rid of it?”
“As long as you don’t envision it breaking, it won’t curse you.”
“What if I imagine someone eating it?”
This is what finally gets Jon to look up.
“Sasha, how exactly can I convince you of what you already know? Because I very much hate thinking about some of the things you say.”
“Ugh, fine. Tell me something about me that no one else knows.”
If Jon was a cruel man, he would let spill every single thing that arrives in his mind in that moment. The way Sasha used to lightly bully a boy in third grade, the times she had lied to people she loves - all her darkest secrets that she would hate other people knowing. But Jon likes Sasha and he believes that people are more than the deeds of their pasts. So he picks something innocent, but still secret.
“You lie about being allergic to peanuts because you don’t want people to be outraged about you not liking peanut butter.”
Tim’s yell of “You what?!” from the main office brings a small smug smile to Jon’s face. Sasha narrows her eyes at him.
“Low blow, Mr. Sims.”
“A man can only tolerate so many questions about which cursed artefacts are edible, Ms. James.”
“Touché.”
She disappears to deal with Tim. Jon lets all his newfound knowledge about her settle over him like a wave. A low blow, he huffs in amusement. If only she knew.
4: Martin
Martin has been looking at him weirdly all day and Jon cannot figure out why. He tries to approach him, then gives up, only to repeat the cycle again and again. When Tim and Sasha leave early (on a date, the Eye supplies), Jon takes the opportunity.
“Martin, are you alright?”
Martin jumps like Jon’s caught him red-handed in the middle of committing a crime, except that he’s only tidying his desk.
“I’m- I’m absolutely fine, nothing’s wrong!”
“Are you sure? I don’t mean to pry, I just noticed that you’ve been acting strange today.”
Martin’s face is becoming an increasingly concerning shade of red
“Can’t you just-” He stutters. “Can’t you just, you know, know?”
Jon can, but ever since that one lunch with Tim he has promised himself not to know anything about Martin. Of course, he can’t really say that without explaining that whole situation, so he settles for a more simple answer.
“I’d prefer it if you told me yourself. You don’t have to, of course, I was just concerned.”
“I’ve been- God, um-” Martin hides his face in his hands. “I’ve been trying to ask you on a date all day.”
Oh.
Jon is never admitting to anyone that he had to ask the Eye what Martin had said in order to save this conversation.
“I would be delighted if you did.” He says, which makes Martin look at him like he’s grown a second head.
“You would?! Oh, then,” He clears his throat and straightens up. “Jon, would you like to go on a date with me?”
“Yes, Martin,” Jon chuckles. “I very much would.”
5: Melanie
It’s extremely rare for Jon to acknowledge a text from an unknown number, let alone answer it. However, the person that has decided to text him today certainly manages to get his attention.
‘hey georgie said you can give me the deets on some haunted locations’
‘What are “deets”?’
‘Also, who are you?’
‘oh my god how old are you lol’
‘deets are details’
‘this is melanie king from ghuk btw’
‘sorry, i mean Ghost Hunt UK™’
‘Yes, I figured that out, thank you.’
‘What information do you need?’
‘im looking for a new location to film at but i want one that’s actually haunted’
‘georgie said you know this stuff’
‘Tell me what location you’re considering and I’ll tell you.’
‘cambridge military hospital’
Knowing the information is easy enough - apparently, there’s a relatively weak apparition of the Slaughter there. However, the real difficulty is trying to work out why exactly Georgie sent her friend his way. This is a time when he needs to consult someone with emotional intelligence.
“Martin! Can you come here for a second?” He calls towards the main office.
“Ooh, someone’s in trouble with the boss.” He can hear Tim say teasingly and rolls his eyes. Seconds later Martin pops his head into his office. Jon wordlessly passes him his phone and lets him read the conversation.
“I can’t tell what Georgie wants me to do here.”
“Well, is it actually haunted?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if I was Georgie I wouldn’t want my friend going to a potentially dangerous location.”
“I suppose. Thanks, Martin, you’re the best.”
Martin only blushes and ducks back into the main office. Jon goes back to his conversation.
‘Not haunted, sorry.’
‘damn really???? that was my only idea ill have to think of something else’
‘can i get back to you later’
‘Sure.’
‘thx!’
+1: Jon
It’s not often that Tim receives calls at 3 a.m. It’s even rarer that the caller is Jon.
“Hello?” Tim manages to mumble in his sleepy haze.
“I know you’re getting me a cake for my birthday and I forbid you from bringing it to the office.”
Now that gets Tim to wake up and he shoots up straight in his bed.
“What?! No way!”
“Tim, if you bring the cake Elias will show up to my birthday party, is that really what you want?”
“Damn you spooky bastards and your omniscience.” Tim grumbles. “Fine. But we’re all leaving work early and celebrating at my place. Elias won’t follow us out of the institute to get to the cake, will he?”
“I can’t see the future, Tim. However, I do know that you’d be able to get him arrested for trespassing.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Tim yawns. “Is that all, bossman?”
“Yes, Tim, that’s all, thank you. I’ll see you at 9:34 tomorrow.”
“Awesome. Don’t expect me to show up on time tomorrow- Wait.”
Jon laughs and hangs up. Tim flops back onto his bed.
Damn eldritch powers.