#sashamelanie

20. things you said that i wasn’t meant to hear

"I just don't think it'll work."

Sasha froze in the act of reaching for the door. She was not, by and large, a believer in the sunk cost fallacy and indeed rather felt that there was no point too late to make better choices, so even though she'd been closer to the cafe than the Institute - admittedly not by much - when she'd spotted the dark clouds on the horizon, she'd still opted to turn around and go back for her umbrella, on the basis that possibly getting a little wet if it caught her before she was able to retrieve it was better than getting a little wet if it caught her before she got to the cafe and then having to walk all the way back in a deluge. She meant to just slip in, grab it, and head out, but the sound of Melanie's voice, and more importantly the faint note of despair in it, pulled her up short.

"Why not?" Tim's voice, not Martin's. That was...worrying. Sasha gnawed at her lip. The Unknowing was close - they would be leaving the next day, while she and Tim stayed behind - and they'd been laying plans for a while. Melanie - and Gerry and Martin - were their litmus tests for how well a plan would work, since they'd been doing this so long, and they'd signed off on this one, but if Melanie thought it wouldn't work...

"Well, she's...you know. And I'm...me." Melanie sounded unusually vulnerable. Sasha wanted to go in and give her a hug, reassure her that she was stronger than Nikola Orsinov and that everything would be fine. But, guiltily, treacherously, she hovered outside the door and eavesdropped shamelessly. She wanted all the facts before she swept in to save the day.

Tim's sigh sounded less resigned Archival Assistant and more exasperated older brother. "Neens. I know you've had a shitty time of it with people you've dated before, but trust me, okay? Sasha's not going to force you into anything you don't want to do, and she's sure as hell not going to make sex a condition of being in a relationship with her." There was a brief pause, enough time to pat Melanie on the shoulder. "She likes you. You like her. The rest will take care of itself."

It was several seconds before Melanie replied, and Sasha could hear the smile in it that she hadn't heard in a while. "You think she likes me, huh?"

"Well, she sure doesn't cuddle me in my sleep."

Melanie laughed - actually laughed - and Sasha heard footsteps heading away from the door. She paused and counted to ten before opening the door for her umbrella.

She wasn't meant to hear that. She probably shouldn't act on it. She certainly shouldn't say anything tonight; she'd already done enough "just in case" and didn't want to tempt fate further. But...maybe when Melanie got back, she would tell her what she'd said on the tape. About how she needed her to be safe.

After all, Melanie hadn't been meant to hear that either.

Sixth Installment of the Pharos By Right series

Rating: M Chapters: 5 / 7 Words: 8.5k Characters: Martin Blackwood, Danny Stoker, Tim Stoker, Jon Sims, Sasha James, Gerry Keay, Adelard Dekker, Melanie King, Georgie Barker (mentioned), Elias Bouchard (mentioned), Peter Lukas (mentioned), Daisy Tonner (mentioned)

Relationships: Martin/Danny, Sasha/Melanie/Georgie, Gerry/Tim

Additional Tags: Archivist!Gerry, Canon Divergence, Mostly Morbid Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff (if you can believe it!), OCD Martin, DID/EDS/POTS Gerry, Cane User/Monocular Vision Jon, Amputee Adelard, Femme Melanie, Femme Sasha, Slaughter Bullet!Martin, Stranger!Danny, End!Tim, Corruption!Sasha, Non-Canonical Character Undeath, Referenced Addiction, *distracts you with romance so you forget to worry about [BLEEP]*

Chapter Summary:

Pharos tips his head — that maddening fucking gesture — and stops short, stiff with injury. His stare is a chilled instrument lifted off of the tray.

“You don’t want it out, do you?”

Martin’s seethes out a breath that makes him feel like a bull in the arena.

“Of course you don’t,” Pharos murmurs. “And why would you? When was the last time you felt truly powerful, Martin?”

chapter: 6/11 fandom: the magnus archives characters: sasha james, melanie king relationships: sasha/melanie chapter warnings: mentions of alcohol.

summary: Sasha tells Melanie everything, and with the telling comes such a sense of freedom that she wonders why she ever tried to conceal it in the first place. The strangeness of her job, of her life — it isn’t as if she’d be able to keep it secret for long, anyways. It follows her in every stray syllable, every misplaced question mark, every silversorry shine of the eyes.