Retroactively Fixing My Faults

by Anonymous

Summary:

The standard time travel fix-it fic, but this time with pre-established JonTim.

After killing Jonah Magnus, and being stabbed himself at the panopticon, the Archive finds himself in 2015.

Notes:

I’ve had this idea for a while, but writing is hard :’)

 

I'm sorry the intro is so short 😅

Chapter 1: Introduction

 

 

The plan— Kill Jonah and take his spot in the panopticon. It’s as simple as that.

 

 

 

 

The Adrenaline— From actually killing the man who made Jon’s life into a living hell— 

 

 

 

 

The act— For Sasha. For Tim. For all those Jonah needlessly sacrificed in his (too) long life. 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Sims stabs the knife into Jonah Magnus’ heart—

 

 

 

 

 

And—

 

 

 

 

 

The Archivist can feel everything— From every domain on what used to the world—

 

 

 

 

He knows everything—

 

 

 

 

He knows every statement ever made to the ones hidden in the subconscious mind— 

 

 

 

 

He knows every single person that exists and has ever existed—

 

 

 

 

He knows every secret they’ve ever told and every one they haven’t—

 

 

 

 

A constant flow information buzzing in his mind— 

 

 

 

 

What he felt before was a mere taste—

 

 

 

 

Every bit, every scrap, every single piece of knowledge, right at his fingertips—

 

 

 

 

It’s pure bliss—

 

 

 

 

The Eye’s perfect Archive—

 

 

 

 

 

In a throne built for him, and him alone—Not for Jonah Magnus—

 

 

 

 

He can see someone near his body—

 

 

 

 

It’s Martin Blackwood. He has tears in his eyes—

 

 

 

 

He’s holding a knife and—

 

 

 

 

Oh—

 

 

 

 

NO—

 

 

 

 

PAIN— PAIN— PAIN—

 

 

 

 

The knife is buried in his chest up to the pommel— 

 

 

 

 

He can feel the blood dripping from his body—

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Sims, the Archivist— The Archive— knows he is dying

 

 

 

 

He can feel his connection to the Eye change, lessen—

 

 

 

 

His mortal body keeping him from his rightful place in the panopticon—  

 

 

 

 

It's keeping him from his rightful role as the Archive— 

 

 

 

 

He feels the air leave his lungs for the last time—

 

 

 

 

And—

 

 

 

 

Suddenly—

 

 

 

 

He’s falling—

 

 

 

 

The Archive is falling—

 

 

 

 

No—

 

 

 

 

He’s being pulled to somewhere else—

 

 

 

 

He’s being pulled through to—

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

The Archive Jonathan Sims is awake. 

 

 

 

 

The calendar says 2015. 

 

 

 

 

The year it all began. 

 

 

 

 

The year Jonathan Sims became Head Archivist at the Magnus Institute. 

 

 

Notes:

Just to be clear, Jon/Martin didn’t happen in my “original” timeline. (Sorry!) Martin did have a crush on Jon for a while, but it faded away during his Lonely arc and it never came back. Also during the Apocalypse they were just friends.

 

Thank you so very much for reading! Have a nice day! :)

 

— Author C

Chapter 2: Chapter 1

Summary:

Jon realizes a few things. It goes as well as you’d think… + Some actual JonTim interaction 😮

Notes:

Tbh, I wasn’t expecting anybody to read this.

 

 

Jon finds himself in a bed. It’s his bed, in his flat. Everything is exactly how it was in 2015, almost lived in. 

 

 

Jon can hardly believe he’s in 2015. How is it even possible? Annabelle said there’s other universes out there, but nothing about time travel. Maybe he’s in an alternate universe. Even still, it doesn’t explain away why it looks like he’s in his bed. 

 

 

Without warning, he knows. The Archive knows he’s in the past. His past. The information appears in his mind repeating just that. 

 

 

Jon startles when realizing he knew something. How is that possible? He shouldn’t be able to know anything yet. He shouldn’t even be marked. Well, except for the Web and the Eye. (Of course)

 

 

He supposes not even ‘time travel’ or whatnot would free him from the Eye. Nope, because he’s ‘special’ to the Eye. 

 

 

If he is in the past, maybe he can stop Jonah’s plans forever, or at least as long as possible. He won’t be the cause of another apocalypse full of suffering. Even with the advantage of knowledge from the future, he can’t expect everything to unfold the same way. Especially if he’s going to change or completely stop events from happening. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. 

 

 

Jon pauses as he registers his hand is free of Jude Perry’s mark. He rushes to the bathroom. He needs a mirror. The scar on his neck, Daisy’s mark, isn’t there. He knows none of his scars are there. 

 

 

It’s physical confirmation, Jon is in his 2015 body though with his… well 2019-ish mind. 

 

 

Jon stares at his reflection. He’s almost forgotten what he looked like before all of it. Before Prentiss, the paranoia, losing the only people he considered friends, what he thought was saving the world, dying, and then ending the world himself. The person in reflection doesn’t feel like him anymore. 

 

 

He almost misses it, Jon had gotten so used to it. His eyes are green. In 2015, his eyes were a dark brown. Yet, his reflection has green eyes. They’re a dark emerald green, just like they had been ever since the Unknowing.  

 

 

It doesn’t make sense, even if Jon is still (somehow) connected to a fear entity centered around knowledge. How could he be back in time and everything except his eyes are the same as they were? None of this made sense. 

 

 

The Archive sighs, and opens his eyes and sees. He can see the Fear’s marks faintly, though they barely count as marks. They’re almost opaque. Not even Jonah could see them fully. 

 

 

At least they won’t make it harder to stop Jonah’s plans. Jon would like to keep his status as the Archive from Jonah– or Elias as long as possible. Knowing would definitely make Jon keeping the world safe harder. 

 

 

It’ll probably be easier if he’s the head archivist. It’s less suspicious if he’s poking around in the archives as the Archivist and not a researcher. If he did, he’d have to let Elias kill Gertrude. She could be useful, but he doubts they’d have the same ideas on going about everything. Not to mention, how he’d stop Elias without fully revealing himself. Though maybe they can still have conversation before Elias kills her—

 

 

Ring— Ring—

 

 

His phone brings him out of his thoughts. It’s plugged in on his nightstand next to his glasses. 

 

 

He goes to pick it up, but Jon’s breath hitches when he reads the name. 

 

 

‘Timothy Stoker’

 

 

It’s his Tim. When Tim still gave a shit about Jon. When he was happy, when they were happy. Before Jon royally fucked everything up. After everything Jon put him through, he couldn’t blame Tim for hating him. After everything, Jon couldn’t blame anyone for hating him. 

 

 

Jon’s hand shakes as it hovers over his phone. He should answer. His Tim always got worried when he took too long to pick up. 

 

 

“H-hello, Tim.” Jon manages to say while trying to keep his voice from wavering. He hopes it’s convicting. 

 

 

“Hey love, I’m on my way to yours.” Jon sucked in a sharp breath. It’s been so long since he’s heard Tim’s voice. “I’ll be there in about ten, alright?” 

 

 

Right. During this time he and Tim still ride the tube together. They did everyday until, well, they didn’t. Until Jon became an awful paranoid bastard. His heart aches at the thought. 

 

 

Jon is never going to be that person ever again. He’ll make sure of it. Tim didn’t deserve it, none of them did. Not Sasha, Martin, Melanie, Basira, Georgie, or even Daisy. 

 

 

Tim speaks up again after a few moments of silence from Jon, “Jon, is everything alright?”

 

 

Jon nearly chokes at the concern in Tim’s voice. It’s been so long since he heard Tim sound that gentle. Not that Jon deserves it. 

 

 

“I– uh yes. I-I’m fine.” He lies, maybe Tim wouldn’t notice. He’s an okay liar… sometimes. 

 

 

“Jon, you sound upset…” Of course he noticed, damnit. Because he’s a good boyfriend, Jon doesn’t deserve him. He never did. “Did something happen?” 

 

 

“No,” Jon bites his lip as he doubles down. It’s a fruitless effort because his Tim could read him like a book. “Um, I-I’ll see you soon, Tim.” 

 

 

“Hold on J—” Tim’s voice gets cut off as Jon abruptly ends the call. 

 

 

Shit shit shit–

 

 

Jon stares at the phone screen. That probably wasn’t the best decision. Even if Tim would have dropped the subject before he definitely wouldn’t now.

 

 

He’s got to think of something to tell Tim. Jon scratches at the non-existent scars on his arms before remembering they’re not there. All Jon has to do when Tim arrives is be vague and lie to his (Former? Current?) Boyfriend. 

 

 

Lovely. 

 

 

However, this time for Tim’s own good. Instead of Jon being an utter bastard by stalking him. Guilt claws at him, he’ll never make that mistake ever again. Tim’s heartbroken expression will forever be etched into Jon’s mind. 

 

 

Suddenly once more he knows, Tim’s walk turned into a light jog on his way to Jon’s flat. The Eye also supplies that he’ll arrive in 5 minutes. 

 

 

Oh good lord.

 

Notes:

I’m a horribly slow and inconsistent writer, so I really don’t have a schedule for updates...

 

8/14/24 Edit: A couple spelling fixes

 

Thank you so very much for reading! Have a nice day! :)

Chapter 3: Chapter 2

Summary:

On one hand, Tim is worried about his boyfriend.

On the other hand, Jon tries his best to act like nothing is wrong.

Notes:

Honestly, I didn’t think there would be any bit of Tim POV in this but here we are.

 

Just so we’re clear, I don’t really ever write romance, but I will get better eventually! So bare with me!

 

Dialogue is the bane of my existence. I blame it for why this chapter took so long…

 

“Damnit!” Tim exclaims, a few bystanders walking on the street glance in his direction. At this moment, he couldn’t care less. Jon just hung up on him, he’s never done that to Tim before. What could have happened since the last time they spoke? 

 

Immediately, Tim picks up his pace, nearly full on sprinting to Jon’s flat. Even before Jon ended the call so abruptly, he sounded off. Not in the way of, oh Jon hasn’t had his morning tea or he’s frustrated with an assignment. This sounded like a lot more than that. 

 

For as long as Tim has known Jon, he’s tended to hide when something is bothering him for extended periods of time. Which normally meant he was more snappy and withdrawn, but never sounding like he’s seconds away from crying. In Tim’s experience, only when Jon is directly confronted is when his walls come down a little to explain what’s wrong. 

 

In all fairness to him, Jon has gotten better about sharing his feelings during their relationship, if only slightly. Still, Tim couldn’t be happier. At least now, he feels comfortable enough for Tim, Sasha, and him to all hang out outside of work. Which is an improvement. 

 

Contrary to what Sasha might think, he’s made substantial progress in Tim’s opinion. Step by step, Tim is going to convince Jon that people wouldn’t hate to be his friend. 

 

It takes only five minutes to get to Jon’s building. Tim forces himself to not sprint to down the hallways, Jon would definitely not appreciate complaints from his neighbors. 

 

When Tim reaches his boyfriend’s door, he’s not quite out of breath. Still, he takes a few moments before knocking on the door. Tim has a key, but he knocks first. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to use it as the door opens revealing Jon himself. Tim quickly assesses him for injuries. He looks alright, no visible injuries, blood, or bandages. Tim breathes a sigh of relief. No trip to A&E. 

 

“Hey love, are you ok? You sounded off on the phone.” Tim tenses when Jon doesn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he looks at the wall when Tim walks into his flat. 

 

“Wh— Of course– yes, I’m quite alright Tim.” Jon sputters, and then visibly winces at how unconvincing it sounds. Jon is historically a horrible liar. It’s quite comical in other situations, but not in this one. 

 

“Jon.” Tim sighs, he didn’t want to pry much if Jon really didn’t want to share. Still, Tim doesn’t like seeing him so out of sorts. “Please, be honest with me.” 

 

“I– uhm, okay‐ fine.” Jon fidgets with his hands, apparently finding them incredibly interesting. “I had— I had a nightmare… it’s nothing really…”

 

Tim raises an eyebrow incredulously, then shakes his head, “Jon, if you don’t want to say that’s fine. I’m not going to force you to tell me.”

 

“I do, Tim… It’s just— you…” Jon pauses, and bites his lower lip. “I- it was about… Spiders, alright? It’s nothing unusual.” 

 

Jon still sounds like he’s hiding something, but Tim didn’t expect an answer so quickly or at all. Jon has talked about Mr. Spider before, but not much. Only really, that it was a bad experience he had as a child. It clearly made a lasting impact. Jon’s never gone into much detail, but Tim understands. He finds himself talking about Danny and Circus in the same way. He’s had far too many sleepless nights of that day and the thing wearing his brother’s face.

 

At this moment though, none of that matters. 

 

“Oh love, I’m so sorry.” Tim slowly moves closer to Jon so he can take hold of Jon’s hand. “Thank you for telling me.” 

 

Jon nods, but he doesn’t speak. He’s not withdrawing, which is a good sign. His eyes for the briefest moment actually look at Tim directly for the first time. It’s progress. Little by little. It feels like the world is seeing him, he supposes in a way it is. Tim certainly thinks the world of his boyfriend. 

 

“Jon,” Tim gently squeezes Jon’s hands.  “Even if you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t stop loving you. Remember that okay?” Tim tries to remind Jon of that often, but it never quite fully sinks in. Especially so today it seems.

 

"Tim- what I– I know… of course… I know that.” 

 

“Do you?” Tim lets the light skepticism into his tone. 

 

“Yes, I do.” Jon exhales, and his gaze finally meets Tim’s. It’s an incredible feeling. Though as they do, Tim notices Jon’s eyes look green. He swears hands down they’re brown. Maybe it’s the lighting? Hopefully. What a shitty boyfriend he is if he doesn’t know his boyfriend’s eye color. 

 

Unless… could it be? No! Tim refuses to entertain the thought any further! He pushes it to the back of his mind to be forgotten. 

 

Tim blinks then flashes Jon a certified Timothy Stoker grin™ “Good!” When Jon smiles back, Tim feels an ache in his chest. He wishes Jon would smile like that more often. 

 

“So… er— Tim,” Jon’s expression falls and he steps just out of Tim’s reach, “We should… we need to go, or we’ll be late for work.” 

 

“Nope, I don’t think so!” Tim shakes his head, “We’re going to call in sick and you and I are having a nice day off together. You won’t convince me otherwise!” He pulls out his phone and dials, ‘Work :/’ 

 

“Tim we can’t just—”

 

“What’s that? I can’t hear you over the phone, love.” Tim smirks, while ignoring Jon’s protests. After two rings he gets an answer, “Hello?” Rosie’s voice comes over the phone.

 

“Hello Rosie, would you kindly tell the boss, Jon and I won’t be in today?” 

 

“Okay. Is there a reason in particular, Mr. Stoker?” 

 

“Ah well, Jon’s feeling a bit ill today, so I’m taking care of him.” Jon looks annoyed but he’s given up arguing. 

 

“Alright then, thank you for letting me know. I will forward the message to Mr. Bouchard and Ms. Robinson. Tell Jon I wish him well.” She says goodbye and hangs up. 

 

“Was that really necessary, Tim?” Jon huffs, and crosses his arms. “I’m quite alright… now.” 

 

“Yes, as your boyfriend I find it very necessary.” Tim leads Jon to the living room, and to the sofa. “Now, you find something you want to watch and I’ll order take away. What are you hungry for?”  

 

“But—” 

 

“Are you going to say a type of food or the name of a restaurant?” Tim raises his eyebrows. “Or food you don’t want?” 

 

"... Fine.” Jon grumbles, “Uh… Not— no biscuits, please?” 

 

Tim refrains from giving Jon an odd look, and nods. It’s his day, he can get whatever he wants. 

 

“Tim...”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thank you.” 

 

“Always, Jon.”

 

 

Notes:

Plans? What are those?

 

I’m so shocked my silly little fic has gotten so much interaction 🤯 Thank you so much!!!

 

A massive thank you to my best friend for beta-ing this chapter! 💛

 

— Author C

Chapter 4: Chapter 3

Summary:

Jon contemplates his options while spending the day with his boyfriend.

 

Minimal angst, but so very fluffy.

Notes:

Can we talk about how in actual s1 canon TMA the only person Jon trusted not to prank him with a fake statement about his death was Tim?? (MAG 11)

They’re sitting on Jon’s couch. Jon mindlessly flips through the channels on the television as Tim decides what food to order for the both of them. 

It’s been so long since Jon has wanted to eat real food. Unless, he counts Mikaele Salesa’s house or his time in the tunnels during the Eye-Pocalypse. He doesn’t. 

It’s so surreal after the end of the world. After what he caused. It’s painfully mundane . Jon can hardly believe that this used to be his life. A slow, peaceful day with his boyfriend. He doesn’t want to know or know how long it’s been since he’s had one of those… 

Without warning, Jon knows what Tim decided on a second before he speaks up.

“Are you okay with Italian? It’s from the place down the street.” Tim looks up from his phone briefly to meet Jon’s eyes, while Jon forces himself not to look away. 

“Yes, that’s fine Tim.” 

“Awesome, the site said it’ll be about 15 minutes.” Tim turns off his phone and puts it on the coffee table in front of them. 

“Good to know.” Jon almost curses himself for the unintended pun. Not that Tim would understand it. 

“Have you picked something to watch yet?” Tim casually leans against Jon as Jon reminds himself not to move away. It’s an odd feeling to be so close to Tim after all this time. 

“No, I’ve not found anything that has drawn my interest so far.” His first choice would be a documentary, but he suspects the Eye will insert all the information into his mind, regardless if he wants it or not. Which would tamper his enjoyment considerably. 

Minutes pass as Jon continues to search through the options while Tim makes suggestions. Most of which get politely dismissed. Jon does not want to watch an action or horror movie, his life’s been too much of those. 

Unfortunately, it’s not surprising to Jon when knows their food is about to be delivered. 

“Food is here,” Jon mutters under his breath without thinking. 

“What was that, love?” Tim turns to look at Jon. 

“The— Oh, I… uhm— ” Jon stammers, still unsure on what to tell Tim about… well, him and everything he went through and knows.

Just then, there’s a knock on the door and Tim gets up to retrieve their food. 

Shit – Jon desperately needs to organize his thoughts and plans. Before, Tim gets suspicious of him hiding something. 

Tim returns in no time with the take away containers and drinks. He places them all on the coffee table and the delicious aroma fills the air. 

“What were you saying before, Jon?” Tim hands Jon his meal and then picks up his own. 

“Oh… i-it’s nothing. I— I said… I saw the delivery person outside the window before they knocked.” Jon tries not to fidget under Tim’s gaze. He’s always too good at reading Jon.  

“That’s it?” 

“Y-yes, I promise.” 

“Okay...” Tim’s expression shifts with heavy skepticism. “You’d tell me if there was something else bothering you right?” 

“Of course.” The lie feels heavy on his tongue. This Tim has been nothing but kind and caring to him. Still, Jon can’t bring himself to interrupt their quiet morning.

Tim looks unconvinced, but says nothing more on the subject. 

In an attempt to distract Tim further, Jon gives him the remote. “You choose.”

“Are you sure? You’ve rejected all my picks so far and—” Jon cuts him off. 

“ Yes, I’m quite sure,” Jon insists. 

“Well, no backing out now.” Tim gives Jon a classic ™’d grin and it feels natural to give him a smile back. 

Tim stops on a movie about vampires, however Jon promptly vetoes it. He revives a small pout, but thankfully Tim doesn’t ask any follow up questions. 

The knowledge they actually do exist puts a damper on Jon’s already low interest in that genre of movie. 

In no time at all, Tim finds a cheesy rom-com. They eat quietly as they watch the movie. The plot is wholly predictable, but it’s comfortable after the uncertainty Jon experienced in the… past? Future? 

It’s one of the questions burning in his mind. Is he actually in the past? What happened to his timeline? Could he be in a time loop where he’s doomed to eternally End the World? No, it couldn’t be that. He remembers the future. This time?

Did he get sent to an alternate universe? If Annabelle was correct it’s possible… would he have then taken over a different him? What happened to his original world? Did he save it or damn it further?

Will he be able to even change this world’s fate or will he cause more destruction by trying? 

Jon wishes the Eye would let him know . Unfortunately for him, so far The Eye only seems to be generous in the unhelpful information it’s willing to share. 

Just then, Tim’s infectious laugh fills the air because of a joke Jon doesn’t hear, but Jon can hardly take his eyes off him. 

Tim looks so… happy, so him . His smile is so full and bright and his skin is free of worm scars. There’s no signs of the many sleepless nights and almost haunted stares. 

Jon’s decision is made. No matter the consequences, to his life he will not let Tim become the man who sacrificed himself in the Unknowing for a second time. 

If it comes down to keeping Tim alive or having Tim hate him forever. Jon already knows what his choice will be. Tim will not die again. 

Jon dreads telling Tim about the Entities, the Archives, Jonah Magnus… and everything else. (Especially the Circus.) Jon doesn’t want to see Tim lose his light for a second time. Yet, Jon hates the thought of lying to Tim, and he refuses to repeat his mistakes. 

He’ll tell Tim everything, just— not today. He wants to relish in the calm for a little longer. 

Tim’s voice pulls him out of his reverie. “You’re staring, love.” 

“Sorry…” Jon immediately averts his gaze away from Tim. Still all too used to the lectures from his (former) colleagues and co-workers. 

“Hey hey, it’s fine, I’m kidding.” With one hand, Tim reaches out for Jon’s and squeezes it gently. “I don’t mind it when my very handsome boyfriend can’t take his eyes off me.”

“T-Tim!” Jon sputters as a blush spreads across his cheeks. 

“What? It’s true! Stare all you like, love.” Tim brings his other hand up to cradle Jon’s face. “I’m yours forever and always.”

A sharp sting shoots through Jon’s heart at Tim’s words, they held such sincerity and promise. ‘ His’ original Tim said something similar when they took a break, after Jon was promoted. 

“I’ll always be yours, Jon. One day you won’t value your job over us. And I’ll wait for that day forever if I have to.”

Jon had been worried about how it would look to Elias— Jonah, if he showed obvious favoritism to one of his assistants. One he asked for by name. So he asked Tim if they could take a step back for a while. Jon will never forget ‘his’ Tim’s heartbroken face. What a fool he’d been. 

“I love you, Tim.” Jon leans into Tim’s touch, it’s warm and comforting. “I’m realizing I should say it more.”

“I love you too,” Tim smiles brightly and he kisses Jon’s forehead. 

 

 

Notes:

Hello, Reader.

 

Apologies for the deception, but this will not be a very long/expansive AU.

 

It was meant to be, but I’m not built for it.

 

I’ll try my best to update with most likely the last chapter (for now at least) within a reasonable time frame, but we’ll see.

 

Thank you so very much for reading! Have a nice day/night! :)

 

— Author C