Rule of the Heart

by delminions

After Jonathan experiences yet another break-up, Luke takes him up to L.A. for a long holiday, where he finally meets Evan in person for the first time. What follows are dreams and pain mixed with pleasure as Jonathan and Evan are made to confront themselves on their feelings. A H2OVanoss fanfic.

16. Chapter 16 - Restart

This chapter is NSFW, so be prepared!

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There was a soft, comfortable warmth that surrounded Jonathan. His eyes were tight shut, and all he could see was darkness and the blackness of the insides of his eyelids. He was still, motionless, unmoving, in a state of perfect comfort, of perfect serenity, and of perfect relaxation. He was not asleep – at least, he thought he wasn't. He was not even sure if he had slept or if he had simply been lying in that state of catatonia. All he knew was that he was surrounded by something warm and comfortable and smooth and soft, and that he was perfectly tranquil and calm.

Every inch of his skin seemed particularly sensitive in that moment. It was the sensations that he felt that made him think that he wasn't asleep at that point in time. Beneath him was a sea of soft, smooth fabric that seemed to slip and slide underneath his touch as he moved very slightly with each breath he took, and another layer of fabric of the same material covered him, draped over his body loosely like a protective cover against the rest of the world. The fabric gave him warmth, sealing in the heat that radiated from his body, but nothing gave him more warmth than the body that lay beside him, with an appendage tucked safely underneath the back of his neck.

Evan's body was incredibly warm. Wherever their skin and their bodies met, Jonathan could feel nothing but heat – not a discomforting, burning sensation, but a glowering, dull heat, like a human-sized hot water bottle against his body. Evan's body was however, unlike the hot water bottle, for it was soft, yet firm. There was a firmness to the muscular frame that was pressed against Jonathan's body, yet the flesh was undeniably soft enough for comfort. Evan was in every sense a huge warm body pillow, moving only very slightly at Jonathan's side as they lay together on the bed in the larger of two bedrooms in the mountain cabin.

The past hours had been a complete blur. Evan had managed to dress himself loosely whilst he wiped at Jonathan's tear-streaked face as his sobs subsided to nothingness, and he seemed to make a conscious effort to touch Jonathan at any point of time. After the first breathless kiss, what felt like a thousand more smaller kisses had been exchanged between the two as Evan lay Jonathan onto the bed, coaxing the exhausted man who had wept his energy away and lulling him into a catatonic state. The words that slipped out of their mouths had sounded so surreal, and the sight of it all, blurred by the flood of tears, had made the memory of the past several hours seem so odd and dreamlike. Jonathan wondered quietly then if it had all been a dream and he was simply lying in bed, surrounded by a multitude of unusually warm pillows whilst Evan slept on in the other room, utterly disgusted and hell bent on maintaining his distance.

Whether it was a dream or not, however, did not bother Jonathan that much. What he knew was that the ache in his chest that had arisen from their little heart to heart talk had faded greatly, and had been overtaken by sweet, secretive warm throbbing in his chest, each pulse sending a soft echo of the precious words that had painfully delighted him through his head – I love you, I really do…

The thought of Evan's words made him uncontrollably happy. The initial burning and searing of the pain mixed with pleasure that came from the revelation had dwindled, giving way to sheer pleasure and joy that grew exponentially the more Jonathan thought of it. In the moment, Jonathan could not resist the urge to break into a small smile, and he did so, unaware of what he had just done.

It was then that whatever doubt he had of it all being a dream vanished. He felt a pair of lips against his forehead, the very same lips that had attacked at his neck on the first night at the beach house many months back – soft, tender, and slightly thin. For a brief moment, he considered that the pillows had grown a pair of lips, but quickly dismissed it when he felt another gentle peck on his forehead, this time fuller and more drawn out. He was being kissed, and he was being kissed by someone whose lips he was familiar with. His heart skipped a small beat, before returning to him, beating faster than before.

Gently, he turned body towards the source of the warmth and pushed his head against the puffy softness next to him. Inhaling the intoxicatingly husky scent of Evan's body, he gently nuzzled against it, pushing his face against what felt like a wall of firm musculature. He heard Evan take in a quiet, relaxed breath as he did, and no sooner than that, he felt another arm weigh itself gently against his waist, taking Jonathan into a loose embrace on the bed.

"I love you." Evan whispered softly, his breath gently brushing across Jonathan's skin.

A soft rustling of leaves outside of the cabin followed his words as a breeze blew in through the windows, gently caressing the back of Jonathan's neck. He shivered slightly, and pushed himself closer to Evan's sweet warmth. He felt the arm around his waist tighten then, with Evan lightly pulling his body closer.

"Are you cold?" Evan asked as Jonathan shivered slightly again. "The sun's coming in. It'll be warmer soon."

Jonathan shook his head. How could I be cold when you're here?

Evan chuckled almost inaudibly, and Jonathan soon felt a pair of lips against his forehead, pecking gently upwards towards his hairline. There, Evan stilled, and Jonathan heard an almost soundless intake of air. Evan was taking in his scent, every bit of it that emanated from him.

"Evan…" Jonathan croaked out, his voice hoarse from the lack of use. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, almost threatening to jump out from beyond the flesh and the bones in his body. "Stop…"

"Why?" Evan laughed into his hair, his chest shaking against Jonathan's face as he did. He gently kissed Jonathan's hair, before he continued, "Shy?"

Jonathan nodded silently, and Evan laughed once more.

"You're adorable when you're shy." He commented, before pulling back, loosening Jonathan from the embrace. He felt the hand on his waist slide up towards his face, and he felt Evan gently caress his cheek. "Your cheeks get all red and puffy when you blush. It's really cute."

Evan's hand was replaced by his soft lips on Jonathan's cheek. He gently kissed Jonathan, and Jonathan could feel the skin on his face burning underneath Evan's touch. They had kissed countless times before, yet with each kiss, his heart still jumped in happiness mixed with embarrassment and excitement. It was like his first kiss all over again – he felt like a schoolgirl, and everything was all fireworks.

Evan's lips traced downwards in a curve from his cheek slowly, and as he neared Jonathan's lips, he paused, pulling himself back, leaving Jonathan aching for more. He wanted Evan to kiss him full on the lips, and he wanted Evan to suck the breath out from his lungs in the act. No sooner had the thought formed in his head, he felt a pair of hands gently cup his cheeks, pulling him gently upwards and tilting his chin at a slight angle. Evan's lips pushed against his eagerly, excitedly, coaxing a gasp from Jonathan as his lips parted, allowing Evan's mouth to invade his. Slowly, as the initial shock subsided, Jonathan began to kiss back, pushing back against Evan's lips with his own. Curiously, he flicked Evan's upper lip with his tongue, parting it slightly.

His curiosity was answered with Evan's reciprocation – and their tongues mingled, dancing about each other's playfully. His tongue tingled with each touch, and he felt the urge to press his lips closer to Evan's, to give himself fully to him. A small part of him wondered if Evan felt the same just as the kiss got more intense and heated, their tongues wrestling each other's and their lips mashing roughly against each other's. I think he does.

Evan began to chase his tongue, their bodies coming closer than ever. Jonathan could feel the heat from his skin even better now, and he could smell the delicious scent off Evan. He was losing all rational thought, and he could feel it slipping away from him. His mind was about to go blank from the joy that he was experiencing. – No, pull back, pull –

Jonathan quickly pulled away from the kiss with what felt like the last of his strength. His eyes finally shot open, taking the room and the man in front of him in full view. The room was brighter than he thought it'd have been, with an almost-white light filtering in from behind him. The light hit Evan's face, illuminating it in in all its glory and creating a magnificent sparkle in his eyes that made him look all too beautiful for Jonathan to properly comprehend. His eyes carried a look of surprise mixed with desire as he closed up the gap between his reddening lips and licked them slightly, wetting them.

"Sorry," Jonathan breathed, attempting to mute the flames that had alighted in his chest. "It's just… it's just..." He took a deep breath, attempting to steady his heart. "It's going a little too fast…And I think we should take it a little slower… I mean, we've only been together for a few hours now…"

"Yeah, yeah, I agree." Evan quickly replied, his Adam's apple shifting visibly in his throat as he swallowed. His eyes darted back and forth from Jonathan to elsewhere in the room, as though he was trying very hard to think of something else, only to be led straight back to the man before him. After a pause, he spoke again, suggesting –

"We could…simply… just rest together for a bit. Like earlier on." Evan bit his lip slightly, extending an arm in an invitation that Jonathan took. They returned to the positions that they were once in, with one of Evan's arms tucked underneath Jonathan's head and the other gently slung around Jonathan's waist, as Jonathan pressed his face to Evan's chest. He felt his cheeks burn up even more against Evan, and he silently hoped that through the thin fabric that separated them two, Evan could feel no more than a slight warmth against his chest.

He gently titled his head, placing his ear against Evan's chest instead. He could hear the thrumming of Evan's heart against his chest, and he wondered if Evan's heart was beating faster than it should. His heartbeat was rhythmic, like a muffled beat to a song, and Jonathan wished he could pull himself closer to Evan and hear his heartbeat better.

He barely knew how much time had passed, or how long it had been or what time it was when the hand on his waist began to wander. He felt Evan's palm trace gently from his sides and his waist down towards his hips, where it lingered for a moment, before it slid towards the small of his back. Slowly, he felt Evan's hand begin to stroke him there, in a small up-and-down pattern that grew larger and larger the more he stroked.

"Evan…" Jonathan whined softly as he felt the hand get increasingly closer to his bum. "What… what are you doing…?"

"Mmm… Nothing." Evan murmured, his voice deep and low. His palm slide a little further south before continuing its little stroking pattern, making Jonathan shiver slightly from the sensations.

"That doesn't feel like 'nothing'." Jonathan complained. "It definitely doesn't sound like 'nothing', either."

"Well, I think that it is nothing." Evan said with a note of teasing in his voice that Jonathan quickly caught onto. "Why, got a problem with that?"

"N-No…" Jonathan stammered under his breath, his willpower shaking under the barely-there force of Evan's palm. "It just… It makes me… want more… than I should…"

A soft little chuckle rose from the depths of Evan's chest, and his hand traced a little further south, in a larger pattern. "What's wrong with wanting more?"

Jonathan felt Evan gently pull their bodies closer together, their hips touching ever so slightly now. He could feel Evan's breath gently brush across his skin as Evan gently lifted Jonathan's face to the same level as his.

"Too – too close…" Jonathan breathed.

"You're avoiding the question," Evan purred, a playful twinkle forming in his eyes. "What's wrong with wanting more?"

He was crumbling under Evan's teasing. The palm stuck where it was, unbearably close to his bum, alternating between a back and forth motion and a circular motion, stroking so teasingly and so gently that Jonathan could only shudder under Evan's touch. He could already feel an urge stirring away within him, something that he had readily suppressed for the past several months the best he could – a familiar heat that resided within the depths of his stomach and his abdomen as parts of his body were compelled by Evan's actions to wake up.

"Too much," Jonathan finally answered, his voice high and strained from effort. "I mean… you're new to this… I haven't been with someone for some time… and… we haven't even… gotten the chance to do other – other couple things yet."

"Mmmh." Evan hummed, the playfulness still dancing around in his voice. "It's been very couple-y for ages now. We've kissed. We've hugged. And although it wasn't official, we've been on dates."

"We didn't – we didn't go on dates."

"We kind of did." Evan replied, the smirk on his face growing. "Oh, you meant as an official couple, the entire perfect first date thing. Hmm. Let's see…"

He screwed up his face in mock concentration, his palm stilling over a dangerously sensitive area on Jonathan's rump. "Our perfect first date. I'll make you breakfast – sausages and scrambled eggs with a light potato salad on the side. I think you'll like that. And I'll top it all off with a cup of warm, sweet tea. All nice and light. And I'll make it extra pretty and serve it to you in bed because that's what a pretty man like you deserves."

He paused, smirking wider. "And then after we're done, we'll drive down this mountain and look for a carnival to spend our day at. I'll take you on all the crazy rides that go so fast and so high you'll scream your lungs out until, and then I'll hold you tight after each and every one of them so you'll feel nice and safe in my arms. And then we'll go around all the carnival game stores, and we'll play so many of them you'll be laughing your head off. I'll win you all the cute and cuddly teddy bears, so much that you can't even hold them by the time we decide to leave."

Jonathan could see it in his head – the two of them, hand in hand, their fingers intertwined with each other's, running about an amusement park and amusing themselves with the games and displays. He could imagine every soft, fluffy teddy bear Evan would hand to him, grinning, and every soft kiss he would give him as he did. His heart pumped a little faster at the thought, and a tiny smile played at his lips at the idea of it all.

Evan laughed softly, evidently pleased with the reaction that he was getting. He continued –

"We'd have a nice dinner at a restaurant nearby. I'll request for a private area all to ourselves, and I'll make sure you're off to the bathroom for some reason first before I request for a few candles and order a nice three-course meal for us. All secretly, though, so I'll get to see the surprise on your face and watch your eyes light up when you walk through the door again and see the romantic set-up that I did for the both of us. We'll have a romantic dinner together, and maybe I'll play footsies with you under the table."

He held Jonathan a little tighter, his palm inching downwards a little further, before he spoke again. "And then we'll come back up, probably after you've sung your heart out to some song on the radio, and then we'll bring the music with us. I'll bring you into a slow dance, and I'll spin you around until you're dizzy and giddy and giggly as you always are. And when the moon is at its brightest, I'll lay you down on the bed, and kiss you here –"

He thumbed at the corner of Jonathan's lips with a small, content sigh, and continued –

"– and then we'll undress each other, touch every bit of each other's skin…"

Evan paused, mulling over his words dramatically, before he started once more –

"…and it'll be all mature and perfect. That'll be our perfect first date. How does that sound?"

"It sounds… perf- oh!"

Jonathan had barely managed to finish his words just as Evan slid his palm underneath the fabric of his sweatpants and his briefs, the heat of his skin meeting Jonathan's bare ass. With a playful wink, Evan squeezed his rump, extorting a sharp moan from Jonathan as he spoke.

"I'm sorry? I didn't hear your opinion on that." Evan teased, the playfulness in his voice coming out in full force, his voice rough and strained as it always got whenever he was in a particularly lively mood. "Tell me again – how does that sound to you? Does that sound like an amazing idea, or do you have something else on your mind right now?"

Jonathan's mind was swirling. Evan's hands were pressing and squeezing insistently on his ass, and he could barely focus on Evan's words. Evan was like a lion playing with his food just before he ate – and Jonathan was his meal, his prey, his little lamb shuddering pleasurably in his arms. He was the emperor of the night, basking in the glory of his control over Jonathan's body.

"E-Evan… Y-You're so m-mean…" Jonathan whined, words barely forming on his lips as Evan pressed his hips against Jonathan's. It was as though a sea of gasoline had washed over the flames that had lit themselves in Jonathan's loins – and a burning desire seeped through, with his lower body waking up to the possibilities that it had missed for so long. He could feel the layers of fabric between them stretching stiffly to accommodate them both, and Jonathan swore to himself that he could feel a growing bulge between them that was not just his. It began to dawn hazily on him that Evan wanted him as much as he did – and all that desire and yearning was suppressed by a tremendous uncertainty masked by his playfulness. He needed a little push, and it had to come from Jonathan.

"Really?" Evan pushed against him gently, their groins grinding roughly against each other. "If you feel that way, we could simply just go for that perfect little first date now –"

"Shut the fuck up about perfection and fuck me already!"

The growl escaped Jonathan's lips before he could fully comprehend what he had said and that he had said it out loud. Just as he growled his demands out loud, he launched at Evan, crawling to his feet above him and mounting the man hungrily. He looked down at Evan, chest heaving, and peered into the man's lust-filled eyes. He could feel Evan's crotch straining underneath his almost painfully to meet his, and in a moment of devilish defiance, he pushed his weight down against Evan's legs, the two packages meeting. Within the man's eyes, Jonathan could see Evan unhinging, letting go of all restraints and all that held him back from his desires. With a renewed vigor and a surprising amount of strength, Evan shifted his hips against Jonathan's teasingly, lifting them both slightly off the bed before settling them back down.

"I thought you wanted to wait?" He teased, the playfulness genuine and full of heated sensuality now. "Didn't you want to wait for me to get used to this?"

Jonathan leaned down and aimed at Evan's mouth with a feral growl, taking him into a hot wet kiss, their tongues mashing wildly against each other's with a passionate, furious need. The desire coursed through Jonathan's veins like fire in his blood, and he wanted nothing more than to have Evan take him there and then.

"I guess that's a no," Evan laughed softly when Jonathan finally released his lips from the kiss. His gaze became gradually less playful as they peered into each other's sockets, their tip of their noses brushing each other's ever so slightly. "I want to feel you, Jonathan. As badly as you want to feel me. Fuck that perfect first date, Jonathan. I want to feel you."

He rocked his hips against Jonathan's gently as though to emphasize his words. Jonathan let out a gasp as he felt the firmness in their pants meet – Evan meant it, every single word of it.

Grinning wildly, Jonathan slid down, allowing his fingers to trace across Evan's torso and the fabric that covered it, feeling the detail of the man's muscles underneath it. He continued snaking downwards, all the way until he was kneeling with Evan's knees between his legs, and his face was right by Evan's crotch. Gingerly, he found and tugged at the hemline of Evan's pants, and slowly began to unfurl layer of fabric at once downwards and away from his body. As he dragged Evan's pants to his ankles, he allowed his eyes to wander and feast on the wonderful sight that Evan bared before him.

"You're hot," Jonathan commented, his voice only coming out in a quick, raspy whisper as his eyes lingered on the twitching bulge before him. "So fucking hot."

"You like…?" Evan asked, his voice equally gruff, and he made a slight wriggling motion, kicking away the bit of clothing at his ankles and propping his body up slightly to look at Jonathan.

"Yeah," Jonathan breathed. "I'll like it better when it's all off, though."

Beneath the cotton briefs, there was a pronounced thickening of the shaft – Evan liked the thought of his goods being admired. Jonathan smiled and placed a palm on the lump in his briefs, pawing away at it impishly, tracing slowly from the very tip to the base.

"Oh, god, you-…" Evan cried out, before he gave up and settled into a small delicious moan. Pleased, Jonathan rubbed a little harder at the swelling organ through Evan's briefs. "You like that?"

Evan nodded, unable to even form a coherent sentence as he squirmed in pleasure. Jonathan watched as he clasped at the silk bedsheets roughly, attempting to control himself and grab ahold of his thoughts.

Deviously, he decided to temporarily end his torture of Evan, and undress the man down to his bare minimum. As he removed his hands from Evan's body, Evan settled back in bed with a helpless whine.

"Sit up," Jonathan commanded, pulling Evan upright into a sitting position before he instructed again – "arms up."

Reluctantly, Evan lifted his arms and surrendered himself to Jonathan, allowing Jonathan to pull the tight shirt that covered his torso over his head and off his taut body. His tanned skin glowed even in the little bit of light that filtered in through the window, and mesmerized by the sight, Jonathan demanded silently to see more. He pushed Evan back down onto the bed, his fingers playing at the hemline of his briefs once more. This time, without a single pause to hesitate or to tease, he pulled the fabric off, watching as his length sprang forth, straining with effort as it stood at attention.

"You're so fucking hot," Jonathan repeated once more, making sure to lick his lips in the most pronounced fashion as he could just to watch the desire rage on in Evan's eyes. He soon bent down towards Evan's twitching member, and as Evan propped himself up once more, he stole a quick, sensual glance with at Evan, before he took Evan into his mouth, feeling every inch of Evan's thick manhood.

"Oh – god – Jonathan…" Evan cried out helplessly. Jonathan slowly lifted his head from the base of Evan's member to the very tip, where he released Evan with a devilish grin and a loud, wet 'pop'.

"What's up?" He asked, the soft buzzing in his ears and the sensual haze beginning to cloud his mind. A small part of his mind wondered how long he still could go on before he would start blabbering and begging Evan to screw him senseless – as if he wasn't already beginning to go senseless from all the endless teasing.

"Don't stop," Evan whispered, his voice thick with desire. Jonathan obliged, kissing the very tip before taking Evan back into his mouth, eliciting a pleasured groan from the man. Running his tongue across the tautest part of his member, Jonathan pulled his head back up, before sliding his tongue up against the tip, flicking away gently at the leaking slit. With a sudden movement, he slid Evan back into his mouth all the way, taking his full length in, until he felt a familiar discomfort in the back of his mouth.

Jonathan took a moment to reign himself in as the feeling hit – and another before he regained the long-lost ability to resist the gagging feeling. Once he had begun doing so, all else was familiar, like something he had practiced for long before, and he began to take Evan a little deeper into his mouth and his throat, pulling out with every stroke to reveal a thick wet rod of glistening pink and red, straining with need. Eventually, he began to tighten his lips around the knob at every pull back, lifting his head just enough to see Evan go absolutely insane, before he thrust Evan deep back within him.

He was barely thinking now, with his mind caught up in the fog and haze of sensuality. He was ruled by practiced instinct, and all he wanted to do was to make the man before him a shaking, groaning mess. A few of senses were heightened immensely – his ears seemingly fishing out Evan's joyful little moans amongst all the other sounds around him, his skin increasingly sensitive to the slightest of touches and sensations, and his nose was particularly keen on the scent of Evan. His sight, however, was growing slightly blurry – and he knew it wasn't about to get any better as long as the both of them still desired each other in the moment.

At some point, he felt Evan's fingers thread through his hair, running through the mass as if it provided some relief from the torture. His moans were loud and eager, echoing throughout the room around them, growing hoarse and gravelly as he threw his head back in immense pleasure.

Jonathan pulled his head upwards once more, his tongue trailing along Evan's shaft roughly before he released Evan from the tight grasp of his lips. "How d'you like that?"

Evan did not speak, with only soft pants escaping his lips as he propped himself up once more into a sitting position, his legs dragging upwards and away from Jonathan. Abruptly, he dove at Jonathan, their lips meeting fervently in a dance of their passion.

A very small part of Jonathan's conscious mind directed its attention to a fumbling at his waist – Evan was struggling to undo the knotted up drawstring of his sweatpants with shaking hands. Within a moment, the struggle ended, and cool air hit Jonathan's legs harshly as a breeze drew in, and goosebumps began to form all over his skin. He shivered underneath Evan's body, both in the slight cold and in excitement.

He was barely aware of it when Evan removed the rest of his clothes and left him bare and quivering on the bed. All he knew was that when Evan stared down on his nakedness, his eyes full of appreciation and yearning and love, the chill of the wind that blew into the room no longer affected him, and the room seemed to have set itself on fire, becoming almost a thousand degrees hotter. His body knew it was being looked at, and it knew it was being adored. He gasped excitedly as the muscles in his nether region contracted sharply.

"You're really pretty too," Evan breathed. "You're the prettiest thing in this room."

Evan bent down, almost in wonder as he examined Jonathan's lower body. It was almost as though he had never seen a man's organ before – there was an almost innocent curiosity to the way he traced with his fingers up the little vein that crawled up from the base of Jonathan's shaft to the tip of his knob. His eyes glimmered inquisitively, and as though he was testing the waters, he took Jonathan into his mouth, the hot wet insides of his mouth enveloping the taut, sensitive head of Jonathan's manhood. Evan pushed forth, taking Jonathan deeper and deeper into his mouth, inch by inch, until he promptly gagged and released Jonathan, coughing and sputtering momentarily.

"Are you okay?" Jonathan shot up, reaching for Evan's head in concern. "You don't have to do this if you can't –"

"No, I'm okay, I'm fine," Evan coughed out, interrupting Jonathan sharply. "I'll do this. I went a little too fast and choked, that's all."

"Evan…"

"I know how much I can take, Jonathan. Please let me do this. I've been dreaming about this forever." Evan pleaded, his gaze sincere. As if Jonathan's resolve wasn't shaky enough, he added seductively – "Dreaming about sucking you off slowly and driving you absolutely insane. Absolutely delirious."

He licked his lips slowly, sealing the deal in Jonathan's mind as he collapsed back onto the soft bedsheets and allowed Evan to take him once more, this time slower than ever. Evan seemed determined to keep to his word and drive Jonathan absolutely crazy, as his tongue trailed up Jonathan's length at such an excruciating speed that Jonathan felt compelled to grab Evan's head and push him downwards, harder and faster. The only thing that held him back was the paralyzing pleasure that was shooting through his body as Evan's rigid little mouth tightened around the most sensitive areas of his member. Defeated, Jonathan was reduced to grabbing at the bedsheets between his fingers and throwing his head back into the softness of the bed, moaning treacherously.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it," Evan murmured as he kissed at the tip, causing Jonathan to groan painfully at the teasing. "It's so weird…but so right…doing it with the man I love…"

The tenderness and the seductiveness that Evan was saying it all with made Jonathan's chest swell. His member twitched once more in need, straining for more attention, and Evan gladly took care of it, swiveling his tongue around the reddening nub – at first slowly, then gradually faster and faster, making sure to linger over his now glistening slit every now and then just as beads of clear, thick fluids began to bubble to the surface.

Jonathan could feel the pressure building within him. His head was swimming, and he was barely even thinking straight – but the moment he felt the shaky pressure on his groin, he knew he had to stop Evan from going any further.

"E-van… Evan, stop," Jonathan whimpered, his voice coming out hoarse from the depths of his dry throat. "I don't wanna… Not yet…"

Evan lifted his head once more, his lips wet with saliva and Jonathan's juices. "Why? Wasn't it good?"

"It's too much," Jonathan cried. "I'm going to… it's going to end before everything's started."

"Why?" Evan repeated, the answer evident to him as a finger wandered downwards to Jonathan's small pucker. "Thinking of something else?"

God, yes. Just take me, Evan, just take me now. Fuck me hard until I go senseless. Just do me. Put yourself in me and do me. Please…

For a moment, Jonathan thought those words stayed in the privacy of his whirling head. It was only when a triumphant smirk plastered itself on Evan's face that he realized that he had said the words out loud. He had begged Evan to fuck him out loud.

"Can't wait, eh? Didn't you want to take it slow?"

Jonathan swallowed hard. "I – I… please, Evan…make me yours. Screw taking it slow, just make me yours."

The effect of his words on Evan was instantaneous. Evan threw himself downwards and their lips mashed together hard in a celebration of their furious passion. Their hips ground together, and Evan's hands wandered all over Jonathan's body, twisting at the taut pink nubs on his chest, stroking away at his lower back and at his posterior, squeezing the sides of his thighs gently as he drew Jonathan closer to him, as much as their bodies would allow them. It seemed to Jonathan that it was the beginning of Evan's way of making Jonathan his, of taking every bit of Jonathan in.

After a few long moments, Jonathan found himself in an odd position. His legs were spread, and Evan was perched at the entrance, pushing slightly and dangerously, raring to go. The teasing to his pucker sent Jonathan shivering pleasurably, his hole twitching and ready for Evan. Evan, however, frowned as he looked about the room.

"Do me," Jonathan whispered, his tongue thick, dry and heavy. "Put it in."

"Not yet, sweetheart. I know you can't wait, and I can't wait either." Evan replied as he removed himself from Jonathan to rummage through an end table by the bedside. "Luke's got to have thought of this… A-ha!"

Evan extracted a purple bottle and a small red box that Jonathan remembered from some very distant memory with Nick. It took him a few seconds to fully recollect and comprehend what they were and why they needed them, although Jonathan strongly doubted that the necessity of the purple lube bottle.

"Safety first." Evan grinned a perfect grin as he tore into the little red box, and settled back by Jonathan's body. "Luke thought of just about everything, huh?"

Jonathan pouted. "You make me - the sexless pervert - sound like I'm infected with some disease you don't want to catch."

"It's not that I don't trust you." Evan replied as he detached a small red plastic packet from a chain. "I don't trust myself."

Jonathan frowned. "You haven't gotten together with anyone after Sarah."

"Not that - I'm very sure I haven't caught anything. I'm just not sure I won't hurt you, Jonathan." Evan cooed softly. "I want this to be great for the both of us. I don't know how long you've been out of action, but I don't want to risk this hurting for you one bit. I don't want to lose you even before we've begun. You're too precious for that."

Evan's voice were like magic, bending Jonathan's willpower into sweet submission. The words he spoke completely broke down all of Jonathan's restraint and hesitations, and Jonathans simply lay back and pulled his knees up to his chest, giving Evan full access to his ass.

"Sheesh, you're easy." Evan chuckled, then became thoughtful once more. He looked uncertainly at the bottle of lube in his hands and began, "Uh… how do I go about this?"

"Gimme that." Jonathan instructed patiently, and Evan handed him the purple bottle. With a flip of the cap, Jonathan squirted a sizeable amount of clear liquid onto his palm and spread the lubricant across his hand. Evan quickly followed suit, his hands soon gleaming with grease.

Jonathan circled his pucker steadily, leaving the entrance wet and shiny. Slowly, he inserted a finger, pushing deep within himself, his pleasure pronounced by a shaky moan.

"Come on," he breathed. "You've probably done this before with someone else."

Evan gave him a sheepish look. "Except I was drunk the whole time and I didn't know what the hell I was doing."

"Just…put it in…" Jonathan whispered, shuddering as he hit a spot deep within himself. "…Warm it and put it in…"

Evan did as he was told, all the while dumbfounded by Jonathan's writhing form before him. As his fingers joined Jonathan's inside, Jonathan groaned, his member twitching in recognition of the oncoming treat his body was about to get.

"God…it's so good…" Jonathan mewled. "Ev-Evan… more…please…more…"

Evan obliged, thrusting another digit into the mix, and Jonathan let out a satisfied little groan, nodding slightly in approval. He could feel the three fingers gyrating within him, greasing up his insides as a desire grew within him for more. He needed something bigger, something better. His hips were buckling under the sheer desire and the intense pleasure, and brusquely, with a whine, he withdrew their fingers from within him, and began to focus his efforts on Evan.

"Mm... Is that what you want?" Evan purred seductively as Jonathan began to stroke his length slowly, leaving a wet trail behind. "Are you ready, baby?"

"It's what I've always wanted, Evan," Jonathan whispered. "Please…"

Evan beamed, encouraged by Jonathan's words. Gingerly, he unwrapped the red plastic package, revealing the rubbery material underneath. Almost masterfully, he pulled the rubber over his manhood and positioned himself at Jonathan's quivering entrance once more. He hesitated for a moment, before gently guiding himself into Jonathan.

The next few minutes felt much longer than it actually was. As Evan's hardness began to fill Jonathan's insides, he let out a loud, thrilled groan. The excitement that boiled within him was beginning to spill over as he vaguely felt his ass pulse slightly at the heavenly sensations he was experiencing for the first time after so long. As Evan pushed in further and further, he felt his opening stretching and expanding, making space for the man he loved so much, the man he wanted to feel, the only man he would allow within him. With a final push that coaxed a pressed moan from Jonathan's throat, Evan slid his full length within Jonathan, completing him and blinding him as he saw what seemed like the stars and the moon in his head.

"Fuck," Evan grunted. "You're so fucking tight. I don't think I can last as long as I'd like, because your ass is just that fucking great."

"Shut up and fuck me," Jonathan growled, his ears buzzing. Arching his back, he tried to push against Evan, to get him deeper within him, an action that was answered by a rough pullback and a thrust from Evan.

"Oh, fuck," Jonathan gasped as Evan thrust deep within him once more. "Fuck."

Jonathan was steadily losing control of himself. Thrust after thrust, again and again, the only thing that he knew was that Evan was making love to him, that Evan was fucking him silly. His moans grew louder and louder, his mouth frozen in a perfect 'O' as he cried out his pleasure, and his throat was dry from the constant panting and screams of joy. His tongue hung limply in his mouth, parched dry, only moistened by Evan's mouth every once in a while whenever Evan bent down to kiss him deep and hard.

"So lewd," Evan commented in between another kiss, their noses touching, wet with sweat. "So fucking cute, too."

No sound could come out of Jonathan's mouth, and he simply ran his legs up Evan's shoulders woozily, wringing them around his neck with the last of his conscious energy. He was growing and closer to the edge, and he needed to break the barrier. He was trapped outside the gates of heaven and needed a way in. Evan took the hint quickly, and straightened up, a perfect, sensual smirk growing on his face.

The change in position made the first thrust almost unbearable for Jonathan. He felt the hardness of Evan's length charge straight over his sweet spot, his tender area – and he cried out louder than ever as Evan plunged deeper and deeper within him. Whatever part of his mind that still remained conscious became aware that he was not going to last much longer, that he would, at any point, lose himself to the devilish lust and be consumed by the dark abyss that Evan had created for him.

It was not long before Evan's thrusts became panicky and rushed, almost as though a race had begun. He was panting roughly, grunting with each forceful thrust, ramming himself as deep as he could within his lover.

"Jonathan…" He gasped out loud between pants. "You're… so…fucking…sexy…"

His cheeks were flushed a bright crimson red from the heat and the physical exertion. The dark brown in his eyes were now no longer warm, but rough and harsh and ferocious. The emperor of the night within Evan had taken over, and he had a sole purpose – to make Jonathan his.

Perhaps it was that look that Evan gave him that began to send Jonathan straight over the edge, for when Evan gazed deep into his blue eyes, his intent clear, Jonathan's mind disconnected itself from his body, and he was but a writhing, moaning mess underneath Evan's body. Droplets of clear, thick fluid dribbled from the slit of his member and dripped onto his abdomen as it twitched ever so frequently. His ass was pulsing furiously with each heated thrust over his sensitive spot, and Jonathan could feel the world closing in around him. He was close – very, very close.

"I'm so…fucking close, Jonathan…Can you… feel that?" Evan growled. "Can you feel… how hard I am inside you? …How hard I'm… fucking you?"

Jonathan groaned in response, barely comprehending Evan's words. With weak, shaking hands, he reached out towards his own length, attempting to stimulate it. His attempts were fruitless – his hands were shaking too much, and he was too weak all over to properly move his wrist.

Evan lifted Jonathan's legs over his head, higher than before, and began pushing incredibly deep within. "I…Jonathan… Jonathan!"

A rough, final thrust did the job for the both of them. With a cry, countless strings of hot, thick white fluids began to spill from Jonathan's convulsing member, his abdomen tightening and contracting as each wave of joy and pleasure rolled over his body, exploding within him like fireworks on New Year's Day. His insides were quivering spasmodically, tightening themselves around Evan, eliciting a shout from the man as he shot his seed into a condom within his lover.

Spent, the two men collapsed onto each other, their bodies melding together with a once-unknown familiarity. Evan quickly pulled the rubber off himself, lazily tying it up and chucking it aside for a later disposal. They spent the following moments listening to each other as their breathing slowed down and became quieter, as their heartbeats slowed to a loving, romantic rhythm that danced together in their own song. With tender kisses, they spoke their love for each other as they basked in the glow of the aftermath of their lovemaking.

"I loved that, every moment of it." Jonathan breathed softly, his eyes slowly opening and his vision finally clearing up. "And I love the man that did that to me, too."

"I love you too," Evan answered. He looked perfectly worn out by the physical ordeal the both of them had went through, and his lips were slightly parted lazily, as though he barely even had the strength to close them. "I love you so much I want to do that to you for the rest of our lives. Even when we're old and can't move anymore."

A soft laugh emerged from the depths of Jonathan's chest as he kissed the man he loved so much. It wasn't until he became aware of the cold slippery feeling on his abdomen that he jumped, struggling to get out of the little cradle that Evan's arms had formed around him.

"Oh, shit." He groaned as he wriggled away from Evan.

"What?" Evan's eyes shot open, the weariness visible in the darkness of his brown eyes. "Are you hurt? Does it hurt?"

"No – no, why would it? It's just that… I think we might've ruined these sheets." Jonathan groused, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "And they were nice and soft, too. I really liked them."

Jonathan traced his fingers over the dark splotches that had formed on the silky sheets where his body once lay, and then looked down at his own body. "We made such a mess, too."

Evan drew him closer and took him into another kiss. "We can always take it down with us and send it for a wash. Right now, I just want to hold you."

And hold him he did. Evan held him tighter than ever, his thick arms lazily yet firmly slung around Jonathan's body, as if he was afraid that Jonathan would slip away at any moment. For a few moments, Jonathan thought that he had fallen asleep, but Evan would shift ever so slightly once in a while, and his eyes would flutter open once in a while, and upon seeing Jonathan's presence, shut themselves off into a relaxed state.

Evan spoke after a long moment, the energy coming back into his voice. "That was so good I thought I'd died. And when I didn't, I thought I'd drop dead soon after that."

"Don't say that." Jonathan chided, not liking the idea one bit. "You're alive and kicking and I love you, so don't ever say that."

"It's so fucking good, though." Evan whined, his eyes finally fluttering open once more, rejuvenated. "You're so fucking good. I think you sent me to heaven, and then they didn't want me there because you're here waiting for me."

"Shut up." Jonathan grinned, his heart bursting with warmth. "We need to get cleaned up, you wonderful slob."

"Al-right," Evan drawled, getting up languidly, fingers wringing around Jonathan's as he half-dragged the man into the bathroom with him.

"I've never really done this before," Jonathan sighed as he leaned back into Evan's lean body in a tub of hot soapy water moments later. "Not even with…"

"With… what's his name, Nick?" Evan finished for him. "That guy sure has a lot on you. I'm envious."

"Yeah… used to. Not so much now. It's been ages, and I can't imagine life today with him. He took a lot of my firsts, but I think you're going to give me a whole new set of them. Like this, for example."

Evan gently kissed at his neck where the ink began on his skin. "Well, he did a good job with you. That's one sexy ass tattoo."

Jonathan smiled to himself. "He liked it. I like it, too, I'm not gonna lie. But it makes me the happiest to know that you like it."

"I do." Evan commented as he traced a finger down where the tattoo ran on his back and his arm. Slowly, his hand dipped into the water, still tracing, and stilled suddenly near Jonathan's lower back, as though he remembered something. Jonathan sighed, the relief and humor taken out of it this time.

"Evan, listen…" He turned back to face the man's worried face. "I'm fine. It's all over now, and I'm fine."

A doubtful glint passed Evan's eye as he palmed the small of Jonathan's back where the little scars lay. "I still don't know about… about that. You didn't want to tell me, but I need to know, Jonathan."

Jonathan sighed once again and leaned back into Evan's arms. "Nick had a brother. His name's Eric. The very same guy that was… responsible for what happened on Christmas. Eric didn't like the idea of me around Nick. Simply put… those were his warnings. It's what got him into jail the first time."

He could almost see Evan clenching his jaw tight. "The sick fuck burned you with cigarettes just to warn you."

"To be fair, he wasn't in good company. Or a good state of mind." Jonathan reasoned, not quite understanding why he was being reasonable about Eric or defending him in the first place. "Aside from Nick and a couple of other kids, the rest of the football team looked like they might've gotten hit up by some gang."

"That's still not alright." Evan seethed. "That's just fucking sick. I used to know this kid Timmy back then. His brother was the captain of the hockey team. He started showing up with bruises and burns like yours, and always made sure it was covered by a jacket or something. He thought I wouldn't find out, except I was pretty much his go-to buddy even in the showers after practice."

A thoughtful sigh escaped his lips as he recalled the events from his past. "I made him tell me what was going on. His dad was going fucking psycho from his drug addiction. Did favors for the local gang for whatever he could get his hands on. Practically was one of them. Took it out on Timmy whenever he went into withdrawal, whenever Timmy messed up and pissed him off big time. It's the first I've seen of fresh cigarette burns. I ended up telling Sam – that's the team captain – about it. Weeks later they took off and left school and home. I never heard from them ever since."

"It's why I freaked when I saw those scars on you," he continued. "I thought you were in a gang, or you pissed off someone from a gang. I wasn't too far off, was I?"

Jonathan shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. Back then, losing Nick hurt like hell, more than the burns did. And I couldn't even respond to being called 'Johnny' for so long, too. Eric used to call me that. Now… all of it, it's all history. They're just scars on my back, in my past."

The two of them fell silent for a bit, listening as droplets of water dripped from the faucet into the tub of water.

"So… about that Timmy…" Jonathan started, pouting slightly.

"Like I said, I never heard from him since." Evan replied. "Why, jealous?"

Jonathan pouted silently at the water in front of him. "You liked him. You sound like you still do."

Evan chuckled and pulled Jonathan in for a gentle kiss. "He gave me a head start on guys, I'll admit that. But I'm sure you'll give me the rest. It's been so long. I don't know how he's like anymore, and I don't know what he's become. Like you said, it's all history. He's just a part of my past that's made an impact on me."

Jonathan pouted silently, prompting Evan to gently caress his cheek with another soft chuckle. "Aw, come on," he cooed. "You're prettier than he is. You know me better, and you love me for who I am. And you have the prettiest, brightest, most amazing, most exciting crazy blue eyes I have ever seen and I don't think I can ever get enough of."

A small coy smile appeared on the sides of Jonathan's mouth as they fell into silence again, gently scrubbing each other down with the soapy suds floating atop the water. Evan's fingers threaded into Jonathan's hair once more, scrubbing gently away at his scalp as Jonathan lay back comfortably into his chest again.

"You really like pampering me, huh?" Jonathan whispered, his eyes shut in relaxation.

"Mm-hm. But I really like your hair in general. It's so soft… and washing it that time was so nice."

"Maybe you'll get to wash it for me more from now on."

"I am going to wash it more for you, any chance I get." Evan teased. "Just make sure your hair doesn't fall out before I'm done with you."

"I think I'll shrivel up and freeze before you do," Jonathan replied distractedly as he examined his wrinkled fingertips. "The water's getting cold and I'm getting all pruny."

Evan sighed as he got up to unplug sink in the tub, turning on the shower head above as he did. "All good things must come to an end, I guess," he murmured as he invited Jonathan underneath the rainfall of water droplets to rinse himself off. "At least it leads to another good thing."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow after a pause as they stepped out from underneath the flow of water, now clean, but wet. "Go on?"

"Not telling you until we're dry." Evan teased. "And not until we've eaten that meatloaf that you were gushing over yesterday."

Jonathan stared at him incredulously, and Evan decided to change the subject. "Are there any towels we could use? I forgot to bring mine in."

"In the cabinet by the door." Jonathan pointed. "I've just… kind of never used them because they're too nice to use."

"I see why," Evan commented as he flung the cabinet doors open, reaching inwards to touch some unknown material. "They're really soft, way better than the ones you get at hotels. Who stocked all these things?"

Jonathan shrugged, clambering out of the bathtub to join Evan by the cabinets as he stroked the surface of the soft white towels. "Probably my mom and dad. Or Hannah. They're the only crazy romantics I know."

Evan snorted, wrapping a towel around Jonathan's body and gently drying it. "I see where you came from, then."

"You make it sound like it's in my blood, but Jenn's not even that way. She's the exact opposite, if you can remember." Jonathan mumbled as Evan rubbed him down with the soft towel. The sensations were absolutely heavenly that he could have simply laid down right there and then and slept there with nothing but the towel around him.

"Uhm… Jonathan?" Evan called out. "Check this out."

Jonathan peeked past Evan's shoulder, the towel still wrapped messily around his body. In a corner of the cabinet lay two sets of black silk pajamas, with a note attached to it. Whoever it is that wrote the note had cheekily written – "Enjoy!" with a small little face drawn on at the end of the note, winking back at them. The handwriting was not the messy scrawl of Luke's that Jonathan had gotten to see all the time, but a neater, more controlled hand – one that he had seen elsewhere before…

"I think I've seen that handwriting somewhere..." Jonathan began, frowning. He spent a moment parsing through his memory, attempting to remember where he had seen it and who it was from.

"I think I know who did this," Evan commented as he retrieved the pajamas from the cabinet. "Two people came up here before us, and Luke was one of them. The other one is one of the biggest romantics you know. I wouldn't be surprised if she was also the one who put the stuff in the drawer by the bed."

"Oh." Jonathan managed, just as the memory tumbling back sloppily to him. The neat handwriting had been on a note on a food carton several months back directing him to a sweater made by Hannah. Yeah, sounds like her to do this for us.

"Put it on," Evan urged as he pushed a set at Jonathan.

"We're not going to bed, we're only starting our day," Jonathan complained in response.

"I never said we were. We've got a meatloaf to eat." Evan smiled as he slipped on the pajamas. The dark fabric wrapped around his body tightly, showing off an impressive set of muscles. "After that, though..."

"What?" Jonathan asked impatiently, dressing himself up reluctantly with the pajamas as well.

"Maybe another birthday gift involving us, the bed and our matching pajamas, and maybe we should get a head start on trying out new positions, maybe try out swapping a little as well, I don't know." Evan purred softly as he licked his lips. Jonathan's heart might've stilled in the moment that Evan took him in his arms and whispered softly –

"I know you hate it, but… Happy Birthday, my love."

It would be the best birthday Jonathan ever had, a celebration that transcended his dislike for the occasion.

---

Miles away, in a house far below the mountains, a room sat full and still. The inhabitants stared lazily at their phones or their laptops, their stomachs full and the gears in their heads cranking slowly as the post-meal food coma began to set in. The general darkness all around outside the house that encapsulated them made them even sleepier, and the energy levels in the room were at an all-time low. Even the bearded man, the owner of the place, who was usually full of energy and vitality, was slumped over on the couch, barely moving and his breathing slow.

A sharp snap from Tyler as he shut his laptop together sent all heads shooting in his direction. Unapologetically, he stretched out indolently and groaned out loud –

"Damn, it's been forever. We've been here forever and checked all of his place and Luke's place out and they still haven't showed up. Maybe they'll never show up and we should just go home. I'm bored to death."

"Patience, Tyler," Craig advised. "Besides, it's Jonathan's birthday. We're here because we wanted to celebrate it together. I don't think they'll disappoint us by not showing up. Jonathan's bound to want to have Luke celebrate it with him, they'll come looking for us soon."

"But it's been forever," Tyler whined. "Usually they get their shit sorted faster than that."

"Not forever." Brock corrected. "It's only been two days. Besides, this is a special case. They need some time, and even after sorting things out, I'm sure they'd want some time to themselves before they come to us. Either way, I have faith they'll turn up soon."

A sharp screech of car tires outside sent the room into an excited flurry, and Luke stood up and strode the windows, pulling back the blinds slightly to peek outside.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered excitedly, smiling triumphantly with his baby tooth showing devilishly as he half-flew to the door, throwing it open to receive Jonathan and Evan.

The two men stood oddly close together, their bodies positioned perfectly beside each other's in an unusually stiff fashion, as if they were hiding something behind their backs.

"Hey, Luke," Jonathan greeted cheerily as the two men pushed past him through the doorway. "And everybody's here, hey!"

A suspicious flash of skin from behind their backs caught Luke's eye, and he spun around sharply to confirm what he saw. With a sudden, incomprehensible yell – "You motherfuckers!"- He bolted at them both, causing the two men to part each other's side.

As their bodies moved apart, the room was graced with the sight that they needed to see for the longest time. The two men had their hands twisted into teach others', fingers intertwined warmly and firmly in a romantic fashion. They were together, not just as friends, but much, much more. They were together.

The once-lifeless room burst into energetic cheers as each person in the room broke the happy little couple apart to hug them separately, then together all at once. Congratulatory remarks were repeated all throughout the room, complete with strained yells from Jonathan as a gushing Craig and Marcel threatened to break him under their tight bear hugs.

"It all worked out in the end," Brock commented as he slung an arm around Evan's shoulder almost uncomfortably as their muscles strained to make space for each other. "I'm so happy for you, dude."

"I don't think 'happy' even cuts it for me, man." Evan breathed. "It's so unreal, I'm waiting for the moment I wake up to find out that I was either dreaming or that I'm long dead."

"Hey, don't say that. This is real. Just look at how happy he is and tell me that you're dreaming again." Brock nodded in Jonathan's direction. The man was laughing his usual laugh, goofy and clown-like, his eyes squinting into small little cartoonish lines on his face. It was very real for Evan, and it was something almost familiar.

"He's beautiful." Evan murmured, barely realizing the words slipped out from his mouth.

Brock chuckled, the amusement evident in his eyes. "Come on, it's time to cut his birthday cake. Leave your daydreaming for later on when you're alone with him."

Halfway into the cake-eating session, Luke pulled Evan aside into a small room and shut the door behind them both. The usually jovial look in his eyes had gone and darkened into genuine graveness, and it seemed as though Luke meant business. He carried a scowl on his face, as though somebody had slapped him in the face hard.

"So… you're, uh…datin' my little brother now." Luke began, and frowned for a moment as he caught sight of a few telling dark red marks on the side of Evans' neck, before adding – "And bangin' him. Uh, okay. Tryin' not to picture that."

"Hey… we kinda couldn't wait any longer," Evan replied sheepishly, shrugging. A red-hot heat was creeping into his face, and he consciously adjusted his collar to hide the marks.

"Yeah, that's not my point. My point is, if you're going to be with him, you're gonna have to stick with him for the long run. I know it sounds fuckin' weird what with his history of on-and-offs, but he wants – and needs – something solid to stand on, y'know what I'm sayin'? You don't just make him love you and then leave, that's what everyone else before you did wrong, and that's what broke him so hard before."

"I think I get what you're saying." Evan sighed, recalling the events of the past several months. "Even before… we weren't even together, but he turned into a completely different person."

"So… I need your word on this, Evan. Could you do this for me? Don't break his heart. Don't ever let him go back into that state. Could you do that?"

Evan nodded. "I would never break his heart. I love him. I can't do that, not now or ever."

The solemnity in Luke's poise vanished slowly as he eased up, the worry dissipating. "That's good. I'm happy for you two, you know that? You're gonna be one of the most gorgeous couples out there."

He reached out, patting Evan gently on the back. "C'mon, before they notice we're gone and Jonathan throws a fit about you cheatin' on him or something."

The door clicked open, and the two men sidled out of the room only to be hounded by the rest of the guys in a flurry of excitement, eager to hear about how everything broke down between Evan and Jonathan.

"So, tell us how it happened, please oh please…" Craig begged. "Tell us all about it!"

"There wasn't much to it, guys, I swear," Evan answered. "We just sort of couldn't take hiding the truth from each other any longer and broke."

"We told you guys you needed a good fucking talk, god," Marcel commented. "Look where that got you guys!"

"Yeah, yeah… the moment we started a lot more just started coming out."

Jonathan snickered softly, attracting the attention of the group, and his once-suppressed laughter grew. "Yeah… a lot more…came…out…"

"GOD DAMN IT DELIRIOUS, NOBODY NEEDED TO KNOW THAT!"

Hours later, when the gaiety subsided into silence as the guests at Luke's house decided to turn in, Evan and Jonathan decided to depart and leave for Jonathan's home. As they finally entered the bedroom, weary after a long day full of vigorous activities and long drives, they settled into bed, their bodies merging into a warm lump on the center of the bed. Lazily, Evan pulled the covers over the both of them, placing a small peck on the nape of Jonathan's neck as he covered them both with the warmth of the covers.

"I missed my bed," Jonathan sighs. "Not that the one in the cabin wasn't nice, but… it just feels much nicer knowing that it's mine."

"I'm glad…" Evan sighs, without the same relaxed tone. "Look, Jonathan… I'm sorry I said those things to you months back when I didn't even really mean it at all. And I'm sorrier that I left you when I needed you the most. I know that you're okay now, and you're fine, but… I really wish I could've been part of making that happen, that I could've been part of your 'okay'."

"What makes you bring that up?" Jonathan murmured, clearly exhausted. "Look... it's fine, it really is. I'm just really glad you're here with me. In all your bare nakedness, both physically and figuratively. And it'd be a lie if I said I never wished you were part of my 'okay', but you're part of my 'awesome' now. That's better than anything I'd ever asked for."

A small smile played on Evan's lips as he stared into the dark mass that was Jonathan's hair. "I'm really glad I'm here, too. Glad that I fought my demons for you, and glad that I could finally be honest with myself."

He released Jonathan abruptly and buried his head into Jonathan's pillow and murmured, his voice muffled –

"I never told you this, but you smell really amazing. I couldn't help but notice it when I borrowed your shirt that time. When I was in Canada, I'd miss you so much and I'd unwittingly catch myself sniffing at it whenever I happened to take it out when I was rearranging things in my luggage."

The deepening red in his voice was not to be missed, for Jonathan replied, his voice tinged with hesitation and all the signs of embarrassment, "I… I really liked your smell, too. That time at the beach house when we slept together…and when you lent me your clothes at the hospital… I couldn't help but notice, and I couldn't help but really like it."

Evan turned his head slightly and peeked out with an eye to see Jonathan flushing a deep beet red.

"Really?" He asked, slightly incredulous. "Well… here's the next bit…"

He took a deep breath, ready to spill, ready to confess one of his deeper secrets. "When I went back to Canada after that whole… thing… I'd dream of you from time to time. It was the first time I'd ever had dreams that vivid and dreams that I could remember slightly. Most of them were still blurry as always but I'd always wake up and I'd know that I'd seen you and your beautiful blue eyes in my dreams. And when I woke up, I'd think of how you smelled and how much I want to wake up seeing that and smelling you every single day."

Jonathan's eyes widened at Evan's words, and slowly, he closed in, giving Evan a soft kiss on his turned cheek. "I'll admit, Evan… I dream a lot about you, too."

---

And so with their newfound love in tow, things began reverting to normal and falling back into place. Evan and Jonathan began to play together once more, either just by themselves or with the guys, and sometimes Jonathan would sneak off to record his own material for his own channel whilst Evan edited his videos extensively. With the addition of Evan, the already loud and lively house became even louder and even livelier than before, and when they played, they'd shout and scream and laugh so loudly they had to stifle their own laughs almost as soon as they'd started in fear of having the neighbors come knocking that their doors. Everything seemed almost just as it was when they were simply friends – they'd joke, they'd talk, they'd play together and share things with each other, except now, they shared much more. They began to share their food and their drinks with each other, they began to share the bed and their clothes with each other. They shared moments of tenderness with one another, and they shared each and every kiss, as well as each and every enjoyable moment in bed, both loving and heated, together. They went on their little 'perfect date' together, multiple times at that. Some things had changed, yet some things remained. The hesitance and the uncertainty that Evan had brought into the relationship slowly eased with Jonathan's presence and Jonathan's help.

It was like this that hours turned into days and days turned into weeks. They had almost settled into a routine, with Jonathan waking first to make breakfast for them both and serving it to Evan in bed, a wondrous start to a wondrous day ahead. Once or twice Evan had tried to rise earlier to return the favor, but Jonathan would always thwart his plans by being far earlier than Evan. Some mornings, Jonathan would assert his dominance on their breakfast ritual, placing his hands on Evan's bare hips and his lips on Evan's engorged length, waking Evan up with an incredible feeling in his groin and a delicious scent in the air. Eventually, he gave up trying to beat Jonathan at his game, and simply allowed Jonathan to be their breakfast chef. The actions struck him as slightly odd, however, upon considering it properly after a week and a half of the treatment. He tried to shove the doubt aside and allow Jonathan to do what he did, but the thought kept bugging him at the back of his mind.

Over the course of the weeks, there was also a small problem – one small enough to be unworthy of mention, yet large enough in Evan's mind to bother him as well. It bugged him immensely, and he tried his best to pretend that the issue did not exist. He'd avoid mentioning anything close to the subject, and avoid referencing anything related to the issue, crossing his fingers in hope that Jonathan would never ask and never figure out what was bothering him. That, however, went awry quickly enough at the end of his third week in Jonathan's house, just as Jonathan was making him dinner whilst he sat at the counter watching him.

"You're going back to L.A., aren't you?" Jonathan asked in a low, dark tone.

Evan froze at his question right there and then, prompting Jonathan to spin around quickly, chewing his lip, with his eyes wide and knowing.

"So you are. And you've already booked the tickets and you don't want to tell me. Why?"

"I haven't – not yet," Evan explained. "But I have to go. Soon. And I was going to ask if you'll come, too."

"And move to L.A. with you and stay there long-term."

Evan hesitated. "…That, too."

Jonathan sighed softly and turned back to the stove, stirring the steaming pot slowly. "My life is here, Evan. Everyone I know is here. Everything I know is here. You can't ask me to just – just drop everything and run away with you."

"And my life is there, back in Los Angeles. The company is there, the offices are there. A whole group of my friends are there. My entire career, things I have to do for work – they're all there. I have to go back, Jonathan, I have to. I can't just stay here forever with you. You can't expect that of me."

Silently, Jonathan spun around, scooping out a mound of unusually dry mashed potatoes from the pot and placing it onto the plate in front of Evan. Quietly, he spoke –

"I tried to make you stay. I really did. And you're still leaving anyway. I thought you'd at least stay for me. But you're still leaving."

With an abrupt turn, he left the kitchen and half-ran into the bedroom, shutting the bedroom door behind him with a dull 'thud'. Evan quickly followed after a short pause, entering the bedroom to find Jonathan holding on to the teddy bear he gave him for Christmas tightly, almost burying his face in it as though the teddy could shield him from all of the world's woes.

"What's wrong with L.A? Why can't you come, then, if you don't want me to leave?" Evan asked.

Jonathan peeked out from behind the teddy bear and softly bit back, venom slowly seeping into his voice with each word – "You can't just drop this on me in the last minute and tell me to pack up and leave with you, Evan. And to such a large and big and loud place, too. Have you ever thought of how I'd feel? Of course you didn't – you didn't see how I would object. Why would you when you've been everywhere big like a big city boy –"

"– I did, it's why I held back from asking you!" Evan yelled, his voice loud enough to wake the dead. "I knew you've never been anywhere else, and I knew you'd be reluctant to say yes. It's why I didn't say a thing, because I didn't know how to say it without you getting terrified!"

He continued, on a roll now. "I kept playing with it in my head – 'How am I going to ask Jonathan to come with me?' – And guess what, I didn't even want to suggest you moving there at first. You did that, you put those words in my mouth! I wanted to get you to come with me, just for a bit, no moving involved, just to see how you liked staying there with me for longer than just a month, but you had to get all touchy, even though I was under the impression that you liked L.A. when you were last there!"

"What then?!" Jonathan yelled back, and Evan swore he saw his eyes glimmer with wetness. "Bring me there to visit for a bit more than a month, then two, then three, then maybe a year or two and then for the rest of our lives? And if you haven't noticed, the last time I was there, I ended up spending half my time at home, playing games as I always do!"

"Then just do that there! I had to leave people behind to go there! I had to move an entire country, and you can't even move across one for me?"

"No – I can't!" Jonathan cried, and a teardrop spilled from what was visible of his sad blue eyes. "You don't – you don't understand, Evan…"

His heart could've broken into two just hearing Jonathan cry like that. His chest seared and burned painfully, as though his heart was yelling at him for being such a jerk. There was no way he could last against Jonathan's tears and the sight of Jonathan crying like that. Almost naturally, as though there was some force at work, Evan slid across the room and into bed with Jonathan, tearing the teddy bear from his arms and holding the man tight in his own.

"Then tell me, love… tell me. God, we've been through this before. Don't be like who I was – that lying bastard who can't tell the truth or talk about what he needs to talk about. I wanted to change for you, so please, don't be me and tell me what's wrong."

Jonathan whimpered softly and hiccoughed as he spoke. "God, Evan… I'm - I'm so scared…"

"About?" Evan urged gently.

"L.A. is… it's nice but it's so big and so scary. It's so unfamiliar. I only made it through last time because Luke was there, and Luke brought a part of my world with us there… but you… I'll have to – to live a part of your life, the big scary life with all the big scary people. I can't do what you're doing, Evan, and go out there and pretend like I'm fine. I'm scared, Evan, so please… I can't live there… not just yet…"

Jonathan was shredding his heart into pieces. All the resolve in him broke and shattered into a million fragments, and all he could do was to hold the man tighter and kiss him gently on the back of his neck.

"Babe?" Evan softly approached after a long while, as Jonathan's little sobs began to subside. "I'm not going to ask you to move, okay? Not until you're perfectly ready and you want to. But I have to go back to L.A. soon, just for a bit, a week or so. I need to settle some stuff with the company, tell them I'm back here with you. And I have to go back for now so I can move here with you, just in time for my birthday. Is that fine?"

Jonathan shifted about in Evan's arms to turn towards him, his eyes glassy and red and full of relief. "Evan…you -"

His words were quickly cut off by a swift kiss from Evan that grew increasingly heated. The emotional bonding in the moment had set Evan on fire, and all he wanted to do was to take Jonathan right there and then. He wanted Jonathan to cry not out of sadness but out of pleasure, and to hear the clear high vocals of his lover as he made love to him. As the little bit of resistance that Jonathan put up fell apart, for what felt like the hundredth time in their weeks together, they consummated their love under the bright white moonlight, their skin illuminated with a sensual glow that made it a thousand degrees hotter than it was in the room.

---

Jonathan opened his eyes wearily to a loud buzz in the room as his phone lit up beside him, vibrating furiously as if for attention. He was in bed, lying on his stomach all alone, and the other side of the bed was cold, as it had been for the past eight days. Evan was once again in Los Angeles on a business trip after multiple calls from his company absolutely begging for him to go back – and he flew away once more reluctantly, leaving Jonathan behind all alone in North Carolina with only a few kisses and a call every night, just as Jonathan woke up, to hold him them both together and to keep them both as sane as they could be whilst they missed each other out of their minds.

Lazily, Jonathan unlocked his phone and put it to his ear. "Hello…?"

"Good evening, sleepyhead." Evan's voice sounded through the other end, and Jonathan felt his heart flutter pleasantly. "Did I wake my lovely boyfriend?"

Jonathan laughed sleepily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "You would've woken me anyway if you were here. You'd have poked me until I woke up."

"That's mean, I don't poke."

"Sure you don't." He giggled. "The snowman I've been sleeping with for the past god knows how long just straight up gropes me until I wake up and insists that I go to pound town with him."

Evan laughed sheepishly, his voice as smooth as silk. "Did you at least have a good sleep? You've got long night ahead of you, you know."

"Yeah, I did," Jonathan answered, unable to keep the slight note of sleepiness out of his voice. "And I know – it's going to be really long. I just wish you'd have been around for the past week. My costume's absolutely beautiful."

"Tch, you look beautiful in anything. I've got a really pretty costume plan, too. If only you could see it."

Jonathan sighed. "Babe… I miss you. Come home soon, please? The bed feels so empty and sad without you and the world's so large and scary without you around."

Silence came from Evan's end. "Babe…?"

With a click, the line goes dead, and Jonathan hears Evan's voice from behind him –

"I'm right here with you, darling."

As soon as the words registered in Jonathan's head, he felt Evan's body, warm and familiar, slide up behind him, pulling him into a tight cuddle as he showered Jonathan with a multitude of kisses and a plethora of sweet nothings.

As they finally settled into a snug position, with Jonathan's body tucked in Evan's firm arms, Jonathan spoke up once more.

"How did you manage to get back so soon? Didn't you say you'd be there until early November at least?"

Evan beamed. "I was missing you so much, and I think they caught onto that. They somehow decided they could do without me and sent me packing back home to you. Tom says hi, by the way."

"Now I feel bad." Jonathan pouted.

"Don't feel bad. They made it very clear – too clear actually – that they didn't need me around, and so I came back in time for Halloween."

Evan glanced around the room, chuckling as he saw the telling red, white and orange folded neatly on a nearby chair. "Your costume's beautiful, alright."

"I couldn't think of anything else. What about yours?"

A smirk grew on Evan's face. "How about you change into yours and I change into mine, and then we compare?"

Moments later, Jonathan stepped out from within the bedroom, decked out in a near-perfect imitation of Evan's GTA character – a red jacket with white trimmings on the elbows, dark pants and completed with a rubbery orange, brown and white owl mask. Evan grinned and shifted the hockey mask upwards and away from his face as he sidled up to his lover, pulling the owl mask slightly off Jonathan's face to reveal the plump pink lips underneath.

"My crazy clown boy is going to be dressed as an owl man. I like that." He breathed softly, gently thumbing the corners of Jonathan's lips.

The pair of lips smiled slightly under his touch. "And my owl man is going as a crazy killer clown with a hockey mask. Again. Not that there's any problem with that."

Their lips met tenderly as they tasted each other, their hearts thrumming quickly underneath the layers of cloth that covered them both. Slowly, almost reluctantly, they released each other from the kiss after some time, and they both pulled down their masks to fully conceal their faces once more.

Playfully, Evan whipped out his phone and turned on the camera function, and began recording a video just as he did back in his first time dressed as Delirious. Just like that first time, he began –

"What's up everybody, it's H2O Delirious here and I'm gonna do a face reveal -"

"– Again –" Jonathan added quietly from behind him.

"- Again," Evan repeated, grinning underneath the mask, and slid it off his face as he laughed, "I'm here!"

A flash of red, white, orange and brown came into the screen, and Jonathan started –

"Hey guys, it's Vanoss here, and I'm going to do a face reveal just like Delirious did, so…"

Jonathan quickly peeled the owl mask back away from his face, revealing the pale, flushed skin and all of his handsome features underneath. Shocked, Evan shut off the recording as quickly as he could.

"Jonathan, what –?"

"Post it on Twitter!" Jonathan said cheerily as he snatched the phone out of Evan's hands to do the honors. Through his dumbfounded state, as he finally began to comprehend the blue and white on the screen, he knew that it had been done – the video had went up on Twitter and Jonathan had shown his face to the entire world.

"Jonathan… you just…" Evan tried to speak, at a loss for words.

"Did that, yeah." Jonathan beamed as he handed the phone back to Evan. "Why?"

"It's… so sudden. You've put it off for so long."

"Well, yeah. It's been some time, so why not?" The man planted a quick kiss on Evan's cheek and whispered, "You make the big scary world a lot less scary."

Evan watched, stunned, as the man pulled away. The words sounded oddly familiar, like a bell in the distance ringing away and calling out to him. Jonathan had said something akin to these words before, somewhere in their past. From the darkness, there was a sharp light, and it struck him –

"Baby, you're not thinking of…"

He watched as Jonathan chewed his lip raw for a moment. "I mean… it's about time, no? I think I'm ready, Evan. I'm sick of having to wait back here for you, and I can't standing being without you for weeks at end. Let's move to L.A., Evan. I'm ready. It's big and it's scary but you make everything that's scary so much less than it is."

"Jonathan… That's…"

"Wait." Jonathan put a finger on Evan's lips, silencing him. "I have conditions, so hear me out, okay?"

Evan nodded slowly, waiting to hear more.

"Every year, we alternate between here and Canada for Thanksgiving. And whichever place we're at for Thanksgiving, we go to the other for Christmas. And we keep the mountain cabin we have here for all – uh – intents and purposes. And… once we're done with YouTube and all that stuff… if it's fine with you, we come back here. Is that okay?"

Evan thought about it for a moment, before nodding quickly, and adding, "Canada when we're older and have kids."

"So you can turn them into snowmen and hockey players." Jonathan chuckled. "Sure thing."

Evan's head was swimming. He could see so many things in his head all at once. He could see them feasting at Luke's and at Jonathan's family home for Thanksgiving, the food covering every inch of the table as they surrounded themselves with their family. They would all be laughing, talking together, playing with their darling niece and making fun of Jenn's uptightness. He could see the very same scene, every other year, except with Derek and whichever girl he decided to bring around that year.

He could also see their Christmases – cold, wintry ones in their family home in Canada, with Jonathan complaining about the extreme weather and Evan joining him, tucked under a warm blanket with mugs of hot chocolate in their hands. The Christmases they would spend in North Carolina would be less cold, with much less snow, but still cooling – and they would go bounding about the house, energetic as ever as they played with whatever was in their box of presents.

In all of these, he could see them attending their friends' weddings, and watching as they had their own children. He could see a child of their own, perfect, soft, and small. He could also see the child growing up as they grew old, their dark hair greying and their wrinkles showing.

But above it all, he could see one thing clearer than anything else. He could see Jonathan and him, arm in arm, both of them dressed in formal, black-and-white tuxedos. They were standing on white marble, surrounded by with marble walls and pillars, and behind them were rows and rows of pews. In front of them, a minister stood at the altar, overseeing the ceremony as Jonathan's mouth moved into the perfect two words that would bring them together for a lifetime.

The little trinket in Evan's pocket seemed to burn a hole into his skin and it seemed to become heavier and heavier with each passing second. It seemed to call out to him, reminding him that their future lay in four simple words – a question that Evan had to ask.

"Will you marry me?"

Evan blinked – it was Jonathan that had said those words. The man was blushing now, as though he had said something he shouldn't have.

"I'm sorry," Jonathan blurted out quickly. "It's just – I've been thinking about it for so long and I've been thinking about how much better you've made me and how much you love me and how much I love you back, but I really need to ask, and I don't have a ring but -"

"I do," Evan cut in as he reached into his pocket and drew out a metallic ring, a soft, Tiffany blue diamond sitting atop of it, sparkling in the light.

Evan slowly sank to his knees. "Jonathan. I love you, and you make me a better person as much as I make you one. Will you marry me?"

There were no words to be spoken then. Jonathan simply took Evan's lips, kissing him deeply as he whispered his affirmation between each quick breath they could steal. It was the beginning of forever for the two men, and underneath their touch, they consummated their love once more, both fully and truly baring themselves to each other as their hearts and bodies connected. They left for their Halloween celebrations much later, and received much less candy than they expected, but they were the happiest people in the world that very night as they went about their night hand in hand, a ring on Jonathan's finger.

It was perfection. For the both of them, they had a taste of it. They would go on to do everything that they promised themselves and each other. They would live up to their plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and yet, they would do more. They would see the world together, enjoy the sights and the way life differed everywhere else. They would travel about from place to place, always together, their fingers intertwined with the shiny metallic ring announcing their love to everyone else. Wherever they went, they were inseparable –

- Because forever and more, wherever they were, they would always be ruled by the heart, by the rules of the heart.

---

Finally, we're here at the end. It's been a really long journey over the course of nearly four months' of work, and I'm really pleased to come to the end. I really thank every one of you for reading and enjoying this story, and I really thank everybody for all the support and encouragement that I've been given whenever I began to doubt myself. This story wouldn't be where it is without all of you.

I'm going to be taking a break from writing big stories like this for a bit, but I'll be back in action in no time (I hope), so expect more from me in the future!

I really hope this experience has been as amazing for everybody as it has been for me, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the entirety of Rule of the Heart.

-delmin