Mended In Threads
"We are sorry. The number you are calling is not available. Please try again and-"
Luke ended the voicemail and cursed over the lack of presence in the occasion. "Damn it, Evan." He couldn't blame him entirely however. He spent the night mending Jonathan's body and had the entire day be wasted with mourning. It was hard enough to convince him to give Jonathan's body up. Getting him to the funeral, hosted at dusk, would be impossible. A hand was found on Luke's shoulder and he turned to see Wildcat giving him a look.
"Let the guy have some space. He had never got the chance to mourn for any death. He kept being a tough guy till now so…Let him off just this once."
Luke sighed but Wildcat was right. No doubt a leader like Evan wasn't one to cry often. But what wasn't able to settle in the back of his mind was the suicide of Janey Evermore. She was found dangling at a tree branch by a rope around her neck outside an abandoned house. Her clothes were bloody with cuts and slashes where she had cut herself in an attempt. Hell, some of her wounds even contained glasses from her jumping off the window. But obviously, it wasn't enough for her when she even attempted to break her bones, shown by a surveillance camera outside of the factory. She screamed hysterically and tried to injure herself, muttering apologies over and over. She had hallucinations. They found her medical reports and debt file, as well as the many bodies of dead people whose names were recorded in her belongings, a little black book. She identified their bodies and names, described how she lured them and even how she killed them. The book was just an embodiment of lunacy. She must have gotten hallucinations and it drove her over the edge to the scene at the tree, hanging by its branches by the neck.
At least, that's what everyone believes. Luke knew it wasn't a suicide. When he came by to pick up Jonathan's body to have it be placed into the coffin a week before the funeral, he found Evan in the kitchen, attempting to wipe the blood off of Jonathan's favorite knife with his apron. The two had gotten eye contact. Then Evan asked if Luke would like some coffee.
The detective merely nodded and proceeded to have a drink. True, he was a man of law, a man who would try to keep peace in this quiet town. But the thing was, Jonathan was his best friend. Seeing Janey's body, it only made him wanted to burn her in ashes. So did he turn Evan in to the police? No. Of course not. He probably helped Jonathan rest in peace, having his killer in hell.
So he covered for Evan and no one knew any wiser. But after that, Evan grown distant and barely talked to anyone. Not even his right hand man from their disbanded gang, Wildcat, got him out of the basement from mending Jonathan, let alone the house. From Wildcat's words, he was turning into the person before the gang was formed. Alone, broken and isolated.
It worried Luke but he saw those lifeless brown eyes and he knew Evan couldn't lift a finger to mend or kill. It was as if every day was a passing time for him.
"Luke." Craig called him out and gestured him to come over to the front of the coffin that laid next to the grave. "They're…about to bury him."
"Got it." Luke plucked the cigarette from his lips and drained the flame from it before he threw it to a nearby trashcan outside the gates of the cemetery. As he got closer to the grave spot, he heard one of Jonathan's friends, Ohm, gave his speech.
"Today, we're here to say goodbye to the most delirious…and one of the greatest water boy this era is ever going to see." The rabbit shop owner, in his black suit, grey tie and his signature Omega bandana around his forehead, pushed on. Luke glanced at the teary Bryce and Lui who tried to keep his composure. Nogla held him in one of his arms. Craig sniffled by Wildcat was there to give his hand a firm grasp. Even Marcel was clenching his fist in frustration over this death while Simone held beautiful white lilies for Jonathan. "I remember I met him during a shopping spree. I was trying…to get Bryce a gift as a symbol to the start of our relationship." Ohm smiled at Bryce, as if to comfort him through this trying times together. "Jonathan was…a bitch. I won't lie. The little motherfucker even made a joke of me wearing the Easter Bunny costume to make Bryce laugh." Everyone laughed, albeit tearfully and solemnly. Ohm gave the coffin a soft pat. "But he was a true friend. He didn't turn his back to us. Sure, we fought and yes, he was delirious. But he was our Delirious. If he was here right now, he would damn well ask why we're crying when we should be laughing over the good memories we made together, the jokes, the time, the bond we had. That was what made Jon him. He always cared our happiness. Luke." The rabbit man turned to the detective. "The floor is yours."
Luke didn't waste any time in getting to the front of the coffin and placed his hand on it. Ohm walked past him but Luke could hear him quietly mutter to him.
"Thanks for covering Evan."
Luke tipped his fedora forward in response. It was true. A lot of them knew Janey and they had hoped she suffered. They just didn't expected it to be so soon. Luke turned to the audience and saw his friends, his family, looking at him for his own mentions of Jonathan. Luke made his speech.
"Jonathan…did many mistakes. I won't lie. When I first met him, he was cocky as fuck and he didn't give a shit for the rules. Hell, there was a few times he enjoyed seeing me being pissed at him. But he knew how to be tough, how to be himself and how to be god damn free. He made choices on his own. Even though some weren't the best, he made choices that changed him. Especially the one that brought him to the good path." Luke gripped the edge of the coffin lid and his arm trembled. The images of Jonathan's smile with Evan flashed in his mind. Seeing his best friend, his bro, finally achieving the happiness he got was something he had wished for Jonathan. "But…I still missed him all the same. We all do. Hell, sometimes I even hear his delirious laugh." Luke shut his eyes and, true enough, a faint echo of his laughter was in his hearing. "It got me to believe that he was alive someti-"
Then the laughter got more real.
Luke's eyes opened. He looked at the audience. Everyone was looking around in confusion as well. It went dead silent. Bang! BANG!
Luke immediately jumped away from the coffin and he watched the way the lid trembled and shook. He backed away. Everyone didn't say a word. BANG! BANG! After a few more hits, the coffin lid swung open hard and made a loud CLANG. A painful groan came from the coffin. And then, in the shine of the finally rising moon, an upper body rise. Blue eyes opened up and when they glowed with light, Luke knew…He knew.
This wasn't normal.
~ . ~
The softest chirp of a bird woke Evan up as easily as the heavy thud in the kitchen. He sighed.
"Great. I sleep strung again." He groaned in pure torture over his powers and covered his eyes with the heels of his hands before turning over and curling into a ball. This was the fifth time. Every night, he kept coming up in his dream. It was that blissful future Evan had always wanted. To see Jonathan in his kitchen, swaying his hips to the beats of some catchy music and singing along the tune while being oblivious but comfortable of Evan's approach. Then Evan would use his strings to wrap along his limbs. He didn't puppeteer him. He merely allowed Jonathan notice his presence and in the time span of Jonathan registering Evan's figure and his reaction, Evan slipped behind him and wrapped his arms around the blue boy's waist before they laughed like happy newlyweds. The moment was peaceful, beautiful and one Evan would have cherished.
Then it swallowed to the darkness and Evan woke up to the cold silence of his room. No laughter, no giggles. Not even a single warmth. There would be a crash or two, a cause of his strings wrapping around one of the plates to hold it until Evan woke up to deactivate his strings into dropping them.
"When will this end?" The question was always the first thing he asked when he wakes up now, ever since he killed Janey and finished mending Jonathan's body. This being his suffering. Torment. He looked at the calendar sitting on the bedside counter and sighed from finding out it's only been 3 days since Jonathan's funeral. It felt so much longer. Longer and more torturous. He could have just ended his life to join Jonathan but he doubt Jonathan would appreciate it…The thought of an angry Jon made Evan laughed in a sad murmur. His eyes burned.
He wasn't supposed to cry again. He cried enough the moment he saw Jonathan's body left this house. He looked at the clock. "9A.M. That's usually the time Jonathan would be up for breakfast. Knowing him, he'll be craving for puncakes." The remembrance of that awful pun got Evan to lift his upper body up by his arms. Maybe he should at least eat something.
CLANK!
Evan's body went on alert. That was the sound of the pots and pans hitting each other. He groaned and rubbed his head. He must have started hallucinating. Jonathan was the only one clumsy enough to do that between the two of them. Maybe his strings were starting to made habits Jonathan would make.
"Might as well clean the mess." He muttered to himself and threw the covers off of him. Walking out of his bedroom in his red pajama pants, he ran his hair along his faux Mohawk and released a loud, tired yawn. He shouldn't have stayed up all night making little blue teddy bears. God, he was getting delirious over them being his only symbol of Jonathan. He could only wonder how much the blue treasure chest he gave to Jonathan could hold.
"Hey, Evan! You're finally up!" Evan rubbed one of his eyes. "I was just about to finish the last batch for you! You must have missed my puncakes, huh?"
"You have no fucking idea." Evan smiled to himself over the hallucinating voice and rubbed both of his eyes, groaning exhaustingly. But when he finally lifted his eyes to the kitchen, his whole body froze.
Standing by the stove, flipping pancakes, was a blue hoodie-wearing Jonathan with that frilly blue apron and his black jeans. Jonathan smiled at him and placed the last pancake on the slightly wobbling stack on the plate before he stood proudly in confidence that he did an A+ job. "Surprise!"
"J-J…Jon…Jonath…" Evan couldn't even finish calling his name. His hands were trembling. Jonathan skipped over to him and grinned his serial killer-smile.
"You wouldn't believe what happened. One moment, that crazy bitch was beating me up then the next I was going through this tunnel that had so many crazy memories. Just when I was laughing over that dick chocolate joke, I suddenly woke up in a god damn coffin! I mean, dude, I know I was dead for a moment and all but the inside of the coffin was really creepy. Well, then again, Luke and the gang were scared shitless when they saw me moving and walking up to-" A heart-wretched sob caught his attention and Jonathan turned to Evan, shocked and worried overcoming him when he saw those brown eyes tearing up. "Evan?"
"De…Delirious…" Evan couldn't stop his joy that overcame him. He grabbed Jonathan by the cheeks and pulled him to his half-naked body into a deep, needy kiss. Evan tilted his head and bent down to deepen the kiss until Jonathan was blushing and mumbling against the kiss. But Evan was too happy, too relieved and too grateful that Jonathan was here, alive and just…real. He kissed him. Over and over and over, the noises of kissing smacks were too real for their ears. Evan's muscular arms wrapped around Jonathan's frame and he wished this wasn't a dream. If it was, Evan would be buying pills to end himself, damning angry Jonathan.
It was less of a dream and more of reality when Evan felt Jonathan pulled him back to get a deep breath of oxygen. Those blue, shining eyes looked up at him with those embarrassed red cheeks and the beautiful glitter of life in those blue orbs. "Fuck, Evan…t-that..." Then Jonathan noticed how messed up Evan looked and reached up to place his hands on those cheeks, rubbing a single thumb along the dark shade under Evan's eyes. "Fuck…What happened to you, man? You look like shit."
Evan immediately clasped his hands over Jonathan's light-skinned ones and he smiled shakily, tears pouring down his cheeks with his eyes closed and his body just waiting to break down. "I missed you…I missed you, Jonathan…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry for…"
He continued to sob and spoke in incoherent sobs. He felt so pathetic but Evan couldn't stop the guilt for not being able to save Jonathan the first time nor the relief of him being alive again. Jonathan didn't prevent himself from making Evan bend down forward and wrapped him into a hug, his head against the blue hoodie. Jonathan held him tight. "Oh Evan…"
It took a soothing hug, a few whispering words of comfort and a large stack of pancakes to calm Evan from his reaction. Jonathan watched him scarf down the food, dried tears on those Asian cheeks. Just hearing Jonathan giggled over him scarfing down like some wolverine was enough to make the Canadian smiled for the first time in weeks.
Then the two of them had to have a talk in their couch. It wasn't easy. Evan had expected Jonathan to hate him, explode on him or even spew despise-related words into the sentence for his lies of not being Vanoss. And, well, Jonathan would have been angry indeed if he hadn't seen those blue teddy bears in his room, hiding in his treasure chest. It was enough for Jonathan to forgive him, since it not only gave Jonathan's Teddy friends but it gave unlimited supply of teasing.
Evan soon spoke of his childhood with his brother and how Vanoss, the original, and his death influenced Evan to be the mob boss he was years ago. Poor and alone, Evan had survived the streets and orphanage, despite the abuse and suffering he went through. It was thanks to having friends that Evan was alive now. Evan told him the truth of everything he lied to Jonathan to, even showing him Janey's debts and the supposed suicide report Evan gotten from Luke. When it was all said and done, Jonathan only asked him a question.
"Can I see the mark?" That confused Evan but he didn't deny him the chance. He peeled off the skin at the palm of his left hand to show that owl mark on his left hand. Jonathan placed his hand on it and soon, they had their hands pressing up against each other, Jonathan's hand just a few centimeters smaller. He took a deep breath. "My turn…"
Then it was Jonathan's story to tell. His father was merely a poor farmer trying to make them survive. His mother had to be a prostitute to make meet's ends. His parents were always together still however. His father didn't have enough money to make his wife happy but she was with just his love. So when Jonathan was born, things got tougher. But his father was determine to keep them alive, despite the fact he could be so much richer without a child. Jonathan tried his best to keep his parents smiling, just to relieve them of the stress. On the day of his birthday, when his parents had saved enough money for a teddy bear for him, a group of men had come by for his mother.
They were pimps. Cruel ones. They wanted Jonathan's mother as one of their girls. They offered a lot of money but Jonathan's father refused. Furious and not wanting to lose such a beauty cash cow, they blundered him dead. They tried to take her away and when she refused, they gave her a drug designed to make her addicted to men. A bimbo. This activated Jonathan's powers and in doing so, something dark pushed him to do what he had to do. He killed the men, murdered them and sliced them to pieces. His powers were to break things. His powers were to cut everything up. So when he tried to help his mother, she told him to do the same to her. She didn't want to live such a bimbo life, where she would no longer be his mother but a sex object.
Jonathan had to do the hardest thing he could do. He murdered her by cutting her heart away. His mother died as the woman who was so willing to do anything for her love. His father died as the man who risked anything for his family. They left a son who would do anything to make the people he loved happy. But life was cruel still. Investigators tried to give him a normal life, get him to a school and tried to find a family for him. It didn't help that the kids bullied him and his teddy or his family always afraid of him killing them whenever he tried to make them smile with small but sweet gestures.
It drove him to insanity one day when his friends and family betrayed him and threw him to a ditch one rainy day. "There is no good or bad. There is only survival." Those were the thoughts that ran through Jonathan when he was at the bus stop where Evan found him with his poor Teddy. So when he saw how Evan tied the button on the teddy bear, he felt a connection with him. Jonathan was the cutter, Evan was the mender. They had powers of the opposites but they knew the pain and suffering of the world. They knew the truth of it. But Evan just disappeared and Jonathan could only wonder if it was merely his imagination.
That is, until he met Vanoss Hoodini, Evan in disguise. For once, someone was kind to him. Someone offered a home to him. Jonathan felt, at the time, that he didn't deserve it. So he didn't accept it. He merely knocked Evan out and called Brock on Evan's phone. But ever since then, the day just passed by for Jonathan. Killing, heisting and causing mayhem to survive and be alive. That's the problem there. He survived. But he didn't feel…alive.
So when he noticed how messed up his hoodie was, he went to that tailor shop and found Evan in his normal glory. Jonathan didn't know he was the kid who mended his Teddy's eye until he saw the thread he used to fix his arm and how he mended his stuff. His hands ran along the air with his strings like a harpist playing a heavenly tune. The stings would gleamed whenever Jonathan saw them. It was what caught his attention the first time when he first met Evan, both as Vanoss and Evan.
Evan had to pause him from his story. "You…can see my strings?"
Jonathan scratched the back of his head. "Sort of. It's like…I want to know more about you, to see who you really are. Its instinct. So when I saw your strings the first time, it spooked me a little because I didn't know why I could. Then I looked up on your criminal records, well, Vanoss's and a lot of people didn't seem aware of your strings."
"That's…" Evan looked around them, despite being in his own home, and then turned to Jonathan. He raised a hand and revealed strings coming out of his palm. They were so thin, almost invisible but Jonathan saw the colors glowing with a red, dim light. The strings wrapped round and round until a rose made of strings was in place. "It's because my brother and I have strings that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. I mean, if you squint, sure, it's there but it usually takes a while for a person to see them."
"Then that's weird. I mean, I could see wherever they are. They just…glow for me." After a few moments of thinking, Jonathan smiled ironically. "Maybe it's because I cut stuff. My powers were made to break stuff."
Sensing Jonathan's sadness over that fact, Evan brought him to a hug and held him tight. "Then I'll build a bridge. Over and over again. Whatever you cut apart, I'll be there to mend it." Evan looked down at Jonathan's eyes and brushed those light brown locks. "Just like how I mended you. I think my…feelings went crazy while I was fixing you up and it was enough to pump some life back in you." Evan chortled. "Its god damn ironic."
"You saved my life."
"With the same powers I used to kill Janey." He tilted his head back and sighed. "I think her life was the price of having you back. I mean, I gave her hell. I got to break her fingers, twist her wrists, crush her toes and crack her feet before throwing her out of the window after…eight times. It was a good thing there was a rope in hand to hang her up like a slaughtered pig."
Jonathan stared at Evan and how his eyes darkened. He watched those lips curled to a sadistic, small smile. Somewhere in Jonathan, he wondered if he had known Evan was this evil this whole time. But the more the truth sank in, the more his mouth wished to speak till those words came out.
"God, I should have let you fuck me on that building."
Evan released a cackle at Jonathan's admiration. "God, you're really Delirious." Evan pecked him on the forehead and, despite mumbling to himself, Jonathan heard him. "My Delirious…"
"Hey." Jonathan bumped his nose against Evan's for his attention and moved his hands up to wrap around his neck. "Does this make us…us?"
Evan stared at the hopeful, shining blue eyes and he shuffled in his position for a moment. "No." Jonathan's eyes watered. Evan grinned. "Because I haven't even asked you out and take you through a planned date to sweep you off your feet."
"Evan, you bitch!" Jonathan laughed his trademark laugh and slapped Evan on the shoulder before Evan retaliated with a kiss that got Jonathan's mind fuzzy in a pink, sweet haze.
Their lips just wouldn't stop separating. They held each other and brought themselves through a fit of passion. What was once innocent and cute turned into a need and union. They missed each other in the past two weeks and those two weeks were hell for them. Evan wanted to take it deeper. He wanted Jonathan. He needed Jonathan to be alive and he wanted to make sure this wasn't a dream.
So when Evan was lying on the couch and Jonathan was above him, straddling, Jonathan was the first to break apart and he stared down before he clung to that red jacket and told him. "Take me."
Evan picked Jonathan up bridal style in an instant and Jonathan had his arms around Evan's neck and while Evan was carrying him, they didn't stop their lip lock. It wasn't one of those wild kisses or lewd ones. This one was passionate, desperate and filled with the need to love each other as Evan carried his boyfriend, his boyfriend, to his bedroom, to his bed. Their bed.
Jonathan smelled the sweet scent of vanilla and Evan's natural scent that he just can't describe. The bed sunk under the weight of two males. Clothes were stripped and skins were shown. But it wasn't sexual nor dirty. It was love. It was romantic, sensual and every bit precious.
Evan's touches, once the hands that kill and mend, had such feathery effects to Jonathan's scarred body. He had his insecure, he didn't know how Evan would react to his scars despite having seen them before. Jonathan looked to the right but Evan, coming down to place a loving but possessive bite and nip along that beautifully crafted neck of his, murmured to his ear.
"Let me scar you." He planted a kiss on Jonathan's ear that lead to a sinful moan from the blue boy. "I want to make the scars I leave remind you I love you." The strong, calloused hands grazed along Jonathan's torso and down to his bucking hips. Jonathan looked up at Evan, cheeks pink and eyes hooded. Then there was the pleasure between his legs. Jonathan tilted his head and opened his mouth.
"E…Evan! Evan…!" Jonathan gasped out his name and Evan didn't deny him. He kept pleasuring him, pleasing him. He wanted to treasure Jonathan and treated him with love and care. Evan kept his eyes down on those hooded, sparkling blue eyes and his hands pump him over and over until Jonathan arched his body and cried out. "EVAN!"
That cry of his name was enough to make Evan so eager to show him the beautiful realm. He felt Jonathan's climax. He released him. But Evan didn't stop. Not yet. Preparation. Approval. Acceptance. Evan made sure he didn't give Jonathan an ounce of discomfort. He gave him kisses, marks, bites, touches. Everything Jonathan had wanted all his life since he fell for this owl man. It was all right here, in this wonderful moment of happiness.
Skins were slapped. Emptiness were fulfilled. The bed creaked with vigor as Jonathan called out Evan's name in that passionate, delirious voice of his. Evan's body was high just from hearing Jonathan calling out to him, his voice panting and hot, deliriously beautiful and loving. Evan grunted and groaned but he retaliated to Jonathan's cries for him with possessive, loving marks on his neck as if promising him that he will cover his neck in them before they leave the room.
The pressure was inevitable, however, when they're just teetering over the edge. When Evan pulled back from Jonathan's neck, he looked down at Jonathan with his hips moving in tune with his. Jonathan brought his hands up to Evan's faux Mohawk hair and arched his back to him. Evan groaned out and Jonathan lifted his lips up to his ears in a low, quiet whisper.
"I love you." Jonathan clung onto him. Evan didn't let him go. Instead, Evan released a kind of an animalistic groan before their climax was reaching. Jonathan repeated his confession, again and again while Evan marked Jonathan's neck with his teeth and mouth, over and over.
Before long, the two of them reach their climax and Evan fell beside Jonathan. They basked in their afterglow, breathing heavy but warm in each other's arms. No lies, no secrets, no misunderstandings. Just them and their exposed truths to each other.
Evan then smiled and placed a kiss on Jonathan's forehead. With a quiet mutter, Evan told Jonathan the most important truth.
"I love you too."
