Doctor Jonathan Crane (i_fear) wrote in we_coexist, @ 2013-11-05 05:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | edward nigma, jonathan crane, zz:status complete |
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (Edward/Jonathan Log)
Edward hummed.
Baditz-Maru was settled happily alongside one part of Edward's work table, acting as a lookout and a penguin-shaped paper weight.
Eddie had his blue prints of the City Museum scattered around on the table inside of the room that Bruce had made for him. The door had been left ajar, because if he closed it the Brute armor got antsy and tried to bust it down.
So instead of being bothered, Edward compromised.
Sitting on the other side of his work table was a Jack-o-lantern that he and Effie had carved together. Of course it did look like a twisted version of Hello Kitty, but Eddie was proud of it anyway. And it made the room smell like pumpkin.
Edward etched over the blue print with a chalk pencil, humming as he marked exits, the things he wanted and security cameras on the paper. Nothing could dampen his mood today. Well, except for maybe his still healing leg.
--
Jonathan stared at the armor that was currently blocking his way into the warehouse, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Jarvis, please move aside. I promise, I am not here to harm Edward or do anything other then drop off a piece of paper and leave.
Jarvis stared down at Jonathan before taking a slight step to the side, allowing the smaller man past...though he also followed him in, to make very sure that was all that the doctor did.
“Edward Nigma, I need to speak with you,” Jonathan called from the main room, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned against what was obviously Effie’s favorite table judging by the plushies fall off of it, a folded newspaper in his hands. “Please.”
--
Eddie cleared his throat and continued to him until he heard a very familiar voice calling out his name.
Instantly his eyes widened with fear. Jonathan had found him!
Edward thrust the wheels of his chair backwards, causing the pumpkin to tumble from the table and roll out of the door.
Eddie flew to a closet in the room, leapt from the wheelchair and crawled into the closet. He shut the door heavily behind himself and curled up in the darkness, back pressed against a box of some kind, waiting to see if Jonathan would go away.
He shivered and closed his eyes.
--
Jonathan raised a foot, stopping the pumpkin on it’s rolling path, before bending over to pick it up, setting it on Effie’s desk after brushing off a bit of dirt. “Edward, I am here at Effie’s request.” he called, not willing to leave the room (not that he thought Jarvis would let him), and he really didn’t want to track Edward down, possibly frightening him more.
--
All Edward could hear was that voice...those rhymes and that sound of singing. Oh his mind ached and burned.
He shivered, hearing Jonathan's muffled voice from behind the heavy closet door but he wasn't fooled. That Scarecrow would be crafty and if Eddie went to him willingly it would be like a rabbit approaching a hungry dog. No no, he was much smarter than that.
And much more afraid of what would happen the next time Scarecrow got itchy to play.
--
Jonathan sighed, setting the paper on a table. “Your daughter has turned herself in to the police, for escape and murder. She wished to see you,” he stated. “There, job done since you are too cowardly to face the man who loves you and did nothing to you.
Secretly, Jonathan was pleased that Edward was alive...that he was safe. When he found out Effie had been arrested, he wasted no time in going to see her, needing to know everything. He needed to know that Edward was alive.
He hadn't needed the knee to the groin.
--
Effie was doing the right thing and Eddie had no right to stop her. He would see her in his own time, but not with the man that haunted his dreams standing between him and the door.
Especially not without a proper escort. And perhaps it wasn't Jonathan that did anything, persay, but that didn't stifle the fear. It was the same face, the same body, despite not being the same mind.
"Go away!" Eddie shouted, mostly at the closet of old clothes and dusty trinkets long forgotten by the occupant of the warehouse before, and he continued to huddle by himself in the closet.
This was far from love.
--
“As you wish it,” Jonathan said softly, turning for the door before Jarvis could...assist him.
He paused, biting his lip. “I miss you,” he whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek before he started to leave again.
--
With a sniffle of his own Eddie pushed open the closet door slowly. His eyes reflected the pools of water lingering in the orbs as he caught light from the lamp on his table.
Slowly, Eddie made his way back into his chair, unable to stop shaking.
He crept the chair forward and peered through the crack in the door that lead from the office to the main space, trying to see if Jonathan was still out there.
--
Jonathan bent over a table by the door, setting a small package on it, a gift in bright orange wrapping with little jack o’lanterns across it before he left, ‘assisted’ by Jarvis who gave him a shove out the door.
--
Curiously Eddie watched Jonathan place the package, and slowly the door opened.
The broken genius wheeled himself from the room, over to the door, and to the present where it had been left.
Tilting his head, Eddie stopped next to the table and picked up the present, taking a moment to
admire the paper before beginning to tear the box open.
--
Inside were two little hand made dolls, one Jonathan (with removable Scarecrow Mask) and one of Eddie. Each held a little felt heart in their hands with the other’s initials.
--
Eddie picked up the Jonathan doll from inside the package, unable to help the tear that tumbled from his eye, down his cheek and on to the vest of the toy. It was beautiful.
He missed Jonathan terribly. Missed being in his arms, sleeping next to him and waking up with him in the morning. Eddie missed the way they giggled (okay well Jonathan didn't giggle but still...) about maniacal things and just genuinely the feeling of love. And he missed his wedding ring. He had no idea what had happened to it in the shuffle since the attack and the present. But it left a hole in his heart just the same.
Eddie set the doll into the package, set the box on his lap and wheeled himself out of the door knowing Jonathan was probably already gone.
--
Jonathan wasn’t gone yet, he was in fact sitting on a curb under the watchful eye of the Brute Armor, having a cigarette, occasionally reaching out to poke Jarvis to see if he would react.
-
With a sniffle, Edward wheeled himself forward slowly, "You know those will kill you," Eddie breathed, steeling himself for the moment Jonathan would turn around.
This man had haunted him in ways nobody ever had, but Eddie loved him. Always had and always will. He couldn't be away anymore, no matter the fear. Maybe he was stupid for believing he was invincible, Jonathan had shown him many things, and Scarecrow had taught him even more. But Eddie didn't care.
He just wanted things to be okay again.
--
“So will love, apparently,” Jonathan muttered, not looking at Edward, instead simply staring across the street. “Your daugher wishes you to bail her out if or when you can. She also requests a lawyer.”
Jonathan hadn’t been willing to play messenger, but there was something about Effie’s begging eyes...her father’s eyes. He couldn’t say no. “You should see her cellmate.”
--
That was true, love would kill you. Eddie knew it all too well. "That's the risk you take when you give someone your heart," Edward replied, looking down at the dolls in the box again for a moment.
"I'll get to her in time, and a lawyer. She's doing what she needs to. For her own sake. She's changed for the better," He explained though he knew he didn't have to.
--
“She hit Scarecrow with a pipe...she’s not that much better,” Jonathan muttered.
“Lindsay...he’s a lawyer in the City, and a good one. Try him...don’t tell him I sent you.”
--
Eddie looked up from the box, at the back of his once partner and leaned back gently into the wheelchair.
"She was fighting the good fight, nothing more."
Eddie registered what Jonathan said about Lindsay and would make it a point to track the person
down. It couldn't be too difficult considering lawyers liked money almost as much as the mob.
--
“I never asked him to...do what he did,” Jonathan said after a moment, still not looking at Edward. “I...was afraid for you, and he took advantage of that to hurt you. To...teach you.”
--
"Well he's done quite the job. I have to learn to walk again once my leg heals, and I had to learn how to live with myself knowing that I was fucked up real bad by someone I love's alter-being. That was a hard lesson, but it made more and more sense with each stitch."
Eddie sighed, frowning as he looked down again. He was afraid, angry, torn...he loved Jonathan dearly but Scarecrow...he was just too unpredictable and Edward was still too weak to fight back.
--
“I’m going to see Hannibal...about quieting Scarecrow,” Jonathan stated. He didn’t want to do it...he was terrified of the idea, but something had to be done, before his control was lost and Scarecrow surfaced again.
--
Edward felt relief at that, lifting his eyes from the box again to settle his gaze on Jonathan, "Good. He needs to be quieted. At least until you figure out how to live in harmony with it. I get the needing fear thing, but it goes way too far..."
Eddie wheeled closer to Jonathan, and sighed, "I miss you."
--
“He, not it,” Jonathan said before sighing, running a hand through his hair. “I miss you too, Edward. More then anything.”
--
Eddie closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about his options. He could stay at the warehouse and keep having Bruce care for him, a man he despised, or he could go back to Arkham with Jonathan, the man he loved and whom was also a doctor.
That was an easy choice.
"I'll come back with you, but I won't let the Scarecrow attack me again. I don't care if you do share a body with him. I'll kill both of you." He meant it. He hated it, but he meant it. He would not be victim to Scarecrow again.
Of course he had changed, too. And he did have Scarecrow to thank for that.
--
“You will try,” Jonathan said, standing and tossing his cigarette aside. He reached into his shirt, pulling out a chain with a ring on it. He slipped the chain over his head before offering it to Edward, the man’s wedding ring shining in the faint light of dusk. “You can’t even walk, Edward, I could sit on you and stop your attack.”
--
He reached out to accept the chain, watching the glimmer of his ring in the light. He smiled and ran a finger over the metallic circle, having missed it dearly. He took the chain from the ring, and then slid the ring back on to his finger in a silent acceptance of taking Jonathan back. Renewing what they had lost.
"I'll make due, don't you worry about me. I survived you, don't forget." That wasn't something Eddie wanted to repeat any time soon, but it was something to be proud of.
--
“Mm, only because you cheated and brought in outside help,” Jonathan said, arching an eyebrow at him. “You don’t...have to come back to the Asylum just yet. It might even be better for your mental health if you didn’t...not until Scarecrow is fully controlled. Just...let me come by sometimes, please.”
--
"I didn't bring them in, Effie did," Eddie explained with a shrug. He didn't have to justify
himself, especially not to Jonathan.
When Jonathan mentioned not coming back to Arkham Edward couldn't help but look a bit disappointed but he understood. He nodded, "I'll make Bruce grant you access so you can come any time you want baby."
--
Jonathan smiled, leaning in for a deep, passionate kiss before stepping back. “I’ll let you get back to our work, I have several appointments I should get back to the asylum...can I come by tomorrow?”
--
Eddie almost purred when their lips touched and he couldn't help the tears that instantly flooded his eyes and threatened to spill.
With a sniffle he nodded, "Yes. Yes you can." Eddie would like that. He didn't care what Effie or Bruce might think, Jonathan was his world.
--
“Hey, don’t cry,” Jonathan whispered, his hands sliding over Edward’s cheeks, tilting his head up. “I’m just a few block away. We have some work to do, but we’ll be back to annoying each other soon enough,” he whispered, brushing his lips over Edward’s forehead.
--
He sniffled and nodded, blinking away the moisture almost instantly. He never cried. Ever. Until after the attack. As if he had never truly experienced real pain until that point.
"I know. I'm ready, honestly," Edward replied, amused. He sighed a soft exhale and looked up at his husband, "I miss you."
--
“I miss you too,” Jonathan said, kissing Edward softly again. “Every day.
--
Eddie was glad to hear it. He needed to hear it, that Jonathan missed him too. The kiss was welcome and despite the fact that his body was basically falling asleep he leaned into the motion anyway and returned the connection.
With a content sigh he pulled back and offered a satisfied nod.
--
“Now, let’s get you upstairs and resting so you can heal,” Jonathan said, giving him a bright, warm smile.
--
Eddie nodded again, letting Jonathan wheel him back into the Warehouse. "My room is over there," Eddie pointed once they were back inside. He didn't feel like planning anymore, only resting and healing now.
And he wished Jonathan was the one taking care of him instead of Bruce. Not that Edward wasn't appreciative but he didn't love Bruce like he did Jonathan.
--
Jonathan wheeled Edward into the room, carefully lifting his husband into the bed and placing a gentle kiss against his lips. “Sleep, I’ll be back before you know it,” he whispered with a soft smile. He pulled the covers over Edward’s slender body before turning off the lights as he left.