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It's been awfully quiet this evening. Neither gloomy, nor sad but definitely silent. Not that doctor Crane minded — he's always been known to have a particular distaste for the chaos and loudness of the rogues he met on the streets of Gotham City.
This evening however was different. As usual he had planned to work on his toxin but couldn't quite focus, his mind kept on zoning out and wandering from one topic to another. All of his thoughts in the end led him to one person. The only person that mattered.
Eddie was certainly a lot but oh how sweet he was. He was absent tonight, deciding to hang out with Selina at the Iceberg Lounge probably chatting and gossiping about the other rogues, making fun of their costumes. "Look who's talking" Jon thought fondly, he didn't notice the gentle smile that formed on his face.
They lived together for a while now. At first it was accidental — Eddie's hideout got busted, then it was out of convenience —they worked together anyway and despite their opposing personalities they found they got along well even in day to day life. Then it happened. Crane knew his (then still only work) partner has always had a flare for being touchy. Sometimes he gripped onto Jon's wrist while yapping his head off, other times he clung onto his arm when they left the Lounge together. Jon never mentioned it, never questioned it and never opposed it. Though the doctor wasn't used to physical touch, Eddie's quirks never left him uneasy, quite the opposite.
After some time of it happening Jonathan realized he quite liked the touch..? Maybe even craved it, sometimes even hoped for Edward to touch him gently, gentler than he did up to that point.
He tried to shake those feelings off and that's when he started noticing different things. Eddie was beautiful. Of course he was younger than Jon but it wasn't only about youth. Sometimes he cought a glimpse of Ed brushing his hair or putting on jewelry and found it difficult to tear his eyes away. He put so much care into his appearance, so much effort that Jon's thinking about it all switched. Everyone said it was pure vanity but Eddie seemed genuinely happy and content whenever his eyeliner was perfect, when he found a new beautiful suit that framed him in the best possible ways or even in the evenings when he did his nightly skincare routine. Maybe he found solace and comfort in taking care of himself? Granting him some sort of stability when he looked put together and quite definitely beautiful.
Jon decided Eddie was beautiful. Not only when he wore his extravagant outfits, but also when he was in his pale green pajamas, his ginger curls free of gel. His bright grin and a storm of freckles gave him a boyish look. Mischievous but so endearing.
Of course Jonathan kept those thought to himself. He couldn't count on Edward having the same fond feelings for his own grumpy self so he tried not to give away his soft spot for his peacock of a work partner that easily. It would only interfere in their somewhat of a friendship so far. But he could look and admire from afar.
Eddie had sad days, ones when he dissociated and blankly stared at the wall or never left his work station but didn't actually work on anything. He tried to avoid Jon on those days, probably because he couldn't keep his flamboyant façade up and didn't want Jonathan to see how he actually felt. But the doctor noticed, he wasn't blind and he was also a psychiatrist — it wasn't hard for him to see all those telltale signs of Edward's condition. The isolation, the heavy aura, distant eyes. Sometimes Eddie looked like he was on the verge of crying. His Eddie, his beautiful partner in crime.
Those were the first times that Jonathan felt genuine worry for someone as it pained him to see a person so close to him, so young and bright be mauled by a mental condition.
When he worked as a psychiatrist he viewed his patients as experiments, things to be observed and worked on but now it was personal.
On one particularly gloomy afternoon he decided to act on a whim. His boy was hurting and he couldn't stand aside doing nothing about it. He made a black coffee for himself and a mug of hot chocolate for Ed, then made his way towards his room.
He knocked once, then for a second time after getting no response.
"I'm coming in, Ed" he said loud enough for the other to hear him through the door but with softness so that he wouldn't get all distressed on Jon.
He opened the door. Edward's room was dark but he managed to see enough with the city casting lights through the window. He put both mugs on the nightstand next to Edward's glasses, a crossword book and the nightlamp which he turned on. He could see Eddie in all his gloom now, laying face down on the bed with his face buried in the pillow. He hadn't even bothered to cover himself, though it was a cold day.
Jonathan sighed, not resigned but... he just wanted to comfort Ed in some way. He just needed to get him to speak to him.
He carefully sat down on the bed and couldn't help but notice Eddie's shirt revealing the small of his back. "You have freckles on your back. How gorgeous can you be?" Jon thought to himself but snapped out of it quickly. He wasn't here to yearn for Ed while the boy was clearly depressed.
He sighed again not knowing how to start, it was one thing to talk to a patient who was essentially just a stranger and a whole another thing to comfort someone he knew and lived with, shared memories together... admired from afar for a while...
A plain "Eddie" didn't get any response and "are you with me?" only granted him a shrug.
He sat in heavy silence for a good moment, then thought back to all the times Edwars touched him, latched onto his arm. Jon's hand lifted without a second thought and with a gentle touch started caressing those soft fiery curls. He heard Edward's breath hitch like he was fighting not to start crying but his body tensed visibly and his arms started shaking, giving him away.
Jonathan's hand moved lower, petting the tense muscles of Edward's shoulders and upper back with his thumb.
"You can cry, darlin'" the petname rolled of Jon's tongue absent-mindedly with his heavy accent and that's when Eddie broke. He cried and cried and Jon comforted him through it. Even the city's traffic and chaos seemingly stopped as if it tried to give Edward the space he needed.
Ed calmed down a little, turned himself over on the bed ("now his belly is showin', great") and wiped his tears with hid hands, rubbing at the eyelids. He took a deep breath and looked at Jon hesitantly through his fingers.
"Feelin' better?"
Eddie nodded but he was still covering his face.
"Y"know" Jon started but took a sip of his coffee, it was only slightly warm now. "You don't have to hide from me, right? We live together, I'm not going nowhere. Might as well talk instead of locking yourself up here."
Jon didn't look away from the cup of coffee he held but out of the corner of his eye he saw Edward's hands moving down from his face. He waited for an answer but Eddie apparently still was unwilling to talk.
"I made you hot chocolate" he pointed towards the other mug and sighed. "Thought it might cheer y–"
"Darling?" Edward said finally, Jon's head snapped to look at him. He looked perplexed, his brows knitted tightly together but it wasn't a bad frown. He looked like he was solving a math equation, or a puzzle.
Jon looked at him. "What?"
"You called me darling" Eddie accused but through his bloodshot puffy eyes Jon could see an impish ember lighting up. He was grinning.
"No, i didn't."
"Yes, you did" Eddie giggled. "You said you can cry, darlin'" the overexaggerated fake southern accent made him laugh even more.
Jon frowned and turned his head away, he could feel the blushy heat of embarrassment creeping onto his face.
"Must've slipped" he muttered not wanting to admit it.
"Slipped? So you call me that in your head?"
"Ed" he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You sit here moping for three days straight, I make the effort to comfort you and the first thing you do after is make fun of me? A "thanks" would be good." He shook his head and started to stand up to leave but before he could Ed's hand wrapped around his wrist to make him stay.
"What? No, I'm not–" Edward stuttered. "I'm not making fun of you. I was just curious. I– uhm" Now it was his turn to blush. "I liked it" he said quietly, not wanting to meet Jonathan's gaze. Fearing rejection.
Jonathan's gaze softened as he looked at the delicate hand wrapped loosely around his wrist. Edward liked it?
He put the coffee back on the nightstand and bringing his hand to Eddie's face he gently guided him by the chin to look him in his beautiful blue eyes. His lashes were still damp from the crying but goddammit the way the way he looked at Crane through them... he looked so delicate this way, just precious.
"You're serious?"
Eddie nodded frantically.
"I've been wanting to tell you or..." he trailed off, deciding not to say what he had wanted to do with Jon yet. "But I never– I was scared, alright?" he blushed again.
Being scared of the Scarecrow was nothing new, but in this context?
Jon huffed amused — so he wasn't the only one, huh?
"For a dangerous criminal, Eddie" Jon caressed his cheek. "You're quite endearing."
Before he fully registered what happened Edward clung onto his neck, chest to chest. Jon could feel his shaky breath beneath his jaw. He didn't need to resist his urges anymore and so he wrapped his hands around Eddie's slim waist pulling him even further into the hug. They stayed like this for a while but then Ed pulled back, hands on Jon's shoulders. He could feel the doctor's loving touch on his waist, just holding onto him. He could feel the softness of his usually stern piercing eyes.
He kissed Jon, hesitantly at first — just a chaste touch of lips — then he gave in, buried his long fingers in Jonathan's messy graying hair and they kissed more hungrily but still softly.
That was the night they called themselves a couple for the first time.
So many ups and downs happened since that night. So many petty arguments, so many evenings working and laughing together, so many hangovers after getting drunk at the Iceberg Lounge, so many heists and fights and so much passion. Jonathan doubted the heat would ever run out. He smiled to himself fondly at the memories.
He looked at the clock.
He poured himself some coffee as he heard the door unlock and boots hitting the floor. Eddie made his way to the kitchen and without a word snuggled himself up to the doctor's chest, looking up at him with those pretty eyes.
"Look who decided to show up" Jon huffed running his fingers up Edward's spine.
"Didya miss me, Spooky?" his love gigged, slightly drunk.
"Can't say i didn't" Jon kissed Eddie's temple. "Made you hot chocolate, thought you might want some."
"You know me so well, doctor Crane" Edward sighed dreamily.
Jon rolled his eyes but let Eddie have his way. He couldn't help it, the Riddler's charm worked wonders even on the Scarecrow.