H2OVanoss & Bitches

I'm Back (H2OVanoss)

My surprise memorial day one-shot that I forgot about 'cause I had a surprise of my own that day.

"Hey dad?" a young boy asked his father who was looking at an old photo. "Yeah, buddy?" he asked looking over at the young boy as he stepped side to side. "Where's my mom?" the man turned to his son. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously. "The other kids at school... they say it's weird that I don't have a mom." the blue-eyed man's shoulders slacked. "Hey..." he grabbed his son's arm and pulled him into a hug. "Don't listen to them. Things are... complicated when it came you." he let go and walked to the fireplace grabbing a photo from the mantle and sat next to his son. "Do you know who this is?" the boy looked at the picture. 

It was his father and another man, he was big and tan with black hair and he was wearing an outfit that was a mix of browns of all different shades and he shook his head. "No." the man sighed and walked back to the mantle placing the photo back in its place and walking into the closet next to it he came out with a small box and sat back down before handing him a few more. One of them was the man again, but this time he was holding a baby in his arms and his shirt was off as he held the infant close to his chest looking down at it with adoring eyes and his lips were curved upwards in a light smile. 

He looked at it confused before grabbing the other. It was both of them this time same style except his father was sitting between the mans legs leaning on his shirtless chest as he held a baby in his arms. They were both looking into each others eyes and his father looked almost on the verge of tears. "Who is he?" the boy asked looking up and Jonathan sighed taking the picture and setting it back in the box.

"That is Evan. He's your Father." the boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "B-but you're my dad." he stuttered and Jonathan smiled. "I'm your other dad. Evan is your biological father." The boy looked at the picture than back at him. "Then, who's my mom?" Jonathan sighed. "My sister." the boy's eyes widened. "You have a sister?" he asked and Jonathan nodded. "Had." he sighed again. "She volunteered to be our surrogate. Since she and I were twins, me and your father thought that it would be the perfect mix, and boy we weren't wrong. But something happened. After she gave birth to you she got real sick." the boy nodded.

"So, where is he? Where's Evan?" Jonathan frowned slightly setting the box aside. "When you were about two years old the country was caught between and rock and a hard place and all who had met their requirements were recruited, your father was one of them. After the dust had settled and the men were sent back home most of them decided to stay, government jobs pay a lot of money and he wanted the best life possible for you." the boy got up quickly with a scoff. "But that doesn't answer my question. Where is he? Is he... dead?" 

Jonathan looked with wide eyes for a second before he chuckled. "Buddy no. No, he's not dead. After all of that happened He was one of the many that stayed, and over time he worked his way up the ranks, but he's constantly on the move. So, he decided that we stay here. He didn't want you to grow up on an army base with no sense of content or... Normality. He wanted to give you a normal life and a real chance of making friends." the boy sat back down. "When was the last time he was home?" Jonathan sighed, searching his mind for the last time he saw his husbands face. "About four years ago, right around this time. He's a busy man, Belle. And with the way things are around the world, he's lucky if he can get a phone call to actually come through before he's torn away from his desk for some sort of urgent matter." 

Jonathan looked at the clock on the wall before looking at his son again. "Hey buddy, I want you to do this for me. That candle I have on the window outside. I want you to go and light it tonight, I'm tired and work has not let up so I want you to do it." the boy smiled brightly and hugged him tight. "You can count on me, dad." he mumbled and Jonathan smiled wrapping his arms around him in a hug before getting up. Jonathan walked back to his study determined to finish the last chapter of his novel before midnight, he sat in the chair cracking his knuckles and putting his glasses on and began typing.

It was well past his bedtime, He knew that but he also knew that dad always lit the candle at a specific time so he decided to risk it and stay up the extra hour till the clock said 9:29 and he stepped out into the cool November air, holding the pack of matches. He grabbed the candle from the windowsill and flicked the match, carefully placing it on the wick. "Hasn't he told you not to play with matches." a voice said from behind making him jump and drop the candle.

--

Jonathan sighed happily, stretching his back and saving his work before heading to the living room, he immediately looked to the window to see the candle wasn't lit and smiled to himself. "He probably fell asleep already." he mumbled sleepily as he walked down the hall. Opening the door the boy's room his stomach sank when he saw that the bed was empty. "Rhiannon..." he dropped his glasses and ran for the door pulling it open. "Rhi-" he started but stopped.

He had a big smile on his face and the person behind him was shrouded in darkness. Jonathan's eyes widened, he took a step back turning on the porch light and there he stood. His brown eyes shined and his overcoat was covered in pins and medals that glistened and a small smile on his face. "E-Evan..." Jonathan said breathlessly. The smile on Evan's face grew wider as Jonathan bolted off the porch. Evan opened his arms and braced for the impact that still knocked him over. "Your home!" Jonathan sobbed into his chest and Evan nodded. 

"I'm home... and I'm not leaving again." Jonathan looked up. "You didn't..." Evan nodded "My son's in third grade and barely even knew who I was when I got here, and my husband is working his fingers to the bone writing as many chapters a night as he can while also being a stay at home dad. I'm not going back for awhile, maybe not ever." 

Jonathan buried his face in Evan's chest before felt a small body jump onto his back. "Does this mean we're a family now?" he asked, his voice high and his head cocked to the side in innocent question and Evan chuckled. "We've always been a family kiddo. I've just been away for a while, but I'm back now."

--

I want to thank all of those who have family in the army whether you're from America or not being a veteran is a hard and dangerous job that some don't come back from, I hope all of you had a great memorial day and a great day in general. HEllmersy out!