The appeal of Jon and Martin as a couple is similar to that of Basil Hallward and Dorian Gray… A soft, loving, creative, and their beloved scholar who’s driven into powerful evil by sheer circumstance and perhaps too much hubris…
The problem with couples like this is that one always seems to end up having to kill the other.
I just want to be stabbed by my lover in a desperate bid to save the world from my awful power whilst we both cry over the stupidity of my betrayal (that was inevitably going to happen and we both knew it) and beg the universe to let us wake up someplace better, safer, together! Is that too much to ask?
Don’t imagine Martin visiting Jon in hospital and gently brushing Jon’s hair whilst he talks about work, and what’s going on in his personal life. Don’t imagine Martin replacing wilted flowers, hanging fairy lights, and setting down two cups of tea (one of which he knows will remain untouched).
Don’t think about Martin befriending all the nurses at the hospital and telling them all about Jon and what he’s like when he’s up and about. Don’t imagine him doing an impression of Jon’s idea of a hilarious joke (the joke never made anyone laugh, but the impression did).
Don’t imagine Martin politely and subtly making sure Jon’s being well looked after, and getting the best course of treatment. Don’t think about the tenderness that comes from unconditional care and love with no expectations.
But most importantly, don’t think about Jon’s hair growing tangled, the nurses seeing less and less of Martin. Don’t imagine how dull the hospital room became without Martin’s thoughtful input. Don’t think about the old cup of tea still sitting on the bedside table (it’s behind a ‘get well soon’ card, only Martin would’ve noticed it).
It was Martin who succumbed to the lonely, but in a way it managed to take Jon too.
Jon is the knuckle cracking boyfriend and Martin is the “STOP CRACKING YOUR KNUCKLES” boyfriend.