No Need to Sleep Living in a Dream (Boy × Boy) ✔

EPILOGUE

Evan Cooper & Junior Campbell

He set down the leash, letting PB run deeper into the apartment. She barked happily and wagged her tail, like she was thinking 'I'm finally going to see him again!' even though they hadn't been gone for more than an hour.

The two-room apartment had been theirs for nearly a year now. It wasn't fancy or spacious, but it was a home. Their home.

Somehow they had ended up looking for a house in Evan's old hometown, the town in which Evy had born and died. It wasn't because of cheaper rents or available jobs, but simply because it had felt right. It also helped that Evan already knew his way around and he could hang out with his old friends again.

He knew they had made the right choice, even though the town was nothing like it had been before. Not after the year Evan had had — and not without Evy running around in the familiar streets.

"We're home!" Evan announced and dropped his keys on top of a drawer.

Junior appeared to the kitchen doorway, PB already milling around him. He was smiling widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling and his silver eyes lit up. He had never looked happier.

First of all, wow, Evan thought, and secondly, wow. Before he knew it, he was smiling too.

"I got in!" Junior exclaimed, the smile on his lips spreading even wider. It took a while before Evan fathomed what he had said. He was so awestruck seeing Junior smiling like that and looking so full of hope and genuine joy.

"Really? You got in?" Evan got excited and captured Junior in his arms. Junior hugged him back tightly.

"Yes, really. I did it." Junior laughed, sounding both enthusiastic and incredulous. They performed some sort of a weird hugging, twirling and bouncing ritual, before Junior's lips captured Evan's. They were still smiling when they immersed themselves into the kiss.

"You're going to be a vet." Evan grinned happily and cupped Junior's face with his hands.

Junior's silver eyes shone brighter than ever without the dark clouds of his past. The change in him wasn't limited to his eyes; everything about him was flourishing now that he was finally free. He was no longer the troublemaker he used to be, although he still swore like a sailor. Evan hoped that would never change, because it made his Junior the Junior he had fallen in love with.

Seeing all that joy on Junior's face made Evan's heart burst with love so intense and bright it was almost too much to bear.

Almost.

"I love you so freaking much." Evan told Junior, for the millionth time, and hugged him tightly. They kissed again and Evan thought: We made it. We're going to be just fine.

"You're so mushy, yuck." Junior muttered. If you knew him well enough and if you knew how to translate it, you knew that he was actually saying: I love you too.

Dario Ortiz & Beauregard Green

The car was brand new, black and without doubt expensive. Touching its door handle still made Dario's hand shake, but only slightly. He still had the thought in his mind: it's not safe, it's not safe, it's not safe.

But it was just a thought.

There was always the possibility of getting into another accident, but he couldn't spend his life anticipation of one. He needed to let go of the fear, to move on.

"Are we really doing this?" Beau asked, his fingertips trailing the sleek paintwork of the car. Only an hour ago he had said he didn't like cars, but now he couldn't stop staring at Dario's car in awe.

"Yes." Dario said decisively and opened the door: "Come on in before I change my mind."

"How are you feeling?" Beau asked, seeing how tightly Dario squeezed the wheel. Dario didn't say anything, but just turned on the engine, taking a deep breath.

"I can do this. I've done this before, I can do it again." Dario told himself.

He had been behind the wheel countless times during his driving lessons. The only difference was that this time Beau was in the car with him. It should have made Dario stress less, but it was the opposite: he was terrified he would crash the car and get Beau killed. But he was done letting the fear control his life, so he turned the radio on and started driving.

Oh no, not now.

They had been driving for a while and they were on the main road, when Dario was wrenched back to his worst nightmares. His face paled, when all heal could see was Celia. The glazed eyes, the blood on her tighs. The lights in the dark forest, casting shadows on her blanched face.

"..and it would be nice of me to take it easy on ya, but nah
Baby I'm sorry, I'm not sorry
Baby I'm sorry, I'm not sorry
Bein' so bad got me feelin' so good.."

"Dario? Are you okay?" Beau's voice penetrated the haze of the memories, filled with dread and worry. He reached his hand to shut down the radio, suggesting: "Let's just pull over?"

"No, don't. I want to hear it." Dario said, the memories fading from his sight. He was back on the main road, in broad daylight, and Beau was sitting on the passenger seat. Dario started humming along the song.

"I didn't know you dig Demi Lovato." Beau pointed out.

"No, no, absolutely not." Dario shook his head, but started singing along. Beau stared at him, a puzzled look on his face, but soon they were both singing along loud and clear.

The rest of the way Dario felt like he could breathe more easily, like he wasn't stuck in the car with Celia anymore. He had gotten out, he had made it and he had to keep living for the both of them. He was going to be fearless, he was going to survive.

Dario parked the car in an empty parking lot in the middle of nowhere. When they found the shore in the shades of the tall trees, they both started smiling at the same exact moment. They spread the rug on the stony ground and sat down looking at the breathtaking lake view in front of them. They had coffee and Dario had his daily dose of cherry flavored Twizzlers.

Neither of them talked for a long while, but they kept glancing at each other and smiling. They were thinking about the first time they met: how Dario had appeared from the forest and how Beau had asked for him to stay. How it had been sultry through the entire night. How Beau had sung to Dario and how Dario had fallen asleep on his lap.

"Do you ever miss those times?" Beau asked. It was already getting late and Dario was laying on the rug, his head on Beau's lap.

"Not really." Dario smiled, looking up at the eyes that had the color of a stormy night sky. "We're much happier now."