Epilogue

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I absolutely despised my birthday

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I absolutely despised my birthday. Always had, always would.

People singing for you while you sat there like an idiot, trying to figure out where to put your hands or who to look at or what to do... It's a fucking nightmare.

This year felt different, though. Just a little, but it did.

Because when I woke up this morning, my heart beat a little faster, and my frowned lips turned into a content smile when I felt Florence's body beneath my fingertips. I watched her chest rise and fall, how she scrunched her nose when some hair slid into her face. My fingers moved with instinct as they brushed it away, and I sighed when her lips twitched up almost unnoticeably.

She was so beautiful that I had a hard time grasping reality. This happened regularly, but there was something about this day, about the way the rising morning sun hit her naked body, that made my heart heavy. Heavy with love, commitment, and so much appreciation that I struggled to catch my breath.

"Are you watching me again, McCoy?" she muttered in her croaky morning voice, eyes closed.

"Always am, always will."

"Hmm." Flo sighed and turned, pulling the covers up over both our bodies before she snuggled into my chest. "What time is it?"

"Uh, I think—"

"No, you know what? I don't care." She yawned, finally opening her eyes to make my heart stop for the nth time since I'd fallen in love with her. The oceanic forest in them would never cease to make me smile.

"Wait, what?" I teased. "Florence Nyx doesn't care about the time? I thought that was as impossible as the stars not aligning in your favor."

A snort fled her lips as she playfully bit into my ear lobe.

My heart fucking exploded from the sensation.

"You've taught me the stars did whatever I wanted them to," she whispered, coming out from the crook of my neck. Her hair was all over the place, cheeks blushed and eyes still heavy from sleep. "Today they're aligning for you."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Because I'm the Goddess of the night, and I say they shall."

I couldn't help the smile on my lips. "You are."

"I am." Now she was the one smiling — no, grinning, way too mischievously for my liking. "And something tells me today is about you."

Groaning, I rolled my eyes and over to my back. "You know I don't want anything today. Please don't—"

But Flo shut me up with a kiss that made me see all those stars she held power over, her energy seeping straight into every fiber of my being. I couldn't help myself; my fingers found their way around her back, pulling her on top of me, begging for more. She complied, and soon we were a mess of entangled limbs and dancing tongues, the warmth of her being completely engulfing me.

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