The Woods ✔

Epilogue

Caden stared at Michael. Or, at least his final resting place.

There was still a tight feeling of pain and grief in his chest but also gratitude and a sad kind of happiness. Michael had loved the woods, probably even more than Caden, and now he was a part of them and would be forever. The thought was nice and peaceful.

Caden bent down and ran his hand over the rocks which were covered by moss and fern by now. A forget-me-not had sprouted there, too, the petals light blue with a yellow dot in the middle.

"I love you," he whispered, his smile feeling wobbly though it was genuine.

"Ready?" Ajax asked softly when Caden took a step back and he nodded. Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes and he swallowed against the lump in his throat.

He still missed Michael. It still hurt like hell. But life didn't stop. He had still so many days waiting for him to conquer them, to build memories, and he wouldn't waste them. Therefore he took Ajax' hand and walked with him back to the cabin in tranquil silence. They didn't speak, instead they listened to nature whispering all around them; warm wind rustling in the treetops, birds singing to welcome spring, the first bees buzzing by on their search for sweet nectar.

The cabin had been dusty and the air had smelled stale upon their arrival yesterday. It had rained quite heavily throughout the night and in the morning birds had bathed in the puddle in front of the kitchen window where the rain pipe wasn't water-proof anymore. However the raccoons hadn't found a way in and it was dry and - after Ajax had fetched some wood from the shack outside - warm.

"Ajax?" Caden asked quietly, flinching as his voice disturbed the whisper of the forest. The lion hummed in acknowledgement and tilted his head a bit to the side.

"Life isn't fair, is it?"

"No, it isn't." He looked at Caden, golden flecks dancing in a sea of green. "That means you don't have to play fair either."

Caden smiled at that and quickened his pace, tugging the other man along with him. In the end, they ran through the woods, laughing loudly and trying to outrun each other. Ajax grabbed Caden from behind, swinging him around until they dropped to the floor in a panting heap, wide grins etched onto their faces.

"You're crazy," Caden accused playfully and interlaced their fingers whereupon Ajax shrugged nonchalantly.

"Crazy isn't something bad, remember?" He rolled over so he was hovering over Caden whose breath hitched at the close proximity. Every moment together still felt as new and exciting as the first day.

Ajax bent down and kissed him gently, igniting sparks on Caden's skin. It felt like finally coming home.

That night, they lay in Caden's old bed, pressed together so neither of them fell out of it. The window was slightly cracked to give them a reason to huddle even closer together under the blanket, their legs tangling and noses almost touching.

It wouldn't always be easy like this. There would be times when they cursed each other, where they cursed the whole world. After all love wasn't meant to be easy. Love was hard to achieve and included a lot of sacrifices. But they would make it work, somehow. They would forgive and learn from their mistakes to avoid them in the future.

And Caden would be there whenever Ajax needed him, even if it was just because he stubbed his toe and Caden needed to kiss it better.

He wiggled closer with a tired mumble and breathed in the lion's addicting scent. There wasn't anything sexual about their position, they just enjoyed the familiar company and the feeling of being whole.

"You're my everything," Ajax admitted softly and Caden blinked up at him in the darkness. His heart fluttered.

"You're more than my everything."

Okay, yes, it was sappy, but for fuck's sake, they were allowed to be sappy. Hell, they were madly in love and Aunt Helen already demanded offspring, claiming that they would be fantastic dads. Caden wasn't convinced by that because Ajax had looked close to freaking out when Kaliska had shoved her little son into his arms to keep Robin from eating all the tuna again. The baby had happily suckled on his own thumb but Ajax nevertheless had quickly handed him over to Caden who had been equally as lost about what to do.

So, no kids at the moment.

Ajax buried his face in the crook of Caden's neck and gave a rumble from deep within his chest, making Caden shiver in comfort and start purring loudly.

And while the sun prepared to rise and announce a new day, the stars watched over the couple's sleep. Perhaps it was coincidence that the constellation Ursa Major was especially bright this night.

Happy New Year to all of you!

I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I did :) Thanks for your votes and lovely comments, you're a bunch of awesome potatoes :P