"Don't you ever-and I mean EVER-die on me like that again! Do you hear me?"
"Don't make it just about you jackass! Connor and I lost him too-"
"You can scold him later! Right now it's my turn. I brought him back, I get that right."
James blinked and looked back and forth between Cooper and Mark before setting his eyes on Jeff. "Help?" he squeaked out in a small voice.
Jeff just shook his head. He wasn't getting involved in that argument. It wasn't even really that serious of a thing. Mark and Cooper were obviously just so relieved that James was alive again that they couldn't properly express it (at least not right there in front of everyone) and they were resorting to snapping at each other, just like they always did.
"Daddy? What was hell like?" Connor asked softly. He had his arms wrapped around James and he didn't seem to be ready to let go any time soon.
James winced at the question. "It sucked," he answered. "It really really sucked."
"It sucked? That's all you have to say?" Shannon said in disbelief. "Understatement much?"
"Ease off him Shanny," Jeff said. He pulled Kylie into his lap and hugged her tightly. "He's been through enough shit."
"Truer words have never been spoken," James muttered, which made Connor hug him tighter and Cooper and Mark stop their bickering.
Jeff shook his head, feeling like he had slipped into a kind of shock. He wasn't even sure if it was really all over yet. Sure, destroying Caedes's heart had not only killed the bastard but had put a stop to the end of the world, but it just felt too good to be true. Maybe it was just him; maybe he actually didn't want to believe that it was all over because it meant that he now had to deal with the emotional aftermath of it all. Watching his dad get killed, getting raped by a demon…none of that felt real. It felt like a horrible horrible dream. It wasn't though. It happened. It really really happened.
"I am never going to stop washing my hands," Shane declared as he came back inside. He, Jackie, Andy, Christina, Matt, Rupes, Razor and Chris had been getting rid of all the demon bodies and they had just gotten done. "Do you guys have any bleach or something?"
"You can't bleach on your hands," John said as he flipped his hair back. "Do you have any idea what that would do to your skin?"
Mark frowned, his lips twitching uncontrollably. "His skin? That's what you're worried about?"
"Well someone here has to worry about it," John said defensively. "Shannon's not smart enough to do it for him like a good boyfriend."
"Oh fuck off you big fairy," Shannon snapped.
"Hey!" Matt said. "He's my big fairy so lay off!"
Shannon stuck his tongue out at Matt while John hugged the dark haired Hardy. "You tell him Matt," he said as he kissed him on the cheek.
"You know, I think we should take the time to observe the irony of a murder saving the lives of billions of people," Chris said as he walked over to Jeff and sat down next to him. "Because I'm still actually trying to wrap my head around it."
James smirked. "Well while your wrapping your mind around it, I think we should have some sort of celebration in my honor."
Cooper rolled his eyes. "You just want us to sit around and stroke your ego," he said affectionately.
Kylie frowned and looked up at Jeff. "What does that mean?" she asked innocently.
"It means that he wants us to make him feel good about himself," Jeff explained.
"Oh."
"Well seeing as that the world's saved, I say we party," Jackie said with a grin. She was slowly but surely returning back to her normal human state, which was a relief to Jeff. Her demon side really creeped him out.
Mark gave her a dubious look. "And why would I want to party with you? You kicked me across the room!"
James's eyes widened as he looked at Jackie. "You did what to my Marky?"
"Hey, he got all grabby and snarly with me," Jackie said in her own defense. "So he started it."
"My Marky wouldn't do that," James said with a frown.
"Hey now, let's not waste time arguing," Rupes interrupted. "If I've learned anything in all my years of fighting demons, it's that there's only three things that can help someone unwind and gain perspective on all this bullshit: beer, pizza and more beer."
"Amen," Razor muttered. "A-fucking-men."
…
Caroline stepped over the bodies of the hell hounds she had just killed, all the claw and bite marks on her body stinging like hell. She was in as foul of mood as she could possibly be in. Not only had she been attacked, but Balthazar's plan had failed. James had gotten to Caedes's heart and had destroyed it, saving the world in the process. It made her sick to even think about it. That fucking little bastard…oh how she hated him. And the worse part was, he was gone, so she couldn't torture him. And Annabelle was gone too, so she had nobody really worth hurting. "Mother fucker," she snarled. She picked up the mojo stick that Balthazar gave her and stormed off to find the demon in question. He had promised her success. He had lied. Bastard had to pay.
It wasn't too hard to find him. When the heart had been destroyed, the dimensions had stopped bleeding together and all the demons and spirits that had either escaped or had been taken unwillingly from their home dimension had been returned to their rightful place. That meant Balthazar was stuck in hell once again and he was not happy about it. He was cursing in some language that she didn't understand and he was throwing shit around, acting like a big baby.
I should have known better to ever believe he was competent, she thought angrily. Men. They're all the same, no matter whether they're human or not. She tightened her grip on her stick before raising it up and using it against the unsuspecting demon. If she wasn't going to be able to torture James and Annabelle for all eternity, then this son of a bitch was just going to have to do.
…
Mark polished off his third beer as he watched James single handily devour one of the twelve pizzas they had ordered. There was so much that he wanted to say but he couldn't even begin to find the words. So he just sat back and watched his lover while doing his best to repress the fact that he had ever lost him in the first place. That was just a subject that he never ever wanted to approach again if he could absolutely help it.
"So what happens now?" Shannon asked. The party really wasn't much of a party because Jeff and Matt had gone off on their own and John and Chris had gone to comfort them. Mark was sure that the loss of their father was really starting to sink in for them and he felt sorry for them. He really did. But it didn't feel like his place to go comfort them. John and Chris could take care of them. He was sure of that.
"What do you mean?" Jackie asked as she bobbed her head along to the Stone Temple Pilots song playing on the radio.
"What do you mean what do I mean? I mean what happens now? I mean the world just about ended! Shouldn't there be a press conference or-"
Jackie burst out laughing at that. "A press conference?" She shook her head and continued to laugh.
"Nobody besides us and the rest of this town is ever going to know that the world almost ended," Rupes explained. "And for us here in the good old AC, life is just going to go on."
"Well that's fucking bullshit," Shane declared. "After all that-"
"It's just the way it has to be," Andy explained. "The world at large can't know about all of this. They can't handle it."
"Yeah really," Razor agreed. "Humans overall are too paranoid. If everyone knew about vampires and demons, chaos would erupt. Everyone would be accusing each other of being an evil fiend and it would just get ugly."
"So what do we do then?" Cooper asked as he gestured to everyone in the room who wasn't an Apocalypse City native.
Jackie got a serious look on her face. "Honestly? I say just get the hell out of here and don't look back. You get too deep in this shit and it consumes your fucking life. Believe me, I know from experience."
Rupes winced at the bitterness in her voice before pointing to Kylie. "It's why we want you guys to take her with you when you go. She doesn't deserve to live the life we all have. Full of violence and death and chaos…she deserves a normal life."
Mark looked back at the little girl, who was playing with Christina. His first instinct was to have her go with Chris and Jeff. She seemed to have bonded with them the most and they seemed to be just as attached back. Of course the only question was, could Chris and Jeff handle raising a little girl right now? He wasn't so sure…
"Marky?"
Mark turned back around and looked at James. "What?"
"I'm horny."
Cooper and Connor groaned while Andy and Jackie perked right up. It was almost like they were eager to see a show or something. Mark wasn't going to give them one though. He simply just got to his feet and pulled James up so they could go somewhere more private.
"Oooh, a little anxious aren't we Marky?" James said with a big grin.
Mark just grunted in response.
"Well just so you know, I'm on top tonight."
"Fine."
"Fine? That's it? You're not going to put up a fight?" James sounded completely and totally amazed. "Wow, I should die more often."
Mark spun around so fast he just about knocked James on his ass. "Don't you DARE even JOKE about that? Do you understand me?"
James quickly nodded. "Alright alright. Jesus Christ, get your panties out of the bunch."
Mark shook his head and let out a shaky sigh. "Alright. Just so that's clear."
"Oh we're clear alright."
"Good."
…
Chris hated the sound of Jeff crying. He really really did. What he hated even more though was the fact that there wasn't any way he could really comfort his boyfriend. All he could do was help Matt hold him and listen helplessly. Everything that had happened lately had finally really sunk in and now all Jeff could do was cry. Matt was crying too, but Jeff was literally sobbing so hard that Chris seriously thought he was going to stop being able to breathe at any second.
Matt seemed to be thinking the same thing because he started trying to actively trying to get Jeff to calm down just a little bit. "Ssshh, it's going to be alright," he promised in a hoarse whisper. "It's going to be okay. Just breathe baby. Just breathe."
Jeff refused to listen. He just continued to sob and hide his face in Matt's chest.
Chris looked at John, who just shook his head helplessly. They was really nothing either of them could say that could make anything better. Gil was dead and Jeff was probably going to be forever traumatized by everything that had happened. The universe had been set back in order and they could all live to see another day, but their lives had forever been altered. There was really no going back to the way things were, no matter how much any of them wanted to.
"Jeffrey? Jeffrey come on, don't cry like that. You're going to pass if you keep doing that."
John screamed in fright and Matt, Jeff and Chris all looked up like they had just heard a gunshot. Gil, Annabelle and Zach were standing in front of them, looking like they were just barely hanging on to staying right in front of them. "Holy shit," Chris muttered.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Zach said with a grin. "I don't think I like being a ghost. It's too weird."
Annabelle pointed towards the hotel. "Are James and in the boys in there?"
"Yeah," Chris answered. He moved out of the way so she and Zach could go in there and see everyone.
"They could have gone through you you know," John said in a hushed voice.
Chris shook his head. He hadn't wanted that. That had happened once and it had been way WAY too weird.
"Dad?" Matt said hesitantly, speaking up because Jeff looked like he was in way too much shock to do so. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to tell you boys something," Gil replied. He placed his ghostly hands on Matt and Jeff's shoulders, making them both shiver noticeably. "And I need you to listen to me very carefully, because it's important. Can you do that?"
Matt and Jeff both nodded.
"Okay. It's going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright, you hear me? Life isn't going to stop because I'm gone and you're both strong enough to get along without me. You understand?"
"But-" Jeff started to object.
"No buts," Gil said firmly. "You're going to be alright, you understand me?"
"Yes," Matt said as Jeff just nodded. "We understand."
"Good." Gil placed one last kiss on his sons' heads before disappearing, leaving all of them to stand there and watch as the sun began to peek out from the horizon.