A/N: Hello again everyone! I'm back with this long overdue chapter! :P

Before we get started,I would like to thank everyone that read last chapter! I would also like to give a huge thank you to winterschild11, Side1ways, Guest, and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing!

I think this chapter will make a lot of you very happy. :P

I hope you all enjoy!

After school, I told James where I was going, and I headed toward the weight room. Knowing Daniel like I did, I knew he'd be there. And I was right.

"Hey, kid." I said after entering the room and seeing him doing bicep curls on one of the weight benches.

"What do you want?" He snapped, not looking at me.

"To talk."

He tossed the weight down before standing up. Sweat caked his dark hair and his gray shirt was darker in some spots, which told me he'd been in here in a while.

"Look, Dan, I'm sorry. Okay?" I said. "I shouldn't have kept it from you. Not after you confided in me. But I'm here now."

Daniel barged toward me with balled fists, causing me to take a step back. "Where were you when I needed you? My dad found out, Kendall! He walked in on me kissing Joel." Tears pooled in his eyes, and he became even more riled up. "He kicked my ass and told me if he ever caught me 'being a fag' again that he'd take me out back and put a bullet in my skull. I needed you. And you weren't here."

My heart was in my throat, and I stepped toward him.

"Kid, I-"

"Stop fucking calling me a kid." Daniel said, falling back on the bench and hanging his head. "I'm tired of adults saying one thing and doing another. I'm tired of being disappointed all the time."

"Why didn't you call me?" I asked, sitting beside him. "I gave you my number."

"I was too pissed at you." He answered before wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "And I didn't think you'd even care. Not with everything else going on in your life."

God. Was I that stubborn as a teenager?

"Well, I do care." I said, gently nudging his side. "I'm not going anywhere either. Are you still staying with your dad?"

Now that I knew for sure that his dad was an abusive asshole, I wasn't going to let him stay in that environment.

Daniel shook his head. "No. When mom found out, she told me to come and stay with her. They divorced like five years ago."

"How does she feel about you being gay?"

Daniel shrugged and wiped at his eyes again, finally having calmed down enough to stop the tear flow. "She's struggling with it because of her faith, but she said she loves and supports me not matter what."

I nodded, and we slipped into silence until I nudged him again. "So...you and Joel, huh?" I asked with a sly grin.

Danielet out a groan and buried his face in his hands. "Yeah. It's been going on for a while."

"You know, that's how it started with me and James, um, Mr. Diamond." I smiled at the memory. "We were best friends for so long, and then one day...it just clicked. The time spent with him started to mean something different. I began focusing on how the edges of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, how his voice would get higher in pitch when he was excited, and how he'd grab my arm when he was scared. One day, he grabbed my arm and I didn't want him to let go."

Daniel regarded me before nodding and averting his gaze to the floor. "That's how it is with Joel. Even when I'm not conscious of it, I reach for him. Like instinct or something."

Minutes of silence passed, but I got the impression that's what Daniel needed, for me to be there, but not to try and give him advice or tell him what to do. He just needed me so he didn't feel like he was going through it alone.

And it was within that silence that the answer to my question screamed in my head.

"It's sort of hard to be passionate about the game when your own coach doesn't give a fuck." Daniel had said a while back when I first started helping him train.

With the realization of what I wanted to do after pro-hockey, I felt so damn stupid for not figuring it out sooner. The answer had literally been right in front of me the entire time.

I wanted to coach high school hockey.

I wanted to help the kids realize their dreams and aspirations early on and give them the tools to build brighter futures. To be a positive influence in their lives. It was the perfect way to continue doing what I'd discovered I enjoyed-working with teenagers-and still have hockey.

Later that evening, after working out with Daniel and getting back on good terms with him, I sat on the couch with James. We were at my house, watching something on TV after having eaten the amazing Italian food he'd made us for dinner.

I played with the hair at his nape, twirling a longer strand around my finger before finding another. He leaned his head on mine, and I turned my face to kiss his temple.

"I want to coach hockey." I said. "Hanging out with D today got me thinking about it, and it's something I really feel I'd be good at."

"You call him D now, huh?" He asked, amusement in his voice as he tilted his face up to meet my gaze. He didn't look surprised at all to hear about me wanting to coach hockey.

"You already knew." I stated, unamused. Okay, maybe a little amused. It was scary how much James knew me.

"I had a hunch." He said before leaning forward and touching his lips to mine. He tasted like red wine-that he'd insisted we drink with dinner-and he'd had another glass afterward too.

He hardly ever wanted to drink, so I suspected he had something to tell me.

I turned my body more toward him and guided him to his back on the couch. His hands roamed my sides before squeezing my ass through my sweats.

"Okay." I said, nudging his legs apart and sliding between them. "What's up?"

"You, apparently." James said with a grin. He looked between our bodies before focusing back on my eyes. "And me. We should do something about it."

Fuck, it was hard-no pun intended-to refuse him. I'd never been the best at denying sexual urges with James, but a bigger part of me took control. The part that was madly in love with him and didn't want to do anything to fuck it up.

"James…" I scrutinized him.

He laid his head on the couch cushion and peered up at me through his long lashes. "If you still want me to move in with you...I will." He said. Then he did the James thing and started talking really fast. "I still don't want you paying for everything. I'll help with the utilities, groceries, and things like that. I want it to be equal between us, and I don't want to take advantage of you, and-"

And like usual, I shut him up with a kiss.

James moaned in the back of his throat and squeezed my ass again as our tongues tangled and our teeth clanked.

My heart was full.

James and I were going to live together, he'd be able to spend most of the summer with me in Kansas City for training, and our lives were finally on track for what they were always meant to be.

Two halves of a whole finally connected.

Friday evening, Kendall and I wanted to get out of Willow and have a night out. Fayetteville, the bigger city about thirty minutes away, was bustling with life as we drove down one of the main strips. Bars lined each side of the road, as well as restaurants, a bakery, an outlet mall, and one bar that was also a hot spot for concerts.

After parking, we got out of the car and walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

Funny enough, I think I was more nervous about the public hand holding than Kendall was. Not that I was ashamed, but no matter how progressive the place was becoming, I still had that fear in the back of my mind about not being accepted.

"You okay?" Kendall asked, drawing my attention back to him.

He wore a simple T-shirt, baseball cap, and jeans that night, but ever dressed that casual, he still looked like a damn model. Which he was. And from what Kelly said, apparently him coming out had made even more agencies reach out to him, wanting him for cologne ads, fashion magazines, and one who wanted him to model a new line of underwear.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said, squeezing his hand a bit tighter as we passed a group of college kids. "How about you?"

"I'm fucking great." He brought our joined hands up to kiss my knuckle before turning to the entrance of a bar. "Wanna go in?"

I smiled when I saw the place. It was the same bar I'd gone to months before when I'd been trying to work out my feelings for Kendall.

"Sure."

When we entered, we were greeted by classic rock blaring over the speakers, wafts of cigarette smoke, and a lot of laughter. The place was small, but still really nice. Far from a dive bar, even though its location and size would've normally pegged it as such. Spotting two seats open at the bar, we headed that way and sat down.

"What can I get for ya?" The bartender asked. She was the same one from the last time.

"I'll have a beer, please." Kendall answered, pulling out his wallet.

Before I could say what I wanted, the bartender narrowed her eyes at me. "And you'll have an Angry Orchard?"

I gave a light laugh. "Yep. You remembered."

"Well, you kinda have a face that's hard to forget." She answered with a wink before turning and getting our drinks.

Kendall lifted a brow. "Damn. I'm not used to you being the one to get all the attention while we're out."

I bumped his arm. "Jealous?"

"Nah." He said with a smirk. "People can flirt with you all they want, but I'm the one you'll be going home with."

I leaned closer to him on the bar stool, and he slipped his arm around my waist, holding me. He looked freaking hot in his blue Kansas City baseball cap, and I fantasized about throwing him onto the bar top and fucking him right then and there. Something about him wearing a hat just did it for me.

Thankfully, I had way more self-control.

The bartender gave us our beers and Kendall handed her his card.

"So, is this the guy you were telling me about last time?" She asked me, nodding to Kendall.

Kendall snapped his head to me. "You told her about me? Aww."

"Shut up." I said to him, shaking my head. Then, I looked at her, feeling my face heat. "Yeah. This is him."

"Well, would you look at that?" She leaned against the counter and winked again. "Looks like I was right about the whole fate thing after all."

When she left to help another customer farther down the bar, I looked at Kendall. The way he was staring back at me made the breath leave my lungs. There was a softness in his eyes that just wrapped around my heart and refused to let go.

His face inched closer, and before I registered what was happening, he kissed me, right there in the center of the crowded bar.

But I didn't think about the eyes that were probably glaring daggers into the backs of our heads. I didn't think about anything other than the way Kendall's lips felt against mine, and how even after all of these years, he still had a way of making me feel like we were the only two people in the world.

After we kissed, I looked around and was surprised I didn't see the glares I'd sworn I felt. Mostly everyone was going about their own business, drinking and chatting with their buddies. There were only a few guys looking at us, but the stares weren't venomous. They weremore curious, than anything. When one stood up from his table, I saw the Mavericks shirt and smiled.

"Hey, man." The guy said to Kendall once he'd approached. He was young, probably a couple years younger than us, and he had a lean, athletic build. "I just wanted to say congrats on the great season last fall, and good luck on the upcoming one."

"Thanks." Kendall shook his hand before motioning to the guy's shirt. "Not used to many Maverick fans around here."

"I live there." He responded, putting a hand in his front pocket while holding his near-empty beer in his other. "I'm just down here visiting a buddy for his bachelor party. Can I buy you guys a drink?"

That one drink turned to two, then three, and within the hour, Kendall and I had ended up at the guy's table with all of his college buddies. They were a great group of guys, and the groom-to-be seemed excited about getting married.

He talked about his girl so much that his best man-the guy who'd first approached us and whose name was Grant-practically forced beer down his throat to shut him up. That caused the guy to sputter a bit and spew some of it on the table, causing us to erupt in laughs.

"So, are you two a thing?" Grant asked us with a smile.

The other guys at the table looked at us, waiting for an answer, and I froze, not sure what to say. Anyone with eyes would've seen us making out at the bar earlier, but the years spent hiding our relationship made me hesitate.

"Yeah." Kendall answered, throwing his arm around my shoulders and tugging me toward him. He nuzzled the side of my head before resting his cheek on mine. His breath smelled like alcohol, and I knew he was drunk. I wasn't any better off, not used to drinking so much. "He's my guy."

"Which one is the girl in the relationship?" Another guy asked, I think his name was Beau.

I rolled my eyes at him, hating when gay men were asked that.

There were no girls in a gay relationship. That was kind of the fucking point. Same went for being asked who the top was and who was the bottom. There were a lot of us who didn't prefer one over the other, and even for the ones who did, it was personal and not something we wanted to tell random people about.

"Dude, you don't fucking ask that." Grant said to Beau, slapping his chest.

Beau's eyes went wide. "Sorry! I didn't know."

The tension vanished, and within minutes, we were all laughing again. Tyler-the groom-wanted to take a group selfie, so he held out the phone with one arm, and we all gathered around him and made crazy faces. That inspired Kendall to want to take even more pictures, and he had us all posing and acting like jackasses.

Funny how when I was drunk, I wasn't shy anymore. Go figure.

Kendall put his arm around me and kissed my cheek before taking a picture of us. He showed me that picture, and I was surprised I actually liked it. In it, I had a soft smile and my eyes were closed as I leaned against Kendall, who stared at me with a lovesick smile of his own.

"I'm posting it." He said, clicking his Twitter app. "People are going to lose their shit."

That sobered me up.

"Wait. What?" I tried to grab his phone, but he held it out of my reach. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, no one knows who I am yet."

"Yeah." Kendall answered, still grinning like the demon he was. "But I want the world to know that I love you." His smile faltered, and he lowered his arm. "Do you want people to know, Jay? Because if you don't want me to tell anyone who you are, I won't. I just...I fucking love you and I'm tired of hiding you."

The hurt in his eyes crushed me. He thought I didn't want people to know I was with him.

"Post it." I said, grabbing his hand.

In a huge way, it was my own public coming out. I was a nobody, and now I was telling a shit load of strangers I was gay. That was something I'd have to do for the rest of my life anyway. Any new person I met and befriended, I'd eventually have to tell. Which was a major case of bullshit, but it's just how the world worked.

"When you two get married, can I be the best man?" Grant asked before finishing off his beer.

Tyler took away the empty bottle-that Grant was still trying to drink out of-and gently bopped him on the head with it. "Dude, you can barely be the best man for mine." He said with a teasing smile.

I knew they were best friends, and had been for a while, when Grant shot Tyler a smug smile before jabbing him in the ribs. Tyler countered the hit with one of his own, and the two drunk guys started giggling like school girls as they wrestled in the booth. Well, tried to.

Kendall tilted my face back to him and lightly kissed me. "I love you. Are you sure this is okay?"

I nodded, pressing my face against his hair.

He typed out a message to go with the photo and posted it.

XxX

"Hey, babe, you need to see this." Kendall said from the other room.

After pouring water into the coffee machine and starting it, I left the kitchen. Kendall was laying on the couch, one leg on the floor and the other stretched outward across the cushion, and scrolling on his phone.

I was a little hungover from the night before and had popped some painkillers earlier, but the damn headache refused to go away. A reminder as to why I didn't like drinking.

"What is it?" I plopped down between his legs and lay backward, my head on his chest.

"We're trending." He answered, holding his phone out to where I could look at it with him as he scrolled down his page.

He clicked on the picture he'd posted last night, and I read the message he'd sent with it.

Kendall_Knight: Out with my guy. We've been through a lot of ups and downs, but through it all, we found our way back to each other. He's my heart, my soul, and he makes me a better man

"Wow. I didn't see what you'd actually said with it." I admitted, blinking back tears.

"I meant every word too." Kendall kissed my nape before tightening his hold on me. "Looks like some of my fans are trying to find us a ship name."

"A what?" I turned my head to look at him.

"You know, like our names meshed together to form one word. Like our relationship name." He explained, staring at me with amused green eyes. "Fuck you're old. You really don't know what a ship name is?"

"Shut up." I gently elbowed his stomach. "But anyway, what about your fans?"

Kendall nipped at my neck before resting his head back on the pillow and holding out his phone again for us to see. "Apparently, our names fucking suck. They were having a hard time finding one, so one of them created a poll and people are voting on which one they like the best."

"Jendall?" I asked as I read one on the list. I snorted as I saw the next next suggestion. "Kendmes. That reminds me too much of Shawn Mendes."

"Oh, it gets better." Kendall said with a smile in his voice. "Keep reading. Take a look at what's currently in the lead."

"Kames is winning?" I asked, failing to fight the laugh that threatened to bubble out of me. I guess out of all of them, that one did sound the best…

Kendall started laughing too, and we read a few comments from his fans. Of course, there were the homophobic assholes that never seemed to mind their own business, but the majority of the comments and mentions were in support of us.

ShyGuy: Thanks, Kendall_Knight! Because of you, I came out to my parents. Dad was kind of pissed, but I think he'll come around. Ignore the haters.

After that post, there were over a hundred more. We got up to make our coffee before sitting down at the kitchen table and reading through as much as we could. Although he tried to hide it, Kendall's eyes watered as he went through them. So many kids reached out to him, and some were guys our age too.

He started replying to them, and as he did, I sat back with my coffee and looked out the patio doors into the backyard.

Ever since the night I'd said I would move in with him, I'd gradually started bringing my stuff over. I was renting my house, so I had another month on the lease before I could officially be out of there. I'd brought over everything except for furniture and appliances, like my refrigerator, washer and dryer, and the temperamental toaster that sometimes worked, sometimes burned everything.

We had taken one of the spare rooms and were in the process of turning it into my home office and study. All of my books would go in there-inside the built-in bookshelves-as well as sitting chairs and my desk. There was even a fireplace in there too, which reminded me of those classic detective movies where the men sat in their studies in front of the fire and smoked out of a pipe. Not that I'd do that, but that's the visual I got when I pictured it. Like a Sherlock Holmes type setting where instead of solving cases, I'd grade papers and recite Shakespeare.

I loved the images that came to mind when I thought about me and Kendal a year from now. Two years. More than that.

Us sitting together at breakfast, sleeping beside him every night and waking up him every morning, hearing him laugh as we worked outside in the garden he wanted to build, and feeling his strong arms around me as we cuddled on the couch. They were all things I looked forward to.

He was my soulmate. It might've been overly sappy to think such a thing-especially since I was a bit of a skeptic and had a hard time opening myself up to most things-but I knew, without a doubt in my mind, that Kendall and I were meant for each other.

"What are you thinking about?" Kendall asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Us." I answered. "And how happy I am. When you first came back here, I never thought I'd let you back into my life. But now, I can't imagine my life without you. You said in your post that I make you a better man, but, Ken, you do that for me. I'm better for knowing you. And for loving you."

Kendall cleared his throat. "Can people stop fucking making me cry today? Damn it."

I left my seat and kneeled in front of him, taking his hands in mine and looking up into his watery eyes.

"Will you marry me?" I asked, feeling my heart beat faster. Maybe it was from hanging out with the bachelor party guys the night before combined with my own happiness, but I couldn't stop the words. More than that, I realized I didn't want to, even if I could. "Not right now because you have a lot going on in the upcoming months. But when your season is over and you're home, I'd love nothing more than to be your husband, Kendall Knight. We can't change the past, but we can make the most of every single day and create a future together. I don't have a ring, because I just now thought of this but-"

Kendall grabbed my face and joined our lips.

He tasted like coffee and his own familiar taste, and I swirled my tongue with his, feeling like my heart was about to burst. With love, joy, excitement. All of it. He hadn't said yes, but his actions said it for him.

"Damn you." He muttered after breaking our lip lock, staring at me with playful anger. "I wanted to propose to you. You asshole."

"It's not my fault you're so slow." I said and grinned when he snarled his upper lip. I met him for another slow kiss, and I ran a hand up his bare chest, loving the warmth of him. "So on our wedding invitations, it should say, 'you are invited to witness Kames' union,' because we might as well take advantage of our awesome ship name."

Kendall laughed, and my stomach fluttered at the sound. I wanted to spend the rest of my life hearing that sound.

"I thought the invitation could say something like this," Kendall said before clearing his throat. He focused on me with a serious expression, but I noticed his lips twitch a little. "Two households, both alike in dignity-"

"Hell no." I said before shoving his chest. "You ass. We are not having a Romeo and Juliet wedding. Forget it."

"Ah, you killed my dream. Killed it, I tell you." Kendall grabbed a fork and held it upward, staring at it with a gleam in his eyes. "This is thy sheath." He quoted from the play. He brought it down to his stomach. "There rust, and let me-"

"Stop being a drama queen." I interjected, but seeing his dead face-tongue sticking out and his eyes closed-I burst out laughing.

It was those small moments in life that made me step back and appreciate them for what they were. Memories I'd hold onto forever because they told of a time when we were happy and in love.

Small, seemingly insignificant moments that would end up meaning the most.

Done! So, there you have it! Kendall and Daniel are back on good terms, and it looks like Kames is getting married and happier than ever!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter, as well as if you happened to have a favorite part/moment! :)

I loved hearing your thoughts on the previous chapter! It seems alot of you enjoyed the beginning. :P

Unfortunately, we've reached the finish line of this story. There are two chapters left, with one of them being the epilogue. Those will both be up next weekend!

Until then!

-Epically Obsessed