The end of the line, folks.

TRIGGER WARNING! Profanities. Some discussions of European and British politics.

The Most Serene Christmas Eve (高貴なるクリスマスイブ)

Today was December 24.

Neither Christmas Eve nor Christmas Day was considered a public holiday in Japan. Cullen and Tharin decided to stay in for Christmas and cook for themselves, but for Christmas Eve, they had settled on going to Kumi for a dinner when Tharin came home after work and gym. In fact, the young man was just about done showering and getting dressed to leave when Cullen received the message.

LAST CUSTOMER! THE TWAT WON'T FUCKIN LEAVE! GONNA GO PUNCH THIS GIANT GAPING ARSEHOLE NOW!

Standing with one foot outside and one foot on the tiled entrance to prop the front door open, Cullen chuckled at the all-caps message from Sera. It encapsulated her personality perfectly in just three short sentences, and he had become so used to her swearing by now, it hardly registered.

Ever since they exchanged numbers, Sera would send random texts from time to time that kept Cullen abreast of her progress in Japan. But then, she may have been using Cullen as a sort of private Twitter to dump her thoughts on. A good chunk of the texts came with no context provided whatsoever. Those ones, he would more often than not ignore. The few that made sense, he would make a point to answer. So far, she seemed to be enjoying her life, though working at Kamome Shokudo seemed to be getting to her a tad, as evinced by the text.

Holding the front door to Tharin's apartment ajar with his shoulder, Cullen answered the text, Pics or it didn't happen. And as a jest, he attached a laughing emoji.

As he put the phone away, he turned to the young man and asked, "Ready to go, love?"

"Coming!" shouted Tharin as he pulled up his socks.

"You guys should come! And bring friends!" declared Josie with a magnanimous smile glowing on her countenance.

Josie arrived at Kumi a few minutes after the two men got there. All three placed their orders at the same time with a beaming Kumiko: chicken and burdock fritter daily special for Tharin, a Hamburg steak dinner for Cullen, and the usual deluxe sashimi plate for Josie.

As they waited with drinks in their hands, the topic of conversation naturally turned to New Year's Eve plans. And apparently, Josie was throwing a bit of a bash for her friends and her close colleagues from the embassy.

"Just curious, don't you have more official functions to go to?" asked Tharin while sipping on his yuzu chu-hi.

Josie made a dismissive gesture. "We've already had the Christmas slash end of the year party at my work, and it's not like I get invited to ultra-fancy parties thrown by the Japanese officials. This is just for fun." Suddenly, she leaned in and whispered, "I'm paying for all the food and drinks too."

Tharin sniffed. "I mean… How can we refuse that kind of an offer? Where are you holding this thing?"

Josie looked around clandestinely before she answered in a hushed tone, "An izakaya near the embassy. Don't tell Kumiko about this. She's going to hate me."

To this, Cullen asked, "How many people can we bring to the party?" He could think of two people to invite: Sera and Thom Rainier. The former had been on his mind since the text earlier. And if he was to stay out late into the night, Thom would have to come anyway.

Josie's lips upturned. She raised her arms and let her voice ring, "Bring as many as you want!" But she immediately amended the statement with a more subdued tone, "Um, maybe no more than one per each of you."

Tharin turned to Cullen and exclaimed, "Let's invite Lace and Dagna! I've been meaning to hang out with them for real, and Keio isn't too far away, I think…"

At the young man's enthusiastic proposal, Cullen tapped his fingers on the bar and dawdled. "Uh…"

His boyfriend was nonplussed. "I don't get it. You like them, right?"

"Yeah, of course. I just… I actually had other people in mind."

Tharin considered, holding his chin with the palm of his right hand, and hummed thoughtfully, "Right. Thom needs to come if you're to stay out late."

With his hands now gathered around his beer pint and his eyes directed at the foam on top, Cullen added timidly, "And… I was thinking… Sera."

"Who's that?"

"Remember that English waitress at the restaurant near Enoshima?"

Realization seemed to spread on Tharin's expression, and it distorted into an unpleasant scowl. "Wait, that girl? The blonde bangs girl? The one who was mean to me? God, why? Also, how?"

Cullen shrugged, determined to not make a big deal out of it. "I exchanged numbers with her after that dinner. We've been texting."

"You sneaky bastard! What else are you hiding?" Tharin's face had just a hint of a grin on it, but his body looked ready to lunge at Cullen. Instead, the young man reached out with his two hands and gripped Cullen's shoulders like vises.

Cullen chuckled, instantly defusing the tension, and brought down one of the Tharin's hands to interlace their fingers. "Nothing! I just like her. And I think she'd be a fun addition to the party."

"I mean… I guess? But Dagna and Lace will be practically next door to the party venue. It'd be a shame for them to miss it." With that, the two men turned to Josie. Cullen tried to make puppy eyes.

Josie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms before conceding, "You know what, it's fine. Just bring everyone. The more the merrier, I suppose."

After the supper with Josie, the two men walked back in silence. The temperature plummeted to below the freezing in the last couple days, and the weather forecasts were calling this Tokyo's coldest Christmas in thirty-seven years. So, it was too cold to converse idly anyway. Both men had their gloved hands deep in their coat pockets. Their white breaths materialized only to dissipate presently in the winter air.

But Tharin seemed inexplicably hurt. It became apparent to Cullen as soon as they set foot in the apartment lobby. He watched as the young man wordlessly boarded the elevator and unlocked the front door.

As he closed the door behind him, Cullen inquired with a calm voice, "You seem upset, Thar."

"I'm not." Gloves came off and were strewn on the floor haphazardly. Tharin then stomped to the closet, took off the coat, and hung it up. The wire hangers clanked against each other quite loudly.

After taking off his shoes, Cullen followed and leaned against the wall next to the closet. He probed, "It's obvious something's bothering you, love. Talk to me."

"It's just…" Tharin stood forlornly on that middle ground between the closet and the bed. His arms were crossed. "I don't even mind that you and Sera are friendly. But you hid her texts from me. How would you feel if I hid Dorian's texts?"

Cullen frowned. "Oh, Thar…" He approached to give Tharin a hug, which his boyfriend thankfully accepted. Cullen's first instinct was to defend himself, to argue that chatting with one's ex was completely different from texting with one's friend who his significant other disliked.

Yet, he recognized that this was not something worth fighting about. And whatever Cullen's original intention was, it did appear like he was hiding the messages. "You know what, you are right. Even if I didn't mean to hide it, it's a case of lying by omission. I'm sorry."

With his arms wrapped around Cullen, Tharin acknowledged in a hushed voice, "…Maybe I'm overreacting. I just don't really like people who don't like me. And it really surprised me that you were so friendly with her. That's all." He looked up with a knitted brow, clear in his intent to make peace. "I don't want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me."

It was easy to like Tharin, but to love him was to take on waves upon waves of emotions. Every single thing the young man uttered had a disproportionate impact on Cullen. He locked his lips with Tharin's. Afterwards, Cullen spoke warmly, "I don't feel that way. If I neglect to tell you anything, it's not because I want to hide things."

"Are we good?"

"We're always good, Thar. And I won't invite Sera if you feel strongly about it."

"No… She's a character. A crazy character. I'm sure she'll make for a fun party guest. You should invite her." Tharin side-eyed Cullen. "But. You have to listen to me whine about her and be okay with it. Alright?"

Cullen grinned. "I humbly accept your conditions."

Tharin began to unfurl Cullen's scarf and unzip his coat. As he did so, he queried, "What's Sera like on the phone?"

"Oh, you know. Foul-mouthed, capricious, and confusing," chuckled Cullen. "Unlike you, who's sometimes so obvious, it's rather convenient." After managing to shed his coat, Cullen pushed the young man onto the bed. They tumbled until they were satisfyingly hot and sweaty.

"How long do we have?"

"I don't have to head to the station for another two hours. Why? What do you have in mind?" Cullen flashed a sly smile.

Tharin snickered. "You have to know by now how things work around here."

New Year's Eve at Tachinomidokoro Naniwa (立飲処浪花での大晦日)

It was an overcast New Year's Eve. The forecasts were calling for a light snow, which would be an improvement over the gray gloominess.

Cullen met up with Tharin at his place and rode north together. On the train, he could not stop himself as he kept swiping quick looks at the young man.

Now that Tharin had caught on to the fact that Cullen particularly favored his formal looks, the young man seemed determined to dress up for their dates. Even so, today's outfit was a tad excessive. He was definitely overdressed in his three-piece suit, the provenance of which was something of a mystery seeing as Tharin was but a twenty-four-year-old English teacher.

The suit was probably not tailor-made. But it was well-fitted on Tharin's impeccable body. Each piece was made from woolen fabric with understated dark-gray tartan pattern. It was accompanied by a white shirt, a black woolen tie, a pair of black dress shoes, and a colorful pocket square. A maroon scarf had been draped over his suit jacket, and his hands were covered with faux leather gloves. His hair had been tamed and side-parted, absolutely no lock out of place. In short, Tharin looked… sensational.

Every time Tharin caught Cullen looking at him all enraptured, the young man gave a knowing smile. And every time, Cullen blushed. It did not help that he was rehashing what had happened… and happened again at Tharin's apartment before they departed for the night. The train route between Shin-Kawasaki and Ebisu felt like the longest ten miles ever.

Tachinomidokoro Naniwa was less than a half mile from the Spanish Embassy and literally a few steps away from Kamiyachō Station on the Hibiya Line subway. It was a perfect place for Josie to hold her New Year's Eve party. What was surprising to Cullen, however, was the fact that Josie had lent the entire place out for the night.

There was another izakaya named Yoshitaka across the alleyway from this place. But unlike its competitor, the exterior of which looked almost franchise in its unimaginativeness, Naniwa had a distinct vibe. There were crimson decorative curtains and paper lanterns that embellished the exterior.

The interior was just as unique, if not more, though it wasn't trying too hard like some themed bars did. With old advertising posters for beer and sake, its walls rubbed shiny from all the patrons of the past and the present, a huge wooden board with all the menus written in rough calligraphy, and a kitschy mural of Mount Fuji with cherry blossoms in the foreground, Naniwa screamed vintage. The good kind of vintage that unabashedly embraced its age and rusticity as they were rather than trying to commercialize them as a whimsical product ready for instant consumption.

The color palette was varied but harmonious. Kobicha of the wood, neon red of the paint, and white and aquamarine of tiles on one side of the wall. There were no chairs, only squat tables and a bar adjacent to the open kitchen. Tharin explained that tachinomi meant drinking while standing. Josie was ingenious like that. She wanted people to mingle, and her people unquestionably would mingle in this environment.

A moment later, rhythmic clangs of metal rang throughout the bar. There was a well-crafted grandfather clock hanging on the wall. The time was 2000.

Admiring the interior of the izakaya that had begun to bustle with Josie's people who showed up early, Cullen murmured, half-asking and half-remarking, "How is Josie affording all this?"

Tharin locked their arms together as he added, "Oh, her family's like stupid rich. Vintners. They own a quarter of vineyards in Catalonia or something like that."

The whole movement felt sure and natural. Cullen weaved their hands. "Ah. I see. Still, it must have cost her a pretty penny to rent a whole place for New Year's Eve."

The young man scoffed. "Are you kidding? This is a middling to lowbrow place. If anything, Josie's slumming for us commoners." But his face instantaneously changed to a practiced smile as they saw Josie amble toward them with a wine glass in her hand.

She was even more glamorous than usual. She had on a thigh-length black sequin dress that looked like it belonged in one of Jay Gatsby's flamboyant parties. It had rolling geometric shapes that looked like flower petals emanating from its center. Her hair had been pinned up, and a sequined headband with feather enhanced the look. The whole ensemble represented a flawless marriage of Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

"¡Feliz año nuevo! Thanks for coming, you guys!" Josie hugged each man with her free hand and dispensed air kisses as per usual. Cullen still felt slightly awkward about it and acted like it as well.

"Of course! How can we refuse free food and drinks?" said Tharin in a good-natured jab.

Josie patted the young man's right shoulder as she guided them toward the bar farther inside. "Very funny, Tharin. I know you love me."

A dramatic sigh. "Yeah… I do, unfortunately."

Cullen bumped his right shoulder against Tharin, intent on reprimanding. Josie noticed and turned to him. "It's so nice to see you too, Cullen. Things are still going well for you two, I assume?"

Tharin chirped with a tone that somehow glimmered, "Well… When we saw you last time, I didn't have the chance to tell you how Cul got super jealous about my ex texting me, but–"

With an exasperated noise, Cullen interrupted Tharin. "I wasn't super jealous. If I remember correctly, and I do, you were the one who got upset at me for not being jealous enough for your ego."

"Projecting much?"

"Oh God, you guys are being way too cute. Get away from me before I get too depressed." Josie made the motion to shoo them away.

At that moment, Sera entered the izakaya and waved at Cullen with a goofy face.

"Wait, Cullen, that's your friend you were talking about?" Josie's eyes looked larger than Cullen had ever seen them. Her face was twisted in a strange expression.

"Yeah, why?"

The woman spread her right arm like she was introducing somebody on a stage. "Because… she's the daughter of Taraline Emmald!"

And… Cullen responded with a blank stare. "…I'm sorry, am I supposed to know who that is?"

"Ugh. The Taraline Emmald?"

Still clueless, Cullen shook his head cautiously.

Josie soughed and explained, "She's the British Minister of State for Asia."

Tharin snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Ooh! You mean that Taraline Emmald?"

Cullen knew what the young man was doing but suppressed his laughter. Josie, on the other hand, was untaught in that particularly American brand of sarcasm and responded giddily, "Yes! You know her?"

His face now reverted to a deadpan expression, Tharin replied, "No, of course not. Nobody knows who that is. How the hell do you know about some obscure post in the British government?"

Josie took a sip of her wine and wagged her index finger. "Obscure?! First, that's insulting. She's the fourth in command in the Foreign Office. Second, it's my job to know all this! You should know too. You want to be a diplomat." Folding her arms protectively and taking another sip of the wine, probably to calm her suddenly frayed nerves, Josie muttered, "What's her daughter doing here, of all the places?"

"Probably to flabbergast you and ruin your party, Josie," joked Tharin. Josie punched the young man on his arm, and he yipped in surprise. He glowered as he stroked the spot the woman punched.

Watching this scene unfold, Cullen added with a concern, "…I invited her. Remember?"

For a diplomat, Josie sure could not control her mien in front of her friends. She began to look annoyed. "Yes, yes, you clever boy, I haven't gone senile yet. I meant, what is she doing in Japan?"

"As far as I know, she's here to surf. That's what she told me."

Josie looked raring to go. "I must go say hi. This is such an excellent opportunity to get a trilateral partnership going. Maybe get the private contact info for the British ambassador and possibly some higher-up in METI. Here, hold my glass." She thrust the quarter-full wine glass to Tharin and quickly strolled over to Sera, who had made her way to the bar first and was in the process of coming over to Cullen with a full pint glass in her hand.

"I think she might be high…" droned Tharin after sniffing the wine, to which Cullen responded with a strangled snigger despite himself. At least the gathering crowd seemed to have masked his undignified laugh.

The young man left Josie's glass on the table next to him and wrapped his arm around Cullen's waist. "Well, Josie's found something shiny, and now she won't talk to boring ol' us. Thanks a lot, Cul."

"Just our luck. Come on, let's get some drinks and get the night started."

Tharin pecked a quick kiss on Cullen's cheek. "Hm, I like how the party Cullen thinks. We should go check on them after. It might be pretty entertaining to watch Josie grovel to Sera. She's in for a rude surprise when she finds out what Sera's really like in person."

The night was barely underway, and Sera was on a warpath.

Before Cullen could warn Tharin about the approaching maelstrom, she snuck up on him and whacked his back loudly. The young man yelped in pain and spilled some of his beer on his vest.

As usual, Sera did not reduce the volume of her voice nearly enough as she griped, "Oi! You lot should've warned me about Miss Prissypants over there. Bloody hell, she was givin' me a fuck tonne of grief!"

Now wiping his shirt with a paper napkin from the table and glaring at Sera, Tharin spat, "Hello, Sera. This is Dagna, and this is Lace. They are exchange students from Germany."

As Sera whirled around to face the students, her whole demeanor changed instantly. The transformation was stark. "Oh, why, hello. I didn't see you lovely ladies over there. Uh… Sorry for… Well, never mind. It's all good, innit?" She grabbed Dagna's hand and planted a dainty kiss on the knuckles. Dagna inexplicably giggled and snorted, her pint of ale sloshing dangerously in her other hand.

After assisting Tharin as he dabbed his wet vest with pathetic little napkins, Cullen looked to Sera and asked, "What's Josie done?"

A grimace returned to Sera's freckled face as she turned away from Dagna. "Ugh, what hasn't she done. She's done everythin' but ask to kiss my arse."

With a devilish smirk now, Tharin glibly stated, "I hear your mummy's famous over in Britain? Josie just wants to get in her good graces… For some reason."

Now that Cullen thought about it, it made no sense. It wasn't as though Josie was answerable to the formidable Taraline Emmald. In fact, ever since Brexit, there were fewer and fewer points of convergence for the two women, one a career politician deeply entrenched in the British elite society and the other a Spanish career diplomat leading a busy yet fulfilling life half a world away in Tokyo. But Josie did not seem like the type to give up that easily. Sera was in trouble indeed.

"That's what I don't get. My mum's a Tory cunt who'd be chuffed to bits to have every foreigner rounded up and thrown out of Britain. I don't see how cosyin' up to her would get Miss Prissypants over there anythin'."

At the utterance of that particular profanity, the wallop of which was perceived to be far more devastating by Americans than their cousins in the United Kingdom and thus shall not be repeated by either man in a hurry, Tharin turned to Cullen with widened eyes. Cullen merely pursed his lips and shook his head lightly.

And Sera was unmindful. "I mean, mummy darling can choke on that Tory bullshit for all I care. She ain't that important in my…" Sera turned around to find Josie with an excessively wide smile coming over with two glasses of fizzy something. "Shit! She's comin', she's comin'. Quick, block her!" She began to jog away but abruptly stopped to speak to Dagna. "I'll be back to get your number, luv."

To this, Dagna simpered and agreed in heavy German accent, "I would like that."

Cullen watched Sera disappear into the crowded alleyway outside the izakaya and chortled. The woman was like a tornado, and everyone gathered around the table felt the aftereffect acutely. Tharin kept fretting over the vest, and Dagna's whole face gleamed. Cullen's eyes met Lace's, and they smirked. Sera certainly did not disappoint.

By the time Sera rejoined the party, safe in the knowledge that Josie was occupied with other attendees, Thom Rainier showed up. It was just past 2100.

Sera and Thom got along inexplicably well after Cullen introduced them to each other. Perhaps it was because Sera was gleefully soused by this point. Or perhaps because Thom was actually a fun person to be around when he was willing to let loose.

As they monitored Sera to make sure she didn't break anything or… anyone, especially Dagna and Thom, Tharin and Cullen shared a plate of rafute, a traditional Okinawan dish of skin-on pork belly braised in soy sauce and brown sugar.

Just like bacon, it was hard to mess up pork belly. Honestly, it was just too tasty to be messed up. But rafute had a depth of flavor that Cullen was not familiar with. It must be all that brown sugar, he thought.

While they finished up their simple yet delectable dinner, Josie had been going around leaving a plate of seedless grapes on each table. Apparently eating twelve grapes on New Year's Eve as quickly as possible portended a good omen in Spain, never mind that they were a choking hazard.

Josie ordered Tharin and Cullen to not touch the grapes until midnight. Cullen obliged; Tharin didn't. As the two men worked their way through the pints of Japanese craft beer, Tharin popped a grape into his mouth. After a sip, he popped another one in, probably to be even more blatantly incompliant.

After the round of grapes, Josie began to aggressively push her family's wine. When she came over to Tharin and Cullen's table with a bottle of sparkling Cava, Sera ducked out once again to get away from the host and to go bother Dagna some more, and Cullen took the chance to introduce Thom Rainier.

He saw his friend's eyes light up as Josie extended her right hand. Instead of shaking it like a normal, sane person at least partially versed in social graces, Thom fumbled and planted a kiss on Josie's hand. Just like Sera, except way clumsier.

Tharin immediately turned toward Cullen, hiding his face behind Cullen's left shoulder and groaning in an inaudible voice. Trying to control his expression and failing miserably, Cullen cleared his throat and looked away.

But Josie, ever the diplomat in front of strangers, reacted courteously. She thanked Thom for greeting her like a proper gentleman and filled everyone's glass up before moving on to another table. Thom, still dazed from the interaction, had his eyes follow her everywhere.

Tharin, having somewhat recovered from the cringeworthy moment, inquired amusedly, "So, Thom, how do you find Josie?" One of his hands was still firmly planted on Cullen's shoulder, caressing it slowly.

"Ms. Montilyet is…" Thom seemed at a loss for words. He took a large gulp from the glass filled with the high-quality Cava. His cheeks blooming red, Thom finally finished, "She seems like a great lady."

Cullen pushed in, having decided to play the role of a yenta after all, "She's available, you know." He ignored Tharin lightly pinching his side.

"Is she really?" Thom's whole body seemed to perk up, though his countenance did not change at all.

"Yeah. You should go talk to her some more."

Thom paused, his face still indiscernible, only to add, "I will. After this glass."

Cullen watched Thom take huge gulps until the glass was empty. Well, here's to liquid courage and love, thought Cullen as he took unhurried sips from his glass. The Montilyet wine was dry but traveled down smoothly.

As the time approached 2200, Tharin and Cullen slipped out of the noisy bar to take a brisk walk around the block.

It wasn't that they were intoxicated and needed some fresh air. It was because Cullen had to start heading back to the base before midnight and therefore would not be able to celebrate with Tharin when the clock – the obnoxiously loud grandfather variety – struck midnight. So, they had decided on celebrating the New Caledonian New Year instead, two hours ahead of Tokyo.

Once they turned right at the corner away from the alleyway that had two competing izakayas on either side, the crowd disappeared. There was a drunken salaryman with his suit jacket worn askew shuffling toward them, but after he passed, the street was completely deserted except for them.

The two men walked with their arms linked and chatted about the people at the party, not with any maliciousness but with enough levity to entertain themselves. As their laughter petered out, Tharin took a beat and noted, "You know you are risking breaking the liberty buddy rule. It's almost 10 pm and Thom isn't here with us."

Unlike his regular self, this Cullen, the party Cullen was unfazed. "We'll be back in the bar in a minute. Besides, let Thom have his fun. He'd probably enjoy Josie's company far more than mine anyway." He added promptly, "It's obvious he's all kinds of smitten with her!" attempting to justify his meddling ways.

"Yeah, I see that. What I don't see is Josie going for Thom, and it's really not worth the heartbreak." Tharin hummed, "But you just want everyone else to be as happy as you, don't you?"

Cullen made a restrained noise of mirth and rubbed his neck.

Tharin finished not at all seriously, "Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you about Josie. She's gonna swat him like a mayfly."

"I think Thom's tougher than you give him credit for. He'll be fine."

The two let the natural lull in the conversation settle until they reached another corner where their street met with a larger avenue. There was a bar with minimalist aesthetics on their side and a convenience store on the other side, but neither looked open. They stopped underneath the streetlight that shone down a cone of orange ray upon them.

Cullen reached into his pocket and took his phone out. They looked at the time together.

It was 9:59 pm.

They waited until it turned to 10:00 pm.

Midnight in New Caledonia and the New Year for Cullen and Tharin.

They turned to each other at the same time and proclaimed together.

"Happy New Year, love."

"Happy New Year, my love!"

Then, as though they had planned it ahead, they held their hands and locked their lips in one smooth motion. Cullen felt Tharin's pillowy lips and tasted the wine in his little gasps, and became ludicrously glad to be alive.

The kiss contained enough passion to engulf both men, but it was an entropic energy effortlessly contained by their stable relationship. Because their relationship was indeed robust enough to withstand all their troubles and struggles. After so many waves that crested and tumbled, the ocean had finally been calmed. And the two men could finally stand in the surf entwined to each other without being pushed around by their unalterable pasts, their uncooperative present, and their unwieldy future.

Cullen's heart swelled with something quite overwhelming. He felt the corners of Tharin's lips gradually rise.

As they broke from the kiss, Cullen felt something wet land on his forehead. He wiped it with his right hand and looked up to find miniscule snowflakes start to fall. "Oh, it's snowing." He extended his hand to catch them, never mind their inevitable deliquescence in his warm palm. Soon, he could feel several tiny water droplets tingle on his skin.

Tharin laughed. "This is too perfect. It's like we're in a romcom. I guess this would be where the film ends?"

"You have to admit, it's a good ending," cooed Cullen as he stole a kiss on the young man's crimson cheek.

"It is an excellent ending with you here," said Tharin without a guile. "I'm sorry you're gonna miss toshikoshi soba. In fact, you've been missing so many things because of your damn curfew." He dithered before continuing in a low voice, "I want to go out dancing with you. And then stay up and go to the beach to watch the sun rise. All the sappy as fuck stuff that movie couples get to do…"

"You ol' softie," declared Cullen as he pinched the young man's nose. Tharin chuckled, his tone a nasal twang.

Cullen explained, "It's one of the reasons why I'm going to try to get the promotion to E-6 rate. I won't be beholden to the curfew anymore if I manage to get promoted."

But he must not hype it up too much. He had been burned by the Navy before. Cullen met the qualifications and passed the exam handily enough last March, but there were not enough E-6 vacancies for all eligible candidates. His superior officer was most sympathetic and informed him in private that he was just on the cusp.

In any case, with the extended refit of the USS McKee nearing completion and a deployment on the horizon, they would not be able to enjoy the benefit of Cullen's promotion for a while, probably until the end of the year. "I mean, the evaluation process is going to be very rigorous, and there has to be a spot open for me to advance. Plus, I don't even know if I can beat all the other competitors, but…"

The entire time Cullen was expounding to moderate his own excitement, Tharin caressed the fuzzy stubble on Cullen's cheek. With his lips upturned, the young man whispered, "I think you'll be phenomenal." He turned his gaze skyward before worrying, "I hope you aren't forcing yourself to do this just for me though."

"No, Thar. I've been planning to do this for a while. Since before we started dating." With an easy smile, Cullen embraced his boyfriend. With his lips hovering by Tharin's right ear, Cullen susurrated, "But I can confirm that I'm looking forward to waking up next to you."

Tharin scrunched his face. "I'm not. I have a terrible morning breath."

"I'll still love you, your terrible breath and all."

As they untwined from their hug, Tharin was puckish. "Is that a promise?"

And Cullen responded with wholehearted earnestness, "It's more than that. It's my vow to you."

In the night air rang Tharin's unconstrained laughter. It was not the derisive kind but the one that supported and encouraged, one that Cullen loved so. "Alright, my gallant knight. I believe you."

"You don't need to doubt." Cullen crinkled the corners of his eyes, letting the intensity melt away presently. "Because I love you very much."

The young man's mouth quirked. "Eh, you're alright. You big softie."

Belying the sardonic words, it was Tharin who kissed Cullen. Once again, the two men let their lips fuse into one. The light dusting of snow reflected the orange streetlight and surrounded them like a protective aura. And their entire universe shrank until only the two of them remained.

Cullen and Tharin together. Always.

And for both men, it was splendidly more than enough.

THE END – 終り–

END NOTE

Thank you so, so much for keeping up with Cullen and Tharin's modern love story! I can honestly say that writing this fic, each and every word of it, has been one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done in my life. I hope my passion showed through.

If you haven't already, don't forget to check out subsequent one-shots in the series that are already posted - An Ace Up His Sleeve (彼の切り札) and A Bittersweet Memory of Leigh (リーのほろ苦い思い出).

I am not quite done with these two lovable boys. I have their lives figured out a decade into the future when Tharin is 33 and Cullen is 40, so there will be several more fics in this series. The next installment, an angsty two-chapter fic, will be posted beginning on Sunday, November 21, followed by a fluffy one-shot and a six-chapter Christmas fic to be posted over December and January 2022. I will not be posting at least one of these on FFN due to the strict censorship - sometimes, sex is a vital part of the plot. So, please make sure to subscribe to or bookmark the series on AO3.

And do let me know if there are any particular aspects of these two boys' lives you'd like to read about in one of the upcoming fics! I am reachable through the PM and my Tumblr account at isk4649.

But for now, take care. We will meet again soon!