Chapter: Epilogue: Landslide (reprise)

Author's Note: Aaaaaaand, so it ends. Been kind of a wild ride. I really hope everyone enjoyed it. Superstoked all of you stuck with me, even through the writer's block. I really hope, at the end of the day, that I was able to do this story justice, because I felt like there was a lot to say here. Either way, here we are, at the epilogue. Hope you enjoy. =)

"Jesus Christ, how much stuff do you have, Alex?" Mike exclaims, arms loaded down with bags as he makes his way out to the truck.

"Hey, don't look at me. You're the one who bought most of it." Alex fires back with a smile, following closely behind his lover with a box in his own arms.

Mike drops the bags unceremoniously in the bed of the truck, shoving them as far back as they'll go. "Well, then, I'm gonna stop buying you stuff. This is ridiculous."

"Uh huh. Yea, I believe that." Alex returns, straight faced as he can be. "You're also gonna bottom all the time, too, right?"

"Whoa! Hey! Some of us do not need to hear about your sex life." Heath objects, tossing the box he's carrying over the side of the truck and into the bed.

Justin's eyes are wide as he rounds the vehicle to set the bags he's carrying carefully in the truck bed before checking on the box Heath had thrown. "Heath! Be careful! That could have been breakable!"

Alex just laughs.

"Relax, Justin. I'm not gonna let Heath carry anything fragile." he reassures the high flyer, patting him on the shoulder as he turns to head back into the apartment. He looks over his shoulder at Justin with a smirk. "Who do I look like? Mike?"

The ex-champ's eyes widen and he darts after his lover. "Hey! Are you calling me an idiot, Riley? Get back here!"

"Wait, why am I not allowed to carry breakables? Alex, you asshole!" Heath cries out, following the parade inside.

Justin smiles and rolls his eyes, walking casually in behind them. They're almost done, he reminds himself, and then he and Heath can relax and finish the talk they'd started on the plane ride home. If it were anyone else, Justin's pretty sure he would have made them wait a day, but it's not as if he could deny Alex, especially not knowing how ecstatic he was to be moving back in with Mike to begin with. Besides, he and Heath had waited a few years already. What was a few more hours for a friend, right?

Eventually, there's only a few bags left, and Mike and Heath offer to take them to the truck like the good boyfriends they are. Alex and Justin both sit down on the bed, looking around the much emptier room in silence. After a moment, Alex turns to his friend, an almost nervous smile on his face.

"So...this is it." he says softly.

"That it is." Justin replies, his voice just as low.

They both fall silent for another moment, looking away from each other once again. Eventually, Alex turns to Justin again, releasing a deep breath.

"Man...so much has happened."

"I know." Justin agrees quietly, slight smile on his face. "Can you believe it's only been two weeks?"

Alex laughs. "No! God, it feels like it's been months."

"I know, right?" Justin replies, laughing as well.

When the laughter dies down, so do their words, their eyes darting away once again as they fall quiet. The silence is almost uneasy, the way it hangs in the air with unsaid words. Finally, Alex is turning to Justin once more, this time with his full body.

"Justin..." he almost whispers.

When the high flyer turns to face him as well, Alex envelopes his friend in a tight hug.

"Thank you, man. For everything. I don't know how I'll ever repay you." he informs Justin softly. Justin smiles widely, pulling back enough to make eye contact with the younger.

"Don't worry about it. What are friends for, right?" Justin reassures his friend.

Alex still clings to Justin's hands even as they pull away, almost as if he's afraid to let the older go. If he really thinks about it, he might be. After all, Justin really has been his rock in all of this, his solid ground. What's he supposed to do if something happens with Mike again? Or something worse? The thought makes him squeeze the high flyer's hands a little tighter in fear. Justin, though, ever the best friend, senses his unease, and he steals one of his hands back delicately to rub across Alex's back.

"Hey. You'll be fine, alright? And if anything ever happens and you're not, you know where to find me." Justin says softly, looking right into his eyes. Alex finally smiles, relief washing through him. Justin has a point, after all.

"Definitely." he agrees. Then, quieter, "I'm gonna miss you, Justin."

At this, Justin feels his face color, and he forces himself to look away. If he's perfectly honest, he's going to miss Alex a little more than he should. He's been stealthily not thinking about it, though. Still, he returns the sentiment.

"I'm gonna miss you, too. It's going to to be weird not having you here now."

"It's gonna be weird not being here." Alex agrees, grin on his own face. "But you're right. I'm gonna be fine. Hell, we're both gonna be fine! We're with the guys we love, and we've still got each other. Right?"

"Right." Justin says, nodding. After a beat, he lowers his voice a bit. "Alex, I'm really proud of you. You really are a new Alex Riley."

Alex takes a moment to think about the statement before he responds.

"Y'know, I'm proud of me, too. I really have grown a lot, right?"

"Definitely." Justin repeats with a grin.

Suddenly, Mike's voice is calling them from down the hall.

"Hey, you two wanna go to dinner? I'm buying!" the older offers.

Heath's voice lights up almost instantly. "I call shotgun!"

The two smile at each other, shaking their heads even as they rise and head into the living room.

"No way are you sitting next to me all the way to and from dinner. That spot is reserved for my boyfriend." Mike is arguing with Heath the second they step into the room.

"But I called it!" Heath bickers, and Justin can't even help but laugh out loud.

"I don't give a shit! It's my car!" Mike snaps back.

"Oh, let him have shotgun." Alex says lightly, coming up to hug his lover from behind. Mike instantly visibly relaxes, at least the slightest bit, before sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Okay, fine." the older finally agrees. "But if you touch the radio, I'm breaking your hand."

"Whatever." Heath calls, already rushing out the door.

"I mean it, Slater!" Mike yells, hurrying out after him.

Alex and Justin just laugh. Riding in the car with everyone on the way to the restaurant, Ke$ha's We R Who We R blaring loudly through the speakers despite Heath's million protests, Alex realizes just how much his life really has changed. Three weeks ago, he'd been wrapped up in Mike, every part of his life completely revolving around the other man, and he'd been content with that. Two weeks ago, he'd been completely shattered, lost, with no idea where to turn. Last week, he'd been so confused and stricken he'd slept with his best friend. Now? Now he's riding in a car with two of his best friends (however unlikely) and his boyfriend (who almost no one could know about), listening to his favorite song, and he's happy. Happy with his lover, happy with his job, happy with his friends, and most importantly, happy with the knowledge that no matter where life takes him, he can handle it. He's a brand new Alex Riley, as Justin has so often said, and he wouldn't have things any other way.