Epilogue
"Well? I'm dying to know. What did you think?" Matthew's voice asked a little nervously. It reminded Arthur of when they'd met all those years ago, and Matthew had been timid and unsure of everything. The editor smiled against his cell phone and idly flipped through the printed pages on his impressive, mahogany desk.
"It's...surprisingly good. The ending was a little abrupt, and there were typos that need to be fixed—a few times you wrote 'Alfred' when I'm pretty certain you were referring to myself..." Arthur trailed off, his brows furrowed and his face drawn in a thoughtful expression.
"Oh...I probably shouldn't have wasted your time with it. I know you're really busy these days, and—"
"Matthew, you're not hearing me. I like it. It's pretty good for a first book. A little too insightful at times...I knew Alfred gossiped about our sex life. He's got a big mouth, doesn't he?" Matthew's soft laughter brought another fond smile to Arthur's face. "It's just a little strange to relive all that again, from an outsider perspective, you know? It really was quite intense at times. Are you going to change the names?"
"I hadn't really thought about it. I figured my connection to you guys is so well known that the readers would figure it out even if I did change the names," Matthew replied. "Besides...it's all true. I could publish it as a memoir."
"Yes...I suppose you could, but if you fictionalized it, you could finish the series out—add the Junior and Senior years," Arthur mused.
"But nothing really happened those two years. I can't write two years of 'then they lived happily ever after'...can I?" Matthew asked. Arthur considered the problem.
"It's up to you, Matthew. I think...if you want to keep it so graphic, you should let it remain a memoir. If you want to appeal to the younger, teenaged crowd, you should fictionalize it, lower the rating, and round out the series."
"Arthur, you can be honest...you just want me to fictionalize it so that nobody will know what a sap for Alfred you are," Matthew teased jokingly. Arthur smiled again, his eyes shifting to the photo frames adorning his desk—Alfred and himself smiling in their new college dorm room, their senior prom photo, and all the other snapshots of their adopted daughter, Lily.
"Well, I suppose it is a pretty wonderful love story at the end of the day. Those don't come around all that often, at least not true ones, anyway. I shudder to think about Lily reading it when she's older, though," Arthur said with sudden realization.
"Oh, wow...I forgot about the kids. I guess I just didn't let myself think it could actually be published. I'll definitely have to fictionalize it. Ellery and Jack can't ever know about what I got up to my freshman year," Matthew said with a grin.
"I had forgotten all about your little foray into the world of being a bad boy, Matthew. I got a good laugh out of that part. Say, when are you and Francis coming down again?" Arthur asked, shifting the topic away from Matthew's novel-in-progress.
"Erm, lemme check the calender. I think we're flying in for the olympics. The kids really enjoy it, and it's always fun to see Alfred and Lily doing their thing. I think Francis's firm is handling some of the PR this year for it."
"That's only in a few weeks, then. I swear may has just flown by. Speaking of time passing, I've stayed at the office too late wrapped up in this novel of yours. I need to get going if I'm going to make Lily's game," Arthur said.
"Of course, wish her luck for me!" Matthew said brightly.
"I'll let her know Uncle Mattie sends his best, as always," Arthur replied dutifully. "And Matthew? Really great start on the book. I truly mean that—I'm not just saying it because you're practically family."
"T-thanks, Arthur. That really means a lot to me! I love writing my column, but I feel like I'm ready for something new, you know? I'd love the freedom of writing from home, and getting to see the kids more. It slips by you if you're not careful. I know you need to get going, but will Ivan and Yao be in town when we're there?" Matthew asked.
"They should be. Raivis got his World Academy invitation in the mail yesterday, did you hear?" Arthur asked.
"No, I hadn't heard! I bet Yao is really proud. Raivis is a smart kid. He'll do well there," Matthew said. Arthur glanced once more at the memoir sitting on his desk about his own years at World Academy.
"Let's hope his years are a bit less dramatic than ours," Arthur said with a half-smile. Matthew's soft laughter rang out and then they said their goodbyes. Arthur ended the international call from Canada and glanced at the time on his phone. "Shite, I'm really late!"
Hurrying as best he could, Arthur locked up Matthew's manuscript and dismissed his secretary for the evening. The huge publishing house that he worked out was still bustling with people, even though five had long since gone. Arthur loved his job, but like Matthew, sometimes he wondered if he was spending too many hours fixing grammar mistakes and not enough time having tea parties with Lily.
It was short ride to the gymnasium, however, and Arthur was able to fit his small car into the half space that Helen had left with her newest, gas guzzling Hummer.
He hurriedly bought his ticket to the game and broke into a run as he heard the buzzer go off. He'd missed the first quarter, which was always the part of the game where Lily was most nervous. As always, the gym was fairly packed. It took Arthur a moment, but finally he spotted Helen in the front row of the bleachers, looking immaculate as always, saving a spot for him and sipping from a water bottle that likely had a little something extra in it.
She was a fantastic grandma, though. Lily adored her.
"Arthur! There you are! Late day at the office?" she asked.
"Yes, unfortunately. What's the score?" Arthur asked, even as his green eyes trailed up to the scoreboard. Lily's team was only two points ahead. During the break, the six year old girls had their chairs all drawn up around Alfred, who held his customary clip board and his coach whistle. It always made Arthur smile to see Alfred get so into coaching Lily's team. Granted, it was basketball for kids in wheelchairs, and most of the time the kids just rolled about as haphazardly as any squadron of young children is wont to do when a ball and complicated rules were involved—but Alfred took his coaching responsibilities very seriously. He was supportive of each and every kid, and made sure that the all had a moment to shine in the games and feel good about themselves. At that moment, Alfred glanced up from his pep talk and caught his eye. He flashed him one of those beautiful smiles, that still made Arthur melt even after all the years they'd shared together.
Arthur smiled brightly back, and then found Lily's crazy red curls. She was perhaps the only child completely focused on every word Alfred said—the two of them were total sports fanatics. Arthur was certain Lily would no doubt participate in the paralympics that Alfred helped to run each year when her time came—either for basketball or the host of other sports she played.
"So let's remember, what's our motto?" Alfred asked the group. Since children typically enjoy shouting out answers, his response was quite loud and encouraging.
"Let us win, but if we can't win, let us be brave trying!" the girls shouted. Arthur, along with most of the parents and family watching, smiled hugely. The girls took to the court then, smiling and laughing and inspiring their parents to smile at their sometimes adorably awkward attempts. Of course, it wasn't because they were disabled. It was things like a child getting the ball and shooting it in the completely wrong basket, or getting distracted by a sparkly bracelet or a toy they'd secreted away in a pocket, and totally missing a pass—all those adorable moments that parents cherish when they enroll their son or daughter in a peewee sport.
Lily, however, was always focused. She loved the game, just like Alfred.
"She's so talented. Look at the girl—the other kids are picking their noses, but she's a star," Helen commented, not bothering to pitch her voice lower. Arthur blushed a bit and rolled his eyes, as Helen still tended to be a little too competitive, even in her old age.
"Yes, well, I only wish our little star would put the effort into spelling that she puts into her sports," Arthur said.
"Nonsense. Nowadays you don't need to know how to spell. Everything has autocorrect. Besides, Lily's so strong in math," Helen replied. Arthur knew a losing battle when he saw one—in Helen's eyes, her grandbaby could do no wrong.
"Richard couldn't make it today?" Arthur asked. Helen shook her head, eyes still glued to Lily's progress across the court.
"Our illustrious lobbyist is on the campaign trail as of today—left early this morning."
"It's amazing what he's accomplished so far. Only two states left, right?" Arthur asked, referring to Richard's focus on gay marriage and ensuring equal rights for all citizens. He'd done quite a bit for the gay community during his two terms of presidency, but he was accomplishing even more when he applied his ruthlessness and political know-how to lobbying.
"Two more. We're throwing a fantastically huge party when he gets all fifty," Helen said with a sparkling smile.
"Oh, and your mother called me today. She got Lily's photographs and just loved them," Helen said. These days, Helen primarily occupied herself helping Alfred out with the paralympics and his coaching, but she did photography on the side.
"She takes after Alfred there, too—photographs so well," Arthur bragged. Of course, Arthur was biased, but he thought Lily's crazy red curls and her freckles, even her missing two front teeth, made for a pretty adorable kid. She was always getting compliments, or questions about her hair—attention that she loved, by the way. She was a ham like Alfred, too.
The game continued without any incidents, and it was a solid victory for Alfred's team. Arthur was relieved about that—despite their numerous talks with her, Lily's competitiveness made it hard for her to accept it gracefully when she lost.
"You were late, Papa!" Lily accused, as she wheeled up to him after the game.
"Yeah, Papa. You know we can't win unless you're here to cheer for us," Alfred said with a smile. He planted a sweet, chaste kiss on Arthur's lips in greeting and then ruffled Lily's curls. "You did a great job out there, sweet pea. I'm proud of you!"
"You always say that, even when we lose," Lily replied with a huge sigh. It made the adults grin. Arthur leaned down to give her a hug.
"Well, you always give it your all. It makes us proud," Arthur said. Lily rolled her eyes again (her new favorite expression, much to Arthur's displeasure) but smiled against her papa's shirt collar. She loved when he came to her games. She saw far more of her daddy than she did of her papa, so when Arthur was home, he was all Lily's until lights out. It was Helen's turn to fuss over her granddaughter, which she did for quite awhile, until Lily grew tired of their attention and wheeled off after her best friend, Samantha.
Once home, they fell into their Friday night routine. Alfred ordered the pizza while Lily hauled out all the movies, to pick which one they'd watch.
"Nothing scary, Lily!" Arthur insisted as he headed into the master bedroom to change out of his suit and into his pajamas.
"Aww," he heard Lily and Alfred pout at the same time. Arthur shook his head and changed, emerging to see that Alfred had transferred Lily to the couch already and she was already snuggled up in her favorite spot for movie watching—between the two of them. The menu screen of the movie was rolling, and Arthur mentally groaned to see it was the latest Disney movie they'd added to their collection...for what felt like the billionth time that month. It was Lily's turn to choose, though, so he should have expected it.
He tickled Lily's side as he plopped onto the couch beside her, and Alfred (just as entranced as Lily by the animated movie) eagerly pressed play.
"Good choice, Lily-bean!" Alfred said with a broad smile of anticipation. Arthur had to smile—Alfred was such a big kid. He likely always would be, and Arthur wouldn't have it any other way. A few minutes into the movie and Alfred's arm curled over the back of the couch, to give Arthur's shoulder a loving little squeeze. Their eyes met and they gave each other a quick little peck over Lily's head.
"Guys," Lily complained, looking up at them and pouting. Arthur laughed at her expression and retaliated by peppering her cheeks with kisses while Alfred tickled her.
"Geez, Lily, don't be the kissy face police!" Alfred teased. Their little red head stuck her tongue out at him but went back to her movie with a grin.
"Only one more," she said.
"Oh, we'd best make it count then. This is to be our last kiss, Alfred," Arthur said with mock seriousness. Lily snickered.
"Nope. We'll just have to kiss in secret, when the Lily-dragon isn't watching us," Alfred replied. Delighting in the new nickname, Lily let out a roar. Alfred leaned over her once more and smiled as he sweetly kissed his husband once more.
Lily roared again, and the two men broke apart with mirroring smiles.
"Alright, Lily-dragon, no more kissy stuff," Arthur promised. Speaking of kissy stuff, though... "Lily, I almost forgot to tell you. Daddy and I are going out for a date tomorrow evening. Raivis is going to come play with you while we're gone, okay?"
"Okay," the little girl agreed carelessly, absorbed in the movie once more. Alfred's hand began caressing Arthur's shoulder again, and it was so soothing that Arthur nearly dozed off. The door bell ringing when the pizza arrived woke him up.
"I'll get it," he said, seeing as his family was glued to the screen. Arthur fixed their plates and made a salad to accompany the pizza, and poured the drinks last. He loved pizza night. He cooked dinner with Lily most nights (and he was a perfectly acceptable cook, thank you very much), but nothing tasted quite as good as Friday pizza with his little family.
He brought the plates in and they shared the meal as the movie played out. When it was done, Lily was already out like a light. Smiling, Alfred easily lifted her into his arms with practiced gentleness. With Arthur following, he carried her up the stairs and tucked her into bed.
"Here's a bed pad, love," Arthur whispered. Sometimes, Lily had accidents in the night. Arthur was better than Alfred at remembering the mattress pad, because it was always him that Lily wanted if she awoke in the middle of the night.
"Where's Moose?" Alfred asked, referring to the stuffed toy Lily had received on one of her birthdays from Uncle Mattie and Uncle Francis. It was her favorite.
"Ah, here it is," Arthur said, finding it tangled up in the sheets. Lovingly, Alfred tucked Moose into Lily's slender arms. He pushed her crazy curls off her forehead and kissed her goodnight. He stood smiling down at her for a moment and then reached for Arthur, tucking him against his side. "Man," he whispered, "Is our kid cute or what?"
"Cutest when she's sleeping," Arthur teased, "Like a certain someone else I know."
"Aww, you watch me sleep and think that I'm cute?" Alfred asked. Arthur squirmed out of his taller husband's muscular hold and made for their bedroom. He tossed a flirty glance over his shoulder.
"Alfred, it's Friday, in case you've forgotten," he reminded in a purr. Alfred smiled broadly, almost a little mischievously. Friday was their night, as Lily's game usually wore her out to the point that the usually light sleeper wouldn't wake up if a freight train roared through her bedroom. It was a little sad that they'd resorted to scheduling a night to have sex, and on more than one occasion it had made Arthur feel like they were turning into old men, but they mixed it up every once in awhile, too. The routine just made such occasions even more thrilling and memorable.
Once Alfred had met him in the hallway and joined their hands, Arthur gave him a mock scowl.
"Though I shouldn't give you Friday sex at all—I finally read Matthew's manuscript today. Quite a few of his more graphic scenes were a little too accurate. Some things are private you know," Arthur complained. Alfred chuckled uneasily and rubbed at the back of his head a bit sheepishly.
"I did think it was a little weird that he was asking me such in-depth questions, and it was kinda embarrassing, but he really wants the book to be realistic!"
"A-huh," Arthur replied, not convinced to let Alfred off the hook yet. His blue-eyed sweetheart grinned charmingly at him and tried to kiss him, but Arthur playfully turned his head.
"Baaaaaabbbbyyy!" Alfred whined. Arthur smiled, but only a little bit.
"Yes, blabber mouth?" Arthur replied, with a sweet grin up at Alfred.
"I promise I'll do dirty things to you tonight and I won't tell anyone," Alfred said, eyes shining with sincerity. Arthur's grin widened.
"I'm listening. What kind of things?" he asked playfully, backing away from Alfred and then descending the stairs, glancing a bit coyly over his shoulder as he went.
"Mmm, maybe I want to surprise you," Alfred said huskily. He caught up to Arthur on the stairs and made the shorter man laugh by nibbling on his neck as they awkwardly tried to finish the rest of the stairs tangled up together. At the bottom of the stairs, Arthur finally righted himself in Alfred's hold and rolled his hips against Alfred's thigh, beginning to crave the pressure. After so many years, they knew how to pleasure each other in the best imaginable ways. There was something to be said for experience, even if they weren't as spontaneous as they'd been in their younger years.
"You're thinking about something else," Alfred muttered, as he kissed Arthur's jaw and throat. Arthur blinked in surprise and realized his thoughts had drifted off once more to Matthew's version of their teen years.
"I'm sorry. I am in the mood, love, it was just a bit odd reading about all those things of the past again. So much of it had faded, or I'd just forgotten it completely. For example, whatever happened to Patricia?"
"Patricia? Wow, you know, I really don't know," Alfred said. "Huh," he added, with the realization of someone who is a little surprised that they have forgotten something.
"We didn't see her as much junior year, after she got the new boyfriend," Arthur reminisced.
"Well, maybe we'll see her next weekend," Alfred suggested, returning to his task of kissing Arthur on every available inch of skin.
"Hmm? What's next weekend?" Arthur asked.
"It's our World Academy reunion—ten years, if you can believe it. I wrote it on the calendar like you told me to," Alfred reminded. Arthur closed his eyes in a wince. He had quite a bit on his plate and sometimes the details got lost in the mix.
"Do you really want to go? Matthew and Francis won't be in town for it," Arthur replied. Alfred gave him a coaxing smile. They'd made it to their bedroom by then, and the attractive blond was stripping off his shirt and pants, and toeing out of his sneakers.
"Aww, come on, babe! It'll be fun! Yao and Ivan are going," Alfred said. "Plus, they're going to give out silly awards and stuff. Don't you think it'd be great to see what happened to everyone?"
"Alfred, I don't remember 95% of the people we went to high school with...but I suppose I can't let you go alone. What would people think of our marriage then?" Arthur teased. Alfred grinned.
"Probably what they thought in high school—that if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't ever do anything fun," Alfred goaded. Arthur smirked and then sat on their bed, his legs parted, his shirt off.
"Well, Mr. Fun, if it's not too terribly dull for you, can we get on with the making love?"
"Hey, I live to please you," Alfred replied, before surprising Arthur a bit and dropping to his knees. He began to kiss his way up the inside of Arthur's thigh, and licked a little at Arthur's growing erection, still covered in cloth.
"Alfred, not that I'm complaining...but are you really keeping the socks on?" Arthur asked with a grimace. Alfred grinned and bit lightly at Arthur's inner thigh, causing his husband to pout.
"My feet get cold. Besides, you like the socks. They turn you on," Alfred tried. Arthur snorted.
"When you promised me something dirty, I didn't think you were talking about your sweaty gym socks," Arthur rebutted. Alfred chuckled and stood, after placing one last quick kiss to Arthur's thigh. Dancing about in a rather comedic fashion, considering his erection was bouncing along with him, Alfred wormed out of his socks. He tossed them away saucily, as if he were putting on a show. Arthur couldn't help but laugh. Adding his own soundtrack, Alfred began to swirl his hips and give his best shot at what he likely thought was a quite sexy lap dance. Arthur couldn't stop giggling.
"You're such an idiot, Jones!" Arthur said, looping his arms around Alfred's trim waist, once he was sitting in Arthur's lap.
"You married me, so technically, you're a Jones, too," Alfred replied. The teasing finally ended then, as Alfred claimed Arthur's lips in a heated kiss and both of them became completely lost in their own little world.
"Hey, man, looking sharp!" Alfred greeted, pumping his fist against Ivan's, who rolled his eyes at Alfred's silliness.
"You look moronic, as usual," Ivan said cheerily. Arthur and Yao, meanwhile, were exchanging quick hugs and Arthur was thanking Yao for the millionth time for persuading Raivis to babysit for them yet again.
"It is good for him to work—he's too spoiled!" Yao fussed, shooting a glare at Ivan. The four of them had remained close, even though Ivan and Yao had stayed in the states for their final two years of high school, while everyone else had gone to the other World Academy international locations. They'd been apart in college, too, when Alfred and Arthur had attended school in London while Yao and Ivan went to a local college in Washington. Alfred and Arthur had returned to the capital city to start their lives together, though, and they'd quickly reconnected with their old friends as if they'd never been apart. Now Raivis babysat for them nearly once a week, and they all went out for drinks when they could.
"So this is, what, your first ever World Academy dance? Are you sure your school function ban doesn't extend to ten year reunions?" Alfred asked teasingly. Ivan merely smiled.
"Technically, I was not invited. Yao received an invitation, and I'm his plus one," Ivan replied with a grin. Alfred had to laugh at that. Ivan had certainly made one hell of an impression on World Academy that year he'd attended before the rest of them arrived.
"Well, let's see what this is all about then. I suppose I am a little curious now," Arthur said. They had barely made it in the doors of the old school gym, decorated in the school colors for the occasion, when Alfred was captured in a hug.
"Alfred!" the woman said excitedly. Alfred only processed dark hair for a moment before he realized it was Michelle hugging him.
"Michelle! Wow! How have you been?" Alfred asked. Arthur received a hug as well, followed by Ivan and Yao.
"I've been good, really good. And you guys?" she asked. Michelle had only stayed for two years at World Academy—she'd transferred back home after her junior year, but she'd been a good friend, once upon a time. She must have flown in for the reunion, which was surprising, considering in her school days Michelle hadn't been big on school spirit.
"Great. We've got a daughter now," Alfred said. The wallet was out instantly, and Michelle wanted to see all the photos they had of Lily, and of Raivis, too, even though he was sixteen now.
"Is he really about to go to World Academy? Man, I remember him toddling around the museum with a sippy cup and a binkie. Where does the time go?" she asked. The years had treated her well. She still looked like an island goddess, but her sexuality was a little more subtle and mysterious these days.
"We were just talking about that the other day. You know, Mattie has written a book about our first two years of school here. Arthur was telling me the highlights on the way over," Alfred said. Michelle laughed, and she sounded genuinely happy and relaxed—a free spirit, now.
"Oh, let me not wait in line for that one. Not my best years, by any stretch of the imagination," she said. Arthur secretly agreed. Michelle had come around eventually, but she was essentially the villain in the early part of the second book. Matthew had perhaps had a bit too much fun remembering all her flaws. Thoughts of Matthew made Arthur remember his old friend, Alex.
"Did you keep in touch with Alex?" Arthur asked. Michelle smiled a little guiltily.
"That's actually why I came to this thing. Alex was so amazing, you know? And we were great together, but we just drifted apart after I moved back home. I was hoping to run into him here. Not that I'm stalking him online or anything, but he made a post that he might fly in for it..."
"Because that doesn't sound like stalking at all," Alfred agreed with a teasing grin. "Just admit it. You want a reunion hook-up with Alex," he added. Michelle gave him a light punch.
"You haven't changed at all. You're still a total goofball," she remarked. Before their conversation could continue much further, they were approached by none other than Patricia.
"Oh my gosh, it's so great to see you all here!" Patricia said. More hugs. More photos. Patricia was happily married and working as an elementary school teacher. She had two kids of her own, a four year old and a two year old. "You have to meet my husband, Luke. He's around here somewhere—probably loading up at the snack table. That was, in fact, where Luke was to be found. He was a husky guy, tall and broad shouldered, with kind eyes and a nice smile. He and Patricia looked good together.
"Matthew and Francis aren't coming in?" Patricia asked.
"No, afraid not. They have two children now, though. Beautiful little blonde things—Ellery and Jack. More like Matthew than Francis, thank god," Arthur said.
"That sounds wonderful. How's little Peter?" Patricia asked. Peter had been around fourteen when he finished school with them, but he had always been like Patricia's little brother. Even back then she was a natural with precocious little kids.
"He's well. He ended up enrolling in a special program for gifted children after high school, so that he'd actually be the same age as his peers when he went to college. He's starting his advanced degree this year," Arthur said. Patricia smiled.
"He was such a quirky kid. Did he ever outgrow his hero worship of you?" she asked.
"Thankfully, yes. He keeps in touch now, but it's quite normal cousin talk now. Random family gossip about my brothers—that sort of thing," Arthur replied.
"How has it been with your family being so far away? That's gotta be hard," Patricia sympathized. Arthur shrugged.
"I stay so busy that even if they lived next door, I doubt we'd see them all that often. We go out for Christmas each year, and for two weeks in the summer if we can manage it."
"Lucky! I haven't done much travel since school. I didn't think I'd miss it after World Academy, but it really was fun going from place to place. We saw such amazing things—kind of took it for granted at the time," Patricia commented. Just then, another one of her school friends caught her attention and Patricia said her goodbyes.
"Wow, seems like everyone has had kids," Michelle commented. Judging by her still perfect figure, Michelle hadn't popped out any children. Arthur and Alfred were a little amused to spot Ashley Winters in the crowd, looking about eight sizes bigger and nowhere near as put together. Money didn't fix everything, though she definitely looked like she'd had some cosmetic surgery on parts of her face. She perpetually looked a little surprised.
Michelle caught the direction of their gazes and giggled girlishly, "I know right? Talk about karma. She teased Patricia so bad, too. Now it looks like Patricia's thinner than she is. Seeing that alone was worth the flight," Michelle joked.
Just then, a tall, good looking guy none of them recognized came up and introduced himself to Michelle, claiming he still remembered her from a math class they'd shared. Michelle clearly didn't remember him, but didn't seem at all opposed to being reminded.
They stood around a bit more, chatting and running into familiar faces. Kiku had come, but he was mostly wrapped up in Ludwig and Feliciano's company, who had also withstood the test of time. Kiku did make a point to see them and catch up a bit. He'd broken up with Heracles their senior year, and the two seemed to still be avoiding each other. His date for the evening was a Korean man that seemed to annoy Kiku with his constant questions and hyperactivity more than actually giving Kiku a nice evening.
The night passed in a blur of familiar faces and names until a short presentation was done about some of the more impressive graduates in their class. Quite a few had become millionaires—a list Arthur and Alfred were included on merely because of Arthur's family wealth. Arthur thought it was a nicer tribute when they highlighted some of the work Alfred did with the disabled community, and he got a rather nice medal for "still being the World Academy hero." There was a rather humorous slide show of baby photos (they must have contacted his mum for his own shot, as he was certain neither he nor Alfred had supplied their baby pictures). There was more snacking and dancing (they even danced to their old song) and the night ended on a high note, with many promises made to keep in touch.
As they drove home, Alfred held Arthur's hand and kept shooting loving glances at him.
"Keep your dopey eyes on the road," Arthur chided, though his words lacked their usual bite. Alfred just grinned at him again.
"I'm just thinking how lucky I am. We stuck it out together, all this time. I bet a lot of people in that room never thought we'd make it."
"No, they probably didn't," Arthur agreed. By college, they'd gotten to a point where they never argued, but their relationship had continued to have quite a few highs and lows in high school. Their lives had always fueled the gossip mill.
"I want you to know that if I had a time machine, I wouldn't change a single thing. It's been an amazing life together so far," Alfred said sweetly. Arthur gave his sappy husband's hand a squeeze that meant, "I completely agree."
"I love you, Alfred," Arthur said simply, leaning over to kiss Alfred's cheek.
"Always and forever," Alfred replied with a sleepy smile. Arthur nuzzled against Alfred's shoulder and watched the blur of the taillights as they drove home.
That was what was missing from Matthew's memoir, he realized with his own tired smile. It was missing their happy ending. As he began to drift off in the car, the soft music from the radio and Alfred's quiet breathing lulling him off to dreamland, he thought to himself, 'Yes...it all had a very happy ending indeed.'
A/N: And that's it! For those of you who began reading at the very start, we've been together for almost a year and a half now. The first installment of this series was about 15,000 words longer than the longest Harry Potter book, over 375 pages when it was put in one manuscript recently, and this one is not far off that mark. Obviously, I'm incredibly proud to have carried it to completion, but it really would not have been possible without such wonderful support and encouragement along the way. To each and every person who reviewed or messaged me about the story, I sincerely thank you. As I'm sure you've heard by now, a review is the greatest gift you can give an author. We love to know when we get it right, and even when we get it wrong, so we can make it better. You have truly been an AMAZING group of reviewers, and you probably don't realize just how influential you were on the outcome of this story. This not-so-little tale is yours as much as it is mine.
But now it's done! I have a few more ideas already brewing, so please give my next story a chance, whenever the writing bug bites me again. Until then, thanks to everyone for reading!