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ATTENTION!! LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO SEE MY MESSAGE!! thank you waiting4haykin for BETAing.
Epilogue
10 Years Later
"Duke!" I exclaimed, glaring at the phone. "This is our 5 year anniversary, and you're going to be late!!" I hung up the phone after that and frowned.
Duke was the doctor for some high profile sports team so he got paid a lot (mostly for doing nothing). When he did do something, it usually took all day and night. I sighed sadly, knowing I had no right to complain when Duke brought in most of the money. But damn it – this was our anniversary.
I sat down on the couch next to Jack and ran my fingers through his golden fur. Jack was the best dog a guy could ask for. He was an amazing cuddle buddy. As if to prove my thoughts correct, he gently crawled onto my lap.
"Jack, I think you're a little too big to be doing this. Let’s call Candra and Oakley down so we can tell them Duke's going to be late." Candra and Oakley were the two kids we had adopted. The adoption agency wasn't going to let us adopt anyone. However, we told them that, since older kids (especially gay ones) had such hard times finding loving families, we'd adopt those kids. The agency agreed, saying we could make them comfortable with themselves and make them good citizens or something.
We adopted Oakley five years ago, back when he was 12. I had immediately fallen in love with his big chocolate brown eyes and messy brown curls. What I learned late I think endeared him to me even more, he had a major attitude problem.
Candra we adopted a year after Oakley, and she was also 12 at the time. I loved her, but she was definitely Duke's baby. I think the straight long platinum blond hair and blue eyes were what caught his attention, but it was her gentle and calm personality that made him fall in love with her.
"Candra! Oakley! Can you two come down here?" I called, turning to look at the stairs to make sure they were coming. I waited for both to sit down and said, "Duke's going to be late. Do you think you can keep people's attention until he gets here? I can't keep everyone entertained."
"Is Shadow coming?" inquired Oakley, his brown eyes sparkling. Oakley had had a crush on Shadow ever since he met him. Even after Shadow married Sia, Oakley's affection for him didn't seem to lessen.
I nodded and, unable to help myself, asked, "Why?"
"I want to introduce him to Chris," replied Oakley, looking very defensive. I smiled innocently. "I didn't know Chris was coming. He's a sweetie. You should keep him." Oakley just snorted, and Candra giggled.
"I like Nick. He's cool," announced Candra, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear.
"You only like him, because he tells you you're pretty. But he'll never say you're hot, because you're a girl," taunted Oakley, loving to point out the fact that Duke's and my friends were male and gay, meaning that she had no female girl or lesbian to talk/ bond with. Candra pouted before yanking on of Oakley's brown curls. Oakley cursed before swiping after her, and I watched in amusement, knowing they wouldn't hurt each other.
I left the two alone when I heard a knock at the door. I was greeted by a smiling Nick. "I thought I'd come by early and visit."
"Well, you can help me set up the food," I suggested hopefully and walked into the living room. "Duke's going to be late, so everyone will have to wait for the main course and cake. But I'm going to stick out most of the food anyway."
"I still can't believe you insisted on doing all this. I could've thrown you two a party, and then you'd have time to enjoy yourself."
"It was a lost cause," assured Candra with a grin. "Oakley and I even tried to arrange a party, but Alan said no."
"Because this is a small part of my anniversary present to Duke," I defended, wondering why everyone was making such a big deal over a little party.
"Hey, Alan. Can I go get Chris now?" asked Oakley, looking at me hopefully. I waved him away and noticed Candra's pout. She currently didn't have a girlfriend. To make it worse, Oakley probably pointed the fact out to her numerous times.
"Come on, Candra," I urged, heading to the kitchen. "Why don't you help Nick and I set out the food?" Candra seemed to brighten at that and practically attached herself to Nick's hip.
"So Nick, where's Lance?" questioned Cadra while putting out a side of carrots and celery. Nick hesitated, and I gave Candra a disapproving look.
Nick took a moment before speaking. "We broke up. I guess I was too much of an optimist for him or something. Keep in mind that most guys aren't as lucky as Alan and Duke – or even Shadow and Sia."
"Sorry." Candra apologized, looking embarrassed now that she realized her mistake.
"Don't worry about it," assured Nick with a small smile. "We obviously weren't meant to be." We put the food out on the table, and I looked at everything happily. However, I noticed Jack putting his nose on the table and moved the food out of his reach before shooing him away from the table.
I heard the door open and I turned around to greet Chris, but I saw Duke instead. I grinned and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were going to be late."
"Well, Stacie got there earlier than she thought, and I sped a little," explained Duke, giving me a quick kiss. "You sounded upset, and I didn't want to ruin this day for us." I pulled him back down to kiss him deeply, letting him know everything was okay. I gently ran my fingers through his hair, feeling his silky tresses. I heard someone cough and looked to see over Duke's shoulder to see a very disgusted Oakley.
"You know, I'm sure some kids don't mind watching their parents sticking their tongues down each other's throats, but I think it's gross," stated Oakley, and Chris just smiled shyly at us. Duke gave Oakley a reproachful look, and I tried my best to look serious.
"Come on, Puppy. I have to talk to you," voiced Duke, walking toward our bedroom. I waited until the door was shut and then looked at Duke worriedly.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," assured Duke with a smile. "I just wanted to talk to you in peace and show you your gift."
"Duke, I thought we agreed we weren't buying gifts for each other this year," I stated, looking at Duke reproachfully. Mostly, I just felt guilty.
"I didn't really buy something," defended Duke, his eyebrows furrowing together in thought.
"You didn't?" I inquired, instantly feeling relieved.
"I didn't," assured Duke, and he turned away from me. He quickly pulled off his shirt and I laughed at what I saw. Duke had my named tattooed on the part of his body where his neck met his shoulders, and a bone-shaped dog tag with the date of our wedding inscribe on it was tattooed right under my name.
"Thank you, Duke. This is an amazing present. Since you gave me my present, I think it's time I gave you yours." Duke nodded his agreement, and I led him to the room I used as an art studio. "I know I haven't sold a lot of paintings, but I've mostly been working on this." I removed the sheet from the large painting and watched for Duke's reaction. He seemed impressed and gave me a kiss in appreciation. The painting was of Duke and younger version of Candra and Oakley. Duke was playing in the backyard with them, and I was watching from the kitchen window with a smile on my face.
"I think it's the best painting you've ever done," praised Duke, his blue eyes shining. I knew that he meant what he said. Family was always very important to Duke.
"Duke! Alan! Get down here," called Nick. "Everyone is here."
We reluctantly went downstairs and smiled at our friend. Everyone was there, aside from Spade and Fox who lived out of state.
"Hey, everyone," I greeted, smiling. "Long time, no see."
"It's not our fault you never invite us over," teased Valerian, standing next to Russel. The two had recently become engaged.
"Oh, please. You know you can come visit whenever you want," I stated while twining my fingers into Duke's.
"You know he's just joking," voiced River, a cigarette hanging from his lips, and I wondered when he started that habit back up again. Maybe it was because he and Spade had split up again. The couple had been having trouble with their long distance relationship, but neither wanted to move.
"We know," assured Duke, sitting down on the couch and pulling me onto his lap. "Now, tell us what all of you guys have been up to."
We talked for a couple of hours, and soon it was time to eat the cake. "The couple has to cut the cake," cheered Nick, handing me the knife. Duke and I did as we were told, smiling all the while. Now being my normal self, I couldn't help but grab a piece of cake and promptly shove it against Duke's face. Duke just stared at me with wide blue eyes. His eyes widened even more after I quickly licked some of the cake off his cheek. "I love frosting."
"Puppy," growled Duke, looking at me with a playful yet predatory look in his eyes. I went to run for it, but I was grabbed around the waist and pulled into Duke's chest.
"Okay, stop. I feel like I'm about to gag," declared Shadow, looking at us with bored hazel eyes.
"I couldn't agree with you more," voiced Oakley, frowning at me. I shrugged and watched in amusement as Sia pinched Shadow and Chris slapped Oakley's arm. The two couples were so alike it was scary, but I could only pray Oakley would have a relationship with someone like the relationship Sia and Shadow had with each other.
"I think you're rubbing off on him too much Shadow," pointed out Duke, and he didn't seem pleased. Shadow just glared, and I knew soon it'd be time for everyone to leave.
"Not to be rude, Alan, but I asked Oakley and he doesn't know either… Why does Duke call you Puppy?" asked Chris, blushing a bright red that seemed to match the color of his hair.
"You haven't told them the story?" questioned Valerian, looking shocked before grinning. "Well, we'll have to tell them."
I watched as my friends began to tell my story. Everyone, even Shadow, added their bits and pieces of what went on and how I had how I freed the pets. I looked at Duke and felt complete. I had everything I wanted: a man who loved me more than anything, kids who I could teach, and friends who were always there when I needed them. Life couldn't get better than it was right then.