Hold my Reins (Monster Match season two)

Epilogue

ONE WEEK LATER

“ This is everything?” Lynck asked as he carried the last box out of Rox’s truck and set it in the living room with another small box, a suitcase, a duffle bag, and a plastic bag of dirty clothes.

Rox ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah…I didn’t want to keep too much in my truck in case it got broken into. That box is mostly sentimental stuff I couldn’t bear to get rid of.”

“You lived like this for six months?”

Rox wrinkled his nose. “Longer than that, as I needed to sell things while Mom was sick. I haven’t had a sofa or a dining table in about a year.”

“You need to buy more clothes and shoes…you definitely need shoes as those are falling apart.”

“I know, trust me. I can feel every piece of gravel, but I need a job and money?—”

“You have that. And a home.”

Rox pressed his lips together. “I don’t know how to run a business.”

The military had a record of Arn Hall leaving through the portal to go to his brother’s wedding and an expected return date, which he’d missed. Maybe seeing his family was the truth, and telling Bothvar had been a bonus, or maybe he’d returned to the monster world for another reason. He’d been pretty keen to employ someone so he could make the trip.

Now, Arn had three months to return and claim his business, and until then, the business was in Rox’s care. If it remained unclaimed, Rox could take over or allow it to be sold. This wasn’t the first time a monster had abandoned a business to go home, although in this case, they knew Arn wasn’t returning. Bothvar had killed him, which wasn’t something they were going to share with the military.

“There is a free class,” Lynck said.

“That is for monsters. Humans are supposed to pay for that shit.”

Lynck smiled. “I am a monster.”

“But you don’t work in the shop.”

“I can answer phones and ring up payments if you need me. No one will care if I do the class. After all, I’m expected to contribute to human society.” He took a step closer. “And I want to help you.”

Confusion and doubt flickered in Rox’s eyes. “I’m not used to getting help.”

“So I have realized. Or you’d have moved in three days ago.”

Rox had slept there every night but had needed to deal with the missing owner situation and work, pack up, and cancel the room. In the end, Lynck insisted on helping him with the motel and the packing because he clearly had too much on his plate, which hadn’t helped things as Rox insisted he’d manage…which had resulted in a small argument and Rox calling the motel to cancel at the end of the week.

Which meant he’d needed to be out today.

It was a good thing he didn’t have too much stuff to pack.

Rox flicked him a glare. “I needed to be sure me moving in was really okay with Thursten and Aski.”

“They said it was okay.” Multiple times.

“They might have been saying that to be polite.”

Lyck stepped over the box and put his arms around his human. “They were not saying to be polite.” He kissed the top of his head. “Aski has already added you to the cleaning roster stuck to the fridge.”

Rox relaxed in his arms. “I don’t want it to be weird.”

“It might be weird at first. You are the only human, and you are noisy.”

Rox pulled away. “Oh my God, I am not. You all have super sensitive ears.”

He picked up the duffle bag full of clothes and stalked down the hallway to Lynck’s room. Lynck smiled. The house was currently empty…

He grabbed the suitcase and followed, nudging the bedroom door closed after him.

Rox glanced up, eyes wide. He’d already emptied the duffle bag onto the bed to sort through the clothes and put them away.

“Since we are alone, it doesn’t matter how much noise you make.” Lynck pushed him onto the bed and kissed him. This time, it wasn’t one night. They had the rest of their lives.