Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
Bastian
The sound of the front door opening made my heart soar, and I leapt up from where I’d been lying in a comatose state on the sofa after returning home from a week of back-to-back shoots. They’d been good, but I was ridiculously exhausted.
I’d decided the sofa was the best place to lie in wait for Anders, who was coming home after a long weekend at a fantasy and science fiction convention, because if I’d headed to bed, I would have been asleep before my head hit the pillow.
“Hello!” I said, practically throwing myself into Anders’s arms as he stepped through the door, making him drop his bag. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” he said in a slightly pained voice because I was crushing him. “Can I come in now?”
“I suppose.” I released him for a moment so he could close the door. Then I stepped close to kiss him deeply as everything inside me began to relax again. I was home, Anders was home, and the world was back to the way it should be. “How was your weekend?”
“Good,” Anders said as we broke apart and he picked up his bag to take it through into the dining room.
I knew he’d want to go and unpack straight away, and I’d already dumped my dirty clothes into the wash basket in the bathroom.
The rest of my stuff could wait until tomorrow.
I had no plans this evening beyond ordering takeaway, curling up on the sofa with Anders, and sleeping.
Sex might also be on the agenda as long as it wasn’t too energetic: hand or blow jobs only.
“Long too,” he continued. “But it was nice to see people again.”
“I’m sad I couldn’t come with you. Maybe next year.”
“Of course. Or there’s one in October if you’re up for that?”
“Depends on the dates.” I sighed. “I’m already signed up for LCC.”
Anders gave an exhausted chuckle. “Me too.”
“Then I’ll definitely come to your fantasy convention thing.
Remind me to put it in my diary.” The year was already filling up faster than I could keep track of, and it was only April.
I was going to need to go through and pencil in some days off, or I wouldn’t get a break before Christmas.
Anders had bought me a very nice leather planner for Christmas last year, after I’d bemoaned trying to keep everything on my phone and the cheap paper diaries I usually used falling apart in two months.
It was old-fashioned, but it turned out nothing beat pen and paper.
Anders was also good at reminding me to take breaks.
It was funny, when I’d been by myself, I hadn’t thought anything about working back-to-back weekends throughout the summer with barely a day off for weeks at a time.
But now doing that meant spending time away from home, and that sucked.
I’d managed to book more weddings locally, and I was doing fewer at the other ends of the UK, plus I’d found some great local spots that made gorgeous cosplay shoot locations, which meant less travel on my end too.
I’d already dragged one of my favourite cosplayers, Edward Ever After, up here twice to do an autumnal gothic shoot last October, and another in the spring with him as a fairy prince.
He was always up for my ideas and exploring new places, and when he and his partner had come to stay for the weekend they’d helped us win the pub quiz.
All of those changes helped, but I always wanted a bit more time to relax and actually see my partner, not just wave hello to him at breakfast and then kiss him goodnight before crashing out.
Since he worked from home, Anders sometimes came with me when I travelled because we could book a nice hotel or Airbnb, and he could stay there and write while I worked.
Then we could have a day exploring together before driving home.
Anders had also suggested I take at least one or two days off each week, and although I’d been hesitant at first, it really had helped.
I’d felt so much more rested and alive, and it injected more enthusiasm back into my work.
If I’d known how happy being with Anders was going to make me, I’d have started stalking him around events years ago. I was sure it would have been easy enough to catch him off guard and take a nice photo at another point, even if Anders jokingly insisted it wouldn’t have worked.
I’d never been happier than I had been the past twelve months. Anders had given me everything I’d ever dreamt of—a home, balance, and a deep, abiding love I knew would last a lifetime.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” I asked. “I can put the kettle on while you unpack. And I’ve got some really nice wedding cake for us. The bride gave me a huge slab to bring home when I mentioned I hadn’t seen you in a week. It’s red velvet and raspberry.”
“That sounds amazing,” Anders said with a smile, walking over to give me a kiss. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” I leant against his chest, breathing in his scent.
This man was my whole world, and I still couldn’t believe how lucky I was sometimes.
I’d always believed photographs could change the world, even in small ways.
They captured moments that often went unseen, and they allowed us to remember things we thought we’d forgotten.
I’d just never thought they’d change my world to this extent.
“You know, you have to let me go if you want tea,” Anders said quietly, kissing the top of my head.
“That’s true.” I tipped my head up and kissed him again. “And cake too. Really good cake.”
“I’ll be down in five minutes, then I’m all yours.”
“You already are,” I said with a smile.
“And you’re mine.”
I let him go and headed for the kitchen, flicking the kettle on and finding some plates for the cake. Pausing for a second, I closed my eyes to remember this feeling. I was home, and it was just like I’d pictured.
The End