Epilogue
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
Stumbling through the front door, Tyler awkwardly twisted to kick the door shut behind him. The door slid to the last couple of inches and then stopped. Sighing, he dropped his luggage to the floor in a harsh clatter and gave the door a firmer push. He looked up and realized that the same strange hinge at the top was stuck. Rolling his eyes, he left the door for someone else, probably Elliot, to deal with and dragged his stuff into the house.
“I’m home!” he called, voice echoing down the long hallway.
He had just stepped into the living room when a movement to his left had him spinning around. With a surprised shout, he caught Nate as the man flew through the air. He stumbled back from the sudden impact, forced to sit on the back of the couch as Nate kissed him fiercely.
“Well, hi,” Tyler muttered around his lips.
“Hello to you as well,” Nate all but purred, legs tightening around Tyler’s waist and holding himself in place. “I missed you.”
“You saw me two weeks ago,” Tyler said with a laugh.
Finals had been coming up and Tyler had figured the best chance for them to have a worry-free weekend together was for Nate to visit him before the stress settled in. It had certainly been a stress-free weekend, and Tyler even managed to chase his dorm mate out for a few days.
“You say that like I couldn’t possibly miss you in that time,” Nate told him.
“Oh, I’m not complaining,” Tyler said, hooking one hand under the curve of Nate’s butt.
At that moment, Clay decided to walk by, book in hand. “Please do not fuck in the living room. Even Elliot and I have the decency to keep it contained, thank you very much.”
“And mood ruined,” Tyler muttered.
“And he’s a liar,” Nate whispered back. “Those two do not know what decency is.”
“You’re staying in my house, you’ll deal with my sex life,” Clay told him as he mounted the steps. “And when you two are done sucking face, I have dinner waiting to be served for your arrival home, Tyler.”
Tyler perked up. “Beef stew?”
Clay smiled as he mounted the last steps. “Of course. Welcome home.”
“Welcome home, Tyler!” Elliot shouted down the stairs before there was a series of thumps and a sharp ‘ow’ from him.
Tyler grinned. “I guess living across the hallway from them isn’t as great as you thought it would be.”
Nate sighed. “I’m not quite as disturbed by the idea of them having sex as you are. Though admittedly, it’s hard to hear Clay having sex after what happened last year.”
Tyler frowned. “You good?”
Nate looked at him, then laughed softly. “It was a joke, Ty. I’m okay, oh hell, I’m better than okay.”
Unsure if he should be intrigued by the shortened use of his name or relieved that Nate was doing fine, he let the man’s feet drop to the floor. Nate had been financially okay for the past year. The trusts he’d spoken of had kept him afloat and allowed him to find his way in the world without having to live under his family’s direct control, namely, his father’s.
“Speaking of Sonia,” Tyler said once Nate was disentangled enough to walk on his own. “How’s she doing?”
“Turns out her work history speaks for itself. So, she was nabbing a few short-term babysitting jobs, well, that’s what she called them. However, it turns out that some people adore the idea of using the former long-term caretaker of a Carter heir. Even a privately disgraced one,” Nate told him smugly.
“You’re not disgraced,” Tyler growled at him.
Nate paused, watching Tyler for a moment. “I do so love it when you sound like that. I’m tempted to find what else makes you growly.”
“Nate,” Tyler warned.
The man laughed softly, squeezing Tyler’s arm. “It’s okay. I know what I am, and I’m okay with it. And Sonia is too, especially now she gets to help raise a couple of kids again. I think she loves what she does, and hopefully, that family does better for her than my father ever did.”
Just the knowledge that Nate wasn’t letting his father’s shitty attitude toward him eat away at his private thoughts was enough for Tyler to relax visibly. It hadn’t always been easy for Nate, especially in the beginning, but he’d found ways to cope. Eventually, those ways became something he could hold on to for his happiness and grow.
“How’s the Center? Still doing okay?” Tyler asked.
“Oh, I managed to secure a few different donors. My name might be mud to some of the high and mighty, but it still counts for something,” Nate said happily. “It helps that I’ve made contact with the great artist, Omega, and he helped get some contacts in.”
“Didn’t you grow up with him?” Tyler asked.
Nate laughed. “Hardly, but all the big families are interconnected and know one another to some extent. Theo was more than happy to help me, welcomed me to the Black Sheep Club, and then asked me how you were in bed.”
The last was said with a frown, and Tyler eyed him. “I hope you told him I was godlike.”
Nate slapped his arm with a snort. “I told him it was none of his business.”
“I see.”
“And if it ever became his business, he would end up jealous.”
“Oh. I see .”
That earned Nate another kiss, this one pinning him to the back of one of the chairs in the living room. Pressing close to him, Nate melted into the kiss, allowing himself to be folded against Tyler with apparent ease.
For a moment, he almost asked if Nate had heard from his father and decided against it. While Dane Carter hadn’t taken direct action against Nate, he hadn’t tried to help either. Nate was, by all accounts, perfectly content to live his life in the absence of his blood family, but Tyler knew the subject was a sore one. If Nate had dealt with his father and wanted to talk about it, he would.
“So, I have a proposal,” Tyler said, patting Nate’s side.
“And I am all ears,” Nate assured him.
“Let’s go steal some of that beef stew while Clay isn’t watching it. Then, we sneak upstairs and give them some of the same medicine they’ve been putting you through for the past few months,” Tyler said, raising a brow.
Nate’s cheeks went pink, but he grinned. “That’s evil.”
“And also not you saying no,” Tyler pointed out.
Nate slid close, holding him tight. “For you, I’m always going to be ready. You’ll have me, so you have me.”
As Tyler kissed him soundly, he knew he would never get sick of hearing that.