Constantine - Epilogue
It’s cold out on Christmas Eve, but I don’t care.
I’ve got my jeans rolled up as small waves lap at my feet and ankles.
I’m holding Winnie in my arms, who’s wearing her brand-new hand-knitted sweater in cream made by our neighbor, Iris.
It looks perfect against her tawny fur. With my free hand, I finger the cross Enzo gave me all those years ago.
My most precious Christmas gift, next to Winnie.
It’s okay if Enzo still doesn’t believe.
I believe enough for both of us. I’ll never try to change him, just like he’s never tried to change me.
I’ve been feeling okay lately. The anxiety tries to creep in, but I’ve gotten really good at pushing it back. It helps that Enzo has made every Christmas Eve absolutely perfect, and he keeps me distracted.
Having a good life has forced me to reflect on my past. Not from when I lived with Steve and my mom, but from when I’d tried to help people each Christmas Eve.
I try not to think about being a murderer, and when thoughts creep in that I ended up turning into Steve, I panic again.
The doubts keep trying to punch through, telling me I was wrong, that I killed those people for nothing, just like I’d been wrong about choosing Enzo.
Enzo never told me I’d made a mistake. He never told me to stop.
I chose that on my own… for him. But it’s easy being in love and having someone love me back.
Every single day is filled with love and support.
After loving Enzo for five years, my past was a wisp of a memory.
It only bugged me this time of year, like an itch I can’t reach.
Most of my pain has been replaced with goodness, and so many happy memories.
My tough, strong angel takes such good care of me. He’s changed a lot, too. Enzo’s an artist now. He created an entire series of paintings of my face, expressing different emotions, and had them in a gallery. I couldn’t be prouder.
The small town has gotten to know him really well. Little do they know who and what we are, and I hope it stays that way. It doesn’t matter why I helped people or if I believed I was doing good. At the end of the day, the people in this town wouldn’t understand.
Alfonzo kept his word, and he never bothered us again. And why shouldn’t he? We were out of his hair, with a new life of our own.
Movement in my periphery catches my eye. I turn to see Enzo walking sexily down the beach, heading in my direction.
Even after five years, my heart flutters and my stomach twists with absolute love and happiness. It feels as fresh as it did when I first fell in love with him.
His hands are shoved into the pockets of his jeans, which are rolled up like mine.
He’s wearing a zip-up hoodie and is also barefoot as he treads the shallow waves.
The hair is new. He recently shaved and bleached it, and it looks so gorgeous, especially against his tanned skin, but he would look beautiful no matter how he wears his hair.
Enzo stops in front of me, smiling, before he presses a kiss to my forehead. It’s one of my favorite kisses. There’s just something about it. It’s tender. It’s a kiss about love and affection rather than sex.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hi back.”
He reaches for Winnie and pets her head, then he presses his forehead against mine and closes his eyes.
“I love you, Little Bird.”
I smile at that. “I love you, too. Forever and always.”
“When we met, it was a crazy time for me… for us.” He huffs a laugh, but his eyes still don’t open.
“I mean, you tried to… save me. My own family wanted me dead. I lost Enrique. And in between all that stood someone special. Someone so desperate to be seen. Someone who was hurting more than I was. I never expected to fall in love with anyone so quickly. It had me thinking that maybe you were right all along, that we were meant to find each other—destined somehow. After that fateful day I found you in my bedroom, I can’t imagine my life any other way.
I never imagined you would make me feel fulfilled.
And I never imagined I’d find love like this. True, honest love.”
My eyes water at his words. I’m not sure where he’s going with this. Enzo isn’t exactly sentimental. He’s more into dirty talking than declarations of love. His love language is taking care of me and protecting me. But sometimes he allows himself to be open about how he feels.
I press my free hand to his face, but his eyes still won’t open. “Are you okay, Angel?”
“I’m more than okay, baby.”
Enzo finally stands tall, opens his eyes, and pulls out a black velvet box from his pocket.
My body instantly freezes, and my breath catches. Oh my god…
I press Winnie close to my face and kiss her little head as I watch him open the small box.
“I’m asking you to marry—”
“Yes! Definitely!”
He snorts a laugh. “Are you going to let me finish? I worked very hard on this speech. I practiced so much that I think even our mirror is annoyed with me.”
“Sorry.” I bite my bottom lip, but I can’t stop smiling like an idiot.
“I’m asking you to marry me on Christmas Eve, and I want to marry you next Christmas Eve.
I’m going to do as many special things for you on this day as I can, so you’ll eventually forget what happened to you.
There will only be happiness, Con. Then, every Christmas Eve, we can celebrate our anniversary or maybe take a trip.
But I swear to you, the holidays will never again bring you pain as long as I live. ”
My hot tears quickly cool on my face from the strong ocean breeze.
“I-I’d like that. God, my words are so inadequate…”
Enzo presses his lips to mine for a brief kiss. “Your yes is the only word I need, and you already said it.”
He pulls out the simple gold band and shows me the inscription inside. It’s our initials, the date of our engagement, and the words ‘Christmas Eve.’
I set Winnie down in the sand so he can place the ring on my finger.
I hold out my hand to look at it. Even after being together for five years, we never really discussed marriage.
I never even thought about it. Just being with Enzo is enough for me.
But now that he’s asked me, my life feels strangely fulfilled.
He stands close to me, lifts my face by my chin, and kisses me full of tongue and promises of a naughty evening.
The fireplace is roaring, and above the mantle sits the first painting Enzo ever did of me. He finally finished it four years ago, and I insisted we hang it up. I didn’t allow him to put it up for sale. He’s painted more portraits of me, but this one is my favorite.
When I lie face down on the rug in front of the fire with my ass in the air, Enzo cuffs my hands behind my back before he starts playing with the plug.
He tugs and twists it, then pushes it back in.
When he’s done toying with me, he works the plug out of me.
He’d come inside me earlier after we got home from the beach, taking me from behind as I was trying to make us some lunch.
Then he plugged up his cum, so I had to wear him for as long as he saw fit.
Now, a couple of hours later, he’s ready for more.
“Did you wear my cum like the good little bird you are?”
“Yes. I kept the plug in.”
“Good job. I’m going to fill you up again, and you’re going to wear that, too. You’re going to be so full of my cum when I’m done with you that your body will just have to get pregnant.”
I smile into the plush rug. We know that’s not possible, but it’s fun to pretend.
Once I’m free of my plug, Enzo doesn’t ease into it. He simply lines up his cock and slides right in.
“No coming,” he orders. “Only I can tell you when to come.”
Earlier, he told me I was bad for coming when we had sex in the kitchen. I’d been so wrapped up emotionally, and he just kept hitting my prostate. It just kind of happened.
“Yes…” I breathe, then gasp, when he pulls out and slams home hard enough to move me forward. Enzo grabs my hips and pulls me back to him.
Since I already came earlier, I think I can hold off.
He doesn’t go gently or take his time. This is about claiming me and marking me. He asked me to be his husband. Now he’s taking my body.
I know he’s close when I feel the heat and swelling of his cock.
He grunts with each thrust, and his fingers dig into my hips.
Soon, hot spurts fill me. It’s one of my favorite feelings in the world.
Once we did away with condoms years ago, I could never go back.
I have to feel his cum inside me each time.
Before he puts the plug back into me, Enzo flips me over onto my back.
It’s not the most comfortable being handcuffed, even with a soft rug underneath me, but then he pushes my legs back and swipes his thumb over my sloppy hole, before bringing it to my mouth.
I open up, and he eases his thumb inside.
I suckle it, tasting his delicious cum on my tongue.
“Fuck, I’ll never get tired of watching you suck my thumb, especially when it’s covered in my cum. It’s fucking fire.”
When his thumb is cleaned off, he pulls it out and works the plug back into me. My ass is a little sore now, but I don’t care. Enzo can take me over and over, all day and night, and I will never tell him no.
He pushes my legs back farther and kisses each butt cheek. “I’ll see you later tonight to fill you up again,” he says to my hole, making me laugh.
Enzo sets my legs down and stares at my cock that’s swollen and flushed red. “Aw, poor baby needs attention.”
“He does.”
“Well, let’s give him the love he deserves.”
First, he flips me over, uncuffs me, and puts me onto my back again, wasting no time sucking me down to the root. I’m so sensitive that I cry out and grab fistfuls of his hair.
My body tingles already, and I shudder when he swipes his tongue right underneath the head of my cock. With one hand, he tugs on my nuts, and with the other, he spins the plug around. I’m overstimulated, and my body is covered in a sheen of sweat.
Then, all too soon, since I’ve always come quickly, my orgasm shoots out of me and into his mouth, which he swallows. It doesn’t take long for the numbness to set in.
Enzo pops off and licks his lips. “Yummy.”
My smile is tired and crooked. “You’re yummy, too.”
He rests next to me on the rug, propped up by one arm as his fingers trace along my skin, still sensitive from all the sex today. I feel absolutely tired and satiated. I’ve melted into the rug with my numb body. The heat of the fire and the popping of the wood relax me.
“God, your fucking body really is a masterpiece of art. I never get tired of looking at you,” he says.
His index finger traces the centipede climbing up my thigh.
It’s taken nearly ten years to complete the art on my body.
There are some spots where I have none yet, and I’ll still never put any on my face.
Getting work on the feet and knees hurts the most, I think, but I find it beautiful, too.
Not only did Enzo help erase my past with only good memories, but my art also erased the physical damage.
I’m a new me. I’ve been rebuilt. And this time next year, I’ll be married to the best human in the world.
I roll onto my side and run my thumb over his swollen bottom lip. “Merry Christmas, Angel.”
His brows furrow, but his eyes shimmer with brightness. “In all the years…”
“I know. I’ve never said the words before because I wasn’t ready. But I am now.”
Enzo gives me a brief kiss before pulling away. “Merry Christmas, Little Bird.”
The End