Epilogue – Leon
Epilogue
LEON
Two Years Later
They had been waiting for seventeen goddamn minutes, and Leon was getting antsy. James also didn’t seem to appreciate the wait, squirming on the horrible chair next to Leon like he had ants in his pants, as Leon’s dad used to say.
Leon let out a soft huff, and James froze, his shoulders up near his ears. If Leon was as calm, cool, and collected as he liked to pretend he was, he would know the exact words to say to ease some of James’ tension, but truthfully, he was just as nervous as James was.
He sank lower in his chair, spreading his legs until his knee pressed firmly into James’ thigh.
A floorboard creaked, and James whipped his head to the side, staring at the peeling office door like it was likely to disappear if he so much as blinked.
And just like that, the right words came to him.
“Eager as always,” Leon murmured, “like a good little mensch.”
James turned his head ever so slightly, dragging his gaze away from the door so he could study Leon’s profile. “I just…want this to be over?” he said, his voice more of a question than the aggressive statement it had been almost four years ago.
Leon spun the ring on his left ring finger, the line coming to him as if he’d practiced it a thousand times. “These things are never quick.”
Funny, if someone had asked him just that morning, he would have said he barely remembered their work-mandated conflict mediation session, but clearly it had left an impression. Or maybe James had, in all his uptight, anxious, and yet still utterly gorgeous glory.
“You’ve been to a lot of pre-marriage counseling, then?” James said, and his posture relaxed, his spine loosening until he sort of melted against Leon’s side.
Leon threaded an arm around James’ back, tipping his head to rest against James’ fluffy black hair.
It wasn’t quite as neat and orderly as it had been the last time they’d been in this waiting room.
James had been running his hands through it all day leading up to the first of three pre-marriage counseling sessions they had scheduled.
The sessions had actually been Leon’s idea, a sort of bookend to their relationship. What better way to spend their last three Thursdays as unmarried bachelors than talking through any last-minute issues, concerns, or questions?
“I think I’m supposed to say something along the lines of ‘a lot of people have wanted to do pre-marriage counseling with me,’ but obviously that isn’t true,” Leon said, tilting his chin up to kiss James on the head. “Just you, darlin’. It’s only ever been you.”
James sighed and laid his hand on Leon’s thigh, his own ring glinting under the horrible fluorescent lights.
They had taken turns proposing to each other the previous Valentine’s Day, kneeling amidst the packing boxes in the corner of their shared bedroom.
Purrsephone had wanted in on the action and had climbed up the back of James’ shirt while Yarmen had taken a few swipes at her tail.
Both cats had been a little agitated during the move, but they were all settled in at their new place now.
Their townhouse was only a few blocks away from Blair and Rachel’s place, which meant they got to see Aspen and Noah even more than they had before—which had really been quite enough for Leon, but it made James happy to be so close to their friends and still within a reasonable distance of his mom, Howard, and Linda.
“I don’t actually want this to be over,” James murmured, and Leon squeezed his side. “I mean, I do, because that means it will finally be time for us to get married, but I’m excited to see Katherine again, and I think the conversation will be good.”
“I know, love,” Leon said, using his thumb to spin James’ ring for him. “I’m rather impressed you remembered all that.”
“You, too,” James said, but it was more of a sigh as the remaining tension drained away. Leon pulled him even closer, loving the way their bodies so effortlessly fit together. “Although you’ve always been good at remembering things when it counts.”
Leon huffed, his cheek heating where it was pressed against James’ head. “Now if only I could remember to do the laundry.”
“Good thing your wedding tux doesn’t have to be washed.”
The tips of Leon’s fingers began to tingle. “Oh god, don’t even joke about that. I have Noah and Charlie on tux duty. Between the three of us, I’m sure someone will remember to bring it…but…just in case.”
Leon tipped his hip up so he could grab his phone out of his back pocket.
He swiped through the absolutely absurd number of group chats he was in until he found the one with their bridal party members.
Technically, Noah and Charlie were on James’ side of the aisle, while Aspen and Hailey were on Leon’s, but despite how dearly he loved them both, there was no way in fucking hell he was going to rely on them to remember his tux.
They had both been practically bouncing off the walls with excitement the past several months of wedding planning, and it was only getting worse as the day approached.
He could have asked James’ mom or even Hailey’s mom. They’d both offered more than once to help in any way they could, but there was something about weddings and moms that had the balloon in Leon’s chest cutting off his air supply.
Was that something he needed to discuss with Kaden?
Probably. Was he going to worry about it this exact second?
Definitely not. They’d made so much progress in the past few years, between Leon’s PTSD and ADHD, and navigating James’ move and then their move together.
There had been other stuff in between, like Howard’s health scare, which had thrown James and his mom into a healthy cooking and power walking frenzy, and Trina falling while slacklining and breaking her arm.
Leon had somehow been listed as one of Trina’s emergency contacts, and getting that phone call from the school had shaved another few years off his life, but he had been happy to be there for Trina when it counted.
Hailey, James, and Kaden had then been happy to be there for Leon in the aftermath, which included a new set of nightmares and a lot of kitty cuddles.
Leon thumbed out a quick text thanking Charlie and Noah for helping with the tux, then put his phone away again.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” James said, a mantra they had been repeating to each other for months. “Even if we end up with no flowers, no cake, no seating plan, and you and I are standing up there in our underwear, we’re still getting married.”
“And we’ll look damn good doing it,” Leon said, once again reciting his line with practiced ease.
“I love you,” James said, squeezing his thigh.
“I love you, too.”
Ideally, those words would have summoned Katherine to the door, and she would have heard their professions of love, deemed them fit to be married, and let them go on their way.
Of course that didn’t happen. They sat there, on their uncomfortable chairs, for at least five more minutes before the creaky door finally opened.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Katherine said, her smile warm if a little thin. “I had an online appointment run long. A bit of an emergency, but we got it all sorted out.”
“Online was an option?” Leon muttered.
James shushed him as he stood up, offering him a hand even though Leon was already halfway out of his seat.
He took the hand, obviously, because he would hold James’ hand until his dying breath.
Unlike the last time they were here, when James’ smaller body had nearly crashed into Leon’s in the doorway, Leon pressed himself up against James’ back as they followed Katherine into her office.
“Good to see some things never change,” James said with a soft laugh as he led Leon over to the blue loveseat.
“Some things don’t, but obviously others do,” she said, taking her seat with a wide smile. “I was so excited to hear from Leon again, especially given that congratulations are in order.”
Leon sat down first, making sure to place his ass as close to the center of the couch as possible. James, still smiling at Katherine, didn’t look where he was sitting and ended up half on Leon’s lap.
“Thanks, doc. It’s good to see you again,” Leon said, wrapping his arms around his spluttering fiancé.
He was going to miss getting to call him that, especially since it always made his cheeks turn the most endearing shade of pink.
Although, getting to call James his husband would probably be just as sweet.
They had been reviewing the officiant’s remarks earlier that week, and James had blushed all the way down his bare chest—because yes, they had been reviewing them cuddled up in bed, where else would they review them?
—when they got to the line pronouncing them “Husband and Husband.”
They hadn’t had time to jot down any notes or feedback, because Leon just had to remind himself how his soon-to-be-husband’s skin tasted when it was so deliciously flushed.
James had ended up sending back a few items the next morning, all the while grumbling about Leon “The Irresistible Distraction” Rabinowicz.
Leon would take that, just like he would take “baby,” “love,” and “my everything.” He only got that last one when he did something particularly impressive in bed or said something nice about their friends or their wonderful life together.
Actually, come to think of it, he’d gotten that in the car on the way here, too.
He kept his arm wrapped around James’ waist as he maneuvered himself more fully onto the couch seat, putting an absolutely unacceptable two inches between them.
Thankfully, the couch was still fully on Leon’s side, and a moment later James was sliding across the cushion as the springs groaned and then gave out.
“It’s good to see you both, too. You know, you’re the reason I haven’t gotten rid of that couch yet. It seemed to work wonders on you and has done some great things for other couples throughout the years.”