Epilogue
Three Months Later
F in had been acting dodgy all day over text, and Ollie didn’t like it.
However, he’d finally gotten to their apartment, so they’d be having whatever conversation that needed having.
He assumed at least. His veins hummed with a little more nerves than usual.
He’d thought things had been better than ever in their relationship.
The last few months were filled with nonstop sex and laughter, sprinkled with a few stupid arguments over trivial shit, and the sort of comfort he’d always wanted to find.
The urges hit occasionally, the way they always did, but Fin’s presence helped him weather them.
Had he been reading their whole situation wrong?
Ollie scrubbed his palms over his face to try to calm himself before he stepped up to the door and tested the knob. He knew where the spare was by heart, but damn, he wanted one of his own something fierce.
“Come on in,” Fin called, and he pushed inside.
They sat on their couch, their knees bouncing.
His brows drew together, and everything went on alert. Something had to be wrong.
“What’s going on?” He closed the door behind him as if he could stave off the inevitable.
Fin wrinkled their nose. Their purple strands were askew as if they’d been running their fingers through it, and they wore a beat-up rainbow muscle tee and yoga pants that showed off their corded muscles. “Shit, I’m no good at this.”
“What?” he asked, his pulse thrumming. Each step closer brought those nerves simmering higher.
They hopped up from the seat and thrust out their arms.
Each hand gripped a shiny object.
“Uh, hope you’re not giving me something to handle the bad news with,” he joked.
Fin cocked their head to the side and blinked. “Bad news? Wait, do you think this is something sharp? You’re one dark motherfucker.”
Ollie shrugged, the taut string of tension driving him mad.
Fin swatted at his nose. “Bad. Bad boy.”
“Jesus, Fin, I’m not a puppy.”
“Sweetness, these are keys,” they responded, then running their fingertips along his cheek. “Did you think I was going to break up with you?”
“I mean, I wasn’t sure,” he said, though his adrenaline twisted directions. “Your texts all day were weirdly cryptic.”
“Look, uh…” They slipped the keys into his hand. “That’s because I’m shit at emotional stuff. ”
Relief slammed into him like a two-ton weight. He let out a sharp bark of a laugh. “Oh god.”
“No, that was my way of asking you to move in.” Fin squeezed their nape. “And, uh, the other thing…shit. I’ve never done this before.”
“What’s the other key to?” Curiosity took over now that he knew he wasn’t getting dumped. “Wait, move in?”
“Yes.” Fin gestured around the apartment. “Most of your shit is here anyway, and I had to exercise a lot of patience to wait this long. I was about to rent a U-Haul and show up at your place to load up the day we made this official.”
His heart thumped hard, and tendrils of joy danced through his veins. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” Their hazel eyes grew a little darker. “I didn’t let people in my place, Ollie. No one ever stayed over before you.”
He swallowed, his eyes stinging. “In case you’re not aware by the sheer amount of my shit I’ve brought over, the answer is yes.”
“Good, good,” Fin said, but he seemed somewhat distracted. Right, the other key.
“And this?” He lifted the smaller key.
Fin burst past him without saying anything and headed to their room. They emerged a second later with a thin chain that looked like a necklace.
“So, I know you’re new to kink…” They blew out a breath and stepped in front of him. “This is a collar. Yours. Mine. Fuck. I’m getting this all wrong.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this flustered.” Giddiness bubbled up inside him.
Fin arched their brow, shooting him a look. “Don’t get used to it. Especially if you accept this collar. Because that’s going to declare to everyone that you’re mine, babe. ”
“Is this like getting kink-married?” he teased, even though warmth spread in his chest.
“Yes,” Fin said, their voice dead serious.
His eyes widened, and he stared at the collar in their hands, more like a nice chain that would look like an everyday necklace. The idea of wearing that every day, of knowing what it meant—that he belonged to Fin—made a heady rush swirl through his veins.
“Being yours is all I’ve wanted,” he said, his voice coming out hushed.
“But I’m giving you the key,” Fin said. “I know we’re new and I’m rolling in strong—”
“Keep it,” Ollie said, a firmness in his voice that startled even him.
But it was the damn truth he felt deep down.
“I’m already yours, Fin, and that’s not going to change.
You’ve had my key for a long time if I’m being honest. I’d been spinning my wheels over and over again, lost, confused.
You showed me a way out and a path forward. I only want to walk it with you.”
Fin swallowed hard, their hazel eyes growing glossy. “You fucker.”
He grinned. “How romantic.”
Their lips crooked into a smirk, and they reached up to fix the collar around his neck. The moment the cool metal settled on his skin, his pulse soared.
For so long, he’d viewed himself as an inconvenience, as someone who didn’t deserve the love he’d been given. Except this chain was a reminder that he wasn’t. That he was loved. That he belonged. And that he was important.
And on the dark days, every tether mattered.
Fin stepped in front of him and ran their fingers over his collar. “And you’ll be mine?” The hesitant question was them giving him the out one last time. No way in hell would he take it .
Ollie leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to their lips, just to taste. When he pulled back, he looked into their eyes, and the future he saw there was one he wanted to reach for, as wild and tumultuous and free as the sea.
“Always.”