Epilogue (+18)

Luke kicked the door closed as quietly as he could. He tried not to spill the two mugs of coffee he was carrying. He had been awake for several hours already, but he had been working at his desk. Finally when the first rays of sun shone through the curtains he had gone down to get coffee.

He set the two mugs on the desk then looked at the bed. Jud lay on his belly with his arms stuffed under his pillows. Luke couldn't help the happiness that bubbled up. He was still surprised to wake up in his own bed with Jud beside him. It wasn't every night, but when he was there, he was happy.

He sat at the desk again to finish the work he'd started yesterday. Since Jud had recovered, he had been on desk duty. Chief Reynolds hadn't alleviated his formal punishment so the entirety of Team 6 had been taken off whatever cases they'd been assigned. It had worked out in their favor though since they now had more time to have fun with each other. Their significant others had been invited to more things than they had been before because death wasn't a great way to bring people together.

Myka had reported that Miguel Arturo had survived his gunshot wound. When he had recovered, he had disappeared. The new leader of the Saints was a straight laced and had plans to reform the whole organization. Someone had gotten word from Daniel Garcia that he did not condone Arturo's running of the group and would never endorse him again. Word on the street was that if anyone found him they had a license to kill him if they so choose. Everyone was certain the police would turn a blind eye as well.

Everyone at the station had been happy and relieved when Jud had walked through the door the next morning for his formal reprimand. Those who had been there the night before had gone home and probably hadn't texted any of their coworkers with the news. So for the others to see him in the flesh, there had been so many emotions flowing around Jud had barely made it out alive.

Luke had gone with him and had witnessed firsthand the love and respect Jud's coworkers had for him. He had watched the formal reprimand and punishment, but he hadn't felt too upset about them. He had known all of them had been as distraught as he had when they'd found out he'd been shot.

Everyone had been shocked when they'd heard of Luke and Jud's relationship, but they had respected it. Whoever Jud decided to spend his life with had to be a good person because Jud didn't tolerate those who broke the law continually.

Luke stared blankly at the screen. He should be working on his budget for the next fiscal year, but he was too busy thinking about things that had happened. Four months had passed since all of this had happened, and Luke sometimes woke up from nightmares due to it. Most of them happened when Jud wasn't with him, and he had to cope with them by himself. He had never told Jud about them because he didn't want to worry him, but sometimes they were severely debilitating.

He was reading his numbers when two strong, sinewy hands rubbed over his shoulders. He leaned his head against the thick bicep and brought his arm up to hold the arm under his cheek. His head shifted to the side gently as a mouth pressed against his temple.

"What are you doing up?" Jud asked. His voice was deep with sleep, and his jaw was stubbly.

"I have to have the budget for next year done by tonight. Raymond is talking to some vineyard and winery owners to see if we can produce our own brand of wine. I need to have our revenue report and finances in order in case we can afford to do this," Luke replied. He clicked the save button and sighed. "Raymond wants to branch out so we're not just working in entertainment. He thinks it may help with our branding."

"Did your business take a hit with the whole ordeal with the Saints?"

Luke nodded. "A little, but not too badly. There were a few days where we didn't make the same numbers we did several months ago, but it won't kill us. Mostly people didn't want to come right after things went down, but when they realized it wasn't a common occurrence, they started coming back. Raymond booked a fifteen person party for Friday night."

"What does that mean?"

"They've rented the whole place out, and that's not cheap. Raymond is picking out the hosts to work the party and Rook is going to help bartend."

Jud tightened his arms around Luke's shoulders. "It sounds like you'll bounce back from this."

"I hope so." Luke didn't mention the nightmares because he didn't want to answer the questions that would inevitably come. Maybe he would get the courage to tell him, but right now he would try to deal with them alone. "Oh, I didn't tell you. This came in the mail the other day."

He held an envelope up and waited as Jud took it from him. The other man opened it right in front of him and read it over his shoulder. He normally hated when people did that, but in this instance Jud wasn't reading over his shoulder while he was reading it. He was reading it for the first time.

"So Daniel Garcia has asked you to come visit him in prison?" Luke nodded. Jud folded the paper up and put it back in the envelope. "Are you going to go?"

"I was thinking about it." Luke turned around and looked up into Jud's face. "If I do, would you go with me?"

Jud smiled. "Absolutely."

Luke smiled and wrapped his arms around the other man's neck. He kissed him softly. "Thank you."

The older man's smile widened before he kissed him even deeper than before. He nearly broke the chair with how far back he pressed into him. Luke couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out.

Jud leaned down and wrapped his arms under Luke's knees. He picked him up, coaxing Luke's legs around his waist. He reveled in the laugh that graced his ears as he carried the younger man back to the bed. Luke hadn't put too many clothes on when he'd gotten up to get coffee so it wasn't hard to slip them off his hips as he moved.

"Wait," Luke laughed. He bounced once as his back hit the bed. Jud crawled over top of him and lowered his body down slowly. "Your coffee is going to get cold, and we're going to be late."

"We can always get fresh cups. As for work," he slipped his arms under Luke's knees and pushed them up, "we can be late once every so often."

"Jud, wait!" His laugh faltered when Jud slid easily inside him. His hips moved on their own accord, hitting deep inside Luke with each thrust. "You're not playing fair."

Jud kissed his shoulder down to his nipple. When he lapped at it, Luke flinched. "I'm making up for lost time."

Luke laughed again. "That's absurd. You've been making up for lost time for four months."

"And I'm going to continue doing what I want until you quit secondguessing me."

The younger man lifted up and bit into the clavicle of the man above him. Jud groaned and moved faster. Luke would always let him do what he wanted as long as he came home safe and sound every night he went to work. That was the promise they'd made to each other after Jud had gone back to work full time.

Moans and groans filled the room as well as a bit of dirty talk and so much laughter. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was just as prevalent. But no matter what people heard they knew that the two loved each other and would kill for each other. No one was dumb enough to bust in, not even Raymond. The Prince and his Narc were finally happy.

THE END