Little King (Seoksoo)

Epilogue

Joshua

Joshua hurried down the hall of the care home, careful to keep his speed human appropriate. He was running behind, but he'd promised to stay until the end of the western he and his mom had been watching, and he never broke his promises to her.

Mary was waiting for him at the front desk, smiling warmly. "Seems like she had a pretty good day again."

Joshua grinned at her. "She did. It was lovely."

It had been. Joshua hadn't been able to compel her into remembering exactly who he was—those days were getting fewer and farther between, as her illness inevitably progressed—but he'd been able to keep her calm and happy. They'd watched TV together and discussed the different birds they could see through her window.

He would be forever grateful for this extra time with her. Even Seungcheol had started visiting regularly, although the days she didn't know him still seemed to take a lot out of Joshua's brother. He was trying though, and that was more than he'd been doing before.

"When is your hubby coming next? The ladies have been asking about him." Mary winked, and Joshua found himself blushing.

"He'll be here with me tomorrow."

His husband.

Joshua grinned down at the simple gold band glinting on his left hand. He and Seokmin had been married at City Hall a few months after Joshua had turned. Weirdly enough, it had been Seokmin's idea. "Your human friends do not understand the concept of mates," he'd said in all seriousness. "We have to show them in some other way that you are mine. Permanently mine," he'd emphasized.

Sweet, possessive vampire.

They tried to visit Joshua's mother together regularly, but sometimes they switched off their visits so someone would be there to soothe her on any given day. Joshua was only working part-time now, as Seokmin had paid off his mother's place at the home for the next five years. Joshua still wasn't sure how much money his vampire was hoarding, but it didn't seem like they'd get to the bottom of it anytime soon.

In his extra time, Joshua had been discovering hobbies—he still hated cooking, but it turned out he was pretty good at baking, and he was learning French—and spending time with friends. He had friends now, besides just Chloe. Other coworkers and a few new faces he'd met at a book club he was now a part of.

Ironic that a vampire coming into his world had finally given Joshua the full, human life he'd always longed for: family, friends, leisure time. He'd been worried Seokmin would get bored with small-town existence, but his mate seemed to be reveling in being able to settle into a place for the first time in decades. The little old ladies at the home adored him, as did Joshua's coworkers.

Even Jeonghan had stuck around.

After saying his goodbyes to Mary, Joshua rushed home. Seokmin was waiting for him in the kitchen, chopping vegetables at the counter. Seungcheol would be coming over for dinner later.

"Bonsoir, mon amour," Joshua greeted, coming up behind his mate to wrap his arms around Seokmin's waist, nuzzling the back of his neck. Seokmin's scent was still Joshua's favorite smell in the whole world.

"Bonsoir, mon petit roi," Seokmin replied, tilting his head back for a kiss. "Have you decided our destination after dinner?"

"The Hideaway, I'm thinking."

They were going out tonight. Joshua had put his foot down on stealing more blood bags once they realized he had the control to feed normally, but he didn't like the idea of drinking from people in his town he was going to see day after day. So they'd decided tourists were fair game. He and Seokmin went to the downtown bars on the weekends. They fed together these days. At first they'd done it to make sure Joshua didn't slip and lose control, but they'd continued because drinking blood made Joshua's demon pretty frisky and Seokmin took pleasure in catering to those needs as soon as possible.

More than one alley in town had been witness to their postfeeding indiscretion.

Seokmin nodded, moving Joshua's arms off his waist and stepping back from the kitchen counter. He stepped over to Joshua's laptop, which Joshua was just noticing lay open on the kitchen table. "There is something we need to address prior to dinner."

Uh-oh.

So far Mingyu had been true to his word, and they hadn't heard anything of him for the past year. Had that changed?

Seokmin beckoned Joshua to the laptop, where a web browser was open with multiple tabs that he began clicking through. They were all different photos of gorgeous locales: mountains, deserts, tropical beaches.

"Pick one," Seokmin ordered.

"Huh?"

"Our honeymoon, little king. It is overdue. Pick one."

Joshua understood now. He had been avoiding choosing a honeymoon destination. He'd never been anywhere, never left the country. How could he pick just one place? It felt...monumental.

Seokmin must have intuited the source of Joshua's hesitation through their bond, because he brushed his fingers gently along the back of Joshua's neck. "There will be more travels, little king. An eternity's worth. This is only the first of many."

Joshua took a deep breath and pointed to one of the photos.

Seokmin gave his waist a squeeze in approval. "Bali. Good choice, mon amour. I will book the tickets. We are taking three weeks."

"Three whole weeks?" Joshua had never had a vacation for that long.

"Mm. Yes. I have been graciously sharing you this past year, but it is my turn to have you all to myself. How do you feel about naked swims in the moonlight?"

Joshua thought he was past the point of blushing, but apparently he was wrong. "You spoil me."

"I would spoil you even more, if you would let me."

It was true. Seokmin delighted in giving Joshua everything he asked for.

Joshua turned and wrapped his arms around Seokmin's neck. "How much time do we have before Seungcheol gets here?"

Joshua wasn't quite as insatiable as he had been a year ago, when they'd hardly left his bedroom for a week, but he still couldn't get enough of his mate. Touching him. Tasting him. There was nothing better.

"We have enough." Seokmin grinned at him. "Come, little king. Show me who you belong to."

Joshua scoffed. "You mean who you belong to."

He'd meant it to be teasing, but Seokmin nodded at him, his expression serious. "Yes, I do. For always."

For always.

Nothing had ever sounded better.

-End-