The Shadows Within Us | Grethan

epilogue

6 months later

grayson's point of view

"That's one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen out here, and trust me, I've seen quite a few." Ethan remarked. He was right, it was indeed one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. But somehow, I couldn't keep my eyes on the sky, as the man next to me was 10 times more gorgeous than the mix of pinks, purples, reds, yellows, and oranges that decorated the sky above us. In my mind, Ethan was the most handsome man I had ever set my eyes on, and I'm fucking glad I did. Never in a million years did I think that I would be sitting in a homemade Adirondack chair on a porch in the middle of the woods, the love of my life next to me, sipping whiskey on ice as we watched the sun set. It was dream I didn't know I had, come true.

"I agree. But I think the man next to me is 10 times that sunset." I hummed, taking a small sip of the alcohol as Ethan's eyes ventured over towards me. I could see the incredulous look on his face, but I couldn't help but smirk at the slight tinge of pink covering his cheeks. "You're blushing," I mocked. I couldn't help but grin as Ethan's eyes widened and his cheeks went a shade darker. "Ah, fuck you, Gray." Ethan groaned. He took the glass of whiskey into his hand, and lifted it to his lips, swallowing the rest of the drink in one large gulp. He let out a satisfying breath, before he went back to looking back up at the sky.

"You do wish you could. I mean, both of us have been waiting to tie the knot." And by knot I meant sex, not marriage. I wasn't ready for that just yet. But I knew that if there was a mere possibility that Ethan didn't want to get married, I knew that we didn't need rings on each other's left hands, or a piece of paper signifying our legal marriage to be in love. He and I would be spending the rest of our lives with the other, and we both knew that through and through. "I hope you mean sex, Gray. Marriage is too early, wouldn't you agree?" Ethan questioned. I nodded, "I do. We've only been together barely a year now. If anything, we would elope and go to Vegas or some shit and have a terrible Elvis impressionist sing "Can't Help Falling In Love" as we walked down the isle."

We couldn't help but both let loud laughs escape our lips. "Very true. But, I'm not turning you down to marriage. We could, in a few years time, if we really wanted to." Ethan said, shrugging. I agreed with him. I was just so glad that we agreed on the same things. It was everything I wanted in a partner- to be open and honest with them and have it not affect our relationship. I had known before, but just that simple sentence had me getting out of my seat and walking barely three steps before I was at Ethan's chair. I put my hand out, an invitation for Ethan to grab it. However, he just looked up at me with in a confused stare, "Come on cowboy, we have some horses to wrangle in our bedroom."

Ethan let out a few chuckles before nodding and taking my hand. As the small boy I am, I couldn't pull Ethan up, so he basically had to stand up on his own. With our fingers wrapped together, we left the chairs on the porch with our empty glasses and the lingering sunset. Ethan opened the door, and I followed right behind him. When we entered the cabin, I couldn't help but smile. It had gone through some serious upgrades such as; an installment of a generator, running water, and a TV that worked with a satellite. We kept the decor mostly the same, although we got rid of the old couch that had both Ethan and I's dried blood on it from our past injuries.

Ethan had been building more and more things for us. It seemed as though his inner lumberjack had come out once more and he was outside every morning after sunrise chopping wood. It was very sexy when he'd come back into the cabin smelling of fresh air, pine trees, and his natural musk. I had told him that on numerous occasions. Sometimes he didn't believe me though, and I would just have to kiss him until he truly knew he was the sexiest man. To me, anyway. And I think that was the only thing that mattered. Even at 23, Ethan just oozed that sex appeal, and I was more than happy to drink it up. And I would be, in a few seconds.