Epilogue

…

When I unlocked the door to the apartment, it was to the smell of roast chicken and rosemary. The house was warm and dry, a welcome relief to the cold, drizzly outdoors this evening. I shook out my umbrella and set it beside the door, pulling off my shoes. I walked barefoot through the living room and into the tile-floor kitchen, and wrapped my arms around Dante's waist.

"Smells good," I muttered into his neck. I could feel him smile, and he turned his head to kiss my temple.

"Chicken's in the oven, and I'm almost done with the mashed potatoes," he said. I saw a pot of green bean casserole sitting on the stove, and Dante stirred at a still-warm bowl of mashed potatoes, slowly adding milk.

"You've really gotten into the whole cooking thing since mom bought you that recipe book," I said.

"Well at least I'm not making burnt rice anymore. Now go wash up and set the table."

"Yes sir," I grinned.

I stripped out of my uniform and took a quick shower, scrubbing off mostly sweat. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt, and walked back to the kitchen. "You cut your hair again," I said.

Dante glanced back at me. His blond hair was cropped short above the ears, bangs freshly trimmed. "It was getting in my eyes again," he said. "Not great for the lab. You don't like it?"

"I do, it suits you." I walked over and touched his neck, stroking his cheek with a thumb. "Shows off your eyes. Bet all the geeky ladies want nothing more than to rip that nice lab coat off you all day though."

Dante rolled his eyes. "Not everyone's libido is as unrestrained as yours, Sean," he said. "Dinner's ready."

Dante sliced the whole chicken, and I selected a few choice pieces of white meat to add to my dollop of mashed potatoes and green beans.

"How was work today?" I asked between bites.

"Good," Dante said. "I think we've managed to isolate the chemical trigger that exacerbates the spread of grey matter to the dorsal fronto-median cortex."

"That's the area that regulates self-control, right?"

Dante smiled at me over a bite of chicken. "You have been paying attention. Yes, that's right. We'll begin animal trials tomorrow."

I reached out and gripped his hand. "It'll work," I promised. Dante gripped my hand back and raised it to kiss the knuckles.

"Thank you, Sean." He dropped my hand so I could resume eating. "And you? Anything exciting today?"

"Not really. I was asked to help with missing persons, since there are no updates on the Blue Dragon cartel. Assholes disappeared as soon as they realized we were on to them. Our inside source has gone quiet too. Can't tell if he was caught and killed, or ran away from it all."

"You think they might have moved? Left the city?"

"No," I shook my head. "They're just laying low. The clientele here is too loyal. But the increased enforcement has been doing a lot of good, I think. Especially regular patrols in the high-activity area. It's risky, but it's working, Dante."

"I'm glad to hear it."

My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it out of my pocket. "It's Colin." I answered. "Hey, what's up?"

"Turn on the television, channel 5." It was Susan. I glanced at Dante and padded to the couch, grabbing the television remote and turning on the television. It was an arrest, a reporter narrating in the background. A banner at the bottom of the screen read "Mad scientist arrested for human experiments." I immediately recognized the hunched figure being forced into a police vehicle and turned up the volume.

"Dante, come look at this," I said, hanging up on Susan.

"- at five o'clock this evening police received report of the wanted fugitive as he was stopped for speeding on the Eastbound I-70 just outside of Denver, Colorado. The police officer recognized him, and called reinforcements. Dr. Alan Bishop, a distinguished alumni of the John Hopkins School of Medicine, was declared wanted nearly thirteen months ago when the truth of his ghastly experiments were brought to life. These experiments included human trials testing a so called Super Soldier serum, called Titan in the lab but more readily known as the street drug Beast Syndrome, on persons with reduced autonomy, including prisoners, orphans, and fetuses. The drug was never successful and has been linked to nearly three hundred deaths. This is the same drug scandal that impeached Governor Rawlins last February, and led to a massive internal investigation by the FBI. The US military and president have declined any knowledge of these experiments. Bishop never obtained IRB approval for his research or any kind of ethical regulation. A police officer on site expressed that he was, quote, 'sincerely relieved that this villain is finally behind bars.'"

I dropped shakily onto the couch, staring at the screen. Dante sat beside me, gently stroking my back.

"They got him," I said softly.

"Yeah."

I glanced at Dante. His face was unreadable. "You okay?"

He glanced at me. "Sure, why?"

"He's your dad, isn't he?"

Dante's eyes darkened. "No. He was never my father. I never had a father." His expression softened. "I have you, and Sharon, Colin, Susan. And I had Lily. I don't need him. I never did."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "I know you don't."

Dante kissed me back, slowly and languidly. I stroked his arm, then snaked a hand under his shirt. He gasped against my mouth and wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling me close. He smelled of soap and aloe shampoo. I pushed him down on the couch, turning off the television, and pulled his shirt off, kissing and sucking at his neck, his chest, his stomach and back up to his face. He made noises that drove me crazy.

"God you're beautiful," I whispered against his throat. Dante groaned, pressing a leg between mine and raking his fingers over my back. I kissed him deep and sat up, throwing off my shirt. I tugged at his jeans. "Help me take these off and turn around."

Dante unzipped his jeans, lifted his hips, and slid them right off. He wore nothing underneath. He grinned coyly and flipped over on the couch, baring his back to me. I gasped and pressed against him. He was warm, and trembled in anticipation. Since the escape from Dr. Bishop and with rapid improvement in the antidote, Dante hadn't relapsed during sex in nearly a year, much to our mutual delight. I grabbed the small, unlabeled bottle of lube that always sat in a basket on the table beside the couch – along with a packet of Marlboros, spare car keys, a box of tissues, and some change – and flipped it open, pouring some in my hand and preparing myself and him. Dante groaned and pushed against me, breathing against the couch. The nape of his neck, no longer hidden by his hair, was flushed red. I entered him, slowly, and kissed his back. He arched against me, gasping. It was a languid and heated affair, quiet apart from our quick breaths and groans and occasional muffled cries.

Sated, we collapsed on the couch. I cleaned us up with some tissues and allowed Dante to flip over so I could lay on his chest and press my head against his heart.

"We're gonna need to shower again," I muttered against his skin. His chest jerked in a breathy laugh.

"Yes." He kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Sean." I wanted to reply, but I had fallen asleep.

…

Two years had passed since we'd escaped Dr. Bishop's base. Though most of the warehouse and offices had burned before the firefighters arrived, enough incriminating data had been obtained to put Governor Rawlins and a good number of his associates behind bars in what became one of the greatest ethical scandals in the country's history. There was not enough, unfortunately, to point to military and federal involvement, but we weren't about to give up. Colin and I have been amassing as much intel and data as possible, with the hopes that someday we would have enough to shut down all involved.

In the meantime, Dante graduated from university and went to medical school. He began working part-time in a pharmacology lab, running chemical analyses and testing brand-name drugs. It gave him access to a lab environment, and he was given permission to work independently on a long-term Titan antidote. Dante had made significant improvements since. He collaborated with Susan and a group of FNCD scientists based in the city, and together they had begun to whittle away at the harmful parts of the drug, tweaking and playing with the chemical formula to create a more stable corrective. It still fought off the symptoms rather than reversed the neurological and physical effects of the drug, but it was a step forward.

I, on the other hand, had finished up my general education at university and applied directly to a law enforcement training academy. I had just begun interning with the local Narcotics Enforcement Division (NED) team, which enforced state laws pertaining to drug use and distribution. It was rewarding work, and while I was mostly doing paperwork at the moment, I was occasionally allowed to tag along on field assignments and go on drug busts. Even two years after BS was widely publicized to have lethal side effects, we still found it on the street.

Colin had applied for a transfer, and now worked at the San Francisco FBI office. It kept him closer to home, and I knew my mom appreciated that. He had moved in with Susan, and the two were still happily together.

I parked in my mom's driveway and entered the house with a polite warning knock.

"Mom?" I called out, wiping my muddy shoes on the mat before closing the door. It was a Saturday, my day off from the internship, so I was dressed in civilian clothes. I didn't like to show up at my mother's house in my uniform; the look on her face, no matter how much she tried to hide it, was always distressing. I heard her approach through the kitchen.

"Sean, you're early." She greeted, kissing my cheek. "Is Dante joining us?"

"I'm afraid not," I said. "He's working overtime in the lab today. They're starting animal trials for the new strain today."

She smiled. "Well, that's alright then. I hope it goes well. Why don't you help me set up the table then? Karen and Amanda are still joining us, right?"

Over the next hour, Colin, Susan, John, Trevor, Amanda, and Karen joined us for a potluck lunch. Colin and Susan brought a potato gratin, John a platter of cold meats and cheese, Amanda and her mother Karen delivered a savory cranberry and blue-cheese salad and Trevor provided a fruit salad for dessert. We gathered around the dining table, chatting and catching up. My mother served the main dish – a vegetable beef stew – and we dug in.

These occasional potlucks my mother and I hosted were a way for me to keep connected to my friends. After graduation, many had found jobs and ended up working around the state. Hang was in the middle of a fashion design internship in France. Amanda and John were hired by the same biological research lab in San Francisco, and stayed in close contact. Trevor was going to Law school on the East Coast next year, to everyone's surprise. They often asked after Dante, and made an effort to keep in contact.

After everyone had exchanged goodbyes and good wishes, my mother and I cleaned up. Princess weaved between my legs, purring and trying her best to trip me as I dried and put away the dishes.

"I found something as I was rearranging my room yesterday," my mother said as we finished up.

"Oh?" I dried my hands on a towel. She smiled knowingly and walked to her room, reemerging a few minutes later with something in her hand. She held it out, and I took the small box. I opened it, and flushed in recognition. It was my father's engagement band, and my mother's matching one tucked behind it. Even after his death, she had kept wearing it for several years.

"There's no rush," she said as I fumbled for a response. "But, when you do decide to tie the knot, I wanted you to use these. You can easily have them resized."

I closed the box and pocketed it, smiling. "Thanks mom."

My mother winked, and touched my cheek. "Are you happy, Sean?" she said, eyes solemn. I caught her hand in mine and squeezed it.

"Of course I am."

"Then you can stop taking off your uniform every time you come over. I'm proud of you, you know. And I'm sure… I'm sure your father would be to."

My chest swelled and I blinked a few times. "Thanks ma."

…

When I returned home, it was dark out and raining. I hurriedly unlocked the door and stumbled in the house, sopping wet. I turned on the lights and hung up my raincoat, shaking out my hair. I made sure to hide the flowers behind the forgotten umbrella while I unlaced and removed my shoes. "Dante, you home?" I patted my pocket to make sure the box was still there, smiling to myself. My chest tightened, and I grabbed the flowers. "Dante?" I glanced around. His lab coat was lying on the couch, his keys at their place on the entrance table. I heard a groan from the bedroom and a cold flush of fear swept over my face and down my back. I set the flowers down on the couch and padded cautiously to the bedroom. I found him sitting on the floor, his face buried in the quilt on the side of the bed. I turned on the lights, but he did not register the change.

"Dante, are you alright?" I said softly. He twitched and trembled, clutching at the covers. I walked over and sat beside him, placing a hand gently over his back. "Dante, look at me." Dante quivered and groaned, burying his face deeper. "Look at me."

He finally, obediently, raised his head and turned to face me. His eyes were red and dilated, and his lips bled from being chewed on. I gently held his face with my hands and kissed his forehead. He smelled of sweat and fear.

"Dante, come on, tell me what's going on. Do you need an antidote?"

"I… took it…" Dante choked, grasping my arms almost painfully. Goosebumps crawled over my skin.

"It's not working?"

As for the atrophy, there's nothing I can do about that. Inevitably, it will consume him, and then, my dear Sean, he will be completely lost to you.

I shook my head of the memory, trying to still the trembling of my hands. "Hey, you'll be fine. Just look at me, and breathe, okay? We'll get through this, me and you."

"I can't Sean," Dante moaned, silent tears streaming down his cheeks. "It's going to keep happening, and happening, a-and then the day... the day will come when I can't control it and I'll –"

"Hey," I warned, pulling him against me, "don't talk like that. You'll be fine, you hear me?"

Dante sighed against me. "Sean, when that day comes… when it happens, you remember… you remember the promise you made me?"

I frowned, and then remembered as he touched my neck. I pulled out the thin chain, on which dangled the small silver key. I suddenly knew was it was for, and held him closer. "I remember. But I'll never use it because I have another promise for you." I pulled out the box and pushed him away just enough so that I could hold it between us. He pulled away and looked down, eyebrows furrowing uncertainly. When I opened it, he stilled, face smoothing in surprise. "I promise, Dante Hughens, that I will be with you, always, in sickness and in health, until… until death do us part."

Dante pressed his hands to his mouth, choking back sobs, and pressed his head against my neck. I held him tightly and knew that whatever came, we would be okay.

…

The End

...

.:Author's Note:. Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed Sean and Dante's adventure, dark and tumultuous as it was. Let me know what you think - I hope this epilogue helped tie some of those loose ends together for you, but also leaves the future open to the endless possibilities of life. If you enjoyed my writing style, please feel free to check out my fantasy story Fernwood Academy, also posted on Fictionpress, and it's prologue/spin-off Wings of Change.

Cheers,

Morgan S.