Epilogue

The whales had been and gone. There was a party going on onboard the Kraken’s Horn and all of Avalon’s crew had been invited. Planks were laid across all four ships clustered as if they were just off land. People came and went, laughing, drinking, and catching up with old friends, while making new ones. Jasper had enjoyed himself for a while, answering questions from multiple crew members about the things he could sense and see.

But later as the night wound down, Jasper slipped off, and when he didn’t come back, Avalon went looking for him, unsurprised to find him sitting on the same pile of ropes he’d sat on the first day Avalon had taken him aboard his ship. “Got room for me?” he asked, and his heart warmed when Jasper stood, letting him sit down before curling up on his lap.

“I never dreamed this sort of life could be possible,” Jasper said quietly after a long moment. “To be accepted, cared for by someone other than my parents, to not be hidden away because I was weird.”

“No,” Avalon whispered against Jasper’s ear. “I think the weird one is our pirate captain. He can tell some stories, can’t he?”

“He didn’t lie once,” Jasper chuckled. “Exaggerated slightly - maybe in a few cases - but he never lied. I like that, and Petrov seems to be devoted to him as well. They’re good people.”

“So are you,” Avalon reminded him gently. “The world as I know it has grown since I met you. The experiences, the opportunities, they seem more brightly colored now you’re in my life.”

“You’re like the hero in the books my mother used to read to me when I was a child,” Jasper said, smiling up at him.

“My goodness, my mother used to read them to me, too. I used to dream of slaying creatures and rescuing fair damsels.” Avalon rested his cheek against Jasper’s hair. “It all seemed so easy in a storybook.”

“And unfortunately, you weren’t there to save your princess.” Jasper’s hand was warm on Avalon’s chest. “Do you still miss your Louisa?”

“Yes.” Avalon nodded. “I learned to live with that feeling a long time ago. But that was something else you taught me. When I lost her, I believed that the heart formed around one person and was cast in rock. I never believed I could care for another person the way I did for her. But then you came along, with your rock blasting magic, and I realized the heart grows, it adapts, it’s big enough to hold two loves.

“The strange thing is, when I think about her on quiet starlit nights like this one, I know she would’ve been so cross with me for shutting people out of my life for as long as I did. I had my friends, but no one touched my heart, not ever. Until you.” He looked up. “If she’s up there, somewhere, looking down on us, I know she would be so happy that I found you.”

“I’m really happy you found me, too, even if you weren’t looking.” Jasper chuckled quietly. “We both went through our very separate and private hells, and yet look where we are today. You have given me a life I didn’t dare dream about.”

“And you’ve given me a love I was always too afraid to open my heart to.”

“There’s that, too.” Jasper nodded, and then he whispered, “Do you know what was wagered between Petrov and Rojan?”

Avalon felt a stir in his pants. “Yes. Rojan let it slip when he was rather excited about seeing the whales.”

“Has it got something to do with what men might do to each other in their cabin, in private?”

“Yes, it was definitely something that should be done in private.”

“Is it something we could try, do you think?”

Avalon thought about what Rojan had said and thought about what he and Jasper had done with each other so far, which basically amounted to a lot of kissing, some hand action, and rubbing off on each other. “We could give it a try. Have you ever thought about what it might be like if we…” he bent over and whispered super quiet in Jasper’s ear.

Jasper’s eyes flew wide open. “People do that?” he asked in a shocked whisper. “Oh, we have got to try that for ourselves. Definitely. Absolutely.”

“We’ll head to our cabin shortly,” Avalon promised, his voice deepening as he thought about the fun he and Jasper would have. “I need you to know how much you are loved, first, and somehow those words have more meaning out under the stars, with the waves washing gently against the ship. I love you, Jasper.”

“I love you, too, my wonderful husband.” Jasper’s body leaned against him as they both gazed up at the stars. When one of them streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of light, Avalon took that for the signal he believed it to be. A blessing and a promise of a full life still to come.

The End