Epilogue 2.0

*Him*

**Two years later**

I closed the door behind me, nerves eating away at my chest. I can't remember the last time I had been this fucking nervous.

My jaw trembled from the rising emotions, but the moment Inesa stepped into the living room, I controlled myself.

She frowned at me as if I had done something wrong, and I awkwardly scanned the room to see if I had left something out.

“What?” I questioned hesitantly.

She huffed, rolling her eyes as she ran her hands through her hair. It was short now, the ends grazing the tops of her shoulders. My heart clenched as I watched her.

Fuck, she was so beautiful.

I trailed my eyes down her body and focused on her stomach for moment. My mind spun and my chest ached. I caught my breath, bringing my eyes back up to her face.

Her brows met in a frustrated frown and she pressed her lips together, placing her hands on her hips. Her cheeks were red with exhaustion and she shook her head.

“Can you come take a look at this with me? I can’t figure it out.”

I nodded, “Sure.”

I followed her down to the basement, watching her tan legs as she led me to her desk. She tilted her head, looking at one of her newly sketched blueprints.

She had all the technology she needed to create these in her computer, but she loved the feeling of her pencil against paper.

“Wow,” I whispered, eyeing the immaculate sketch for the new library we had been commissioned to complete.

I looked at her and smiled. She never seized to amaze me.

She frowned at me, “Doesn’t it look off?”

I chuckled, “No, it looks great.”

She leaned against my chest, “You always say that.”

“And you always change it.”

She chuckled, “I think it looks...off.”

I shrugged, pressing my lips to her forehead, “Hey, you’re the architect. I just make what you tell me to make. I'll let you know more when I look at the plans better, okay?”

She nodded against my chest and a sudden sniffle had me pulling away.

“Hey, what’s wrong baby?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know. I’ve been feeling like I’m going crazy lately. My head is killing me and my back hurts like the devil.”

I raised an eyebrow, “How long have you been down here sketching?”

She wiped her tears, looking at the clock, “I don't know but, shit. We have to make dinner. Kevin will be here soon.”

I grabbed her chin, pulling her toward me for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and smiled against my lips.

“I love you,” She whispered.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing her against my body, “Fuck, I love you.”

I parted her lips with my tongue, and she pulled away with a chuckle.

“Kian, Kevin’s gonna be here soon.”

“So? We can order pizza or something,” I pressed my erection between us and she shook her head.

“No, we have to make dinner. He says that she’s the one.”

I rolled my eyes and followed her up the stairs, “Didn’t he say that about the last one?”

She shrugged, “But I think he means it this time. They’ve been dating for almost two years now.”

My eyes widened, “It’s been that long?”

She wrinkled her nose as she stepped into the kitchen, "What the hell is that smell?"

I held in my smirk, and nodded toward the open jar of pickles.

"Oh god," She screwed it shut and placed in the fridge before turning to me with a scowl.

She was breathtaking and the mere sight of her was enough to make my chest ache with happiness, even as she pursed her lips in disgust.

She waved her hand in front of her face, forgetting the smell of pickles and looked at me with a nod.

"Anyway, yes it's been that long. We have to make a good impression."

"We do?"

"Yes, I want her to like us."

"You do?"

"Kian."

I chuckled, amused by the nervousness that crawled over her. We weren't great at making friends, but Kevin was a permanent fixture in our lives. I understood why it was imperative for his girlfriend to like us.

Especially if she was to be his future wife.

"Okay, baby, let's make dinner," I reached for her, wrapping my arm around her waist and spinning her away from the fridge.

She giggled against my chest and we quickly busied ourselves with dinner.

An hour later, the heat in the kitchen had come to overwhelm her and I sent her to the dining table to set up the dishes and cups.

She hummed to herself and I smiled as I listened to her. I was barely making out the toon when she stopped.

I lifted my head from the countertop and found her in the kitchen opening with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong baby?"

She shook her head. "I was coming into the kitchen to get something and I forgot what I was doing."

I chuckled, but froze when she shot me an angry stare.

“It’s not funny.”

“Of course not, baby.”

She rolled her eyes, sighing as she made her way to me. “I mean it Kian. I think I’m going crazy.”

I smirked, because, yeah, she kind of was.

“What are you laughing at?” She smacked my arm playfully.

I shook my head, “Nothing.”

“Kian.”

“Nothing, baby.”

She looked at me with a frown and I knew she would not let this go.

I sighed. "I went to the store earlier and I was going to wait until after Kevin left."

"What do you mean?"

I placed a kiss to her forehead and pressed my hand on her lower back, leading her to our bedroom.

She looked at me over her shoulder with a hesitant frown but said nothing as we entered the room. I reached into my coat pocket, the bag making noise as I took it out.

With a lift of her chin she looked toward the bag, “What’s that?”

I watched her carefully and took out the small box and handed it to her.

She flushed. Her cheeks red like tomatoes. God fucking damn, she was so beautiful.

“Wh-why do you have this?”

Though she hadn’t taken the box from my hand, she looked at it with wide eyes.

“I just thought-”

“Kian, why?”

I huffed, “You ate my sandwich earlier.”

Her head jerked back, “So?”

“It had pickles in it.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth parted in shock, “Ew!”

I chuckled, “Exactly.”

“Are you serious?”

I nodded.

“And I ate them!?”

I nodded.

She wrapped her hands around her throat, as if she could take back what she had eaten earlier.

I stepped closer to her. “Did you notice that you got up to pee like three times last night?”

“Oh my god, yes. It was so annoy-”

She stopped mid-sentence, snapping her gaze to mine. Those stunning hazel eyes of hers were filled with so many battling emotions.

Fear. Vulnerability. Hope. Tension. Joy.

“Kian,” She whispered.

I lifted her by the waist, letting her wrap her legs around my waist, “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she nodded and I leaned toward her, kissing them away.

“Take the test first before we let our minds run crazy, alright?”

She nodded, “What if- what if I am?”

My lips widened in a smile, “I’d be the happiest man alive.”

Her face fell, “And if I’m not?”

“I’d be the happiest man alive.”

Her smile bloomed, a breathy chuckle leaving her lips. She pushed against my chest and I set her down. She was halfway to the bathroom before she stopped and spun on her heels.

The question in her eyes was obvious and I quickly made my way toward her.

“I don’t need you to come in, just-just wait by the door, okay?”

She closed the bathroom door in my face and I buried my hands in my pockets, nervous as hell. The moment the toilet flushed I turned rigid. The door opened and Inesa looked at me with a face I could not read.

“So?”

She shook her head, “It’s not ready yet.”

I nodded, “Did you want me to look fir-”

“Please.” She begged before I could finish.

I cupped her cheeks between my hands, my eyes oscillating between hers. I didn’t think it was possible, but I loved her more every day. She had become my custom, my home, my family.

I kissed her softly, letting her tension melt away as our lips melded together.

“I love you so much, Inn.”

She smiled softly, “I love you too, Kian.”

My thumb caressed her jaw and she leaned into me, exhaling slowly.

We had never really talked about being parents. It was just a known that we would stick together and love each other forever whether we had kids or not.

We were enough for each other. She was enough for me.

But this morning, when I thought of her pregnant. When I thought of her as a mother. When I imagined a little baby with her hazel eyes?

Fuck, I wanted a baby with her.

“I- I think it might be ready.”

I pressed a soft kiss to her lips, leaving my hand on her waist as I reached over for the test.

My heart exploded in my chest as I looked at the two pink lines.

“Kian?” Her eyes were wide, anticipation eating her alive.

I dropped the test on the counter, lifting her up by the waist and letting her wrap her legs around my hips.

“Kian!” She squealed, “Tell me!”

I couldn’t help but smile so much it fucking hurt, “You’re pregnant.”

She gasped covering her mouth with her hands before she burst into tears.

“We’re going to be a family?” She managed to ask through her cries.

“You’ve always been my family,” I whispered.

“You’ve always been mine,” Her smile widened despite the tears.

“Are you happy?” I set her back on the ground, still holder her against my chest and she nodded.

“Yes, I just, I can’t believe it!”

She grabbed the test looking at the two lines. I watched her, taking in every inch of her expression.

I lived in disbelief every day. I couldn’t believe she was my wife. That I had gotten so lucky as to share my life with her. And now? I was in ever more disbelief.

The boy I was all those years ago shouldn’t have ended up with someone like her. But she chose to see through all of that.

We were so different but so alike at the same time.

We filled each others voids, each others need for family.

I struggled for air as I watched her and realized that I still had a lifetime’s worth of happiness by her side.

And I would cherish every single moment.

The doorbell rang and Inesa tensed, looking at me with wide eyes before bursting into another fit of tears. "I forgot Kevin was coming."

"Do you want me to cancel?"

She shook her head, "No, he's family. He's going to be an uncle."

I smiled, trying to hold back my own flood of tears.

She began to make her way to the door, but I stopped her, pulling her back into my arms.

"Thank you, Inesa. For giving me a life worth living."

She pressed her hands to my cheeks and smiled wide before kissing me, "Can't you see that you did that for me?"

I pressed another kiss to her lips and she inhaled. "Ready to tell Kevin he's going to be an uncle?"

She nodded vigorously and we opened the door together.

From that moment everything changed.

Kevin ended up marrying the girl we met that night. I mean he kind of had to after Inesa cried all over her about how happy she was that Kevin found the perfect person.

The fact that Alyssa didn't run away after that night was enough for me to know that she was the perfect addition to our growing family.

And the next year, we had a little girl. She was born on Rick's birthday and Inesa always said that was his way of saying that he was watching over us.

Two little brothers followed after that.

Kevin and Alyssa ended up having five kids. (Don't ask me why they thought that was a good idea.)

We never had a lonely Christmas again.

Actually, we never had a lonely anything ever again.