Epilogue - Marked By Love

Theodore set the bag of flour on the counter. Big Poppa sniffed it as he’d sniffed each ingredient prior. Mutt reached her head up to the edge of the counter to see what the fuss was about. She snuffled, and her tail wagged.

Big Poppa got up and lumbered to the edge of the counter, leaned down, and smashed his forehead into Mutt’s. Her pink tongue ran along the side of the cat’s ruff in response.

Her leg had healed seamlessly, no additional medical intervention required. However, they always knew when a storm was coming because she got stiff and had a slight limp.

Grabbing the oat milk from the fridge, Theo started pouring the ingredients into a bowl: flour, applesauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, oat milk, baking powder, and sugar. When the dough was mostly smooth, he poured little globs onto the warm skillet.

The back door opened and closed, bringing with it the scent of oranges and storm clouds. Relief and contentment washed through his bond. Theodore smiled as the pets meowed and barked excitedly.

“What a greeting!” Royce beamed at the three of them before stopping at the small stoves to refill them with wood.

One of the main stipulations of them staying in the cabin was updating the central air and heating systems. Once that was done, they contemplated removing the stoves but ultimately left them. They liked the ambiance of the wood burning—not to mention repairing the holes in the ceiling from the chimneys sounded dreadful.

After petting the cat and dog in turn, Royce came up behind Theodore at the stove. Placing his hands on his hips, Royce leaned down. Taking a deep inhale of Theodore behind the ear before gently kissing his mate mark.

“You’re making pancakes,” he observed.

“Sure am.”

“I’ll put in for some time off work before your heat starts. And I’ll get an extra-large box of pastries from the bakery.”

Theodore hummed. He’d been making pancakes in the days leading up to his heats since that first time with Royce. He found he always got the cravings for the syrupy hot cakes about two days before it started.

“You know just what I like,” Theodore said.

“I like you.”

Humming, Theodore turned in Royce’s grip to plant a kiss on his lips.

“We should walk the critters after dinner; it’s chilly out but not too bad,” Royce said.

Royce had successfully leash trained Big Poppa. He’d said it was for Mutt since the two were inseparable, Theodore, however, wasn’t fooled for a second. He’d caught Royce loving on the cat more times than he could count, and Royce was always bringing home matching sweaters and harnesses for the pets. He was now a bona fide ‘cat dad’ and Theodore never let him forget it.

“Sounds good to me. They’ll like the extra time together before Gerald comes to pick them up tomorrow.” Theodore pecked him again. “Oh, and Margarette already rearranged the clinic schedule.”

“So, we’re all clear for wild time.”

Theodore smiled while he kissed Royce again. With Royce’s endless patience, he’d finally stopped resisting and despising his heats. Now he actually kinda had fun during them—despite the brain fog.

He turned back to the pancakes on the griddle as Royce filled the pet food bowls.

“Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Theodore said. His heart was hammering; he shouldn’t be this nervous. “I saw Dr. Shera today.”

Royce’s back went rigid. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, umm, it was a checkup. She’s been monitoring my long-term side effects from the alpha birth control fiasco.”

“Oh, right.” Worry flooded Theodore through their bond. This was not helping his nerves.

“She mentioned my hormone levels, and everything has gotten better, and ah, with my permission, she did some new scans and tests.”

“You went to her hospital for tests? Alone?”

“Freddy was there to get a checkup on his pregnancy. I wasn’t alone. That’s not the point. Well, she mentioned, if it was something I was interested in, I might be able to take some shots, and that, in time, I might, that we might, get pregnant.”

Theodore snuck a peek at Royce over his shoulder. He was staring at Theodore unblinking.

“I mean, it’s not a guarantee,” Theodore added. “And these treatments can come with their own issues and can be emotional, and it’s only if you wanted, we could talk about trying.”

“Is it.” Royce cleared his throat. “Is it something you want?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Amelia did that,” Royce said at last. “The shots. That’s how her and Hershal were able to get pregnant with Daisy. It was … hard on her. I’d hate for you to put yourself through that because it’s something you think I expect of you. You’re perfect the way you are, even without having babies.”

“You really mean that?” Theodore asked. “What with Amelia, Freddy, and Belzora getting pregnant, I thought you’d change your mind.”

To his surprise, Theodore started crying. He’d been nervous to tell Royce about it, but he hadn’t been able to identify why until now. Everyone around them was growing their families and having babies. Despite not admitting it to himself, Theodore had been worried Royce would see that and realize what he was missing being with Theodore.

“Of course I mean that.” Royce crossed the kitchen and took Theodore’s face in his hands. “I don’t love you because of what your body can or can’t do. So what if we can’t make babies.”

“You really don’t resent me for it?”

“Never. You’re perfect and wonderful exactly the way you are. And if anyone tries to suggest otherwise, I’ll happily break their jaw.”

“Deal.”

Royce kissed away the tears on Theodore’s cheeks.

“Come on, no more tears, we have pancakes to eat. Pancakes are happy food.”

Theodore laughed before kissing Royce again and pulling the pancakes off the griddle. They’d hunker down together for another heat, and everything was going to be alright, now and forever. As long as they were together.

The End