Pawtners in Crime | Skephalo

Epilogue

"It's not that bad! I know when to not run a red-light and how to not run people over!" He pouted, but I wasn't buying it one bit. I placed my hand on his shoulder, grasping it tightly before I spoke again.

"Come on, let's go back inside. We can watch a Christmas movie and cuddle." I knew my face got a teensy-bit redder at the thought of that, I just hope he didn't notice my flushed expression. I pulled my hand away, beginning to go to the door before he grabbed onto my sleeve.

"Wait..." He mumbled, and I abruptly stopped to look back at him. He wasn't looking at me this time, before yanking my arm back, causing me to almost crash into him. I threw my hand out against the wall for support, pushing away once I regained my bearings. Zak still had a death-grip on my sleeve.

"What the muffin?! Be careful!" I scolded him, and the smaller boy laughed at my schooling. "Seriously, I could've hurt you!"

"I knew what I was doing," he retaliated, looking up to meet my eyes, "I wasn't going to get hurt!"

I frowned and looked down, examining his light-blue attire a little closer. "Are you hurt?" I questioned, feeling utterly confused but also attempting to contain small laughter.

"Only hurt that your lips aren't on mine." He complained swiftly, leaving me alone to piece together the puzzle. Realization hits like a train. He fell into a giggling fit-- I was probably really red right now.

"W-Wha-- Why-- I-" I stuttered helplessly, watching as he calmed down and moved to place his hands on my shoulders.

"Come onnn, I have something for you later." He whined, leaning in to place a short kiss on my lips. Well, no complaints here. It's a spell he puts me under, I swear.

After he had pulled away, I went in for another kiss. And another. And another. At this point, we were full-on making out in the middle of the hallway. Once that thought crossed my intoxicated-ridden brain, I pulled away for one final time. "Why'd you stop?" He panted out, leaving me to lean my lips against his forehead in sheer exhaustion from the adrenaline. Probably time to sit back down on the couch and cuddle with my dogs.

"We're in the middle of the hallway, isn't this some sort of violation?" I giggled, thoughts muffled from Zak's face against mine. He audibly huffed, mumbling an answer I hadn't quite caught. I pulled away from his body, ending up with no resistance this time. "Plus, my hands are freezing. Let's go back inside." I took a few steps, and he followed. He even went to grab my hands, his warm against my own. I opened the door to our apartment, watching as everyone's face turned to me. Most of them went back to chatting, but Dave, Clay, and George specifically had a distinct smirk on their face that made my face flush up.

"Oh, right. I said I had something for you, didn't i?" He asked me- most likely a rhetorical question, because I was being dragged across the living room and into the hallway to the far left of the front door. He pulled me down the hall, and I think I was the only one who hadn't noticed Lucy at my side before he shut our bedroom door on her.

This time, she wasn't whining and crying for me outside the door. Either she was waiting patiently, or leaving to go sit on the warm couch again. We had gotten much better on the separation anxiety thing-- something vital for when she retires. I had barely noticed that I was staring at the door, and watched as Zak stared at me before going to his nightstand dresser and digging around in one of the drawers. 

The lights in here were dim, since we hadn't been in our room since the party started around 7pm. It was so warm, I didn't want to leave. I noticed my legs lead me across the room, and I sat down on my bed and crossed my legs. I took a deep breath, feeling confused most of all- not from any questions I had roaming in my head, just brain-fog, probably. 

Zak snapped his fingers against each other next to my ear, causing my attention to direct at him. "Hey, don't do that!" I complained, noticing the hand behind his back. My expression changed from distant, to flustered, to a look of actual confusion within a second or two. "What's that?"

The boy, standing above me, cleared his throat a bit before holding out a flat little box. I tilted my head a little, watching as he turned around to open it and hold whatever was inside in his hands.

"I hope it's not weird or anything, but I just got it last night, so-" He explained with a hint of nervousness laced in his voice as he held out the item in his hand. I peered in, noticing it had been just a small link-chain, holding a blue and red mixed pendant at the end. I do enjoy wearing necklaces- especially the cutesy ones, I'm not gonna lie. It just gave me a sense of security. Over the last few years, Zak has had to remind me to take off the necklace I was wearing before I went to sleep more times than I could count. Something about being uncomfortable while snuggling- I don't remember.  

I took the item carefully in my hand, letting  a small smile grace my face. "Do you like it?" He asked, peering down at me to get a better look at my expression. I hopped up from the bed, holding the necklace tightly in one hand as I threw both arms around his neck. I hugged him tightly, feeling his hands wrap instinctively around my waist. I felt at home here.

"I love you," I told him, unable to contain a little giggle.

"I'm happy." He commented after, and I could tell he was smiling like an idiot-- as he often was. I stumbled a little in the embrace, yelping as he tried to help stabilize us both. It didn't work, and I went crashing back on the bed behind us.

Instead of 'I'm sorry's or 'are you okay', we just burst out laughing. I'm pretty sure we could be heard throughout the whole apartment-- maybe even the neighboring apartments, but we could care less. We are weird-- weird together.

Zak pushed himself off of me as the laughter toned down, and I think we both noticed our awkward position. "How forward," he commented and I pushed his face further away when I realized what he was suggesting.

"Shut up, it wasn't on purpose!" I complained, feeling another smile tug at my lips.

"Whenever you're ready!" He laughed, and I sat up so he couldn't bother me anymore.

"Whatever, you muffin."

"You love muffins." He remarked unconsciously, staring out our window before his eyes met mine. For a moment, I could feel the sweet tension.

"Yeah, I do." I placed my hands in my lap, feeling my eyes water a little bit. I love him. "I love them a lot."

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Word Count: 1873 words

how did y'all manage to make me write an epilogue after I already set the story as complete... DAMN

p.s a little Easter egg, the story [before this] takes place in 2018, I just forgot to add that in