How Could I Say No?

Epilogue

Jordan shuffled outside to find Christofer standing on the balcony, leaning against the rail. He stared thoughtfully into space as he puffed a cigarette and drummed his fingers against the metal of the rail. The sun was just rising and the air was thick with a chilly humidity characteristic of a summer morning in Florida.

 As he heard the door slide open, Chris jumped and turned at the noise, frantically trying to put out his cigarette, but he knew he’d been busted.

“I thought you’d be asleep longer,” he mumbled awkwardly. His lover smiled in reply and wrapped his arms around Christofer’s thin torso.

“I’ll pretend like I didn’t see anything,” Jordan smirked and pecked him on the lips once before repeating the motion, only deeper.

“Can you believe it’s been three years?” Christofer hummed against the other boy’s lips after a brief silence.

“Not at all. It’s gone by so fast…and what’s weird is that I always figured that we’d become one of those couples who get used to each other.” Chris raised his eyebrows in confusion and waited for Jordan to continue. “Like…they love each other, but they’re ok with little things like sitting on opposite sides of the room when they watch TV, or not holding hands in public and stuff like that. I guess they get too comfortable and it makes them lazy.”

“Yeah…” Chris nodded. “That’ll never happen to us.”

“Good morning over there!”

The pair looked over to see Jack and Alex standing on the balcony next to them, looking equally as groggy. Jordan waved while Chris merely smiled.

“Epcot today?” Jack suggested. “Jordan needs to get drunk.”

The short boy groaned in frustration as he received three impish grins. Nobody had been able to let go of that night all those years ago, especially not the two All Time Low members, who’d been trying to get him drunk ever since.

“Awh don’t be like that, Jordan,” Alex chirped. “Please?”

“Nope.” Jordan stated with an overemphasized eye roll.

“Well can we at least come over so we aren’t yelling back and forth and waking up everyone in the hotel?” Jack asked.

The couple chuckled and then motioned for them to come over. A few moments later there was a knock on the door and the friends strutted in casually and plopped down on the couch. Chris couldn’t help but smile, for they’d done this so many times. Jordan would bust him on the porch smoking a morning cigarette then Jack and Alex would appear out of nowhere, just as they always did to interrupt the moment he’d be having with his husband. Then they would come over to their room to attempt to plan out the day, but end up having time wasting banter for a few hours before they could.

But he loved it, all of them did. This was a special place to them, not just because it was where Jordan and Chris started their lives together, but because this is where the four of them truly bonded and Jack and Alex became practically like adopted brothers to the couple. It was where they went to help ease the heart break Alex went through—though he’d never admit it—after the end of his relationship with Tay. It was where they went when they needed to forget the troubles of the real world, and it was where they went when they wanted to feel totally and completely at ease.

Their trips were an annual affair, though they often joked about pooling their money together to buy Cinderella’s castle as a new home, but Jordan or Christofer was always sure to point out that the idea was probably just a way for Jack and Alex to give in to their secret urges.

The couple could hear the sound of their friends opening the door to their room and heading towards the balcony, though, only Jack made it back.

“Where’s Alex?” Jordan raised his eyebrows and peeked over the guitarist’s shoulder.

“What? He’s right there…” Jack trailed off as he peered backwards in confusion. “Alex?” he called out curiously.

“Just one second,” the singer’s voice came from the bedroom. The trio exchanged a glance as Alex popped into view a minute later, holding a little girl proudly on his hip. She had a big smile on her face as she fidgeted around with the sparkly tiara that adorned her head. “I had to rouse Princess Camilla from her slumber!”

“Princess Camilla!” Jack gasped dramatically. “Look how beautiful she is!”

Camilla giggled from all the attention and clung tightly onto Alex, her eyes wide with admiration for him.

It’d been six months since Jordan and Chris adopted her, but they’d been attached to her from day one. Alex especially had taken a shine to her, constantly buying her little trinkets and taking her on short outings whenever he got the chance. It worried Jordan at first. The looks he and Christofer got when they picked her up from preschool were bad enough. The last thing they needed was for Alex to come off as some sort of “third” father type figure with absolutely no women in the picture at all. But then Chris would remind Jordan that she used to have nobody. No mothers or fathers or uncles or anything. Though their methods weren’t traditional in the least, she had people that loved her and that was all that mattered.

Alex set Camilla down and she bee lined enthusiastically towards Jordan and Christofer, taking off her tiara and holding it before her as she ran. “Oh my goodness, did Uncle Alex get that for you?” Jordan smiled softly.

She nodded proudly and put the crown back on her head. “He said a pretty princess needs a pretty crown!”

“He’s right,” Christofer chirped and scooped her off the ground, causing her to shriek and giggle in surprise. “So…who’s ready to go see Mickey Mouse?”

“Me! Me! I want to have a fairytale day!” the little girl bounced up and down, earning chuckles from the others.

“Alright, princess,” Chris cooed and kissed her on the forehead before turning to his husband and friends. “Let’s head out.”

“You know Camilla,” Jack began thoughtfully as the group paraded out of the room. “You better be careful. It’s very magical out there. You wouldn’t want to go falling in love with a prince or something!”

“I want to fall in love with a prince!” she squeaked.

“Not until you’re older,” Jordan scolded playfully.

“Why can’t she fall in love with a prince here?” Alex teased, clearly becoming amused from the protective father mode that Jordan and Christofer were visibly entering.

“Because she’s too young,” Chris grunted.

“But you fell in love with your prince here,” Alex retorted sarcastically, earning a blush from the boys and a questioning gaze from their daughter. “You see,” he said whimsically. “Once upon a time, there was an evil queen named Katelyn and she broke Prince Jordan’s heart…”

It was strange, but amusing to hear the tale of their romance being told in the form of a children’s tale. Especially to their own daughter, but everyone found themselves captivated by Alex’s words, especially the passion with which he’d laced them. Here it was laid out before them, the struggles they overcame, the good times and the bad times, all leading up to this point in time.

Their happily ever after.

The end.

I'M SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER. I didn't know how to end it...so ta da! Here it is. Sadly there won't be a sequel, though I did have a ton of fun writing it and I'll miss it a lot now that it's done. Thanks to everyone who supported me and this story. It means a lot :)