Epilogue

Six months later

" Colby, get down from there!"

Dean stood with his hands on his hips frustrated. This was the third time this week. They had rented a nice house with a backyard on the outskirts of the city. It was a nice location at first but however Colby had taken to climbing the tree in the backyard but couldn't get himself back down.

The cat drew back from the branch until it reached the trunk of the tree and meowed down at Dean. Each time he did this Roman insisted that Dean be the one to go and fetch him down. It was a part of the trust building exercise that was needed for them to bond. Roman got that gibberish from the pet therapist that he had forced Dean to see before they had left New York. Roman had said that he was tired of Dean and Colby not getting along and that he had wanted them to resolve their issues. At first Dean had thought that Roman had been joking when he mentioned the therapist. It wasn't until Roman had pulled up in front of the building that Dean realized that he had been serious. He had been adament about not going because he found it silly until Roman told him that it would mean a lot to him if he and Colby got along. And well, Dean wasn't one to deny Roman anything especially when it was followed by puppy dog eyes and a sweet kiss.

Dean sighed and kicked off his shoes. He grabbed the first branch and hauled himself up until he reached the cat. He was just thankful that the tree wasn't that tall. He picked up Colby who latched on to his shirt. His tiny claws ripping through the material and pricking his skin.

" Hey, not so tight."

Colby meowed in response as Dean held him in one arm and began his descent.

" I have a feeling that you do this on purpose."

Colby meowed again and Dean took it as confirmation. As soon as his bare feet touched the grass, the cat scampered down and ran inside the house.

Dean carefully lit the candles that he had arranged around the suken jacuzzi. It was on the deck outside of their bedroom overlooking the now twilight infused backyard. He wasn't really good at the romantic thing. That was more of Roman's forte. However, somehow to him, tonight felt good for some romance.

The week that they had come down to check out Las Vegas, Roman had immediately gotten lots of job offers from the top hotels along the strip to work as a personal trainer. Apparently Roman had the aesthetic that they were looking for and the credentials to back it up. He ended up picking the one with the highest pay and benefits and he seemed to be quite happy there for the past few months.

He lit the last candle and admired the pretty, soft flickering flames glowing against the dark wood of the floor. The temperature had dipped significantly as it tended to in a desert and Dean could feel the coolness circulating in the air.

" There you are."

Dean stood up, smiling bashfully as Roman joined him on the deck.

" What's all of this?" Roman folded his arms and cocked his head to a side smirking at Dean.

" I...uh..." Dean found himself being surprising bashful and tousling his hair. " I just wanted to do something nice... for you." He sheepishly glanced up at Roman and then back down to the ground.

He heard Roman stepping closer to him and then strong arms pulling him in close. His own arms locking around Roman's waist. His head resting on his boyfriend's shoulder. Fingers gently raking through his unruly auburn mop and a kiss being pressed to his temple. It was then that Dean realized that this was what he needed the most. Roman's approval. The comfort in knowing that what he did, as little as it was, didn't go unappreciated. He could feel the constant rise and fall of Roman's chest against his own and it brought with it a serenity that he hadn't know in his life before and he wanted to keep it as long as possible.

" So Dolph and Kofi are flying in next week." Roman said as he placed the wine glass down on the floorboard.

The shadows from the flames were flickering across Dean's face as he sat at the opposite end of the jacuzzi. That messy hair almost obscuring one blue eye. A warm glow on healthy pink skin. Lips tinted a rosier colour from the wine. Dean was everything that he had ever wanted. The darkness of the night was their backdrop.

He watched as the man flicked the water with his long fingers. " So you think Dolph has forgiven me as yet?"

Roman laughed softly. " I think so." He stretched his fingers through the water to meet Dean's. He gave him a slight tug and instinctively his boyfriend moved closer until he was straddling Roman's lap.

He admired the way how the soapy water slid over Dean's defined pecs and abs. Dean had taken to running in the surrounding desert and it had done is body well. Roman leaned in, inhaling the fresh scent of the bubbles as he planted a kiss in between Dean's pecs. He let his lips linger there as he spoke to Dean. " Is there something else on your mind?"

Trust Roman to know that there was something else. His fingers twisted through a long dark strand as he contemplated his answer. " I'm sorry that I haven't been able to find a permanent gig. It's kinda hard out there when there is literally nothing that you can put on your resume."

Roman's arm circled Dean's neck. " Hey, it's okay. I make more than enough to support both of us. You'll figure something out."

" I just feel like such a mooch." Dean sighed and Roman kissed him softly.

" Hey none of that talk. You supported us when we first moved out here. Now it's my turn. I don't want you to do anything that you're not comfortable with just to make a buck." Roman moved one hand underneath the water to cup Dean's ass. " I love you too much for that."

It had never ceased to amaze Roman how a simple kiss from Dean could send tingles straight down his spine. How the natural symphony of their lips and tongues moving to an ingrained rhythm turned him on beyond belief. The press of Dean's thumb against his collar bone and his naked ass rubbing against his shaft helped as well.

His tongue flicked over Dean's nipples as the first finger entered Dean. The auburn haired man moaned so loudly that Colby scampered out on to the deck to see what was the matter. When he saw what the two men were up to, he curled up in a corner of the deck and watched with rapt attention. That cat was always too nosy for its own good Roman thought as he continued to work his fingers into Dean.

His partner was marking his neck with his lips and teeth as Roman stretched him with three fingers. He could feel his cock pulsing underwater as he removed his fingers. He needed to be inside of him at this very moment. Instinctively Dean positioned himself without stopping his assault on Roman's neck and shoulder. Roman pressed the head of his cock against Dean's entrance and pushed it in slowly.

Dean's moan was a mix of pleasure and pain as Roman entered him. His eyes closed. He panted hotly against Roman's neck as his fingers fought for purchase on the slippery skin.

" Fuck!" The way how Dean said it as Roman started to pump his hips into him turned him on even more. But Dean was giving it as good as he got as he rotated his hips on Roman's cock and kept their lips locked together.

This was the very essence of them. Roman and Dean. The push and the pull. The heavy and the light. The tension and chemistry. They were okay apart but together they were everything. They were friends, brothers, lovers and some would even say soulmates. They drew on each other's strengths and covered the other's weaknesses. Their lips tore apart as they came together, unable to keep the momentum bottled up inside. They panted into each other's mouths as they tried to steady their racing hearts.

Dean was looking at him through half opened hazy eyes and Roman grabbed the back of his head to keep it steady.

" Through sickness and health, for richer or poorer." His eyes locked with Dean's. " Remember, we're going to saying that for real next week." Dean nodded his head in understanding. " I mean every single word of that."

The haze left the blue eyes and they became clear and bright once more. He loved the man whose lap that he was still sitting on more than life itself and it no longer scared him like it used to. Instead he embraced it. He rubbed his thumb over Roman's bottom lip. " Me too."

Colby yawned.

THE END

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you guys so much for your unwaivering support for the past seven months. I truly do appreciate. In fact I left you guys a voice note on my tumblr page on Tuesday ( my tumblr is on my profile page) thanking you so much for being with me on this journey.

I have so many reviewers to thank that I can't write out all of the names this time. But you guys know who you are. And some of you reviewed every single chapter, thank you so much. And many thanks to those who favourited, followed and recommended the fic. First you guys gave me the most popular Ambrolleigns fic with " Baby Boy" and then most popular Rolleigns fic with " Summer Solstice" and now again, the Ambreigns fic with " Latch." You guys are super amazing!

Okay so coming up this weekend, someone had asked me to do some readings from Baby Boy which will be posted on my tumblr so I will be doing that. Now I can concentrate on " Roses and Fire". You guys this story is such a mammoth undertaking for what I have planned for it. I know it's going to burn me the fuck out when I'm done which is why I'll be taking a break from writing novel length fanfiction. Oneshots and the like are still a go.

I don't know what else to say other than THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Love always – Sparkles Blue.