AN: And here's the epilogue! I wrote this yesterday in one sitting (I stayed up till 3 AM why am I like this :'D) and I've only edited once this morning, so excuse any typos or funny sentences or whatever there might be. Hope you enjoy it! n_n

THE PERKS OF BALCONING

Epilogue. Heaven (Bryan Adams)

Antonio opened the door to his apartment and walked in, tossed his keys at the hall table, and announced himself: "I'm home."

"How was work?" Arthur's voice called from the living room. He was sprawled on the couch, reading a book that he put down the moment Antonio walked in.

"Summer has officially started."

"You got a British tourist with a broken limb as a result of jumping from a balcony?"

"I got two."

"Idiots."

"Oh yes." Antonio laughed and sat next to Arthur, pecking him on the lips. "Idiots, all of them."

"It's a good thing you're going to be away for the summer then."

"God yes. Oh, I talked to Francis about our road-trip plans and he kept insisting we go to Paris."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Did you mention it's supposed to be a road-trip around Spain?"

"Yes, but you know him. João, too, insisted we visit like a trillion places in Portugal."

"We could consider that. Portugal is virtually the same as Spain."

"Congratulations, you've just offended two countries with just one sentence."

Arthur smiled, smug, as if he were admitting that that had been his intention from the start. Antonio was torn between smacking him or kissing him again.

"Any news on Gilbert?" Arthur asked after a moment.

"Well…" Antonio sighed. "He and Ivan are still undecided about the date, but last I heard they were considering sometime in September?"

"I still think they got engaged too early."

"They'd been together for over two years."

"And already been engaged and undecided about something as simple as a date for the wedding for nearly one," Arthur replied. "Ludwig is more concerned about all that than either of them."

"They're in no hurry. Let them take their time, Mister Grumpy."

Arthur frowned at him and smacked him with his book.

"Grumpy," Antonio repeated, this time smiling mischievously.

"Whatever. Ah! I made a list of places we should visit in our road-trip."

Arthur grabbed his phone and started to read a list out-loud, but Antonio was barely listening. All his attention was focused on the way his lover's lips moved as he spoke, on the beautiful freckles that adorned his cheeks and nose, on his tousled blond hair and the way it fell on his face.

Fuck, he was beautiful.

"Do you know which is a very pretty town?" he interrupted.

Arthur stopped reading and glanced at him. "Which one?"

"Cuenca. Wanna see it?" Antonio winked suggestively at him.

Confused, Arthur blinked slowly. "Is… Is that supposed to be a code for something?" he asked, genuinely confused.

Of course he hadn't caught it. Antonio pursed his lips to hold back a smile, but he was unable to hide the amused glint in his eyes as he lovingly stared at Arthur. "You're adorable," he finally said.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Come here," Antonio demanded, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist and pulling him close.

"Not until you tell me—hey, Antonio, tell me what the fuck that was supposed to—Antonio!"

Growling (yet enjoying the attention at the same time), Arthur tried to pry free from Antonio's octopus hold.

"Noooo," Antonio whined when he attempted to stand up. "Where are you going?"

"To jump off the balcony, see if I find myself a man who loves me more," Arthur replied.

And then, suddenly, he was being pulled back with more strength than before, and seconds later he was sat on Antonio's lap, his breath warm against his ear when he whispered: "Good luck with that."

Arthur shivered when Antonio's lips caressed his neck, first with soft nibbles, then with open-mouthed kisses. "T-That thing you said before…" he gasped, trying to control his voice so as not to show how much it was affecting him. "It was something dirty, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps…" Antonio smiled against his skin, and Arthur gave in.

He turned in Antonio's arms, changing from sitting on his lap to a more comfortable—and dominant— straddling, and, without missing a second, grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him on the mouth.

Antonio was happy to kiss back, and happier to slide a hand under Arthur's clothes. He lived for moments like this, just the two of them sharing their all with the other. He wouldn't change them for anything.

"Antonio…" Arthur mumbled when they parted, and there was something in his voice that let him know there was a question coming next.

"Yes?"

"We… We've been together for just as long as Gil and Ivan, right?"

"Give or take a few days, but basically, yes. Why?"

Arthur bit his lip and looked away. "Are they going too fast or is it us who are going too slow?" he asked, a certain quivering in his voice.

"They have their pace; we follow ours," Antonio answered, as if it were the simplest thing in the universe. He took a hand to Arthur's cheek and made him look at him. "It doesn't matter if it's fast or slow, only that we're comfortable with it."

A quiet smile made it to Arthur's face. He put a hand over Antonio's and placed a kiss on his palm. "I am comfortable."

"That's good," Antonio breathed out, staring at Arthur with spellbound eyes. "That's very good."

Carefully, he laid Arthur back on the couch and crawled over him. They kissed again as eager hands started to explore, getting rid of annoying clothes that wouldn't let them reach the skin beneath.

As Arthur gasped in his ear and scratched his back, Antonio thought that he, too, was comfortable with their pace.

But the engagement ring he'd been hiding in his nightstand for a couple of days surely was getting impatient.

FIN

AN: Non-Spaniards must be very confused about Antonio's comment about Cuenca. Hehe. So there's this expression in Spain, "poner mirando para Cuenca" (which translates to "to put someone looking at Cuenca", more or less?) which basically means to have sex. Don't ask me why, because I have no fucking clue, but it's a very common expression here in Spain. (It's also very common to jokingly ask people from Cuenca where they put people to look at :P) So, there. You now know some more stupid info about Spain you may never use in your life. You're welcome. (But I'll also add that the city of Cuenca is indeed very pretty and you should check it out if you ever have the chance.)

Aaaaand this is it! Thanks to everyone who's read this and taken a moment to leave a review, y'all are the best and I love you! n_n One last review will be very welcome (also, it's my birthday tomorrow, so, like, I'd appreciate it even more :P)

Cheers!