Sunset: Chapter 6

Hey wonderful readers, this is the final chapter for Sunset, thus making it the first fic I actually finished! Yay! I want to thank you all who have followed this, and those who will read this long after it's done. You are the people who give me the inspiration to finish my writing, and to get better at it. When you read this, I hope you decide to stick with me as I write more about this world and others. Happy reading!

***

Jack, Cliff, and Claire were running low on time, Rick crazed and hyperactive behind them, wielding what appeared to be a large pointy cherry tree branch. Turning his head, Cliff thought he could he could see a squirrel hanging from the base, clutching a nut against its furry chest. Passing by Yodel Farm, the complacent sheep and cows staring at them, as if their rushing was just another human thing that didn't make any sense whatsoever, Jack couldn't help looking over at Cliff. Seeing the sweat cascade down his body, the look of total and complete determination in his eyes, his heart beat even faster, reaching impossible speeds for a mere human. Not that love was something in the mere realm of possibility.

They ran past the cobblestone spread of Rose Square, the whitewashed church and desolate graveyard, never once resting until they reached the Mayor's house. Politeness not even an option, they rushed right in, nearly running over Harris, who was just getting ready to make his rounds for the day. In a mad jumble of words and sounds they tried to explain everything to him.

"I was just sitting there and he came up and….."

"Found him trying to hoard him like a son of…."

"Biggest freaking sex freak since…"

"I was afraid I wasn't going to make it…"

"STOP"

Harris, brushing himself off, calmed them down and managed to get a summary of the events from Claire, the only one who wasn't near emotional breakdown because of Jacks kidnapping-maybe-almost-rape event. Holding Jack tightly in his arms, Cliff gave Harris such a look he could only agree that Rick had to be stopped.

A pounding of epic proportions could be heard at the door, before a sudden THWACK, the door crashing to the floor, its hinges flapping like ducks trying to escape hunters. Rick stood there, hair fraying every possible way and a few questionable ones, eyes having mini seizures, he looked like a madman. Harris slowly approached him, voice taking on a calming quality.

"Now Rick, try and be rational. You don't really want to hurt anyone."

Rick's eyes moved over towards Cliff, who was clutching Jack even tighter. Whatever thread that managed to keep him tied to reality broke, and he grabbed a small lamp from a side table and moved in on the two beaux. Without giving it a second thought, Claire grabbed her hammer out of her endless rucksack and smacked him over the head with it. Repeatedly. Falling to the floor with a very ungraceful THUMP, Harris poked him with his nightstick to make sure he wasn't conscious. Eventually satisfied, he grabbed his pair of handcuffs, shiny and never once used, and bound Rick to his fate for would what they hoped be a long time.

***

Sitting in front of the Inn's fireplace on a plush loveseat, glasses of wine in their hands, Jack and Cliff cuddled. Claire was behind them sitting at the bar, retelling their story for the third time that day (the second was to Dr. Trent and Eli, who had to patch up a few wounds on both parties), and waving her mug of beer around at the exciting parts. Watching his sister with embarrassment and a tint of pride as well, Jack turned towards Cliff and gave him a soft, tender kiss. The warmth of their bodies together beat out the heat of the fire, and they only had eyes for each other.

"Jack," Cliff said, putting his head gently on Jack's, inhaling the scent of his orange shampoo and Jack-ness, "This experience today was just so random and crazy…but it helped me realize something."

Jack looked up at his boyfriend. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you again."

"Well, as long as no one else around her goes insane, everything should be fine."

Cliff shifted, moving down to the floor, kneeling, facing Jack. A scrap of blue peeked out of his pants pocket. Gently extracting it, he held it in his palm like he would the most delicate of roses.

"Jack, I love you more than anything. I want to be with you forever, overcome every obstacle with you at my side. Jack, will you marry me?"

Tears welled up in Jack's eyes. Granted, it was corny and overdone and probably the cheesiest thing ever, but it was HIS cheesy moment, HIS corny proposal, and it was everything he had ever dreamed of. Going down to kneel with his love, he said with complete honesty. "Yes, a million times yes!" Sharing a passionate, blush forming kiss; they heard the rest of the Inn burst in applause as they rose. Mineral Town had always wanted to say they had a fashionable gay couple, and the announced marriage only made them happier. Carter, who was in the crowd, came up to the two young lovers and began talking wedding plans with them.

Standing there, awestruck and a tad bit sentimental, was Claire. In her slight drunken haze she felt a hand slip around her waist. Surprisingly, it was Harris. Popping another swig of Pine Mountain Beer in her mouth, she turned towards him and planted a kiss square on his lips. She needed a place to go for the night anyway. She had a feeling that the young couple needed privacy.

***

Fall had just begun, and the townspeople crowded into the church, Mary's organ playing drifting along the autumn breeze. Cliff stood at the altar in his coal black tuxedo, a white lily corsage pinned to his breast. Shifting balance from one foot to the other, he kept glancing back to the front of the aisle. May came out clad in a frilly, yet simple, pink dress, tossing rose petals, followed by Jack and Claire. He was wearing a tuxedo just like Cliff's, except eggshell white. One arm was around Claire, who was giving him away; the other clutched a bouquet of black roses. After what seemed like a short lifetime, they met at the altar and went through the ceremony, all the while staring into the depths of each other's eyes. Sealing it with a kiss, momentarily stopping the flow of time itself, they left the church, and headed to the port, where they would catch the next ferry and spend a real honeymoon away from what had become a real home for the both of them. Waving good-bye as the ship left port, they shared yet another kiss, this one as passionate as the last was pure, and headed off into the world as two halves of a whole.

***

Well, how was it? I know it wasn't the most surprising ending, or a great ending period, but I felt, for now, that this is where the characters want to be. Maybe, just maybe, coming back from their honeymoon will tie up some loose ends, and hopefully cause a few new ones. But that is to be determined by you, the readers. So tell me if you want a sequel! Until then, take a look at Faith in Forever, which I need to start working on now that this project is over. Like it or Hate it, review please! And again, I want to thank you all for making this accomplishment become a reality. *Hugs* to you all! CSG