Title: Reason to live (part XVIII)
Author: BELOVEDbyWAR
Rating: M
TV verse: Blood Ties
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.
Summary: The last battle continues.
AN: Thanks to luvinmike for proofreading!
Wc: 1391

This is the last chapter. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me till the end. I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Epilogue:

Battered and bruised, but happy that everyone had survived, the six left the scene of crime. It was only a few hours before dawn, which meant that at least two of them would soon be in dire need of refuge from the sun. And the other four wouldn't stay on their feet much longer either. One of them –the smallest – was already quite comfortably snoozing in the strong arms of his 'uncle', while said man was cradled in the side of a now trench coat-wearing Sandulf, whose 'twin' was wedged between Henry and Vicki.

Both had grinned widely as Mike had teased Augustus by saying with feigned offense, "Oh, so you only liked me for my looks!" after having given his naked mirror image his coat.

For that moment, Augustus had stepped out of his lover's embrace and drawn Mike into one, ignoring the then slightly frowning faces of the cop's two loves, and whispered something into the man's ear that made him chuckle and blush.

To Henry and Vicki's great annoyance, the blond refused to reveal what exactly the Roman had said to him. However, his quick look to Sandulf and then back to Augustus before winking in response had revealed enough to make both vampire and woman drag the man out of the ancient vampire's clutches, who promptly, together with his own lover, laughed about their jealous antics.

Soon after, they had split up and left for their respective apartments: Sandulf and Marcus going with Augustus with Vicki and Mike following Henry to his condo.

Once there, the exhausted PI dragged herself to the couch while Mike was quickly ushered into the bathroom and coaxed to sit on the toilet seat to make it easier for Henry to inspect his head. Groaning and complaining that he was fine, Mike only gave in after Vicki yelled at him to quit the bullshit already and let Henry take a look.

But it wasn't only a look the vampire took.

At first the smaller man had inspected the swollen area carefully, making sure everything was as expected, but once he was sure of Mike's well being, Henry's controlled demeanor fell aside quickly.

Vicki completely forgotten for the moment, Henry was upon the waiting human in the blink of an eye, drawing him close and sniffing his hair and neck while his hands inspected each inch of the tall body as if reassuring himself of its soundness. Mike was shocked at first but the feeling swiftly changed to something else entirely as the artist's hands stroked his body possessively and the adrenaline still coursing through him from the night's events roused him to new heights.

Mike knew the feeling, had felt it after a live-threatening situation more than once before. It was the need to reassure yourself of your own and your loved one's survival maybe through the instinct of procreation. All intellectual bullshit aside, he simply needed to feel and Henry seemed to have the same inclination, perhaps even a stronger drive to it seeing that he had started it.

All thought was driven from Mike's mind as the vampire ripped the man's shirt off and pushed it out of the way before he frantically began licking and kissing the warm skin. Next to go were the blond's pants, followed by his shoes and socks, until the cop was completely bare to the vampire's hungry black gaze.

That is he would have been, if his Lordship had taken the time to look, which he didn't. With inhuman speed designer clothes were tossed aside until the last barrier dividing them was gone. Only when skin was touching skin did the vampire calm down a bit. Taking deep calming breaths, Henry drew Mike slowly to the shower stall and turned the warm water on. For a few frozen minutes they simply stood there under the spray just holding each other's hands and gazes, not daring to let go lest one of them would shatter into tiny pieces.

Then, when the urgency had abated a bit, Henry closed the distance and held Mike tight, whispering into the other man's shoulder:

"Thank the Lord for your hard head!"

"Yes, well, it has its uses," the blond commented, trying to lighten the mood after sensing his lover's turmoil.

Softly, he began to draw circles on the vampire's ivory back, successfully distracting him from darker thoughts. After a short time those big hands started to stray to other areas, coaxing sighs and soft moans from the until-then passive smaller man and soon Henry participated enthusiastically.

Lips meshed in passionate long kisses as tongues battled for dominance. But even that couldn't satisfy their need for each other. With one strong push Mike had Henry against the wall and before the vampire knew it found himself swallowed whole.

"Lord! Miikkeee!"

Almost lazily the blond - now that he had what he wanted – enjoyed his lover's body, for once having no problem with kneeling in front of 'His Majesty'.

"Yes?" he asked, all the while nibbling and kissing the beautiful engorged organ.

"God, don't stop!"

"As your Lordship wishes!"

With these words all verbal communication ceased and all that remained were groans of appreciation and urgency.

What they hadn't expected was another voice's soft gasp soon joining theirs.

And as they turned to its source, they shouldn't have been too surprised to find a wide-eyed Vicki looking at them, her mouth agape.

Embarrassed at being caught in flagranti delicti, Mike tried to explain:

"Vicki," but a finger to his lips silenced the blond quickly.

Searchingly, Henry looked at the woman, but found no signs of disgust or jealousy. He took a deep breath of relief, which revealed an even more interesting fact to him: her smell.

The air was filled with pheromones and he was practically overwhelmed by the scent of her arousal. Licking his lips, he offered her a hand in invitation and, to their collective astonishment, she didn't hesitate at all but shed her clothes on her way to join them.

Even years later Henry would still smile, thinking about the time Mike and he had wasted working against each other, when all it had taken to win Vicki over was for them to 'work' together.

***

To Henry's great annoyance, Augustus became a constant visitor to his city. The friendship the Roman had built with Mike only grew over time and Sandulf, Marcus, and he were adopted by the Celluci family within months. Mike's grandmother seemed especially taken by the charming brunet, as they would talk for hours in her mother tongue over the wonders of Italy.

During the school year, Marcus would stay with his parents while Augustus and Sandulf would travel the world and catch up on their time spent apart.

Now that the blond was free of the druid's bonds, he only had to change during full moons. He still was not a normal werewolf, but no one searched for a way to lift that particular curse, considering it a small price to pay since it allowed Augustus and Sandulf to live their lives together.

For the first time in a long while, life was good and could hardly get any better.

That is, until scarcely a year later when Vicki stormed unannounced into the precinct (Mike had indeed only be suspended as a disciplinary measure and escaped with only a warning), announcing, annoyed and happy at the same time:

"Great! Well done, Mike. You're going to be my baby daddy!"

Kate's wheezing in the background was completely ignored as Mike jumped up and enveloped Vicki in a bone-crushing hug. The smiling young man standing in the back was soon tackled next, to the astonishment of all onlookers.

"You knew!" the soon-to-be father accused the younger man.

"Of course!" he answered proudly.

"We all knew."

Came from even further back as two other newcomers – one light, one dark – joined the trio. The blond tapped his nose in explanation, which triggered Mike's loud groan, but was quickly silenced by a chuckle as each friend congratulated him and Vicki. And wonder of wonders, even Crowley, having been unable to ignore the spectacle, offered her well wishes.

Looking at the people around him, one thing became quite clear. Life would never be ordinary again! But Mike didn't care, because he had never had so many reasons to live!

***

The End

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