Here is Chapter 26 of Afte
Chapter 26: The Night They Promised Forever
The fire crackled softly in the hearth.
Outside the cabin, the wind sang through the trees, rustling pine needles like a lullaby. But inside, time slowed — suspended between candlelight, shared breath, and the velvet promise of forever.
They hadn't moved from the floor where Elliot proposed.
Still kneeling, Julian ran his fingers gently over the ring, now wrapped around his finger like a promise he could feel. His hands trembled slightly as he looked up at Elliot.
"You're really mine," he whispered.
Elliot leaned in, forehead pressed to Julian's. "I always have been."
They kissed.
Slowly.
Softly.
At first, there was no urgency. Just mouths exploring, learning the taste of something deeper now — something permanent. Elliot's hands moved to Julian's waist, lifting him gently onto his lap. Julian's legs straddled him as they deepened the kiss, lips brushing, then pressing firmer, tongues sliding together in a rhythm they'd long since memorized.
"You still want this?" Elliot murmured against his mouth.
Julian looked down, pupils wide, voice shaking with emotion. "I want all of you."
Elliot kissed him like a man anchoring a storm. "Then come with me."
---
The bedroom was dimly lit, only the flicker of firelight dancing across the sheets. Elliot peeled Julian's shirt off slowly, like unwrapping something sacred. His fingers brushed every inch of newly healed skin, pausing over old scars with reverence.
Julian did the same, hands roaming down Elliot's back, over the muscles that had held him, carried him, lifted him from his lowest.
There was no rush.
They undressed each other with care, folded clothes onto the chair instead of tossing them. This wasn't frenzied. It wasn't raw.
It was deliberate.
Each kiss meant something. Each sigh was answered with a whispered name.
Elliot laid Julian back on the bed and hovered above him, one hand cradling his cheek.
"You're beautiful," he whispered.
Julian smiled, tears in his eyes. "Then make love to me like you believe it."
And he did.
Every touch asked permission. Every movement came with whispered questions — "Here?", "Like this?", "Still okay?"
Julian said yes. Again. And again. Until he wasn't saying anything at all, just feeling — the weight of Elliot's body, the rhythm of their hearts syncing, the warmth between them building into something sacred.
When they reached the edge, it was together.
Not desperate. Not loud.
Just two people coming home.
After, Elliot didn't move.
He lay beside Julian, chest against his back, one arm across his waist, hand resting on the ring.
"I used to dream of this," Elliot whispered.
"Of what?" Julian murmured sleepily.
"Of you — safe, whole, mine."
Julian took his hand and kissed his knuckles. "I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."
---
The next morning, they packed their things in golden silence — a quiet kind of joy humming between them.
Elliot drove back to the city with one hand on the wheel and the other holding Julian's. Julian didn't let go once.
When they walked into the office that Monday, every head turned.
Julian wore a fitted black button-up, sleeves rolled just enough to show the silver band on his ring finger.
Elliot? He wore the smuggest smile known to mankind.
At the elevator, someone finally whispered, "Are you two—?"
Elliot smiled. "Engaged."
Julian beamed beside him.
And for the first time, their love wasn't hidden behind closed doors, or afraid of rules and whispers.
It was loud.
It was official.
It was theirs.