Page 74 of Jonathon, After All

“I should have seen it and encouraged it sooner. She’s almost pleasant now and I’ve caught Markus smiling on several occasions. I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen that man smile.”

“Good for them. And for us,” Jonathon said. “She’s too busy to meddle in our business and they deserve to be happy too.”

“I agree with most of that,” Leo replied. “Like you said, Markus might be too good for her.”

Jonathon gasped and gave Leo’s ribs a jab. “Stop!” he scolded, but turned for a kiss. “Remember: we’re the heroes of this fairy tale, not the villains.”

“Right. Not the villains,” Leo agreed.

Jonathon’s nose wrinkled as he considered. “Muriel’s a bit of a villain.”

That made Leo laugh. “No, she isn’t.”

“You’ve never had to live with her for more than a month,” Jonathon said. “We’ll see what you think of Aunt Muriel six months from now,” he warned, but Leo waved it off.

“As long as I’m your hero, I don’t care about anyone else. And I think I can handle an elderly woman from Manhattan.”

A satisfied sigh wafted from Jonathon as he hugged Leo’s arm. “It’s always fun when people underestimate Muriel.”

“What? Why?” Leo asked warily.

“Never mind. Go on.”

With that, Leo cleared his throat and they settled into The Frog Prince. It wasn’t long before Jonathon was yawning and drifting off in the crook of Leo’s arm. Leo closed the book and set it aside, content to brush his fingers through Jonathon’s hair and as he told him a new story.

Like the rest of Leo’s life, their fairy tale had a magical beginning but took a tragic turn. Instead of a kiss, it was a gin and tonic that had broken the spell. Leo had faced a dragon named Muriel, and a witch named Sabine with his knight, Markus, at his side. In the end, Leo was able to rescue his beloved from the tower and bring him back to Austria.

After all they had been through, Leo’s decree that they would live happily ever after appeared to be coming true. Leo had formally introduced Jonathon to the Foundation’s board of trustees and they had been congratulated on their engagement. The board members had been wary but had given their approval after Leo and Jonathon both assured them of their intention to live quietly at Schönbühel. Leo would attend meetings and conferences in Vienna and across Europe and the UK as needed. But Andreas was taking the lead and acting as Leo’s representative so he could remain at home with Jonathon, most of the year.

Except when Jonathon felt like traveling with Leo. Visiting Paris, London, Rome, and other capitals with Leo and Muriel would make them new again for Jonathon. And he couldn’t wait for Leo to take them home to the countryside in Italy—to Norcia, in Umbria—to see where his mother was from and meet her family. Jonathon knew any trip would be entertaining with Leo and Muriel, and Jonathon would learn and be enchanted, seeing the world through Leo’s eyes.

The Foundation’s board members seemed rather relieved to hear that their activist Margrave would be taking a step back from his causes and focusing on matters at home. They had hoped that Leo would marry and settle down and live a quieter life in the country, attending the occasional ball and sitting for interviews with glossy photo spreads.

He could do that now. Happily even, it seemed. Leo insisted he had accomplished everything he set out to do and the foundations he had started would continue his work and inspire future generations in Austria and beyond. With Andreas’s and Sabine’s assistance, Leo could take that step back and focus on Jonathon, their marriage, and their future.

That had been the pause that Jonathon had been referring to. Leo wouldn’t have been able to devote himself so completely to Jonathon before, and it would have been a strain on Leo and their relationship. He still believed that they could have endured, but Jonathon suspected the cost would have been too high.

Jonathon was truly ready to put the past behind him and had all the closure he needed. And while he agreed that Sabine should have to make amends and that probation was fair, he was moving on and excited about the future.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” he asked Leo drowsily

There was a low, lazy growl as Leo nuzzled Jonathon’s ear. “I was planning to help you set up your easels around the castle. And I thought we might visit our secret alcove in the library while Muriel’s napping.”

Jonathon’s yawn turned into the lightest, happiest sigh. “That sounds like heaven.”

“That is the life I imagined for us, all those years ago, and that is the life we will have. That is our reward, after ten years of heartache and loneliness,” Leo told him and Jonathon nodded as his eyes grew heavier.

“This is where I belong, with you.”

“Mein. Auf immer und ewig,” Leo whispered, as he had taken to each night since reclaiming Jonathon. Then, they drifted off to sleep and found each other in sweet dreams of easels and rendezvous in the Rose Tower and the library.

Epilogue

Fourteen months later…

Jonathon was sleeping, exhausted from their wedding and his ball. He looked like a star, luminous in nothing but moonlight. Leo had tied back the curtains around the bed and the windows so he could watch Jonathon sleep. He had pulled an armchair closer and Leo had never felt more content as he reclined in his robe and admired his beloved.

Despite Jonathon’s fears and predictions, Leo had yet to grow tired of him—of them—and every day still felt like a fantasy. There were occasional matters to attend to for the Foundation, but most of Leo’s days were spent with Jonathon at Schönbühel. Nothing delighted Leo more than acting as his beloved’s assistant, fetching brushes and plying Jonathon with cups of tea and glasses of wine as he painted.

---