Page 135 of Until the Day You're Mine

“We need to wait for the investigation that is being conducted to bring results. Only what we can prove, without a shadow of a doubt in the court of law is ––”

Rian is shaking his head in disbelief. “No. Fuck that! George, you need to do this. We're talking about Bran's mother. One day, when my son demands to know if I’ve brought her abuser to justice, I don’t plan on shrugging my shoulders and telling him, there wasn’t anything more I could do. Lincoln needs to suffer! Harris needs to fucking pay! We can't let them get away with this!”

George takes a deep breath, then looks away briefly. He is cautiously thinking about his delivery, clearly not at liberty to disclose information that he isn’t authorized to share with Rian.

“There are other legal departments involved in investigating Harris. There are people very determined to bring him to justice. I can't promise you what the outcome will be, but I swear to you, I will work with them and for you to make sure that monster is locked up for good.”

Rian’s stomach is churning. He is very upset and isn't ready to let this go, but he shelves his anger for now. He had something even more important to worry about.

“Ty? Where is he? When can I see him? I need to see him.”

George grins “Actually...” His gaze drifts over Ri’s shoulder.

Rian’s heart is thudding in his chest. He closes his eyes, too scared to hope. Too scared to believe.

It can’t be that easy.

“Rian, baby, I’m here. We made it, my love.”

Big strong arms circle him, and he is enveloped in warmth and safety. He inhales the familiar scent of the man he loves. Ty kisses his ear and whispers, “My hero. You did it, baby! I'm so proud of you. They’ve got him. All because of you!”

Rian chokes, finally gasping for air, sobbing, “You’re here. You’re really here. You’re back.”

Rian turns around in Tayida’s arms holding him tight. It takes him a while to settle his emotions. Once he is ready to talk, he opens his eyes and through his tears, he smiles at his lover.

“We’re free. We’re finally free. Tayida...I... I love you. Please don’t ever leave me again. I know I wanted to do this on my own, and I don’t regret any of it, but baby, from now on, I need you to be by my side. Always.” They are intertwined in a tight embrace, both teary and exhilarated with relief they are finally reunited for good.

George gives them as much privacy as he can, but when he moves around the kitchen counter, the noise of his chair scraping pops their little bubble of joy.

Rian kisses Ty one last time, bringing their foreheads together. “I love you.”

Ty holds him close telling him about the time he’s spent with Sullivan, “There were so many recordings of Cyril, Ri. Hearing his voice…it was hard. I promise to tell you every single detail tomorrow. Tonight, can we...I need to hold you and I need to see my...I need to see Bran.”

Rian smiles softly at him. “If you want to say Bran is yours, rest assured he has claimed you for himself just as well. My son…our son, he was always meant to be part of our family, just like we were always meant to be together.”

Ty's eyes are watery as he pulls Rian flush to him again. He nuzzles his face in the crook of his neck and murmurs, “I missed you both so much. I love you. More than anything. I swear to you Rian, I will never let you down ever again.”

“Shhh...You didn't let me down. If anything, I was the one ––”

“No! Stop it, you had no idea ––”

This would have gone on forever it seems, had George’s phone not rung with a super upbeat and very unexpected ring tone. It’s “Call Me Maybe”. It’s absurdly loud, accompanied by aggressive vibrations and the screensaver of the device flashing. Whoever is on the other side of the line, George has made sure he never misses their call. He looks equal amounts flustered and excited as he lunges for his phone, currently bouncing on the counter.

He fumbles with it, struggling to unlock it, but when he finally takes the call, his face is nothing short of blissed out. George turns away from them, although he doesn't try to leave the room.

“Hey, baby,” he crones. It’s fucking adorable. His soft raspy voice gets them to both raise their eyebrows and look at each other.

Yes, they are now one of those couples, who can communicate with each other without using words. They are a freaking couple. They are free to do whatever the hell they want to from now on.

They leave George to his hushed private conversation and turn to each other again.

Ty keeps running his fingers through Ri's hair and looking at him adoringly. Rian returns his loving gesture by running his hands gently over his back and arms. The next words out of his mouth, simply roll out, perfectly fitting the beautiful moment of their reunion, “Marry me. Be mine forever. Be ours – mine and Bran’s. I don't ever want to be apart from you. I don’t want to waste a single day I could have spent loving you. I want us to be the family we were always meant to be.”

Ty gives up trying to hide the fact he’s crying. After all, these are tears of joy and profound relief. After so many years of holding shit back for the sake of others, he can’t pretend he has his emotions under tight control. And he doesn’t need to. It has taken them a decade to get to this point and now that they are finally in each other’s arms, it is only natural that their happy reunion overwhelms him.

“I wish Cy was here,” Ty mutters, hiding his face in the crook of Rian's shoulder. “I wish I had told you how I felt years ago. I wish ––”

“Shh, it’s okay. I feel the same way. I have so many regrets, but we have the rest of our lives to make him proud. To be there for each other, love each other… to thrive. Not only for Cy. We must do our best for Bran, for Sebastian, and their mother.”

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