Love.
Kindness.
Togetherness.
This was what a marriage was, and now, he wasn’t just‘Ethan’s husband’, but instead, he belonged to each and every one of them.
It was beyond nice.
When the bed moved, Gene broke the kiss. His eyes never left hers. In them, he found strength, and love.
“This changed me,” he admitted.
Elizabeth ran her fingers over his face. She memorized it, because time was no one’s friend, and Fate was, more often than not, a bitch.
In their world, that was the absolute truth.
“It always does. When you have sex with a person, they take a little of you with them. If you’re lucky, they stick around, and you stay whole.”
Ethan was lying there, cuddled against Chris and Callen. They were watching the interaction.
There was no doubt this was the most important moment of the night.
Not the wedding.
Not the vows.
Not the comradery.
THIS.
“It’s why when you and Ethan separated, and you went to NOLA, and he stayed in DC, he struggled. You took a big piece of him with you. Now, you’re back, and he’s whole. You’re whole.”
Gene let that tear slip down his face. There would always be a part of him that ached when he was reminded that he didn’t stay.
Oh, it was meant to be, but still. All he had to do was stay.
So now, he was honest with her.
“When I left, he kept almost all of my heart. I’m glad I have it back. This feels…different.”
She smiled up at him.
“This is a marriage. It should always feel different. You should feel safe, loved, and equal. You should be able to look at one of us, and feel the same about the others. In a marriage, you can’t love someone more or less. You just have to love them with all you have. When you both said your vows, that was to make Ethan feel safe. Tonight, you said them because you meant them. Now, you’re both safe.”
Gene understood what she was saying.
Well, now, he did.
With having sex with Elizabeth, and breaking through that barrier, he’d found that she was absolutely right. He finallyfelt whole, and it wasn’t because of him, but the pieces of them that they shared with him.
He was all in.
The months of holding back sex to protect Ethan had held him back. Now, they were all one.
“I never want to lose this,” he admitted. “I’ve never done this before. How do I keep it?”
That was easy.
