Reblogged

Epilogue

Sleep all day, party all night

Poly! The Lost Boys x Fem! Reader

A/n: You thought this was over? Ha! Surprise! I had a few more thoughts and feelings about this story that I needed to put into writing. Without them, it didn't feel like I could truly close this series. So here they are. Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 4k

Content: light angst, lots of fluff, lots of hurt/comfort

Summary: After everything that happened, you and your boys are left to pick up the pieces, heal and come to terms with a few losses.

Previous part

GIF by klaus-littlestwolf

Following the events at the Emmerson house, the next few nights have passed in a strange mood. Some members of your pack have come to terms with everything that happened relatively easy, others not so much. Some just needed comfort and quality time with all of you together, others needed time to think and grieve your losses in their own way.

Because you did experience loss.

For one, Star and Laddie were no longer with you. That hit Dwayne especially hard. He looked after that little boy like an older brother. On the surface, he was taking it quite well. He was joking with the boys, checking in on David who was dealing with his own stuff, and he showed even more attention to you. You noticed he lingered closer; a brush of his shoulder here, a gentle hand on your waist there. And when he wasn't in your orbit, you would still feel his gaze prickling your skin from time to time. Like he didn't want to let you out of his sight, like he wanted to make sure you were still there.

You had a feeling it had something to do with how close he got to actually dying, and how you were the reason he didn't.

But even though he behaved like his usual calm and charming self, he grew quiet sometimes. Not the content, observative quiet like he used to. He would stare off into space, his mind going somewhere else. The boys noticed it too, all of you exchanging glances when it happened.

You unanimously decided that it would be best if you approached him about it, given his newfound attachment. You found Dwayne alone in the cave one evening, sitting on the bed that previously belonged to Laddie. It was still early, the boys still asleep. You didn't know what woke you, but when you saw he wasn't by your side, you went looking for him.

He was holding Laddie's teddy bear as you lowered yourself onto the bed next to him. For a few moments, you just sat in companionable silence. Then he let out a sigh. You didn't ask, didn't prod, you let him make the first move when he was ready.

"I miss him," he said eventually.

"I know," you replied gently. You had a feeling he was not done yet, so you waited, and you were right.

"I know he didn't belong here. If he was fully turned, he would have stayed a kid forever, at least physically. That wouldn't have been fair to him." His grip on the bear tightened for a second before it let go, the toy slipping from his fingers until it was only dangling by one paw. "Still... I miss him."

You reached out to take the bear from Dwayne before he could force himself to let it fall to the floor. He let you without hesitation. You carefully placed it next to you onto the covers then scooted closer until your thighs were touching. You took his hands that were now hanging aimlessly into yours, giving them a reassuring squeeze and caressing his knuckles with your thumb. All the while he was watching your every move.

When you met his eyes, he was looking at you like you were a treasure box he was trying to figure out how to open, to find out what hid inside.

The words came naturally. "I'm sure he misses you too." And you meant it.

A shine snuck into his gaze, a deeply fond smile spreading on his face. He found his treasure.

He turned his hands in your hold, intertwining your fingers with his before bringing then to his lips. They were soft against your skin as they pressed kisses on the back of your hand, all of them filled with so much meaning you felt like your insides would turn to mush.

You laid your head on his shoulder and he rested his on top of yours. You stayed like that, in companionable silence once again, until you heard the boys starting to stir.

There were other losses too.

Although the time Michael has spent with you was short, you knew that losing him was a particularly sore spot for David. And while working through that rejection would take some time, you knew he would be alright.

Losing your sire however, was another complex can of worms that neither of you wanted to touch. You all felt it though. It was strange really. You were never particularly close to him, having spent the least amount of time with him. Still, it was his blood that turned you, you were one of his fledglings, and that meant that even though you didn't consciously mourn him, some deep animal part of you still felt his absence.

The night following the one at the Emmersons', you went to Max's house. You were prepared for an angry and feral Thorn, but he didn't bark, didn't try to prevent you from entering. You found him lying on Max's bed, ears flattened to his head, looking up at you with sad eyes. You guessed that some deep part of him also felt that something was wrong.

David watched him for a second before he decided to speak. "Your master is gone."

Thorn stared back at him, his big dark eyes shining with comprehension. Then he raised his head and let out a long, mourning howl. No matter how many times he had snarled and growled at you, how many times he snatched at your fingers when you teased him, you felt sorry for him in that moment. Max was his whole world, and now he was gone.

After he was finished, he jumped off the bed, slipping past you down the corridor and disappearing from sight. A few days later, you would catch sight of him in the presence of Sam Emmerson, and you would know then that he has found a new home. For that night however, that was the last you saw him.

You took your time wandering around Max's house. You've only been there once, when the boys took you to meet him. You didn't have time to look around much then. It seemed like the boys were more familiar with it though. They all silently scattered, only to come back later with an item each; Paul picked up a tape, Dwayne took a book from his shelf, Marko grabbed a mug that he would add to his collection of nice but useless trinkets.

That's how they mourned him. No grand display, no tears, just taking a small piece of his home with them to take back, then act more or less like nothing happened.

David was different. You discovered him back in Max's bedroom when your wandering took you that way. You leaned on the doorframe, observing him as he was looking at Max's stuff. You weren't sure he noticed you until he spoke up.

"It feels strange to be in here," he noted.

You hummed in response. Then the question you've been anxious to ask tumbled out of your mouth.

"How are you feeling?"

His brows furrowed, like the books on the desk in front of him insulted him in some way. He thought hard for a second before his features smoothened out again.

"I don't know," he shrugged. His eyes met yours as he added, "I don't know how to feel about him being gone."

You nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"I know what I feel about Michael, but I'm not sure how I should feel about Max. He's the reason we are what we are, he's the reason we have this life. I'm grateful to him for that. But he was never-"

He paused, looking for the words to best describe what he wanted to say. So you helped him.

"He was never a particularly good father figure."

Your statement hung in the space between you, and you watched as David mulled it over, trying to make sense of the emotions going through his head. Even your instincts felt Max's loss somewhere deep inside, you had no idea what it might be like for David, who was the first among you to be turned. He spent the longest time with Max, he had the most complicated relationship with him.

"I don't know what to do now that he's gone. I don't know if I can keep us safe," he muttered.

Your chest started to ache. You realized that this whole ordeal might have taken a bigger toll on him than you thought. You started to understand what's been eating him. It wasn't just Michael's rejection, it wasn't simply the loss of Max. It was the loss of a sire, that knowledge of stability that if everything went to shit and he failed as a leader, there was someone else who could take over and fix things, someone who was older, more experienced. Now that was gone. And given everything that transpired, he felt like what he was doing wasn't enough.

You had a feeling that at least in some part he blamed himself for almost leading all of you into destruction. But that was a train of thought you had to stop.

You crossed the room in a few long strides, wrapping your arms around him, holding him tight in your embrace. You smiled to yourself when you finally felt his own arms settle around your waist.

"It's okay to mess up, we all do. What happened was not your fault, we all played an active role in it. And we are all alive. You did the best you could, and you will continue to do your best. That's more than enough."

His hold tightened and he let out a long breath, letting himself relax against you at last.

"You don't have to put all this on yourself, you can rely on us as much as we rely on you. I know for a fact that each of the boys would step up without question if you ever asked for help. I would too. You don't have to protect everyone." Your voice turned playful as you added. "I can do that just fine."

You didn't just hear but felt his chuckle with your whole body. This was the first time he's smiled since everything went down, and you were secretly beaming with pride for eliciting such a genuine reaction from him.

They all needed different things to heal. And you were more than happy to provide that for them. For you to move on, you just needed your boys to be fine. You needed all of you to be fine.

You could already feel your bonds starting to mend, and they were growing stronger than ever. You survived something together that could have destroyed you all. It felt like nothing could break you apart now.

The boys felt it too. And they were more than happy to play an active part in strengthening those bonds even further. That's why when you approached them about doing a little something for Marko, they said yes in an instant.

The four of you cornered him one night in the cave while he was tending to his pigeons. He looked up at curiously, not quite sure what to expect or why you had such conspiratorial smiles on your faces.

"What's going on?" he asked, gaze jumping from one person to another.

Paul was the first to crack.

"It's a surprise, bud!" he cheered with a huge grin.

"We knew you wanted to repair you jacket, so we got you some stuff," Dwayne explained.

Marko's eyes grew big. His jacket got torn in his tussle with Nanook, and he's been meaning to fix it up. He had some supplies at the cave, but he would have to go out and look for material that was just perfect for his vision. He put a lot of effort and time into that jacket and not anything would do.

So when all of you started pulling out all these new patches, colourful pieces of fabric, beads, tassels, threads and scraps of leather, he just about lost his mind. He jumped up, picking up pieces excitedly, taking in everything you got for him. Then he turned to you, beaming with happiness and basically threw himself at the person closest to him, who just so happened to be David. He went around hugging all of you, all the while rambling 'thank you's and 'this is so cool's.

After he was done, he stood in front of you once again, eyes raking over all the colours and fabrics that lay before him.

"Where did you even get all this?" he asked, incredulous.

"Oh you know," you shrugged, "here and there."

"To be honest, when she first came to us with this idea, I wasn't sure what we could find," David added, "but there was surprisingly a lot."

Marko turned to you, giving you a look you couldn't quite decipher.

"You came up with this?"

"Yeah, I mean it's not much-"

Your words were cut short when you were enveloped in a tight hug once again. Marko buried his face into your neck, murmuring another 'thank you' against your skin. No one but you could hear how his voice got a bit thicker. It wasn't often that he got moved, and you were pretty sure he was using you as a shield so the others didn't have to see it.

You gladly melted into his embrace, feeling happy that you could do something for him. He deserved everything.

When he finally drew back from you, he was grinning once again, excited to look through each and every little thing you got for him, sort them out and decide which ones to use and where.

The rest of you settled down around him; you and Paul giving your opinions and ideas when Marko asked for your input, Dwayne cracking open the book he got from Max's house, occasionally throwing glances your way, David lighting a cigarette, his shoulders more relaxed than you've seen in a while.

Marko didn't require a pep talk or consolation. He just needed some attention and for all of you to spend time together like you were before.

And Paul? All he needed were your kisses. At least that's what he claimed.

By the time you were all hanging around, watching Marko play with his new trinkets, Paul's facial injuries were mostly healed. But just a few days ago, when everything was still fresh, he was less than happy about them.

"I'm gonna go kill those little bastards," he muttered, pacing around in the cave one night.

"You know you can't do that," you commented from your place on the couch where you've been watching him rile himself up for the past hour. The others have mostly tuned him out at this point. He's been moping about it ever since you came back from the Emmersons'.

"It's part of the truce," you reminded him.

"But they've mutilated my face!"

He continued his ranting and raving, gesticulating wildly, and you were pretty sure he would wear a path into the stone floors if he kept up his pacing.

"Paulie."

The call of his name stopped him mid-sentence.

"Come here," you motioned for him, extending your arms.

A few moments later he was snuggled up against you, his arms looped around your waist and his face buried into your chest. He finally deflated when you started running your fingers through his hair.

"I know this sucks, especially since it takes more time to heal because of the holy water. Believe me, I wanted to go after the little shits when you told us what happened." You felt a small smile stretch across his lips at that. "But the situation is more complicated now. This truce is important. I don't want any of you getting hurt again."

His hold tightened a fraction at the sincerity in your voice.

"I know," he mumbled.

Your hand stopped its movement when he raised his head. From this close his eyes were impossibly blue. And he was pouting.

"I just feel like I'm not handsome anymore."

A fond smile grew on your face.

"You are. You're still very handsome," you reassured him.

"Yeah?"

A hopeful tone snuck into his voice.

"Yeah," you replied. And to emphasize just how serious you were, you found a patch of skin on his face that remained unharmed and pressed a small kiss on it.

Now his lips also started quirking up at the corners.

"So you still think I'm hot? Not gonna ditch me for some other guy?" he teased.

"Not a chance, you're not getting rid of me that easy, pretty boy," you chuckled.

"Good. Prove it." There was a playful glint in his eyes, the challenge clear as day.

You didn't hold back. You covered every bit of healthy skin on his face in a flurry of kisses, his wheezing laughter a melody to your ears, before finally settling on his lips. You were both smiling as you found each other again and again, neither of you willing to stop. You sighed into his mouth when his grip tightened on your waist, the pressure of his lips against yours turning softer, but in no way less demanding.

Paul was always hungry for attention, and you were more than happy to give it to him. And sometimes he just needed a bit of reassurance that you wouldn't leave him, that neither of you would leave him. Especially after everything that has happened.

Or maybe all he needed were your kisses, and he knew exactly what to say to get them.

Days passed, injuries healed, and you found yourself growing content once again. Life finally started to resemble how it was before. You went out to the Boardwalk with your boys to have fun and terrorize the locals, you made bonfires on the beach, raced through the woods, acting just as loud and obnoxious as you once were. Of course, it would never be the same, but it seemed like everyone was coming to terms with that.

Dwayne was slowly getting his edge back, becoming more present in the moment, his silences filling with warmth once again instead of the cold emptiness. David got lost in his head less and less too, his brooding replaced by his signature smirks and sharp comments. Marko was proudly showing off his newly improved jacket, looking even more confident in himself than he was before, if that was even possible. And Paul was just as clingy and hyper as usual, as if his little episode of self-doubt didn't even happen.

It was almost perfect. There was just one more thing you felt like you had to do.

In all honesty, you had your doubts about how Star would react when you sought her out. Despite your kind of amiable goodbye all those nights ago, you couldn't be sure that what you were asking was something she was willing to do. You were stretching the boundaries of your truce as it was, going to her like that. But you were willing to risk it.

She seemed reluctant at first. She told you she had reunited Laddie with his family, but they were regularly keeping in touch. In the end, Star had to admit that the boy had told her he was missing all of you. You felt a small bubble of hope rise up inside you, and it only grew when she eventually promised she would see what she could do.

A few days later, you were leading your boys through the cheerful crowd of the Boardwalk, your hand intertwined with Dwayne's. They were intrigued when you told them you had somewhere to be, but couldn't tell them more than that.

"Come on, babe. Where are we going?" Paul asked for the fifth time in the last ten minutes.

You gave him the same secretive smile like the last four times and said, "You'll see."

When you stopped in front of the building that used to be Max's Video – now with a new name under Lucy's management – the boys turned to you confused.

That was until Marko noticed something and he perked up.

"Hey, is that...?"

They all looked inside and there was Star at the counter, chatting with Lucy with a smile on her face. Next to her, shoving a handful of candy into his pockets from the bowl Lucy was offering, was Laddie. They both looked different; happier, more put together, more carefree. Content.

Dwayne's grip on your hand tightened. When his questioning gaze met yours, it was full of emotion. Sadness, confusion and hope were mixing together in his big brown eyes. And when your lips curled into a reassuring smile, another joined them. Love.

In that moment, he understood what you had done for him, and you swear you've never seen him radiating like that. You gave his hand a little squeeze before you let go. He leaned in close and touched his forehead against yours in a way he had done so many times before when you needed his stability and calm. Now it was him who needed it.

"Thank you," he breathed, then he turned towards the store.

By that time, the people inside had noticed you too. No sooner had Dwayne called his name, Laddie's face lit up with a smile and he ran into your boyfriend's arms, Dwayne meeting him halfway to the door. Your heart swelled inside your chest, and you felt a gentle warmth spreading through your body as you watched them. Paul affectionately patted your shoulder and Marko flashed you a fond grin before they also joined the two, earning themselves enthusiastic high-fives from the little boy.

You caught Star's gaze where she was standing at the counter, her lips still pulled up in a smile from watching Laddie interacting with your boys. She gave you a small nod, relieved that it all worked out fine. You told her that this would be good for both of them, and you were right.

"You still manage to surprise me, love."

David was now standing next to you, his lips turned up in an imperceptibly small smile around his cigarette. Despite that, you could see the tension in his jaw, in his hand that held the joint, no matter how well he tried to hide it.

It wasn't hard to figure out what was causing it either. On Star's other side, further from the door stood Michael. He was hovering close to her, watching your boys as they listened to Laddie ramble on about everything that has happened to him since they last saw each other. Watching you and David.

You guessed he insisted on accompanying Star to meet you, not wanting her to come alone. Which was frankly ridiculous. You chose the video store as a meeting place for a reason. It was neutral ground. Besides, neither party wanted a fight, the memories of what happened last time still fresh on everyone's minds.

You rolled your eyes at Michael, making sure he saw it before you looped your arm around David's waist. With his attention turned to you, the tension slowly seeped out of him. He looked at you for a long moment, then a smile graced his lips that was so close to his signature smirk. His arm sneaked around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. You easily melted against him, going back to watching your boys.

Michael and Star didn't come out to greet you, you didn't go inside either. None of you were quite ready for that yet. You didn't know if either of you ever will be. But as you watched Marko and Paul joking around with Laddie, Dwayne looking on with such contentment you haven't seen on him for a long time, as you let David's presence steady you as much as you were steadying him, you knew that you would be alright.

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scarlet

[OC] Yuki

Epilogue

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