We’re home.

This is the second epilogue to With Feelings Plus Stuff. It’s for those who need to know what happens after the book ends. Read at your own peril, as it contains major spoilers for the book–obviously.

Nik wakes up, when Vasco slows the rented Leaf outside a rusty gate.

“We’re home.” Vasco’s gentle voice pulls at Nik like a lifeline. Nik leans over, kisses Vasco, and noses his cheek.

“Ready?” Vasco asks.

“Ready,” Nik answers, and steps out of the car. Marvin slips through the seats and follows him outside. Nik opens the gate, lets Vasco drive through. They drive up the overgrown path for the first time since they looked at the place. A small cabin stands at the end of the path, overgrown by blackberries.

Vasco parks the car next to the house, and they stand in front of their new home. The front door hangs slightly crooked in hinges that creak when they open the door. Stale air hits their nostrils, and Nik moves through the rooms to open windows.

“Welcome home,” Vasco says when Nik gets back to the hallway. Nik can’t stop himself from grabbing Vasco and twirling him in circles until they both collapse onto the dusty floor in laughter.

Nik helps Vasco up, and they step out onto the porch.

“Ella texted,” Vasco announces while they look over the tiny lake next to the house, the one that made them choose this place. “She and Jo are coming out this weekend. They want to help.”

And they’ll need all the help they can get.

Nik leans against the railing, but Vasco pulls him back immediately. “I wouldn’t do that.”

Yeah, they’ll need all the help they can get. Nik takes Vasco by the hand, and they tour the house together. It’s not much: two small bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace—though Nik is sure it won’t work without a lot of love and labor—and an open kitchen with involuntarily open cabinets.

It’s not much, but it is theirs.

Vasco turns in a slow circle, taking in every crack in the floor, every crooked door, every breezy window.

“It’ll be a while before Percy and Isavella can take Julio here,” he surmises after a moment. “Not exactly child-proof.”

And not looking like a home yet, either. “Wait here,” Nik instructs, and gets the toolbox from the car.

“You aren’t going to start right now, are you?” Vasco asks, one eyebrow raised.

Nik chuckles, but doesn’t answer. Instead, he opens the tools and selects a hammer. He digs a nail from a small box, and looks around the room. Without a word, he hits the nail into the wall above the fireplace. He slides a hand into his jacket and takes out the framed photograph. It takes him a few attempts to align the hook with the nail, before he steps back and inspects his handiwork.

Vasco slides his arms around Nik from behind, puts a chin on Nik’s shoulder, and they look at the photograph together.

“Much better,” Nik declares, as he lets his eyes wander over the scene: Vasco is stirring a vegan paella in a giant pan. Ella and Jo are sitting on green grass, chatting animatedly. Little Julio is crawling around his parents who are lounging in chairs on the patio. The rest of Vasco’s family is sitting around a table. A family friend of the Cohens took the photo at their good-bye party, before they left to see the world.

“Hard to believe that little one is five by now,” Vasco admits. “Feels like this photo was just taken.”

Nik turns to face Vasco, leans their foreheads together, closes his eyes. “And looking more and more like his bio-dad every day, at least according to Isavella.”

Vasco noses Nik, and whispers, “Their own fault for mixing in my genes.”

Nik kisses Vasco’s cheek. “Not the worst genes to pass on, babe.”

They stand in their home until the light begins to fade. Together, and despite Marvin’s attempts to help, they unload the car, clear some floor space, and roll out their beds for the night.

Settling down used to freak Nik out, but now he feels like he’s coming home. It might take years for their efforts to pay off for the climate, maybe it won’t make a difference at all, but for them, everything has already changed.