"Aquí está su cambio y su recibo," 

    "Gracias, señora,"

    With a smile and wave, the red head swiped the bag from the counter and made his way outside to greet his companion.

    "Got it?"

    The man nodded, swinging his leg over the bike and climbing on behind the curly haired blonde. He wrapped his arms around his waist, holding on tighter than he maybe needed to, but neither minded.

    "Helmet," the driver scolded, causing a loud groan to spring from the younger man. He begrudgingly complied, carefully setting the black helmet over his hair, and they were racing off down the narrow cobblestone street.

    Luke and Ashton both loved the exhilaration being on the little motor bike gave them. It was a little tiny risk they could take every time they needed to go anywhere. Their girlfriend hated the bike, even though they'd offered to get her her own, or even a little side car. She said she preferred her golf cart (which she technically didn't have a license for, but no one cared). Both modes of transportation were widely used in this little area of Mexico they'd settled in about two years ago.

    After spending some time in Japan, Luke was given the opportunity to pick where they went next. He chose Australia, where they spent about a year at the beaches and finding interesting wild life.

    Not once had anyone come after them. They were a little nervous that Michael or Mr Hemmings were going to send someone after them, but it turned out no one really cared. Luke had hacked into a secure server and checked the police records, but it seemed Michael Clifford had a nervous breakdown and spent a year in a psych ward recovering. They closed the case around that time.

    The fleeing criminals did makeovers so they wouldn't be recognized. They changed their look every so often, but Ashton's Mexico look was longish dyed red hair he often slicked back. Luke wore big round glasses and grew a beard, keeping his hair long and curly so it flopped into his face, and Sadie dyed her hair black and cut it short. It suited all of them, and they were happy with their new looks.

    Now they were settled in a little town, where there were plenty of tourists so their new looks blended in well. The three were renting a space at a local resort; they often moved around to different hotels just to see what new amenities they could indulge in, but this place was their favorite.

    Their little cabana offered them privacy as they were off in the back of the resort where no one ever went to. They had an entire house to themselves which was perfect for what they wanted. Plenty of space, solitude, and since they had plenty of money to spend, it was exorbitant.

    Sadie didn't like staying in places without a pool, so Luke did some research and ensured they had their own pool at this place, where they'd been staying about 4 months. They had their own bedrooms, but often spent the night in the same bed. They were just more comfortable cuddling with each other than being alone. Sadie could cook, so when they wanted to stay in for the night, she would make something for them and they'd spend time at home together. They'd settled into the perfect routine, and they all loved it.

    Of course everything hadn't been sunshine and rainbows.

    Ashton had the tendency to be a bit moody and need his space on occasion; Luke was a bit used to having his way and tended to boss the other two around; Sadie really cared about everyone and got on the boys nerves when she smothered them with her intense affection 27/7.

    But even after fights and quarrels, they still made it work. Luke wouldn't let anyone go to bed angry with each other, they always had to solve their problems before bed.

    "If you go to bed still upset, it's going to keep you up and you'll just overthink and make things worse. If the three of us are going to stay together, we have to communicate, more than just a couple would."

    And so far, it had worked and they were, for the most part, happy with each other.

    Luke pulled into the driveway of their hotel house and parked underneath the awning. It hardly ever rained where they were, but Luke didn't want the leather to fade or get sun scorched, so he needed someplace to park his bike.

    He and Ashton removed themselves and their items from the bike before walking inside.

    They knew where their counterpart was, so they went upstairs to change, and so Luke could grab something before joining her outside where she had spent the afternoon relaxing in the jacuzzi.

    "Hey, boys!" she called, picking up her cocktail and taking a sip.

    "Hi, honey,"

    "Happy birthday Saide!" Luke greeted with a grin.

    She blushed, shaking her head.

    "You've already said that like 14 times today." Luke knelt behind her, brushing her hair aside so he could see her face. He bent down and kissed her forehead.

    "I know. I can't get over that story Ash told me about your 11th birthday party, I'm going to make sure your birthdays are special forever."

    Her face heated up even more, though that could be from the sun.

    She'd been wearing a sky blue bikini that matched Luke's eyes, and her dark tan contrasted it nicely.

    "Lookin good, babe," Ashton said, setting his bag down and slipping into the hot tub beside her. He put his arm around her and she leaned into his chest.

    He'd changed into a pair of swim trunks, but Luke preferred to stay in his black skinny jeans and a tee shirt. He wore a ballcap to keep the sun from his eyes. Luke, unlike the other two, hated the sun and stayed pale. Both of his lovers had a beautiful tan that he loved.

    "We've got presents, if you want to dry off and open them," Luke said, bouncing excitedly like a four year old who just saw a puppy.

    "Sure!" Sadie grinned. They'd been together for over 3 years now, and she didn't think they could top her last birthday. They were in Mexico, but travelled to Bermuda for a few days and went snorkeling. Every year, they did something new and special for her, and she couldn't thank them enough.

    "Me first, me first."

    Luke took Sadie's hand as he helped her out of the tub. He led them over to a table that sat in front of 3 outdoor chairs. He lowered himself into one, pulling Sadie on top of him. He didn't mind that his clothes were going to get wet. He knew that Ashton would probably dump him in the pool by the end of the day. That's pretty much how their days were spent, goofing off with each other. Just to be safe, Luke removed his phone from his pocket. He had two new ones inside that he could replace if necessary, (since stuff like this happened a lot) but it was a lot of trouble to transfer everything over. He didn't feel like doing that tonight, so he took the precaution.

    "Here," He handed her a tiny red gift bag. She smiled as she took it, moving the white tissue paper aside as she reached in and pulled out a small silver chain with a little pendent on it. There were two different colored heart shaped gems inside an infinity sign. Little diamonds sat inside the loop of the infinity symbol. Sadie gasped.

    "Lukey, this is beautiful,"

    "It's got mine and Ashy's birthstones ok it, and since you're April, diamond is yours. Oh, look at the back."

    She turned it over, pulling it toward her face to see the engraving.

    'L+S+A forever' was carved along the middle loop.

    "Oh my god, I love it." She turned around to give her boyfriend a hug. "This is amazing,"

    "Here," Luke held out his hand, and Sadie put the necklace in it. He gently brushed her hair away so he could fasten it around her neck.

    "Thank you," She showed him, receiving a kiss before she looked over at Ashton who leaned in to take a closer look.

    "That looks beautiful, love,"

    "Thanks,"

    "Here's my gift." Ashton gave her a box inside a plastic bag. "Sorry the wrapping is so bad, I just picked it up today, they told me it would be here earlier in the week, but..."

    "That's okay, Ashy. This 'thank you' bag with the yellow smiley face is the best wrapping I've ever seen," She teased, earning an eye roll from her boyfriend.

    "Just open it," he urged, hoping that she would like it. Sadie took the box out of the bag and tried to open the tape with her nail, but it wouldn't tear. She smiled fondly at her red headed boyfriend before accepting the pocket knife knife Ashton offered her to finally get it to open.

    She set the knife down, ignoring the way Ashton quickly snatched it back and stored it back on his body--he was very protective of his weapons--and resumed searching for her present.

    "Oh, Ashton!" Sadies eyes filled with tears as she looked at the laptop in her lap.

    Sadie still liked to write, but Ashton was insistent none of them have a computer. He thought that someone would be able to track them with it. Sadie fought him on that, saying if they used VPN, didn't search for news about themselves, and took precautions it would be okay, but he refused to allow it. Even Luke's phone was a cheap off brand smart phone that wouldn't connect to cell towers, and the others didn't have one. It was mostly used to contact the others at whatever house they were staying at and could play some games. Ashton just wanted to make sure they stayed safe, and Luke supported him in that unconditionally.

    That meant Sadie could only write using pad and paper. At first it was fun, going back to what she used to do as a child, but it got to be kind of annoying when she wanted to edit. She'd given up about a year ago asking him if she could have a computer. He thought it would be a great surprise to get her this.

    "It doesn't connect to the internet. I got it special so it just has a writing app on it, that grammar helper, and some games," He told her.

    "I don't care, this is perfect." She couldn't stop looking at the silver box, she knew this would make her life so much easier.

    "Thank you both so much. This is the best birthday ever."

    Sadie got up to put her presents on the table and sat in her own chair next to Luke. Ashton got up and gave her a birthday kiss, and Luke took her hand, squeezing tightly.

    They couldn't be happier together.

    "I sort of have one more surprise," Luke said after a couple moments.

    The tall blonde man looked at both his partners, trying his best not to be nervous.

    "C'mere, Ashy-baby," Luke motioned for Ashton who got up and deposited himself on Luke's lap. Both Ashton and Sadie loved to cuddle with him. He was just so tall and strong and could really hold them tightly. They just felt safe with him. Any chance they got, they'd be all over him. And he loved it.

    "What's going on," Ashton asked, resting his head on Luke's quickly beating heart. He heard it beating out of control, concerning Ashton a little bit.

    "No, no need to be worried, baby, this is a good thing." He said, muttering a really quiet, "I hope," under his breath so even the man sitting on him couldn't hear. He cleared his throat. "Sadie, could you grab the bag behind my chair?"

    She nodded, getting up and bringing the small brown bag over to him. Luke put his arms around his boyfriends shoulders so he could take the bag. He clutched it in his hands, pressing his face into Ashton's shoulders while he took just a quick moment to collect himself.

    He felt Ashton run his hands up and down his back, and Sadie put her hand on his thigh, tracing little patterns on the damp denim jeans. He took a deep breath, sitting up. He could do this.

    "You both know how much I love you," he said, looking them both in the eyes, watching as they nodded a bit hesitantly, not sure where this was going. Good, he had been hoping to surprise them. "Ash, you have always been my everything. The moment I met you, I knew how special you were. Something about you connected me to you, and I knew I'd never be able to let you go." Ashton blushed.

They'd begun working on his self esteem, both Luke and Sadie helping him work through the Bad Thoughts so they didn't plague him as much. With their support, Ashton felt better more often than not, which wasn't the case back in New York.

    "I love you, Ashton, I've loved you ever since I laid eyes on you." Ashton couldn't help himself, he leaned forward and captured Luke's lips in a sweet kiss. He pulled back, eyes shining and giggled cutely at his breathless boyfriend.

    "I love you, Lukey."

    He smiled, then turned to the birthday girl.

    "And you, my darling Sadie." She giggled, biting her lip as she thought about what things Luke might say to her. "The same fate unfortunately didn't befall you.  I couldn't stand you in the beginning. I thought you were going to come in here and mess everything up for me, that you were going to take my precious baby away. I couldn't stand that things that took me a year to get Ashton to trust me with took you less than two weeks." Ashton laid his head on Luke's shoulder, and Luke brought his hand up to run through his hair. "I later realized what a blessing you were. You helped not only Ashton become his true self, but you allow me to be a better person every day. I want to be a good person for you, because you're so kind and thoughtful and I want to be better for you."

    Ashton shifted a bit to the side and waved Sadie over. She sat on Luke's other knee, lacing her fingers with Ashton in front of them and leaning on Luke's solid chest.

    "I love you too, Lucas. I always thought you were the mean one, but I'm glad you took the chance to prove me wrong."

    "Me too." Luke was getting choked up. He needed to do this soon. "Hey, babies, move for a second. Let me open this," He muttered, sitting up so he could reach inside the bag. "I just, I love you both so much and despite that sometimes we have issues, I can't bear the thought of not being around both of you for the rest of my life."

    Sadie tilted her head, but Ashton caught on and gasped.

    "L-Lukey,"

    He smiled at the already crying boy, kissing the tears from his cheeks since in his hand, he was holding two ring boxes.

    "I'm sorry I'm not on one knee, but you both were occupying my legs, so I had no choice."

    Ashton got up, pulling Sadie, who had figured out the situation and was trying to hold back her tears, to a chair next to him. He sat them both side by side and motioned for Luke to get on with it.

    Chuckling, Luke got down on one knee, checking the ring box to make sure he knew whose ring was whose, and put them in his hand.

    "Sadie Marie Newell and Ashton Fletcher Irwin, will you both do me the honor of being mine forever?"

    "Yes,"

    "Of course,"

    Luke grinned, handing them each a box and shuffling closer to help them put the rings on.

    He took the box from Ashton's shaky hands and took it back from Sadie so she couldn't put hers on by herself. She pouted for a second, but couldn't stop the smile.

    Ashton's ring was a thick, matted black band with a rose gold stripe in the middle. There were six little rose colored diamonds set in the stripe, and Luke made him look at the inside where the words 'forever and always' were written in loopy script.

    "I love you, forever and always," Luke told him as he put the ring on Ashton's finger.

    "I love you forever and always," Ashton replied.

    "Your turn, babe," Luke pressed a kiss to her knee, since that was the only place he could reach in his crouched position.

    Sadie's ring was also rose gold, a large flower diamond sat at the top, and the band was twisted into little diamond vines that curled around the loop.

    "I couldn't engrave your ring, that's another reason why I got your necklace engraved," Luke told her apologetically. Luke had agonized over the fact that if he got that ring for Sadie, he couldn't engrave it. The vines were too small to put something on, but he knew she would love that ring, so he compromised and got her the necklace for her birthday.

    "That's okay, Lukey," she chuckled through the tears. "I love it so much."

    He slipped it on her finger and kissed her palm.

    "Where's your ring, Lu Lu?" Ashton asked, pulling his attention away from his finger momentarily to check his boyfriend—well, now his fiancée—out. "Why don't you have one?"

    "I wasn't sure which one to get," Luke admitted. "I was hoping sometime soon you could both come with me to the jewler and help me pick it out?"

    "Of course! That sounds like a great idea," Sadie smiled, happily twisting her ring around her finger.

    "I love you both so much." Ashton leaned in for a hug, pulling Sadie with him and engaging the trio in a group hug.

    "We love you too, Lukey,"

    "Forever and always,"

***

3 years. It had been 3 years since Luke and Ashton left, and Michael was finally getting over it. He'd been in a hospital for the first year because he sort of snapped. It was too much.

    Now, 3 years later, he was slowly getting better. He had stopped obsessing over every detail of the case, stopped looking for new clues, and he could open mail now without twitching and thinking of Luke Fucking Hemmings.

    Michael was no longer a police officer. After the stress he'd put on himself from the Babylon Banking case, he decided that he should do something else. Funny enough, there were job openings at a local bank, and he was sort of friends with the owner.

    Mr Hemmings has unofficially adopted Michael once his own son had left him in the dust with nothing. It took a while but Andrew got the main branch rebuilt, but now it was better than ever and he had Michael to help him.

    "Hey, babe, have you seen my blue dress shirt?" A voice called from Michael's room.

    Another new thing in Michael's life, was his new boyfriend.

    One of the tellers from the bank that had been helping with the investigation came to visit him a couple times in the hospital, and was always around when Michael went to visit Andrew. They started off just waving, then next time they stopped to chat, then they got coffee. Coffee turned to dinner, dinner to staying the night, and before they knew it, Michael and his Niall were in a very happy, healthy relationship.    

    "I think it got washed, check the laundry room," Michael told him.

    They were both working today, so the couple was getting ready. They drove together, because they often stayed over at each others apartments and then went back to the same place.

    Life was getting better for Michael, now that Niall was in it.

    Even though he wasn't working in the department anymore, Michael did still talk to Sergeant Calum Hood. Though Calum didn't solve the Babylon case, right after that there was a series of break ins at a local coffee shop, and Calum apprehended the culprits. He was promoted shortly after.

    A knock at the door interrupted Michael from the kitchen where he was preparing breakfast. He walked into the hallway and opened the door to his apartment.

    "Hey!" His neighbor greeted cheerfully. Andy was a happy dude, he never ever looked sad, and always went out of his way to smile at people and greet them. 

"Hi Andy. What's up?" Michale leaned against the doorframe. It was a bit too early to deal with his extreme level of enthusiasm.

"I got a letter for you. They must have delivered it to me by mistake, but it's a fancy envelope so I figured it must be important. Look at that pretty script, and the quality of the envelope!"

"Yeah, thanks for bringing it by Andy. Appreciate it." Michael closed the door as Andy said goodbye and waved.

"Who was it?" Niall walked out of the bedroom with his blue shirt buttoned halfway and a black and white tie undone over his shoulders. Michael really liked that look on him.

"Andy. Someone gave him my mail," Michael looked at the envelope. It was addressed to him, but there was no return address. The only thing on the front of it was Michael's name and address.

"Oh, what is it? That looks fancy," Niall commented as he passed by, pressing a quick kiss to Michael's cheek before swiping the bagel Michael had been buttering before answering the door.

"No idea."

"Open it, babe. Maybe it's money!" Niall wrapped his arms around Michael's waist and snuggled into his broad chest. Something that Michael wasn't used to was how touchy Niall was. He didn't mind now, but it was sort of foreign to him and it took a little while to get used to. Now he just smiled when Niall would cuddle up to him, it was a natural thing for them.

    Niall noticed Michael's breathing becoming erratic. His chest was heaving, he was shaking like a leaf. Niall pulled back, looking at his still fragile boyfriend in concern.

    "Hey, Mikey, are you okay?" He didn't answer, so Niall shook his shoulders a bit. "Michael, hey babe, what is it?"

    Michael shook his head, with trembling arms he raised the card.

    Niall looked at it.

    "You are formally un-invited to the wedding of Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin, and Sadie Newell. June 25th, 2020. Location and time TBD."

    "What's an un-invitation?" Niall asked. "Does that mean they sent you an invite just so you knew you couldn't go?"

    "Those assholes," Michael seethed.

    Niall looked up from the carefully written card and took in the state of his boyfriend.

    His eyes were wide and unfocused, hands clenched, body shaking. Niall put the card down on the counter facedown so he couldn't see it and held Michael in his arms.

    "Hey, it's okay, remember? They escaped, they got away, but you don't need to worry about them anymore, all right? It'll be okay, Mikey. We can work through this. I promise you, they won't bother you again," Niall kissed his forehead and attempted to soothe the sobbing man.

    Niall knew he was going to have to call Michael's therapist after he calmed down and could let him go. Once he could pull himself together, Niall would help him work through what was hurting him.

    He had never hated Luke Hemmings more in this moment.

***

Sooo I hope you enjoyed the story!

I don't think this book is entirely finished. Right now I'm content where it's ended, for now I'm gonna focus on my next book, but I really don't think mikey can just let Luke off like that...i think they still have some unfinished business, so maybe in the future there'll be a book two or something! Stay tuned!

Anyway, thanks for checking this out. I'm going to post chapter one of The Bet soon, so you BETter go check that out (sorry I'm so sorry for that...no I'm not. Quite pleased. Anyway.)

Love you all so much ❤️

~ashtonfortherwin