Well here it is my little kittens, the last chapter of my very first attempt at Exo. I hope you enjoyed it, at least a little and hope you might give some of my other, or possibly future story babies a try as well.

Six Months Later

                Kyungsoo parked the shiny red minivan he’d traded his shiny black truck for in a handicapped spot and put up the temporary placard. He opened the driver’s side door and slid out, wincing as his back cracked before going to open the rear doors and unfolding the small ramp. The dogs bounded out first, Alice immediately sitting down like the good girl she was, and the short man just managing to step on Ollie’s leash before he got out of reach and picked it up before getting out of the way of the man backing his wheelchair out and down the ramp.

                “I’ll be happy when this thing is no longer necessary” Jongin complained, as he rolled out of the way and took Ollie’s leash so Kyungsoo could duck in the back of the van to get their shared roller suitcase and Alice’s leash. The dog didn’t actually need it, but hotel rules stated all animals must be leashed or in a carrier.

                “Which thing Baby?” the short man asked, backing out and down the ramp with the suitcase before refolding said ramp and locking up their minivan. “Your wheelchair, or your brace?” Jongin’s doctors were extremely optimistic that with time and physical therapy the former cowboy would be walking, and even riding again. He would no longer be able to break horses or participate in rodeos, but at least they’d be able to trail ride. For now though, he used a wheelchair to get around and had to wear a hard brace under his clothes to protect his still fragile back, only taking it off to shower and exchanging it for a slightly more flexible one to sleep in, which severely curtailed their more adult activities. Jongin whined about it every time they went to see his doctors or therapist, while Kyungsoo was just happy he still had his husband. Besides, it wasn’t like they couldn’t do anything at all. They were just currently limited.

                “Both” Jongin pouted, clipping Alice’s leash on her collar after Kyungsoo handed it to him and beginning to wheel himself toward the dog run, Alice and Ollie trotting alongside him as the short man dealt with their suitcase and made sure he had their reservation paperwork. He also had to be the one to actually walk the dogs on the grass and clean up the mess since Jongin’s wheelchair tended to get stuck.

                Finally, the dogs were finished checking everything out and they all headed toward the front doors of the hotel, the same one that just a year ago they’d entered as strangers and left as husbands. Jongin’s doctors didn’t want him on an airplane yet and risk him getting jarred or worse, so their original plan of flying to New York for their first anniversary so he could experience the city from Kyungsoo’s point of view had to be changed. It was a long drive, but since they had taken a rental house in Carson City to be near his specialists it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, they decided to revisit Vegas instead.

                Things had changed a lot since Jongin had gotten hurt. They still had ties to Holland Ranch and the town, but they couldn’t really claim to be part of the community, for now. Peaches and Cream had been sold, to Rosie since she’d been looking for a good pair of riding horses, for herself as well as her sisters. She’d made a lot of headway toward finally breaking the mare of her habit of tangling with barbed wire, and the cowgirl’s younger sisters absolutely adored the gelding who had fully recovered from his limp and was now spoiled rotten, but ridden often enough he didn’t get fat. Kyungsoo had also sold the barn and land he’d almost started his food business in, to a returnee to the town who had been away to college and was now eager to try starting a restaurant to help bring more visitors to his hometown and who the short man had met when he’d had Chanyeol drive his truck and stay with Jongin while he went back to collect their things Yeol had thoughtfully packed, and sign the papers for the horses and property and turn the keys into the Hollands, who nearly smothered him in hugs and told him to take care of his husband and just as importantly himself. Tansy had loaded him down with get well drawings for “Kai” and Cook had packed him a care package of travel food and treats that wouldn’t spoil without refrigeration.

                Chanyeol now lived in the cabin the couple once called home, but not for much longer. Faulty wiring started a fire at his house shortly after Jongin’s “accident”, and although his insurance covered everything he chose not to build again. He still owned Happy Virus, but was in the middle of having paperwork drawn up to sell to Sara Jo and Abuela for a token amount, and spent most of his time in New York. Officially he’d been hired by Holland Ranch to take over Jongin’s negotiations with the Japanese businessmen which were rapidly approaching ludicrous levels of being dragged out since Boss had absolutely no desire to leave his wife and granddaughter, but since his Japanese was embarrassingly poor even with Kyungsoo coaching over the phone and online, he “subcontracted” to Baekhyun, who had gotten a promotion since Suho was rotting in jail awaiting his trial and sentencing. Nobody bought it as an actual subcontract even though the company he worked for actually dealt with the same stubborn group of businessmen, since he seemed to be paid in fancy dinners, expensive dates, and activities nobody wanted to hear about, especially the mostly celibate Jongin and Kyungsoo. The married couple did tease their friends about joining their team after swearing up and down they were straight, but still didn’t want to know about all their “experimentation” since neither had had gay before.

                “Welcome back Mister Do and Mister Kim!” Cathy greeted the couple as they entered the hotel lobby and made their way up to the front desk.

                “You remember us?” Kyungsoo sounded surprised as he dug out his wallet and waited to complete the ritual of checking in and getting their room cards.

                “Of course I do! It’s not often I have to pry an officiate out of bed at three am and arrange and witness any wedding, especially one between two men that were so obviously taken with each other. Besides, you kept your promise to come back, and for your first anniversary!”

                “You’re back!” Warren’s familiar voice startled the couple from behind and they turned to greet the young man, who seemed even taller than the last time they’d seen him. His hair was a bit longer now as well, and he sported the embarrassing beginnings of a bad teenage mustache and beard.

                “It’s good to see you both” the couple said politely, as Kyungsoo accepted their keycards and Warren took the handle of their suitcase and offered his free hand to Ollie and Alice, who investigated it thoroughly.

                “Pretty dogs” Warren said, tickling their ears. “Follow me please.”

                Unlike the first time the couple was at the hotel, they weren’t in the honeymoon suite. Due to Jongin’s back they’d had to get a handicapped accessible room, but it was still nice, with a comfortable, adjustable queen-size bed with optional rails so he couldn’t accidentally roll out even if he didn’t move much, a built-in shower bench so they didn’t have to drag theirs with them, and a sliding door that led to a balcony overlooking the Strip. The dogs had been accommodated as well, with fancy food and water dishes on a mat just waiting to be filled, and two oversized pillows that were obviously meant for dog beds near one of the windows so they got the afternoon sunlight. There was even a basket of chew toys and rawhides next to the humans’ fruit bowl, with a card that said they were compliments of the hotel.

                “Looks like those two won’t have any problems staying here for the weekend” Jongin commented, watching Ollie and Alice sniff everything once they were off their leashes, only to flop on their pillows to bask in the sun. The former cowboy laid the leashes on the table, then started unwrapping and examining everything in the dog basket for small parts, tossing them near the dogs afterward, who barely flicked an ear in response.

                Kyungsoo ducked into the bathroom to fill the water bowl and set it back down. He’d feed Ollie and Alice later, after their next walk and just before he and Jongin went out for their dinner reservation, at the same place they’d had their first date, only to end up married that night somehow. They never had figured out what happened, not that it mattered to either of them. Jongin was healing after Suho’s “plan” to force Kyungsoo back to him had failed, and after everything that happened in the last year they were still together and working out their future plans, which had to be adjusted due to the former cowboy’s injury. Kyungsoo now provided online translations of contracts for various food-related businesses in various parts of the world in order to have the freedom to care for his husband and had recently gotten an offer to publish his recipes as a cookbook, and Jongin was now in contact with several dance instructors, who facetimed him to ask his advice in working out moves and new routines for their students, including surprisingly Taemin, who had contacted him shortly after he’d gotten out of the hospital. The blonde man had been extremely apologetic for his past actions, wanting to know if there was anything he could do to help once he heard about Jongin’s injury and explaining that he now had a boyfriend who’d made him get the mental help he needed and the younger man kept him on a short leash so he couldn’t back-slide, and he’d never been happier. Jimin was a dancer as well, and the two of them worked together to translate the former cowboy’s ideas to actual movements. Once everything was worked out perfectly, they’d film themselves demonstrating and would make the videos available for download, for a reasonable fee. The three of them would then split the profits and it helped Jongin fill his days and prove to him he could still be productive.

                “Baby, did you want to take your shower now, or after your nap and before we go walk the dogs?” Kyungsoo asked, leaning over the back of Jongin’s wheelchair and nuzzling his husband’s ear. As much as he hated them, the former cowboy still had to take rather strong painkillers and muscle relaxers at times and they always made him tired. Being in his chair for several hours in the back of the van and although Kyungsoo tried to stay on the expressways and avoid as many potholes as possible as he drove, Jongin had still gotten jarred and ended up taking one of his pain pills.

                “That depends” Jongin answered, turning his head so he could kiss Kyungsoo on the lips. “What were you planning on doing to me?”

                “Well that depends on your back once you’re out of your straightjacket” Kyungsoo responded playfully, gently returning Jongin’s kiss.

                “Then take me to bed Love.”

                After a long nap, Jongin having fallen asleep almost before Kyungsoo had helped him undress and change braces, only to wake up grumpy that they hadn’t even made out, much less fooled around or more, the couple showered and dressed and went to walk the dogs, then fed them before heading out for their dinner reservation.

                The restaurant looked much the same as it had the year before, with the possible exception of a new coat of paint on the outside. The couple had barely managed to get in the door, Jongin having had trouble getting his front wheels over the small “lip” on the threshold, when they were accosted by half a dozen staff all yelling excitedly and swarming mostly Kyungsoo.

                “BRUNO! IT’S BRUNO! BRUNO HAS COME BACK!”               

                “Bruno?” Kyungsoo whispered in Jongin’s ear as soon as the cacophony had charged off, toward the kitchen if they’d had to hazard a guess.

                Jongin shrugged. “I don’t get the reference. Why call you Bruno? Well, at least I’m pretty sure that was directed at you.”

                A small, round, balding man with a seventy’s mustache and incredibly tacky checked suit from the same era came striding out of the back, only to grasp the couple’s hands before either of them had more than just registered his appearance.

                “Welcome! Welcome back my friends!” the little man, who Jongin was guessing was the owner since he’d met the manager on one of his prior visits, said warmly. “We were worried we’d never see you again after what happened, and after such a lovely performance from Bruno to his man too. You are happily married now though, yes? Come, come my friends. I’ll see to you personally.”

                Bemused by the unusual, though certainly sincere greeting, the couple followed the man toward what had to have been the best table in the house. Their host made quite a fuss, pulling out Kyungsoo’s chair for him and waving one of the young waiters over to take away the other so Jongin could roll into place easily. He even opened their cloth napkins with a flair and laid them over the two men’s laps before handing them their menus and asking if he could get them anything from the bar.

                “I’m afraid we can’t drink, but if we could both have an ice tea please? And to answer your earlier question Sir, yes we’re very happily married.” Kyungsoo said politely as he and Jongin held up their respective left hands. The short man had held onto his husband’s wedding band for nearly a month after the former cowboy’s back surgery, until he was stable and healed enough to be transferred to rehab for a few weeks before being able to move in with Kyungsoo in their handicapped ready rental home. It hadn’t left his finger since.

                “Of course, of course!” The little man bustled away, only to return a minute or two later with their ice teas.

                “For you my friends. Have you decided, or did you need more time?”

                “Baby, you know the menu better than I do. Did you want to order for us?” Kyungsoo looked across the small table at Jongin, who nodded.

                “If that’s what you want Soo” Jongin proceeded to order much the same as he had the prior year, barring one or two things he had trouble eating due to his pills and asked for substitutions instead.

                “My pleasure! Let me get that going for you right away!”

                Their host bustled away again, only to come back out shortly, this time with a laptop. He set it down on their table and waved Kyungsoo to stand by Jongin.

                “You two should see this, since I doubt you remember.”

                The little man clicked on a video file, and they suddenly understood why Kyungsoo had been called Bruno. The quality wasn’t the greatest since it must have been pulled from security footage or possibly an older smartphone with questionable video capability, but it was still undoubtedly Kyungsoo, holding onto the microphone from the karaoke machine that was even more tinny than the one Chanyeol had at Happy Virus and singing Bruno Mars’ “Marry You,” with a few of the words changed and obviously directed at Jongin who even through the grainy footage looked absolutely enchanted.

                “You two were so cute” the little man said after the performance was over. “You then asked if we knew where you could buy matching wedding rings and outfits at night, because you wanted to marry right away. Our bartender happened to know of a couple places, and you tipped incredibly generously before taking off. It wasn’t until another table complained their drinks were rather than triple-shotted that we realized you two weren’t sober and probably didn’t know what you were doing since that stuff sneaks up on you and you don’t even realize you’ve been drinking. We tried to track you down, but it was too late and you’d disappeared and we didn’t know your hotel. All we could do is pray it worked out for the best and that you’d come back so we could explain if you didn’t remember on your own and show you the video and ask what we could do to make it up to you both since it was our mistake.”

                Kyungsoo shook his head and took the little man’s hands. “It might not have been intentional, but it was certainly not a mistake. No, we never did remember how it happened, but marrying Jongin was the best thing that ever happened to me. You have nothing to apologize or make up for.”

                Jongin chimed in. “If anything, we owe you a great debt. I feel the same way as Soo. I can’t imagine not being married to him, so please forget anything you think you owe us.”

                The little man didn’t look convinced, so Kyungsoo added “If you really feel you need to do something, will you email me a copy of the video so we can add it to our memories as a couple?”

                Their host then brightened. “Of course! Of course!”

                Kyungsoo gave the little man his business email and watched him send it as an attachment, only to have his phone ding with the notification. “There, see. All set!”

                The little man insisted on comping them everything, and even pushed gift cards into Kyungsoo’s hands when he tried to protest it was too much. Jongin at least was able to smuggle a large tip onto the table, under the pretext of fiddling with the brakes on his wheelchair while their host was still arguing with Kyungsoo not wanting to accept any further generosity since they both felt at though they were taking advantage. He didn’t get his way however, so graciously thanked the little man and tucked the gift cards into his wallet. With many bows and promises to come back whenever they were in town they finally managed to escape and headed back to their hotel, to walk the dogs one last time and go to bed, suddenly exhausted.

                Kyungsoo and Jongin thoroughly enjoyed their first anniversary weekend. They didn’t do anything particularly special, mostly walking up and down the Strip with Ollie and Alice. Well, the short man and the dogs walked, the former cowboy keeping up well enough in his wheelchair. There were more than enough cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating where the dogs were welcome, as well as things to look at. There was even a small carnival on one of the side streets, where they spent most of the afternoon eating corndogs, elephant ears, and cotton candy, and playing the games and trying to win each other stuffed animals, boxes of semi-stale candy, and glass mirrors with tacky paintings of singers like Elvis, Dolly Parton, and Neil Diamond. They were only partially successful, with Jongin managing to bust enough balloons with darts to get Kyungsoo a garishly Day-Glo owl and mirror with Dolly Parton, and winning two boxes of bubblegum at one of the quarter on a color betting games, while the short man won his manly husband a pink beaded change purse and plastic kazoo during a racing game. The only prize they thought was actually worth it was when they were playing toss the ping-pong ball and both landed in little bowls with goldfish.

                “Let’s call them Baek Junior and Yeol the Second” Kyungsoo chuckled as he accepted the plastic bags with their new pets inside.

                “Oh yeah, I can see the resemblance” Jongin snickered as he started wheeling himself away so they could try and find a pet supply place to get a fish bowl and some food to hold them over til they could get Junior and Second home and into a proper aquarium. After asking numerous passersby and mostly getting ignored, they were finally directed to a hole in the wall discount store in an out of the way area that had a small pet section. Jongin waited outside with all the animals, while Kyungsoo went in to buy a tacky plastic fish bowl, the smallest shaker of fish food flakes they had, a bottle of spring water, a tiny bottle of dish soap, and a plastic-wrapped sponge.

                “I think I need a tetanus shot after that” Kyungsoo commented to Jongin afterward, hooking the plastic shopping bag onto one of the handles of his husband’s wheelchair since it wouldn’t fit in the backpack slung across the back that already held the former cowboy’s meds and their carnival prizes, Kyungsoo’s owl peeking over the top.

                “That bad huh?”

                “Worse”

                The couple made it back to the hotel, where Kyungsoo proceeded to soap up and scrub and rinse the fish bowl several times until he felt it was clean enough, then added some of the spring water after smelling it to make sure it didn’t smell like chlorine like the tap water did. He then carefully added the fish and water from their bags. They swam around kind of lazily until he sprinkled in some of the food. They then proceeded to do their best impression of tiny sharks, attacking their food like they hadn’t eaten in days.

                “I wonder when the last time the poor things ate was” Jongin commented, watching Junior and Second devour even the smallest flake.

                “I don’t know. I’d like to give them more, but I don’t want to make them sick. Maybe we should facetime Doc and ask his opinion.”

                “Might be a good idea.”

                Doc wasn’t all that optimistic, warning the two that carnival fish often had very short lives due to their treatment as cheap prizes rather than living beings, and that even the best ones were nothing more than overstock feeder fish bought for next to nothing.

                “I’ll give you the best advice I can, but don’t be surprised if it’s not enough” Doc told them, before giving them a list of equipment, food, plant life, and supplements and water treatment that would give them the best chance of survival. Kyungsoo wrote it down carefully and the couple thanked their friend before signing off.

                The next day, after they checked out of the hotel and before they started the long drive home, Jongin and Kyungsoo went back to the street where the carnival was in order to try and convince the fish man to just sell them the rest of his “prizes” but it was gone, as though it had never existed. Disappointed, they went back to the van and headed home, Jongin holding Junior and Second’s temporary quarters with the makeshift cover of some plastic wrap Warren had kindly gotten from the hotel kitchen for them on his lap the entire trip. They stopped at an actual pet supply place that specialized in aquatic animals but still welcomed the dogs with treats once they got back to Carson City to buy everything Doc had recommended for the new members of the family. They then settled back into the normal their lives had become, and proceeded to live happily ever after.

Epilogue: Ten and a Half Years Later

                Contrary to Doc’s expectations, Junior and Second not only lived, but grew and became beautiful, healthy members of their species. In fact, they managed to outgrow the rather generous tank Kyungsoo and Jongin had bought them and now resided in a wall-length aquarium in the Do-Kim household’s permanent home, with plenty of living rock and a few other fresh-water species so they’d have company.

                Ollie and Alice were starting to feel their age at nearly twelve, but continued to be faithful companions to their humans and herd whatever they could find, when they weren’t act their actual jobs, the big dog herding the goats his shorter master was finally able to purchase once his taller master had healed and they were able to move back to the country, and the little one being a faithful companion, and often performing agility and her extensive collection of tricks whenever there was a chance for her to do so.

                Jongin made an even better recovery from his “accident” than expected, and was once again nearly as active as he’d been when he still worked at Holland Ranch. Now he was one of the bosses of Do-Kim Farm, which was quite an extensive operation with multiple smaller business, situated on nearly two thousand acres the Do-Kims managed to purchase over several years with a combination of their savings, sales,  investors, charitable contributions because of some of their work, fund-raising, fees from Jongin’s own pet projects, and a hefty loan from the bank. The former cowboy now supervised riding lessons for children with various disabilities that were bussed in as part of a special program, and continuing to assist others such as Taemin and his very long-term boyfriend Jimin with developing dance lesson plans, and teaching dance classes twice a week to many of the same kids that took riding lessons at the farm.

                Kyungsoo had several cookbooks published, and eventually got his food delivery business started, catering to people with special dietary needs as well as developing several lines of various cuisines, including his and Jongin’s native foods and those of their friends at Holland Ranch. He also ran the actual farm part, supervising his employees (many of whom lived on site in a similar way as the hands at the ranch) that not only grew, harvested, and processed the crops, but cared for the goats Do-Kim raised for meat and milk, with Ollie’s help of course.

                Chanyeol and Baekhyun would be together for a while, then fight and break up, only to almost immediately seek each other out and be glued together again. They finally married just to make it more difficult, flying Kyungsoo and Jongin once the former cowboy’s back could handle the flight, to New York to be their witnesses and finally worked out their issues to be almost as happy as their friends were. They were also able to finally persuade the Japanese businessmen to go to Nevada to see for themselves, and between ChanBaek and the Do-Kims were able to convince them to not only invest in Holland Ranch, but Do-Kim Farm as well and were now able to collect returns on their investments to everyone’s relief.

                Suho stood trial at his own insistence, and unfortunately for him the judge happened to be a big fan of the rodeo circuit and had a beautiful saddle horse of his own. He had no tolerance for either animal cruelty or attempted murder, especially of such a popular performer. Kyungsoo’s ex was now spending twenty-five to thirty years rotting in Nevada’s finest correctional facility, where he often spent time in solitary “for his own protection” since many of the other inmates also enjoyed watching rodeos on TV and were fans of “Korean Kai.” Since Jongin could no longer perform out of consideration for his back, his inmate fan club had no problems entertaining themselves by beating the man responsible instead. The guards didn’t actually care, they were just tired of blood spatter so threw the former businessman in solitary so they didn’t have to worry about it.

                Now fifteen, Tansy no longer spent all her time pestering everyone at Holland Ranch in order to stay entertained. After nearly two years of only seeing Jongin and Kyungsoo sporadically, once they moved back she immediately made herself as indispensable as possible to her two favorite Koreans. She also no longer had her speech impediment, finally having her problem diagnosed properly and getting hearing aids so she could actually hear how things were actually supposed to sound like. She chattered as much as ever, working at the farm after school and on weekends and vacations, mostly with Kyungsoo’s Cuisines since she eventually wanted to work with food. She just hadn’t decided exactly in what capacity, so tried to get as much exposure as possible, taking classes at school and volunteering for programs when she wasn’t working at the farm. She also took business and business law classes since she was still her grandparents’ sole heir and would need to know such things. She also got to work with Cook, who had to semi-retire from cooking for so many by himself at Holland Ranch, so trained a couple of the hands as his replacement and now amused himself by working part-time as a “consultant” for Kyungsoo’s Cuisines, meaning he test tasted and helped Kyungsoo work out recipes and was actually co-author on two of the short man’s cookbooks.

                Boss and Missus Holland continued to supervise the ranch, though they too were starting to consider retirement, or at least slowing down. Tansy would still inherit to do with it as she pleased, and at her request made sure to train her the best managers and others she’d be able to rely on once she took over, so she wouldn’t have to worry about the horses or anyone’s jobs, but would still be able to pursue her own passions.

                The most important job Kyungsoo and Jongin had taken on however, had nothing to do with their farm or any of the pet projects contained within. Per Tansy’s request for female playmates, the couple ended up adopting triplet girls, who were half-Korean and born with Down Syndrome and unwanted by their birth mother for that reason. Violet, Lilac, and Lavender were the apples of their fathers’ eyes however, and didn’t let anything as minute as an extra chromosome slow them down from anything they tried to do, succeeding beyond expectations in regular classes at school (though near the bottom of their grade it was still regular class, not the special ed where they’d been expected to be placed) and fully participating to the best of their abilities in the various aspects of their family’s business, from dance classes with Papa to helping Daddy cook. They also adored their best friend Tansy and often followed her around like a “little brood of ducklings.” She felt the same way about the three of them who were now eleven, and had tried to hug the entire group at once when Kyungsoo and Jongin moved in to the house they had built on their first piece of property and promptly brought home the then three-year olds. They were exactly who were needed to complete their family and nobody who knew the Do-Kims could now imagine them without their sweet daughters.

                Jongin was settled in his comfortable padded chair with his feet up on the front porch of their house one summer evening after supper, sipping on a cup of “dissolve a spoon” coffee as he watched Tansy, who often joined them before saddling up Apple Blossom and finally heading for home, and the triplets play some game in the front yard, which involved the four girls chasing each other and the dogs, who had to bark as loudly and often as possible while the girls all had a horrible case of the giggles.

                “Hey Baby. How are you doing?” Kyungsoo came out with his own mug of tea and pulled up his rocking chair next to his husband and took his free hand.

                “Just a little stiff helping Taemin and Jimin work out that one move” Jongin answered, shifting a bit so he could rest his head on Kyungsoo’s a moment. “Now trying to figure out how a high schooler and three soon to be middle schoolers can still act so childish.”

                Kyungsoo chuckled and kissed Jongin’s cheek. “You’re starting to sound like an old married man Baby.”

                “I am an old married man Love, with a husband of over eleven years and three, or might as well be four daughters with as often as Tans is around.”

                “And you love every minute Baby. Hard to believe this all started with one simple flight with a stranger.”

                “Only because you offered to share your hotel room with that stranger you thought you might have a “Vegas Experience” with. And you’re right Love. I do love every minute of our chaos. I also love you Mister Kim.”

                “I love you too Mister Do.”