Page 145 of Puck My Life

I can barely even focus on him, let alone get any words out.

He threads our fingers together, and he and Mal lead me from room to room. I marvel at the new couch. The huge TV. The new beds.

My new room.

“I don’t live here.”

“Yes, you do,” Raynor protests. “You always have and always will.”

The room is everything I always dreamed of having. Someone has painted a realistic view of the constellations on the ceiling. My bed is enormous with all new clothes hanging in the wardrobe.

“You can’t just-”

“We can, and we should have done it before.”

He reaches up and takes my necklace off.

“What are you doing?”

“Upgrading.”

He turns me towards the mirror. I find four stars interlinked with emerald hearts in each one.

“It’s beautiful.”

“You are beautiful, Vae.” Raynor steps back, dragging his fingers off my shoulders. “Yes, it’s time for the last surprise.”

He opens the door and leads us down the hall. Deacon opens the door on the left. It’s the biggest room, and it used to belong to Maria. I cannot even recognise it.

The nest is awash in teals, blacks, and golds. On the ceiling, there is a massive compass. I pause to study the artwork.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s your nest, if you’ll have it,” Deacon says, and I sense the others disappear. He leads me back to the bed and sits on the edge, pulling me between his legs.

I only realise I’m crying when the tears drip off my jaw. A part of me is mourning my old nest, the old me, the last few weeks. I’m overwhelmed. But Deacon is holding me.

“I love you, Vae. When I think about winning a game, I see you cheering me on. When I think about our future, you are here with us. There is no us without you. You are my dream, my hope, my peaceful days. I imagine us with a family, old, together, forever. I am sorry that it took this long to realise it. And I’m sorry I hurt you, Vae. I just made you off limits in my mind.”

“You can’t change your mind. I’m not one of those omegas, Deacon. You can’t toss me aside.”

“How could I toss you aside, Vae, you know every dark, nasty part of me, but then you know the best parts of me, too. Just like I know you, my Hook. I grew up so I could keep you.”

A sob escapes me, and he pulls me tighter to him, resting his forehead on my stomach.

I wrap my arms around him, holding on as my whole self crumbles and reforms.

“Come home, Vae. Come home forever. You don’t need to live somewhere else or on a star. This is your Neverland, and we will always be your Lost Boys.”

I squeeze him tighter. He pulls away and turns around.

“And I made this for you.”

I open the box and find a cake. One of my signature cakes, not perfect, but it’s pretty good. This is what really breaks through the last bit of my resistance. I don’t have this recipe written down. Anywhere. It’s known only to me.

“Did you make this, Deacon?” I ask in wonder.

“Yes, I do listen to you, Vae. I did it from memory. Try it.”