By Chance

Thank you to everyone that has followed this story for the last year. Thank you for all the support and goading. You all have truly been a great help.

To Memme, Bambi, Scribbles, Michiru Loves Haruka, midnighteyes, bookworm, and to everyone else: THANK YOU!

I hope to finish the other two stories and move on to posting the other fics that I've written.

Epilogue


“Going home finally, huh?”

He looked to the man at his side. “Yeah, it’s today.”

“Well, I know I shouldn’t say it was nice having you, but you’re a good man. Don’t come back here, you got me?”

Joe Vic shook the hand extended to him. C.O.—Correction’s Officer Barnes had always been nice to him and he took the man’s well wishing to heart. He wouldn’t be coming back here ever again. Like something inevitable, he’d gone and come through unscathed, a bit more rough around the edges, but smoother all the way round.

Six months was a hell of a long time, but it was a lot less than what he should have gotten. It was a good thing he’d pulled back when he did.

He walked through the dark corridor bypassing guards and inmates alike. Each set had a respect for him, each could understand why he’d done what he did. Six months ago when he entered the guards expected him to be trouble, just because of his mere size, and the inmates, well, they expected him to be some kinda leader, especially with him trying to take out Rick Shade and all.

His reputation made the last half year pretty easy for him.

As Joe Vic shouldered his small bag of possessions, he couldn’t stop the smile that crossed his face. Sunlight streamed across the open doorway, bright gold and white, as all those people said when about heaven when they died only to come back.

His footfalls sounded heavy and lonesome down the corridor. Just like the last six months, it was a lonely stretch. Oh, he’d had Old Bill and Mary come to visit him, promise him that everything that had been offered was still waiting for him.
But Rue…

Joe Vic broke his promise. As he stepped into the sunlight, finally free from an almost uneventful course through the darkness, his mind flashed back to that day. Watching Rick Shade and crew breeze along the street, as if the hadn’t possessed one care in the world, he’d tried. Thought of Rue, thought of Old Bill and Mary. He even thought of God.

No of it had helped, because a wall of red descended over his vision and all sound ceased.
Like they type of vacuum he learned about from some science program they had the inmates watch.

He came out of the shadows, moving quietly, he presumed, because none of them had a clue—not a fucking clue, until he was bearing down on them like a hurricane. Fists, feet, legs and knees, he was striking them down. Delivering the same hurt that Rick, and possibly all of them, had given Rue.

Shade’s associates were fanned out on the ground. Bleeding from foreheads, mouths and noses. There bodies held untold numbers of bruises. Flowers of pain blossoming over their skin as his fists delivered blow after blow.

When it was just him and Rick, Joe Vic forwent using his hands, opting for his head instead. Their skulls bashed together, sending Rick against his car. Ignoring the resounding headache, Joe Vic used his size and the years of bar fights to his advantage. Shade threw punches, most time hitting air, the rest landed on Joe Vic, but he shrugged them off.

He was a man possessed.

Possessed by a thousand ghosts from his life and Rue’s. His fists were doling out the punishment tenfold.

Joe Vic smashed Rick into the side of the car. Over and over again, the man yelled as his body crashed into the metal body. Then, Rick fell to the ground with Joe Vic looming over him.

Joe Vic squatted beside the downed man. “This is for her you son of bitch.” He growled.

His fist pounded into the man’s face again. Skin and bone moved under his fist, leaving a slick residue on his abused hand. “I promised her no one would hurt her again.”

He rolled up to his feet and proceeding to break every rib. When the police arrived, Joe Vic had been in the process of rupturing Rick Shade’s testicles. That’s what led to the six months sentence.

Robbing a man of reproducing was worth more than standard physical assault. At least, Joe Vic believed it was all worth it, even as he passed a wet-eyed Mary being supported in Old Bill’s arms. The older man promised to watch Rue for him.

Breathing came just a bit easier as the sun poured over him. There were no limits to this exposure. He was free.

People stood around the entrance. All looking expectantly at the tunnel. Maybe, other people were being released today, but he was the only one in the tunnel. All except for two would be disappointed to see him.

Every visiting day, he’d felt bad, just a little. The feeling was deep and heavy hanging over him when he though of his family. Yeah, that’s one thing prison put into perspective. He had a family.

“Good to see you, Boy!” Old Bill clasped his hands on Joe Vic’s upper arms, and looked him over from head to toe.

“What?” Joe Vic smiled. “You act like you haven’t seen me recently?” He teased.

Mary pushed Bill out of the way, and wrapped her arms around Joe Vic. Though she had thin arms, she squeezed him tight enough for his breath to falter its even rhythm. “Don’t get smart with us. Sure, we’ve come to visit you, but we haven’t seen you. You could have lost your legs for all we know!”

Joe Vic regarded Mary with one of his rare open grins. Then, he did something neither Old Bill or Mary had seen before. He hugged Mary and kissed her cheek. “Well, I wouldn’t let anything happen to me, ‘cause I know those guards couldn’t handle it if you came down on them.”

Mary patted his smooth cheek. “That’s right.” Her finger flicked back to Old Bill. “You got a mother and a father that can curse like sailors and whoop some butt if their boy came out of this filth box any less handsome than he actually is.”

Joe Vic ducked his head and blushed. “Oh, Mary, I think you’re embarrassing the boy.”

Mary waved off her husband after giving him an unconcerned look. “My boy is handsome…and shit, if I didn’t know better I’d swear he grew.”

“There wasn’t much to do except read and lift weights.” Joe Vic clarified as they walked away from the rod iron gates.

Behind the fence, the brick structure loomed and inside countless guys waited. Some had done wrong, some nothing at all, but they waited. His tour was over and Joe Vic felt almost relieved that going to jail had been almost anticlimactic.

Just as he got his life together, he allowed it to fall apart.

There no regrets. Six months of separation and he still stood by his decision.

Now, it was time to go home to Rue.
When Rue got out of the hospital, he’d asked her not to come. He wouldn’t be able to stand seeing the shame in her eyes. Nor, did he want her to see him locked up.

He was her protector. How could he do a good job if he was in prison? The times that Rue had tried to visit with Mary and Old Bill, she’d been left outside, because he refused to put her name of the visitor’s list.

For six months, she had cursed him from coast to coast and every place north and south of the Mississippi. Joe Vic bared it. Even if it was only to wait to receive the ass kicking Rue promised.

Old Bill and Mary dropped him off. It scared him to see this building again, because beyond the façade, there were ghosts in haunted this place. He took a breath, readying himself for his past and future to come together.

At the door, he hesitated in putting the key in the lock. If ever he was afraid, it was now. The key fit and turned within the lock. It was like looking in a distorted mirror. Most of what he could see looked the same, yet the small changes made him breathless. It was all due to additions. Rugs, pictures, a blanket on the sofa.

His apartment looked like a real home. The door closed with an audible bang. His throat closed when he tried to call her the first time. “Rue.” He managed. His voice sounded too rough for his ears.

A shrill whine filled the vacant spaces as his bedroom door opened. As the sound died, his heart raced. The thundering pulse flooded his ears, the slow drag of sweat covered his limbs. He swallowed thickly, but found his throat dry.

It was the waiting that was killing him.

Then, she appeared. Like Venus arriving on a seashell, she seemed to float into the room. Instantly, the room seemed to brighten. Long shapely legs caught his attention first before leading up to nicely rounded hips. In the time, he’d been gone Rue had truly blossomed.

Those luscious pink lips curled back. “Good to see you, stranger.”

Joe Vic ducked his head, blushing like a little boy. “Yeah, it’s good to see you too, Rue.”

“Quentin’s been asking when you’d get out. He’s ‘bout ready to come up here and kick your ass for leaving me alone.”

“Rue, I--”

She approached him with a combination of more swing and purpose in his step. Gone was the meek boy---girl that he had first met. Now, he faced a woman.

A slim manicured finger landed across his lips, silencing his explanation. “I told him not to worry about it, because it won’t happen again.” This wasn’t a question. Rue was telling him this wouldn’t happen again. They wouldn’t be apart ever again.

“Right, Rue.”

She smiled and caressed his cheeks. “Look at all this hair.” She cooed. It was much but he had abandoned his shaven look due to the cold nights. Now, he sported a low cropped buzz cut.

“It’s a change.” Joe Vic dropped his bags. His arms came around her. “You like it?”

“Yeah, it makes you look good.”

She wore a dress of purple; the type of color that was associated with royalty. The fabric blew and swayed by the force of some unknown wind, cutting across the near median of her thighs, long and shapely.

Joe Vic couldn’t help but stare at Rue’s thighs. They’d lost that lost bit of hardness, those last masculine lines were lost—loosened and covered by the cooperating efforts of fat and muscle. His eyes followed the layers of purple from pleats to the free falling spring that began at her waist. Then, as if by the power of some jealous force, the fabric clung to her ribs, crisscrossing like fingers intertwined. Suffering from a flare of jealousy, he stepped forward for a better look; his eyes eager to inspect.

Joe Vic moved forward, allowing a solitary finger to hover just above the possessive design. He waned to touch, claim something that had been lost to him. Like an animal, the primordial instinct within burned his veins, coiled within his stomach like a the Gordian knot.

“I missed you, Rue.” But she read his eyes. They said, ‘I love you’, I want you’, ‘I need you’.

Those long fingers dig into the biceps. “You won’t leave.” They’re paler now than before. She’d been darker than him six months ago, now he was color was just a bit crisper than her toasted almond skin.

Her breasts protruded from their cups, trying to spill over. High and round, they call to him as she breathed. “I love you.” His voice is thunder, her touch is lightning.

Like points of destination, his hands longed to clutch her waist, skitter down her arms—long and flowing; Rue looked so soft.

Her lips were soft, pouty and pink. He couldn’t imagine putting his lips anywhere else first. Then, it would be her neck. Long, strong, and straight; the taste of her skin would roll over his tongue, making him an addict. He felt like a small boat, ready to be overtaken by the energetic sea that was Rue.

They’re a hare’s breath apart. Her eyes are an unearthly shade of blue, deep and never-ending, they make him want fall head first inside of her. “Welcome home.” Rue whispered.

The damn broke, allowing his will to be enacted. His big hands gripped Rue’s waist, bunching the fabric and soaking in the luscious heat which radiated from beneath the layers of gorgeous purple. Their mouths synced and he felt the greasy sweet lip gloss binding them together, like glue they were stuck. Like animal instinct, she yielded to him, allowing Joe Vic’s wider, harder, strong mouth to surge over her. His tongue danced over hers.

Slick, slipping, twirling, tangling with hers. He sucked up the moan as Joe Vic continued his exploration of Rue’s mouth. She tasted like lemonade, with just enough kick to make him more eager to suck on her.

He pulled back. His hands held the base of her face, her lips were bruised and pink from the excited rush of blood from their depressed region. Glacial blue eyes search his, conveying words that were best spoken physically.

As he suckled her neck, marking the sweet smelling territory with his teeth, Rue gasped, “Take me. Make me whole.”

He nibbled hard. His teeth working his mark into her skin. Joe Vic pulled off as his mark was just shy of magenta. It was a beautiful shade of pink. Rue shivered in his arms as he ran his tongue over the raised mark. That feeling of having her shaking in his arms made him feel renewed, restored and galvanized for going deeper.

Rue yelped as Joe Vic swept her feet from under her. He carried her like a rag doll, as if she weighed nothing. His bedroom asserted the same sense of vertigo as the rest of the apartment. Still sparse and dark, it looked like him, but smelled like Rue’s soft skin tingling perfume. Parts had not changed like the shirt hanging precariously on his weight set.

How many times had she slept in here, he wondered. The idea of having Rue in his bed, even while he was away, felt …good, it felt right.

Joe Vic put her down at the foot of his bed. Those long curling tresses were swung over her shoulder, giving him a better view of her smooth rounded shoulders. He just wanted touch her everywhere.

It used to startle him how well Rue could read his mind. This occasion was no exception. The metallic clicks of the zipper filled the air. The purple straps slipped off her shoulders revealing thinner straps of purple gripping her slim shoulders. A slight hiss and the dress slipped to the floor. She revealed herself, so did he as he stripped down to his prison issued boxers.

Rue hissed in appraisal, her reaction wasn’t far from his own. Gone were the small handfuls of breasts. Now, her chest looked healthy and full with more than enough to fit into his hands and mouth simultaneously. He’d dreamed of the weight of those chocolate dark nipples on his tongue. Many nights, he dreamed of giving Rue pleasure, making her come from just sucking her hardened nipples until she could no longer shout. Long and hard and tasting completely of her, she’d come while in his arms. The images flashed through his mind now, and he knew he would have plenty of time.

In prison, there had been more than enough dick to go around. Then, there had been the she-hes, very few of which had true autonomy within the prison foodchain. He thought about what led them there—drugs or hooking. Never one to believe in God, he did. Joe Vic thanked God everyday that he’d come across Rue that night in the rain. Rue had suffered more than he’d ever imagined, ever wanted her too, but he was thankful that she had stopped hooking after meeting him.

She stood in front of him, wrapped partially in purple. Beautiful, mighty, strong like a goddess. He wanted to worship her. He kneeled and pressed his face into her belly. Joe Vic longed to pull her panties off and see her whole and free.

Rue was beyond definition. He longed to see the parts that weren’t technically feminine. There was nothing to accept, because her dick was just another part of her. Another part that made him love her.

As he began to pull back the panties, Rue’s voice slowed him. “Almost there, baby. Two more months and everything will be in…order.” She hissed as his warm breath tickled her hardened length.

His mouth circled her swollen pink head. Moans were pulled from her mouth as he kissed and sucked her length and massaged her firmly between her legs. Many nights he had dreamed about this, wondered how she would taste. Now, he knew he’d never get enough.

Joe Vic pulled off, as he felt Rue’s knees shake dangerously. “Baby, keep the money. You don’t need some surgery. ‘Cause I love you just the way you are, got that?”

“You do?” She groaned with her head thrown back.

He nuzzled her belly. His mouth worked the skin around her belly button gently teasing and suckling. “Yes. You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on and you love me so you have to be a saint.”

Rue cried and stroked his face. “Loving you, Joe, is the easy part.”

“That’s what you say, baby.” He kissed her like he dreamed about for six months.

Rue’s hands dug into his back. His hands clutched her naked breast. Their sex lined up and rubbed with delicious friction.

“You and me, Rue.” Joe Vic whispered into Rue’s mouth.

“Forever.” Forever was just long enough to make up for time lost.

By serendipity’s hand alone had Joseph Victor Dean and Rue Delacroix met. Yet, by grace of fate did they love.

The End

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