After that night, there would be more nights and there would be more days.  Kyan came to view Dominic's apartment as his second home, staying there every weekend and occasionally during the week as well.  At some point, after passing his first year at university with ease, his first home, his father's apartment, came to be view as his second home and his lover's place was the main home of his heart.

The two men fell into a domestic arrangement of bliss, with Dominic working still at his brother's offices and coming home to cook dinner, while Kyan studied and cleaned their home.  And during one evening, after Kyan closed his books and Dominic tossed vegetables about in a wok with a thick, aromatic sauce and noodles, Dominic suddenly asked;

"Kyan, will you marry me again and make this our perfect forever after?"

Although, news of their engagement was kept between family members, after all Dominic had divorced less than a year prior and outsiders were not aware of the true circumstances behind it, word did slip through the cracks and the pair were inundated with queries.

"Mr Monticello, is it true that you have recently proposed and become engaged to a student? Do you not think that it is too soon after your divorce?"

"Mr Monticello, the boy that you have been rumoured to have been in a relationship with, is he now your fiance?"

"Mr Monticello, is the reason for your divorce that you are gay and are only now able to come out?"

"Mr Monticello, could you confirm rumours that you had an extramarital affair with an underaged male student? And that it was actually Destiny Canterbury who filed for divorce on these grounds?"

Naturally, this last query caused Dominic to frown and turn to his brother, who was beside him when all of these voice messages poured unblocked through his computer once activated. "What do you think?" He asked for the older man's opinion.

"I think that you will need to prepare a statement," Artem replied, scratching the back of his neck with a sigh. "But we should investigate that rumour first."

"How dare you sully the Monticello name again with your inconsiderate actions! Don't you ever think about crawling to my doorstep again in this lifetime! I no longer have a great grandson named Dominic!"

"Great Grandfather," the brothers sighed at the same moment.

Artem glanced at his handheld with sudden epiphany and indeed, he too had a message from the old man. Doubtless, the patriarch had discovered that Artem was supporting his brother from behind the scenes and now wished to sever their ties as well. He could imagine the threatening words that would spill from the message. This caused an inward panic within him. This business was his life, he had managed and helped to grow it for a long time, losing it was not an option... but he'd not long regained connection with his baby brother and didn't want to lose that either. Damn the cursed man!

"Ah, Dominic, just thought I should let you know that Kyan is with us.  The university is currently encircled by reporters and your fans and a few have discovered your apartment's address as well."

"Who is that?" Artem queried.

"That is one of Kyan's fathers," Dominic replied.  "Orion Hollister." 

Who knew that his brief dive into the entertainment world could have caused such a splash for many years following?  He had been well received, it was true and his movies had done well.  But there were better actors in the universe and prettier vases to look at.  If he hadn't enjoyed basking in the spot light, enjoyed irritating his family so much demanding they look at him, maybe all of this would have blown over quickly.  No, it was no use considering 'what if's'.  He might not have been invited to enter the Archive had he not been who he was and then he would not have met the person he cherished most in this universe.

"Wait... Orion Hollister... of Future technologies?  The Orion Hollister?" Artem blinked several times over the course of the few seconds it took to digest these words.  Orion Hollister had always been elusive, hard to pin down, to make firm and secure connections with.  And everyone wished to do so, the man was an unparalleled genius!  "He has a son?  And you are dating that son?"

"He and his husband adopted Kyan a few of years ago," Dominic replied.  "We were all stuck in the Alien VR space together.  I met Kyan there."  Artem watched as his brother's features softened as if remembering something fondly.

"Then the extramarital affair....?"

"Never happened," Dominic answered firmly.  "Kyan was barely sixteen when we all were plugged in and just eighteen when he was freed.  He woke up after me, after I was married off to... that woman.  But I'd lost my memories of him, of everything that happened inside.  So despite everything we'd gone through, he chose to let me go."  Dominic's eyes filled with water, his chest aching that his beloved had to suffer so, that he had failed to protect him again!

Artem sighed, he did not fully understand, but if what Dominic was hinting was true, he still had a relationship with an underaged boy while they were inside the alien machine.  He voiced this concern, worried that if the news reporters got wind of this...

"When I first met him," Dominic replied, "I believed I was a fifteen year old boy and he was sixteen.  Our relationship began in our twenties."  These memories had remained hazy for the most part, but there were moments of clarity still, such as the feeling of lifting the fragile boy who had almost lost his life into his arms.  He had been so light!  No wonder a breath of wind nearly whisked him away off of the roof!  He also recalled seeing snowflakes and realising that he was in love... 

"I didn't really know of our age difference then.  We lived several lives and would always find each other.  Sometimes I was older than him, sometimes he was older than me, sometimes we were roughly the same age.  It never seemed to matter though.  I grew more and more besotted with him with each and every lifetime.  Do you really think that I could give him up indefinitely, especially as my memories began to return and live a 'happy ever after' with a woman I never loved?"

His older brother could not helped but be moved by his sincerity, each word proved just how much he loved the youth and how no one else could enter his eyes. "This is a difficult scenario you find yourself in," Artem said, thinking out loud.  "While some might understand, there are always those that will blacken you and speak ill of you because of it."

"Like I give a shit what others think anymore," Dominic grumbled, causing Artem to chuckle.

"Yes you do," he teased his little brother, "if not for you, for your future husband."

"Yeah..."

*****

Reporters hovered in the conference room and just beyond it's open doors either in person or as projected holograms waiting until the press conference scheduled by Dominic Monticello and his brother Artem Monticello began, their recording devices and tablets with listed questions at the ready.  There was some chitchat between rivals, small talk about the weather or occasional queries on how that person's family was doing.  There wasn't really much tension in the air, this report was general interest news after all.  However, all snapped to attention the moment the two brother's entered the room through another entrance, followed by a youth and two other men.

"Oi, isn't that guy in the back Orion Hollister?" One whispered to his neighbour, who could not answer as Dominic had opened his speech with thanks for these men and women's attendance.

"I have come forward to clarify some rumours that have been circulating about the relationships between myself, my ex-wife; Destiny Canterbury and the Male student that I have recently been seen with, whose name is Kyan Jennings Hollister-Harris, son of Orion Hollister and his husband Damien Harris."  This caused some glances between reporters as Orion Hollister was known to keep his private life, very private.  Most of the gossip they had ever obtained was from his ex-girlfriend, but that was a few years ago now.

"Firstly, my engagement to Destiny Canterbury was, for me, a matter of convenience," Dominic continued after a slight pause.  "For her, unfortunately, it meant much more. I regret that I went so far as to propose when I never really had the intention of marriage. The marriage itself was made while I was in an incapacitated state after escaping the Alien Virtual Reality Device that a few years ago caused so much controversy.

"The marriage was not a happy one and I don't intend to say I had no part in its failure, I probably hold most of the blame, in fact. The result was that I filed for a Divorce of No Blame. This is registered on the official channels."  He stated this clearly, telling everyone that the rumours that they had heard were clearly false and the proof of it was obtainable.

"As for my relationship with Kyan, I do not deny that I have fallen in love with him nor do I deny that I asked him to marry me. However there was no affair. Neither with Kyan nor anyone else did I have extramarital relations. In fact, I did not meet Kyan until he came with his fathers to my Photo-image exhibition that was held a few months ago. When I met him, tears were pouring from his eyes as he viewed my work. Is there any person who would not be moved by such?"  A few serious faces in the crowd, felt the corners of their mouths raise.  Perhaps they were thinking that Dominic had a gentle side after all, when he generally only showed others a brilliant flair and love of limelight or perhaps they were comparing with those special in their own lives.

"We started out as friends," Dominic said, truthfully, though his honesty came from their true first meeting, in the Archive as Aidan and Warren. "But I knew after a short while that I wished to pursue him, to become more than just a friend. He accepted my confession and things have progressed for us from there."  Dominic chased him through worlds and then Kyan was able to search for him in turn.  "I love Kyan with all my heart, I would do anything to for him, so long as he promised to stay by my side. I do not expect it, but having the blessings of my family, my friends and my fans would add to the happiness that I have already obtained; the moment he said 'yes'."

"We have time for a few questions?" Artem announced.

"Could you clarify what you mean by an incapacitated state?" One man said, who happened to be physically present.

"I almost lost my life as my mind was released from the Alien VR Device," Dominic replied honestly.  "My parents signed the marriage certificate by proxy with the best intentions at heart.  I was fortunate enough to survive and wake up from the coma that followed."

"Why did you not apply for divorce or annulment once you awoke?" A holographic reporter asked.

"At first," Dominic replied.  "I was in recuperation, concentrating on my recovery.  Afterwards... I think I held a sense of guilt.  Destiny stood by me while I was recuperating and she was with me for many years before the incident with the VR Device.  Breaking off an engagement is one thing, ending a marriage is another.  But I came to realise that guilt is no foundation for a marriage.  I was unhappy, I believe I was making her unhappy as well.  I won't go into the details of what happened between us now, that is private and over as far as I am concerned."  This is the last thing I will do for you, Destiny, he vowed to himself.  However, should she continue spreading muck and rumours, do not blame him for retaliating.

While he spoke, Kyan stood quietly supporting him, while he in turn was supported by his two fathers.  He was content, happy beyond belief and ready to walk down the aisle to his man with one last "I do."

It was a shame, that one particular person out there, refused to feel the same.

Author's note; Not edited!

By the way, I don't know if I will or not, but if there are any 'extras' chapters that you wish for this book, please let me know as I may write them before finishing this novel x