Chapter Text
Despite the breakthrough from the detectives, the case turned cold almost immediately. Syndicate was good at hiding their tracks, and even better at making it seem like they’d never existed in the first place. Katrina had scrubbed any trace of herself from the internet, even videos and pictures of her on other people’s accounts. Even when months had passed, when Colby had made more progress and had gotten closer to Sam and his family, there weren’t any leads to follow in order to get closer to Belial, either, or any of his underlings.
One by one, however, the detectives were getting closer to finding the people who had taken Colby in the first place. Throughout the seedy underground of prostitution and gangs, there were hundreds of people linked to it in some way or another. Dozens of sex workers who had close calls with the trafficking ring were willing to trade information in order to stay out of jail for solicitation, gang members in prison inclined to snitch in order to be transferred to different prisons, and “Johns” who, upon learning of the true nature of the seedy business they’d given their money to, were appalled and ready to reveal as much info as they could to absolve themselves of the crime of giving business to a trafficking ring. The web spread across several states, leading the FBI on one wild goose chase after another before, finally, they could lead Colby to a two-way mirror, pointing at lineups where he could identify people he’d met in his years in captivity. One by one, low-level cronies were rounded up through his testimony, leading the feds closer to the leader of the organization. Seeing people who had hurt him sometimes caused Colby, as strong as he was, to break down, but Sam was always, always, by his side, ready to hold him through his tears and panic as his memories were brought back to what had been done to him.
Once Colby accepted the reality of having a soulmate, the pieces fell into place. Two halves of one whole, finally together after years of searching and months of resisting. It didn’t matter to Sam what he had been through, all he cared about was that his soulmate was safe in his arms.
One night, as they lay in the bed that they had begun to share, Colby’s head on Sam’s chest, the brunette looked up at the face of his soulmate with a wary smile. “Do you… do you think you’ll be okay if I... if I can’t ever have sex with you?”
Petting his soulmate’s hair, Sam shook his head. “I’d be okay if you couldn’t even look at me.” He said, bringing Colby’s hand up to his lips so that he could kiss his knuckles. “As long as you’re here, as long as you’re okay, you could spit in my face every morning and I’d thank you for it.”
Snuggling further into his soulmate’s clothed chest, Colby hummed. “Maybe someday I could.” He said after a moment of companionable silence. “Maybe it would be okay since it’s you. You’re not them. You’re way too good to be like them.”
Sam smiled. “I’ll wait forever for you.” He told him, “No matter what you can give, I will love you like the moon loves the stars.”
Colby giggled, shaking his head. “The moon doesn’t have feelings.” He said, intertwining their hands together. “But… I think I know what you mean. I love you too.”
“I love that you love me.” Sam admitted, burying his face in Colby’s hair. “After all you’ve been through, you love me.”
In their bed, in the dusk of evening, Colby was safe and loved. It didn't matter whether or not Belial was caught. All that mattered is that they were there, they were whole, they were okay.
His soulmate nodded. “Always.” He told him.
Sam smiled. “Always.”