Scars

Chapter Two

"Have I told you about those?"

Startled, I tilted my head up and saw my boyfriend looking at me tiredly, with a small, forced smirk. It was obvious that he had just woken up from another one of his nightmares.

I had my head on his chest, and was lazily tracing the scars they beared, trying to get back to sleep. I hadn't realised he had woken up, too.

"Yeah. Yeah, you have." I replied, laying my head back down with a huff.

He chuckled lightly, before saying "What's that about? Bored of me?"

"What? No! No, no, of course not. Just..."

At that, he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer, and craned his head down slightly, asking, "Just what, babe?"

I glanced up at him, and seeing the worry in his eyes on his otherwise curious face, I had to look away again.

"Caleb. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Nikita." I looked up at him slightly, still avoiding eye contact. "You're just... So brave. You're so unapologetically you, and I admire and love that so much-"

"Well, you can't let people dictate your life, right?" He sounded confused, looked confused. It caught me off guard, as the man always talked and acted with so much conviction. "I mean, it's easier said than done, of course, but, you have to be honest with yourself. Living in fear of others' approval is ridiculous."

He attempted to offer me a reassuring smile, it faltered, though, and I became scared for him, again.

Nikita noticed this, too, because after I reached my head up to give him a peck on the lips, he simply stated, "There's something else, though, isn't there? I know there is, Cal."

Sighing, I buried my face in the crook of his neck, and somehow, I ended up telling him how concerned I was about him.

His sleeping problems. The scar. Everything.

It was quiet, after that. It couldn't have been more than a couple minutes, but it felt like forever before he softly said, "Oh, moya zvezda..." my star "you shouldn't be worried."
"Shouldn't I?" The surge of courage from earlier came back, and I looked into his eyes, waiting for him to respond.

Nikita gently shook his head, "No. Six years ago? Definitely. But, now? No. I'm okay now, I promise you." He leant down a bit, shrugged slightly. "If for whatever reason I get bad again, I'll tell you about it, okay?"

"Okay."

He put his free hand on my cheek, and I felt my heartbeat speed up as he brought his mouth down to mine.
His lips were rough, but the kiss was soft, passionate.
In that moment, exhaustion and worries melted away. It was just us, and the feeling that I was wholly and truly loved.

He pulled away slowly, much too soon for my liking, but kept his face a few inches from mine.

Though there was little light in the room, anyone could see the smile adorning his face; the spark in his eyes.

Even if it was pitch black, however, I could still map out every scar, every imperfection on his oh-so-perfect face.

He licked his lips, and I almost went in for another kiss, when he said, "As nice as this is, I want to go for a walk. You coming? I've probably got another story, if you're really not bored of them yet."

Laughing, I kissed his cheek, and moving away whispered a quiet "God, I love you."

"I love you too, loser." Smug asshole. "So, are you coming, or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."