Battle Scars [BxB]

E P I L O G U E

"Luca, this is ridiculous-"

"But it's Valentine's Day!"

"But I'm gonna have to clean this up! You wanna give me a real present, stop leaving the apartment a mess and expect me to clean it!"

Luca tried to keep a straight face but his smile was breaking through, "I'm sorry, Teddy Bear." Was all he said. "I'll clean it later, I swear."

I sighed, my eyes falling to the ground where red glitter dusted the floor. "Fine." I rolled my eyes. "H-Happy Valentine's Day."

He grinned and glided forward, his hands resting on my waist as he leant down to attach our lips. Despite being twenty three, Luca still acted like the seventeen year old bad boy I met all those years ago. We were living in the Netherlands in a small one bedroom apartment with a cat Luca had named Sam 'because they're both bitches', as he had put it.

After studying here for three years, I'd picked up the language pretty well, with a little help from my boyfriend of course. Luca had moved over the Channel after I expressed my desire to stay a little longer after falling in love with the country he once called home. We rented an apartment and were planning on going travelling in a years time and possibly living in Australia. Since Luca lived as an expat all his life and I suffered from the toxicity England brought, neither of us were keen to return. And as long as we were together, I could live anywhere in the world.

I worked part time at a homeless shelter and part time at a school, acting as a teaching assistant for children with learning difficulties. Luca coached football for girls sixteen or under and almost every single one of them had a crush on him. When he wasn't doing that he volunteered at a local museum to give English tours for British tourists, talking them through all the artefacts and the stories behind them. I found that Luca could talk for hours on end about history, and it was adorable to see him get so excited about something so boring.

Our whole living room wall was taken over with posters and maps and photos. It was everywhere we wanted to visit and we were planning on going to each and every country on the list, even if it took our entire lives to complete.

We had a good life, and I was happy.

"I picked this on the way home from work." Luca smiled sweetly and tucked a pretty purple flower behind my ear before kissing my forehead. "Perfect."

I laughed lightly, "Y-You shouldn't pick flowers, they die."

"It was on the floor." He lied, but I didn't bother arguing. "Anyway, you said you didn't want to go out tonight so I'm cooking you dinner and we're gonna watch a cheesy romcom or something. Yeah?"

I smiled up at him and nodded, "Thanks, baby." It wasn't that I necessarily wanted to stay in, but I was feeling emotionally drained. Some nights I'd cry for no reason or fall asleep at six PM and not wake up until the next morning. My mental health was only getting better by the minute, but I still had days where I couldn't get out of bed. Days where I felt too anxious to go into work or even visit a shop by myself.

But I didn't cut anymore. I didn't think about suicide anymore. I only visited a therapist a couple of times a month and I couldn't be happier. My life was working out, better than ever. And if I'd killed myself all those years ago in my bedroom, none of this would have ever happened.

I laughed as Luca attempted to cook me dinner, burning all the food and swearing nonstop. I just sat on the sofa watching him as our ginger cat sat on my lap and purred for attention. "Don't forget Milo's coming to stay with us next week. I can't get off work on Tuesday so you're gonna have to do something with him."

Luca groaned loudly, "He hates me, Theo."

"H-He doesn't hate you."

"You only flew home three weeks ago to visit anyway."

"Yeah, well, I-I miss him."

"He literally thinks I have an STI."

"It's only a joke-"

"But I don't think it is. He genuinely-"

"Oh, c'mon, Luca. For me."

Luca took a deep breath and sighed stubbornly. "Fine. But you owe me."

I stood up as Sam leapt off my lap and scampered away. I wrapped my arms around Luca from behind and buried my face in his muscular back. "Whatever you want." I whispered seductively.

He twisted around with a smirk, "Well, it is Valentine's Day." He reminded himself, his hands gripping my waist as he hoisted me up onto the kitchen counter to begin attacking my neck with kisses.

I giggled at the ticklish sensation, my fingers wounding into his matted hair. "L-Luca." I gasped, "Th-The food."

"Forget it." He whispered huskily. "We'll order something later. For now, you'll satisfy my appetite." He said smugly and I only laughed as he continued assaulting me with his lips. He didn't stop until the smell of burnt food invaded our senses and the smoke alarm began blaring above us.

"Ah, shit." He cursed, reluctantly pulling away and waving a tea towel around to try and rid the room of smoke. I coughed as the infected air entered my lungs and Luca shoved me out of the room. "I'll handle this. Order a pizza or something." He shouted over the sound of the alarm.

I did as told and ordered a pizza before starting to search Netflix for a good movie. Eventually, the alarm died out and Luca rejoined me in the living room. "Maybe cooking wasn't the best idea." He sighed. "Sorry, Theo. I just wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day."

"This is special." I replied simply, snuggling up at his side as he pulled a blanket over us. "Happy V-Valentine's. I love you."

He leant down and kissed my cheek softly, "I love you too."

• • •

There is a two part addition to this series called Luca and Theo.

Thank you for reading!