If I can't have you

Chapter 26

It had been too painful for him to stay there. Two years of going to work and seeing Nico happy with seemingly not a care in the world apart from his road to recovery. One year of seeing Nico happily in love with some other man. Some man that was much cooler and sexier than Levi himself. There was no world in which Nico would come back to him when he had that boy-toy on his arm. So he had to move. Somewhere without a trace of Nico Kim and he could move on without the reminder of what he had lost every day.

So he was moving to Boston. His mother hated the idea of her only child moving away but after several months of persuasion, she had finally accepted her sons decision. And here he was, on D-day. The final boxes were being packed and placed in the removal van and he was doing the final sweep of his apartment to ensure that any last items of his existence were collected and not left behind. Finally he closed the door behind him and locked the door behind him for the final time.

Out in the street, his mother was stood by his car with tears in her eyes and her arms open for a hug. He gave his mother a brief hug that was interrupted by someone slightly coughing behind him. He turned around to find the surprise of his life. Nico Kim stood behind him, hands clasped together in front of him and hair falling into his eyes. Levi felt his heart skip several beats and his hands start to sweat.

"Nico, what on Earth are you doing here? You haven't bothered to come near this area since we broke up," Levi questioned while subtly trying to wipe his hands on his trousers. Why was he here? They had barely spoken for the last two years aside from passing on information about patients that they had worked together on. He hadn't even told Nico that he was moving to Boston so why had he turned up when he was just about to move away?

"Link mentioned last night that you were moving to Boston? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't think you needed to know. We've barely spoken in two years so why on earth would I think that you cared about me or what I did with my life?" Levi replied. He could see the heartbreak creep onto Nico's face.

"Levi, of course I care about you. Why do you think I broke up with you? Because I couldn't stand the idea of you putting your career on hold for me. I had months of recovery left at that point and I didn't want you to have to see your friends advance to attending while you were still stuck as a resident. And I'm sorry if caring about you and your career means that you refuse to talk to me and acknowledge that our relationship even existed."

Levi felt the blood rush to his face as his embarrassment became evident. There was a shred of truth in what Nico was saying. Maybe what Nico had done in the past had been had been because he cared. He hadn't done it to break his heart but to protect him. "Well, its too late to mend what has been broken. I'm leaving right now and I've moved on from you Nico. I feel bad about it but its true. I spent the first year still in love with you but you've waited too long. I need a clean break and that is what Boston is going to do for me."

"Yeah. I kinda figured. But friends? You like me enough to have a friendship?"

"I'd like that," Levi felt a smile creep onto her face. Maybe friendship could work even if they were in different cities. There would be a future for Nico Kim in his life, even if it wasn't the one he had envisioned when he first met the ortho surgeon.