Delicate

Epilogue

Endings are neither easy, nor do they ever feel complete. It's the road from start to finish, and the people you meet and come to love that remind you that a story is so much more than the final goodbye.

When Leo started his freshman year, he only had his sister, Maya. Nobody else mattered to him. But now, he had two men as his parents that he knew would always love and care for him. Who would stand by his side no matter what. And he would do the same for them. Because that's just what family does.

He had a friend. A friend whose quirks once made him roll his eyes in annoyance, but now he laughed along with them. Afterall, everyone needs someone to bring a little flare into their lives.

And then there was the boy that Leo once bumped into in the hallway, and didn't bother to look twice at. A stranger, just another face in the crowd. Little did Leo know that boy would show him what acceptance and love was. Not only with his words, but with his actions too.

Leo's ability to trust and to love was delicate, and this wasn't something that changes overnight. It's a process, and Leo was just a little bit more open towards accepting people in his heart than he was at the beginning of his senior year.

This wasn't the end of Leo's story. Nor was it the end of Milan's. It was just the beginning of their story, together.

"—I need you to take care of this, okay? It anything happens to my baby then I don't think I'd be able to go on," Milan said.

"Mila, it's just video games." Leo sighed as he took the box from Milan, keeping it alongside his other stuff.

"Just video games?" Milan narrowed his eyes. "It's my PS5 and my entire collection of games! You have no idea how precious it is!"

"Alright, cariño, I'll take care of this with my life, yeah? I promise." Leo lightly shook his head in amusement.

Since Milan was moving to a student dorm, he couldn't take his gaming console with him. Leo, on the other hand, was going to have an entire apartment to his own. With a television. So, the two decided that Leo would keep some things of Milan's for whenever the boy visits.

Quinn was the first one to leave, considering they had to fly across the country for their college. The two boyfriends drove to the airport to see Quinn off, a very bittersweet moment. Leo could tell that Milan was trying hard to control his tears. In the end, they all parted by promising they would see each other on Christmas.

Leo was the next one to move, since his apprenticeship was starting soon. Milan was helping the boy pack, which led to him finding a box of Leo's baby pictures. Leo hadn't opened that box in ages, probably ever since his father passed away. But now there he was, sitting on the floor with his boyfriend and looking at old photographs.

"This was my next door neighbor, Señora Gomez," Leo said. "She used to babysit me all the time when dad was at work."

"She sounds nice," Milan remarked.

"She was," Leo nodded, a soft smile on his face. "She had a grandkid about my age, so it was always fun whenever he visited. She was great, too. Taught me how to play cards."

"Have you spoken to her since, uh..." Milan trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"No." Leo shook his head. "I think I should, though. Just to let her know I'm okay. Maya too."

"I think she would appreciate that." Milan smiled.

"Yeah." Leo said. He picked up another picture, causing him to laugh. "This was a play at school when I was seven. I was so bad at acting that they made me a tree. My dad still showed up and recorded the whole thing, even though it was me just standing."

"My dad never let me take part in theatre. According to him, anything other than academics wasn't worth spending time on," Milan sighed. He paused for a second, before looking at Leo apologetically. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be complaining about my dad when—"

"When mine is dead?" Leo interrupted. Milan stared at him with wide eyes, making the other boy chuckle. "Hey, my struggles don't make yours matter any less. It's not a competition. You can talk or complain to me about anything."

"How are you so—"

"—Leo did you decide what color curtains you want?" Kai asked as he barged into the room with his iPad, not noticing what Milan and Leo were doing. "I really think this shade is— oh, did I disturb something?"

"We just found some old photographs," Leo said as Kai's eyes wandered to the floor.

"Of you?" Kai asked excitedly.

"Some of Maya too," Leo nodded. "Wanna join us?"

"Yeah!" Kai grinned as he sat down on the floor next to the two boys.

They started shuffling around the box, taking out all the photographs with Leo going down the nostalgia lane and telling them background stories. Both Kai and Milan listened to Leo in awe, it was very rare for the boy to open up like this.

To Kai's surprise, Leo asked if he could get physical prints of all the pictures that Kai and Roan had clicked over the last four years so that he could add them to his collection. Kai happily agreed, even volunteering to get it done himself.

Time flew by as the three talked, with Milan and Kai telling stories of their own childhood. Kai even told the boys how he met Roan, and a PG friendly version of how they got together.

"So you got mad at him for not kissing you?" Leo asked, amused.

"No!" Kai frowned. "I was mad because he kissed Derek, but not me."

"Sure," Leo chuckled.

"—Leo? Have you seen Ka— oh." Roan said as he entered the room with Maya following behind him. "There you are. I was looking for you."

"Look! Leo and Maya's baby pictures!" Kai exclaimed excitedly, holding up a picture of a young Leo with his newborn sister.

Roan and Maya joined the group, after looking at the pictures one more time, Leo packed them up neatly in the box. Nobody moved from their place though, as conversation flew easily.

"Quinn's video calling, I think they reached their dorm," Milan said as he picked up their call.

"Oh, I wanna say hi to Q!" Maya stated as she went and sat next to Milan, before excitedly waving at the camera, making everyone laugh.

Leo looked around him— Roan had his arm around Kai's shoulder, while Milan and Maya were talking to Quinn as they showed their new room.

Leo smiled. This was home.

***

The end.

I can't help but be emotional as I publish this chapter. When I started Delicate, I wasn't sure of where I wanted to go with the book. I wrote with the flow, and after a bunch of writer's blocks, I finally finished it. I'm so happy with how I'm concluding Leo and Milan's journey— a full circle from the day Leo joined the Mathletes. And none of it would've been possible without each and every one of you that's reading this right now. You all are my biggest motivation. Thank you so much for all the love you've shown me.

For the people that don't know— Delicate is a spin-off of Tense. Tense, Delicate, and King's Guard are all part of the same universe/series. So, if you haven't, then feel free to check out the other two books as well.

All the love,
Kara.