Work Text:
Lucas was currently standing in the bathroom, trying to pluck up the courage to remove the bandage which was covering the scar from his recent brain surgery. He’d made two attempts already at removing it, but hadn’t got much further than his hand hovering over the tape holding it in place.
“Come on, it’s only a scar,” he muttered to himself. “It can’t be that bad.” He sighed in frustration, knowing he couldn’t keep the bandage on forever. His hair would grow back eventually, he just had to give it time.
Closing his eyes, his heart pounded as he reached his hand up to touch the tape holding the dressing together. Tentatively he pulled the tape off the bandage, unwrapping it slowly. Eventually the whole bandage was removed, and he gingerly touched his healing scar. He could feel where they’d shaved a section of his curls off, relieved that the area they’d trimmed before the operation was smaller than he’d expected.
He knew he couldn’t keep his eyes closed forever, so taking a deep breath he opened his eyes. He gasped in shock at the sight that greeted him in the mirror. Dillon was staring back at him in the reflection.
“Lucas,” Dillon whispered from where he was standing in the doorway.
Lucas spun around to face him, hardly daring to believe that he was actually there. “Dillon,” he gasped, the operation scar forgotten about for the time being. “You’re really here.”
“I am, your Dad let me in,” said Dillon, swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat as he approached Lucas. “I wish I’d have been here sooner.”
“You’re here now, and safe. I was so worried about you when I got that voicemail,” Lucas responded.
“I’m sorry for worrying you like that. You were all I could think about, I was desperate to hear your voice,” Dillon explained. “I guess you already know about what happened?”
“Yeah, I know about what those men did to you. I just wish I’d have known sooner, I could have helped you. I knew Rex was up to something a while ago but Dad didn’t believe me.”
At the mention of his Dad and Rex, Lucas could feel his anger levels rising. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to forgive him for this, he always believed his boyfriends over his son. Some things never change, he’d always come second best where Ste was concerned.
“Can we talk about this later?” Dillon asked, hoping to change the subject.
“Of course, whenever you’re ready I’m here for you.” Lucas knew what he was doing, he clearly wasn’t ready to talk about what he’d just been through. Which was understandable given what had happened to him.
“Thank you,” Dillon responded, glad he was being so understanding. “I want to know how you are, I was so worried about you when I found out about you being in a coma,” Dillon said, happy for the change in subject.
“I’m okay, I just have to take it easy for a while,” Lucas said. “The worst of it’s over now, I’ll be back to normal in a couple of months' time. I just have to live with this ugly scar.” He couldn’t help but feel self conscious about it. It stood out like a sore thumb, he knew everyone would be staring at it when they saw him.
“Hey, nothing about you's ugly. It’ll heal in time, your hairs gonna grow back,” Dillon said reassuringly. “You’re still beautiful, scar or no scar.” Dillon reached out his hand towards the scar. “Can I touch it?”
Lucas hesitated, but eventually agreed. He closed his eyes again as Dillon touched it delicately, not wanting to cause him any more pain. A few seconds later he pulled his hand away, moving it to place his palm against Lucas’s cheek. Keeping a close watch on how he reacted to his touch, he gently stroked underneath the bruising around his eye.
“Lucas, look at me,” Dillon said encouragingly, waiting a few moments for Lucas to open his eyes. “Scars don’t matter to me, given time you’ll not even know it’s there. I’d rather have you alive with a scar than dead with no scar.”
“I hate it.” Lucas said. “If I hadn't had to have the operation I could have been there for you when you were rescued, I could have helped save you when I got your message.” Lucas looked at him desperately, hoping Dillon understood that he did try to help him. It was just his look that he had a brain tumour that stopped him from being there for him.
Dillon reached out for him, pulling him into a much needed hug. A hug which they both so desperately needed after being separated for so long. “Hey, none of that’s your fault,” he said. “I should have rang Donny for help, I wasn’t thinking straight when I rang you.”
Lucas pulled away from him shaking his head, but kept his hands on his waist. “I can’t believe you know my number off by heart,” he said jokingly. This got a much needed laugh out of Dillon, one which Lucas was happy to hear.
“I missed you so much when I was in that house, you know. All I could think was I might never see you again. The thought that you’d be waiting for me when I got home was the only thing keeping me going.” Dillon’s eyes were gleaming, still unable to bear the thought that he might never have seen the man he loved ever again.
Lucas reached up with his hand to brush Dillon’s hair out of his eyes, resting his hand on his chest after doing so. “I missed you too. I’m here for you to talk about what happened whenever you’re ready, you do know that don’t you?” He couldn’t be there for Dillon when he came home, so being there for him now was the least he could do.
“I do, and the same goes for you too. No hiding how we’re both feeling, from now on we're gonna be honest with each other, yeah?” Dillon said, knowing that all the lies he told were what got him into the mess in the first place. “I’m sorry for everything. All the lies I told, the drugs, cheating on you. I can never apologise enough for what I put you through. I just hope in time you can forgive -”
Lucas suddenly leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Dillon’s mouth. As he pulled away, Dillon looked at him in astonishment. “I forgive you.” Lucas said. “Let’s not worry about what happened in the past, we can’t change that. We can look to the future, that’s something we have control over.” He looked deep into Dillon’s eyes, hoping he believed him.
Dillon looked back at him in surprise, shocked at how soon he’d been forgiven. “Does this mean what I think it means?” He asked, hardly daring to hope that they could still have a future together. “Does this mean you still want to make a go of things?”
“Yes,” replied Lucas firmly. “I want nothing more. As long as we have each other, we can get through anything.”
Dillon reached for the back of Lucas’s head, being careful of the healing scar. He pulled him into another kiss, both of them trying hard not to go too deep. They had all the time in the world, now that they were finally back in each other's arms where they belonged.
Lucas was the first to pull away, looking up at Dillon to make sure he was okay. He knew he had a long way to go, they both did. “We don’t need to rush into anything, yeah?” Lucas reassured him. “Everything we do, we go at your pace. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be ready and waiting. Just like you were there for me when I first came out.”
Dillon looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. “Thank you for being so understanding. It means the world to me, you mean the world to me.” He pulled Lucas back into a hug, slotting his head underneath his chin. He placed a gentle kiss on top of his head, his lips lingering there for a few seconds.
As they stood there with their arms around each other, they both knew they’d each have a long journey towards healing. They knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but together they’d be able to get through anything. No matter what life threw at them, they could overcome anything as long as they were together. They’d come so far to give up on their relationship now. They’d defeated the odds so far, and long may that continue.