Epilogue Romeo and Romeo
Sebastian
Gavin's suitcase looks like a bomb went off inside it.
"That's not packing," I say, staring at the chaos from my spot on his bed. "That's... aggressive relocating."
"It's organized chaos, Doc." He holds up a tangled mess of phone chargers. "See? All the electronics are together."
"They're strangling each other."
"They're bonding."
I look down at my own suitcase, neatly arranged with packing cubes and rolled clothing. Everything labeled. Everything in its place. Then I look back at his disaster zone.
"We're going to need separate closets in Switzerland," I mutter.
Gavin grins, dropping the charger nest into his suitcase. "Nah. You'll organize my stuff within a week. You won't be able to help yourself."
He's right. I hate that he's right.
"Come here." He reaches for me, and I go, because apparently I have zero self-control when it comes to this man. He pulls me against his chest, and I melt into him like I always do.
Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
I don't care.
"You okay?" His voice rumbles through his chest, vibrating against my cheek.
"Yeah." I breathe him in, laundry detergent and something warm and distinctly Gavin. "Just... processing."
"Processing what?"
"That we're actually doing this." I pull back to look at him. "Switzerland. A new country. New programs. New everything."
His brown eyes soften. "Having second thoughts?"
"No." The answer comes immediately. Absolutely. "Not even a little."
"Good." He cups my face in those ridiculous hands of his, thumbs brushing my cheekbones. "Because I already packed my favorite pillow, and I'm not unpacking it."
"That's your line in the sand? The pillow?"
"It's a really good pillow, Doc."
I laugh, and he catches it with a kiss. Soft and sweet.
When we break apart, I stay close, foreheads touching.
"Are you sure?" I whisper. "About all of this? You're leaving everything, your friends, the team, the frat—"
"I'm not leaving anything forever." He says it so simply. Like it's obvious. Like I'm obvious. "Can't you imagine Tyler and Ethan coming to visit? Hell, Ian would be hilarious trying to figure out foreign money."
I snort at the mental image. Ian squinting at Swiss francs, demanding to know why they don't just use "real dollars."
"The guys will come," Gavin continues, thumb brushing my cheek. "And I'm following the only thing I can't live without."
Wow.
"That was smooth," I manage, even though my throat is tight.
"I've been practicing."
"On who?"
"The mirror. Tyler. That squirrel outside the dining hall who always judges me."
A laugh bubbles out of me. "The squirrel?"
"He's very discerning."
My phone buzzes. Then buzzes again. And again.
I groan.
"The Family?" Gavin asks, already knowing the answer.
He says it like they're the mafia, and honestly, Gabi is almost as scary.
"The family."
I pull out my phone to find the group chat exploding.
Sisters From Hell
Gabi
so you're really doing this huh
just gonna drop the gay bomb on the family and then flee the country with your mountain of a man before mama could scare him off
respect honestly
Sophia
wjat did i msis
*miss
baby woke me up agian wahtd going on
Gabi
Seb's leaving for Switzerland in two days
with the BOYFRIEND
Sophia
oh rihgt
good for you Sebby.
the giant seemes nice
*seemed
god i cant type anymroe
Mamma
Sebastiano, your father wants to know if you have confirmed your housing arrangements.
Also where will you be eating? Do the Swiss have proper food? I've heard it's all cheese and chocolate.
Gabi
mama that sounds amazing actually
Mamma
It is NOT a balanced diet, Gabriella.
Gabi
tell papa seb's boyfriend probably eats an entire cow per day so they'll be fine
Mamma
Your father also wants to know about this sports psychology program. He says it sounds made up.
I told him it's a real thing. He grunted.
Gabi
that's practically a blessing from papa
Sophia
hes proude of you seb
*proud
he jsut cant say it
ok baby cryign again bye
Mamma
Sebastiano, you will call us when you land? Your father will worry. I will worry. We will all worry.
Also I'm sending you with food. Non-negotiable.
Gabi
she's already got three coolers packed
i saw the cannoli
Mamma
A boy needs to eat!
Gavin reads over my shoulder, chin hooked on my head. His chest shakes with silent laughter.
"Three coolers?"
"She's been stress-cooking for two weeks." I rub my face. "I don't even know if we can bring food through customs."
"We'll figure it out." He presses a kiss to my temple. "Your family's kind of amazing, you know that?"
"They're insane."
"Same thing."
I type back a quick response.
Me
Housing confirmed. Gavin's program set us up in a place near my campus. Yes I will call when we land. Yes I will eat real food. No Papa, sports psychology is not made up. Love you all. Please stop texting I'm trying to pack.
Gabi
"trying to pack" sure Sebby
tell the mountain we said hi
and that i WILL fly to switzerland to kill him if he hurts you
that's not a threat it's a promise
Mamma
Gabriella!
Gabi
WHAT
i'm being supportive
I put my phone on silent and toss it aside.
"Gabi says hi," I tell Gavin. "And that she'll fly to Switzerland to kill you if you hurt me."
"That's fair." He doesn't look remotely concerned. "I'd expect nothing less."
"You're not scared of my family at all, are you?"
"Doc, I've survived your father asking me about my 'intentions' while holding a power drill." He shrugs. "Gabi's threats are almost affectionate by comparison."
"He wasn't going to use the drill on you."
"He was absolutely thinking about it."
I can't argue with that.
Gavin kisses me again, deeper this time, his fingers curling into my shirt. His hands slide down to my hips, pulling me closer, and the kiss starts to shift into something with more heat…
Ding!
We both groan.
Different phone this time. Gavin's.
He pulls it out, squinting at the screen. "Group text. 'Farewell party tonight. Attendance required. No excuses.'" He looks at me. "Did you know about this?"
"Tyler may have mentioned something."
"And you didn't warn me?"
"Where's the fun in that?"
He retaliates by shoving his cold hands up the back of my shirt. I yelp and try to squirm away, but he just holds on tighter, laughing as I curse at him in Italian.
"Ti odio!"
"You love me."
"Unfortunately."
The frat house looks like a fever dream designed by someone who Googled "Switzerland" for exactly thirty seconds.
Paper Swiss flags hang from the ceiling, most of them sideways or upside down. Red and white streamers crisscross everywhere. Someone has placed a pair of wooden clogs by the door for absolutely no discernible reason.
"Are those... clogs?" Gavin asks.
"I think they're Dutch," I say.
"Close enough!" Jeff yells from across the room, already three beers deep. "Europe's Europe, baby!"
There's a banner stretched across the back wall that reads ‘Bon Voyage Doc & Gavin’ in glittery letters. Half the glitter has already fallen off and is scattered across the floor like confetti.
It's terrible. It's perfect. My eyes are definitely not stinging.
"You okay?" Gavin murmurs, hand finding the small of my back.
"Allergies."
"We're indoors."
"Indoor allergies."
He doesn't call me out on the lie. Just pulls me closer and presses a kiss to my temple.
The room is packed. Frat brothers everywhere, drinks in hand, music playing.
Tyler and Ethan are curled up on the couch, as usual.
Drew is attempting to keep people from destroying the decorations, with limited success.
James and Caleb are in the corner, Caleb typing on his laptop while James plays with his hair.
And there, clustered near the snack table with determined expressions, are my people.
JP stands at the center, gesturing at what appears to be a printed spreadsheet.
Max is bouncing on his heels, blue hair freshly touched up.
Leo towers over everyone, looking mildly overwhelmed but present.
Elliot hovers at the edge of the group, headphones around his neck, observing.
Luca is nodding along to whatever JP is saying, making notes on his phone. And Haru—
Haru spots me first and waves, a full-arm wave that draws the attention of several nearby frat brothers.
Tension in my chest loosens.
They came. After weeks of processing, of awkward conversations and reassurances that we'd stay in touch, they came.
"Go," Gavin says, nudging me toward them. "I'll grab us drinks."
I cross the room, and JP looks up from his spreadsheet.
"Sebastian." He nods formally, then his expression cracks into something almost warm. "We've calculated a 94.7% probability that you'll forget to eat real meals once you're in a new country with no one monitoring your nutrition."
"That's... weirdly specific."
"Leo did the math," Max chimes in, vibrating with energy. "I built a prototype meal-reminder bot, but it kept setting off the fire alarm, so we scrapped it."
"The sentiment remains," Luca adds. "We'll be checking in."
Elliot gives me a small nod that somehow conveys an entire paragraph of emotion.
Haru bows slightly. "We have prepared a schedule of video call times that accommodate all time zones. JP has it color-coded."
"Of course he does."
I look at them, my weird, wonderful, socially-challenged found family, and my throat tightens again.
"I'm going to miss you idiots," I manage.
"The feeling is mutual," JP says, and coming from him, it's practically a declaration of love.
Gavin appears at my elbow with two drinks, and the geeks immediately shift to include him. It still amazes me how easily he fits with them now, how he learned their quirks and boundaries, how he never pushes but always shows up.
"So," Gavin says, taking a sip of his beer, "JP was telling me about the new initiative."
"Initiative?" I look at JP.
He straightens, a gleam in his eye. "We've decided to be more... proactive. Socially."