Chase's POV

I look around my room, trying to determine if I'm forgetting anything. This is the first time I'll be sleeping away from home since the incident. Images of that night still plague my dreams, although the frequency of these nightmares has significantly decreased. I'm a little worried that I'll have a nightmare tonight and I don't want Diego to have to deal with this on top of everything else.

"Do you have everything?" Jesse asks from my doorway. "I'm sure you'll be alright with Diego but if you need me to come back home for whatever reason, just call me and I'll leave Bryan's place and come get you."

"Thank you," I reply as I give him a quick hug. "And have fun meeting Bryan's parents! They will love you so don't worry!"

He chuckles lightly and nods. The doorbell rings, halting any further conversation and I immediately snatch up my little carry-on and backpack before hurrying to the door to greet Diego. "Di-" I frown and release a tiny sigh. "Hi Bryan, come in."

"Wow I didn't know you hated me that much!" Bryan exclaims, dramatically clenching his heart as if in pain.

I giggle at his antics before saying, "I don't! I'm just excited to see Diego!"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Bryan replies with a smile. "I'm happy that you're spending the day with him and that you're visiting his family's graves. It means a lot to him, more than you might think." I nod in response and his gaze drifts behind me.

"Talk to you later Chase, I spotted my sexy tomato!" He rushes towards my smiling twin and crashes his lips into his. The doorbell rings again and I release a tiny squeal and open the door. "DiDi! You're here!"

Diego grins and embraces me in a tight hug before placing a chaste kiss on my lips. "What do you have here, little lamb? Are you sleeping over!"

From his quizzical but excited tone I realize that I never actually asked him if I could spend the night. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ambush you! I-"

I am interrupted by Diego's tender lips on mine. He lingers for a few seconds before resting his forehead against mine. "You will always be welcomed. You can stay over whenever you'd like for as long as you want. I'll always be happy to have you."

With that, he presses his lips back to mine, nibbling at my bottom lip before pulling away. "Okay," I whisper with a big goofy smile on my face. Diego chuckles, takes my bags and heads towards the car. I follow him and while Diego puts my bags in the boot, we say bye to Bryan and Jesse as they set off to meet Bryan's parents.

We get into the car and start driving towards the cemetery. Diego is quiet the entire way there and for the first time, I'm hesitant to interrupt his thoughts. I end up not saying anything and instead listen to the soft music coming from the radio.

"Are you ready to meet my family?" Diego asks after parking the car.

"I am," I reply and Diego nods, giving me a small smile. It's weird, but I'm actually a little nervous to visit them. Since our time on the island, Diego has shared some more memories and photos of his family, and the love he has for all of them is almost palpable.

I grab my backpack from the trunk, ignoring his puzzled look and declining his offer to carry my backpack. After I link my hand with his, he leads me towards his family's graves. Fresh flowers adorn three well kept gravestones and Diego stops in front of them. "Hi mom, dad, Aurora. I brought my boyfriend that I've been telling you about. I'm really happy that he came with me today." He kisses the back of my hand which is still intertwined with his.

"I finally found someone who truly makes me happy. I know that you all would have loved him, especially you, Aurora. He has a sweet tooth just like you!" Diego is wearing a sad but somewhat happy smile when he turns towards me. "Is it weird if I ask you to say hello to them? If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to. You being willing to come here with me is more than enough."

"I actually have something for them," I mumble, suddenly worried that getting gifts for them might be weird.

Diego chuckles lightly. "Is that why you brought the backpack?" I nod, turning my gaze towards the ground. He links his finger under my chin and raises my head. "I think it's very sweet and thoughtful, thank you."

Taking a deep breath, I move my backpack so it's on my shoulders and open in front of me. I rifle through my bag and pull out a decorative art palette that has Sofia Santigo, Diego's mother's name, written on it. "You told me she loved to paint, so I thought I would get her this."

Tears immediately start to well up in Diego's eyes and he smiles after sucking in a shaky breath. Seeing this as an invitation to continue, I place the palette by her gravestone. "Hi Mrs. Santiago. I'm Chase, I really wanted to come see you, I hope you like what I brought. And I promise I'll take good care of your son."

I reach into my bag, pull out a decorative bottle of scotch whisky and place it in front of Manuel Santiago, Diego's father's gravestone. "Hi Mr. Santiago. Diego told me that whisky on the rocks was your favourite drink, so I got you this as a token."

The final gift is for his sister Aurora. It is a small soft toy where a yellow M&M is hugging a red M&M, enclosed in a glass box for preservation. I place that near his sister's gravestone and say, "Diego bought me a yellow M&M soft toy a while ago and he told me that your favourite colour was red. So the yellow one is me and the red one is you. I've heard so much about you and I really do think we would have gotten along."

Upon finishing my greetings, I stand up and turn around to face Diego. Although tears are now running down his cheeks, a brilliant smile lights up his face. "Chase." His voice cracks and comes out barely above a whisper, as his eyes sparkle with joy and appreciation. "Chase, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

I put my bag back onto my back before I hold out my arms, beckoning for him to come to me. He instantly rushes towards me and engulfs me in a hug, clinging to me as silent tears continue to stream down his cheeks. My arms wrap around him and I gently rub his back.

We stand like this for a few minutes before Diego pulls away to look at my face. His arms remain linked around my waist and I reach up and tenderly brush away his drying tears. "Chase, I have no words to express just how much this means to me. I don't know how I got so lucky to find someone as amazing as you."

"I think I'm the lucky one. You've been so wonderful and I know how much love you have for your family. I'm really glad that you're willing to share this part of your life with me." I smile, continuing to stroke his cheeks and Diego dips his head and plants a quick kiss on my lips.

We're both smiling at each other and I know we're both thinking about how happy we are to have found each other. "I also have this," I say after a moment, wriggling out of Diego's embrace. He pouts, but releases me. I spin my backpack around and show him a large version of the M&M plushie that I got for Aurora. "This is for your soft toy room."

"How did you remember that! I told you that so long ago!" He exclaims, squishing me, the plushie and my backpack into a tight hug.

My giggles come out muffled since my face is buried in the side of Diego's neck. I place a feather light kiss there and Diego chuckles and squirms, saying, "that tickles little lamb!" That of course only spurs me on and I place multiple soft kisses on the side of his neck.

He chuckles again, releasing me and trying to move away to avoid my ticklish kisses but I refuse to let go of him. "Oh I forgot how defiant my adorable cuddle bear can be," he says, through laughter as I make kissy faces at him.

He finally concedes and lets me kiss his neck before gently connecting his lips with mine. Diego watches with a soft smile as I zip up the backpack and put it on my back. "I'm really glad you came here with me. Thank you for the gifts and for making me smile, my thoughtful, precious, adorable boyfriend," he coos, wrapping his arms around me, causing me to giggle. I drop my head onto his shoulder and my arms drift down to hug him around his waist.

"I really think they would all have loved you," he mumbles, after a while of us standing in comfortable silence as we embrace each other.

I lift my head, looking into the wistful eyes of my boyfriend. My hand involuntarily drifts up to stroke his cheek. "Tell me more about them."

Diego smiles, a pained but beautiful smile. He nods and starts telling me about the first time Aurora went to a theme park. We sit on the ground, on the blanket which I brought, and Diego regales me with stories of his family, both the good memories and the bad, while I listen attentively and comfort him whenever he gets too sad. 

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