CHAPTER 97: CLINGY ADRIAN

"Do you really remember us? Really?"

Adrian asked again, his voice carrying a mix of hope and disbelief. He hovered beside the swing bench like he had nowhere else in the world he wanted to be.

Lucien lifted his gaze from the book Silas had recommended, eyeing him with a puzzled look that slowly softened into something gentler.

"Should I answer it again? Really?"

Adrian nodded so earnestly that Lucien almost laughed.

The alpha rested his head on the back of the swinging bench, watching him with the devotion of a puppy waiting for praise.

Lucien sighed and leaned in slightly, brushing his cheek along Adrian’s sharp jaw in a simple, familiar gesture that made the alpha’s breath hitch.

"I remember you," Lucien said quietly. "You are Adrian Cross because when we were kids, you spent a whole year pretending to be that vampire hunter with the same surname."

"You would not respond to your real name unless someone bribed you with snacks."

Adrian lit up. "That is true. Then tell me my favorite food."

"You like anything with meat and you have always hated vegetables and fruit except the one in desserts," Lucien replied as he closed his book.

"You were terrified of thunder when you were small. You like drawing even though your art looks like something a toddler scribbled."

"You hate insects because the way their little feets crawl on your skin feels disgusting. You are allergic to cat fur. Should I keep going?"

Adrian immediately sat beside him, making the swing dip slightly under his weight. "I still can’t believe it. You are remembering all of this without looking like you are about to faint."

"Before this, you could barely say our names without touching your head like it was splitting open."

Lucien chuckled. "What do you think I am, some fragile glass doll?"

"I don’t know," Adrian admitted as he lowered his gaze. "Sometimes it feels like you could disappear again at any moment."

"I get scared that if I don’t hold onto you tightly, you will slip away. Maybe I should install a tracker under your skin so I never lose you."

Lucien slapped his cheek lightly. "I am not a pet that needs a chip. This ankle device is already enough." He lifted his foot a little, letting the small machine reflect the sunlight.

Adrian watched it with troubled eyes. "But what if you decide to run? What should I do then?"

"You are thinking too far ahead again," Lucien replied with a tired sigh. "Can we just relax and enjoy the peace we have today? You always asked for some alone time with me, so shut up."

Despite the calm words, his stomach tightened. His grandfather’s warning returned to him in a quiet echo. There was a possibility that Vincent was working together with the Abyss, the group that should have been gone a long time ago now active again.

His stay here was never meant to last, and the reminder felt like a hand tightening around his ribs.

He thought briefly of the alleyway. If he had dealt with that rat properly, maybe he could have bought more time to breathe and to be together with the Twinster—he hated to admit this—but also Edmund.

"Lucien."

Adrian gently closed the book in his hands. He leaned forward until their foreheads touched, silver hair brushing Lucien’s chin as if trying to remind him of a memory they once shared.

The closeness felt fragile, almost sacred, and Lucien could feel the alpha’s breath warming his face.

He had expected a kiss, but Adrian simply rested their temples together with his eyes closed.

It reminded Lucien of a distant past when they were small, when life had been simple and happiness came easily.

The weight of that memory pressed softly against his chest, warm enough to make him forget the looming danger for a moment.

"I missed this," Adrian whispered. "I missed you."

Lucien let himself lean in just a little more, allowing the silence to wrap around them like a blanket. While his mind was back to the past.

***

"Waaahhh!"

Little Adrian jumped and clung to Lucien with both arms. Lucien could only rub his small back, confused but gentle.

CRASH.

The thunder outside grew louder, each rumble shaking the windows. To the children, it sounded like the sky was about to swallow them whole.

Even Silas ran toward Lucien and wrapped himself around him, trembling so badly his teeth clicked.

"Help! The thunder will kill us!" Silas cried.

"They will kill us!" Adrian repeated through sobs.

Lucien blinked in surprise. He knew they had lived rough, but he had not realized thunder terrified them this much.

He guided them into the inner room and pulled both boys close, letting their small bodies press against his chest.

He held their heads gently and cupped their ears, trying to soften the booming noise.

They looked so tiny like this. Mikhail had mentioned their malnutrition when he first found them, and Lucien could feel it again now in the way their bones poked through their clothes.

Adrian was especially small. He lived on sweets and avoided anything healthy. He ate meat only when someone coaxed him.

Maybe he still believed he did not deserve more. Maybe both of them did.

CRASH.

The thunder struck again. They both jumped and clung tighter. Then the electricity shut off, plunging the room into darkness.

Lucien stiffened for a heartbeat. He would never admit it, but he hated the dark too.

Adrian burst into louder sobs, as if something nameless and cruel had suddenly reached for him.

"Shh, I am here. The thunder won’t be able to reach you," Lucien whispered.

He pressed his forehead against Adrian’s, holding him close until the boy’s shaking eased. Adrian’s cries softened into small hiccups.

"Bu-but the evil man will! No one can defeat him!"

Silas sniffed and wiped his face. He squeezed Adrian’s fingers with a shaky show of courage.

"It is okay, Adrian. The bad guy is not here. It is just Lucien. No one can hurt you."

Adrian nodded. His breath hitched, but he leaned into both of them. Silas slid closer to his other side, placing himself protectively there.

Soon Adrian was tucked in the middle, held by the two people he trusted most.

---

"You were both so tiny back then. How did you even grow bigger than me? That is not fair," Lucien said. Adrian laughed and threw his arms around him again.

"You used to hug both of us with your big arms. Now you cannot even hug me."

Adrian squeezed him so tightly he looked like he was trying to fuse them together. Lucien clicked his tongue but let him.

They had always been clingy. Honestly, some of their habits, they learned from him, even if he pretended otherwise.

"Oh wow, both of you look so sweet. Can I have a hug too?"

Silas’s voice floated in from the hallway. He had finally finished whatever business he had and jumped straight onto them, wrapping his arms around Lucien’s right side.

The omega became the middle of the sandwich once again.

But this time, he was trapped between two grown men acting like oversized affectionate dogs.

Their warmth, their laughter, their weight pressing around him felt completely different from the past. It did not suffocate. It did not crush. It wrapped around him in a way that made his chest feel strangely full.

All three of them laughed. The memory no longer hurts. It had finally become something soft and fun.