Chapter 20

Adrian barely registered the moment he was lifted off the couch. He was in that strange state between sleep and wakefulness, aware of movement but too tired to react. A familiar warmth cradled him in. Easton.

"Light as a feather," Easton muttered as he carried Adrian up the stairs.

"More like dead weight," Lucas snickered quietly, following behind them.

Adrian wanted to protest, but his exhaustion won, and he only hummed sleepily in response.

Once they reached Adrian's room, Easton carefully laid him down on the bed, pulling the covers over him. He sighed, ruffling Adrian's hair in a rare display of affection. "Night, kiddo."

Lucas, who had been lingering in the doorway, stepped closer. Thinking Adrian was already asleep, he crouched beside the bed, his fingers brushing through Adrian's messy hair.

"Sleep well, dumbass," Lucas murmured, a small smile tugging at his lips before standing up and getting into bed next to Adrian.

Adrian, still barely conscious, felt his heart twist at the softness in Lucas' voice. But before he could think about it too much, sleep pulled him under completely.

Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting Adrian's face, making him groan and shift. Something warm was wrapped around him, keeping him trapped in place.

Wait—

His eyes shot open.

Lucas was spooning him.

Adrian's entire body went rigid. Lucas' arm was draped lazily around his waist, his chest pressed against Adrian's back. He could feel Lucas' slow, steady breathing, his warmth seeping through the fabric of his shirt.

Panic surged through him.

Carefully so carefully he tried to wiggle out of Lucas' grip, but as soon as he moved, the arm around him tightened.

Then, a sleepy voice rumbled behind him.

"Mmm... stop moving..."

Adrian froze.

Lucas groaned, burying his face into Adrian's shoulder before blinking awake. His blue eyes met Adrian's mortified expression, and for a moment, he just stared. Then, a slow smirk spread across his face.

"Morning, little spoon."

Adrian's face ignited. "I—shut up!" He squirmed harder, but Lucas only laughed and held him there for a second longer before finally letting him go.

Adrian immediately rolled out of bed and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest as if that would somehow make him feel less embarrassed.

Lucas stretched, still lounging in bed, and grinned. "You blush way too much, you know that?"

Adrian scowled, refusing to look at him. "I do not."

Lucas only smirked. "Sure, sure."

Before Adrian could die of humiliation, his stomach growled, betraying him.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Hungry?"

"...Maybe."

Lucas chuckled. "Come on, let's go find Easton and make him cook for us."

They padded down the hall to Easton's room. Adrian hesitated for only a second before swinging the door open.

Adrian grinned. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

Without warning, they both ran and jumped onto Easton's bed.

"WAKE UP!" they both shouted.

Easton groaned, barely opening his eyes. "Get. Off."

Lucus bounced slightly on the mattress. "Make us breakfast?"

"No."

Adrian nudged him. "Come on, big brother duties and all that."

Easton sighed, rubbing his face. "Go downstairs and wait. I'll be down in a minute."

Adrian and Lucas grinned at each other. Mission accomplished.

Just as they were leaving, Easton's tired voice called out. "And don't start cooking. I mean it."

He was looking directly at Adrian.

Adrian flushed. "It was one time."

Lucas burst out laughing.

Easton eventually came down and started making a full English breakfast. As the smell of bacon and eggs filled the kitchen, the twins suddenly appeared, looking as if they'd been summoned by magic. Even Henry, who usually slept in, wandered down, rubbing his eyes.

Adrian took a bite of his toast, then frowned.

"Where's Elijah?" he asked.

Easton, who was flipping eggs, scratched the back of his neck. "He's out running an errand."

Adrian's eyes narrowed. That was a lie.

Easton always scratched his neck when he was lying.

No one else seemed to question it, though. The others just nodded and kept eating.

Adrian made a mental note to ask Elijah where he had really been when he got back.

After breakfast, Adrian and Lucas sprawled out in the living room, controllers in hand, the screen glowing as they booted up a fighting game.

Lucas stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, let's make this interesting."

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Lucas smirked. "Whoever loses has to ask their brothers for an embarrassing story and share it with Chloe and Sophia."

Adrian scoffed. "That's it? Easy. You're going down."

Lucas leaned back, casually selecting his character. "We'll see, little spoon."

Adrian's face flamed. "I swear to God, Lucas—"

"Shh." Lucas grinned. "Focus, or you'll lose."

With a determined huff, Adrian selected his fighter. The match began, and the room was filled with the rapid clicking of buttons, the sound of their characters battling on screen, and their constant back-and-forth banter.

Round One:

Lucas leaned forward as his character landed a final blow, knocking Adrian's fighter out.

"Boom!" Lucas whooped. "First round's mine."

Adrian groaned, flopping back dramatically. "That was a warm-up."

Lucas smirked. "Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that."

Round Two:

Adrian tightened his grip on the controller. This time, he wasn't playing around.

The match was intense, both of them barely dodging attacks, countering at the last second. But in the end, Adrian managed to land a devastating combo, draining Lucas' health bar.

"Yes!" Adrian cheered as Lucas' character fell.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Lucky shot."

Round Three:

Adrian was on fire. His fingers moved rapidly across the buttons, and this time, he barely gave Lucas a chance to breathe.

Lucas cursed as his character took hit after hit.

"Dude, chill!" Lucas yelped, trying to dodge.

Adrian grinned wickedly. "No mercy."

With a final powerful strike, Adrian won another round.

Lucas threw his hands up. "This is rigged."

Adrian smirked. "Skill issue."

Round Four:

Lucas wasn't about to let Adrian win that easily. He sat up straight, his blue eyes focused.

The match was the closest yet, both of them down to their last sliver of health. Adrian went for an attack—

But Lucas dodged at the last second and countered.

Adrian gasped as his character was knocked out.

Lucas smirked. "We're tied now, little spoon."

Adrian scowled. "Stop calling me that."

Final Round:

This was it. Winner takes all.

The match started, both of them going all out. The tension was thick as they button-mashed, dodged, and countered each other's attacks.

Lucas managed to land a few good hits, bringing Adrian's health dangerously low.

But Adrian wasn't done yet.

With a perfectly timed move, he launched a combo attack, draining Lucas' health bar in seconds.

Lucas' character collapsed.

K.O. flashed across the screen.

Adrian dropped his controller and threw his hands in the air. "YES! I WIN!"

Lucas groaned, falling back onto the couch. "This is the worst day of my life."

Adrian grinned. "You know what that means."

Lucas covered his face. "I hate you."

Adrian nudged him. "Come on, pay up. I want an embarrassing story."

Before Lucas could get his punishment, Easton called from the kitchen, "Food's ready! Get in here before I eat it all!"

Since Alex was out working on a school project and Elijah was running errands, it was just Adrian, Lucas, and the rest of the brothers at the table.

Easton had thrown together a quick but solid lunch grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.

Adrian hesitated, staring down at the plate Easton set in front of him. The golden-brown sandwich, the creamy red soup it smelled good. But his stomach twisted at the thought of all that bread and butter.

Lucas nudged him. "You okay?"

Adrian forced a small smile and picked up half of the sandwich, taking a bite. He chewed slowly, hyper-aware of the carbs he was eating, but he kept going, reminding himself it was fine.

Lucas, who sat next to  him, gave him a brief glance casual, but knowing. Adrian ignored it.

Miles, meanwhile, was already halfway through his food, talking with Henry about some school drama.

"I'm just impressed Adrian hasn't managed to spill anything on himself yet" Henry grinned.

Adrian shot him a glare. "I will throw soup at you."

Miles  smirked. "You would waste food just to be petty."

"Absolutely."

Easton shook his head. "Some things never change."

They kept eating, Adrian taking careful, measured bites. He left half of his sandwich but made sure to finish his soup. Easton noticed, but thankfully didn't say anything.

After lunch, Adrian sighed in relief, glad the meal was over without any questions.

With full stomachs, Adrian and Lucas crashed back onto the couch, flipping through movie options.

"Nothing scary," Adrian warned.

Lucas sighed. "You are such a baby."

"I just have taste, thank you."

After some debate, they settled on a comedy. It wasn't long before they were laughing so hard Adrian's sides hurt.

At some point, Lucas ended up lying sideways, resting his head against the armrest while Adrian curled up beside him, their shoulders brushing. It felt... comfortable.

Adrian tried not to think about it too much.

Adrian nudged him. "Come on, pay up. I want an embarrassing story."

A knock on the door interrupted them.

Oscar Lucas's oldest brother stepped inside, followed by Leon, who had come over to see Henry.

"Hey, Lucas, ready to go?" Oscar asked.

"Not yet," Adrian said, grinning mischievously. "I need an embarrassing story about Lucas first."

Leon and Oscar exchanged a look. Then they both smirked at each other.

"Oh, we definitely have something," Leon said.

Oscar pulled out his phone and scrolled for a moment. Then he turned the screen toward Adrian.

The moment Adrian saw the picture, he lost it.

It was Lucas—maybe five years old—covered head to toe in orange fake tan, wearing bright red lipstick that had been smeared all over his face.

Lucas groaned loudly. "Oh my god."

Adrian wheezed. "What happened to you?!"

Leon was grinning. "Mum left her fake tan and lipstick out. Lucas thought it was paint."

Oscar added, "And then he walked around the house like that for hours, thinking he looked fabulous."

Lucas buried his face in his hands. "This is the worst day of my life."

Adrian could barely breathe from laughing.

Elijah, who had just walked into the room, glanced at the photo over Adrian's shoulder and chuckled. "Nice look, Lucas."

Without hesitation, Adrian sent the picture to their group chat with Chloe and Sophia.

Lucas' eyes widened. "Adrian—"

Too late.

Chloe's message came almost instantly.

OMG I'M DYING.

Sophia followed up: Why did you never tell us about this?! 😂😂😂

Adrian smirked. "Payback for this morning."

Lucas groaned. "You are so dead."

But the way he was laughing said otherwise.

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Word count: 1696

Hey Guys Thanks for reading this story so please be nice and kind. I am sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or bad grammar.

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More chapters will be coming out soon.

*EMMA HETHRON*