Logan tore his gaze away from the sharp edges of Adrian’s face, from the ghost of the man he once knew, and met his eyes.
“Fine.” He shrugged, forcing a smirk. “Hate flying.”
Adrian hummed, a tired sound, his eyelids flickering. “Your dad still being… your dad?”
Logan huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Oh yeah. Classic Robert. Confused why I’d rather be here than flying around the world closing deals.”
Adrian squeezed his hand, the pressure barely there but enough. “Because you’re here with me.”
Logan’s throat tightened. “Yeah,” he murmured. “Because I’m here with you.”
He tried to smile, tried to keep the weight of everything from showing on his face, but Adrian saw it. He always did.
“I think he’s trying, though,” Logan admitted after a beat. “I can see it. He struggles, but he’s trying. And I’m… I’m trying too. Work is a lot. I push through, but my head’s not there.”
Adrian watched him, silent. Logan could feel the weight of his gaze, heavy despite the frailty of his body.
He didn’t sayIt’s okay. He didn’t sayI understand. Because hedidunderstand. And they both knew it wasn’t okay.
Logan glanced at the machines beside the bed. The IV bags were filled with chemicals designed to save Adrian’s life, dripping slowly into hisveins. The monitors were beeping in rhythm with his heartbeat, each sound a reminder of how fragile that heartbeat really was.
“How are you feeling?” Logan asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with Dr. Tierney yet.”
Adrian sighed and moved against the pillows. “Like I got hit by a truck. Then backed over for good measure.”
Logan tried to laugh, tried to keep the moment light, but the sound barely made it past his throat. Because none of this was fair.
His grip on Adrian’s hand tightened, his thumb tracing slow, absentminded circles over the fragile bones beneath his skin. Holding onto him. Holding him here.
“I’m kidding, I’m good,” Adrian murmured, his voice softer now. “Though I think Dr. Tierney left for the rest of the evening. It’s Christmas Eve, after all.”
Logan nodded, but he wasn’t thinking about Dr. Tierney. He was thinking about how much weight Adrian had lost. About the way his body seemed too small for the bed now. About how his pulse felt fragile beneath his fingertips, like it could slip away at any moment.
“And,” Adrian added, forcing a small, teasing smirk, “I can go home the day after tomorrow. After that, another round starts.”
Logan swallowed hard. He forced himself to smile, to match Adrian’s attempt at humor. “Lucky you.”
Adrian chuckled, but it was a breathy, weak sound, and it broke something inside Logan.
He didn’t say what he wanted to say. That he would give anything to trade places with him. That if he could take all of Adrian’s pain, carry it himself, he would. That it should be him in this bed instead.
Instead, he just lifted Adrian’s hand again, pressing another kiss to his knuckles, lingering there, breathing him in.
We are not losing this fight.
Adrian exhaled slowly, his gaze drifting over Logan’s face, studying him like he was memorizing him, like he was afraid he might forget the way he looked if he blinked for too long.
“Aren’t you going to spend the holiday with your family?” he asked.
Logan barely hesitated. “You’re my family.”
The words left his mouth without thought, without calculation. Simple. Unshakable.
Adrian didn’t say anything for a moment. But Logan didn’t need him to.
Because he squeezed Logan’s fingers just a little tighter, just enough to say,I know. I love you, too.
Logan cleared his throat, forcing his voice lighter, teasing. “But no, I spoke to Jane and Ann, and they’re coming tomorrow. Ann is really excited. She wants to talk to your doctors, see your test results.”
