Then, his expression softened. “Thank you,” he whispered, lifting his head just enough to look Adrian in the eye.
Adrian smiled at him, the dry, pale skin of his face stretching slightly, his lips—almost white now—curling at the edges.
And Loganhatedthat.
Hated how even a smile—something so simple, soAdrian—lookedexhaustingnow.
Hated how time had stolen from them, how even now, even in this moment of warmth and quiet intimacy, the sickness was still there.
“You’re going home tonight,” Adrian suddenly declared, interrupting Logan’s thoughts. “You need to sleep in a real bed and rest for a bit.”
Logan blinked, then scoffed. “Huh… no. I’m staying.”
Adrian sighed, but before he could argue, Logan was already reaching for Adrian’s phone, his fingers moving swiftly across the screen.
“And I’m ordering food,” Logan continued as if the matter was settled. “I’m starving. And you need something that didn’t come in a plastic bottle.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow. “You know that stuff is actually good for me, right? It’s designed to keep me alive.”
Logan snorted. “Great. You’ll drink it,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact. “And you’ll have a slice of pizza. Because let’s be real, Ad, surviving on hospital nutrition alone isn’t living, it’s just not dying.”
Adrian let out a small, tired laugh, shaking his head.
Logan woke slowly, his body heavy with exhaustion, the scent of antiseptic and Adrian clinging to his skin. He blinked, adjusting to the morning light, stretching slightly, only to realize he was alone.
The space beside him was empty, the sheets barely disturbed, still faintly warm from where Adrian had been.
Logan sat up quickly, his heart lurching, but then he saw Adrian sitting in one of the chairs, gazing at him with a quiet and amused expression.
“Morning,” Adrian said, his lips curling into a small smile. “You were really tired.”
Logan groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, then pulled the blanket up higher and closed his eyes again. “Morning.”
“You didn’t even wake up when the nurses came in. Or when Dr. Tierney stopped by.”
Logan peeked at him, eyes still heavy with sleep. “Did he say anything important?”
Adrian shrugged, standing and padding over to the bed. “Not much. Though he did suggest examining you, since you looked like shit.”
Logan scoffed. “I bet.”
Adrian chuckled softly before leaning down, pressing a lingering kiss to Logan’s head, his lips warm against his skin.
“How long have you been up?” Logan asked, pushing himself upright.
Adrian hesitated. “Two hours.”
“You woke up from the pain, didn’t you?”
There was no need to ask. He already knew.
Adrian nodded silently.
Logan exhaled sharply, guilt settling deep in his stomach. “I should’ve slept on the couch or something, given you more space.”
“No, no, Lo. Come on.” Adrian reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly. “I love when you sleep with me. You have no idea how much strength it gives me just to have you here.”
Without another word, Logan jumped to his feet and pulled Adrian into his arms. He pressed his lips close to his ear, whispering, “You owe me a good morning kiss.”
