"You don't realize what you're saying!" Adrian's voice broke into a sharp, shrill cry that cut through the thick air in the room. "You're a kid, Lucas! You're playing with grown-up feelings like they're just another toy you'll get bored of in a week! You don't understand anything about love or life!"

"I'm not a kid!" Lucas cut him off, his voice trembling with the pressure of tears. "I like you! I love you! Just listen to me! I love you! You're the one acting like a kid right now!"

"Shut up!" His eyes flashed with despair and anger. "You don't love me! I'd rather believe you're obsessed with possession, just like Noah! You don't even know who I really am!"

"I know I can't live without you!" Lucas shouted, trying to drown him out, and suddenly his legs gave way. He collapsed to his knees right onto the hard hardwood floor, ignoring the pain. His hands clung desperately to the hem of Adrian's pants. "Give us a chance! Please, Adrian, give us a chance! I'll change, I swear, I'll become whoever you want me to be. I'll never do anything you don't like. I'll be faithful to you, do you hear me? Only to you! And even if… even if you want to cheat on me, if I'm not enough for you, I'll accept it! I'll put up with anything, just don't send me away!"

"No, this is completely fucked up."

Those words hit Adrian with such devastating force that, for a moment, the world around him ceased to exist. Seeing this proud, self-assured young man groveling at his feet, ready for any humiliation, was unbearable.

Panic clouded Adrian's mind. He raised his hand and, with a dull, sharp crack, slapped Lucas across the cheek.

"Get up!" Adrian shouted. "Don't you dare humiliate yourself! What are you wasting your time on? It's your graduation today! You should be there, celebrating the start of your life, not crawling around on the floor of your unemployed professor's apartment, the man who ruined everything you've been working toward for decades! Get out!"

"No!" Lucas sobbed, clinging to Adrian's clothes; his cheek burned like fire, but he didn't even try to cover it. "No, you're not like that! I know you're not like that!"

"Get out, Lucas, please, get out… Damn it, or I'll hit you again. Get up, for God's sake!"

But Lucas only pressed his forehead harder against his knees, continuing to whisper incoherent pleas for love. And at that moment, the last wall that Adrian had been building around himself for years crumbled completely.

The man's shoulders shook, and he covered his face with his hands, letting hot, treacherous tears finally stream through his fingers.

"Damn it, what has my life come to?"

Lucas froze. He slowly raised his head and, seeing this, reached for Adrian's hands. He gripped his wrists, trying to pull his hands away from his face so he could see his eyes, but Adrian resisted, hiding his vulnerability with desperate force. And so they remained frozen: one sobbing on his knees, clinging to the hands of the other, who sat on the couch, also shaken by silent sobs. 

For a long time, nothing could be heard in the room except their ragged breathing and tears falling to the floor. Slowly, very slowly, the storm subsided, bringing them back to their fragile reality.
Adrian was the first to speak. His voice was hoarse and infinitely weary.

"We really are the same," he whispered, finally letting Lucas gently pull his hands away from his face. "We met at the club. We wanted each other's bodies at the very moment we were kissing completely different people. We both know how to inflict pain to protect ourselves. And even if we assume we'll be together… will we really be enough for each other? Won't we ruin this in a week or a month, falling back into our old, toxic habits?"

Lucas looked up. He gazed at Adrian's tear-stained, flushed face, his tousled hair, and his swollen lips, and suddenly realized with crystal clarity: this man was dazzlingly beautiful. He had always been that way. But seeing his inner pain, his struggles, his concern for his family, and his secret concern even for Lucas… He could no longer bear the thought that someone else might see all of this.

Without saying a word, Lucas reached up and gently cupped Adrian's face in his hands once more. 
This time, Adrian didn't push him away, but simply closed his eyes slowly. 

Lucas began showering his wet face with kisses: his eyelids, cheekbones, the tip of his nose, the corners of his lips, as if trying to wash away every drop of bitterness that had built up during all the time he had suffered. At this tender, reverent touch, the tears on Adrian's face flared up with renewed intensity, but he no longer tried to hide them.

"Yes," Lucas said firmly, looking him straight in the eyes. "We'll get through this. I believe that you'll be enough for me, and I'll be enough for you... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for acting like such a child. I'm sorry for behaving so recklessly and foolishly when we were just sex partners. I'm sorry for flirting with others, trying to make you jealous. I'm sorry for sleeping with and kissing others while thinking only of you. I'm sorry for everything."

For some reason, those words made Adrian open his eyes. His dark eyes began to glow with a golden light. He didn't look away. The icy barrier in his eyes finally melted away, giving way to piercing honesty. He exhaled slowly, drawing in a heavy breath.

"And… actually…" Adrian began, his voice barely audible. "I haven't been with anyone since you. I just didn't even want to. So you've been out there, living it up?"

In the heavy silence, a deep blush spread slowly but inexorably across both men's cheeks, betraying the vulnerability they had just laid bare in each other. Lucas looked at him, and a quiet, truly happy smile appeared on his lips, illuminated by the same warm redness.

He didn't even notice the hint of jealousy in Adrian's voice. And, in fact, everything that came after "I just didn't feel like it" lost all meaning for him.
With almost reverent tenderness, Lucas lowered his head, now settling gently onto Adrian's lap. He lay down, burying his face in the thick fabric of Adrian's pants, seeking in that touch the reality of a man who had finally stopped running away from him.

"We will definitely fall in love with each other," he whispered into the silence of the room, his warm breath scorching the fabric through the material.

Hearing those words, a new wave of heat rushed to Adrian's face, coloring his own ears and neck with a deep blush. A sincere smile finally broke through his years of weariness. Without changing his position, he raised his hand and began to slowly, rhythmically stroke Lucas's hair, feeling the last traces of tension leave his own body.

The room was still lit only by a faint, ghostly beam from a streetlamp, filtering through a crack in the blinds. It fell softly on their figures, slowly weaving their scattered shadows on the floor into a single, inseparable whole.

A Note of Thanks to My Readers

Thank you to everyone who stuck with me all the way to the very last page! This is my debut work, and I didn’t want to make it long, convoluted, or filled with a multitude of characters and universes. To be honest, that’s exactly how I used to write. As a result, none of my previous works were ever finished because I lacked the experience needed to build out those worlds. *Cry*

And don’t think we’re saying goodbye to our heroes for long! Adrian and Lucas still have a very long (and possibly very chaotic) journey ahead of them, the details of which we’ll definitely explore in the extras. Believe me, these two definitely won’t let each other get bored and will continue to drive each other crazy in the most wonderful way. Let’s make the hashtag #R18 count to the max! Thank you for your support and for reading!