The three gentlemen walked into the house to join the simple but elegant party. They found Sienna slow dancing with her husband,both an energetic couple who looked at each other with nothing but love and adoration,in the middle of the parlour.
Adrien was on the side trying to call Julian's phone to explain why he hadn't called but it only went to voicemail. The man kept tugging at his silky raven strands in frustration at the third unsuccessful attempt. "I think you should let him get some sleep brother,he's just been discharged."
Azrael,the voice of reasoning in their family spoke from the sofa,next to Adrien. "You also need to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening,you're free to meet him tomorrow. Actually,you know what!? You should also get some rest. That smoky eye look should be preserved for Halloween." He added.
"I'm trying look like you my role model! I thought the bags and dark circles on your eyes are the current trend!" Adrien replied with sass,making Azrael gasp dramatically.
"You're joking!" Azrael shouted while carelessly touching his whole face in attempt of finding the said dark circles and bags. For Azrael,unlike everybody else,his beauty came first.
It is his trophy!
So telling him that he had any blemish or something out of place,would be enough to ruin his mood for the rest of the week. He's just that dramatic,and Adrien knew it very well. With a light chuckle and amusement on his face,Adrien got closer and answered "I'm not joking. You should get a mirror." He patted his little brother's shoulder and walked away from the distressed man. Just looking at Azrael's facial expressions was enough to lighten up Adrien's mood but not the blue haired man's.
Azrael jumped out of his seat and dashed to the guest bathroom on the main floor to look at himself in the mirror. He released a sign of relief when he saw that Adrien had been teasing him,he shook his head when he figured out the best way to get back at his older brother. So with a new found motivation, Azrael walked back to the parlour where the party was still taking place,and sat down by his mother and mate.
The two had been getting to know each other over wine and desserts,mainly Sienna since Luciano wasn't allowed to drink so he had opted for fruit juice.
"Mom please,can I have my man a little?" Azrael pouted like a child.
Sienna's gaze softened when she looked at her childishly pouting son, Luciano thought she was going to accept but he was shocked when she instead pinched his cheeks and said 'No' sternly.
Azrael turned to report to Luciano while aggressively rubbing his cheek,not forgetting to intensify his pot.
"Baby,look! My mom is hoarding you,she even hurt my delicate face when all I want is a dance with my gorgeous man!"
"Aww poor guy!" Luciano indulged him. He gently caressed Azrael's reddening cheek and blowed on it lightly. "There there,stop rubbing it you don't want to damage this porcelain skin. Coz if you do,I'll have to find another man with more youthful features." Luciano added.
Gasps covered the room; followed by laughter.
Azrael felt hurt and walked away from them because they were ganging up on him with their relentless teasing. As for Luciano,he knew that a little sulking will get him back on his side before the day breaks.
"I really like you son!" Giuseppe nodded and raised a toast to his son's mate. Sienna nudged Luciano and whispered,"That's his way of saying you're welcome into the family. I told you he's just grumpy like Zanny."
"Zanny?" Luciano's eyebrows furrowed because he didn't know anyone called zanny.
" Oh! That would be Adrien. He actually hates it when we call him by that name,don't ever say you had me call him that. EVER!" Xavier chimed in.
Xavier had left the party with Adrien to go get some rest while everybody else partied to their heart's fill. He had just walked back alone without his elder brother when he had Luciano ask 'Zanny!?",a bit loudly.
"Okay, I promise I won't." Luciano answered.
The Morgans had proved to be chaotic and fun company, they were especially loving and united. Luciano noted; he could only hope to have a family like this one someday.
He felt really lucky to have gotten the chance to become part of such a loving family. When he looked around, he could only wish to have children that look like their father's side of the family, especially their smiles.
The party went on, without Adrien and Azrael,who were in their rooms. Everything was perfect from the mood, lighting,music and the food. Sienna and Giuseppe kept thanking Luciano for hosting them,and complimenting everything.
Later in the night,they dispersed to their rooms to get some rest.
Azrael,though sulking,returned to help his mate to their room.
*****
At dawn,Julian pried his eyes open and realized that he was still in his living room. He groaned while trying to get up from the sofa where he accidentally ended up spending the night due to the pain in his neck.
"Ugh.. not this again." Julian always tried to avoid laying on the sofas because whenever he woke up,he always had a sore limb or neck.
So was the case this time round.
He gave up on trying to sit up so he just crawled off the sofa and picked up his phone beforw crawling up the stairs to his room. He then climbed back into the warm sheets and decided to first check if there's a missed call or at least a text from anyone.
"What!?" To his surprise,his phone buzzed with endless notifications that it almost froze. Most where missed calls from Adrien and texts from him as well. Luciano had left him a text and so did Alya's husband. There were unopened emails and app notifications amongst the swam of notifications but what caught his eye most was a text from Issa.
"What does she want now?" He grumbled, debating whether to open it or not. He decided to choose his sleep, after all he had only slept for a few hours.
Plugging the phone in its charger and finding a comfortable spot for his sore neck,Julian drifted off to sleep as soon as he shut his eyes.
In the afternoon, around 2 o'clock,he opened his eyes again to the sound of his ringtone. It was consistent and annoying, therefore interfering with his beauty sleep. He reached for it with closed eyes and answered with a hoarse " What?"
"Still sleeping?" Came the voice that Julian is always looking forward to each day.
His eyes shot up and he sat up quickly, forgetting about his sore neck. He winced upon impact, startling the man on the other side of the line.
"What's wrong? Tell me.... No I'm on my way there. Don't move." Adrien frantically spoke with alertness and concern.
"Hahaha...." Julian couldn't help but laugh at the worried man. He found his reaction a bit dramatic, despite being aware of the fact that he's just woke up from coma,so anything could be a risk factor. "Don't worry love,I'm fine. It's just a sore neck but it popped back just now,I'm fine I promise."
Adrien's emotions which had scattered around were soothed by the reassurance from Julian. He let out a sigh of relief before sitting back down and continued his conversation with his lover. "So will you come over at Azrael's? My parents can't wait to meet you too."
"Uhm... What exactly do you mean by 'meet me too'?" Julian asked with furrowed brows. His mind was barely awake since he had just been abruptly awoken by the phone.
"Oh! I mean that they've met Luciano and can't wait to meet you too. I'm sure they'll make dinner more extravagant than any since both our mates will be present." Adrien snotted at his imagination.
Julian smiled at the fondness in Adrien's voice as he talked about his parents. " I guess I'll have to get up now and start preparing. I don't want to be anywhere below the bar of expectations they've set for us." He nervously answered.
"Even if you showed up in a casual outfit they wouldn't mind. My parents are so laid back,and besides,you're already so beautiful and kind. Whatever is lacking in fashion taste will be made up by those two." Adrien jokingly replied.
" C'mon don't make me reluctant. I want to win your family's favor with a good first impression."
The call took longer than intended to,by the time they hang up,it was coming to 4 o'clock. Julian decided to pick out a unisex lilac colored blouse,plack jeans and sneakers. He threw on a purple hoodie after reading the day's weather forecast and it predicted high chance of rain.
He rode the elevator to the basement parking lot where his luxurious Ducati superleggera sat untouched. He sat on the red vehicle,wore his helmet and bike riding jacket before he set it into ignition and drove off into the streets to go meet with his lover's family.
On the entire trip,he silently prayed that they accept him.