Chapter 777 - 777: BACK AT THE PRESENT

LAUREN’S face heated, and the warmth spread throughout his body. His heart was beating so loud he was sure Reas could hear it. Before he could even process what Reas had said, he felt the other’s lips press against his neck. When Reas nibbled on the skin there, a moan almost escaped him. He just barely managed to raise his hand and clamp it over his own mouth in time.

He heard Reas chuckle against his skin. Feeling annoyed, Lauren pushed the other’s head away and stepped out of his embrace. He turned around to glare at him.

“Seriously, Reas? Your parents already probably think I’m a complete weirdo. Do you want them to think I’m some kind of shameless pervert on top of that?” he said, his voice full of exasperation.

Reas reached for his hand and gave it a playful squeeze. “Like I told you, my parents are pretty chill people. They won’t jump to the worst conclusion about you. Probably.”

Lauren pulled his hand back. “Probably? Just probably? So they might actually think I’m a total weirdo?”

Reas felt amused watching Lauren’s reaction. He knew he probably shouldn’t, but seeing his boyfriend get so panicked about being liked by his parents made him thrilled. Because it showed just how serious Lauren was about him.

He stepped closer to Lauren and pulled him into a hug. “Like I said, you can change their minds while you’re here. And you are staying here as long as I am, right?”

Lauren subconsciously rested his head on Reas’s shoulder and hugged him back. “Yeah. I was planning on going back to the capital with you.”

“Then, while you’re stuck here on this unplanned vacation with me, you can show my parents how likable you really are,” Reas said, stroking Lauren’s back. “Maybe someday, you can take me to meet your parents too. Then I’ll be the one panicking, just like you are right now.”

Lauren paused when he heard that last part. An image of Reas meeting his mothers flashed in his mind. Just thinking about it made him laugh a little. He could already picture his mothers fussing over Reas, and Reas wearing that awkwardly polite expression while he tried to be nice.

“Well, my parents are still on their big planetary tour right now, so it might take a while before you can meet them,” he said. Both of his mothers loved to travel. So they would go on these long planetary tours every now and then. Right now, they were somewhere out in the Tertius Galaxy. “So you’re safe from them for now.”

“Hmm, that’s too bad,” Reas said, his voice low as he nuzzled behind Lauren’s ear. “Then, in the meantime, why don’t we get started on those grandbabies?”

Lauren blushed and gave Reas’s shoulder a light slap. “Reas!”

“Come on, baby. I thought you missed me,” Reas said, pecking Lauren’s neck.

“Mmmm…” Lauren bit his lower lip to keep himself from moaning. “J-just a kiss,” he managed to say, his voice breathy. “Just a kiss for now.”

Reas smiled before cupping Lauren’s face and leaning in to capture his lips in a slow, deep kiss.

=====

The corner of Reas’s lips turned up as the memories from Lauren’s first day in Delryria came back to him. There had been some awkward moments at the start, but after that day, Lauren had made himself completely at home.

Within a couple of days, Lauren had relaxed completely. He got along easily with Reas’s parents. He helped his mother in the kitchen without being asked, listening to her stories. He spent hours talking with Reas’ father about the farm, asking thoughtful questions. His effortless charm worked on everyone else, too. He became friends with the people working the fields, sharing jokes and helping with lighter tasks.

Just as Reas had thought, his parents warmed up to Lauren quickly. The Duke’s manner toward him also became less stiff. He no longer seemed to study Lauren with silent scrutiny and began to address him directly in conversation.

After ten days at the farm, Chris contacted Lauren. He told him he needed to get back to the capital to prepare for his next project. So the two of them got ready to leave. The Duke offered them the use of his personal spaceship for the trip back, saying it would be much faster. Reas had no real reason to say no, so he agreed. He just hadn’t expected the ship to come with a full crew.

He couldn’t help but wonder if those people had been staying on Delryria the whole time. Wouldn’t that be a waste of their time? They could only really do their jobs if the Duke was traveling. But given how at home the Duke seemed on the farm, it might be a long while before he left.

During the trip back to the capital, Reas thought Lauren might ask how the Duke had a personal ship. But he didn’t. Reas figured it was probably because Lauren just assumed the Duke was very rich. That was a very Lauren-like, in a way.

Reas had actually decided he would tell Lauren everything if he asked—about his family, the Lancasters, all of it. But since Lauren didn’t ask, Reas saw no reason to bring it up himself. At least, not now. With the threat of the Lancasters still out there, he didn’t want to drag Lauren into that whole mess.

So, for the time being, he was satisfied with how things were between them.

“You were with Lauren?” Astrid’s voice cut through his thoughts, pulling Reas out of his memories. “He met Mom and Dad?”

Reas blinked, focusing back on his brother’s face across from him.

“How was it?” Astrid asked again, his tone curious.

As soon as he heard Lauren had just shown up at the farm, Astrid couldn’t stop thinking about how their parents must have reacted. Knowing Reas, there was no chance he would have introduced Lauren as just a friend. So he was really curious about how it had all played out.

“It went perfectly,” Reas said, a smug, playful grin spreading across his face. “I mean, it went a million times better than when they met the General, that’s for sure.”

Astrid narrowed his eyes at Reas’s smug expression and threw a pillow right at his head.

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