Have I ever mentioned that I love you with all of my heart for always being here? Well I'd like to send some love to my readers who leave such sweet and funny comments.

And I'd like to send a lot of love to the introvert babies who are reacting through stickers and showing their support in whatever way they're comfortable with.

AND to the extremely introverted introverts who are simply increasing the reads on my story.

In short, I love you all. I hope you know you're keeping me stable and provide me with enough happiness and motivation to go through each exhausting day.

🤧❤️

---

At exactly 5.57 pm, Lucian walked out of his office. He had been feeling anxious all day, awaiting the 'bonding' time they were given. He had messed up a lot before and he was a little afraid he'll do that again.

He watched the front door open slowly as he strode down the stairs. He stopped where he was at the third step. Damien entered, carrying a sleeping Bunny in his arms. Her head was resting on his shoulder, her face buried into his neck. He had his arms wrapped around her.

Two other men entered behind him with lots of bags in their hands. Lucian's eyes widened when he saw the quantity of bags. They were uncountable.

The two men left after putting the bags at a side. But those bags at a side became the centre of attention for Lucian as he stared at the them then moved his gaze slowly to his brother. Damien had a smile on his face as he saw Lucian, who was now standing in front of him, a few feet away.

He wanted to tell him that there was progress. A lot of it. He wanted to make Lucian proud by telling him how much he had changed and how much she trusted him now that she was letting go of everything in his presence.

Lucian felt a warm feeling in his stomach as he watched his younger brother smile warmer than he'd ever done.

Damien's lit up eyes told it all. The date had gone great and he was excited to tell him about it. Something he stopped doing as soon as he entered teenage. The rambles and rants from his younger brother hadn't been heard after he entered teenage.

"She might've regressed," Damien said, looking into Lucian's eyes, desperately searching for the appreciation he needed.

Lucian's eyes widened a fraction.

"What do you mean by 'might'?

"We don't know for sure. But she was acting a lot more childish and adorable than she usually does," Damien explained, keeping the volume low.

"That's good." Lucian's lips twitched up. Now he saw exactly what Damien was happy about.

She felt safe around him. Safe enough to enter a space more delicate than her current situation.

"I'm proud of you."

The smile that graced the usually annoyed face was brighter than it had ever been. The warm feeling in Lucian intensified as he pictured a twelve-year old Damien giving him that look when he aced a subject.

He really was proud. Days ago, they had stood at the same places as now, with him furious out of his wits and Damien guilty and sad for hurting his sister out of anger and foolishness. Now Damien was standing with her in his arms, looking extremely peaceful in her sleep and clinging onto him like he was her only support.

This was a huge contrast to that day and one that warmed both of their hearts.

"Thanks," Damien muttered. "I'll put her to bed."

A warm feeling settled inside Damien too. He had heard those words after a long time from his brother and it made him feel genuinely happy inside.

"I'll do it," Lucian announced. "You're exhausted."

He moved forward and within two strides he was standing before his younger siblings. Damien didn't protest although he wanted to. He was exhausted. So he pulled his arms back and gently passed his little sister for Lucian to hold.

Lucian adjusted her so her knees were on both sides of his stomach and her head rested on his shoulder. His hand lifted to her face as he pushed her hair away from her face. He ran his hand softly over her head to smoothen out her hair.

When he was satisfied she was comfortable enough, he looked back at Damien and nodded.

Both of them started walking upstairs.

"Did you show her everything?" Lucian asked.

"Yes," Damien said.

"The music and dance?" Lucian asked, glancing at his brother briefly.

"She fell asleep during the music event. Can't blame her. It was soft and calm." Damien chuckled.

Lucian smiled and looked down at her. He placed a kiss on her cheek and lifted his gaze again to move forward.

"I was so scared at first," Damien muttered. "When I realized she's arguing and having a short temper because of Asher leaving. That's why she slipped, I think."

Lucian nodded, his hold tightening instinctively.

'The involuntary slipping into the younger headspace happens when the patient can't bear the stress anymore. Its gets too much.'

Nico's words rang in his head, repeating again and again.

"Imagine going through so much but the thing that hurts the most is a brother leaving for a business trip," Damien commented. "Asher has earned a different place."

"She's afraid Asher's plane will crash too and she will lose him like her dad," Lucian said, glancing at him briefly. Damien looked at him sadly.

"Nico said it's all going good," he said.

"Is it?" Lucian asked, without turning to look at Damien.

"I don't know. She's slipping, so it must be good," he said. "This is the last resort and a stress-free one."

"Hm." Lucian didn't say anything else. He knew if he spoke on this topic he'd accidentally show the fear and worry he was feeling.

When they reached her room, Lucian entered but Damien stayed outside. Lucian moved towards the bed, being cautious of her head that lolled with his movements now.

He stopped when she moved on her own a little to turn her head to face the opposite side. Lucian released a breath when she settled in his hold again but thankfully didn't wake up.

He bent down to lay her down gently on the bed, keeping his hand on the back of her neck to prevent the sudden falling of her head backwards. He slipped his hand from under her head and adjusted her to a position as comfortable as he could make it.

Stepping back, he crouched down near her feet, untying her shoelaces. Her feet were dangling off the bed, as he removed the shoes and slipped off the socks.

Lucian pushed himself up and and lifted her comforter, pushing her feet in simultaneously. When she was safely tucked in, he turned off the lights and turned the fairylights on. That turned the otherwise dark room golden and warm.

He advanced towards the door. Just as he reached for the doorknob, he froze. Lucian contemplated for a moment before turning back around towards his sister.

She was sleeping peacefully with her mouth slightly parted and her hand resting above her head.

He moved forward hesitantly. On reaching the bed, he slowly bent down and as gently as he could, pressed his lips to her forehead. He didn't want to risk waking her up. That's why he stood back up just as graciously.

Damien was still outside the door when Lucian finally appeared. Lucian gave him a questioning look.

"Go to bed. You're tired," he said. He raised an eyebrow as he took in his clearly exhausted self.

"I'm sorry," Damien said. He cleared his throat wondering how to proceed with this.

"For what?" Lucian asked. He studied his guilty face and noticed the sadness in his eyes, wondering where the happiness vanished suddenly.

"For yelling I hate you in your face and being a total pain in the ass," Damien said. "And for threatening I'd run away if you didn't let me have a parlour. For attempting to do so and worrying you so much."

He had never apologized for that. He was seventeen when Lucian finally agreed to let him open a tattoo parlour once he turned eighteen.

No one ever talked about the arguments, the harsh words thrown around to get that. No one talked about the sacrifices and love being ignored just because Lucian said no.

When Damien got his first tattoo at thirteen, it was to have something that made him happy, something that would happen according to his will.

According to the teenager, life had always been out of control. Their father being ignorant was out of his control. The divorce, the loss of both parents, the detachment from his siblings made him shrink more into his bubble. He had isolated himself.

But getting something according to his will made him happy. So he got a tattoo. To remind him that he could still control his life. That he could still change stuff however he wished and things could be permanent.

The first tattoo he got was on his chest, right where his heart was. Two little hearts that were interconnected with each other, enclosed inside a big heart.

That was the first thing he wanted. His mom used to say, 'those who don't physically live close, live in our hearts.' His heart belonged to his mom and his two sisters, who had to go away due to circumstances his eleven year old self couldn't understand.

He wanted hope. So he got it in the form of that tattoo. The hope that the big heart was keeping the two little hearts safe from the harsh outside world. Keeping them enclosed in a world full of love, care and safety. Something he couldn't get but wished profusely that his sister didn't lack.

His prayers were indeed heard and the little girls got their love, care and safety in the form of a man who fell in love with their mom.

Lucian blinked in surprise on hearing the sudden apology.

"Why now?"

Damien shrugged.

"Bunny asked how I managed to get your permission for so many tattoos and a parlour. Reminded me of the apology I owed you."

Lucian took a breath in.

That was painful. Having to argue with Damien for something he started finding comfort in was extremely hard. But getting 'I hate you' yelled into his face by his own brother hurt beyond limit.

Damien was getting addicted to getting his body pierced and tattooed. He wouldn't stop no matter how much Lucian tried. It was an unhealthy way of coping with his dysfunctional life.

That's why Lucian put one condition before him when he agreed for the studio. That Damien would stop when Lucian tells him to. Once Lucian thought he had pierced his body enough, that would be enough and he would never pierce it again.

That had the effect Lucian wanted. Damien started actually considering before getting a tattoo. He got more thoughtful before getting a new tattoo. All because he had a limit on how many he could get now.

That finally diverted his mind to other coping methods he could try. Healthy ones.

"It's alright, Dex," Lucian said. He moved forward and put his hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate your apology but there's no point in going back to the past."

Damien nodded slowly. As much as he wanted to stay away from the past, this felt like a weight being lifted from his chest.

"What did you tell Bunny?" Lucian asked.

"Nothing," Damien mumbled, refusing to make eye contact. "Told her to drop it."

A smile tugged at Lucian's lips as he put his hand against the side of Damien's face. That made Damien look up.

"You're my kid, Damien. I'm supposed to forgive silly mistakes. Even if it hurt, it was a silly mistake you made because of your short temper. I've forgot about it. It's better if you forget about it too," Lucian said, patting the side of his face. Damien nodded.

"Thank you."

Those two words held all the gratefulness Damien had started feeling these days. He was grateful to Lucian for raising him, putting in so much effort to give them a normal life and ignoring his own personal life to look after his siblings.

That was a choice he made. That one choice changed all of them.

"No need to thank me. That's my job."

"That actually isn't." Damien chuckled. "That was an option you had and you chose to be a parent without a second thought."

Lucian could've easily escaped the dysfunctional family after becoming the Capo. He had all the power. He could've had a normal life after twenty years of not having one. But he decided to step into a place that demanded him to grow up more than he was already forced to and demanded sacrifices.

"Don't think that much, Dex," Lucian said, sensing the storm of thoughts running in Damien's head.

Lucian was barely holding onto the tough exterior. This felt better than he had imagined. It felt like all the validation he needed. All doubts he had been having after messing up so many times with his sisters were cleared when he heard his brother say that.

Unbeknownst to everyone, he needed that validation and appreciation. He was trying hard but self-doubt was something he couldn't escape.

"Go take a nap now. I'll wake you up for dinner," Lucian said.

"I have plans tonight," Damien said. "I'm meeting up with a friend over dinner."

Lucian nodded.

"Alright. But you're not going until you get rid of that exhaustion. I still want you to go to bed."

Damien chuckled and shook his head.

"Alright, Lucian."

Lucian pulled his hand away from Damien's face. The smile that was tugging at his lips made full appearance. His heart fluttered as Damien's word repeated in his head.

That cold thing had never fluttered so hard.

Among all the emotions and happiness, one thought stood out.

'I'm glad I made the right choice.'

"Bunny?" Amira felt someone shake her gently. "Dinner is ready."

"I don't want to," She whined, turning back to bury her face in the pillow.

"You're not skipping dinner," Lucian said. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around so she faced the ceiling.

Amira seemed to come back to her senses as her eyes snapped open. That was Lucian she just whined to!

He was sitting on the bed beside her, watching how the look of panic crossed over her features.

"Come on, Bunny. Get up," Lucian said. The gentleness in his tone put her to ease a little.

She released a sigh. She stared at the ceiling for a long moment, blinking slowly to get the sleep out of her eyes.

Lucian watched closely trying to gauze what mood she was in. He couldn't decipher from her expressionless sleepy face so he had to give up after a while.

'Show her she can be dependent on you.'

He stood up from the bed. Amira watched him do so, with rather curious eyes. Like Lucian was actually going to do Ballet now.

Giving himself a little pep talk, he turned to face the little person bundled in the blanket.

Despite not being alone at the moment, Amira felt lonely. She wanted Asher to wake her up. She wanted it all to be dream and wanted to wake up cuddled up to her brother.

Instead, it was Lucian shaking her awake confirming that Asher had indeed left in a plane.

"Come on now, Bunny," Lucian said. His usually stern voice was so soft, Amira would've mistaken it for Asher's if she didn't know.

Seeing that she wasn't getting up on her own, he pushed.

"Want me to pick you up?" He asked, bending down a little. Lucian gave a friendly smile for extra effect.

Amira whined again and turned to bury her face in the pillow.

"I want to sleep."

"You can sleep after dinner," Lucian reasoned. "We shouldn't skip meals."

Her stomach growled just then, reminding her how hungry she was. But for some reason, she was too exhausted to even move. She didn't want to.

One more reason she was missing Asher terribly. If he was here she wouldn't have to be embarrassed about asking him to do everything for her.

'Let go of the boundaries you're creating.'

She bit her bottom lip and turned back around. So what if he wasn't here, Lucian was here. She shouldn't be embarrassed about asking him for stuff.

Raising her arms slowly, she waited for him to get the hint and pick her up.

Something tugged at Lucian's heart when she did that. He wasn't sure whether he should give a reaction. But he felt all warm inside, he found it hard to hold back the smile and he found it hard to not take her into his arms within a second.

Amira wrapped her arms around his neck when he bent down further to gather her little self in his big embrace.

Lucian stood back up and started walking towards the bathroom. Amira utilized that time to rest her head comfortably on his shoulder and fall back asleep.

But she had to wake back up when Lucian put her on the counter.

"You need to get into something comfier," he commented, looking at the now-wrinkled pretty dress she wore today.

"I will," Amira mumbled, resting her head against the wall behind her. She watched Lucian bend down, impatience clawing her from the inside.

Lucian's slow speed wasn't helping her clinginess. She wanted physical contact already.

Lucian bent down to get a washcloth out. A smile rested on his lips as the fact that this was the second time in one day that he was doing stuff for her, settled in.

As his hand moved forward towards his sister's face, he applied force in the opposite direction. For some reason, he thought he needed to be more gentle now.

The bathroom was silent as he cleaned her face with the washcloth gently. But that changed after a little while.

None of them knew where Lucian got the patience to still be sane. Due to the regression process she was going through, she was especially fussy, trying to get away from his hand. There was no reason behind it. She just felt like not cleaning her face so she kicked her feet and tried to get away from Lucian.

But she was still the Bunny who was scared of Lucian since forever, after all.

One glare was enough for her to freeze. Not even a pointed look. Lucian went straight with a glare.

When she won't stop throwing a silent tantrum about it, he simply stopped doing what he was doing and gave her his signature pointed look.

By the time, Amira got herself to stop the fuss, Lucian's patience had run out and he was mad enough to glare so dangerously at her.

The already silent bathroom fell more silent as both of them took some time to change their mood. One adjusting her attitude and the other cooling his anger.

Lucian hummed when he was done with the work.

"I feel weird."

Lucian turned around while putting the towel away. Amira was looking down at her nails as she mumbled that.

"Stop picking your nails," Lucian said. She stopped immediately. After he was done, he turned around completely and walked back over to her.

Letting out a little sigh, he looked into her eyes with a soft look.

"Once there was a baby," he started, "who had gone through a lot. She had so much love in her life that she was never sad. But, life flipped over and she was met with a monster."

Amira blinked. Lucian was trying on his part, to sugarcoat it for her little self's sake but she was going in and out of it so she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"While fighting that monster, she lost her baby self-"

Amira cut him off.

"Baby heart," she corrected.

"Pardon?" Lucian said. Surprise was evident on his face as he blinked.

"Dad said Rose and I have little hearts. Asher calls it baby heart," she said.

Lucian made a mental note that baby self equals baby heart. He nodded slowly.