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Chapter Text

Adrian's eyes wandered over the hallway of the museum. The art on the walls wasn't what interested him. He was certain his latest lead was going to get him somewhere. Othello had told him to get out of that room, so he did, but he didn't leave his search behind. He took a sip out of his coffee and stared, waiting, for anything that might assist him. 

"Excuse me," a voice spoke. All Adrian could see was the flicker of blue. His heart skipped a beat until he realized it was the wrong shade. 

"Is there something I can do for you?" Adrian looked up at the face in front of him. He was a male in his late teens, probably, with dark circles under his eyes and a light shade of blue for his hair color. He was scratching his neck viciously and had trouble making eye contact. Likely an anxiety disorder and some past trauma there. 

"Food and beverages aren't allowed in this corner of the museum," he pointed to the sign on the wall and Adrian suddenly felt like an asshole. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Adrian stood up hastily and spilled the coffee all over the traumatized male. Feeling like an even bigger asshole, Adrian scrambled to find some sort of something in his pockets to wipe it off with. "I'm so sorry," he apologized, looking at the nametag, "Tomura." 

"It's...fine," he scratched his neck a bit more. "This happens more than you'd think..." he muttered and walked back over to the help desk. 

 "Hey," a guy with numerous tattoos and piercings stared at Adrian. "Aren't you going to offer to pay for that shirt? The uniform isn't free here." 

"It's fine..." Tomura muttered and grabbed this guy's arm, trying to pull him away. 

"It's not fine. This is the sixth time this week this shit has happened," he snapped. 

"Let's just make a deal, okay?" Adrian began. "You'll let me go for this and," he leaned in close to the guy's ear, "I'll keep it a secret about your business in the back." 

"Wha-" 

"Let's go," Tomura pulled his arm with enough strength to nearly knock him over and the male reluctantly closed his mouth. 

"Bu-"

"Shut up," Tomura muttered, with force. 

Adrian watched the two leave and sat back down. He bit the back of his thumbnail and stared at the piece in front of him. It was a painting of a beautiful woman that very much reminded him of Victoria. 

"What are you doing here?" Othello sighed and sat down next to him. "You need to get over her, Adrian." 

"I can't." 

"What do you mean you can't?" Othello raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm going to find her, him, them, I have to." 

"You don't have to, Adrian," Othello corrected. 

"I do. You don't understand." 

"No, I really don't," he sighed. 

"I have to find him." 

"I don't see how staring at this painting is going to help you." 

"Excuse me," an individual with an intense love for glittery space accessories stood before Adrian. 

"Yes?" 

"Do you like this painting too?" he smiled in a way that eerily reminded Adrian of Vincent. He refused to admit to himself that he found this stranger attractive in any way. 

"Yes, he does," Othello smiled. 

"Have you seen the others by the same artist?" the stranger gestured to his pamphlet and pointed to a gallery a few floors up. Adrian said nothing. 

"I don't believe he has even made it to that floor," Othello answered for him. 

"You really must take a look," the stranger offered the pamphlet but Adrian shook his head. "I insist," his blue eyes glittered a bit, "you really don't know what you might find." He smiled once again and walked off. Adrian stared down at the pamphlet and flipped it over.

Stop looking for me, dear. It's really not a good look for you.

Adrian jumped up and turned to see which direction that man went but he was already gone. 

Chapter Text

Adrian took the stairs up to the floor the pamphlet designated. He ran as fast as he could and panted quite a bit once reaching the area. Othello didn't even bother to follow him. He just stayed where he was and shook his head, believing this to be just another wild goose chase. Adrian looked at the paintings one by one but found nothing interesting about them. He looked down at the pamphlet for any other clues but there wasn't anything there. 

"Sir," an individual with messy buns on the side of her head held out something for Adrian. "Is this yours?" 

"No, I didn't dro-" Adrian looked down at the letter. "Yes, that's mine," he took it and opened it as she walked away. It was a nice handwritten card. Brilliant penmanship. A nice royal blue ink. 

Dearest Dr. Crevan,

It's been a very long time since our last get together. I truly do miss those days. How long has it been now? Have you had enough of wondering if I was real or not? Well, I was going to leave you out there without a clue for a while longer, just to get those ol' brain cells working again. Unfortunately, one of my darling boys requested I put you out of your misery, so to speak, so here I am, writing you this little note. 

I doubt we will be seeing each other again. Don't take this too personally, darling, I just have a lot on my plate right now. 

Good luck in the future.

~Victoria

Adrian stared at the note and turned it over. Nothing on the back. He took out his phone and called Othello. His coworker and only friend at the moment answered immediately. "Couldn't you have just come back downstairs? I'm still here." 

"Did you do this?" 

"Did I do what?"

"Did you set this up?" Adrian's voice became agitated as he ripped the letter in half. 

"Set what up?" 

"Don't pretend," he snapped. "This isn't a letter from Victoria, Othello and the only other person who knows about her is you." 

"Oh dear," Othello sighed, defeated, "What gave me away?" 

"Victoria would never call me 'Dr. Crevan'!" Adrian raised his voice slightly and hung up. 

"You know, you aren't really supposed to yell in a museum," the male from earlier appeared before Adrian again. He eyed him up and down but had very little interest in someone that Othello put up to this. 

"I know Othello asked you to give me this," Adrian held up the pamphlet. 

"Who's Othello?" he blinked, confused. He didn't seem like he was lying. Adrian stared, trying to get a better grasp on his character. 

"A man about this high," Adrian held out his hand, "wild hair and thick round glasses?" 

"Oh, is Othello the man who was sitting by you downstairs?" he blinked, still confused. 

"He didn't ask you to give this to me?" Adrian clarified. 

"No, I just thought you might be interested in these paintings," he gestured behind him. "I've seen you here quite often and just thought we might-" Adrian brushed by him and took a look at the painting on the wall that would be in the same position as the one he was staring at downstairs, had the floor been moved. He squinted and looked closer, even taking a glance at the title. 

"A Cat Playing With its Food"

Adrian took a step back and stared at the painting again. He saw no cat, just a beautiful woman staring down with a smirk at some handsome men. Adrian bit his thumb's nail. If Othello didn't ask this guy to hand him the pamphlet, then who did? 

"Do you know anyone by the name of Vincent or Victoria?" Adrian asked him. 

"No?" 

Adrian remained silent. 

"Do you have a problem with me for some reason?" he pointed to himself. 

"No, sorry," Adrian shook his head. "I'm just trying to find someone that is being very difficult." 

"A lover?" he looked a bit defeated. 

"Something like that." 

"I see," he folded his hands. "Would you like some help then? My name is Blavat. I've been told I'm very good at finding people." 

"I don't think that will be necessary." 

Blavat grabbed his arm so that he would really stare him in the eyes. His blue eyes glittered once again. "I think you really should let me help," he smiled a bit eerily. It was unsettling for numerous reasons. Adrian knew he looked nothing like Vincent...and yet...

"I suppose you can." 

"Wonderful," he clapped his hands together and wrote down his number on Adrian's hand before walking away. 

"What a weird guy," Adrian stared down at his palm. "I didn't even know you could write numbers in morse code..." 

Chapter Text

"So, this person you're looking for..." Blavat folded his hands and rested his chin on them. "Tell me what they're like." 

Adrian stared at the cup of coffee warming his hands. "On the shorter side, blue hair, a beauty-mark, and really enjoys vests. Sometimes a woman with heels and hair past shoulder length." 

"Oh?" Blavat smiled warmly. "Anything else?" Adrian suddenly got very irritated at the curiosity of Blavat. He frowned and took a sip of his coffee. 

"Are you not going to order anything?" 

"Right, sorry, I just..." Blavat scratched the side of his face and stood up. "Sorry," he apologized again and went to the counter. He ordered a cup of Earl Grey. Tea? Really? Well, actually, it might make sense that he was a tea drinker. 

Blavat came back with his teacup and sat down. He stared at the tea for a moment and then picked it up, sure to stick out his pinky in that way. 

"You have no actual interest in helping me, do you?" Adrian leaned his chin on his hand and stared at Blavat from behind his fringe. 

"What makes you say that?" Blavat frowned. 

"You've done all of this to try and get closer to me, haven't you?" Adrian sighed. "I'm not interested in trying to date anyone right now." 

"No, I know, but," Blavat laughed awkwardly. "I still want to get a bit closer to you. Is that so bad?" he smiled. 

"I haven't decided yet." 

"What?" Blavat blinked, confused. 

"I haven't decided yet if it's bad for you to want to get close to me or no-" Adrian's eyes were drawn to the screen of the television in the corner. 

Breaking News: Phantom Thief steals once again and leaves a calling card with a mouse-

Adrian took out his phone to look up the case. It happened just moments ago. What crimes was Vincent actually interested in committing? Was this really him? Why would he decide to go public right now? This was the third case so far but Adrian had no real proof other than the name that it was Vincent. 

"You get really focused very quickly," Blavat observed. Adrian said nothing. "You must really like this person, huh?" Blavat sighed. "That's too bad because I'm pretty sure he is dead." Adrian stopped staring at his phone and looked up. 

"What are you talking about?" his eye twitched. 

"I have a good sense of things," Blavat replied. "The stench of death really exudes off of the name 'Vincent Phantomhive'."

"He isn't dead," Adrian snapped. 

"What makes you so sure?" 

"He can't be..." Adrian insisted. 

"And why is that?" 

"He just can't be." 

"You refuse to believe it?" Blavat tilted his head. "Is this Phantomhive really so important to you that you will waste your life away trying to find him?" 

Adrian's eyebrows furrowed. Sweetie, you've missed it the second time. Adrian glanced to his right and saw Vincent standing there smiling down at him. Don't you think it's time you asked him about it? "Asked him about what?" Adrian muttered under his breath. He was still seeing Vincent even though he was certain it wasn't the real one. You know what. 

"How do you know his last name?" Adrian asked, staring Blavat right into those glittering blue eyes of his. 

"What?" 

"I never said his name." 

"At the museum, didn't you-?" 

"I never said his last name. I just asked you if you knew a Vincent or a Victoria." 

"You never-?"

"I never said his name." 

"I wonder where I heard it from then," Blavat held his finger to his lips and closed his eyes. 

Do you believe him? Vincent smiled at Adrian. He might be a bit mystical. You never know.

"Shut up." 

"I didn't say anything?" Blavat frowned. 

"Not you," Adrian snapped. Blavat stared, even more confused. "Are you going to tell me where you heard his name from?" 

"Oh, I think I remember now. I was in my favorite clothing store when I overheard two people talking about some Phantomhives. One of them was Vincent and the oth-" 

"What store?" Adrian stood up so fast his chair fell over. 

"No need to be in such a rush...I'll take you there-" 

"What store?" Adrian asked again. 

Chapter Text

"This is your favorite store?" Adrian walked in and smelled the stench of incense attempting to overpower the stench of weed. 

"Aha," Blavat scratched the back of his neck. "One of my favorite clothing stores. Not necessarily my favorite store, you see?" 

Adrian looked around. This store tried too hard to be mystical, just like this guy in front of him. "You're really going for that sorcerer vibe," Adrian muttered. 

"Oh? Like you're so special with your goth undertaker vibe," Blavat chuckled and went over to the counter. A male was currently waving his arms around in the air trying to catch something that didn't exist. Possibly high. Possibly just weird. Adrian shook his head. He wasn't a psychologist anymore. 

"Lau, honey, what are you doing this time?" 

He snickered in response. "Trying to catch the fairy, can't you see it?" he pointed at nothing. 

"I thought I told you to stop mixing random packets of drugs that look similar," Blavat sighed and shook his head. 

"They're the same color this time. 's fine," he waved his hand and laughed. 

Adrian stepped toward the counter. This guy clearly wasn't right enough in the head to answer any questions. Adrian sighed. You're missing all of the juicy details. A disappointed Vincent whispered in his ear. 

"Shut up," Adrian placed his hand over his ear, muttering again. 

"But I didn't say anything," Blavat pointed to himself. 

Not feeling the need to repeat this scene, Adrian looked around. He was half tempted to ask this fake version of Vincent what he was talking about but he knew anything his brain created was just a cheap imitation of the real thing. Why would Vincent even enter a store like this of his own free will? It goes against all of his aesthetic vibes. Victoria whispered into his other ear. Aren't you missing something important? Vincent pointed to Blavat. Something really important? 

Adrian stared at him. He didn't understand what a piece of his brain already understood. He couldn't catch up with his fake Vincent. Adrian shook his head and wandered the store. He walked around aimlessly, pretending he was smart enough to catch up to his own brain. 

Wait. Vincent stopped him. 

"Why don't you ever just say the things you're talking about?" Adrian grumbled to himself. 

"Because without mystery, is there really any adventure?" Blavat grabbed Adrian's shoulder and smiled next to his ear. 

"Don't touch me," Adrian glared, swatting away Blavat's hand. How dare he touch him on the Vincent half? That shoulder belonged to fake Vincent and fake Vincent alone. 

You're missing things again. Vincent frowned and crossed his arms. He shook his head in disappointment. 

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as smart as you," Adrian barely spoke his reply. He looked down at the ground and noticed scratch marks. Not the same as anything given by moving clothing racks around. He stared at the wall and then looked at the bookshelf. Maybe this place did fit Vincent's aesthetics. Secret passageways were always fun. 

Adrian stared at the bookshelf, wondering which book it would be. It was obvious because of the sheer lack of dust, but he still found the title entertaining. A miserable joke. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He almost snorted before pulling the book out. 

"Oh," Blavat's eyes widened. "Is it a secret passageway? Lau," he pouted, "why did you never tell me about this? Don't you know how much I love these things?" Lau was currently spinning around in circles, unaware that he was even being asked a question.  

Well? Vincent stood in front of the doorway to the passage. Aren't you going to enter? He smiled. 

Chapter Text

Down the steps, there was a cellar. Adrian turned on the crappy light and stared at the setup. It was clearly a hideaway for drug dealers. Smelled like it too. Maybe even a few sex workers. Adrian's phone vibrated, giving him updates on the news report for the Phantom Thief case. He looked at it, but nothing of interest. These idiots wouldn't know an interesting thing if it slapped them in the face with a truck. 

Adrian shoved his phone back into his pocket and looked around a bit. No one was actually here. Just the stench of what was. Do you know where the best place to hide is? Vincent grabbed Adrian's hand. 

"Plain sight," Blavat spoke. 

"What?" Adrian blinked. Vincent's imaginary figure replaced itself with Blavat holding his hand. 

"The best place to hide. Plain sight," Blavat gestured to the room. "This place is a setup. You expect to find people here and when you don't, you don't investigate further, Lau gets off with some minor warnings and that's that." Blavat pulled Adrian into the direction of the corner. He placed his hand on his chin and stared for a few seconds. "I sensed something over here but I'm really not good with puzzles," Blavat laughed awkwardly. 

Adrian stared down at his hand and snatched it away. He frowned and stared at the corner. If he found anything, it really must be a coincidence. Coincidences don't exist. Didn't I already tell you that? Vincent looked concerned. Is your memory leaving you now too? You missed something again. Perhaps you should stop covering your eyes.

"What do you plan on doing?" Blavat asked, kneeling down next to him. "When you find him, I mean. What are you going to do then?" 

"Smack him, probably, and then kiss him," Adrian replied without too much thought. 

"Just a kiss, hm?" 

"I don't see how this is any of your business," Adrian shot a glare. 

"You don't want to say anything specific?" 

"I've rehearsed the scene countless times in my head," Adrian placed his hand on the wall. "I've said dozens of things already in various different ways but once I find him all of that struggle is going to disappear. I'm sure of it. I'll just be so happy to see him again. To prove to him that he was wrong. To make him a liar." Adrian's voice choked up. He pressed the right brick and another door opened. 

"A liar?" Blavat blinked. "Did he lie to you?" 

"He said we'd never see each other again, I want to prove him wrong," Adrian stood up and walked through the door. 

"Were those his exact words?" 

"Do you live to press everyone's buttons?" Adrian walked a bit faster, trying to lose him. "His exact words were, 'This is the last time we will be seeing each other, but I want you to know I really did like you.'" 

"Maybe he just meant that the next time you see him, he won't be him?" Blavat crossed his arms and stared up at the ceiling. He stopped walking but Adrian never stopped. 

Adrian scoffed. "Who else would he be?" 

"I wonder," Blavat leaned up against the wall. "Who else would he be?" he repeated Adrian's question and then let out a little yelp as he fell into the wall. Adrian turned around and ran back, grabbing his hand to keep him from falling into whatever trap he'd found. 

"I thought you didn't like me," Blavat chuckled nervously. His hand gripping Adrian's tightly. Adrian reached out his other hand to grab his arm. 

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't kill people, I save them...or I did...try to help them, at least," Adrian mustered up his strength to try and pull Blavat up. When he did, he lay on the ground exhausted, Blavat lying down on top of him. 

"I really fucked things up, didn't I?" Blavat laughed at himself. 

"Try not to go falling for traps anymore." 

"But the myst-"

"Yes, yes, the mystery. I bet you're just dying to know what the afterlife is like too, right? Some mystery to be unsolved. I can throw you back down there if you'd like to solve Death's secrets." 

"I would not appreciate that very much," Blavat hugged Adrian. "It wasn't a very good experience." 

Chapter Text

There was a knock on his door which was unusual. Not many people knew where he lived in the first place. Maybe Othello. Maybe one other person. Adrian rarely had visitors and rarely wanted them. He could hardly remember if Vincent had ever been to his place but he didn't doubt that Vincent would be able to find it. 

Opening his door he saw Blavat's face smiling back at him. He frowned and closed his door, only for Blavat to catch it. "Please don't kick me out!" he pleaded. Adrian raised an eyebrow and applied more force to the door. Blavat tried his best to counter it. "I need a favor!" 

"Why are you asking me for a favor?" 

"Ah, apologies," a voice from beside Blavat. A well-dressed male with blonde hair. He looked like he belonged in an entirely different era. "My name is Professor William James Moriarty," he smiled, tilting his head slightly. Adrian blinked, wondering if he'd heard that properly. Did people really name their children after fictional characters? Or was this a weird type of alias? "Blavat suggested that you might be able to help me solve an equation." 

"An equation? What makes you think that?" Adrian stopped pushing the door and opened it properly. He crossed his arms, not allowing them into his apartment yet. 

"Aren't you a hacker? Don't you need to know about numbers?" Blavat laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. 

"This is, after all, more of a technology equation," Moriarty smiled. His smile reminded Adrian of Vincent, and like a sucker for a certain someone by the name of Vincent, he couldn't turn him away. Adrian sighed and allowed the two to enter. 

"Ah," he cut them off before they could continue, "please take off your shoes." 

"Hm?" Blavat tilted his head confused. 

"Shoes, off, please," Adrian gestured to the space beside the door for shoes to be deposited. 

Moriarty did so without further questions but Blavat was hesitant. Adrain stared for a moment, wondering why, when Vincent placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled. You're finally starting to connect the dots. His fictional creation whispered to him. 

I'm so proud of you, Uny. Victoria whispered into his other ear. 

Adrian stared at Blavat's shoes. They were heeled making him a bit taller than he otherwise would be. The height difference startled Adrian. Blavat laughed awkwardly and continued to scratch the back of his neck. Adrian turned and walked down the hallway to his office. There were papers all over the floor. He carefully stepped in the spaces in between them to get to his desk. Several computer monitors, mouses, and various other chaotic technology-related items. 

Moriarty smiled, without revealing any of his true thoughts. Blavat tried his best to follow Adrian's footsteps and not step on anything. The request for a lack of shoes made sense now. "What do you need me to do?" Adrian yawned and rested his chin on his hand. He'd been stalking news channels but nothing new or interesting was being released about the recent thievery. Besides, he was starting to believe that it wasn't related to Vincent at all. There was something strange about it. He had no reason to believe that Vincent wanted to draw public attention again. He was more into-

Chapter Text

"Being mysterious," Blavat grinned.

"What?"

"Were you distracted?" Blavat frowned slightly. "Here, give me the keyboard and I'll find the equation for you..." he held out his hand. Adrian shrugged slightly and shifted the keyboard toward him. Blavat did some rapid typing and pulled up a post out of nowhere. This was already a website Adrian had scanned before. Where did he get this?

"A riddle?"

"Something like that," Moriarty smiled. "There are numbers that I've found elsewhere on the page and this post gives you a little bit of an equation but that is as far as I've managed to reveal. I can't find any other mathematical clues and Blavat is hopeless when it comes to riddles."

"How do you two know each other?" Adrian found himself asking.

"We met at a cute little tea place," Blavat clapped his hands together.

"Right," Adrian stared at the screen and tapped his fingers on his desk. He tried various equations in his head but, of course, a famous math professor would likely have done all that before. This wasn't a math problem. It was an invitation.

Adrian grabbed the mouse and did a few clicks here and there. He used the equation to help him with the backdoor into the 'real' website. There was a series of conversation threads and a few requests. A prime website for a consulting criminal, one might say. A few of these threads might even have been used by Vincent. He'd have to investigate that later.

"Was this what you were looking for?"

"Yes, this will be quite useful, thank you," Moriarty smiled, or rather, the smile never really left his mouth. Not that it ever entered his eyes.

"You watched me do it so I can assume you don't need me to tell you the secret?" Adrian clarified.

"Yes, thank you, I shall take my leave then. Sorry to bother you," he turned on his heel and left gracefully. Adrian shook his head and sighed, resting his forehead against the edge of the desk.

"Are you okay?" Blavat plopped his head down right next to Adrian's to stare at him. Adrian shifted to look directly at Blavat. They had just a tiny bit of space between their faces. For the first time in a long time, Adrian was starting to feel flustered. He didn't understand why. He barely knew this guy. But, for some reason, Blavat kept popping up in his life.

"You have very interesting eyes," Adrian blurted out.

"Oh? Thank you. I quite like yours as well."

"I'm not-"

"Very interested in me, I know," Blavat smiled.

"So why do you-"

"Keep trying? Well, we all have our quirks." Blavat stood up straight at the same time Adrian sat up. There was something about him that Adrian couldn't quite figure out. Then he finally noticed the strand of hair that didn't blend with the rest. 

Chapter Text

It looked grey compared to the other strands of drastic pink or purple. Adrian reached out and grabbed it. He'd never actually touched Blavat's hair before and this was painfully obvious to not be real hair or even real hair that was dyed. 

"Oh," Blavat appeared to be a bit flustered. "Sorry," he grabbed the strand and tried to fix his hair. "Really ruins the vibe if you see my real hair." 

"What does your real hair look like?" Adrian rested his chin on his hand and stared. 

"Curious?" Blavat grinned. "I'm flattered." 

"Hm," Adrian rolled his eyes. 

"Hey," Blavat placed his hand on the desk and leaned down close to Adrian. "Would you like me to tell you a secret about the person you're looking for?" he smiled in a way eerily familiar. "All you have to do is give me a kiss," he smirked, pointing his finger toward his face. 

Something inside Adrian snapped. He grabbed Blavat's collar and picked him up off of the ground to slam him into the wall. His brightly colored eyes seemed to glow with his rage. "Do not doubt the lengths that I will go in order to find Vincent." Oh? So he was mad because Blavat thought he wouldn't kiss him for information? Not because he asked to be kissed? 

Adrian slammed his lips into Blavat's. The wanna-be magician was shocked and slightly terrified. He had no way to counteract and his feet were well above the ground. He lightly tapped Adrian's shoulders with his hands to try and get him to stop but of course, that would be useless. 

The former psychologist dropped Blavat and sneered. "Are you satisfied now?" 

"I-I- was just j-joking," Blavat's face was entirely red and radiating heat. He tried to hide it behind his hands but Adrian could practically feel it from where he was standing. 

"No you weren't," Adrian sneered. 

"Honest!" Blavat curled up into a ball on the floor to hide his face in his knees. "I wasn't going to make you kiss me!" 

"That doesn't mean you were joking," Adrian pointed down at Blavat. "You wanted me to kiss you. There is a truth behind every joke or lie."

"Dr. Crevan." 

Adrian's entire body froze. Did he hear that right? He turned his head slightly to face his various monitors. All of them blacked out with a single blue V on the center, spinning casually every three to four seconds. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it? You've been searching for me so faithfully," Vincent's voice, casual as ever, but so strange to hear after all of this time just imagining him. Adrian rubbed his eyes, trying to make sure this wasn't just another hallucination. 

"I think it's time for you to give up, don't you?" Vincent chuckled slightly. "In order to help you, I've decided, the best way is to delete your data." 

"My...data?" Adrian immediately sat down and started clicking furiously. 

"Was my distraction enough? Dear me, I didn't think I'd be able to do this without one but I didn't realize my voice had such a hold on you," Vincent chuckled again and the spinning Vs disappeared to reveal many open files being deleted rapidly. Vincent had a head start, which was enough, Adrian furiously typed to counteract but the damage was already too great. The deletion of files was a nuisance and more symbolic than anything. Adrian had already memorized everything he needed to. 

"It's been fun to watch you squirm, my dear, but don't you think it's time you explored other options?" The last V disappeared. Adrian held his face in his hands and screamed. He started crying. Unsure of where the tears were rooted. Rage? Frustration? Excitement after finally hearing his real voice after so long? 

Now, now, Uny. The fake Victoria shook her head. This had to happen sometime, you know? 

You've been making a huge oversight all of this time, after all. Victoria immediately shifted to Vincent and smiled, after walking through Blavat and disappearing completely. 

It's multiple personality disorder. Victoria and Vincent both laughed. 

"Of course," Adrian laughed, nearly tearing out his hair. "How could I be so stupid?" He laughed and he laughed and he sobbed. All of the signs were there. Just because he had only seen two sides doesn't mean that more personalities didn't exist. Blavat was unusual but not unspeakable as a Vincent persona. Adrian's long nails dug into the sides of his face, scratching enough to make him bleed. His brain worked as fast as it could trying to think of a way to get Vincent to come out. However, he knew it probably wasn't going to be likely. 

His hysteria abruptly stopped, shocking Blavat (who was scrambling trying to figure out how to help). "That's it then," Adrian lowered his hands. "I've failed, which is to be expected. I overestimated myself too much and underestimated Vincent." Adrian sighed and stood up. He started packing up all of his screens to put them back into his closet. There was no need to use them anymore. All he needed was a desktop. 

"You're giving up?" 

"Mm, yep," Adrian sighed. 

"Just like that?" 

Adrian brought his hand to his face and smiled in such a way that sent shivers down Blavat's spine. "Vincent is my God. It's only natural I would listen to him if he told me to seriously stop." It's a good thing, then, that Vincent didn't tell Adrian to seriously stop. However, the dwindling sanity residing in Adrian and his vast knowledge of the human brain was working against him. He had only one last plan and it was crucial that Blavat had no semblance of knowledge of it. 

"Ehhh?!" Blavat grabbed Adrain's shoulders and shook him lightly. "Isn't that a bit sad? Where is your fighting spirit? Your sense of romance? Someone is playing hard to get and you just give up because they said to?!" 

"Hm," Adrian shrugged. "No means no," he poked Blavat's nose. Blavat's personality relied on three things: observations explained by mystics, romance, and a lack of required intelligence to solve riddles. Adrian could use all of these to his advantage. Vincent's core was being smarter than everyone. Blavat's was just pretending to know everything and being unable to follow threads of logic. 

"I won't accept this!" Blavat huffed and grabbed Adrian's hand. "We're going back to that cellar!" 

"What?" 

"Let's look for more clues or something!" 

"But I-" 

"No!" Blavat huffed. 

Chapter Text

This was going smoother than Adrian had expected. Blavat had taken him back here on his own accord. No hoaxing needed. Now all he had to do was-

"We never actually made it to the secret room last time right? Because I went and almost killed myself?" Blavat laughed awkwardly. "So, let's get there this time and maybe..."

"We won't find anything," Adrian shrugged. "Vincent is very thorough and he told me to stop."

"Shhh, don't speak anymore," Blavat covered Adrian's mouth with his hand. "I don't want to hear your defeatist attitude."

"You're such an idiot," Adrian muttered behind the hand. He hadn't found the charm in loveable idiots until this moment in his life.

"This is the end of the hallway?" Blavat stared. He'd been careful to avoid the walls altogether. He didn't want to be the cause of another risky situation. Adrian had been watching his moves carefully. Vincent had walked this path frequently, no doubt, and even if Blavat didn't know the reasoning for his steps his body did.

"It certainly appears to be," Adrian sighed. He rested his hand up against the wall, this time triggering a trap and the floor gave way beneath them.

"I guess I'm not the only one to make mistakes," Blavat chuckled as they fell.

There was a splash and the two landed safely in a room with water. "This can't be good," Adrian moved his hands around the walls and tried to find some sort of clue. He could hear the sound of running water and although he could stand in this depth without too many issues, he wasn't the best swimmer. At his rate, he'd drown before ever attempting his final plan.

The water was now causing him to float with his head barely above the surface. Panic was setting in until Blavat grabbed his hand. "Can you swim?"

"Not well..." he could feel a tight chain wrap around his neck and body, pulling him under the water. A side effect of the panic. He knew no chain was actually there.

"Perhaps it's better this way," Adrian forced his entire body to relax and closed his eyes, falling into the water. He felt arms wrap around him and try to keep him above but his consciousness was fading. He couldn't discern reality from fiction right now. All he knew was that he desperately wanted to see Vincent so he did.

"I missed you," Adrian muttered, closing his eyes for the last time. 

Chapter Text

Adrian woke up lying on a bed surrounded by blankets and pillows. This truly looked like a magician's hideaway. There was even a crystal ball in the center of the room.

"Oh, you're awake?"

Adrian shifted in the bed to sit up but his wrists were chained. He could only hear Vincent's voice through the thin veil separating them.

"You're an idiot, a proper idiot," he could hear the crash of a teacup. Vincent stood up and moved the veil away. Adrian started crying. He didn't expect to actually see him again, not like this anyway. He imagined something a bit more dramatic.

Vincent's fiery eyes, on the other hand, might've been the drama he was looking for. He climbed onto the bed and slapped Adrian's face on both sides. Then he grabbed the collar of Adrian's shirt and lifted him off of the bed closer to his face. "Games cease to be games if the other player willingly gives up or throws his life away," he seethed.

Adrian snorted and then began to laugh full-heartedly. "You're such a child about the strangest things!" he continued to snicker.

"You're an idiot!" Vincent glared coldly and crossed his arms (while still kneeling over Adrian). "Honestly," he sighed and brought his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "What were you thinking? Just putting your hand onto the wall like that."

It was always Adrian's intention to put his life at risk to try and coax Vincent out. But it ended up happening in a way that he didn't expect. The realism must've been enough to actually get Vincent here.

"Sor-"

Vincent placed his finger over Adrian's mouth. "This isn't a win and it's not a loss. Just a temporary truce because of your incredible stupidity. I really have no intentions of associating with yo-"

Adrian grabbed the chains tying himself to the wall and pulled will all of his strength to undo them. The clasp popped right off of the stone and he immediately sat up and clung to Vincent. He held him tightly in his arms, so tight that Vincent felt as if he would snap.

"Please," Adrian muttered, about to collapse into endless tears. "Please don't disappear again. I don't have much sanity left. I'm going to snap..."

Vincent lifted his arms slowly to return the hug. He patted Adrian's head. "I didn't want to doom you to a life on the run."

"Please don't leave me again..."

"Okay, okay," Vincent sighed.

"Do you mean it?"

"I'm not going to disappear this time." Adrian wasn't so sure. He continued to cling to Vincent. "You're going to have to let me go at some point, you know?"

Adrian shook his head. "I'll lock you up before I let you go."

"Literally! I meant literally," Vincent waved his arms around frantically. "You're going to break all my bones!"

"Oh," Adrian loosened his grip a bit.

"Better?"

"A bit, yes." 

Chapter Text

Adrian was lying down on Vincent's lap as he played with his hair. Adrian's eyes were closed and he was tempted to sleep but every time he drifted off his eyes snapped back open again. He couldn't trust that this Vincent was real and staying.

Vincent sighed. "You've lost all your faith in me, hm?"

"I don't know which one is real anymore," Adrian hugged Vincent's waist and glanced in the corner. His imaginary Vincent waved at him. Sometimes he could feel his hallucinations so physical contact wasn't a way for him to know for sure.

"Real?" Vincent stared in the same corner. "Oh my, you missed me that much?" Vincent raised his finger and smiled. "Why don't I tell you things you don't know? We have to catch up after all." 

Adrian nodded and nuzzled his face into Vincent's stomach. "Okay."

"Well, after splitting up with you, we traveled in secret for a bit. However, keeping us all out of the public's attention wasn't as easy as it once was. Now all of my children are off living their own stories. It was shortly after we split up that I came into contact with Blavat."

"He is a real person?"

Vincent laughed. "Is that so surprising? My personalities are all based on real people."

"There are more?"

Vincent smiled but never answered the question. "Unlike my wife, however, Blavat is not dead. He is just traveling the world playing a hunting game of his own. He hasn't realized, though, that the Sirius Black he is looking for happens to be one of my children," Vincent shook his head and shrugged.

"Are all Phantomhives like this?" Adrian snickered.

"It may or may not be a family trait," Vincent shrugged once again. "In any case, the Blavat you have met has never been the real Blavat. I've been living here this entire time. I haven't even done anything exciting but it would appear one of my children has taken up one of my criminal names."

"I knew there was something off about the data," Adrian frowned.

"I didn't think you'd ever figure it out. I thought for sure Blavat's memories of me were erased when he took over," Vincent leaned over Adrian's face to stare at him. There was a curiosity glimmering in his eyes.

"Ah," Adrian blushed lightly and pointed to the Vincent in the corner. "He is quite helpful sometimes and other times just very cryptic."

"Oh?" Vincent cupped Adrian's face so he couldn't glance over to the corner anymore. "It's not often that I have to be jealous of myself."

Adrian moved his hand to hold Vincent's. "Nothing beats the original." His face only got more red.

"Still, I'm a bit disappointed you were so willing to do anything for information," Vincent puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms. Adrian didn't understand immediately and then remembered that he kissed Blavat. He covered his face with his hands and rolled over onto his stomach to hide his face further.

"Please don't remember that."

"But you kissed him so passionately," Vincent teased and poked Adrian's ear.

"It's embarrassing!"

"That's what you're bothered about?" Vincent laughed and sunk down into the bed next to Adrian.

"Let's just pretend it never happened."

"But it did."

"Then," Adrian rested on his arms and looked over to Vincent. "D-do you want me to k-kiss you?" 

Vincent laughed and poked Adrian's nose. "You're adorable. So cute."

Adrian grabbed Vincent's hand and kissed it. "There. It's like I never kissed Blavat at all now..." he muttered.

"I don't think that's how it works, and you just kissed my hand you didn't overwrite the kiss," Vincent used his free hand to point to his lips. "Do you not want to kiss me?"

"I want to do a bit more than kiss you," Adrian smirked, realized what he said, got flustered, and fell off of the bed to roll underneath it and hide from his embarrassment.

"Well," Vincent hung off the edge of the bed and lifted the blanket to peer underneath it. "We're not going to get anywhere at this rate with you like this."

"Please delete me," Adrian muttered.

"But you're so cute."

"Delete me." 

Chapter Text

"Ehhhhh?!" 

Adrian opened his eyes to the sight of Blavat falling off of the bed. He sat up, stretched, and rubbed his face. "Why do you have to be so loud?" he yawned. 

"Why are you naked? Where are we? How did we get here? I don't remember anything! I thought we were drowning-" Blavat held his face trying to figure everything out. 

"Oh," Adrian looked down to see a sheet barely covering everything it needed to. "I guess I am naked." He yawned again and rubbed his head. His hair was probably a miserable mess right now.

"Why are you naked?" Blavat's face only got redder. 

"Hm?" Adrian tilted his head. His hair barely allowing him to see. He held his finger up to his mouth and smirked. "Why are two people usually naked in the same bed together?" his grin increased and he pointed to Blavat. Blavat looked down. 

"I'm naked too?!" he screeched and grabbed some sort of blanket off of the floor. "Don't look!" he insisted, holding the blanket to his chest. Sorry, dear, but Adrian's already seen everything plenty of times. He was sad to see Vincent go so soon but at least he knew they'd be seeing each other more frequently now. Adrian yawned again. 

"What is this place though?" Blavat looked around. "It feels familiar." 

"You have a gap in your memory," Adrian explained, crawling back under the covers to sleep. "You actually live here but when you leave you don't remember ever living here. It's a place oriented memory gap." Actually, your other personality lives here and hides the memories from you but since Adrian has some kind of degree somewhere maybe you'll accept this explanation. 

"That's very strange..." Blavat's eyes sparkled, completely eating up the answer. "But, I want to be able to remember a night with you..." he covered his face a bit with the cloth he was holding. 

"If you really want a night you'll never forget you'll have to take it up with Vincent," Adrian sighed. Can he go back to sleep now? He was tired. 

"So, if I get Vincent's permission...?" 

Adrian shrugged. 

"Now isn't that interesting," Victoria snickered. "You really don't care about the specifics do you?" 

"We may as well be in a poly relationship," Vincent shrugged. 

"So, should we just do that then?" Victoria also shrugged. Adrian blinked, trying to keep up with all of the changes, but he was too tired for this so he closed his eyes. Let them figure it out. 

"Well it's not like we're sharing him with some other person. We will all have the same memories..." Vincent said. 

"Are we going to let Blavat remember then?" Victoria asked. 

"No, it'll corrupt him," Vincent shook his head. "He is supposed to be pure." 

"Then should he at least be aware that he is also us?" Victoria said. 

"Hm," Vincent smirked. "That could make things more interesting." 

Chapter Text

Blavat was terribly apologetic after realizing that he was Vincent the whole time. Adrian didn't know how to comfort him but that only lasted a few days (thankfully). The rest of the time went by quickly. Adrian was happy again, with his strange significant others. But, what relationship is completely normal anyway? 

He was happy, yes, until one fateful encounter that ruined things. Just when Adrian was finally starting to get used to being okay again, swarms of police had flooded their hideaway. It wasn't the infamous Vincent Phantomhive they were after. Or even the mystery of Blavat Sky. Instead, they grabbed Adrian's arms and dragged him away. Vincent's cover was safe, but Adrian's association with him...however...was now common knowledge. 

He didn't know where he was going or how long he'd be away. All he knew was that he was going to stay locked up in an interrogation room for a considerable amount of time. Who told them where he was? Well, it didn't matter anyway. He was here now. And there was only one thing left to do. 

Forget everything.  

Adrian sat in that chair and deleted all of his memories. Or, more accurately, he filed them away into a box and separated himself from them. His sanity was leaving him, this should be fairly simple to do now. Grabbing the last thread of sanity left he clung to it and formed an entire persona based on it. Vincent wasn't the only human with tricks up his sleeve. Perhaps hallucinating Vincent all of this time had backfired in this way. 

Dr. Adrian Crevan. He pulled his hair back into a ponytail and tied it with a ribbon he'd been using as something of a tie. He grabbed the glasses he'd snatched off of someone while being dragged in here and put them on. He wiped them first, sighing, and folded his hands on the table. 

Two police officers walked in and sat down. One with the nametag 'Reo' and the other 'Mabu'. Mabu slid over a folder with various pictures of Victoria Phantomhive. "Do you know this woman?" he asked. 

Adrian adjusted his glasses and stared at the picture. He squinted. "Could you slide that a bit further toward me? I apologize but I'm rather nearsighted." Mabu slid it further. Adrian picked up the folder and stared at it in such a way that they wouldn't be able to tell he wasn't looking through the lenses to see these photos. 

"This was a patient of mine," he confessed. "I took a break from the field shortly after we parted ways." 

"Why?" Reo asked. 

"Because I felt as if I had failed her," Adrian sighed. "I've been doing what I do for a long time," he slid the folder back over to the police officers. "And this was a peculiar case. I was the one that ended up being used. I had to go to therapy myself," Adrian scratched his cheek and laughed awkwardly. "I was just starting to think I'd be able to go back to work soon when you lot took me away." 

"How do you know Blavat Sky?" Mabu changed the subject. 

"We met a while back and now we're going out," Adrian smiled. "He is a bit strange but once you get to know him it's actually quite charming." 

"Is that so?" Reo raised an eyebrow. 

"Do you have any more questions for me?" Adrian smiled. 

"What do you know about The Undertaker?" Mabu slid over another folder. 

Adrian visibly became pale and started shaking. He held his face and sobbed too many tears for his hands to hold. "Please don't ask me about that!" he pleaded. "The Undertaker is an awful person. He broke into my office and...and that's all I can tell you," Adrian shook his head, unable to control his breathing. 

"I don't think this guy is going to be very useful to us," Reo whispered to Mabu. 

"No, I have to agree with you there," Mabu whispered to Reo. 

"Should we let him go then?" Reo whispered to Mabu. 

"Let's leave him in here for a few more hours and then let him go." 

Chapter Text

"You're finally ready to come back to work?" Othello raised an eyebrow. He eyed Adrian up and down then frowned. "Aren't you a bit...different?"

"Hm?" Adrian blinked. "Because I'm wearing a sweater vest? Come on, it doesn't look that bad on me," he pouted. 

"Aren't those...fake glasses?" Othello adjusted his own glasses when he asked this. 

"Well, yes, but my therapist said they'd help with social anxiety and I've been getting nearsighted anyway because of my bangs so..." Adrian twirled some of his long fringe in his fingers. "Maybe this will get me used to wearing glasses when I need them?" 

"Hm," Othello crossed his arms. "Fine," he sighed. "Your office is just like you left it." 

"Thank you!" Adrian grinned and walked toward his office. He opened the door and coughed at the dust. Memories drudged up but he suppressed them. "No," he slapped his cheeks lightly. "I can do this!" He sat down in his chair and started cleaning, as one does, but the door opened and Vincent walked in. Was it dangerous for him to be here? Probably. Was his curiosity about the police investigation stronger than his safety precautions? Definitely. He sat down in the chair across from Adrian's desk and waited for him to notice. 

He didn't notice. 

Odd. 

"Excuse me," Vincent spoke. Adrian's head snapped up and he nearly jumped out of his skin. 

"You really startled me," he placed his hand on his chest to try and calm down. "May I help you?" Vincent blinked. What? "Are you here looking for treatment? Because, I just got back but I can introduce you to someone until I get back into the swing of things," he smiled warmly. Excuse me? What? 

Has he forgotten about us? Victoria huffed. Vincent pushed her away and brought his hand to his chin. He pondered this for a moment. Should he pretend to be a patient? That sure did bring back memories. 

"Just got back?" Vincent smiled. "Did you take a break from this line of work for some reason?" he decided to play along. 

"I had a patient that really messed me up more than I helped her," Adrian confessed, laughing awkwardly. 'Her'? Hm, must just remember Victoria then. What about Blavat? "Luckily I have a very supportive boyfriend," Adrian beamed. "He really helped me work through my issues and convinced me to give this another go." Boyfriend? What the fuc-

"Boyfriend?" 

Adrian's glasses glinted with warning as his sweet voice lowered about three pitches. "If you have an issue with me having a boyfriend, I ask you to reread this facility's policies and suggest looking for another clinic." 

"Please don't misunderstand," Vincent waved his hands, acting concerned. "I'm only interested in knowing what such an angel would look like to have helped you so much. Would you mind showing me a picture?" He knew very well that Adrian didn't have a picture. His only obsession was Vincent for a considerable period of time. Everything on his phone would be wallpapers designed in shades of blue. Vincent wasn't the type to allow pictures of him to survive on the internet. 

"Oh, I don't mind," Adrian smiled and grabbed his phone. He opened up his camera roll and stared, bewildered. Just as Vincent suspected, walking behind the desk to glance over Adrian's shoulder. Nothing but saved patterned blue-themed backgrounds. "Strange, I don't even enjoy the color blue..." Adrian muttered. "Blavat must be playing a prank on me." 

Blavat? Vincent was tempted to take a step back. Of all of the things...Blavat was the boyfriend? It made sense if Adrian was avoiding Victoria, forgot Vincent, and Blavat was the only personality left but...it didn't make it any less annoying. I'm the boyfriend, hm? I kind of don't know how to feel about that. I missed all those dates! Blavat sighed. Shut up! You're not even supposed to be out right now! Victoria scolded. Don't you think I should know what's going on? I'm the boyfriend. Blavat replied smugly. 

You know very well that's not what's going on, don't you? Adrian turned his head to look in the corner. Who was talking to him? A male dressed in black with long unruly hair. He couldn't see his face but knew very well who it was. The Undertaker. That same horrid person that broke into his office. What was he doing here so soon? How did he know? Adrian panicked and fell out of his chair into Vincent. 

"W-what are you doing here?" he pointed at the corner. Vincent stared, holding Adrian's shoulders. He wasn't expecting that drastic of a response...but then again...Adrian was already prone to hallucinating. Why wouldn't he hallucinate his memories? It was too soon for him to remember, so Vincent would have to play along once again. He moved in between the hallucination and Adrian, then glared at the wall as if he was seeing the same person Adrian was. 

"I think it's time for you to leave," Vincent snapped. "You're clearly unwelcome here." 

Oh? I'm wounded. The Undertaker cackled but did as he was told. 

"Thank you?" Adrian muttered as Vincent helped him to his feet. 

"It was no trouble," Vincent smiled. The actual problem here was his favorite toy forgetting all about him. How rude! Weren't you the one that said you weren't going to see him again? This is your perfect excuse to leave his life... Blavat suggested. Vincent growled quietly at himself. No. He didn't want to leave his life, he wanted to provide initiative to become an obsession. He liked it best when his toys only thought of him and him alone. Oh, honey, you like him a bit more than just a toy. Victoria chuckled. Ridiculous. He would just have to make Adrian remember him and then torture him a bit for forgetting. Yes. That's it. He wanted his toy back. Don't you know? Cats always play with their food. Are you sure you're the cat? Blavat and Victoria said in unison. 

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale..." Adrian tilted his head slightly. 

"I'm fine, thank you," Vincent assured. "I've just been feeling a bit out of sorts recently. Someone I care about, you see, has forgotten all about my existence." 

"Amnesia?" Adrian sighed and crossed his arms. "That's a difficult one. Try too hard and it'll backfire. It's best to let these things run their course. Triggering a memory to come back too soon will cause adverse effects. Is this person the reason for your visit today?" 

Vincent was very tempted to slap Adrian right now but it was his own fault for talking about Adrian to Adrian as if Adrian wasn't the person he was talking about to begin with. "Yes," Vincent forced himself to keep smiling. 

"Well, under normal circumstances I would say to keep your distance. Something in their everyday life might trigger memories to come back and then they'll reach out to you. However, given that this person seems close to you..." Adrian frowned slightly. "You might not be willing to do that. Perhaps it's best if you try to establish a new bond with the individual and then in time they might remember the old one as well. If they liked you once then they'll like you again in the future, with time, of course." 

Vincent feigned surprise. "How do you know that the person is close to me?" 

Adrian laughed. "It's highly unlikely that you would reach out to a professional on a stranger's behalf. I've been doing this for a long time, you see. I happen to notice these things," his eyes glinted with a bit of pride. Vincent wasn't used to seeing Adrian confident in himself. See? Maybe it's best if you just leave his life right now... Blavat said. 

"Thank you for your advice," Vincent held out his hand for Adrian to shake. "I've made my decision but would you mind terribly if I came back for advice in the future?" 

"I gave you this much to repay what you did for me earlier," Adrian shook Vincent's hand. "If you want more advice, you'll have to pay the price. Goodwill doesn't exactly put food on the table or pay the bills. Consider that a free trial."  

"I'll keep that in mind." 

Chapter Text

"Ehhhhh? So much happened on your first day back?" Blavat nearly dropped his ice cream cone. He'd gotten a soft-serve swirl, as one does, when they like pretty designs. Victoria and Vincent had given him the bare minimum of information. They didn't want him to fuck anything up, to put it delicately. So his memories were altered to align with Adrian's false ones. 

"It was all terribly overwhelming," Adrian sighed, sinking further into the park bench. He'd just gotten a small bowl of ice cream, so it was already gone. Blavat's was melting, however, and he was struggling to keep up with the rate of melt. He licked his hands, frowned, and had to lick them again. 

"How does anyone manage to do this?" Blavat huffed. 

Adrian leaned over and took a bite off of the top. Blavat frowned. "Hey!" 

"You were taking too long anyway," Adrian smiled. 

"But it's my ice cream!" He huffed. 

"Then take it back," Adrian snickered. 

Blavat leaned forward and licked Adrian's lips. There was ice cream on them anyway and Blavat was a bit of an airhead. He didn't realize what he did until after he did it. And then he dropped the ice cream altogether because he was embarrassed by what he did. Adrian stared down at his shirt. The chocolate part was going to stain, wasn't it? He sighed. He'd have to wash this pretty immediately. 

"I'm so sorry!" Blavat apologized, even though he was still quite flustered. 

"I'll have to head back pretty quickly to wash this," Adrian shivered. Ice cream is...well...ice cold. 

Internally, Vincent was about ready to murder Blavat. How dare he take advantage of this whole boyfriend scenario? What a clever personality for being such an idiot. Of course, Blavat didn't consciously realize it himself but he'd just gotten himself an invitation to Adrian's apartment. Which...had a quite scandalous implication. Knowing these two, they probably didn't get very far in their 'relationship' because they are two hopeless innocent fools. But that didn't mean it wouldn't change in the future. Vincent was only getting more and more pissed off the longer he thought about it. 

The two walked hand in hand back to Adrian's place. It was considerably cleaner compared to the last time. No signs of the hacking life anywhere. Prim and proper. Looked more like a place Vincent would be living in. 

"I'll wash your shirt for you!" Blavat insisted, stripping Adrian of his shirt. Too flustered to do anything, Adrian just allowed it to happen, but he tripped over his feet and the two fell to the ground. Blavat's clothes were now covered in ice cream as well. This would be a problem...because...well...Vincent's body is Vincent's body and if Adrian suggested a shower the wig-and the makeup- ugh...why did you have to go and be a dumbass Blavat?! 

Victoria, not concerned at all with the situation, was happily watching and thoroughly amused. 

"I'm sorry!" 

"It's fine, really, just, get off of me please?" Adrian blushed. His glasses sliding off of his face. 

"I need your shirt first..." Blavat sat up and on top of Adrain, continuing to strip him of his shirt. The ice cream on his own shirt was mostly vanilla. And since this shirt was mostly for flair and less for clothing...it stuck in such a way that it looked like something entirely different from 'ice cream'.

Adrian closed his eyes until he felt Blavat get off of him. Blavat wandered into the bathroom and started cleaning the shirt in the tub. Adrian followed. "Shouldn't you take off your own shirt too?" 

"Oh, don't worry about that," Blavat smiled over his shoulder. "This thing was cheap. Not nearly as pricey as your work clothes." 

"Still..." Adrian looked away apologetically. "I feel bad." 

"Then," Blavat glanced away as his cheeks turned a slight pink. "I'll forgive you if you kiss me?" he muttered. 

"What?" 

"N-nothing! Forget about it!" Blavat laughed awkwardly and went back to cleaning the shirt. 

"I would kiss you any time you asked," Adrian grabbed Blavat's chin and tilted his face up toward him. He leaned down from behind to give a nice spider-man style kiss. You know the one. His long hair tickled Blavat's neck from the force of gravity. Funny how that works. 

Vincent, thoroughly disgusted by the pureness of this chaotic relationship, decided he would only half-watch from this point forward. He may or may not be having second thoughts considering this was definitely more healthy than whatever he and Adrian had...but...he was ignoring those said thoughts. 

Meanwhile, Adrian, finding this kiss to be sort of strange, took a step back. "I'm going to go find another shit," he said as his excuse. Was he always the one initiating things like that? It felt odd. He hadn't had a real relationship in his entire life...but he never expected to have the more dominant role in one. Was he secretly a switch? He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Thinking about it meant he would have to think about sexual preferences. And that would lead to a whole bunch of thoughts about Blavat he wasn't prepared for right now. He also didn't want to admit to himself how kinky he might be...

His mind drifted to Vincent as he searched for a shirt to wear. Vincent? Hm. He seemed like the type that would be a walking time bomb. He was kind of scary and they'd only had one interaction. Why was he thinking about him anyway? More importantly, why are you smirking? A voice spoke to him, not that he realized who was speaking, and he reached up to touch his face. Sure enough, a smirk? But all he was thinking about was Vincent being a time bomb...why was he smirking? 

"Maybe I should stay away from him," Adrian sighed. 

"Stay away from who?" Blavat asked. Adrian jumped. 

"The guy that walked into my office. Remember? He was kind of scary now that I think about it..." Adrian confessed. 

"It's unlike you to walk away from a fight," Blavat held out the shirt. "I got most of it out. Do you think it'll be okay?" 

"We'll see after it dries..." Adrian took the shirt and then realized Blavat was half-naked. He blushed and took a step back. Then he realized... "Your height..." 

Blavat blinked. "What about my height?" 

"Oh, nothing, it's nothing," Adrian laughed it off. Your height is about the same as Vincent's. Your hair is just poofy enough to give you a few more inches. Why was he going to say that? 

"Does it bother you? That I'm a little shorter than average?" Blavat looked at the ground, defeated. "I've never really taken off my shoes before around you so..." That felt wrong. Didn't they have an interaction like this before? Adrian couldn't remember when or why. He tried not to think about it too much. 

"No! It doesn't bother me! Why would that bother me?" Adrian grabbed Blavat's shoulders. They were surprisingly small and delicate. Kind of like a woman's. A woman? Adrian instantly thought of Victoria and his entire body tensed. He felt as if he was going to throw up. 

"Are you okay?" Blavat panicked. He patted Adrian lightly on the back as he held his mouth. 

"I'm sorry," Adrian apologized. "I've just been exposed to a lot of memories in one day. I haven't properly gotten over that experience..." 

"Do you want me to go?" Blavat asked, concerned. 

Adrian clung to Blavat and started shaking. "Please don't go," his voice a bit more desperate than usual. That was strange. Why was he reacting so intensely?

"Okay, I won't, what do you want me to do?" 

"Let's just...stay like this for a while...please..." 

Chapter Text

"ADR~IAN!!!" something of a teenager ran down the hallways and jumped onto Adrian from behind. He clung to him and hit his back lightly with a fist. "How dare you drop off of the face of the earth and not tell me anything! I tried to get Othello to tell me what was going on and he just smiled in that stupid way of his and told me to leave you alone and give you space! How could you?!" he sobbed. 

"V-Victor?" Adrian turned his head to see the angry crying face of his (kind of) patient. 

"Why did you just disappear?" he sobbed. 

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking about it and I was really wrapped up in myself at the time! I didn't mean to-" 

Victor sniffled and released Adrian. He wiped his face with his hands and huffed. "Well, you're back now, but..." 

"I'm really sorry Victor..." Adrian blinked, finally getting a proper look at him. "Did you get a haircut?" 

"Oh!" Victor reached up to touch his own hair. "Yes, I did." 

"You've gotten taller too," Adrian eyed him up and down. "I've missed a lot, haven't I?" 

"Yes, we have quite a bit of catching up to do-" Victor grabbed Adrian's hand and dragged him into a consulting office. They sat opposite to each other and Victor frowned. "Now spill." 

"What?" 

"Come on, you've been gone and you owe me this much. You talk first," he huffed. 

"Well..." 

...

"I think I get the gist now," Victor sighed, holding his face. "You've forgotten all about him because of blocking out that traumatic event..." he muttered. 

"Hm?" 

"Should I tell you that though?" Victor sighed. "It doesn't seem right." 

"Victor, what are you mumbling about?" Adrian fiddled with his own hands awkwardly. 

"Does 'Vincent' sound familiar to you at all?" Victor crossed his arms, determined to play the therapist this time. 

"Vincent? Why are you bringing him up? I just told you we met the other day and-" 

"So, he doesn't," Victor shook his head. 

Adrian thought about it. Vincent did have a vibe that they'd met before. He felt familiar but Adrian couldn't place why. Maybe if they crossed paths again he would remember? But, he didn't have any contact information... 

"Listen," Victor raised his finger and pointed at Adrian. "You've met Vincent before but have forgotten about it." 

"Why would I have forgotten-" Adrian's eyes widened. "How embarrassing..." he hid his face in his hands. "The person Vincent was talking about was me, wasn't it? And I just rambled on like that...I'm such an idiot." 

"A big dumbo," Victor shrugged. 

"That would explain a few things," Adrian leaned back in his chair. "Like why I'm thinking about him a lot lately and why my phone was filled with a color I'm not particularly fond of..." 

"You don't like blue?" 

"Not particularly. Colors, in general, don't really click with me..." Adrian shrugged. 

"That's...surprising," Victor laughed. "You have a lot of color-palleted people around you. From what you've told me of Blavat, he is basically the embodiment of pinks and purples. And Vincent is blue..." 

"Maybe because of my disinterest in colors, I'm drawn to people obsessed with one or two colors. My brain is subconsciously attracted to someone interested in what I'm lacking as an attempt to mix opposing traits for the betterment of the species," Adrian's eyes lit up with curiosity. 

"Sometimes I forget how much of a nerd you are," Victor laughed. 

"Still though, how am I going to talk to Vincent about this?" 

"Don't worry, I'm sure he will come back. You told him to in your advice anyway." 

"I also told him that keeping his distance was the better method," Adrian mentally scolded his past self. 

"I have a strong feeling he will not be keeping his distance," Victor assured. 

"Why?" 

"A simple reason," Victor smiled. "One I'm not telling you though..." he stuck out his tongue. It was because Adrian had a boyfriend that wasn't Vincent. There was no way that Vincent was going to just leave things as they were. It would be awkward to tell Adrian that though...so he didn't. 

Chapter Text

Vincent poked his head into the office to check to see if Adrian was there. When he noticed that he was, he smiled, waved, and entered properly before closing the door behind him. "I'm back," he laughed. 

"So you are," Adrian smiled awkwardly. It had taken Vincent more time to come back than he thought. He was starting to think he wouldn't come back at all. But, he trusted Victor's judgment. Even if the guy never told him the reason for it. 

"I think I owe you an apology," Adrian began. 

"Hm? Why?" Vincent sat down in the chair opposite Adrian's desk. 

"I didn't realize you were talking about me," Adrian sighed. "I wouldn't have offered that advice if I knew..." 

"Which also means you wouldn't have been entirely truthful in giving your advice, right?" Vincent smiled a reassuring grin. "It's perfectly alright. I also neglected to tell you the truth which only complicated things further." 

"I'm not sure how you would've told me in that situation." 

"Well, in the end, you figured it out in one way or another." Vincent was very curious about how Adrian remembered but decided not to ask. Some things are best left up to the imagination. Otherwise, you'll just be disappointed with the truth. And Vincent's imagination, at the moment, was that Adrian remembered on his own. Even if the proof stated otherwise. 

"Would you mind telling me who you are to me?" Adrian asked. 

"An old friend," Vincent replied. "I don't want to bring up unpleasant memories just yet." 

"As I thought," Adrian adjusted his fake glasses, suddenly growing serious. "You're connected to Victoria Phantomhive in some way, aren't you?" He folded his hands on his desk and stared coldly at Vincent. 

Rather than lie at this stage in the game, Vincent placed his hand on his chest and introduced himself properly. "My name is Vincent Phantomhive. My relationship with Victoria is a bit complicated to explain at this point in time. Please be satisfied with just knowing we are indeed connected." He folded his hands and rested them on his lap, then crossed his legs. 

"You're hiding something," Adrian eyed Vincent, still incredibly cold. His body language was very obvious about it. 

"Yes, I am, but I'm telling the truth when I say you aren't at a point where you can have me telling you the answers," Vincent smiled. "Would you like a hint, perhaps?" 

It was dangerous to play with his own brain like this. But, for some reason, Adrian smirked again. He realized it himself this time, without the voice telling him, but that didn't make it any less confusing. Why was he enjoying this conversation? He should play it safe, shouldn't he? Avoid another relapse when he was already starting to go back to his healthier lifestyle... He wasn't healed from his trauma so...why was he trying to get it back? Stop smirking, damnit. 

"I wo-"

"I won't tell you," Vincent shook his head. "I don't want to risk it," he sighed. "I'll trust your schooling for a bit longer before allowing you to go digging. Okay?" Vincent was taking control of the decision. Adrian felt relieved but also terribly conflicted. He wanted to know but he didn't want to know. 

If you won't tell him. I will for you. Victoria snuck control for a few moments, slamming Vincent's hands onto Adrain's desk. Startled, Adrian leaned back in his chair, nearly falling out of it. Vincent regained control before anything more chaotic took place. This was not the time. Without a proper explanation, Vincent decided to create a scene. He sunk to the floor, grabbing the edge of the desk tightly, and sobbed. 

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just incredibly frustrating to be forgotten. I didn't mean to do that...I just..." he sobbed uncontrollably. Thankfully, Adrian didn't know how to handle crying very well. This was the perfect distraction to keep him from analyzing that outburst of anger. 

Adrian got out of his chair and circled the desk. He knelt beside Vincent and attempted to soothe him. "You're handling the situation quite well considering the circumstances. I'm surprised you've remained this calm for so long, honestly," Adrian assured. "Are you okay with me touching you?" His professional side was showing again. Vincent hated this awkward distance. He should've just hugged him outright. 

Vincent nodded and continued his facade of a sobbing nightmare. Adrian hugged him and held him gently, patting his back lightly. His body...it wasn't just the height. This felt exactly the same as Blavat's. This didn't make any sense. 

It makes perfect sense. You just don't want to admit it. Adrian ignored the voice again. The Undertaker's laugh mocked him, swarming his brain. He gritted his teeth. 

"Are you okay?" Vincent's voice stopped the laughter. "Your nails...are very sharp and you've gotten a bit pale." 

Adrian immediately let go. He must've dug his nails into Vincent's back without paying attention. "I'm sorry... I'm supposed to be trying to comfort you." 

"It's okay, really," Vincent wiped his eyes. Not okay at all, he could feel scratch marks forming. If Blavat was a dumbass again and removed his shirt...how was he going to explain this shit? 

"Are you sure?" 

"Certain," Vincent smiled.  

Chapter Text

"I got you a new shirt," Blavat held out a bag for Adrian. 

"You didn't have to," Adrian smiled, taking it. 

"But, I felt bad so..." 

"Thank you." He reached out and slid his hand over Blavat's shoulder for something of a half hug. Blavat obviously winced. "Are you okay?" 

"Oh, I'm fine, I just..." his eyes glazed over for a moment. "Huh? I can't remember why...but my back does hurt..." 

Do you even remember what Victoria was visiting you for? Her diagnosis... Adrian stared, watching Blavat's internal dilemma. He took a step back. Why couldn't Vincent tell him about his relationship with Victoria? What made it complicated? Adrian's brain hurt. You're an idiot, you know? The Undertaker's laugh filled his brain again. No. That wasn't right. He was the one laughing. His laugh was so loud it shut out his other thoughts but he couldn't stop it. 

I'm not another person. The Undertaker loomed over him from behind. You just don't remember. Just like you don't remember them. His long fingernail pointed to Blavat's concerned expression. Victoria and Vincent were leaning on either side of Blavat, smiling at Adrian.

"That's impossible," Adrian panted, holding his head that still hurt entirely. "There can't be three. They're the same perso-" he blinked and they disappeared. Only Blavat was standing in front of him, freaking out. He couldn't hear his words. Just the laughter that wouldn't stop. Then, he passed out. 

Blavat tried to catch him but they both fell. He held Adrian's body and panicked. "I don't know what to do. I'm not a medical professional. What do I do? I don't have a phone. I can't call for help." 

You're absolutely pathetic. Vincent said, taking control. He picked up Adrian bridal style and walked in the direction of his apartment. He clicked his tongue in disgust. Blavat's clothes were way too gaudy for his tastes but he just had to get there and then switch back. Adrian should be awake by that time and then Blavat could continue panicking. 

"Pathetic," Vincent repeated. He placed Adrian on the ground for a moment and searched through his pockets for the keys. Once he found them, he opened the door and then picked him up again to place him in his bedroom. He went back to close the door, locking it, and then grabbed a chair to sit beside Adrian. He reached over and moved his hair out of his face, taking out the ponytail to make it more comfortable. He was tempted to kiss him but he could see his eyelashes already starting to flutter. 

Vincent sat down. "I wish you'd fucking remember me already," he growled, crossing his legs and switching back. 

Chapter Text

"Huh? How did I-?" Adrian stared up at his ceiling. He turned to see Blavat staring back at him. The reaction was delayed but Blavat jumped up and grabbed Adrian's shoulder. 

"Are you okay? You just passed out like that?! Huh?" Blavat looked around. "How did we-?" 

"I don't..." Adrian winced, his head still throbbing. "Wait..." he stared at Blavat. Wasn't he crossing his legs? Blavat doesn't cross his legs. He always sits half crisscrossed with one leg covering his ankle. "Vincent?" 

"What are you talking about?" Blavat blinked. 

Adrian grabbed Blavat's shoulders and shook him lightly. "I know you're in there so just come out already!" he panicked. 

"I don't understand what you're talking about!" Blavat insisted. 

"Please," Adrian's voice cracked. "I'm confused, my head hurts, and I would like some clarity. Please just...come out?" 

Are you sure you want to remember? Adrian turned his head to see an imitation of Vincent. You didn't react well just a few moments ago. Are you sure you're ready? Him coming out now will break your illusion...

"I don't know what's going on anymore..." Adrian held his head and curled up into a ball on his bed. 

"It's okay." Vincent took off the wig and removed some of the flashy exteriors to Blavat's outfit. He sat on the bed and grabbed Adrian's hand. "This is mostly my fault so don't trouble yourself too much over it." 

"Your fault?" Adrian looked at him. This outfit didn't suit him at all...but he tried not to think about it. 

"I greatly overestimated you when I toyed with you and then you went and forgot about me to try and protect me. It's only hurt you in the end. This is why I ran away in the first place, you see?" 

Tell him that isn't true. The Undertaker frowned, standing behind Vincent. You find a weird thrill from it too. Tell him he is wrong. 

"That's not-" 

"It's okay," Vincent smiled and shrugged slightly. 

Adrian snapped slightly and pushed Vincent onto the bed the moment he saw him start to stand up. He hovered over him and glared down. He may not remember entirely everything right now but he was able to connect enough dots to get by. 

"The waltz is a two-person dance," Adrian's eye twitched. 

"What?" 

"Your game wouldn't have gotten very far if I wasn't playing so shut up about trying to make yourself out to be the only villain," Adrian gritted his teeth. 

Vincent suppressed the urge to laugh but ultimately couldn't. He started cracking up and had to hold his mouth to try and suppress it. 

"Why are you laughing?" Adrian frowned. 

"You could've just said 'it takes two to tango' but you went and made an expression all on your own," Vincent laughed so hard he started crying slightly. 

"Oh, well, I just thought waltz would fit your aesthetics more," Adrian blushed. 

"It's true, waltzes are very pleasing as far as aesthetics go," Vincent agreed. "However, have you ever actually seen an argentine tango?" Vincent reached up to force Adrian's head down far enough for him to be able to whisper into his ear. "They're very passionate." 

Adrian moved his hand under Vincent's shirt and muttered words of his own into his ear. "Then you'll have to give me a dancing lesson, Mr. Phantomhive." It wasn't often that Adrian managed to get Vincent to blush. Maybe it was just the fact Vincent was still in Blavat's clothes. In any case, his cheeks did, in fact, turn a light shade of pink. 

Which one of you was supposed to be the cat again? Victoria snickered. 

Chapter Text

Adrian didn't so much as regain his memory so much as he gathered more and more information about it from Vincent. In time though, he would remember on his own. But for now, he was enjoying just being with Vincent in a somewhat normal way. 

Make no mistake, though, these two were still just as messed up in the head as before. But this time, they kept a tight leash on each other. One thread of discontent or attempt to run away from the issue at hand, and the other would pull on the leash and force a conversation. It still wasn't entirely healthy, but...it was the best these two buffoons could manage. 

"Do you want to go to a ball?" Vincent sat on the couch flipping through various news articles. One such article was advertising an event. 

"That is a bit too many people for me," Adrian admitted. 

"But it's a masquerade. Isn't that fitting?" Vincent smiled. 

"So, you don't want to know if I want to go...you just want to know what you have to do to get me to go?" Adrian dried his wet hair with a towel. He'd just taken a shower. 

"You've seen through me, whatever shall I do?" Vincent dramatically threw his phone onto the other side of the couch and laid down. "Woe is me." 

"We better go," Victoria huffed, crossing her arms. "I would look fantastic in a dress." 

"I'll have you know, I can make a fantastic mask," Blavat spoke smugly. 

"I'm the one that asked..." Vincent huffed. "But I suppose you can choose who to go with. Or not to go at all," he shrugged. 

"I imagine Victoria would be the best option," Adrian sat down on the armrest of the couch. "Homophobes still exist, unfortunately." 

"There is a way around that," Vincent smirked. 

"W-what?" Adrian nearly fell off the couch, already not enjoying whatever it was Vincent was thinking. 

"Let's get this boy in a dress," Victoria's eyes gleamed, she moved her fingers in a way that made Adrian even more uncomfortable. And so, Victoria began to chase Adrian around his apartment for a considerable amount of time. 

This is but a snapshot of their future daily life occurrences. I'm sure you understand the drift. These two chaotic idiots will not be escaping each other any time soon. But, still, which one was actually the cat? Victoria would still like to know...