The Alchemists

"Elle..." London held L's hand when they just entered their house.

"What's wrong?" L asked, looking at London in surprise.

"I'll be gone for two weeks starting tomorrow, so please let me be with my daughter tonight... I'll definitely miss her dearly..." London whispered in a low voice. He squeezed L's hand and his gaze fell to the girl's stomach.

Just then, L's stomach slightly moved and formed a wave, as if the baby in the w.o.m.b heard her father's words and welcomed him with joy.

L looked at her stomach. She was stunned to see the movement of her stomach. In the end, she could only nod.

L went into her room and closed the door, leaving London, who was still rooted in his place. Ten minutes later, the girl opened the door and returned to her room. "Come in."

It took him a few seconds to understand what L meant. A smile broke out on the young man's face as he hurriedly changed his clothes to home clothes and followed L into her room.

L had already laid on her bed and turned off the lights. London climbed to the bed next to L and kissed the girl's stomach.

"Sleep well, Lily. I'll be gone for two weeks starting tomorrow, so don't be naughty in there," he whispered. London then laid down next to L and hugged her stomach happily.

Ah, if only they could continue like this.

***

London was really reluctant to get up and leave. Apart from L's bed being very comfortable, he also felt sad having to leave L and Lily in Germany. But he recalled his mother's advice and hardened his resolve to go.

"I'll be gone for a maximum of two weeks. If you miss me, or if you think Lily misses me, don't hesitate to contact me via Virconnect." London paused for a moment before approaching L and kissing her stomach. "I'll be going first."

He then turned and walked out the door without looking back. L only stared in silence. After the door closed, she stroked her stomach and softly sighed.

***

The two men were very attractive to the passengers of the Singaporean Airlines flying with them. Both of their faces were similar and they looked extremely handsome with long blond hair down to their shoulders, making people think they were adventurous siblings.

One had disheveled hair but was neatly dressed, while the other had neat hair tied with a red ribbon but was dressed casually. Nicolae was wearing ripped jeans and a white shirt with a thin overcoat and black boots with a backpack on his back.

Meanwhile, Lauriel looked neat and elegant as usual but still looked light and relaxed. Unlike Nicolae, he didn't have a bag on him. Even just at first glance, people would remember the soothing angelic figure when they saw Lauriel passing by. His appearance was very charming.

"You're walking so fast," Lauriel commented to Nicolae, who seemed to be in a hurry. They were crossing terminal 1 of Changi airport.

"I miss my children," Nicolae promptly answered. "Don't you miss them? They've been gone for a few months..."

Lauriel just laughed at Nicolae's enthusiasm. He understood his son's feelings, but in his heart, he still thought that Nicolae's feelings wouldn't be as light as they seemed. However it may be, for ten years,  he had loved Aleksis and considered her two children his own until Alaric suddenly came and took them all back nine months ago.

Now, they were about to meet again in Singapore and looked forward to the birth of Aleksis and Alaric's next child. It was certainly not easy for Nicolae.

They walked quickly while chatting, not noticing that everyone's eyes were on them.

"Senior Nicolae!!!"

Nicolae's steps halted when he heard someone calling his name. He looked sideways and saw a woman in her early 30s appear to be waving excitedly. He squinted his eyes trying to recognize her, but he couldn't remember where he had met her.

In the end, he waited until she was near him and greeted him enthusiastically.

"Senior Nicolae, you haven't changed at all! How amazing! You must have a secret to staying young. Your appearance is still the same as before."

"Uhm... sorry, I don't remember who you are," Nicolae shook his head apologetically. "Please kindly refresh my memory."

"Ahahaha... it's okay. It's been a long time, after all. I'm Cindy. We were on the same campus and you were a teacher assistant in the class I attended."

"Oh... how are you?" Nicolae nodded. He still didn't remember, but he didn't want to spend too long talking to Cindy. His heart was already flying wanting to meet his children soon. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry. See you around!"

Cindy was just stunned. She was just about to answer that she was doing well and wanted to ask more questions about Nicolae, but the young man had politely resigned.

Nicolae realized that because he used to live in Singapore for a long time and he was very famous at that time, for people to recognize him in a public place like this was inevitable. That was why he rarely visited Singapore. He didn't want to be recognized too often.

His visit this time was arguably important because he wanted to meet and pick up his two children who had been living with their biological parents for several months. He and Alaric had agreed that Nicolae would return with Altair and Vega after their younger sibling was born to reduce the hassles of their parents while taking care of the new baby.

In addition, he also really missed his brother. After learning that Alaric Rhionen was his twin brother, the connection between Nicolae and Alaric became so strong that they became very close. The only obstacle between them being together often was the fact that Aleksis, the girl Nicolae had loved for ten years and almost married, turned out to be Alaric's wife.

For the past nine months, they still had to try to protect their feelings, and Nicolae still couldn't act as if nothing had happened in front of Aleksis. Nevertheless, he still tried.

Lauriel and Nicolae got into the automatic car that was ordered to pick them up and arrived at the Linden mansion at sunset. The sound of two children playing welcomed Lauriel and Nicolae when the gate opened and the car brought them inside.

"Hey... welcome," Aleksis, who was lying on a recliner while listening to music, rushed out when she heard Luna's voice announcing the arrival of their two guests. Alaric, who was reading some of the reports sent by Takeshi, also left his job and hurried to greet his father and brother.

"Long time no see," Lauriel hugged Aleksis and almost carried her into the air, but decided not to after realizing that Aleksis's already-very-large stomach wouldn't be so comfortable to lift. "I missed you so much."

"I also missed you, Uncle Rory," Aleksis replied, kissing Lauriel's cheeks.

Alaric hugged Nicolae and patted him on the back. "How's the trip?"

"Everything's fine. I met my father in Rome and decided to come here together," Nicolae released Alaric then turned to Aleksis and kissed her on the cheek. "You became prettier. Did my brother feed you well?"

Aleksis laughed and nodded. "Really well. He even started to learn cooking. Now, he already knows how to use a knife other than to fight..."

Lauriel and Alaric looked at each other and coughed. The two were very similar. Both of them couldn't cook, and only knew how to use a knife as a weapon and not to cut vegetables all this time. Nicolae was more similar to Caspar, Aleksis's father, who was also a doctor and liked cooking.

"I want to try tasting the food then," Nicolae said with a laugh.

"Aish... my wife is praising me too much. I can only make salads and the simplest dishes. I'm not as talented as you are," Alaric commented as he shrugged his shoulders.

Altair and Vega, who had arrived in the courtyard, immediately jumped and hugged Lauriel and Nicolae one by one. They were very happy to see their foster father and grandfather after several months of separation.

"Please come in, Madam and Sirs. Dinner is ready," Luna's voice greeted them politely.

"Ah, yes... that's my assistant. You came on time. Let's eat first and talk later." Alaric said. "If we eat late, a certain woman will turn into a grumpy goblin."

"Eh... I'm not like that!" Aleksis protested while hitting her husband's shoulder. Alaric just laughed and kissed his wife without answering.

They walked hand in hand into the mansion's dining room overlooking the bonsai garden in the back.

"My father and mother are already near Singapore. They're currently on holiday on F Island. They said that they'll be here this weekend. My brothers, London and Rune, will arrive tomorrow. Terry will also come next week." Aleksis informed them about everyone. "I'm so glad we can all get together."

Aleksis was happy because soon, in addition to having the family she loved gather, she and Alaric would also be able to meet their new child. Doctors had predicted that the birth would occur within the next few days. Everyone couldn't wait for the arrival of the latest grandchildren of the Schneider and Medici family.