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Chapter 21: The Reunion

Chapter 21: The Reunion

Drew: address incoming

A pin dropped a few seconds later. Adrian opened it in Maps without much urgency, expecting somewhere reasonably close.

7.2 km.

He stared at that number a second longer than it deserved.

They’re calling that close?

He was still in the jogging clothes from earlier when he arrived back to his complex, sweat mostly dried but not entirely, which settled the outfit debate before it had a chance to start. He headed for the car.

He’d barely pulled the door shut behind him when his phone buzzed. Different rhythm this time, one he’d already learned to recognize without looking.

Growth Enhancement Criteria Met.

Host is alone.

Enhanced Physique: Growth Enhancement Initiating.

He went still, phone in one hand, key not yet in the ignition.

He remembered yesterday’s version of this. Subtle, almost missable, something he’d had to go hunting for in a mirror before he trusted it was real.

This time was going to be no different. Then. It landed.

Not an explosion. Nothing dramatic enough to justify the word transformation. Just a deep, sudden pressure rolling through him all at once. Muscles tensing on their own, a strange current running from his chest out through his shoulders, down his arms, across his back, into his legs.

Then it was gone. All of it, in under two seconds.

Ah. The fuck? He paused. That was new.

He sat there a moment, waiting to see if there was a second wave coming. There wasn’t. He looked down at himself instead.

No superhero transformation. He hadn’t expected one. But the difference was easier to spot this time. Another slight increase in his shoulders under his shirt, arms carrying more shape than they had that morning, his stomach pulled tighter without him doing anything to earn it.

He pulled out his phone camera, checked himself from an angle or two in the reflection off the window, feeling only mildly ridiculous about it.

Okay.

A grin threatened to break through before he fully allowed it.

That’s definitely better.

This was by far a lot more better growth enhancement than his first . If this upgrade was done based on how much exercise you put in, then how much could he improve if he worked out in an actual gym continuously?

Worthy research.

He started the car.

Drew was already outside when he pulled into the lot, leaning against the gym’s front railing with the kind of restless energy that made standing still look like it physically pained him.

Athletic build, the real kind, earned from doing things rather than posing in mirrors. He clocked Adrian’s car before Adrian had even parked.

"Holy shit."

Adrian got out. "Morning."

"You actually came." Drew looked genuinely thrown by it, like he’d sent the address more out of habit than expectation.

Adrian strolled towards him. "You invited me."

"Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d take it seriously." Drew looked him over, head tilting slightly, and something shifted in his expression. "I mean it’s been...wait-"

"What."

Drew squinted, doing the specific math of someone comparing a memory against what was standing in front of him.

"Are you working out behind my back?"

"No."

"You sure.." Drew paused. "You look..."

Jenna’s voice cut in from somewhere behind them, unhurried, entirely too amused. "He does look different."

Adrian turned.

That was when he actually saw her.

Jenna walked over in athletic clothes that looked genuinely comfortable rather than staged for anyone’s benefit. The kind of outfit someone wears because they’re actually about to move, not because they planned a photo around it.

She looked good. The thought registered and went nowhere.

Objectively, she was attractive. He registered that the same way he’d register weather. Mostly because his brain had filed her under Jenna years ago. The girl who’d stolen more food off his plate over the years than he could reasonably track.

She caught him looking anyway. "What?"

"Nothing."

Drew glanced between them, delighted at the opportunity. "You two are already being weird."

"Shut up, Drew."

Adrian almost smiled. Almost.

Inside, the gym opened up bigger than the outside had suggested. Treadmills lining one wall, free weights and benches spread across the center, machines further back, mirrors on every surface that wasn’t already covered in equipment. Music sat low enough that people could still hear each other talk.

Registration took two minutes. He didn’t so much as glance at the price, a novelty he wasn’t going to get tired of anytime soon.

"Registration done!" Drew exclaimed louder than Adrian could wish for. "Now, let’s get to the work out."

"Yoga." Jenna corrected.

Drew paused. He groaned like she’d personally offended him. "Yoga?"

"Yes, Drew. I’m here for Yoga."

"You drove all the way here to lie on the floor."

"And you’re going to spend forty minutes lifting something you could’ve just left on the ground."

Adrian watched the exchange happen without needing to participate in it, and something settled in his chest that he hadn’t fully clocked was missing.

He’d missed this more than he let himself notice. Two idiots arguing about exercise without a care in the world.

Jenna peeled off toward the yoga section. Drew grabbed Adrian by the shoulder and steered him the other way, toward the weights, already talking about form before they’d even reached the rack.

Drew ran him through the basics without much ceremony. Not a professional trainer, just someone who’d clearly wasn’t new to this.

Adrian followed along, and somewhere around the third set, the difference started showing up in ways he hadn’t expected to notice this fast.

Recovery came quicker between sets than it should have. The burn built slower. Nothing monstrous to be exact, but he was pushing further than a guy who’d done zero training in his adult life had any business pushing.

Drew clocked it around the fourth round. "You said you haven’t been training."

"I haven’t."

"...Bullshit."

Adrian gave him a flat look. Drew laughed it off and kept going, apparently deciding this was a conversation for later, if ever.

By the time Jenna finished her session and wandered over, Adrian had finally given up and sat down on the edge of a bench, body clearly done arguing about it.

Drew, on the other hand, still looked comfortable lifting. Show off.

Jenna held out a water bottle without asking if he wanted one.

"You look terrible."

"Thanks."

"You’re welcome."

He took it. She sat beside him, and for a moment neither of them said anything, just watched Drew grind through another set like it cost him nothing.

"So. How have you been?" she said eventually. "It’s been... a while."

He didn’t deny it. "Yeah."

"You know we tried to reach out, right?"

He looked at her.

"Drew called you six times."

"Seven," Drew shouted from across the gym, not even looking over.

"See?" She rolled her eyes. "We were really worried."

Adrian didn’t reply. He simply smiled. Small, but real.

She studied him for a second after the smile faded, the specific look of someone deciding whether to push or step back.

"You wanna get out of here?" She said.

"I was gonna grab a drink anyway." She nodded toward the juice bar tucked near the entrance. "You look like you could use one too."

Alone.

The word landed and sat there for a second before he did anything with it. He didn’t paint it as anything. Jenna trusted him. She’d already shown up for him today more than he’d earned.

And if he actually wanted to know whether she qualified for any of this, this was the first real window he’d had all morning that didn’t include Drew standing five feet away with an opinion about everything.

He glanced over. Drew, still lifting, still fully absorbed in his own reflection. Back to Jenna.

"Yeah." He paused. "I guess I do."

She stood. "Come on."