diff --git a/src/flash_head/_version.py b/src/flash_head/_version.py
index e58734c..497880d 100644
--- a/src/flash_head/_version.py
+++ b/src/flash_head/_version.py
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 
 """FlashHead package version. Bump this to trigger a PyPI release."""
 
-__version__ = "0.1.9"
+__version__ = "0.1.10"
diff --git a/src/flash_head/patches/__init__.py b/src/flash_head/patches/__init__.py
index e76cb39..fbac341 100644
--- a/src/flash_head/patches/__init__.py
+++ b/src/flash_head/patches/__init__.py
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@
 3. RejectionSampler.forward - greedy comparison for speculative decoding
 4. EagleProposer._greedy_sample - handle FlashHead in draft proposals
 5. GPUModelRunner._dummy_sampler_run - skip warmup for token IDs
-6. LLMEngine.from_engine_args - load FlashHead metadata before engine init
+6. LLMEngine.from_engine_args - load FlashHead metadata (Python LLM API)
+7. AsyncLLM.__init__ - load FlashHead metadata (vllm serve / OpenAI API)
 """
 
 import logging
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ def apply_all():
     from flash_head.patches.eagle import patch_eagle
     from flash_head.patches.gpu_model_runner import patch_gpu_model_runner
     from flash_head.patches.llm import patch_llm
+    from flash_head.patches.async_llm import patch_async_llm
 
     patch_logits_processor()
     patch_sampler()
@@ -35,5 +37,6 @@ def apply_all():
     patch_eagle()
     patch_gpu_model_runner()
     patch_llm()
+    patch_async_llm()
 
     logger.info("[FlashHead] All patches applied")
diff --git a/src/flash_head/patches/async_llm.py b/src/flash_head/patches/async_llm.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e7469a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/flash_head/patches/async_llm.py
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Embedl AB
+
+"""Patch AsyncLLM to load FlashHead metadata.
+
+The existing `patch_llm()` only covers `vllm.v1.engine.llm_engine.LLMEngine.
+from_engine_args`, which is the entry point used by the offline Python
+`LLM(...)` API. The `vllm serve` CLI in vLLM >= 0.19 goes through
+`vllm.entrypoints.openai.api_server.build_async_engine_client_from_engine_args`
+→ `AsyncLLM.from_vllm_config` → `AsyncLLM.__init__`, which never calls
+`LLMEngine.from_engine_args`. Without this patch, metadata never gets
+written for `vllm serve` and FlashHead silently falls back to the dense
+lm_head on every decode step.
+
+We patch `AsyncLLM.__init__` so the metadata-load happens regardless of
+which constructor is used (`from_engine_args`, `from_vllm_config`, or the
+raw `AsyncLLM(vllm_config=...)` form).
+"""
+
+import logging
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def _model_id_from_vllm_config(vllm_config) -> str | None:
+    """Pull the HF model id / local path out of a VllmConfig."""
+    try:
+        return vllm_config.model_config.model
+    except AttributeError:
+        return None
+
+
+def patch_async_llm():
+    try:
+        from vllm.v1.engine.async_llm import AsyncLLM
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.debug("[FlashHead] AsyncLLM not available, skipping patch: %s", e)
+        return
+
+    _original_init = AsyncLLM.__init__
+
+    def _patched_init(self, vllm_config, *args, **kwargs):
+        model = _model_id_from_vllm_config(vllm_config)
+        if model is not None:
+            try:
+                from flash_head.loading import (
+                    load_flash_head_from_checkpoint,
+                    set_flash_head,
+                )
+                flash_head_meta = load_flash_head_from_checkpoint(model)
+                set_flash_head(flash_head_meta)
+                if flash_head_meta:
+                    logger.info("[FlashHead] Metadata saved for model: %s", model)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.warning("[FlashHead] Metadata loading skipped: %s", e)
+
+        return _original_init(self, vllm_config, *args, **kwargs)
+
+    AsyncLLM.__init__ = _patched_init
+    logger.info("[FlashHead] Patched AsyncLLM.__init__")
diff --git a/src/flash_head/patches/logits_processor.py b/src/flash_head/patches/logits_processor.py
index 811fd0e..adfd979 100644
--- a/src/flash_head/patches/logits_processor.py
+++ b/src/flash_head/patches/logits_processor.py
@@ -8,14 +8,19 @@
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-# Sentinel for lazy loading
-_FLASH_HEAD_NOT_LOADED = object()
-_flash_head = _FLASH_HEAD_NOT_LOADED
+_flash_head = None
 
 
 def _get_flash_head():
+    """Return the FlashHead module, lazy-loading on first successful call.
+
+    Negative results are NOT cached: if metadata is not yet available we keep
+    returning None and recheck on the next call. This makes it safe to write
+    `/tmp/flashhead_metadata.pt` after server startup (e.g. when the engine
+    was constructed through a vLLM entry point we don't patch directly).
+    """
     global _flash_head
-    if _flash_head is _FLASH_HEAD_NOT_LOADED:
+    if _flash_head is None:
         from flash_head.loading import get_flash_head
         _flash_head = get_flash_head()
     return _flash_head