The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 90: Overprotective?

Chapter 90: Overprotective?

...Sister?

Lane glanced between the two.

Yes, that’s right, how come he didn’t notice it earlier? The two looked so alike! Not only the hair and the eyes, but even their facial features were very similar. Only that Samantha was a timid and shy mouse, while Damien wore an eternal frown.

"But... The surname..." he muttered, still struggling to comprehend the situation.

It was just too unbelievable. Yes, they looked alike, and Lane already knew Damien had younger siblings. He also had heard Samantha say she had elder siblings in the Association - although back then he simply assumed she meant Eloise and Clara, and not anyone else. But...

The part that was hard to believe was not the relationship between the two, but rather that Lane had been thinking of trying to distract himself from his desire for Damien by focusing his attention on someone who looked so much like the man...

Unaware of the turmoil going through Lane’s head, Damien calmly explained, "Lennox is our mother’s maiden name."

"Oh, is that so?" Lane muttered, his eyes still lost wandering between the two, looking for anything that might excuse his foolishness. "So... You have different fathers?"

"No. I... just changed back my surname once I grew up."

"Changed... BACK?" Lane lifted his brows. "And... Why?"

For a long while, Damien didn’t say anything, just staring at Lane in silence. Honestly, it was hard to tell whether he was planning to answer or not.

Was the question too personal? He didn’t look offended, or angry, or annoyed though. Rather, somewhat happy? But mostly surprised.

Ah.

Understanding dawned on Lane. If it was the usual him, he wouldn’t have asked such an obviously personal question, at least not someone he was flirting with. All in order to try to avoid forming any deeper attachments.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, anything, just to end this awkward silence, but absolutely nothing came to his mind. Luckily, Samantha stepped in.

"Is there something you need?" she asked Damien. "Otherwise, we should go. We were about to have our first guiding session."

"Guiding... session?" Damien repeated, dragging every word. His frown deepened, his gaze dark as it hooked up on Lane. Although he didn’t say anything, what he had in mind was obvious - the guiding sessions he and Aidan used to have. "In a private room?"

Oblivious to the meaning of Damien’s stare, Samantha gave him a light nod. "Yes, of course, where else?"

Damien’s eyes turned even darker.

Ugh, seriously. What did he think Lane would do, sleep with the girl? As if he’d sleep with his Team Leader’s sister! Even if he had any such plans earlier, he would have given up now.

"Team Leader, I get that you care about your sister, but it’s not good to be so overprotective!"

"...Overprotective?" Damien’s brows lifted, and he blinked a few times in surprise.

"Otherwise what? Jealous?" The words escaped Lane’s mouth before he could bite his tongue. Only once they all sounded out, did he realize what it was that he said.

There should be no reason for Damien to be jealous, unless he was certain that Lane was ’Aidan’, ’Evan’, or whatever. So why would ’Xavier’, who supposedly had absolutely no connection to these men, think Damien would be jealous? He hasn’t displayed any clear signs of attraction toward Xavier - well, maybe besides a few flickers in his eyes, that could easily be dismissed as just a trick of the light - so he shouldn’t care if he got involved with someone else. And there were no reasons to suspect he could have a sister complex either.

Not to mention, it was an absolutely normal instance of a Guide and an Esper going in for a session. Private rooms weren’t just for getting intimate, they were casually used for all types of internal guiding by the members of the Association on the daily basis.

But... why did Damien look as if Lane had hit the nail on the head?

"Ahem! If you’re so worried, Team Leader, then would you like to come with us?" Lane quickly said, changing the topic.

"Alright."

"...What?" Lane blinked a few times, staring at the man in disbelief. Yes, he was the one to suggest it, TECHNICALLY, but he was only joking, alright? Who would have thought that Damien would really be mad enough to actually take him up on the offer?

Therapy. Damien needed therapy. There was no doubt about it in Lane’s mind.

Luckily, Samantha was there to knock some reason into him. "Damien, is just a guiding session with an Esper from the Association... And a member of your team, if I got it right? I’ll be fine, really... I’m an adult now, you shouldn’t baby me so much."

"That’s not..." Damien wanted to protest, but Samantha’s next words rendered him speechless.

"Besides, it will be a regular thing from now on, since me and Xavier are now an assigned par. Our compatibility is 96%, you see."

Damien’s face seemed to have grown paler, as he stared at Samantha in silence, his emerald eyes blank. It was only when she furrowed her brows, calling out his name again, that he recovered from the shock.

"96%..." he muttered, his shoulders dropping a bit. He threw Lane one last glance, and turned around, about to walk away. "I see. Then, please take care of him well..."

Watching Damien’s retreating back, something stirred in Lane’s chest. For some reason, the man’s behavior made him uncomfortable, his chest tight and his stomach queasy. And that look he had in his eyes a moment ago...

"Team Leader, I’ll see you tomorrow then!" he called out after the man without thinking.

Damien’s steps paused. "You all have a day off tomorrow, didn’t you listen to what I told you earlier?" He furrowed his brows, scolding Lane. Although his tone and expression carried a faint note of disapproval, it made Lane feel relieved.

That was the Damien he knew.

"Then the day after tomorrow!" he laughed, the tightness in his chest receding a bit.

It didn’t vanish completely though. It clung tightly to him, even as Samantha finished guiding him. Even as he returned to his apartment, taking a shower and throwing himself on the bed. Even when he opened a fresh tub of strawberry ice cream... Damien’s... hurt? Jealous? Disappointed? face stuck in his mind, haunting him even as he drifted off to sleep.