The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 96: Stalling for Time

Chapter 96: Stalling for Time

Damien looked tired. As he got into the passenger seat, next to Lane, his eyes were a bit red and puffy, his hair brushed back in a slightly messy - at least for Damien’s standard - manner, the collar of his uniform also a bit uneven...

And he seemed to be avoiding Lane’s eyes. He sat in his seat, looking down, and rubbing his temples.

All of this - well, maybe not the tiredness, only the last part - made Lane extremely uneasy. He constantly threw Damien furtive glances, only one thought in his head: ’Does he remember anything?’ He wanted to ask something, try to feel him out, but with their teammates in the back, within earshot, it was just too risky. Besides, how was he supposed to check? Asking directly was out of the question, and alluring subtly to the subject wasn’t easy either...

It was only when they were in the dungeon, everyone focusing on taking the measurements, that he found the opportunity.

"Hey, I’m sorry about last night," he whispered, scooting close to Damien. So close that his breath tickled the man’s neck, making him flinch. "I... thought you were handling your drinks well, so I might have overdone it..."

"...It’s fine." After a moment of silence, Damien shook his head. "It’s not like you forced me to do anything. In the end, I was the one to accept the drinks..."

"Uh, so you’re not angry? Why are you avoiding my eyes then?"

"It’s just that... I’m tired. And..." Damien paused, furrowing his brows in embarrassment, (Why did most of his expressions include a frown?), as he asked, "I seem to have passed out last night, haven’t I?"

Lane held his breath out of tension and anticipation. "What makes you think so?"

"I don’t remember when we left the bar or how I got home," Damien admitted, his eyes still dodging to the side. "You brought me back, didn’t you? But... how did you know my address?"

"You told me. You weren’t unconscious, just... very drunk. But you didn’t do anything embarrassing or anything, so don’t worry!" Lane quickly reassured the man. Then, he reluctantly tried, "You just... mentioned something about guiding, and called me Evan..."

Damien’s shoulders instantly stiffened, and he finally met Lane’s gaze, albeit hesitantly. They stared into each other eyes for a long while...

Damien was the first to turn away. "Forget it," he muttered, his breathing shallow and uneven, as he grasped his Mana fluctuation measuring device harder, forcefully pressing the button.

Something in Lane’s chest stirred at the tone of Damien’s voice, which sounded somewhat defeated and pained, even though the man clearly tried to hide his emotions... He pressed his lips together and took a step back though. It wasn’t the time for this conversation. He hadn’t made up his mind yet anyway...

Or did he?

As he kept on glancing at Damien throughout the day, Lane was becoming more and more sure he shouldn’t leave it that way.

After all, what if annoyed by Lane’s avoidance and lies, Damien would change his mind and decide to tell on him? - was what he told himself, but the truth was, he actually WANTED to tell the man, at least admit to the part Damien already knew anyway, as insane and risky it was.

Still, despite having made the decision, he dragged it out as much as he could. He stayed silent all the time they spent inspecting dungeons, and on the way back - Damien was the one driving, so Lane couldn’t possibly disturb him! Plus, there were a few of their teammates in the back! - and even when they finally returned to the Headquarters. Instead of following Damien to his office, as he did when asking him out, he went out to grab something to eat instead. Not even in the Association’s cafeteria, but at a restaurant outside, as if he wanted to take as long as possible. He wasn’t even all that hungry, having eaten lunch in the dungeon, but... He just wanted to fill his stomach, to try to get rid of that queasy feeling squeezing his gut. And perhaps grab a beer, to relax a bit before the important conversation.

It was already quite late in the evening by the time he made it back to the Headquarters, and most of the offices were already quiet and dark, their occupants having long left the work for the day. For a moment, Lane was unsure whether he hadn’t dragged it out for so long that Damien had also left...

But as he knocked on the familiar office’s door, a low "Come in" answered him from the inside. Damien must have stayed longer, to make up for being late in the morning.

Lane took a few deep breaths, trying to appear perfectly calm and collected, although in the end, he failed. What he was about to do was simply too nerve-wracking for that.

"Come in?" Damien’s voice repeated again. Then, a sound of shuffling came from inside, then the footsteps, and the door opened.

"...Owens?" Damien furrowed his brows. He most certainly didn’t expect to see the man standing in front of his office.

"Ah, well, um." Lane fidgeted with his hands, a bit flustered. It wasn’t how he planned it. Not at all. He was supposed to walk in with confidence, and announce the news as if it wasn’t a big deal... But perhaps showing nervousness, and a bit of vulnerability, was actually better in this moment? As much as Lane hated it... "Do you have a moment?"

Damien hesitated for a bit. He wasn’t ready for another disappointment... In the end though, he stepped to the side. "Come in."

Lane stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. Neither of them moved from the spot though. There were chairs in the office, and even a sofa - a very hard and uncomfortable one, but still - and yet they chose to just stand by the door, one looking somewhere to the side, while the other staring at his fidgeting hands.

Until Lane finally broke the silence. "Damien." He gulped loudly, lifting his head to meet Damien’s gaze. Those beautiful emerald eyes, darkened with the frown. "There’s something I need to tell you. I am, or rather was, Evan Greene."