The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 266: Meet My Boyfriend

Damien opened his eyes... Well, he tried to, but there was something tightly wrapped around his head. He lifted his hands, trying to remove whatever was blocking his sight...

But his hands were swiftly captured.

"Shh, calm down. Just relax," Lane whispered, and Damien, recognizing his voice, listened. His confusion lasted for a moment longer, but eventually, his head cleared up and his memories returned.

Well, at least his memories up to the moment when he and Lane had left the restaurant and headed to the car. However, Lane had already explained to him earlier what would happen after the hypnosis, so he wasn’t surprised by this black hole in the timeline, which he had no recollection of.

"Have we arrived?" he simply asked.

"Yeah. Just wait for a bit longer, and we will go meet Diana soon."

They sat in silence, Lane constantly glancing at his phone to check the time. All so that they wouldn’t be accidentally overheard, since Damien was supposed to be drugged and all...

Why did he go to such lengths to hide his abilities, Lane himself didn’t know. It’s not like anything bad would happen if they were found out, everyone here was on Lane’s side, he just... wanted it that way. Like a kid who learned to play the piano in secret, hiding their developing skills, so that they could surprise their parent by playing a beautiful piece on their birthday. Well, Lane was going to reveal a part of his strength now... But at least a part of the surprise would still remain.

And so, he stubbornly waited, and only after around half an hour had passed - or 36 minutes, to be precise, since Lane didn’t want Damien’s awakening to look too precise, as that could be odd in case of home-induced, unprofessional anesthesia - did he nod his head at Damien, getting up from the bed.

"Let’s go."

Diana was already waiting for them in the garden, sitting on her rocking chair, just like the last time, with a knitted blanket on her lap. Although a different one - last time the blanket was pastel pink, if Lane remembered correctly, while this time it was emerald green. Just like Damien’s eyes...

Such a funny coincidence. But it couldn’t have been done on purpose, since no one knew who the person Lane was bringing with him was. And they couldn’t have seen it now either, since ever since they had appeared, Damien’s eyes were covered with a silk scarf. Now as well, they were still invisible.

What a shame. They would be such a good match...

But that was not the point.

"Ahem!" Lane cleared his throat, holding Damien’s shoulders, and pushing him slightly so that he was facing Diana. "Diana, meet Damien, my boyfriend. Damien, meet Diana, my... paternal grandmother," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Damien bowed in the direction the woman sat. "My name is Damien Lennox. Glad to make your acquaintance." freewёbnoνel.com

"Pleasure’s all mine," Diana answered politely, her lips curving up slightly. Then, she turned her eyes back to Lane, a hint of amusement flickering in her pupils. "A boyfriend, is it? I was wondering who it might be when you said you would be bringing someone you want to introduce to me!"

"Ah... Haha." Lane tousled his hair, turning his face away bashfully.

It was a funny feeling to say that, when introducing someone. His boyfriend. Not that long ago, Lane would have never thought that there would be anyone he might call with that title, let alone bring them here, to introduce to Diana... It was somewhat scary, how fast he got pulled in so deep...

Diana’s grey eyes hung on Lane for a while longer, before moving back to Damien. "So, Damien, wasn’t it? How did you and Lane meet?"

"H-huh?" Hearing Diana’s question, both Lane and Damien flinched. They quickly exchanged glances... Or would have done so, if it wasn’t for the scarf wrapped around Damien’s eyes, which made it impossible. Still, even without any eye contact, they both thought the same.

They haven’t discussed that. How to explain the origin of their relationship to others.

Which was kind of stupid, really. Lane had already met Clara, and although that question hadn’t been dropped yet, that was only because the woman was too absorbed in questioning Lane’s fidelity. But the next time when she had an opportunity, or if not the next then at least soon, she was bound to get curious... But it wasn’t like they could tell her - or anyone - about their true first meeting...

...Actually! Damien’s brows furrowed, as an idea hit him. And just as Lane had opened his mouth, about to try to spin some tale on the spot, Damien spoke up first.

"At the Association. Lane had to come to our Guiding Center for his routine guiding. Just so it happened that I was just leaving after my guiding session at the same time, and we passed each other by in the hallway... And I thought he looked somewhat familiar, so I stopped him for a moment. He didn’t tell me the truth back then," Damien paused, turning his face toward Lane in what would have been a pointed look, if it wasn’t for the silky scarf covering his view, "But we... We bumped into each other again by chance, and then once more... And after that, he decided to take me up on the offer, and we started dating."

"Oh? So you were the one to ask him out first?" Diana lifted his brows with half-curiosity, half-amusement.

To which, Damien nodded his head. "Yes."

Almost at the same time, though, Lane raised his protest. "That’s not true!"

"It isn’t?" Both Damien and Diana asked at the same time, the latter with a hint of laughter, while the former with genuine surprise.

"I hit on you first," Lane pointed out.

"But you weren’t serious," Damien argued. Not to mention, it wasn’t ’Lane’ who hit on him, but ’Evan’, so Lane was completely obliterating their timeline. "I was the one to pursue you first."

"This... But you’ve never asked me to date you, or anything!"

"That..." Damien opened his mouth, but then closed again. He asked some questions, like what they were to each other and so on, but never THE question. Which was done on purpose, since he didn’t want to scare Lane away by pushing to far, but... "You didn’t ask me out either."

...Lane hadn’t. It was Clara who had brought it up to Damien, while Lane had overheard, and later it just kind of happened...

"Well, let’s assume that it was Damien who asked first, then," Diana smiled, settling the argument. And both parties accepted...

But Lane wasn’t happy. He pursed his lips, grumbling inwardly with disappointment. He didn’t think about it earlier, but he would have liked to be the one to ask first...

Even though it made no sense for him to do so, since before Damien, he had no intentions to date anyone. And even then, when he agreed to it, it was just slapping a label on a long-term ’fling’. It was only later that he actually grew fond of that whole relationship thing...

As he was simmering this slight disappointment in his head, Diana asked Damien a few more questions, which although still rather... complicated to answer, considering their relationship history, caused Damien less trouble to answer. After the first, he found a way to somehow balance the truth and the secrets... Even though he was growing more and more uncomfortable with each word he said. He technically wasn’t lying, but he still felt iffy with bending the truth that way... He wasn’t Lane, for whom it was pretty much a second nature.

Eventually, though, Diana let him off the hook, and turned back to Lane.

"So. What is that big news you wanted to share?"