CHAPTER 393: RUIN THE MOOD

Naturally, the team’s main gossipers weren’t the only ones to pick up on Damien and Lane’s unusual behavior. There was also the resident spy, who always paid a lot of attention to the couple, and today was no exception. Ethan observed both Damien and Lane carefully, taking mental notes of any clues and hints.

And he reaaaally didn’t like what he was seeing.

Still, that wasn’t enough to discourage him, quite the opposite. After all, Lane and Damien had been dating for around half a year or so at this point, according to what he knew. They had spent a lot of time together, and, knowing Lane, must have already had sex so many times that if it were anyone else, it would have been enough for a lifetime. Just because they had done something seemingly special on Damien’s birthday didn’t change anything, right? With the right approach, they surely still could be broken up.

He thought about it carefully. Whatever had happened the previous night couldn’t be erased, and that was a fact. And, since he didn’t know what had happened - they had great sex, most likely, but it was hard to guess what EXACTLY they had done that put them in such... odd moods - it was difficult to say or do anything that could ruin their memories of that night. He still had his ways in which he might be able to ruing their moods, but...

He had to think long term. He wasn’t just a man jealous of his crush’s boyfriend, he was a man on a mission! Trying to ruin either Lane or Damien’s moods might sour their moods at the moment, but it would also impact Ethan negatively, since his efforts would disturb their work, which would then lead to Ethan earning Damien’s disapproval. He had just made trouble at work the day before, he couldn’t afford to make another ’mistake’, not so soon...

It was still bothering him, though. Lane’s pleased grin, and Damien’s odd glow were getting on his nerves too much. It was a proof that despite being on the team for so long already, he hadn’t accomplished anything so far.

Then, it hit him. A way to mess up with Lane without suffering any backlash himself.

There was one solution.

He waited until they were out of the dungeon, and as they jumped into the minibuses, moving to the site of the next Gate they had to inspect, he quickly typed something on his phone.

***

The sun had already set by the time they returned to the Association Headquarters, but the night hadn’t fully fallen just yet. The sky had only just started growing darker. It was shortly past 7 PM.

They had finished right on schedule. There hadn’t been any more incidents during the inspections, no one had fallen or gotten injured, everyone (except for Lane, who was just strolling around, but that didn’t really matter) had fulfilled their duties properly. They had a little delay on their way back because of an accident that had happened on the route they were supposed to take, but because they had finished the inspections a bit earlier than expected, it all evened up. They returned to the Headquarters, parked their minibuses, Damien said a few words to the team, and returned the keys to the office.

And they were off.

Lane almost wanted to roll his eyes and scoff. They had returned earlier than the day before, even though they had more work, and bigger distances to travel between the Gate sites. Why couldn’t they have finished like that on Damien’s birthday? If they had, then Lane and Damien could probably go at it at least for two or three more rounds...

But no matter. Finishing on time was always great, and as for the time they had missed on the birthday night... There would be plenty of opportunities to make up for it. Damien’s birthday next year, that was for sure. Then, Valentine’s Day. Their anniversary was also suitable. And they kind of had two: one when they officially started dating, and then the second when Lane started dating Damien in his real body. Lane didn’t remember what dates exactly they were, but Damien surely would, so he would just ask later. Next... Christmas, perhaps? Lane wasn’t religious, and he didn’t know whether Damien was or not, but it didn’t matter. Other than that... Perhaps the New Year? Or Lane’s birthday? No, that wouldn’t make any sense. How could he offer himself as a ’present’ on his own birthday? It would make it look as if he wanted it for himself! Besides, that was a day before Valentine’s, so there was no need for that...

Either way, there would be other opportunities. And once they got married, they would have two more occasions: their engagement anniversary, and the wedding anniversary!

Because now that he had allowed Damien to top him, it was only natural they get married. There was no longer any need for concern that Damien would grow dissatisfied with their dynamic, since even if he wanted to top Lane, Lane would be willing to ’sacrifice himself’ for the sake of their happy sex life!

He just had to plan the engagement and wedding dates well, so that the opportunities for Damien to top him would be spread throughout the year.

And, of course, pick up the ring first. Even if he was getting married for convenience, to ensure that Damien wouldn’t leave him even if he found out about the secret organization and Lane’s position within it, everything had to be great. From the ring to how he proposed, he wanted to make it the best engagement ever!

All of that put him in even better mood than he had in the morning. He returned home with Damien after grabbing quick dinner at one of the restaurants nearby, and immediately threw himself on the couch, scrolling through his phone as he was checking out various rings, and trying to figure out what would be the best match for Damien...

When all of a sudden, doorbell rang.

Lane paused, lifting his head. Damien also stepped out from their bedroom, his uniform still on. They exchanged confused glances.

It was a work day. They weren’t planning to have any visitors.

But the doorbell rang again, so Damien went over to check who it was.

And a moment later, Lane’s expression soured, as he recognized the unwanted visitor’s voice.