CHAPTER 10
2097 Words
Derrick arrived early.
Not slightly early.
Not politely early.
Properly early.
The Grand Royal Restaurant was still half-quiet, the kind of quiet that expensive places only had before they started pretending to be alive.
Damian followed behind him, adjusting his cuff slightly.
“Alpha heir,” he said, glancing around the empty dining hall. “I don’t think it’s necessary to arrive before your scheduled time.”
Derrick didn’t slow down.
“I like to be on time.”
Damian gave him a sideways look.
“You are thirty minutes early.”
Derrick finally stopped walking.
He turned his head slightly.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
Damian immediately straightened.
“No, Alpha heir.”
A pause.
Then, quieter:
“Of course not.”
Derrick’s stare lingered for a second longer than necessary.
“Stop calling me that.”
Damian bowed his head slightly.
“I apologize, Alpha heir.”
Derrick exhaled once and continued walking.
But his jaw was tighter than usual.
Not angry.
Just… waiting.
---
He chose a table in the center.
Not too hidden.
Not too exposed.
Perfect visibility.
He sat down and didn’t open a menu.
Just waited.
Time moved slowly when nothing interrupted it.
And today, nothing came fast enough.
His fingers tapped once against the table.
Then stopped.
He noticed it.
Stopped again.
Damian stood a short distance away, pretending not to observe.
But he was observing.
Always.
---
Thirty minutes later.
The restaurant doors opened.
Nate arrived.
Late.
Very late.
Like the world itself had to argue with him before letting him come.
He stepped inside, scanning the room immediately.
And stopped when he saw Derrick.
Already seated.
Already waiting.
Like he had been there longer than the world itself.
Damian moved first, guiding Nate forward.
“This way.”
Nate followed slowly.
His expression unreadable.
But his eyes kept flicking back to Derrick anyway.
Like checking if he was real.
Like checking if this was still happening.
---
As they approached the table, Nate frowned slightly.
The room felt too empty.
Too controlled.
“…Where is everyone?” he asked.
Damian answered smoothly.
“The Alpha heir booked the entire restaurant.”
Nate blinked.
“…Why?”
Damian hesitated for half a second.
Then:
“For privacy.”
Nate turned his head slightly toward Derrick.
“That was unnecessary.”
Derrick looked up at him.
Calm.
Controlled.
As always.
“You don’t have to worry about my finances,” Derrick said evenly. “I handle them however I see fit.”
Nate crossed his arms.
“That wasn’t the question.”
Derrick didn’t respond.
Just leaned back slightly.
Like the conversation had already ended for him.
---
A second later, another presence entered.
Daniel.
Nate turned immediately.
“…You brought an escort?”
Derrick looked at Daniel at the same time.
Expression unchanged.
“You brought one as well.”
Nate frowned.
“He’s not an escort.”
Daniel waved casually.
“I’m offended on principle.”
Nate continued.
“He’s my personal advisor.”
Daniel nodded quickly.
“Yes. That. Very important title.”
Derrick stared for a second.
Then sighed.
Damian stepped in slightly.
“Come with me.”
Daniel grinned.
“Oh, I get taken away now?”
Damian didn’t react.
He simply gestured.
Daniel followed him willingly, still smiling.
They sat at a separate table.
Far enough.
But not invisible.
---
Nate finally sat down.
Across from Derrick.
Silence settled.
Not comfortable.
Not hostile.
Just… aware.
A waiter arrived immediately, handing them menus.
Derrick spoke first.
“Order whatever you want.”
Nate flipped the menu open.
“And you’ll pay?”
“Yes.”
Nate nodded.
“Okay.”
He scanned the menu for a moment.
Then frowned.
“…Excuse me.”
The waiter leaned in.
“Yes, sir?”
“Do you also have fresh water?”
The waiter blinked.
“…Fresh water?”
“Yes. Like… water that is fresh.”
The waiter hesitated.
“Sir, all our dishes are prepared with purified water.”
Nate pointed at the menu.
“Then what’s spring water soup?”
The waiter froze.
“…It’s a specialty dish, sir.”
Nate squinted.
“So… what’s the difference between that and normal water soup?”
Silence.
The waiter looked like he was mentally quitting his job.
Derrick spoke calmly.
“We’ll have the Grand Royal set.”
The waiter almost collapsed in relief.
“Yes, sir.”
He left quickly.
---
Nate leaned back slightly.
“So all those fancy names were just… soup, pasta, steak, and salad?”
Derrick tilted his head.
“That is one way to interpret it.”
Nate stared at him.
“I prefer normal words.”
Derrick gave a small exhale.
“I noticed.”
Nate picked up his fork.
“I don’t care anymore.”
Derrick’s lips twitched slightly.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
---
The food arrived.
Too many plates.
Too arranged.
Everything looked expensive in a way that felt unnecessary.
Nate immediately started eating.
Without ceremony.
Without hesitation.
Derrick watched him for a moment.
Then noticed it.
The steak.
Nate was struggling slightly with the cutlery.
Not dramatically.
Just… unfamiliar.
Derrick’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“You grew up with a Carter household, correct?”
Nate paused.
“…Yes.”
Derrick tilted his head.
“Then explain this.”
Nate frowned.
“Explain what.”
Derrick gestured slightly.
“How you don’t know how to use cutlery properly.”
That hit.
Silence.
Nate stared at him.
Then slowly put the fork down.
“…Are you insulting me?”
Derrick didn’t answer immediately.
“I’m observing.”
“That’s worse.”
Nate stood up.
Chair scraping slightly.
Derrick watched him silently.
Nate walked away.
Straight to the sink area.
Washed his hands.
And came back.
Completely calm.
Completely unbothered.
Then picked up his steak.
And ate it with his hands.
Derrick froze.
Damian, from the distance, paused mid-glance.
Daniel almost choked on air.
Nate chewed once.
Looked at Derrick.
“…Problem?”
Derrick stared.
Long.
Quiet.
Then looked away slightly.
“…No.”
But something in his expression had shifted.
Not annoyance.
Not confusion.
Something worse.
Interest.
Quiet.
Uninvited.
Dangerous.
Nate continued eating like nothing happened.
Derrick, for the first time that evening, didn’t immediately know what to say.
And that unsettled him more than anything else so far.
Damian stood beside Daniel’s table, eyes flicking once to the phone Daniel had just set down.
Two photos.
Derrick.
Nate.
Taken without warning.
Damian’s jaw tightened slightly.
Daniel, completely unaware of the temperature shift in the air, kept talking like silence was his enemy.
“And then I told him, right, I said—if you’re going to book a place like this, at least pretend like normal humans eat here—”
“Do you usually talk this much?”
Daniel paused mid-sentence.
Blinked.
Looked up at Damian.
“…What?”
Damian didn’t move.
Didn’t soften his expression.
Just repeated it, slower this time.
“Do you usually talk this much?”
Daniel leaned back slightly in his chair.
“Oh. So you’re one of those quiet scary types.”
Damian’s eyes narrowed a fraction.
“I am asking a question.”
Daniel grinned.
“Then yes. I do.”
A pause.
Then Daniel added, leaning forward slightly like he was sharing a secret:
“And no, I’m not stopping.”
Damian exhaled quietly through his nose.
It wasn’t quite a sigh.
It was resignation.
He glanced briefly toward Derrick’s table.
Derrick had not spoken since Nate picked up the steak with his hands.
That alone was… unusual.
Derrick was still looking at Nate.
Not staring.
Not glaring.
Just watching.
Like he was trying to understand a language he had never learned before.
Damian looked away first.
---
At the table, Nate finally placed the steak down.
Clean.
Finished.
Unbothered.
As if eating with his hands in a high-end restaurant was the most normal thing in the world.
Derrick slowly leaned back in his chair.
“…Interesting.”
Nate looked up.
“What is.”
Derrick didn’t answer immediately.
Then said:
“Nothing.”
That made Nate’s eyes narrow slightly.
“You keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking like you’re thinking something you don’t want to say.”
Derrick’s gaze flickered for half a second.
Then returned to neutral.
“I am not thinking anything.”
Nate snorted softly.
“Sure.”
A pause settled again.
This time less sharp.
More… stretched.
Like neither of them knew where to place their attention.
---
Across the room, Daniel was now fully comfortable.
Too comfortable.
“So,” he said, pointing slightly toward Nate’s table, “you always just stand there like a very serious bodyguard or is this a special occasion?”
Damian didn’t look at him.
“I am not a bodyguard.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
Silence.
Daniel leaned forward again.
“You know, you look like someone who doesn’t sleep.”
Damian finally glanced at him.
“I sleep.”
“Lies.”
Damian said nothing.
Daniel smiled to himself like he had won something.
Then he leaned back, stretching his arms.
“Anyway, your boss is staring.”
Damian’s eyes shifted immediately.
Derrick was standing.
---
Nate noticed it too.
The movement.
Subtle.
Controlled.
But final.
Derrick adjusted his jacket once, then looked at Nate.
“We are leaving.”
Nate frowned.
“I’m not done.”
“You are.”
“That’s not how eating works.”
Derrick didn’t respond to that.
Just walked slightly closer.
“I will take you home.”
Nate blinked once.
“…No.”
A pause.
Derrick tilted his head slightly.
“No?”
“I have my own way home.”
Derrick’s gaze didn’t change.
“I am aware.”
Nate crossed his arms.
“Then why are you insisting?”
Derrick looked at him for a moment.
Long enough that the question felt unnecessary after it.
Then:
“Because it is late.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is for me.”
Nate opened his mouth.
Closed it again.
He didn’t like that answer.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it was final.
Behind them, Daniel had already stood up.
“Yo, I’m coming too,” he said casually.
Nate turned.
“No, you’re not.”
Daniel pointed at himself.
“I came with you.”
“You came to be annoying.”
“Same thing.”
Damian, without asking, stepped beside Daniel.
“You are also leaving.”
Daniel raised a brow.
“Oh? Am I being escorted now?”
“Yes.”
Daniel smiled brightly.
“I like this system.”
---
Outside, the night air was colder than the restaurant lighting made it feel.
A car was already waiting.
Too expensive.
Too quiet.
Nate stopped at the entrance.
“I said I don’t need a ride.”
Derrick stood beside him.
“You are getting one.”
Nate turned his head slightly.
“That’s not how consent works.”
Derrick looked at him.
Expression steady.
“I am not asking for consent.”
That made the air shift slightly.
Daniel coughed lightly behind them.
“…Okay, that sounded worse than it needed to.”
Damian didn’t react.
Nate stared at Derrick for a moment longer.
Then exhaled through his nose.
“…You are unbelievable.”
Derrick didn’t deny it.
Just opened the car door.
Nate didn’t move.
Daniel leaned in slightly.
“Just get in the car, Nate. Before this turns into some rich people kidnapping documentary.”
Nate shot him a look.
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
Another pause.
Nate finally clicked his tongue.
And got in.
Derrick followed after him.
Daniel started to follow too.
Damian stopped him.
“You are not sitting there.”
Daniel paused.
“Why not?”
Damian looked at him.
“You talk too much.”
Daniel smiled.
“Ah. So you’ve noticed.”
Damian closed the door on him before he could continue.
Daniel laughed outside.
“See you in the emotional damage era!”
---
Inside the car, silence returned immediately.
But it was different now.
Smaller.
Contained.
Nate stared out the window.
Derrick sat beside him, perfectly still.
Daniel’s voice was muffled outside as the car began to move.
And for the first time that night, neither Nate nor Derrick spoke.
Not because there was nothing to say.
But because something had already started shifting.
Quietly.
Without permission.
And neither of them had decided yet what to do about it.
- Writer
