By Zephyria 
No more.
Grayson knew it instinctively. If he crossed the line any further, Dane would immediately recoil. Their relationship might even be damaged beyond repair.
But even so, Grayson couldn’t back down easily. If he gave up here, he would never know Dane. What the man was hiding, what kind of past was buried inside him. Grayson wanted to know. Even at the cost of his own life.
“Dane.”
This time, Grayson softened his tone as he called his name.
“We’re lovers, we shouldn’t have any secrets from each other. Until now, I haven’t heard anything about you. How many family members you have, what your childhood was like, I don’t even know what kind of donuts you like. Does that make sense? Lovers share everything, even the trivial things.”
His words were somewhat true. Most people build relationships that way. But there was a trap in the word ‘most’.
Dane slowly rose to his feet. As he straightened his back, his eye level was much higher than before.
“I don’t have any, you moron. Neither you nor anyone else in the world has the right to know.”
Dane spat out through gritted teeth. Grayson should have stopped there. His instincts were clearly telling him to. It wasn’t even that difficult. He just had to shut his mouth.
But unfortunately, Grayson didn’t stop.
“Dane, you keep trying to push me away. That’s not right, it would be better for you to tell me everything…”
“Shut up!”
Dane shouted. Grayson was jolted awake by the sudden outburst. As he blinked in surprise, Dane continued to yell at him.
“Don’t force me, I don’t want to interact with anyone! Just because I accepted you for a little while doesn’t mean you should get the wrong idea, don’t cross the line without permission! You fucking bastard!”
“Dane, I…”
“You’re being presumptuous!”
Grayson tried to say something, but Dane didn’t stop.
“Someone like you is nothing in my life, less than dust! And yet you dare to what? Tell me to tell you everything? You need to know about me? Who do you think you are! You crazy bastard!”
“Dane, don’t be like this… I can help you with anything…”
“Help? What? How? How can you help me?”
A vein popped out on Dane’s neck. He was genuinely angry. It was the first time he had seen him so furious. He had to calm Dane down. What Dane wanted, what he could help with. Grayson’s mind raced.
“Shall I kill the man?”
“What?”
Dane paused for a moment. Seeing his bewildered expression, Grayson continued to pour out words eagerly.
“You wanted to kill the man, didn’t you? I can kill him for you. Should I do it right now? How about it? Would that be okay?”
Dane was speechless for a moment. What the hell is this bastard babbling about…
Grayson misinterpreted his silence. He quickly continued.
“I’ll do it, Dane. How should I kill him? Tell me any method you want, any way is fine. Would that be okay? Then I’ll be qualified to be your lover, right? Huh? We’re lovers, right?”
Grayson kept repeating the same words as if urging him on. The more he did, the more the color drained from Dane’s face. Grayson, who had been speaking urgently and hopefully, felt that his reaction was not good.
Is this not it? Why isn’t he happy? Is this not what Dane wanted? Then what should I do? How?
“Crazy…”
Dane muttered after a long time. His pale face was filled with contempt and disgust mixed with anger. It was the very face that Ashley Miller had worn when looking at Grayson.
Ah.
Only then did Grayson realize that he had made a mistake. Dane didn’t say anything more and turned away from his face, which was quickly turning pale.
“Dane!”
Grayson belatedly called his name and rushed after him. It wasn’t difficult to grab Dane. He quickly grabbed his arm, but he hesitated when he saw Dane’s angry face. But even so, he couldn’t let go. If he loosened his grip, Dane would turn around and leave forever.
“Th, then what should I do?”
His breath quickened with anxiety. He tried to smile as usual, but he couldn’t get the corners of his mouth to turn up. He struggled to pull up his stiff lips and continued.
“We’re lovers. I can help you with anything. Tell me, I’ll do anything. Please, Dane. I was wrong, Dane!”
His trembling voice gradually grew louder. But the only answer he got was one word.
“Let go.”
Grayson froze at his cold face. Dane mercilessly shook off his hand and spat out through gritted teeth.
“You’re really tiresome.”
His face was full of hostility. Grayson thought, ah. Dane’s tone and expression had returned to when they first met. Suddenly, he felt a chill as if all the blood was draining from his body.
“Dane.”
Grayson called his name again, but that was the limit. He couldn’t move even as he watched Dane turn away. He couldn’t even retract his hand, which was hanging in the air, and just stared at his receding figure.
I barely made it this far.
He barely managed to recall in his empty mind. Is he going back to square one again?
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. The sun was still hot, but he felt cold under the pouring western sunlight.
Why did I say that? What effect did it have?
In the end, he only made Dane’s defenses thicker. Now Dane would be even less likely to talk to him. Then, if so.
What will happen to us now?
Grayson stood there blankly, his face pale.
Desire Me if you can
I’m sorry, Dane. I was wrong.
Dane, let’s talk.
What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything, so please talk to me.
Dane, at least read my messages.
Dane…….
Grayson sighed deeply as he looked at the piled-up messages. The number in front of the message showed no sign of disappearing. He used to at least read the messages, but now it seemed he didn’t even open them. He didn’t even send the dots one by one anymore.
Since then, Dane had treated Grayson as if he didn’t exist. He would just pass by even if he spoke to him, he would shake him off if he grabbed him, and he would often not even be at the fire station, saying he was going to training or being dispatched to other areas. It was clear that Dane was deliberately avoiding him.
“You’ve been very enthusiastic lately. Good, that attitude is very good.”
Station Chief was excited and patted Dane’s arm with satisfaction, but the more he did, the more Grayson’s mood sank to the bottom. Dane, who hated troublesome things and often ran away from work as much as possible, was volunteering to take on tasks, which meant that he hated Grayson more than the ‘work’ he hated so much.
What should I do?
Grayson covered his face with one hand and sighed deeply. He couldn’t think of a solution at all. If killing someone would make Dane’s heart turn around, he would have done it without hesitation. But when he recalled the expression Dane had made when he said that, it was something he should never do.
Then what else should I do?
He bought Darling’s belongings and left them in front of his room, but they were returned to Grayson’s room the next day. Grayson realized then that Dane only showed his snobbishness to someone who had opened his heart to some extent.
The only reason Dane wasn’t leaving Grayson’s mansion was probably because of the damn promise. He should be grateful that he was filling the three months anyway. It bought him time, but he couldn’t think of a solution at all. It was then that he sighed deeply again.
A loud siren rang and the waiting staff rushed out. Seeing Dane among them, Grayson immediately followed.
“Hey, what?”
He pushed the guy who was about to get in the car and got in, and the other guy blinked in disbelief and headed to another car with a tsk. Grayson didn’t care and closed the door. Dane was inside the car. It was the first time they had been in such a small space together since that day. Grayson’s Pheromone scent became stronger due to his nervousness, but Dane only looked out the window and didn’t react at all. The car sped towards the scene with Grayson’s heart burning.
119 – 119
The fire scene was no different from what he had seen so far. Firefighters who got out of the truck at the sight of the soaring flames dispersed to find their own tasks with practiced efficiency.
Grayson quickly looked around, and seeing Dane gathering his equipment, he hurried over.
“Dane, what should I do?”
He spoke, expecting Dane to tell him what to do as he had last time, but Dane didn’t even look at him, let alone answer. Grayson could only stare blankly at Dane’s back as he turned away, an axe in one hand and a helmet in the other.
DeAndre, who had been watching them from a distance, frowned and spoke.
“What’s going on? Did those guys have a fight or something?”
Ezra glanced at them at those words, but soon returned to his own work.
“This isn’t the time to be worrying about that.”
“Oh? Oh… yeah, you’re right.”
DeAndre was embarrassed by Ezra’s unusually cold tone and hurriedly helped him with his work. But even so, an unsettling feeling remained in his heart.
Everyone at the scene had witnessed Dane’s rage last time. There had been several inspections and even the police had come. The reporters were thrilled and churned out garbage articles, and public opinion had also deteriorated. But the situation quickly turned around. It turned out that the man who had been assaulted had actually killed his wife, abandoned her body, and abused his child to death, then set fire to the house to conceal his crime.
The reason he hadn’t abandoned the child’s body was because, unlike his adult wife, the child was not old enough to leave the house on their own. He had been forced to set the fire out of a sense of crisis that neighbors would find it strange if the child suddenly disappeared. He had tried to make it look like the child had started the fire while playing with fire while he was at work, but the world was not as easy as he thought.
Once that fact was revealed, people changed their tune and showered Dane with praise, saying things like, “As expected of a firefighter, a fist of justice,” “He should have killed him back then, he’s too kind because he’s a firefighter,” “This deserves a commendation. Give our hero an award.” Thanks to this, the inspection and investigation were glossed over, and as a result, it was as if nothing had happened. However, Station Chief could not simply bury the matter.
“We need to control Dane so that something like that doesn’t happen again.”
The words of caution he gave to Wilkins spread to the other staff through him. Everyone was secretly nervous that Dane might do something dangerous again. Because of this, they were taking turns watching him, and as a result, his relationship with Grayson naturally came into view.
DeAndre, who was once again bewildered and looked back and forth between the two, hurriedly turned his attention back at Ezra’s urging.
They made such a fuss about dating or whatever, what the heck happened?
Because he usually didn’t have good feelings for Grayson, he might have welcomed this situation, but Dane’s mood was also bad, so he felt uncomfortable. He was also starting to feel some remorse for having treated Grayson Miller too harshly, so he couldn’t help but have more thoughts.
He sighed and quickly composed himself and focused on the task at hand. This is a fire scene. If you’re careless, an accident could happen.
Yes, just like right now.
“DeAndre, get out of the way…!”
Someone shouted. Soon after, DeAndre saw a large tree falling towards him and simply stopped moving.
Desire Me if you can
What to do.
Grayson’s insides were burning with anxiety. No matter what he said or did, Dane wouldn’t look at him. Is this the end of everything? Why did I go so far back then? What confidence did I have?
The distance to Dane, who he thought he had gotten somewhat close to, had become even further than when he first met him. It may be irreversible now. If that happens, if everything ends like this.
What will happen to me?
The thought alone made his head spin. This was different from the feeling of ‘scared’. This unfamiliar feeling was similar to the feeling of the ground collapsing beneath his feet and falling endlessly to the bottom. His fingertips tingled and he clenched and unclenched his fists several times.
How, how can I.
It was at that moment. He saw a large tree falling towards someone.
Grayson couldn’t tell who it was. All he knew for sure was that it wasn’t Dane. But at that moment, a glimmer of hope flashed through his mind. Just like he had saved Dane’s cat someday, if I save someone again…!
“Miller, watch out!”
He heard a desperate shout. But Grayson had already lunged towards him.
It was not an altruistic act at all. It was far from saving someone or risking his life to save others. It was solely to regain Dane’s heart, only for that.
Hoping that Dane might look at him again if he did this.
Rumbling, a thunderous sound echoed all around. The burning tree narrowly brushed Grayson’s body and hit the ground. DeAndre was pale and trembling, his eyes wide with shock. He couldn’t believe it. Miller saved me? Grayson Miller, really?
“Miller! DeAndre!”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Oh my god, what is going on…”
Colleagues who had rushed over from all directions were talking frantically. But DeAndre was still in shock. He was immensely shocked by the two facts that he could have been crushed to death by a burning tree and that the person who saved his life was Grayson Miller.
Colleagues who forcibly pulled up DeAndre, who was still dazed and unable to speak, now showered Grayson with praise.
“Miller, that was amazing. You did something incredible!”
“I was wrong about you all this time. You really are one of us.”
“Miller, no, Grayson! You’re a hero. You’ve saved lives twice now…!”
He was praised lavishly from all directions, but not a word reached Grayson’s ears. The reason he risked his life was not to be swept away by such an atmosphere of praise. Only one thing, he wanted Dane to look at him, that was all.
Dane was not among the gathered people. He was not seen among those who patted Grayson on the shoulder and disappeared. Of course. He hadn’t even paid attention to Grayson in the first place. He was just mindlessly repeating the work he was given as if nothing had happened.
“Haa…”
Grayson let out a sigh that was close to a lament. He could see Dane standing far away and spraying water at the flames. Even though such a big commotion had occurred, he didn’t even glance over. He was just indifferently repeating the work he was given as if nothing had happened.
Grayson finally realized the true nature of the emotion he was feeling.
Desire Me if you can
“Good work, Dane.”
“Goodbye, everyone worked hard today.”
After giving the standard greetings, Dane left the locker room and headed to the parking lot. He habitually moved his feet, when he suddenly saw someone standing next to his car. There was no need to check. There could only be one man that tall in this area.
Tsk, Dane clicked his tongue silently and took out his car key and pressed the button. The car’s headlights flashed briefly with a short signal sound.
“Dane.”
He opened his mouth to Dane, who was about to pass him and open the door. And Grayson Miller repeated the words he had been sick of saying over and over again.
“I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
Dane sat in the driver’s seat without any reaction. He was about to close the door when Grayson suddenly said something unexpected.
“I know you’ll never love me.”
Dane paused for a moment. When he raised his eyes, Grayson smiled, raising the corners of his mouth as he had always done.
“Is this despair?”
He didn’t ask what it felt like. A man who was happy even with the emotion of despair. Dane silently looked up at him, then quietly closed the car door. And soon the car left the parking lot and entered the road. Leaving Grayson, who was standing still as if he would be there forever, Dane quickly drove away.