Page 96 of Under Construction

She sips her tea while Dennis watches his noodles go cold, thinking about Chris's pride when he talked about Dennis’s vision. About how naturally he'd charmed Dennis’s mother. About all the ways this could get complicated.

Well, evenmorecomplicated.

What about Chris?

The thing is, Chris didn't sign up for complicated. They're just convenient, Dennis reminds himself for the millionth time. Just...

His phone buzzes.

WhataboutChris?

He taps on the new message.

Your mom's amazing. Like mother like son.

What aboutChris?

Dennis stares at the message, heart feeling a bit too full despite himself.

Then again, maybe his mother's right—maybe some complications are worth risking everything for.

28Home Is Where The Heart Is

The monthly dinner at the Kim estate passes like it always does—chef's tasting menu in crystal and silver, familiar arguments bouncing off marble walls.

Usually, Dennis excels at mentally checking out during these performances, but tonight his mind wanders somewhere new, for entirely different reasons:

What's Chris doing with his free evening?

Dennis kinda, sorta, maybe misses Chris. Purely out of habit, of course.

But… Does Chris miss Dennis? At all? Even a little bit?

Dennis wants to scroll through their old messages, hunting for proof that Chris thinks about him too, but...

Maybe Chris is grateful for the break?

They do spend most hours together which must be boring for him, mustn't it?

Dennis sighs, chin propped in his palm while he pushes perfectly seared scallops around his plate, creating abstract patterns in the saffron sauce as his father's voice rises about sustainable materials driving up costs and his mother’s pierces through it, declaring that innovation requires investment.

It's just one dinner each month and a few hours apart, but Dennis’s thoughts keep drifting to Chris's apartment.

To comfortable silences, to the warmth of Chris's chest against his back, to shared takeout containers and terrible jokes.

When dinner ends, Dennis is in high spirits.

Finally! He can't wait to get out of here.

As he shrugs into his jacket, one foot already out the door, his mother suggests he stay the night.

"It would be so lovely to have breakfast together as a family, wouldn't it?" She links her arm through her husband's, smiling up at him with a warmth that contradicts their dinner table hostilities.

His father makes no move to pull away, shoulders loosening as he nods curtly. "You're never around these days."

Dennis’s heart sinks. He'd been hoping to slip away early, maybe end up at Chris's place—his favorite escape. The massive estate suddenly feels suffocating compared to Chris's worn-in space.

Compared to anywhere with Chris in it.

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