The man frowned slightly but said nothing more.
"Focus," he muttered instead. "Everything has to run smoothly today."
"Of course," Henry replied gently.
He watched the man walk away before letting the smile fade.
Lost in his own head.
That was the safest explanation. L
It always worked.
In truth, Henry was replaying Lance's voice again.
Whatever dominance you're trying to exert won't work on me.
The phrasing irritated him.
Not because Lance had said it.
Because Lance believed it.
Henry adjusted his cuff slowly.
"You think I need to dominate you loudly?" he murmured under his breath. "You've always been easier than that."
He did not need to shout.
He did not need to threaten.
Lance had always responded to subtler things.
Silence.
Withdrawal.
Disappointment.
The suggestion that he was ungrateful.
Henry had built himself into Lance's emotional framework piece by piece.
The one who understood him.
The one who stayed up late listening.
