~Dan~
I sat there on the couch after Mom dropped that whole "go win him back" speech, still feeling like absolute garbage, my eyes all puffy and my throat raw from the crying, when she suddenly clapped her hands together like we were starting some kind of military operation instead of me trying to fix the biggest screw-up of my life. And in the next second she was in front of my door. "Mom what are you doing here? " I asked. "Nice to see you too baby." she smiled.
"Alright, enough wallowing, Daniel. Up. Shower. Now. You smell like whiskey." She was already moving, grabbing my arm and hauling me toward the bathroom even though I tried to drag my feet, muttering under my breath that I didn't need a damn babysitter, but she just laughed that sharp little laugh of hers and said, "Too bad, you've got one whether you like it or not."
I stood under the hot water again like she ordered, letting it beat on my shoulders while she banged around out in the apartment, and when I finally came out in fresh sweats she had the place halfway decent already dishes done, counters wiped, the fridge note from Sky still stuck there with that gun magnet but now the whole kitchen didn't look like a crime scene anymore. "You didn't have to do all this," I said, running a hand through my wet hair, but she waved me off and shoved a clean shirt at me. "I did. You look like hell and the apartment looked worse. Sit down, I'm making eggs or something. You're eating. And then we're figuring out how you're going to grovel to that poor boy without sounding like a complete idiot."
We were in the middle of her forcing toast down my throat, me chewing while she kept firing questions at me about what I was actually going to say to Sky when the doorbell rang. Mom froze mid-sentence, eyebrow up, and I groaned because I knew exactly who it was. Lena. Of course. She'd probably heard from Jax or somebody and decided to play hero. "Don't answer it," I muttered, but Mom was already heading for the door with this tight little smile that meant trouble. "Oh, we're answering it. Might as well get the awkward over with."
Lena burst in like she owned the place, all big eyes and concerned voice, carrying a paper bag that smelled like takeout from that Thai place we both liked. "Dan, oh my God, I came as soon as I heard, Jax, you've not been coming to work knowing how hard the case was so we all figured out something was wrong so he left and I just.. hi, Ma'am , it's so good to see you again." She was laying it on thick, smiling way too hard at Mom, who just stood there with her arms crossed, nodding once like she was granting an audience to the queen. "Lena. How nice. You brought food. How thoughtful."
I could already feel the tension crackling, because Mom had never liked Lena, not from the first time they met years ago, and I knew exactly why even if I never said it out loud. Mom had this whole thing she'd been obsessed with those BL stories for ages, the ones with the guys and the drama and the slow burns, and she'd made it her personal mission to push me toward guys the second she found out about them. "Finally someone with some taste," she'd said once on the phone, cackling like it was the funniest thing ever. Lena, in Mom's eyes, was just the straight-girl detour I kept taking when I got scared. And Lena knew something was up but she kept trying anyway, bless her clueless heart.
We ended up at the table because Mom insisted we eat the Thai food together like some kind of civilized family dinner, even though it was barely past breakfast time and I still felt like throwing up. Lena sat right next to me, her knee bumping mine under the table on purpose, and kept passing me containers with this soft little smile. "You need to eat, Dan. You look like you haven't slept. Here, the pad see ew is your favorite, right? Extra spice just how you like it." Mom sat across from us, poking at her food with chopsticks, and every time Lena said something nice Mom would make this tiny noise in her throat that wasn't quite a laugh but definitely wasn't approval.
"So, Lena," Mom said after a minute, all sweet but with that edge, "how's work? Still chasing bad guys with my son? Must be exciting, all that danger and close quarters." She dragged out the words close quarters like they tasted bad. Lena lit up, missing the sarcasm completely, and launched into this whole story about a recent bust. She knew better than to talk about the dollmaker case, she was now laughing too loud and touching my arm every few seconds. "Yeah, it's been crazy, but Dan's the best partner well, you know what I mean. He always has my back." I tried to jump in with "It's not like that anymore," but Mom talked right over me, smiling that fake smile. "Oh, I'm sure he does. Daniel's very good at protecting people. Sometimes a little too good, if you ask me."
I kicked Mom under the table but she just raised an eyebrow at me and kept going. "Tell me, Lena, do you read much? I've gotten into these wonderful stories lately. Different BLs I like: The Tyrant's Secret Fetish, Revenged love, Pregnant for the straight CEO, ABO desire, To my shore, Journey to killing you, The untamed, Me and thee, And bad buddy omg my favorite, it's available as a series too, and a lot more but I'd not love to bore you out with it, there's lots of tension, misunderstandings, then they finally figure it out and it's just beautiful."
Lena blinked, confused but still trying so hard. "Oh, like romance novels? I love romance! What kind?" Mom's eyes flicked to me for half a second, full of mischief. "The kind where the boy finally stops being stubborn and goes after the right person instead of settling for whatever's easy and safe."