Jay Hypno Writer

Read from the beginning of this serialized novel at “Resolutions.”

The kitchen counters were already gleaming when Graham began wiping them for the third time. The vacuumed carpets still showed orderly, parallel lines without tread marks from socked feet. Not a speck of dust had had time to settle on the baseboards. Still, Graham couldn’t sit still. Max’s suggestion—no, Max’s assignment—to begin dinner prep echoed in the back of his mind. Tobias would be home in under two hours, and his calendar noted their shared evening meal: Quality Bonding. Despite, or perhaps because of, another emotional roller coaster of a day, Graham had been looking forward to dinner with his husband. 

He opened the fridge and stared into its sterile glow. The ingredients sat there like foreign objects—chicken breasts, leafy greens, and trimmed root vegetables. It wasn’t just that Graham didn’t know what to make. He didn’t know what to feel. 

Tobias emerged from the bedroom just after seven on Saturday morning, fastening the final button on the jacket of one of his new suits. The garment was impossibly sharp—dark gray with broad shoulders, a tapered waist, and a subtle sheen that made him appear slightly more angular, more authoritative, and more defined. 

Still in pajama bottoms and a soft old sweatshirt, Graham paused mid sip of his coffee. The sight of Tobias dressed like that—the clean lines, the high collar, the quiet clink of cufflinks—hit him like a wave. He’d always been attracted to Tobias, but a different set of feelings stirred within him now. The suit made Tobias appear larger than life, and Graham, by comparison, smaller and meeker. Insignificant. Still reeling from Tobias’ dismissal and Max’s muddling of his thoughts the day before, Graham averted his eyes, lest his husband’s inexplicable new magnetism confuse him further. 

Read from the beginning of this serialized novel at “Resolutions.”

Friday morning arrived with a soft, mechanical hum. The Shields buzzed lightly before sunrise, prompting Tobias and Graham to wake at precisely 6 a.m., no alarm necessary. 

Max, already active in the kitchen, greeted them with their prepared schedules for the day. Tobias barely glanced at his before nodding, arms already sliding into his pressed shirt. Still adjusting to the upgraded Shield’s constant presence, Graham blinked sleepily at the charted blocks of time displayed on the tablet screen. 

Read from the beginning of this serialized novel at “Resolutions.”

Graham stirred a teaspoon of sugar into his coffee, only half listening to the steady buzz of the morning news wafting in from the living room TV. The usual lineup of economic updates and global affairs blurred, one into the next until a breaking news sting interrupted the broadcast. Graham turned toward the TV, watching over the rim of his coffee mug. A red banner crept across the bottom of the screen: “BREAKING: Arcturus Innovations Announces Historic Merger.” 

The anchor, a neatly dressed older man with military posture and crisp delivery, spoke directly into the camera. 

Read from the beginning of this serialized novel at “Resolutions.”

The hum of conversation ebbed and flowed across the hall, punctuated by laughter and the clinking of glasses. Tobias stood among the suited men, his posture increasingly relaxed and confident. At the same time, Graham lingered at the edges of the crowd, his unease growing with each passing moment. With every step he took, the event felt more like a performance, the camaraderie between the men polished and hollow, their smiles too sharp to be genuine. 

“Tobias, Graham,” Max said, stepping forward, its glowing eyes fixed on them. “To further reinforce alignment and harmony, I recommend a public display of partnership. A shared gesture will signal your unified commitment to progress.”