The thought of being invited to the Imperial Ball on her own merit drove her through her waking days. Even during the night, Anya dreamed of the day that she could finally get her final Stella Star, so she could prove herself to her father, so she could finish Operation Strix without putting it all on Damian's shoulders, without having to feeling guilty about the unwitting part he would play in his own father's demise.

Anya had practically forced her parents out of the house with Bond so that she could get some peace and quiet.

"I've never seen you want to study this badly before," Loid said, surprised. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Anya huffed, her face red from the effort of pushing both of her parents out of the door. God, they were heavy. "Your thoughts are too loud! Go away and give me peace!"

"Fine, fine, we're going!" knowing that he was defeated, Loid grabbed Yor's hand, and together they descended the stairs with Bond on his lead. "We'll be a few hours!"

Anya practically slammed the door shut behind them, and raced to the dining table, where she had set up all of her books and her materials she needed.

The way she saw it, she had two main pathways of becoming an Imperial Scholar. One: taking part in the inter-school tournament that Coach Bobby had convinced her to sign up for, and winning. Two: surpassing Damian in the last Biology exam before the end of the year. They usually had at least a few exams before Christmas, and Anya was determined to beat Damian in at least one of them.

She tried not to think about the irony of beating him in order to try to protect him, but Anya was practised in not thinking about difficult things.

Barely even thirty minutes into her solo study session, Anya was completely stuck on an example essay question. She took turns chewing her lips and her pencil, even using the sharp end of the pencil to scratch the back of her head, before she had come to an awful conclusion.

She was going to need help.

Anya didn't even register that she had reached for her phone, and had started to call Damian's number.

"Damn it!" she groaned at herself and quickly pressed 'end call'. It was a bad idea. She couldn't disturb him on another Saturday, he was probably busy studying too and she was just being a nuisance and she was only going to hurt him -

His name flashed up on her screen and Anya nearly threw the vibrating phone from her hand in shock.

"H-hey," she said, desperately hoping that Damian wouldn't pick up on her guilt from his dorm room.

"Hey," said Damian on the other end of the line, and Anya melted at the sound of his voice. "I saw that you tried to call me. Is everything okay?"

"Yep! Totally fine!" Anya exclaimed in a high voice. "I don't need anything at all, haha, silly me! Anyway, I'd better go-"

"Anya," Damian's voice cut across her feeble protests. "What is it?"

Anya groaned. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you…"

"You're not bothering me."

Anya's heart stuttered. How on earth did Damian sound so cool these days? How did he know exactly what to say to reassure her? How did he make her heartbeat flutter with just the sound of his voice?

"I'm… stuck," she admitted, and the confession wrenched in her chest. It was ironic that she needed Damian's help to beat him in a test to protect him from being a part of Plan B. The mental gymnastics were getting harder and harder to negotiate, and Anya sensed that she was close to her limits.

On the other end, Damian sighed. "Alright, where are you? I can send Hugh to come and get you-"

"No, no, I'm not lost! I'm stuck on a biology question."

"Oh!" and despite everything, he exhaled in relief. "That's fine then. I'm studying too. What are you stuck on?"

Of course he was studying too. Anya resigned herself to the situation.

"The bit about action potentials in nerve cells…"

Anya didn't plan to study with Damian over the phone. It just sort of … happened.

And the worst bit was, it was lovely.

It felt nice being able to do some work in the silence of the apartment, while at the same time knowing that she wasn't truly alone, and if she had a question, she could just ask it into the air, knowing that he heard her, and that he would try to help her find the right answer.

Over the course of the next two hours, they talked, studied, discussed their projects, and even managed to work some parts in silence, but, as expected, some parts of the silence were too comfortable. Anya's eyes drooped slowly, and she slowly rested her head on her hand, but it wasn't enough to keep her upright. The sound of Damian's pencil scritching across paper carried through over the phone, and it was like he was right there with her. She always thought it was a soothing sound.

Surely it would be fine to lay her head on her arms, just to rest…

"Hey!" his voice came through the phone. "Was that a snore I heard? Are you sleeping?"

Anya's quiet breath carried into the microphone as she dozed, and Damian sighed.

"Honestly," he tutted, and the phone line clicked off.

There was a gentle clunk in front of her face, and Anya woke to the delightful smell of hot chocolate and coffee. She blinked her eyes open, before giving a huge stretch, and a yawn. Anya rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and looked down at the scene before her.

Her phone was no longer on a call to Damian, so he must have hung up once he realised that she had fallen asleep. Books and papers covered the table, half of them hers, and there were two mugs sending delicious steam into the air. Anya guessed that the one in front of her was the hot chocolate, while the other one must have been the coffee.

Thanks papa, Anya thought through her fogged-up brain, and she took a grateful sip. Her parents knew that she wanted to work hard, and it was nice of them to support her quietly.

The sound of water running stopped, and Anya distantly realised that there must have been someone washing up in the kitchen.

"Papa?" She called out. "Are you doing paperwork with me again?"

Damian came round the corner holding a cup of water, and one eyebrow raised. "I'm not sure how I feel about you calling me that."

Anya flushed, and suddenly she was wide awake. "Damian! What are you doing here?"

"Studying with you," he said flatly, like it was obvious. "You need someone to prod you if you fall asleep again, and I think I fit the job description."

She stuck her tongue out at him, before taking a cursory glance around the flat. "Are my parents back? How long have I been asleep?"

"Relax," Damian said calmly, and he slowly made his way over to the table, where he seated himself opposite her. "It's only been about half an hour. I got Hugh to drive me here once I realised you had fallen asleep. I didn't realise your parents would be out, but one of your neighbours let me in at the front door."

Anya nodded to herself, letting it all make sense in her mind, then after a moment, she realised what she was supposed to say. "Th-thank you," she managed. "I really did want to study, I guess I just got too comfortable…"

Damian shrugged, but pink tinged his cheeks. He cleared his throat.

"Right. Well. We'd better get started if you want to get ahead of the learning material."

Anya leaned against her hand as she appraised him warmly. "Who knew my boyfriend could be so serious and sweet."

"Anya…" he groaned at her.

"Sorry, sorry," Anya laughed. "But… are you sure I won't just distract you?"

"We've studied together before," said Damian firmly, but his slowly reddening face betrayed him. "So it's not like it's… a new experience… for me… to come here…" his voice trailed off, and Anya had a good idea of what he was remembering.

"The last time you were here, we had our first kiss," Anya teased him, wanting to see the look on his face.

And it was worth it. Damian hid his face behind his hands. "Don't remind me! You pounced on me!"

"You were the one on top of me! You practically leapt on me!" she teased.

"It was your idea!"

"Well," Anya mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. "It's not my fault you were so handsome and sparkly…"

"Anya!" Damian tried to glare at her, but he couldn't keep up the expression, and he sighed into the chair wearily. Anya didn't miss that the corner of his mouth twitched with the smile that he was no doubt holding back.

Anya giggled and reached across the table for his hand, which he let her take, folding his fingers through hers. His hand still held the residual heat of the comforting drinks he made for them. "My handsome boyfriend," she grinned at him.

She saw it then.

His real smile.

Gentle and sincere, it was a rare jewel that he didn't show very often, which made it all the more precious. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to see it. Like an astronomer discovering a new star.

"The truth is," Damian sighed. "I actually study better when I can see you."

Anya softened her eyes on him. "I find that hard to believe."

"It's true," Damian said quietly, avoiding eye contact with her, and his ears reddened. "Be-because, I'll just end up thinking about you anyway, so this way… I don't have to worry."

Anya swallowed, her throat too tight for words. She stared at Damian, her lips parted in tender surprise, and the warmth of the sun bloomed through her.

"Then I'll try not to distract you anymore." She gave his hand a final squeeze, and went back to her books, and Damian soon followed.

They talked less than when they were on the phone together, but Damian was right about what he had said. She noticed that when he got very sucked into reading, or lost in thought, at times he would stiffen and glance towards her, as if he was checking to see if she was still there. Then once he was safely reassured, he would quickly return to studying, like nothing had happened.

She pretended not to see it, but each time, her skin tingled with a soft warmth.

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Enjoy the fluff (while you still can)