Author's notes:
Welcome to Chapter 2. Also known as Chapter 1 part 2. Enjoy.
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Filial
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Chapter 2
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"I don't understand what the big deal is" Anya says, as they step off of the elevator in their apartment building. The group starts to make their way down the hall to their home, keeping their pace slow so that Anya can keep up on her crutches.
"I don't understand how you don't understand that this is a big deal" Loid sighs.
"It's not like it's official official. This boy hasn't asked me yet." Anya jerks her head in the direction of Damian.
She turns to look at Damian, who has suddenly stopped. He has a look of utter determination on his face.
"Ah! No!" Anya reaches over and hits him over the head with a rolled up packet of after care instructions. "You are not proposing to me in a hallway while I'm on crutches in front of my parents."
"Ah. Uh. Yeah. I wasn't." Damian looks away, embarrassed.
"Uh huh." Anya keeps walking. "So as I was saying, Donovan said he would consider it, so we still have time to realize we're not meant to be."
Damian stops again and pales. Anya notices and turns around, waving her hand and mouthing the words 'not gonna happen' before walking again. Damian shakes his head and continues.
"This is all just so sudden, dear." Yor worries. "Day before yesterday you two weren't speaking, and now?"
"Well, a lot happened between then and now, mom."
"And you didn't think to at least talk to us about it first?" Loid fishes for his keys.
"It all happened so fast! I wasn't expecting to see his dad there, but he showed up and was about to leave again! If I didn't do it then I would have lost my chance."
They all walk into the apartment once Loid opens the door for them. Once inside, they all pause and look at the ground.
On the ground, likely there from being shoved through the mail slot in the door, was a large overstuffed manilla envelope.
"Mom? Dad? Did either of you order a book?" Anya asks as she makes her way into the apartment and heads for the living room couch.
"I didn't…" Loid picks up the envelope and looks at the address. "... It says it's from the Desmond estate."
Anya plops down on the couch. "Oh right! Duh. Forgot to tell you that too. Apparently there's an interview process and vetting." She fishes around in her bag and pulls out a business card, holding it out for Loid to take.
Loid and Yor look at each other, worried. They take the envelope and join Anya in the living room. Damian follows, and sits next to Anya as instructed by her patting the seat next to her.
"Anya, I'm just not sure that you understand. This affects all of us. Getting into a marriage like this isn't something you should just jump into on a whim."
Anya narrowed her eyes at Loid. "on a whim?"
She sits up straight and scoots to the edge of her seat. "I've been in love with this boy for longer than I can remember, since when did that become a problem?" Anya shifts in her seat, clearly getting agitated. "You two are a real piece of work, after all you did to try and make this happen in the first place. Don't think we didn't notice. All those times you forced us to interact or left us alone. And now you're all of a sudden taking issue when something comes of it?"
Loid starts to respond. "Anya it's not that we hav-"
Anya interrupts, pointing at Damian. "Do you like him?"
"... Of course we like Damian. That's not-"
"Do you have a problem with me wanting to be with him?"
"No of course not, but-"
"Then that's all we need to discuss! I'm not doing this on a whim. I've been trying to get over him for years and it never got anywhere. I think it's safe to say that even if we didn't end up together, there's no getting him out of my heart. It's always always always going to be him. And I'm not even going to touch the subject about him loving me, I think he's proved that at this point. I don't care what anyone else has to say about it, and I don't care how hard it's going to make my life to be with him. We love each other and want to be together, and no one is going to stop us. So don't you dare try to say I'm not thinking this through. Especially since you two did the exact same thing when you two got married."
Damian takes her hand and squeezes it reassuringly. Anya looks over at him and calms down a bit, smiling.
Loid and Yor look at each other. Yor shrugs, and Loid sighs.
"Alright Anya. You're right. You win." Anya has a smug look on her face as she tilts her chin up. "But we are going to have to talk about this vetting process. Your mother and I don't exactly have a clean past."
He opens up the envelope and pulls out a very large stack of papers, multiple colored tabs sticking out from different pages indicating signature boxes or items of note. At the bottom of the stack are three thick folders. Loid pulls them out and glances at the labels, then hands one to Anya. "I guess this one's for you."
Anya takes the folder while Loid and Yor look through the rest of the papers. She opens it up and sees multiple surveys and request forms. She pages through them.
After several minutes, she turns to Damian. "Did you know there was this much paperwork involved in dating you?"
Damian shrugs. "I didn't but I'm not surprised. They vet almost everyone I have continued contact with outside of classmates. Even my barber had to get a background check."
Anya holds up a sheet. "They're asking for my dental records. Why would they need those?"
"Maybe they just want to see if you'll give it to them?"
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It's well into the evening by the time they finish the packets. Damian fell asleep on Anya's shoulder at some point, not being able to contribute much to their effort.
Anya reaches over and gently nudges him awake. "You still smell like smoke, you know that right?"
Damian shakes the sleep off, and blinks blearily. "Hwhua?"
"Your clothes. They smell like a bonfire."
"Oh… right… I guess I need to shower… and buy new clothes."
Loid chimes in. "We'll take you shopping tomorrow. In the meantime, I have some things you can use." The phone rings, and Loid gets up to answer it before Damian can respond. "Yor, could you grab him something to sleep in?"
Anya lights up, and she struggles to get up before Yor can. "I got it!"
Yor looks at her, skeptical. "Are you sure? You can barely walk."
"No no it's fine~." Anya declares as she hurriedly uses her crutch and her walking cast to limp her way to her parents' room.
"If you insist… Well I think I'll start dinner then." Yor gets up and walks to the kitchen.
Anya emerges minutes later with a plastic bag full of clothes and a triumphant smile.
"You're all set buddy. Let's go." She makes her way towards the bathroom to drop off the clothes, and Damian follows.
She plops the bag on the counter and starts to leave, before Damian stops her. "Hey, are you okay?"
Anya turns around and tilts her head at him. "Yeah, why?"
"I just mean… you're taking all this incredibly fast and incredibly well."
"Do you mean the marriage prospects or the full disclosure of my life on paper?"
"Both."
"Ah, well, the disclosure stuff isn't that bad, considering what I get in return. And I meant everything I said back there. I don't plan on going anywhere." Anya grins. "Do you?"
Damian flails for a second. "No! No no. I'm not saying that at all. I'm, yeah, I'm here, with you. And I will be here with you. For as long as you'll have me. And a little longer after that too, if I'm honest."
Anya's grin widens and she narrows her eyes. "Good answer."
They smile at each other, then Anya turns to leave but Damian stops her again. "One more thing. Could you... Like… Help? It's kind of hard with one arm…" He tugs at his shirt.
Anya's eyes widen with delight. "Y-yeah! Thought you'd never ask." And she immediately reaches for the button of his pants.
Damian makes a strangled noise and backs away. "Ack, An- no I- gah. I meant my shirt. I can get that part."
Anya faux pouts "Boo. Don't get my hopes up." She reaches for the hem of his shirt and pulls up.
Damian frowns and lifts one arm above his head, the other already inside the shirt where it's hung in a sling. "You knew exactly what I meant when I asked the first time."
Anya feigned innocence. "What? Me? No~~. But hypothetically, if I did, maybe play along next time?" She lifts the shirt over his head and grins.
Her grin falls away when she looks at his chest, and sees the two massive black bruises on it: one that covers almost his entire rib cage on the left side, and one that circles his collarbone on the right.
"Oh, Damian…" She gently touches the bruise on his side, and he flinches. "Does that hurt?"
"N-not too much. More just surprised me."
Anya looks worriedly at him, then back at the bruise. She slowly leans down and gently kisses the mark, letting her lips linger on it for a few moments. The soft and tender touch sends soft jolts of electricity through his skin. Anya lifts her head up and then kisses the one on his collarbone, feeling him inhale sharply at the sensation. She pulls back and continues to stare at the marks.
After a few moments, Anya whispers "...I'm sorry you had to go through that for me."
"I'm not." Damian responds, looking down at her.
She smiles up at him. He smiles back, putting a hand on her forearm. He leans down to kiss her.
"Ahem."
Their lips stop inches away from each other, and they whip heads upward to see an unimpressed Yor standing in the bathroom doorway, which has been wide open this entire time. They separate quickly, Anya spinning around so fast she starts to fall, only to be caught by Damian with one arm. He winces from the sudden movement, but then stands up straight and separates again once Anya has her footing.
They both look away, faces red. Yor steps to the side, and Anya takes the hint and hobbles out the door. She closes it behind her and Damian can hear a lecture starting up on the other side.
Damian sighs and turns on the shower. He looks down to remove the rest of his clothes and pauses. He blushes furiously, hoping neither of them noticed how much he physically reacted to Anya's soft lips on his chest.
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The lecture has only been finished for a few minutes by the time Anya hears the shower shut off. Loid and Yor are in the kitchen preparing dinner, and Anya is on the couch, scrolling on her phone.
She hears increasingly frustrated noises from the bathroom and smiles in anticipation.
Eventually, Damian opens the door and stomps out, heading straight towards Anya. She looks up and bursts out laughing.
Damian came to a stop in front of the couch, with an angry scowl on his face. The expression might have made Anya shrink, if he wasn't also in a fluffy panda themed pajama onesie.
Anya gave a big smile and giggle as she outstretched her arms and legs, showing the pink panda onesie she had also changed into. "Look! Now we match!" She gives a little excited wiggle.
Damian continues his useless deathglare, before hearing snickering behind him. He turns to see Loid and Yor both with hands covering their mouths.
"Someone needs to explain to me how you already have these." Damian hisses.
She responds between giggles. "I bought it for my parents for valentine's day a few years back but they never wore them."
Damian's eye twitches.
"Hey just go with it! You're not even using the best part! Put your hood up and you'll feel better." Anya flips her own hood up, the top of which is covering her eyes with panda eyes. She smiles broadly, now that her panda transformation is complete.
Damian seethes but flips the hood up anyway, plopping down next to her with an arm crossed over his chest, the other inside the onesie still in a sling.
Anya leans on him and snuggles in. "To think we've been missing out on this for so long."
"..."
"Come on, admit it. You like this on some level."
"... the built-in footie slippers are kinda nice."
Anya nuzzles his good shoulder, absolutely delighted in his acquiescence.
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After dinner, everyone rests again in the living room. Loid clears his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Listen up you two. It's been a long day, so we won't get into it now, but starting tomorrow we are going to have to lay some ground rules, and start preparing. Just because Yor and I, admittedly, have been rooting for you both to get your shit together from the sidelines, doesn't mean we're going to just let you run amok.
Earlier I got a call from one of Donovan's personal assistants. Who, by the way, completely ignored my questions regarding how they had our number already. But in any case, they've asked to set up an interview date a couple weeks from now." Loid focuses on Damian. "Apparently your father will be coming here personally to conduct the interview."
Damian stares in disbelief. "Are you sure? You're sure he doesn't mean a proxy or something? He didn't even show up when I was named an imperial scholar but he's coming here?"
"That's what I'm being led to believe. It seems like he's serious about this." Loid turns to Anya. "Whatever you said must have really done a number on him."
Anya just grins. "He he."
Loid continues. "So we're going to have to do some prep for this interview. I have a few contacts that I can lean on to get some info on what to expect, and we're going to have to get some stories straight. Also, practicing how we all behave and interact with each other wouldn't hurt." Loid looks pointedly at the couple.
Anya tilts her head, which is currently on Damian's lap as she plays with the strings of Damian's panda hoodie. "What's wrong with how we interact?" she asks obliviously.
"... Anyway, we'll work on that." Loid side steps, and continues. He looks at Damian again. "Can we expect your mother to be there too?"
Damian suddenly looks uncomfortable. "Ah. Uh. No. I doubt it."
Everyone looks at him as he tries to work out something in his head.
"My mom, um, doesn't really… involve herself with us too much anymore. We talk, sometimes, but… it's different, I guess? It's hard to describe. Her and my father are still married on paper, I don't think they want a divorce scandal on their hands, but they're separated. I don't think they've spoken in a long time. And last time they did things were… intense. So… anyway. She isn't going to be there."
"Okay, well that works out. It actually makes things simpler, in a way."
Damian quickly interjects. "I also wouldn't be surprised if she does reach out, just to talk, or something. But you shouldn't have to worry about her."
"That's fine, we'll cross that bridge when it comes. In any case, since it's spring break for both of you we'll start prep on that, when Yor and I get home from work."
Anya whines. "But dad~. I was in a big explosion yesterday. Can't we take any time to relax?" She flashes her best emotional manipulating sad eyes at her father.
Loid stares at her, slightly annoyed. "Do you want this to work out or not?"
"Mer. I guess." Anya pouts, but then winks up at Damian.
"It's not like you'll be working on this every waking minute, your mother and I still have to work during the day. You'll still have time to relax. But I need you to commit to the seriousness of this process. There's still a chance he could say no."
"I got it, I got it. I'm in, don't worry."
Loid nods and stands up. "With that, like I said, it's been a long few days. I'm ready to turn in."
Yor sits up quickly. "M-me too. Yeah. So tired." She stands up and they both walk to their room on the opposite side of the apartment.
Loid calls over his shoulder. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"
They both respond simultaneously with "Yes dad" and "Yes sir."
The moment she hears the bedroom door close, Anya quickly sits up and scoots until she's at eye level with Damian. She grabs the back of his head and pulls him into a deep kiss. He reciprocates and presses into the kiss, letting his hand snake around to the middle of her back, gripping.
She puts her other hand on his head and paws at his hair, letting her fingertips dig into his scalp. She gently pulls his head to the side but never lets him break the kiss. Damian gets the hint and he slides sideways down the couch until he's on his back, and Anya straddles his body.
Anya softly whines into the kiss, hungry for more, as her lips move furiously against his. They open their mouths at the same time and the tips of their tongues meet in the middle. They pause for the briefest of moments at the unexpected synchronicity, before Damian probes his tongue in further, drawing its length against hers. Anya responds in kind, pressing her lips down around his retreating tongue, sucking gently on it before pushing her own between his lips.
Damian's hand runs through her hair but Anya pauses from the kiss. "Ow. Hey, careful, stitches remember?"
Damian nods and kisses her again, moving his hand down to her waist. Anya presses into him, rolling her hips into him and humming into the kiss as she feels the results of her efforts.
Damian winces and pulls back. "Ah, Anya, y-your hand."
Anya looks down and quickly retracts her hand, which was pressing up against his injured shoulder. "S-sorry" She leans down to kiss him again but Damian places his hand on her shoulder, holding her back. "Wh-what? Why did you-"
"Hold on. Can we just, hold up for a second?" Damian says between breaths.
Anya nods. "Yeah, okay. Sure." She gently slides her body down and rests her head on his chest, carefully on the opposite side of the rib injury.
They both lay here for a few moments, panting, trying to slow their breathing..
Anya doesn't look up at him, but off to the side, confused. She can still hear both their racing heartbeats, and feel his almost concerningly large excitement pressing up against her stomach.
This was literally the first time they've kissed since they made out in the limo, near the end of their date, all those months ago. He clearly wanted this closeness as much as she did. Why did he stop?
Eventually they catch their breath and their blood begins to cool. Anya starts to grow concerned at the silence until Damian's hand reaches up and caresses her cheek.
They don't look at each other, but Damian talks to her softly. "I think… I think we should slow down."
Anya knits her brow and grips at his shirt. "...I don't understand." She tilts her head up at him. "... Don't you want this?"
"So much it hurts. So much it scares me."
She slides back up and hovers her face over his, looking into his eyes. "Then why?"
Damian smiles sadly up at her. "It just still feels like our first date. Like we're rushing against some time table. Like we're trying to get as close as we can before the end of the night, because we know we might not get another chance."
He runs his fingers down her jawline. "And that's not the case anymore."
Anya's face is a complex mess of emotions. Sad, scared, happy. She trembles as her eyes start to water, looking down at him.
"That's how you feel too, right?" Damian asks.
Anya just softly nods.
"We don't have a deadline anymore. I'm not going anywhere."
Anya lets out a shuddery breath. "...Promise?"
"I promise." Damian continues in a whisper. "I don't want to feel like this is a sprint against time." He lifts his head up slightly. "I want to take the time to enjoy each." He kisses her forehead. "And every." He kisses her cheek. "Single part of you." He kisses her chin. He whispers the last bit on her lips. "I want to savor you." He kisses her softly, letting his lips softly linger on hers before laying his head back down.
"Is that okay?"
Damian smiles at how briskly Anya nods her head. She lays her head back down on his chest and sighs. Damian runs his hands up and down her back.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Anya speaks. "...Thanks. You're right. I don't know why I still felt like that..."
"I felt the same way, that's the only reason I could recognize it."
"Mmm" Anya nods and nuzzles into his chest. "But I will say this, if you keep pulling out this ultra romantic charisma in full force I can't make any promises."
Damian chuckles, and pats Anya softly on the back.
"Also" Anya shifts her body slightly. "I don't think every part of you agrees with this sentiment."
Damian shifts too, trying to angle himself so that his still very eager erection isn't pressing up against her. "Yeah well he doesn't call the shots around here."
Anya re-positions herself, again, grinning as she makes sure it's fully pressed into her hip. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that."
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Chapter 2: End
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Author's notes:
I know it's only been a few days, but I felt like I struggled for a while on this. It took me like 4 days just to get the outline and first 4 pages, but then the rest just poured out of me today. Like I had some of the scenes notionally in my head but every time I tried to write it down it felt like it was too disjointed or boring filler. But today I was able to get it out no problem. I don't get it. Was it writer's block or just nerves? Or something else? I don't have enough experience with writing to know what it was or how to stop it from happening. If anyone has a clue feel free to chime in.
Long story short, if I go for a few days without updating, don't be surprised. And if I briefly step away to start a different story, know that I'm not abandoning this one at all. I'm just trying to untangle my mind.
Anywho. Thanks!
