A/N: This is just a little drabble set during Chapter 11. I got this idea after Damien’s confession in the woods and couldn’t help picturing reactions of some of the others (namely Nadia :D); Dialogue-heavy
Disclaimer: Characters/story belong to Pixelberry
“You’re up awfully late.”
Damien stopped in his tracks to find Alana standing outside her room. “I went out for a walk.”
“A walk, huh?” She looked him up and down, noticing his slightly mussed hair and the woodchips stuck to his pants. “I suppose that’s what it looks like.”
“Okay, so I had some issues to work out, big deal.” To Alana’s surprise, he was smiling while saying it. “Look I know that dinner didn’t go so well earlier but I really do appreciate you letting us stay. We’ve had a pretty rough night.”
“You’re … welcome.” She blinked at him, taken aback at his sudden change in mood. Just a few hours ago, he’d seemed ready to explode at dinner and had stormed out. Now here he was beaming in front of her … and glancing down the hallway with the most disgustingly sappy, lovesick expression on his face. When she followed where he was gazing, she had a hunch of what it was he had in mind.
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Alana turned back to Damien. “So what’s the deal with you and Tweedledee over there?” She tilted her head in the direction of the room Maya and Nadia were sharing tonight.
“Excuse me?” He said it defensively, but the blush on his face gave him away.
“No need to play dumb with me sweetie,” She chuckled. “I saw the way you were looking at her when she showed up to dinner in my dress.”
“I knew you had something to do with that,” Damien muttered.
Alana shrugged. “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but glad I could help.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we had a little talk.” And with that, he moved to open the door to his room.
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Maya let out a satisfied sigh as she flopped into bed next to Nadia. “God what a day …”
Her cousin hardly broke the staring contest with the ceiling, but responded. “Yeah, I’ll say. Breaking and entering, crazy car chase, hiding in a foreign country. And now …” Nadia looked at her. “We’re roomies with Damien’s ex.”
“Yeah, I know. Crazy, right?” Maya said absentmindedly.
“Oh by the way, have you talked with Damien?”
She felt a smile creeping onto her face and tried to hide it. “Yeah, why?”
“After dinner, I saw him going outside without a shirt on. Holding an axe.” Nadia turned to her. “Should I be worried?”
“No he was just chopping wood.”
“Ohh,” Nadia sighed in relief. “That’s so much better than what I had in mind.”
Maya hummed in agreement. She pulled the comforter around herself, but her mind kept wandering back to the memory of Damien’s arms wrapped around her; his rough fingers trailing up and down her back, stroking her hair, grazing her thigh. No amount of blankets would be warm enough for her after tonight. “So much better …” God, how am I supposed to sleep now?
“I know he’s our best friend and all,” Nadia continued as if Maya hadn’t spoken. “But wow, what a body! Alana dumped him?! We should check her for brain damage.”
“Mhmm,” She muttered.
“Even after that, how could he possibly stay single all this time?”
“Not anymore.” Maya mumbled without thinking.
“Wait what?”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she snapped back to attention. “Nothing!”
Now Nadia noticed her cousin’s expression and eyed her suspiciously. “You’re smiling,” she said.
Maya cleared her throat. “Huh? No I’m not!” she insisted.
Nadia grinned at her mischievously. “You know something.” When Maya began to shake her head, she pointed at her knowingly. “Come to think of it, you’ve been awfully cheerful since you got back tonight.”
“Really Nadia?” Maya scoffed, trying to play it off. “Not everyone has to break down in tears after a breakup. It was mutual, we’re fine; it was the right thing to do.”
“Uh huh, nice try changing the subject.” Nadia smirked at her. “Come on what did you and D talk about?” She nudged her teasingly, knowing all too well what they were supposed to talk about since the break-in at Eros.
Maya hung her head in defeat. I should’ve known she would never let this go. “Well he was really on edge about this whole being-on-the-run-and-almost-getting-caught thing,“ she confessed. “So I sort of helped him express his feelings.”
Nadia’s face lit up. “Like the stuff it said in his Eros file?”
“Yeah.”
“And …? Is it all true?”
“Yep.” Maya nodded. “I also told him I felt the same.”
“Ahhh I knew it!” Nadia bounced up and down on the bed. “So then what happened next? How’d he tell you? Did he make a dramatic confession? Oh please tell me he did it with his shirt off.”
“Nadia!” Maya’s voice came out in a squeak. “It’s not- I mean he was-” Nadia continued to stare at her, her eyes twinkling in excitement. “Okay fine, his shirt was off the whole time.” She rolled her eyes at the giggling that ensued. In spite of that, she couldn’t help the shy smile that graced her features.
“So then what happened?”
“Well let’s see,” Maya gestured as if she was in deep thought, grinning playfully. “He confessed his feelings to me while he was shirtless, I was wearing that lacy gown Alana showed me, both of us were alone in the woods in the moonlight, big brown eyes staring at my lips, what do you think happened?”
Nadia’s eyes widened. “No way!”
“Nadia wait …” Maya held her hands up in a cautionary gesture.
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“You and Damien?! OHMYGOD!!!” Nadia’s joyful squeal echoed throughout the hallway.
Damien froze, his hand still on the doorknob, staring in the same direction for several seconds. His face turned bright red.
Alana looked towards where the sound had come from, then back at him, before crossing her arms deliberately. “You sure that’s all you did?” She slowly raised her eyebrows for good measure.
“I … uh … it’s not like- I- we only- oh shut up.”
She eyed him with a mockingly appraising expression, shaking her head in amusement. “Making your move on a girl right after her breakup. That’s bold, even for you.”
He turned to shoot her a withering glare, despite himself. “You heard nothing, you understand?”
Alana laughed. “Whatever you say.”