Summary: After weeks apart, Damien and Ellie are finally reunited and the investigation begins!
Disclaimer: (most) characters belong to Pixelberry Studios. Male!MC (Allen). Ni Ni’s and Santiago Cabrera’s gifs don’t belong to me.
Pairing: Damien x OC (Ellie)
Damien Nazario and Eleanor Zhou spent the next month talking to each other virtually. When they weren’t sending strictly professional emails to each other about the case – more information about Lucy and Robert and new suspicions she had towards them -, they were texting each other – these chats were way more playful and with a lot of teasing, especially from her.
He even wasn’t reacting that bad with Allen’s new married life. In fact, things didn’t change much. His best friend already lived with Hayden before their marriage – same about Nadia and Steve -, so the only big difference was that stupidly shining ring on his left hand. But everything was exactly as it had always been.
…Although Nadia and Allen noticed that Damien seemed more cheerful lately and with his face glued on his phone, and they knew it was because of their beloved little cousin.
Damien had just put his phone away after smiling to a silly text Ellie sent him asking him to save her from this super boring gala at Prescrott Industries. Her co-worker and friend Poppy Patel convinced her to go with her there – she was covering something for Mortif – by using the argument of free drinks and fancy food and the possibility of meeting superheroes Lilith and Talos. Eleanor ended up agreeing – although she loved spending her nights at her home and especially not working -, so now they were at the hottest party of the city. But Ellie was having serious doubts if Poppy really knew them, like she liked to claim, so they made a bet and now she was mingling at this party waiting for them. Ugh, she hated office parties.
“So… you and Ellie connected, huh?” – Allen asked, a small grin tugging on the corner of his mouth. He, Damien and Nadia were on their weekly happy hour. They always hung out on Friday nights for some drinks, while Hayden and Steve did other things. They were married now, but it didn’t mean they were glued to each other; each of them had their own lives.
Damien shrugged, taking a sip of his own beer.
“You could say it.” – the Park cousins giggled.
“Oh, come on, man! I found you both naked in my apartment, remember?” – they all shared a laugh. Damien was mortified with embarrassment when Allen and Hayden came into the apartment and found Eleanor wearing just a shirt as he desperately tried to find his pants and hid his boner. – “I swear, your faces were the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“HA! I didn’t see it but I crack up every time I imagine the scene!” – Nadia laughed so hysterically, that she almost spilled her own drink.
“Shut up, you two.” – Damien said, still laughing softly.
“Anyway, I’m happy for you, my friend. You’re both very dear to me.” – he didn’t notice the sad smile Damien gave him.
Fuck. When he was going to stop being in love with Allen?
“And how is going Ellie’s case?” – Nadia asked.
“I was mostly gathering information about Lucy and that Robert dude. What are their schedules, their relationship history, this kind of thing. Ellie has been very efficient.”
“I swear, that woman works way too much! I always knew that, but god! Even when she doesn’t have to, she’s working! Please, D, when you go meet her again, make sure to not make her work more!”
“Well, this will be a problem, Nadia, since I’m working for her.”
“Exactly, you are working! Not her! Oooh and I know how you could improve your services to her, if you know what I mean…” – Damien chuckled to Nadia’s wiggling eyebrows. She was terrible.
“Oh my God, Nadia, Damien doesn’t do this kind of service!” – Allen laughed out loud. – “At least, I don’t think so.” – Damien rolled his eyes and drank his beer. They were both terrible. – “Oh yeah, this reminded me: when are you going to Northbridge? You have to go there to follow Lucy and her shady boyfriend, right?” – Allen knew his methods too well by now.
“I’m going there as soon as I free myself from the other cases. There’s just one left and I’ll meet with the client this week. So I’ll probably be there next week.”
“Oooooh!” – Nadia and Allen said in unison.
“This is great!” – Nadia squealed. – “Ah, will you tell me when you’re going there? I have to return this book she borrowed me! And D, please, get laid! Your mood has been so good lately because of Ellie and I know it’ll just get better when you’ll be reunited with her! Right, Allen?” – she slapped her cousin’s arm, almost making him spill his beer. She definitely was drunk.
“Oh my God, Nadia, I can’t believe you’re telling Damien this!” – Allen laughed a little too much. He was drunk too.
“Alright, I think you two had enough drinks for today. You’re drunk and need to go home.”
“I’m not home! You go drunk!” – Nadia scowled.
“What she said!” – Allen agreed as Damien took them both out of the pub, chuckling to those two dorks.
In the end, it was decided that Damien would go to Northbridge only by the end of July, seven weeks he and Ellie had met each other. One of the cases was more complex than it seemed, besides, Ellie came with a great idea: the last Saturday of the month was going to fall on Lucy’s birthday, so she would be throwing a party at her house. That was going to be a great opportunity for him to meet both Lucy and Robert at once and watch them. Even though they both were very much likely going to act as normal and happy and healthy as possible, it was worth a shot.
Damien Nazario: Are you sure this plan will work?
Eleanor Zhou: Trust me! 😉 Now get your pretty ass here to Northbridge!
So, there he was on his way to Northbridge on the last Saturday of July. The party would be just at night, but he was going there a little earlier so he and Ellie could plan how they were going to investigate both Robert and Lucy at the same time.
After doing his check-in on a simple yet clean enough hotel – he would stay in the city for the weekend – and leaving his bag in his bedroom, Damien followed Eleanor’s directions towards an apartment complex. Every building in Northbridge seemed modern and shining. Silas Prescrott had built half of the town and he seemed to really enjoy Prescrott Industries QG architecture.
As Damien approached Ellie’s apartment on the second floor, he felt his heart beating slightly faster inside his chest. He’d been waiting for that moment the last month and almost couldn’t contain his excitement. Damien Nazario rarely would let his emotions take control over him, but when it was about the Parks… he was numb to them. Especially to Eleanor Zhou.
Eleanor was pacing around the apartment, trying to get herself busy while she waited for Damien’s arrival. He had already texted her saying that he was in Northbridge and going to meet with her.
It’s been seven weeks since her vacation in New York, but it seemed like much more. That past month couldn’t pass fast enough, and Ellie was anxious to meet him again, but in a good way. She was having those butterflies inside her stomach, like she always felt when she was about to see a crush of hers when she was in school. But she was almost 30 now. She wasn’t supposed to feel like that, right? She was an independent woman, she had bought her own house with her own money, she had already made a career for herself at Mortif, she had personally met Silas Prescrott – the most powerful man of Northbridge (only behind the Mayor) -, Lilith and Talos superheroes two weeks ago and took a selfie with them! So why she was so nervous to see Damien again?
Get ahold of yourself, woman!
The bell suddenly rang and Eleanor almost ran towards the door, her heart pounding inside her chest. When she opened it, Damien was grinning at her with that charming and cocky smirk of his, looking even more handsome and hotter than she remembered. God, had Damien Nazario always been that gorgeous?
“Hey, you.” – he greeted her.
“Hey, you.” – she answered, grinning back and letting him in. – “Bienvenido a mi casa.” – he chuckled as he stepped in.
“Gracias, señorita. No sabías que hablas Español.”
“Sólo un poco.” – she winked at him. It was funny how she was so nervous on seeing him again and now that he was finally there, she was feeling so at ease. Damien had a strange but welcome calming effect over her. – “Aaand I better stop speaking in Spanish before I make a fool of myself.” – she chuckled sheepishly.
“You would never make a fool of yourself.”
“Charming, aren’t you?”
“Always.” – he said with that cocky smirk never leaving his face. – “Oh yeah, before I forget, I brought something to Lucy, I hope she’ll like it.” – he showed her the wine he was carrying.
“Oh, I’m sure she will appreciate it. Anyway, make yourself at home.”
He took a quick look around her house as she took the bottle from his hand and put it on her kitchen counter. Ellie lived in a small, yet tidy and comfy one-bedroom apartment. Two big windows took a large part of the living room wall, making the place very bright. There was a fragrance of fresh coffee in the air.
“Nice place you got here.” – he said, turning to look at her again. She was much closer now, just a step from him, her dark eyes on his.
“For fuck’s sake, Nazario, kiss me already.” – Eleanor said impatiently and pulled him in a heated kiss.
Their mouths kissed hungrily remembering the taste of one another as their hands explored each other’s bodies. They stumbled together, until they both fell on her couch, with Ellie giggling beneath him.
“Did you miss me?” – she whispered, kissing his neck, feeling his hard crotch already pulsating on her inner thighs.
“More than I should.” – he said, still breathless because of the warm welcome. She laughed out loud and cupped his face, staring into his brown eyes.
“Yeah, me too.” – Damien held her in his arms, letting a contented sigh out as her mouth met his again.
He was lost in the taste of her lips, the sensation of her smooth skin pressed against his, the smell of her hair… When he suddenly felt something wet against his jaw. Was she… licking him?
Damien opened his eyes, face to face to a pair of eyes. They weren’t Eleanor’s, but more… canine. A yellow Labrador Retriever looked happily at him, its tongue pending on the side of its mouth.
“Freddie!” – the woman half shouted and half laughed, as they sat up. – “I’m sorry about this. I guess Freddie wanted to give you a welcome kiss too.” – she giggled, stroking her dog affectionately.
“That’s fine…” – Damien said, although he didn’t like dogs kisses very much. The dog was so happy to see him that his whole body wiggled with excitement. He noticed that Freddie was bigger than Dipper and even more energetic. How the hell he didn’t notice that dog there before? The apartment was tiny.
“Do you want something to drink? Some water? Coffee? Something stronger?” – she asked, getting out of the sofa, followed by Damien. The moment was completely gone.
“Coffee would be nice.”
“I’ll pour some coffee for us then.” – he had only noticed that a song was playing when she slightly danced towards the kitchen, her hips moving according to the rhythm of the early 80s catchy song. Damien chuckled a little, not surprised that she was listening to that genre. Ellie had told him that Freddie was named after Freddie Mercury. How she could be so sexy and so silly at the same time?
He sat by the dinner table as Ellie extended him a coffee mug.
“So the plan is go to your best friend’s, Lucy James, birthday party and watch her and her suspicious boyfriend, Robert Zucko?” – he asked. She nodded at him, sipping her own drink. – “And Lucy won’t find it strange if I show up on her birthday party?”
“No, since you’ll be with me.”
“That means nothing. We have to come up with something more concrete.” – Eleanor rolled her eyes.
“Well, she knows about you. I might have told her that we went out on a couple of dates… so I can say that we started dating! I know Lucy, she’s a hopeless romantic and she’s been bothering me to date someone for a while, so she’ll be thrilled if I go to her party with you.”
“So all I need to do is pretend to be your boyfriend?”
“Exactly. I hope it won’t be too difficult.” – she had that mischievous grin that made him crazy back onto her lips. Damien chuckled.
“I guess I can manage doing it.” – he said and leaned in, kissing her lips softly. He missed those damn lips of hers so bad.
“Great.” – she whispered back, before pushing him. If he kept on kissing her, she wouldn’t be able to focus on what they had to do. Which was investigate her best friend’s shady boyfriend. – “So, what do you think about Robert?”
“I still haven’t met him, Ellie. I won’t make any precocious assumptions.” – she rolled her eyes again.
“Even with all the material I sent you?”
“Well, I must admit that his work hours are a bit odd.” – they were a mess. Robert Zucko seemed to work whenever he wanted. Sometimes during the whole night, others just a couple of hours in the afternoon. “What does he work in again?”
“Last time I heard, he owned a pub. Zucko’s Point. Not very creative.” – she drank the rest of her coffee as Damien wrote down the pub’s name. – “It was in the southern part of the city.”
“Well, guess I just found my favorite pub in Northbridge.” – he grinned at her.
“I’ve never been there. I do the most to avoid another encounter with him. But I’ll go with you there if necessary.”
“Your presence would be much appreciated.” – they shared a smirk and Ellie stood up.
“Well, I better start getting dressed for the party. Please, make yourself comfortable.” – she said as she walked towards her bathroom.
Damien almost proposed to shower with her, but it was not the time for that. They had work to do first.
So he paced around the living room, sipping on his coffee, with Freddie following his steps, sniffing his clothes. He awkwardly patted the dog in the head and approached one of the shelves. Eleanor still owned a lot of CDs, even though with all that streaming music service. She had all the genres possible, since classic music to punk rock. Most of the books in the shelf were about design and novels. Her favorite genres were chick flicks romance and crime & mystery.
There were more CDs on the TV rack, next to the stereo. Damien recognised the late 80s indie song that was playing now, as the singer sang “There she goes… there she goes again”. There was a single framed picture next to the TV. He took a closer look of it and saw a teenage Ellie grinning widely, with an older Asian couple on her high school graduation day. The woman was short and chubbier, with delicate features on her smiley face and the man was tall and had an athletic body and a bright smile. Eleanor was the perfect mix of both of them. Damien caught himself smiling to the frame.
“Done, I’m ready.” – Ellie returned from her bedroom, wearing a party dress. – “Oh, found something that you like?” – she approached him and he showed her the picture.
“Your parents looked very proud of you here.”
And then he saw Eleanor Zhou most beautiful smile as she gently took the picture from his hands.
“Can you believe that my dad actually told me that I didn’t do more than my obligation?“
“Ouch.” – she giggled.
“Yeah. He could be harsh sometimes, especially when it was about my education, but I know he loves me and just wishes the best to me. He’s the funniest guy I know, although he loves telling jokes that no one finds funny when he’s drunk. And he has the loudest laugh possible.” – Damien smiled to her story. She pointed to the woman. – “My mom had the brightest smile and when she was mad at me or Dad, it was the most terrifying thing. When I was little and did something that would make her angry, I sometimes cried even before she actually lectured me. But she was the fairest and wisest woman I knew. Her laugh was contagious and she had the best hug ever. She was my role model, my superhero.” – the corners of Ellie’s mouth turned up.
“And how did they meet?”
“They both studied at Hartfeld. So I did too.” – she shrugged. – “They married right after they graduated from college and moved to my hometown, Cedar Cove, in Washington. My mom was born and raised in New York, but she enjoyed the small town vibes more. Me, on the other hand, had always been attracted to the big city lights and buzz.” – she put the picture back to its place in the TV rack and turned to him. – “What about you? Are you close to your family?”
“Well, close as I can be with me living here and them living in Puerto Rico. But I go visit them every year, and I have an uncle who lives in NYC. And my sisters are always bossing me to send ‘American things’ to them and to my nephews and nieces.” – Eleanor chuckled.
“I wish I had younger siblings to boss around too. But as the younger Park cousin, you can imagine what Nadia and Allen did to me when we were kids.” – they shared a half-hearted laugh. – “And my paternal cousin, Aiden, is much younger than me, so we’re not that close. He had just graduated high school, so I didn’t have the chance to boss him around. But it’s good that you’re still in touch with your family.” – she kept staring the photo with a sad smile on her face. – “I still miss her everyday of my life. I wish I could pick up the phone and simply call her whenever I feel lost or a little insecure. She always knew what to tell me. Although I love my dad, there’s some things that he just can’t get, you know?” – he nodded.
“I know they both still are very proud of you.” – he said, gently intertwining his fingers with hers, in a reassuring and comforting way. Ellie turned to him and smiled gratefully.
“Well, enough with reminiscences about the past, we have a party to go and a dude to unmask!”
