#damintte

He likes me! He really does! They were right! God, Chloe was right. All this time? she thought, her mouth opening and closing a few times as it finally registered that this was real. She started nodding frantically with a big smile.

“I really like you as well, Dami! I was too scared to say something tho,” Mari admitted quickly, shutting her eyes a bit embarrassed. Damian smiled softly as he pulled Mari into a hug. Startling her from her thoughts was his soft laugh as she then wrapped her arms around him as well.

“How about tonight? You have the day off,” he said and Mari nodded. “Ok, I’ll pick you up at 6 then,” he whispered and Mari pulled back with a smile and stood on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to his cheek before pulling away with a breathless smile.

“Sounds perfect,” she whispered, trailing her hands to his and tangling their fingers together. Damian had a soft smile as he raised their conjoined hands up and pressed a kiss to her fingers. A blush dusted her cheeks, highlighting the sparse freckles she had over her cheeks and nose. Leaning her head against his arm, they walked back to the group, a dopey smile on her lips.

“Congrats Mari!” Lila said running over to hug Mari tightly as the others made their way over and congratulated them as well. “I’m so happy for you,” she continued and Mari smiled as she nodded agreement.

“I am too,” she said softly as her friends had soft smiles on their faces. “So, when are you going to ask out him?” Mari asked with a teasing tone causing her friend to blush. Damian chuckled softly from beside her.

“I assume you’re talking about Xan?” he asked and the group nodded as Lila squeaked and nodded. “Let me tell you this, you know what he’s been thru, at least part of it, you better not break his heart. Especially, if he decides to tell you more about what he has been thru. Got it?” Damian asked giving her a look. Lila swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded understanding.

“O-ok. Promise,” she said softly and Damian gave a short nod at that.

“It’s getting close to lunch, is Xan available?” Mari asked looking over at Damian with a tilt of her head.

“I imagine he’s talking to someone we were both close to then right now. We can go see if he is available,” Damian said and the group nodded.

“Let’s go see. Where is he?” she asked as Damian started leading them out of the park.

“He’s at a store called Rose Petal’s Boutique talking with Rae, a woman from our past,” Damian replied and Mari nodded.

“Is it to help him heal?” Kim asked that time, knowing that sometimes talking to someone who’s had a similar experience can help.

“In a way, yes,” Damian started with a nod as they stopped at an intersection to wait for the light. “Fu helped him, but talking about it with someone who had something similar is better. Because then you know someone knows how you feel and sometimes able to offer insight to something you may not have realized,” he continued and Kim nodded agreement as they started walking once more.

“Hope this woman can help him, man,” Kim muttered softly as he returned the squeeze he felt Max give his hand.

“She can,” Damian assured as they got closer to the boutique. They soon reached it, the group looking at it with nods at the design. It was the typical design for most Gotham buildings, a few cracks here and there. But the sign was a vibrant white with the name of the boutique in a swirling deep red color like the Freedom Red Rose. Rose petals were scattered across the sign as if in a wind, a few interacting with the name as if connecting the letters.

A window display showed a few creations the boutique had but the inside was hidden from view by a divider. Etched around the edges of the glass was the same rose petal design. Damian opened the door, a bell chiming in response to the door swinging into the building. Mari and Damian entered the shop while the rest of them waited outside.

“Hello! Welcome to Rose Petal’s Boutique! How can I help you?” a woman asked moving toward them.

“I was hoping to speak to Rae, please. Is she in the back?” Damian asked and the woman nodded.

“Of course. Be warned she is talking to another person,” the woman warned and Damian nodded before leading Mari to the back. There he knocked once before pushing the door open. Sharp, deep green eyes looked over at them when the door opened. Her right nostril had a rose-gold colored piercing and the middle of her lip had a matching colored ring going thru it. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony-tail with a rose clip holding back some of her bangs. A smile painted her lips when she realized who it was. “Damian. It’s so good to see you again,” she greeted happily pulling him into a brief hug before looking over at Mari. “Who’s this?” she asked, smiling softly at seeing the two glance at each other before blushing.

“This is Marinette, Rae. The girl I was telling you about,” he said and Rae smiled as she pulled Mari into a hug.

“Hello, Marinette. It’s nice to meet you. Damian and Xan talk a lot about you,” Rae said smiling teasingly as Xan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think I should be included since well, I just talked about her,” he pointed out and Rae waved her hand at that.

“No matter. Now, what can I do for you two?”

“We came by to see if Xan, and you, would like to go get some lunch with Mari and her friends,” Damian said as Mari nodded eagerly and Rae smiled softly at that, sending Damian a subtle look that Mari missed but Xan caught as Damian looked away, the faintest of blushes on his cheeks.

“I’d love to go, but after my shift, I need to head over to my restaurant to speak with the builders. I don’t get a lunch break, sorry,” Rae said and Damian nodded, looking over at Xan.

“I’d like that,” Xan said moving from his spot. As they headed into the main shop area Rae stopped them.

“I fully expect to see you and all your friends at the grand opening of Janat Al'Amal next week,” she said and the group nodded.

“I’ll even bring Jason with, I’m sure he’d enjoy your food,” Damian said and Rae chuckled with a shake of her head.

“Don’t hesitate to visit!” Rae called out one last time before the closed behind them. Damian raised a hand in acknowledgment.

“Xan!” Lila beamed as she made her way over to him and hugged him in greeting. Xan had a soft smile on his lips as he hugged Lila back before greeting the others with either hugs or handshakes.

“So, where are we off too?” Xan asked looking between everyone.

“How about a cafe?” Mari suggested and the group nodded.

“Sounds perfect,” Damian replied, squeezing her hand before leading them to a cafe nearby.

“Xan....I think we have some stuff that we should talk about,” Lila whispered looking up at Xan, she may have grown a bit, but she still had to crane to look. Xan tilted his head, a bit of dread filling him but he nodded. They hadn’t talked much about what she heard at the reunion between him and his sisters. They should have, but he could admit he didn’t want to.

Looks like there’s no avoiding it, he thought before nodding. “Ok, when we order our drinks and something to eat we’ll talk,” he replied just as softly. Damian and Mari glanced back to look at them before looking ahead once more. Mari rested her head against Damian’s arm once more, squeezing his hand.

“You think everything will go well?” she asked and the softest hums left Damian as he thought about it.

“From what I’ve seen of Lila, I think they’ll end up fine,” he replied softly after a bit and she nodded agreement.

“I hope so,” she agreed softly. They soon reached the cafe in question and got in line. When all the orders were made and paid for- Damian sneakily paid for all the drinks much to her friends, mostly Jon’s, annoyance, and the barista’s joy as she giggled -they scattered around the shop. Nino and Sabrina found a couch to chat and was joined by Chloe, Adrien, and Jon. Kim and Max were nearby at a table.

Damian and Mari were a bit farther from them at a table for two. Mari was smiling shyly at Damian as they talked about their date that night.

Xan smiled as he pulled Lila’s chair out for her and pushed it in when she sat down. “Thank you Xan,” Lila said with a small smile as Xan picked up their orders and brought them over before sitting down across from her. They were a good distance away from the others as well. He drummed his fingers along his cup as he cupped it between his hands. He was looking down at it, taking a breath before looking up at Lila once more. She could only watch as concern, nerves, worry -whatever you would call it- float around in his eyes. Such a gorgeous color, there shouldn’t be any room in those silver eyes for anything but joy, she thought to herself.

“S-so what did you want to talk about?” he asked nervously, pulling Lila out of her thoughts. As his fingers drumming increased she reached a hand over the table and covered his hand, slowly pulling it from the cup to hold it.

“Well......I think there are a few things we need to talk about,” she said slowly and Xan nodded at that.

“I’m so sorry you had to hear that. I didn’t-no-I wasn’t-” he groaned as he tried finding the correct words. “I didn’t plan on you finding out,” he got out and Lila squeezed his hand.

“Where you ever gong to tell me? I care about, Xander. A lot, and I want you to feel safe around me to tell me things. I want to help you in any way I can,” Lila replied and Xan nodded at that slowly.

“I wasn’t sure how you take it. Only Fu, Damian, and Jason really know what I went thru. I left a ton out when I told Als and Lana. I didn’t want to lose you....because of my past,” he whispered looking down into his cup before feeling Lila cupping his hand in both of hers. He looked up to see her eyes burning with a determination, making her green eyes sparkle.

“You could never lose me, Xan. You don’t have to tell me everything, I get that this was a terrible thing to happen. I could never blame you for something you couldn’t control. You did what you did to survive after being taken. All I care about is you, right here, right now. Where you’re safe and sound and breathing. I could never fault you for doing something that ensured you lived another day,” she said, squeezing his hand with every word she put stress on. A water smile decorated his lips at hearing her speech. Pulling his hand from his cup he wiped away the tears that threatened to fall as relief coursed thru him.

“Thank you,” he whispered between chuckles that escaped him. She squeezed his hand at that, happy to hear him chuckling. “I was terrified this would end with you declaring us not friends anymore.”

“That could never happen,” Lila whispered, giving him the softest smiles that he returned when he finally got himself under control.

“So, what else was it that we needed to talk about?” he asked softly and Lila bit her lip.

She wasn’t ready.

Nope.

Nada.

But could she afford to wait?

No.

If she didn’t do this now, she was worried she’d never do it. So, might as well rip the bandaid off.

“Xander....I really like you. I have for a while now. This isn’t how you’d imagine a confession, I bet. But I had to say it. I really like you and would love to go out on a date with you,” Lila said glancing thru her lashes to look at Xan’s face. Xan was looking at her a bit shocked and surprised.

She was right.

He did not expect that.

But as the shock and surprise faded, he smiled softly at her and covered one of her hands with his own. He then squeezed them prompting her to look up. “I really like you too. How about Saturday night?”

That had Lila shocked but she then beamed at him. “Saturday!” she agreed, not seeing their friends smiling over at them happily.

Almost There @proudgothamite

Well, I’ll be doing something I haven’t done in a long time. You’ll get to see it soon #oldhobby #herewego #hopethiswillbefun