Damian and Mar'i Demonfire

Seventeen

I've recently become OBSESSED with Heathers: The Musical. OH MY GOD, IT'S SO GOOD!!! I even bought the Heathers album from iTunes on my phone. I've been listening to it throughout this entire winter break. In fact, I'm listening to it while typing this story out. This chapter is based off of the song Seventeen from Heathers. Damian is JD, and Mar'i is Veronica.

My footsteps echo lightly throughout the stairway as I tread down the steps.  Careful not to spill the set of Earl Grey I'm carrying.

Damian's taken up the habit of working really late down in the cave for the past three weeks. Before, the latest he worked t'il was around 1 o'clock. Now, he's been working non-stop t'il around 3 or 4 o'clock.

Normally I wouldn't be so worried about Damian's time management, but it's become a problem now.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and enter the cave. At the cave's main computer, I see a figure hunched over the keyboard. Damian. He's still awake.

As I get closer to him, I start to notice small details of the cluttered desk Damian sits at.  Papers are strewn across the table and floor.  An empty coffee mug lays forgotten on the floor. On the computer's screen, I see files with newspaper articles opened up.

BOMBING AT KARACHI POWER PLANT, HUNDREDS OF WORK PERSONNEL DEAD

YANNIS XENOPOLOS, BILLIONAIRE FOUNDER OF ATHENS LAND DEVELOPMENT, ASSASSINATED AT HEATHROW AIRPORT

TERRORISTS CAUSE MASSIVE DAMAGE AT ASWAN DAM, HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS INJURED

CAVE IN BEIJING WITH UNKNOWN CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE UNCOVERED

MYSTERIOUS TERRORISTS SIGHTED IN RIYADH, DO NOT ENGAGE

No wonder Damian's been working so late. It's a personal matter. The League.

Damian doesn't seem to hear me walk up to him.  Even when I set down the tea tray next to him, he doesn't acknowledge my presence.  He just continues to scrawl his pen across the paper he's writing on.

"Damian," I sigh.  "It's four in the morning."

"Tt."  He doesn't even look up.

I examine him closer.  Dark shadows rest under his bloodshot eyes.  His hair is rumpled and battered, as if he just got out of bed.  I honestly have no idea what keeps him running.  Probably gallons of caffeine.  Expresso maybe.  It's impressive, but seriously unhealthy.

I stand behind him and rub his shoulders.  Damian stops writing and sets the pen down.  He closes his eyes and reaches his hands to mine.

Finally I get noticed.

"Damian, we haven't gone out in nearly a month."

Ever since he took up the habit of working late, Damian's visits to my apartment have decreased significantly.  I've grown rather accustomed to waking up with him next to me in.  It's gotten rather lonely.

"I know Mar'i.  And I am sorry.  But I just need to crack this code to infiltrate the League-"

"Oh forget about your mother," not caring if he gets angry. "Damian, your entire life doesn't have to be about becoming the next Batman."

Just last week, we had a date set at this really fancy Italian restaurant.  We had been planning it for nearly a month.  Unfortunately, at the last minute Damian cancelled the reservations, because he was too busy with work.  I wasn't very happy with that.  I was really looking forward to that evening.

Damian doesn't respond.  He continues to glare at the files opened on the computer screen. His silence isn't very reassuring at all.

"Mar'i, this case is very important to-"

"Is your girlfriend not important to you?" interrupting his excuse.

Damian frowns. "Mar'i, of course you are important to me, it is just-"

"Just that you're a shitty person." I remove my hands from his shoulders. I turn around and stalk back to the staircase. I'm not having this.

"Mar'i!"

I feel Damian's hand on my shoulder.  I turn around.  Glaring angrily at him, crossing my arms.  Damian's bloodshot eyes look apologetic.

"Mar'i, I-"

"Damian, this isn't healthy for you at all.  And you need to stop obsessing over the League so much. You have responsibilities to other people as well.  Me."

I unfold my arms and take his hands in mine.

"Damian, can't we just be a normal couple? For once in our lives? Just do normal things that people our age do."

"Like what?"

Like what, Oh X'hal. Then again, Damian isn't a normal person.

"I don't know, just, hang out. Watch crappy movies, rent a video, anything but this." I gesture towards the entire cave. "Because this, isn't normal."

Damian looks down at the floor. He has the decency to look ashamed. Good.

"Mar'i, I will make it up to you, I promise."

"Alright." The anger I felt diminishes slightly. "No more late work here in the cave. Ever."

"Fine."

"And you're not coming back to the cave for the next week."

"Mar'i, I-"

"Damian."

"Fine," he gives in.

"And you seriously need some rest."

"What-"

"Upstairs, now. Before you get sleep-deprived hallucinations."

Damian sighs, but he does what I say. He trudges up the stairs, with his shoulders sagging slightly. I can hear him yawn faintly. He's bad at pretending he's not tired.

"And for God's sake, comb you're hair!" I call out to him. It's seriously odd seeing his hair so messed up.

Just as I'm about to follow Damian upstairs, I pause at the doorway, and walk back to the computer.

There is seriously a lot of information here on bombs and shit.

I shut off the computer and head back towards the stairs. Just because Damian's sleep-deprived, doesn't mean I have to be.