Demonfire Oneshots

Can't Give You Anything But Love

It was the faint tune coming from upstairs that drew him away from his father's lavish party and into the halls of the mansion he once knew so well.

He had an idea of where it was coming from, and stopping outside of what used to be the room of Mar'i Grayson confirmed that suspicion. He lightly tapped his knuckles on the heavy wooden door and opened it before getting a response. He first saw the record player stationed on a desk next to the door, spinning a vinyl with the words 'Greatest Jazz Classics' on it. The second thing he saw was Mar'i, lying on her bed with her long hair spread out around her, softly humming along the the Ella Fitzgerald song.

"Hey," He greeted her, making his presence known. She sat up on her bed and smiled, lazily leaning back on her arms and arching her back so her head was thrown back and her chest was pushed forwards. "Hey, Dami. Sorry for ditching. Got nostalgic." She stood up from her stretch and softly laughed.

They both used to live in the Manor together before Damian got his own place and Mar'i moved to Blüdhaven with her parents.

Her and Damian hadn't had the best relationship over the years, but through some miracle they'd gotten to a point of mutual friendship. Although, some days the young man missed the spats they used to have. He always appreciated Mar'i's quick wit.

'I can't give you anything but love, baby...'

The record continued, filling the silence between them.

'That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby...'

Mar'i looked down. "You never liked my music. I remember I would play it louder than I should have just to spite you."

He chuckled. "Really? 'Cause I always told you I hated it spite you."

They both chuckled before lapsing back into silence. Things had always been somewhat tense between them - even though they had made up. Damian wished he could find a way to alleviate that tension, but so far he hadn't been too successful.

She sighed and smiled. "I like you, Damian." She said, running her hand down his arm. He stared at her hand, which was still on his arm. "You aren't too bad yourself." He cockily smiled. Mar'i had always liked how arrogant he was. She loved a challenge, and Damian was exactly that.

She dropped her hand back to her side. Occasionally she would feel the urge to shamelessly throw herself at him, but she knew she would only regret it. He never seemed interested anyway. She always watched how much she drank around him - she had a bit of a  history of becoming loose when she was drunk and the adolescent crush she had on Damian could emerge at any time to bite her in the ass.

"Anyway, don't you have a hot date you should be getting back to?" She teased, playfully pushing his shoulder.

He forcefully laughed, the insincerity resounding in his voice. "I don't really date." He said. Mar'i's eyes narrowed at the bald faced lie. "Since when? Tonight?" She asked. Their playful, friendly conversation had been slowly turning stale. Mar'i supposed it was only a matter of time before they wound up arguing again, no matter how much they had resolved things. They were like fire and ice.

Damian kept up the friendly tone with a chuckle. "Do you really think so little of me, Grayson?" He gritted his teeth, throwing the first-name-basis they had worked so hard to achieve aside.

Mar'i humourlessly laughed. "Ha. Do you want to know exactly what I think of you?" She didn't let him reply. "I think you're an arrogant, childish, stubborn, slut." She huffed not bothering to disguise her anger with bitchy laughs and petty comments.

"You're calling me a slut?" He narrowed his eyes. "If you only knew the things I've heard about y—"

He cut himself off when seeing her ever so slightly flinch before putting a mask of indifference back on her face.

What am I doing? He thought, reaching for Mar'i before she stormed away. He wrapped his hand around her elbow, grimacing at the awkward grip. "I'm sorry." The last thing he wanted was to go back to how things used to be between them. It was fun to reminisce, but if it actually happened he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

She nodded her head. "Me too." She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, Damian. I don't know why we always end up fighting."

He knew it was platonic, but the words solidified a lump in his throat. "Yeah." He managed to get out past the lump, returning her hug in the process.

She took a half-step back and looked up at him, a crease forming in her brow. "Are you okay? You're looking at me weird."

Instead of answering, Damian leant down and kissed her. She was slightly taken aback at first, but after a second, she leant into it. Maybe this is what had been missing the whole time.

'I can't give you anything but love.'