Damien Time Travel AU Chapter 11
lets see if writing a fic for the first time in ages is gonna snap me out of my content-making hiatus?
Mark was waiting for him.
Oh, it was subtle, but Damien had long ago wised up to Mark's tricks. The actor may have not been waiting outside when the car pulled up to the mansion, and he wasn't standing by the door, but when Damien entered the living room Mark was sitting there, drink in hand, looking at Damien.
Mark's eyes were narrowed, but his face quickly smoothed as he got to his feet.
Damien let him. There were bigger things to worry about than Mark sizing him up the moment he stepped through the door, and it wasn't like Damien wasn't doing the same.
"My friend," Mark greeted, striding toward him like a predator stalking its prey. He produced a piece of paper from his pocket with a flourish, waving it in front of Damien's face long enough to catch that it was a brand new invitation to Mark's party, before folding the paper in half. With a steady confidence that Damien almost envied, Mark reached forward and tucked the paper into Damien's breast pocket. His hands lingered, smoothing out Damien's suit before Mark pulled them away.
It made Damien's skin crawl, but he reigned in his feelings before they could show on his face.
"Thank you, Mark," He barely refrained from gritting the words out. "But this didn't need to be in person."
"Am I not allowed to catch up with one of my most trusted friends?" Mark began to circle Damien, reaching out again and placing a hand on Damien's shoulder. As he passed behind Damien, it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Mark's footsteps were silent on the rich, red, carpet floor, and Damien didn't like the brief moment where he couldn't see or hear Mark.
But the moment passed, and Mark pulled up to Damien's right side, arm now wrapped around Damien's shoulders. It was a smoothly executed movement, but trapped Damien firmly in Mark's grasp.
"Come on, now, my dear mayor. Don't leave me the odd one out. You talked to everyone else but me."
"Alright," Damien pretended to concede, heart already sinking in his chest. He knew he couldn't have escaped so easily but it had still been worth a shot.
"So, how have you been, Mark?"
It was a weak beginning, but Damien knew he needed to keep control of the conversation as much as he could. If he could keep the questions on Mark, then Mark couldn't question him. How hard could it be when he was talking to such a self-absorbed man?
"Nevermind me," Mark said quickly, eyes skirting away. His grip on Damien's shoulder tightened for a second, then purposefully loosened. Damien raised an eyebrow, almost vicious in his delight at Mark's discomfort.
"Really? What is this party celebrating then? I thought maybe you had some sort of achievement or something that you wanted to celebrate. Then again, it doesn't really say on the invitation, does it?" He couldn't help egging Mark on. Damien remembered clearly how confused he had been about this the first time around, before he had realized it was nothing but a trap to lure William in.
Mark guided him deeper into the house, face turned resolutely away. "Damien, now," he said, voice lower than before. "Have a little faith in me, wouldn't you? Of course we're celebrating something. We're celebrating life. We're celebrating all the choices we've made which have brought us to this point in time. I thought you'd like to celebrate that. Isn't it your motto? Life is ours to choose?"
Damien felt a surge of rage. Surely Mark was mocking him.
"Sometimes I think I'm tired of giving people a choice," he growled, letting his anger slip into his voice. He stiffened immediately.
Fuck, he thought. I’m giving it away.
Mark's head snapped to face Damien, eyes burning.
"Damien!" He faux-gasped, or perhaps it was real. "Why, I never thought you'd ever say something like that!" Mark stopped walking, forcing Damien to stop as well. He turns his full body to face Damien, his other hand coming to grip Damien's arm. He searches Damien's face, and Damien waits for the game to end.
"You know," Mark says slowly. "Sometimes I feel the same."
His grip is too tight, like iron around Damien's arm.
"Damien. I'd like to ask you a question."
Damien can't keep his body from tensing.
"Old friend. What is it that you think you know about the party?" Mark's predatory smile is gone, leaving behind nothing but a horrid intensity.
"I don't think anything. I don't dare presume a thing." Damien replies, but Mark gives him a little shake.
"Damien. I'm not in the mood for games anymore. What. Do. You. Know."
Damien can't help it. He reaches forward, breaking free of Mark's grasp. He grabs Mark by the tie and yanks him forward.
"I know enough," He snarls, and then he pushes Mark away from him and sprints for the door.
He doesn't make it, of course. He's fueled by adrenaline, anger, and fear. But Mark has something he doesn't have right now: the manor on his side.
He catches Benjamin's eyes right before it all goes black. Not that it meant anything.
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sorry I’ve been on such a Dabi high lately but I almost croaked earlier at the thought of being his college gf and just being so opposite of each other!!!!!! you’re all good grades and perfect attendance, easily approachable and sweet smiles. and he’s all grumpy faced and dark clothing, makes people nervous whenever he stands outside smoking right by the doors.
who the hell would’ve thought you two would end up together? it just didn’t make a lick of sense seeing you two from the outside. but when they get a glimpse of you guys together, alone, everything just falls into place.
he’s so supportive of everything you do, no matter how dumb or nerdy he thinks it is. he keeps count of your stitches for you when you crotchet, doesn’t mind being your model for a cropped hot pink sweater you’re creating, wears the knitted beanie around campus that you made for him. he hates not having your attention but he takes some of the same classes you take so that he can help you study, quiz you when you’re not too sure of the subject, maybe even help you cheat if you want (you don’t, but he always offers).
he buys you your favorite drink at the cafes and always carries an extra laptop charger in case you forget. he helps you pick out your outfits when you’re unsure, and loves the opposite aesthetic whenever you stand hand in hand with him. he praises you when you succeed, and comforts you with your failures. he looks like a dirtbag that hangs around campus to be a creepy bum, but he’s there for you through and through <3
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Hey considering Natsume danced with a lot of girls just because Mikan said she was never going to dance with him.
Do you think that in a hypothetical scenario Natsume would have been able to kiss another girl just because Mikan kissed someone? Like for jealousy? just kiss, not be boyfriend and girlfriend or fall in love. I want to know what you think.
Hiii!
IDK if you are the same person who asked about Natsume's jealousy and petty reactions with the dancing before or not, but if not I find it interesting that this aspect of their relationship sticks out to people. Not that it doesn't stick out to me, but it's something I've been asked about a couple of times before and that seems interesting to me.
I've talked about this event in these answers (one & two) and in this part of Natsume's essay.
ANYWAY.... to answer your question briefly.... No. I don't think he would.
Long answer is under the cut.
Natsume danced with those girls in Chapter 26 because Mikan announced loudly she'd never dance with Natsume, and he took that personally. BUT I must also state that we see him dancing with only one girl to spite Mikan. Mikan assumes she's the only person he won't dance with, and I personally believe he was busying himself and spiting her by dancing with others, but there's no real proof that he did beside the one girl.
He clearly got bored pretty fast and ran away to hide in the woods away from other human beings so he wouldn't have to dance anymore.
This contrasts with his behavior at the Christmas Ball, where he clearly intends to hide in the tree for the whole event, stopping by for a slice of cake real quick. He only gets himself involved in the events when Ruka forces him to dance with Mikan. If it weren't for that, I think he would have stayed in the tree the whole time and wouldn't have danced with anybody else.
Natsume dances with other girls in Chapter 26 because Mikan says she wouldn't dance with him. It's one of the rare things he does out of spite. Mikan flat out tells Natsume she doesn't see why anybody would want to kiss him and his response to spite her is to kiss her.
Also I must stress that Natsume believes she has been kissed by someone else!
He thinks Ruka kissed her earlier that evening and has thought so all evening since Ruka kissed her on the cheek (she has been acting strangely and blushing and generally freaking out. He doesn't necessarily see this, but one of her concerns is that Ruka not get the wrong idea about her accidental "tooth kiss" with Natsume).
He thinks she has been kissed before, and his response is not to kiss somebody else. Natsume doesn't really want to hurt Mikan, firstly. Secondly, the whole "spite" thing only works if he thinks Mikan wants to kiss him, or could possibly be bothered by the idea of kissing someone else, and his self-hatred prevents that.
Mikan danced with almost everybody in Chapter 26, except for Natsume. To get back at her, he dances with everyone but her. There's not really any outwardly romantic insinuation about dancing since they both do it so liberally that night.
Kissing is different. Kissing is not something that Mikan would do with just anyone, and in Chapter 50, Natsume is convinced she's kissed Ruka and that the two like each other. If Mikan likes Ruka, then she probably won't care if Natsume kisses somebody else, right?
Besides, Mikan has convinced herself that Natsume has kissing experience too, and he doesn't really correct that. We could take that as his spiteful act, since he's giving the same thing Mikan is: not communicating clearly.
I genuinely think Natsume's behavior in Chapter 26 is out of the ordinary. He has a new interest in a girl, something he's not used to. His jealousy usually punishes the person he's jealous of (think Tsubasa or Tono, who can hug Mikan freely when he can't), or Mikan by just insulting her if he can't punish the person he's jealous of (he never punishes Ruka).
But his way of hurting Mikan is really specific after this: he generally tells her Ruka is too good for her, or he calls her names. It's not about how Natsume thinks he deserves better than her. At no point in the manga does he hint to Mikan that he's interested in any girl other than her (he dances with one girl that we see in Chapter 26, but since she's supposedly one of many, that means she's not special, AND Luna in the Sports Fest, against his will, so not done to make Mikan jealous).
This is actually why I don't care much for playboy! Natsume in fics; emotions or not, he's just flat out uninterested in them. He's so laser-focused on Mikan that he gives up really easily. He doesn't think making Mikan jealous is possible, also, so he doesn't try. He has a really low self esteem and that's part of the reason it takes so long for them to actually communicate their feelings.
That's the reason Natsume tells her to tell him she loves him with her own voice in the Rapunzel Arc: he's still not sure of it. He continuously doubts Mikan's feelings and considers his stronger than hers, which leads ultimately to his death. His whole arc is about sacrifice, and a big part of that is feeling that his role in people's life is protecting them, rather than any innate value he has for them.
It's also the reason why people use Luna to make Mikan jealous in fics!
I know this might bother people, but Luna is often used in fics, typically AUs, to make Mikan jealous. As we know, Luna is actually significantly older than the kids and is not at all interested in Natsume because she 1. treats him like shit and 2. is actually in love with the ESP. However, jealousy is such a huge part of most fics, and considering that jealousy of Luna is what made Mikan realize her feelings for Natsume, it feels like an important facet to the NM relationship, even in an AU.
I agree with this! I have even written a lil post about how hard it is to do a jealous!Mikan arc for a fic without using Luna. So, actually, despite it technically being OOC for Luna to be genuinely interested in Natsume, I don't care. I think Luna can and should be used in whichever way people want, since her role in canon cannot be easily transferred to an AU where Gulliver candy doesn't exist. (I do it too. Luna's is too flexible a role in the manga to not be toyed with in fics... be mad if you want but that's your problem.)
(To elaborate, Luna's role in the manga is to irritate Mikan but specifically by making her jealous and endangering Mikan's relationship with Natsume. Because of Luna, Mikan has to face the fact that at first she dislikes a girl just because it seems Natsume "likes" her, and then further, to assess why she's jealous when Luna reveals herself more. If one were to stick with Luna being the same age as Yuka in AUs, that's fine, but considering that Luna does play a vital role in making Mikan jealous in the manga, I don't think it's that weird to run with that in AUs. Hope that makes sense.)
Someone in the replies to the above mentioned post references using misunderstandings, and yes that's possible, but it would be momentary, like it is in the manga. Misunderstandings are difficult to stretch out or make enjoyable in fics. In fact, Mikan's misunderstanding that Natsume has kissed other girls in Chapter 50 is actually cleared up by Natsume himself right after he kisses her!
To sum it up, Natsume's clearly not all that interested in making Mikan jealous for a prolonged period of time anyway. He clears up misunderstandings quick and his one spite-motivated jealousy tactic is not all that romantic considering how much they dance with other people. I also don't think Natsume would want to have kissed someone other than Mikan, tbh. He gets bored of dancing with other girls in Chapter 26 so going out of his way to kiss another girl? That's just not interesting to him and would be punishing himself more than her.
I don't know if I communicated all my points in the best way, but long story short: no, I don't think he'd kiss another girl to spite Mikan or make her jealous.
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