Archive of Our Own

Demetrius watched his fidgeting younger brother with keen interest. 

It was a rare holiday that his little brother had chosen to come home to visit, having skipped every other one to stay in the dorms to study, no doubt working hard to impress their father. Demetrius understood all too well, though, he’d long ago stopped such childish dreams himself. Knowing such a task was futile. 

But his brother had yet to face such cold cruel reality and Demetrius didn’t have it in him to crush his childlike hopes just yet. They might not have been close but they were still brothers. 

But school wasn’t what was currently on Damians mind. Demetrius knew at least that about him. 

Usually in car rides like this, where the two of them were alone, Damian liked to pester him with questions. Trying his best to connect or seek advice from his highly accomplished older brother. Not to much avail, as Demetrius was often plagued with his own issues and worries that he often brushed off his younger brothers curious questions with an insult or two. 

But recently, he’s been trying to change that. Having had a much needed realization that even if they were a good eleven years apart, they were brothers and his fathers pressure affected them both. And he didn’t want Damian to be like him. 

And that would only happen if he worked harder in repairing their frayed relationship now, rather than later when Damian grew to resent him. It wasn’t too late. 

“Is something bothering you Damian?” Demetrius crossed a leg, giving his brother a most curious gaze. 

Damian jumped in surprise, not having expected him to speak, it was a first for him to initiate a conversation. “O-oh, it’s nothing brother.” 

He did a good job at trying his best to seem un-bothered but he was still a child and his ears burned red, indicating his embarrassment. Which Demetrius was quick to notice and piece together some theories.  

“Are you sure? Is it school? Do you need tutoring?” A spark lit in Damians gaze at his older brother's attention and interest in him. It made Demetrius feel a bit guilty for having been so cold to him before. 

“No, school is fine. I’m making the top marks of my grade.”  He boosted with a bashful smile. 

So if not school, what was the problem? 

He could only think of one thing. 

He recalled hearing about the incident from some classmates of his. It was the talk of the start of the year. A first year boy had been punched by a female student. Demetrius had thought it amusing until he had heard his own brother's name attached to the rumor. He’d been mildly concerned and a bit annoyed by all the chatter and attention it had brought on to him but over all he’d been curious and had been itching to ask his brother all about it. 

Like what had he done in such a short amount of time to provoke the wrath of some commoner girl? 

A light bulb lit up in his head as all the pieces fell together. 

“Is it a girl, perhaps?” 

Damian's face went entirely red and he began squirming in his seat and it seemed like his hypothesis had been correct. It had been a girl. 

“It is, isn't it?” He leaned in amused. Teasing a younger sibling was an older sibling's birthright, especially when it came to first crushes. “Do you have a crush on her now?” 

“It’s not like that!” Damian quickly defended himself with a furious blush, so he did , “She’s nothing by an eyesore and annoyance.” He lied so boldly. Obviously unaware of his feelings. 

“Is it the girl who decked you?” Demetrius hoped it to be just so he could continue this amusement. 

“Yes.” He muttered under his breath. 

“So, what is the problem? Want me to give you love tips?” 

“Like I said, it's not like that!” Damian tsked, his brattier side finally making an appearance as he finally managed to glower at the older Desmond, “It’s just that she did me a big favor and got a tonitrus bolt because of me. Now I’m in her debt and don’t know how to pay her back.” 

Demetrius raised his brows, two bolts in just half a year? Who was this girl exactly? 

“Hmm, it wouldn’t be fitting for a Desmond to be indebted to someone. So what are you thinking?” 

“I don’t know — she’s pretty dumb so I was thinking about maybe tutoring her.” He shrugged. “Ow!” 

Demetrius leaned back as Damian rubbed his forehead where Demetrius had just flicked his forehead. “Tutoring? Really is that the best you could think about?” 

Damian looked offended, “Well what else could I do?” 

“Listen to this advice from your big brother, girls like gifts! Tutoring is fine and all — it allows you time to spend together, sure — but that could also lock you in a box where your relationship is just academics. Trust me, you don’t want to be locked in that box.” He shook his head with a shudder, “You want to give her a gift so your intentions aren’t mistaken or misunderstood. And also it will make her feel more appreciated.” 

“Appreciated?” He blushed, “B-but it’s no — ”

“Not like that.” Demetrius rolled his eyes, “Yeah I heard you the first time. If there’s one thing you should trust me on, it’s this. Look, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re gonna buy her a gift and you can even still offer to tutor her — after two Tonitrus bolts you’re right she probably needs all the help she can get. And when you two are alone, you’re gonna give her the gift.”

Damian contemplated his plan, biting his lip as he thought it over. He seemed to be willing to do it just simply because it was the first real brotherly advice Demetrius had offered him but also it was a good plan if Demetrius would say so himself.  

“What would I even get her?” 

The next weekend to come up, the two brothers found themself at the high end mall in the center of Berlint. The mall had all the most expensive designer stores and they were more than likely to find a gift there. Demetrius had a card his father had gifted him for all his achievements but he would only use it if Damian was unable to afford whatever gift they chose from his own allowance.

However they would not buy anything without a little help. 

“Demi!” A feminine voice called out. 

Both brothers turned to find a freckled redhead approaching and Demetrius noticeably perked up at the sight of her. 

“Isa,” He smiled, “Thanks for coming. This is my little brother Damian. Damian, this is Isa, my girlfriend.” 

Damian whipped his head around in shock and Demetrius could see the gears in his head turning as his sudden relationship advice seemed to start making sense. 

“Hi Damian! It’s nice to finally meet you! Demetrius talks about you all the time.” She held out a hand for the younger Desmond to shake. 

Both brothers blushed at her words, one bashfully and the other in joy. 

“N-nice to meet you.” Damian shook her hand, which wasn’t that much bigger than his. “Why is she here?” He asked bluntly. Clearly confused. 

“Don’t be rude Damian.” Demetrius ruffled his hair playfully, “I thought it would be best to have a girl's perspective.” He reached out and took her hand as he spoke, “And also I wanted you to meet her.” He added on with a tiny smile. Damian would be the first in his family to find out and he couldn’t have thought of anyone better as Damian smiled back at him.  

“Demi told me all the details, so Damian, what else can you tell us about this girl? The more information the better I’ll be able to help.” 

“I hardly know her.” Damian mumbled, “What type of information?” 

“Like is she into books? Movies? Toys? Flowers? Anything that you might have picked up on that could give us a start?” 

He thought a moment before answering, “She likes cute things, like fluffy sheep keychains.” He fidgeted nervously.  “But she could be weird sometimes too. She tells the most ridiculous made up stories. And I think I heard her say she likes peanuts and spy cartoons.” 

“Okay… well that’s a start. I think I know the brand of the keychain you mentioned but let's look around. Now, do you have any ideas before we start? It’s important to remember that this is a gift for her from you. What you feel about the gift is also important and might even mean more than the gift itself.” Isa advised. 

Damian contemplated and Demetrius watched with an amused grin as the two of them interacted. They were both deeply serious about this. He was glad he had asked Isa to join them. 

“Maybe… jewelry? Like... a necklace?” Damian answered after a bit of thinking. “Or… maybe a charm bracelet?” 

“Jewelry is a universally appropriate gift, it’s definitely a good option. But it’s important to pick the right piece of jewelry. Let’s go look at some jewelry stores to start!” 

Demetrius followed the two of them around every store, giving his own input about options with each item they picked. However, no matter where they went, Damian was unsatisfied with the options and so was Isa. She stressed the importance of picking something that felt right and Damian took this advice to heart. They eventually moved on to clothes and then bags and shoes before ending up in some toy store. But Damian wasn’t pleased with any of the options there either. 

“This is hopeless. I should just stick with the tutoring.” Damian grumbled as they walked out of the last toy store empty handed. 

“Hey, don’t give up! The answer is here somewhere. Trust me!” Isa patted his shoulder, “Let’s try one last place.” 

She led them to a small store that looked out of place amongst the luxury brand stores. It was a novelty store with a lot of random items. 

The three split up in the store, each of them trying their best to find something in the chaos. 

“I hope we find something here.” Isa whispered as she slid up next to where Demetrius was looking at some weird cat statues. 

Demetrius smiled at her reassuringly, “Don’t worry we will. I’ll force him to pick something before we leave if we have to.” He chuckled. 

Isa rolled her eyes and looked over to Damian who was standing by a glass display case. “He’s been in that spot for a while.” She noted. “Think he found something?” 

“Don’t know, let’s go see.” Demetrius slowly approached his brother, praying he had found something. “See something?” 

Damian jumped at the sound of their approach, having been too focused on whatever he was looking at. He bit his lip and pointed into it. 

It was a simple necklace with a weird colored star charm. There were a few other versions with turtles, dolphins and butterflies as well. The label read, “Mood Changing Necklace and rings”, which explained the odd blue color the star currently displayed. It wasn’t exactly a diamond or the best money could buy, with it priced at no more than 10 dalc, but it might do. 

“Are you sure?” Demetrius didn’t want him to doubt the gift but it was so unexpected of a gift he had to be sure. 

Damian nodded hesitantly, “She’s into weird things. And I thought the star might motivate her to get more Stella.” He muttered with a blush. 

“A star for a bolt.” Isa giggled, “I think it’s perfect Damian.” 

Damian looked proud of the praise and Demetrius didn’t need more convincing as he asked the storekeeper to ring them up. 

“Would you like the ring that comes with it? It’s a two for one deal.” The cashier informed them as he packed the necklace. 

Demetrius didn’t even look at Damian before he answered, “Yes we would.” 

Damian’s foot tapped nervously on the library floor as he waited for Anya to arrive. He’d finally mustered the courage to ask her to join him in the library so he could pay her back for her handkerchief by tutoring her. Unknown to her, there was a necklace burning a hole in his pocket as he had fought the urge to just shove the embarrassing into her hands in the middle of class. 

But Isa’s words rang in his head so he waited patiently to follow the plan. 

“Now make sure when you give it to her — you make sure to tell her how much you appreciate what she did for you okay? It’s best if you do it at the end of your tutoring session so it doesn’t distract you while you work.” 

Damian wasn’t sure how that would work when it had already ruined most of his day and kept him from focusing on any of his lessons. But he knew the intent was more so that she could focus because let’s be honest she needed all the focus she could get. 

After a short wait she finally arrived, her tiny head popping up on the other end of the table. She had a look of wonder on her face as she looked around, “This place is huge!” She exclaimed and he was immediately filled with anxiety as he shot a worried look around. It must have been her first time there by the way she talked so loudly. 

“Lower your voice, we’re in a library.” He scolded.

“Why?” She ignored him, climbing onto the seat across from him. She set her bag down on the table and began pulling out her books. 

“B-because people are trying to read in silence and focus on their work.” 

She looked around to the empty library. Where they sat it was unusually empty with only one student working in the corner table out of earshot. 

“And the librarian will give you another bolt if she hears you.” He whispered harshly, feeling like she still wasn’t getting the clue. 

That got her attention and she nodded, finally lowering her voice, “Okay Sy-on boy. I’ll talk quietly.” 

Sighing, Damian opened his notes and books, “Let’s start.” 

It went better than he was expecting but not without a few headaches. 

During english, she got surprisingly super psychological, asking “what were even words” and “wasn’t it interesting how someone one day just started babbling and words were formed?”. In math, she groaned and complained the entire time, muttering about how neither of her parents even used math to do their jobs. In science she was the quietest but the least focused, her eyes staring in wonder at the pictures in the text book rather than the actual lesson. She started nodding off during history — though she was the most knowledgeable during the political sections. The other subjects were an easier breeze as they weren’t as important as the main four courses. 

Overall, it had been pretty good and he was actually disappointed when they started packing up their things. 

“Thanks a lot Sy-on boy. Anya is dumb but she thinks with your help she can get smarter.” She stated matter of factly. 

Damian blushed at her rare compliment, the necklace burning even hotter in his pocket now that their books were put away and it was time for him to give it to her. He gripped it as he cleared his throat, “Well, you’re not as dumb as I thought you were…” Wrong words, they weren’t what he wanted to say at all but he couldn’t fight the habit, “Actually, I’m thankful for what you did for me. I wanted to say — '' he took a deep breath, “Thank you. And sorry for making you get a demerit.”

Anya smiled and his cheeks reddened at the sight, it was similar to the one he saw her give Becky once, “It’s okay. It’s all for peace.” She giggled. 

Peace? Like peace of mind? Whatever… 

“Actually, I have something else.” He stated and shakily removed the gift from his pocket, it was bagged in a purple velvet pouch. He slid it across the table with shaky hands. “This is for you.” He muttered, avoiding her eyes as he looked at anything but her. 

He heard her gasp in wonder as she opened it, holding it up in wonder as she looked at it, “Woah!” She completely forgot about whispering. 

“It’s a color changing mood necklace,” He informed her, peaking only slightly to see her gaping at it. “You put it on and it will tell people what your mood is.” 

She gasped, her wide eyes in curiosity, “Like it could read my mind?!” 

“Sure…” That’s not exactly how it worked but he doubted a more complicated answer wouldn’t satisfy her and truthfully not even he knew exactly how it worked. All he knew was that he had tried it and had been shocked when the colors had changed to accurately guess the mood he had been in. “It comes with a sheet that will tell you what each color means.” 

He watched as she slipped it on and held the star tightly in her hands and closed her eyes in concentration. The actual way to work it was to let it rest on your bare chest but he bit his tongue as he watched her try it out. After a few moments she finally let it go, looking down at it with excitement, “It changed!” She quickly picked up the sheet and grinned from ear to ear. “Look Sy-on! It works!” 

His heart pounded as she showed him the charm and the sheet. The color was purple, for happiness. It had previously been resting on green and yellow from when he had used it, which meant nervous and mixed emotions.  

“O-of course it works! It’s the best money could buy! I wouldn’t gift something that didn’t work.” He spluttered, trying to calm his racing heart. “S-so do you like it?” 

“Yes! It’s one the best gifts I've ever gotten!” 

Demetrius smiled as he listened to little Anya Forger giggle at her gift. Of course he couldn’t resist coming to watch over his little brother. Honestly he hadn’t had much faith that Damian would manage to get through the whole evening without insulting the poor girl but he’d managed just fine with just some minor bantering. 

“See, things went just fine.” Isa whispered beside him. Of course she couldn’t resist either. They sat on the floor behind a shelf of books. Damian and Anya sat just on the other side studying. They had been quietly reading and doing their own studying while they listened over the two young scholars working. 

“Remember when we were their age.” He whispered, nudging her with his elbow. 

She grinned, “Oh yeah, you had gray hair at six and a worse attitude than your brother.” 

His face fell, “I meant like when we met but thanks for the insult.” 

She giggled, “Sorry I’ll never let you forget. But, yes of course I remember, we weren’t much different from them. Though I didn’t punch you—I did put you in your place.” She nodded proudly. 

He rolled his eyes, remembering a tiny Isa, who had been the kindest, most well liked girl in class yet when it had come to him she always seemed to hold him hostage with a glare. They had an unspoken rivalry, having placed 1st and 2nd in the entrance exams—and let's just say she hadn’t been too happy about coming 2nd to him. So even though she had been nice to everyone, she had a deep hatred for him before even meeting him. 

And he was a Desmond, born with arrogance and pride, and had met her hatred with his own. 

Their academic rivalry was still ongoing but at least by the time they hit middle school they were on better grounds and starting to come to terms with their feelings for each other. 

“Wanna bet who will confess first?” Isa whispered mischievously, ever the competitive one. 

“My money is on Forger.” 

Sorry Damian but if you’re anything like me… 

“Hmm, well I think little Desmond has potential. He did manage to give her the necklace. So I’m betting on him.” Isa confidently stated. 

“Well Miss Sinclair, looks like we’ve got a bet.” 

“Seems we do, Sir Desmond.” 

“Will they be here soon?” Isa peeked into his office, eyes shining with childish excitement. 

“I just received a call that they’re driving in now.” Demetrius set down his work and stood, approaching his wife with a smile. His younger brother had finally managed to pry himself out of his books and agreed to come visit him for a weekend. Demetrius had been even more shocked to hear that he would be bringing someone along. 

It didn’t take much math for either of them to put it together. 

Of course they were both excited to see Damian for the first time in months but what they looked forward to the  most was his plus one. And the possible end to their eleven year bet. A bet neither of them had forgotten in all those years. It almost made him feel nostalgic remembering the time he and Isa had sat in the Eden library grinning like fools at the amusement of his little brother's future relationship. 

Just in time the front door bell rang and Isa raced to answer it with a bemused Demetrius on her heels. 

Damian and Anya entered hand in hand, his brother looking the most nervous between the two of them as he greeted Demetrius and Isa. 

Demetrius had caught brief looks of Anya over the years—Damian might have been in denial of his feelings but he was not so good at hiding all the photos that included her around his room. She’d come a long way from the girl who punched boys on the first days of school and had worked her way up to the status of an Imperial Scholar. Damian had boasted about her accomplishments more than his own after a period of time. Having dropped his desire to please their father after a couple of years of realizing it was a futile agenda. 

After initial greetings with Damian were done, he cleared his throat as he finally introduced her, “This is Anya… my girlfriend.” 

It didn’t go unnoticed by either Demetrius or Isa—the star necklace still around Anya’s neck and the matching ring that had originally come alongside it, hanging on a makeshift string around Damian’s neck. 

Isa and Demetrius gave each other knowing grins and Isa didn’t spare a second to ask—

“So, who confessed first?”