Work Text:
“Is everything alright, Anya?” Ken’s voice interrupts Anya’s racing thoughts. She looks up at him in bewilderment.
“O-Oh! Sorry, was I spacing out again?” Anya chuckles nervously, taking a sip of her coffee. So bitter. She’s never liked coffee.
She’s sitting with Ken, that once little boy she had saved from drowning years ago at a café near her once childhood home.
She had come to visit her parents who had officially been married for a year (although in all honesty they’ve been “married” for much longer in her opinion) for the summer holidays.
Anya hadn’t expected to run into him while going grocery shopping the day before with her mother. They had gotten to talking and when he asked her out on a date (much to the squealing of her mother, geez her cheeks had become so heated in embarrassment) did she say yes.
So here they were on a Tuesday afternoon in June. It’s such a beautiful day. Anya had chosen to wear a cute sundress she had recently bought for herself. It was a white dress with a blue tropical design, a bow tie in the front at her chest.
Except Anya’s thoughts were elsewhere. She had been thinking about Damian. One of her many childhood friends? Enemies? Something, she didn’t really know.
She wonders what he’s up to now. Maybe married to some foreign princess or-
“What are you thinking about?” Ken inquired, leaning against the table as he studied her. Anya shakes her head with a smile.
“What makes you think that I’m thinking?”
“Because your brows keep furrowing and you haven’t said a word this whole date. C'mon Anya, I’m not dumb, I know you are thinking about something.”
“Okay okay!” Anya huffs. “I was thinking about.. someone.”
“Someone?” Ken’s brows lift.
“It’s not important-”
“It is Damian?” He asks suddenly.
“W-What? How did you know?” He can’t be a mind reader like her, could he?
Ken chuckles. “It was just a guess. I was the quiet kid in school and never said much to anyone but after you had saved me, I’d notice you going after him a lot.”
“E-Eh..” Anya fidgets in her seat. “Y-You were watching me?”
“Well, you were a loud energetic girl, everyone was noticing how wild you were.”
Anya makes a face. She supposed that was true. She didn’t hold back much in school. Especially considering on her first day at Eden Ademedy when she was 5-6 years old she had punched Damian in the face.
“Anyway, did you like him or something?” Ken lifts his own cup of coffee while taking a sip.
“L-Like him??” Anya blushes, trying very hard to pretend like she wasn’t, “N-No! Damian was so annoying. He yelled at me when I had tried to apologize for punching him and he never wanted to be my friend even though I was trying my hardest to help Papa with his-”
Anya lifts a hand to her mouth to stop herself. Even though it was years later and world peace had indeed been achieved, she couldn’t exactly let it slip that her “Father” had been the one to do it. He was still a spy after all.
Ken just laughs. “You’re cute when you're flustered”
Anya shakes her head, moving her hand away from her mouth. She believes that comment was supposed to make her heart flutter but she just couldn’t help shaking her head instead.
“You don’t think so?”
Not when you say it , She thinks to herself.
“Anyway,” Ken changes the subject, thankfully, “You’re visiting your parents right? For the holidays?”
Anya nods. “I try to visit them as much as possible. I just started going to college that’s about three hours away from here so I can’t always come to visit. But when it’s their birthdays or Christmas come to see them.”
Ken nods thoughtfully. “I see. I need to go see my folks as well. I just got here the other day and then I saw you so I haven’t seen them yet. If you’d like to, maybe you could come with me to see them.”
“Meet your parents?” Anya wonders. “Already? This is our first date though-”
“I’m sure they’d love you though!” Ken insists.
As she ponders over this, a voice from behind them makes her spin around in her seat.
“Anya Forger? On a date?”
She’s looking at Damian. He’s standing right there on the sidewalk, dressed so smartly in his navy shorts and short sleeve button up shirt. He’s become so tall. Surely if she were to stand up right now he’d be towering over her.
Her heart races in an unexplained way.
“D-Damian!” She leaps from her seat, going over to him like a penny being pulled by a magnet. Instantly drawn to him.
He smiles at her, a kind of smile that makes her weak. “You’re so short, Anya, I would’ve thought maybe you’d at least grow a few inches as you got older but you’re still little bean sprout”
"Hey!” Anya puffs. “You just got too tall, sir! If you got any taller your head would be in the clouds you could probably see Jack’s beanstalk up there!”
Damian rolls his eyes. “Haha, so funny, Forger. You’re the same as always.”
“So.. what are you doing here?” She asks him.
“My mom, she had called me last week and asked if I could see her. I’m out to buy flowers for her.” Damian explains.
That’s so cute, Anya thinks.
“And I see you’re with someone.”
“Oh, him?” Anya glances behind her at Ken who had been watching them the whole time. “That’s just Ken, I had saved him from drowning-”
“So that’s who it was? That got you the first stellar star all those years ago?” Damian huffs. “I was so jealous of you for that.”
“You were?”
“Of course! You were the first one in our grade to do it and I had wanted that honor.”
Anya smirks. “The famous Damian Desmond gets beat by me.”
Damian flushed red, his cheeks bright red. “A-Anyway, I should go. You have fun on your date, Forger.”
He turns to go when Anya reaches out to take him by his wrist. Her feels something like an electric shock touching him. “Damian, wait!”
Damian glances at her in surprise. “Anya?”
“C-Could we see each other again?”
“I-”
“Please! I’ll be my treat!”
“Are you asking me out, Forger?” Damian asks her curiosity.
Anya blushes, letting out of his wrist. “I mean.. It doesn’t have to be but-”
“Could it be?” Damian wonders with a tone in his voice that makes Anya’s heart flutter.
“S-Sure, Damian.”
He smiles. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Anya, I’ll come pick you up at around 7.” He says before walking off. Anya stands there a moment in daze of what just happened.
D-Did she just ask Damian Desmond on a DATE???
She inwardly squeals to herself, a small bounce in her step as she turns and walks back to her table where Ken was.
Anya sits herself back down with a blush. “S-sorry about that.”
Ken leans back in his chair, looking a bit defeated. “Can’t say I’m not disappointed. Seems like you really like him, Anya.”
Anya winces. “I’m so sorry, Ken, you seem like nice guy but I-”
“You like him.” Ken finishes. “Anyway, it was good to see you again, Anya,” He says as he stood up. He fishes out his wallet from his back pocket and takes out some cash. “Take care.” Placing a few dollars on the table, he takes off.
Anya doesn’t beg him to come back. She just watches him walk away, feeling a bit guilty about ruining her date with him.
The feeling floats away though as she takes another sip of her coffee, wondering what she and Damian will be doing tomorrow night.