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Damon wakes before the morning announcement has even played.
Usually, that obnoxious voice is what wakes him, but he's awfully comfortable right now and actually had a decent night of sleep. Why would he wake up earlier by himself?
The first thing he notices is that there's a warm weight leaned against him. Blinking, he briefly wonders what Kai is doing in his bed, only to remember that he did in fact return to his own dorm last night, finding it occupied by Eva.
Although he was fairly certain they laid rather far apart when they fell asleep. Because right now, Eva is basically cuddling up to him, her warm breath parting over his throat and her arm layered over him, holding him in place.
Damon's eyes snap open and he resists the urge to move. Not only is Eva laying right next to him, his leg is wrapped around hers. He's going to wake her if he moves, and he'd rather die than to let himself get caught in a compromising position like this.
Worst of all: the loudspeaker cracks and Tozu's voice announces the morning, making not only Damon, but also Eva flinch. He tenses and quickly closes his eyes, pretending to be asleep when Eva shifts.
She sits with a groan, and Damon can't help but crack his eye open just a bit to watch her brush back her hair and rub her eyes.
"Damon. Your leg."
She pushes him off like this is completely normal, rolling her shoulders and tilting her head from left to right.
"Th-that was you," Damon stammers, giving up the facade. He figured Eva has seen through it already.
She glances back at him with narrowed eyes, but there's something soft about her morning face. Like her defenses aren't fully up yet, her features softer than the Eva she is during the day under watchful eyes.
"Slept in a weird position?" he tries and sits up, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah. Some idiot's chest I think," Eva shrugs, "Got all stiff. But it's fine. That idiot made me sleep soundly."
Damon's lips part, but no word comes out. Making someone feel safe... Isn't that more Wolfgang's thing? Damon wouldn't put himself in that kind of savior position. Overall, his best interest is that he himself survives.
Well, maybe he'd be a little upset if something happened to Kai. He's not half bad. And Eva...
There's a sudden surge pulsating through his ribcage that makes him grunt and clutch his hand against his heart. A cold, looming primal fear of loss. What's that?
He snaps his head up, but Eva is busy sorting her hair. She doesn't seem to have noticed Damon's brief moment of pathetic weakness.
He gets another moment to breathe when she gets up to flick the light on, and he tries to calm his breathing with deep inhales through his mouth. He's never felt anything like that before. He was always his first priority, especially when faced with the demise of strangers. What's happening here?
"Damon."
Eva has returned to the bedside and looks up at him, her hand hovers in mid air. It reminds Damon of a cat ready to paw at someone. It almost makes him smile and he feels his face flush with heat.
"Huh?"
"Bweh... Can you brush my hair?"
Having such long hair must really be trouble. It's all over the place and a little fuzzy where the pillow electrified it under movement of nightly cuddling against it.
"I don't have—"
She produces a brush and waves it in her hand, and Damon rolls his eyes. It's almost like she owns the room.
Sighing, he reaches out his hand and takes the brush. Eva turns her back towards him and he starts slowly carding the brush through silky hair.
It distantly smells of sweet shampoo, arches underneath each stroke. Eva hums and droops her head forward, her shoulders relaxing.
It's strange. Damon isn't the kind of person for this, and yet... He finds himself wishing they could just stay like this, in this bubble of safe proximity that he feels himself ease into further and further.
"Damon."
He pauses. Eva has turned her head and watches him, her lips slightly curled in amusement.
"Eh?"
"It's fine. You don't have to pluck it out."
"I didn't mean to..."
Didn't mean to...? What's that phrase out of his mouth? And why does she look so entertained over it?
He shakes his head and puts the brush on the nightstand.
"We should head to the dining hall. Wolfgang is gonna throw a fit if I'm late."
Damon has no plan yet how to explain his absence to Kai. Maybe he'll just lie.
She frowns and her eyes grow distant. She looks sad so quickly that Damon reaches out his hand in reflex, resting it against her shoulder.
"Don't take it to heart. I'm not the biggest fan of him either, but he's only trying to keep the peace."
"Tch. Of course." She falters further. "Just keep the dumb mathlete at arm's length. What am I gonna do? Make him trip on a banana peel?"
"It would be funny?"
Eva glares at him for a moment, before she rolls her eyes. "Your humor is primitive."
"Hey!"
She laughs quietly, and Damon feels dumb that he walked right into that. Eva wraps him around her finger a little too easy... And his hand still rests against her shoulder without being swatted away.
Maybe he should say something. Eva took his side in the trial, and Wolfgang's treatment of her is wrong. He's a debater, damn it. Why do all the arguments slip him the moment it comes to Wolfgang?
"Damon."
He blinks and looks up. Eva is looking at him with an odd expression. Her hand is hovering again, fingers flexing, like she wants to reach out. Her eyes flit over his face and then she blushes, quickly turning away. "Let's head to breakfast."
She pulls away, and now it's Damon's hand that stays dumbly hovering in the air. As she wraps him into her net, she disappears from his reach just as quickly.
She looked so peaceful after waking up, he thinks dimly, as he gets up too. Her lips looked smooth and warm and he wonders what they would feel like—
Oh Damon, discard that thought at once. Who lets feelings into a killing game?