sanctuary || d. wayne

EIGHT

KING'S APARTMENT
NOVEMBER 7th
15:12 p.m.

Dinner had gone surprisingly well on Saturday. Noelle had the impression that Damian's brothers liked her for her rather than solely on what she does for Damian. The past week had moved so fast, she didn't notice it was Monday until her alarm woke her up at seven in the morning.

But the school day went well. Nobody stared at her or treated her like a traumatized victim. They were respectful, of course, but no one randomly hugged her in the halls. There were the occasional questions about that old photo from the cafe, but Noelle didn't know how to respond to them.

What were she and Damian? The obvious answer would be the "boyfriend/girlfriend" label, but could she tell anyone that? Would he want to keep it lowkey?

She hadn't even told Silas about their kiss on Halloween. Things hadn't gone completely back to normal, as she had hoped, but they got better. Her and Silas were talking again, and it felt great. It's hard to talk to him with Christian hanging around all the time. Though, she does sense something different about that...

Her thoughts about Silas were interrupted with the sight of her white apartment door. The three numbers seem to gleam in the dim lighting.

Mindlessly turning the key clockwise to unlock the door, she steps inside. With a sigh, she drops her backpack against the door.

"You're late."

Noelle lets out a yelp before quickly turning around to face the source. Damian stares at her from her couch, eyebrow raised in confusion at her reaction.

"Damian!" Noelle exclaims, putting a hand to her chest. Her heart beats rapidly as it attempts to calm down. "What the hell?!"

He shrugs. "You said your dad was going back to his normal work schedule. Was that not an invitation?"

"It was an invitation for you to come and knock on my door like a normal person," Noelle retorts. She leans back against her door before letting out a breath of relief. "HomeWrecker, you scared me."

He stands up from the couch, revealing the same turtleneck and black pants he usually wears. Except this time, there's a neutral blazer to accompany it. He looked cute.

It takes Noelle a second to process that Damian is in her apartment as Damian and not Robin. A slight pressure rested itself on her chest.

But the anxiety was quickly put away once those emerald eyes made eye contact with her light brown. He's been here before, she reminds herself, there's nothing to worry about.

Noelle gives him a smile before making her way to him. He doesn't stop her from gently cupping his face before bringing her lips to his.

Damian never understood the appeal of kissing. Based on others, it didn't look that appealing. But kissing Noelle changed that. He felt himself wanting to kiss her almost all the time. In school today, he kept getting distracted from his studies because he was too busy thinking about Noelle. He would think about her warm embrace and how her eyes reminded him of milk chocolate.

The two didn't get a chance to see each other after dinner on Saturday. And even though it's only been two days, Damian missed Noelle greatly.

Finally, he kisses her back, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her just a little closer. A few more seconds pass before Noelle slowly pulls away. She looks into his eyes before giving a small grin.

"I've missed you."

"It's only been two days," Damian retorts, slightly embarrassed by her words. Noelle gives a triumph grin at the blush that formed on his cheeks. She strokes his warm cheek with her thumb, making him unintentionally lean against it.