twenty

                                    

                                          
Damien
Damien is putting the finishing garnishes on his lemon chicken when he hears light giggling and deep chuckles. Knowing his darling girl is happy once more makes his heart swell and a smile grace his lips.
He has the sudden urge to read to her a love letter he wrote to the woman of his dreams when he was fifteen. It's a bad piece of writing, he knows that now, but...he just knows she would love it. 
"...in here," Nico's voice travels around the corner, and Luca looks up from his laptop while Enzo stands from his position on the couch, setting his phone down on the cushion.
"It smells wonderful," comes her small, precious voice, and Damien grins.
"I'm glad you think so, darling. I hope you at least try my dishes before going straight to the pizza, but I know you college kids are..." the words die on his tongue as he turns around and sees Seraphine's bright blue eyes wide, taking in all of the food he's made. There's a smile on her perfect lips, and it steals his next breath. 
"Of course, Damien. I would love to try your cooking," she says nonchalantly, like she didn't just utter his first name. 
Luca glances over at Damien, whose jaw is slackened, and reaches across the island to tap his arm. This shakes Damien out of his reverie, and he turns to the sink to hide his blush, busying himself with cleaning his hands.
He freezes when a soft moan fills his ears, and his dick twitches in his dress pants. 
"This is...amazing," Seraphine gushes, and Damien snaps back to reality, pulling his mind from the gutter and looking over his shoulder to find his darling sliding a small bite of his beef dish past her plump lips.
He grins widely, pride filling his chest. Nico rounds the island, a piece of pizza hanging from his lips, and claps Damien on the shoulder. 
"You did good, brother." Damien scowls at him and swats him away, making Nico laugh. He goes to stand next to Seraphine, not bothering with sitting down on the stool. Enzo, however, makes his way over from the couch and sits next to Nico, his eyes faraway. 
"Why do you guys call each other 'brother'?" Seraphine suddenly asks, curiosity lilting her voice. Damien raises his brows and looks to Luca, who clears his throat. 
"We...grew up together, Seraphine. We've always been around each other, and we care for each other like blood brothers would." 
It's not a lie, but it's not the whole truth. They have been together since diapers, each of their powerful parents sending them to the same daycare, preschool, grade school, and high school. It was their conscious decision to go to the same university, and they've been inseparable ever since. 
"Oh," comes her reply, and the way her lips form the simple word makes Damien's heart skip a beat. He has a vision of her on her knees in front of him, those same lips parted that same way as he holds her close to him by her hair--
"If I may..." Seraphine starts, and Damien looks up at her, stepping up to the island so the tent in his pants isn't visible to her. 
"Of course, sweetheart." Luca answers for them, and Seraphine sets down her fork, licking her lips. 
"How old are you all?" Her cheeks flush as she asks her question, and Damien huffs out a laugh. 
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to ask someone their age?" He teases, expecting her to smile and fire something back, but instead her face drains of color and her eyes mist. 
"I, uh..." For a moment, Damien thinks she's going to cry again--he couldn't stand it when she cries--but then she clears her throat and smiles up at him. He bristles; it's fake.
"Yes, she did. I'm sorry if I offended you, I was just curious." Her voice is steady, but he can hear the pain and confusion in her voice. He wonders why it's there.
"Curiosity is never a bad thing here, Seraphine." Nico speaks, and she turns her head to him. 
"Well, aren't you just the philosophical one," Luca says, and Nico glares at him. Enzo doesn't speak. 
"I'm 31, dove." Nico answers, and Seraphine's eyes go wide. 
"33." Luca's next, and Damien smirks at her parted lips. 
"32," he says, and they all turn to Enzo, who's still lost in his own world. Nico gently nudges him and he blinks, lifting his head from his hand and glancing towards Seraphine.
"Hm?" 
"Seraphine was wondering how old we are," Damien fills him in, following his every move. Enzo blinks again and his green eyes drop to the food in front of him.
"Ah. Well, I'm 29." 
"You're all so--"
"Old?" Luca challenges, and Seraphine flushes red again. Cute. 
"I was going to say young, actually." At this, Luca's eyebrows fly up, and for once in his life, he looks lost. Damien chuckles, and Nico smirks. Seraphine then smirks slightly herself, and looks up at Luca. "Which means, if I'm to assume correctly, that you look older than you are." 
Damien grins. His darling has so much fire inside her. He just has to draw it out. 
Luca leans back and puts a hand over his heart. "Now I'm offended, Seraphine." She only giggles, the sound music to Damien's ears. 
"I'm gonna head to bed." Enzo suddenly announces, standing up from his spot. The room goes quiet except for the sound of the stool scraping against the wood floor, making Damien and Seraphine cringe. The youngest of the four professors sighs and runs a hand through his hair, not even bothering to look at Seraphine before turning and sluggishly walking out of the room.
The rest of them are silent for a moment, just looking after him, until Seraphine shakes her head. "It's my fault he's upset," she muses, pushing the still full plate of beef stroganoff back towards Damien. He would be offended if he wasn't confused. 
"Whatever do you mean, darling?" She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. 
"I mean, if I had never said anything about...about Derek--" 
"No, Seraphine. You did the right thing," Luca immediately counters, turning in his chair to face her. She shakes her head again and lets her eyes drop to the food in front of her. 
She makes a face, as if she's going to be sick. 
"Did I?" Her voice is quiet, so much so that Damien has to lean forward to hear her from across the island, but when he does he stiffens. 
"Yes, Seraphine. You're suffering--you need help. You can't go back there." At Damien's words, Seraphine bristles. 
It's silent for a few moments, until Seraphine sighs and lifts her gaze to him, and then Nico, and then Luca.
"Can...Can I go talk to him?" 
They're all taken aback by her request, but quickly recover.
"Of course, princess. His room is across from Nico's." Luca answers, and Seraphine stares at him before nodding. She sighs again and hops off the stool, making her way out of the kitchen.
She stops at the doorway and turns on her heel, a smile on her lips. She regards Damien with this smile, and the air leaves his lungs. 
"Thank you for dinner, Damien. It was delicious." 
With that, she turns and disappears.