Chapter 3 - Crimson and Silver [3/3]

Luna knew instantly what he was talking about, and a small, excited grin spread on her lips. "Heh, we can't help the things we enjoy, Dames. Besides, who am I really hurting? Everyone always leaves satisfied…" 

"Oh, I'm definitely not judging," Damian chuckled, while moving behind her and wrapping his arms around Luna's waist. "You know I love the way our relationship has developed… I don't even mind that I failed my original goal." 

Luna leaned into his touch and smirked. "Heh, you mean seducing me? Manipulating me into becoming your puppet within the Lykos family? Are you sure you didn't at least succeed in half of that?" 

"Absolutely!" Damian smiled, nodding resolutely, his chin resting on Luna's shoulder. "Rather than me seducing you, I'd sooner suggest it was the other way around!" 

"Fair enough," Luna giggled joyfully, leaning back against his chest. "I'll take that honour. Although I still find the method by which I supposedly did so a little dubious." 

Damian chuckled gently as he thoughtfully looked down at the glass in his hand, now pressed against Luna's belly, and slowly swirled the liquid within. "Is it really so surprising?" he asked, curiously. 

 "I liked you," he continued before she could answer, seemingly deep in thought. "That's really all there was to it. No, I don't share your beliefs of a lower class resurgence, but I don't necessarily oppose them either. Mostly, though, it was your conviction and absolute determination to leave the world a better place that impressed me. At some point, I simply decided there was no need to corrupt one of the few pure souls in Eryndor when I had other prospects I could go after." 

"Hmmm, I believe you," Luna smiled gently, her eyes closed. "I just like hearing it…" 

"Well, I'll say it as often as you like," Damian chuckled. "Even if your soul turned out to be a little less pure than I originally expected." 

"Hmpf," Luna snorted, despite clearly attempting to stop the corners of her lips from curling up. "Maybe you'd already corrupted me?" 

"Hehe, I think this is one of those chicken and egg problems that we'll never really solve," Damian smiled, before sipping from his drink and bringing his hand back down to Luna's waist again. "Now, that I've laid my soul bare again, you do the same! Why did you come back to me? Besides the partial reason you told me back then…" 

 Luna turned a little wry, her gaze fixated on an arbitrary point of the Eryndor skyline. Finally, she sighed helplessly. "What can I say? I'd been searching for a long time to find anyone I could connect with. None of our peers shared my beliefs or convictions about the rot in this city, and the people I want to help don't trust me. But you…" 

She turned around, and wrapped her arms around his neck. They now faced each other, looking into each other's eyes. "You were exciting, fun, and… trustworthy, to an extent. Plus, you actually listened to my beliefs and convictions that others simply laughed at or dismissed. You may not share them, but you listened, and that meant a lot." 

Suddenly, her grin returned. "Basically, I wanted more! You'd hooked me on your attention. I was already falling in love, and I didn't want to lose the only person I felt any kind of connection with. As for he other thing," she smirked wryly, "I'm not sure when that started… But I don't mind liking that part of me." 

"I'm glad," Damian laughed, his eyes twinkling with charm. "Because I love that part of you!" 

"Colour me surprised," Luna smirked and rolled her eyes, but didn't seem to mind his words. 

Suddenly, silence fell as they stared into each other's eyes for a moment. They stood like that for several minutes, both lost in the other's gaze and their own thoughts, before Damian suddenly smiled and pecked her lips. 

With the spell broken, Damian disentangled from Luna, and gestured towards the elegantly set table. A spread of delicacies—some rare even in Eryndor—lay arranged on crystal plates. "Shall we have a seat? Personally, I'm famished." 

Smiling, Luna nodded. 

They settled into their chairs, the cityscape serving as their backdrop. Damian poured them both a new glass of wine—a deep, almost black vintage that shimmered faintly. Luna studied him as he did so, her sharp eyes missing nothing. 

For a while, they conversed lightly. They spoke about their past, recent events, and Luna's vision for reforming Eryndor's fractured underbelly, lifting up those trapped in its endless cycle of poverty and violence, and hopefully extending her initiative across the planet. 

Her words were passionate, her voice carrying a fervour Damian rarely encountered in his world of sycophants and self-serving aristocrats. 

He listened, genuinely listened. But even as he admired her conviction, he knew conviction wouldn't be enough. The cracks were obvious to him: the places where her idealism clashed with her willingness to act ruthlessly and, more importantly, the interests of the city's ruling class. 

Finally, however, Luna asked the question that was burning a hole in her tongue. "Anyway… you didn't bring me here just for a drink and stargazing, did you?" she asked, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of curiosity. 

Damian smirked, leaning back in his chair and swirling his glass. "Would you believe me if I said I simply wanted to enjoy your company?" 

"I believe that was part of your reasoning, but not all of it," she countered, a cunning light in her eyes, a confident smile on her lips. 

Damian's laughter rang through the night air, rich and genuine. "Fair enough..." He quickly settled down and pursed his lips, before tilting his head as he looked at his companion. "Tell me, Luna, how much have you thought about the future?" 

Instantly, a difficult light passed through her eyes, and Damian instantly knew she'd thought plenty, and not all of it good. He nodded gently. "Figured as much. We haven't really talked about it either, which is why I wanted to do so today…" 

Luna immediately groaned, leaning back into her chair while looking up at the sky. "Why do we need to…?" she groaned. "Things are good right now, why screw with that?" 

"Because they can't stay good, unless we plan for it," Damian answered sombrely. "Not only will your family make a fuss when they find out about us, but you seem to think our ambitions are incompatible." 

"Well… aren't they?" Luna muttered sadly, still unwilling to look at him. While fierce, brave, and extroverted, Luna was pretty bad at emotional conversations like this one. Despite the feelings she held for Damian, she would never give up her ambitions for that fledgeling love, so she'd always assumed her relationship with him was temporary. 

Damian leaned forward, his voice lowering, his usual playful tone replaced by something more calculated. "That's where you're wrong, Lunes. You fight for change, for something better, and I fight for power... but neither one can happen without the other." 

Luna's expression tightened slightly. "Power like yours always comes at a cost, Dames. And you're asking me to help you pay it. I'm not that infatuated with you… yet." 

He leaned back again, shrugging as he sipped his wine, yet smiling from her last words. "Come now, Luna. I know you're not naïve enough to believe your plans won't require sacrifice. Agents of change, whether for good or bad, have always had to be ruthless when it mattered." 

Swirling his wine casually, he smiled. "With my ambition and skillset by your side, you wouldn't have to struggle against the tide. You'd have someone clearing the path." 

She stared at him, her grey eyes sharp and complicated. "And what would you get out of it, Damian? Except for me, of course." 

He smirked, leaning back into his chair with an air of satisfaction. "The same thing I always want: power. Influence. I have no interest in making our world into a democracy, but even under a dictatorship, people can thrive. They can live long, healthy, even happy lives, so long as the right people sit at the top." 

Pulling one leg over the other, he smiled at her. "People like you and me, for example. As long as our goals align, you'll have a partner who doesn't flinch at the cost of victory, and at the end, I'll give you full authority to improve people's lives." 

Luna looked down at her wine glass, her fingers tracing its rim. "You're asking me to trust you with my dream." 

Damian's voice softened slightly, his crimson eyes gleaming under the faint light. "No, Luna. I'm asking you to trust us. Together, we can make this city into whatever you dream it could be, so long as you and I remain at the top—together. Isn't that what you want as well?" 

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The faint sound of the city below filled the silence. 

 Finally, Luna raised her glass and looked back over at her conversation partner. The corners of her lips curled faintly upwards, but there was still some hesitation there. "Fine, I'll... think about it." 

Damian clinked his glass against hers, a satisfied grin spreading across his face as they drank. 

When they put their drinks down, Luna had also started to grin. "So…? Should we get to the Nerissa of the evening?"