Marin was pulling Damian's wrist with excitement as they crossed the campus.
They finally reached a building with large windows and a sign at the entrance that read Department of Visual Arts.
"Come on, come on!" Marin exclaimed without stopping, ready to drag him inside.
!
But suddenly, the pull on her wrist stopped.
Damian had remained a few steps lower, looking at her with an expression of helplessness.
"Eh?" Marin turned around, puzzled, her eyes shining with surprise. "What's wrong?"
"..."
Damian watched her for a few seconds, then let out a soft sigh. He climbed a couple of steps until he was at her level and, calmly, gave her a gentle tap on the forehead with his finger.
"Marin…" his voice sounded amused, "aren't you forgetting something?"
"Forget something?" Marin frowned, bringing a hand to her forehead, "No… I've got my phone, my backpack… everything!"
Damian couldn't stop a faint smile from curving his lips. "You and I aren't in the same major anymore."
!
Marin's eyes widened all at once. "Ah…!" she exclaimed as realization hit. "Right! You're in the Department of Economics and Management!"
She stuck out her tongue clumsily, clearly embarrassed by her oversight.
But the awkwardness only lasted a couple of seconds; her natural energy returned right away.
"Then…" Marin rose on tiptoe and, before he could react, wrapped both arms around his neck. Her lips touched his in a quick but loud kiss that caught him by surprise.
"Muack!" she made the sound herself as she pulled away.
Before Damian could say anything, Marin had already stepped back a few paces with a big triumphant smile and ran toward the building's entrance.
Already at the doorway, she stopped, turned around, and waved vigorously, her eyes shining brighter than the light filtering through the trees.
"Then it's settled! When you're done with classes, come pick me up, okay!"
She made a theatrical pause and added with playful mischief: "And if not, I'll come get you!"
The contagious laughter that followed her words faded as she pushed the door and disappeared, skipping lightly down the hallway.
"...."
Damian stood still on the stairs for a few seconds longer.
The gentle warmth of the kiss still clung to his lips and his eyes followed the glass door swaying slowly behind her…
Without realizing it, Damian brought a hand to the corner of his mouth and brushed it with his fingers. Then he shook his head with a sigh.
He turned on his heels and headed toward the Department of Economics and Management building.
He had just turned onto the avenue lined with yellow ginkgo trees when he saw her.
Kaguya was standing on the steps in front of the building.
The wind swept the dry leaves at her feet, raising small golden spirals that made the dark blue skirt of her school uniform sway softly.
She had her hands clasped in front of her and her posture was flawless.
For an instant, Damian thought she looked like a wife waiting for her husband to return.
"Kaguya."
She immediately lifted her gaze and, with a slight tilt of her head, formed her perfect smile on her lips.
"Damian-kun."
Damian looked at her for a couple of seconds without changing his expression and suddenly brought both hands to her face and pinched her cheeks.
"Eh…?" Kaguya's eyes went wide.
She barely had time to react before her careful smile was deformed, turning into an involuntary pout.
"Stop smiling like that." Damian pressed his fingers a little more before letting go. "It looks ugly."
Heat rushed up her cheeks all at once, setting her ears ablaze as well. Her mind, a moment before organized, turned into a blank canvas.
The distance between them was so short she could see the curve of his lashes, feel the warmth of his breath. Instinctively, she wanted to step back, but Damian placed a large, warm hand on her head, stopping her with a gesture so gentle it was impossible to move away.
He smiled then.
"Kaguya… do you remember what I told you in high school?"
Kaguya's pupils dilated. That tone, that smile… and suddenly, the key turned and the memories she had kept hidden came rushing back with force.
It was a windy afternoon on the school rooftop. The sky was clear and the sun shone so bright it was hard to keep one's eyes open.
Damian was standing on the railing, his white shirt billowing in the wind. His hair messy, his gaze free.
"I'll have your back." His young voice mixed with the wind. "Do whatever you want to do, Kaguya."
She had stood still, her hands gripping the edge of her skirt so she wouldn't fly away. No one had ever said something like that to her before. She had only ever heard "that's not appropriate" or "remember your position."
These words broke an invisible cage.
"You…" she had tried to protest, the wind messing up her neatly arranged bangs. "Do you know what you're saying?"
…
The memories slowly receded, like a tide leaving bright sand behind.
Kaguya blinked several times and lifted her gaze, only to meet Damian's familiar look, identical to back then.
It was then she realized he was still holding her cheeks between his hands. Heat surged instantly to her ears and a deep blush climbed up her neck.
"…I remember." she murmured, barely audible. Then, hesitant, she added in a breath of air: "But now you…"
"Now too." Damian answered without hesitation. He released her cheeks, but before pulling away, he gently ruffled her hair, undoing the perfect style she worked so hard to keep. "So stop wearing that fake smile."
Kaguya lowered her gaze for a few seconds and when she raised it again, her expression had changed. It was no longer the flawless mask she always wore, but a small, real smile that seemed to light up her face.
"Damian-kun is still just as stubborn." she murmured like a complaint, though her fingers, instead of pulling away, shyly sought the sleeve of his jacket and held onto it.
"Play hooky."
The three words slipped from her lips without thinking, loaded with genuine excitement. Damian's smile widened immediately and, taking her wrist, he began to walk, pulling her along just like in that memory.
"What am I seeing? Two students planning to skip class?"
They had barely taken two steps when a cold female voice cut through from behind them.
They stopped instantly and turned their heads.
A few meters away, Yukino Yukinoshita stood immovable. Her long black hair fell like a shining waterfall over her shoulders, her uniform impeccable, and on her too-perfect face there was no trace of emotion.
Only her light blue eyes, icy and analytical, calmly scrutinized them.
The smile on Damian's face not only failed to fade. On the contrary, it became even brighter. He gently tugged Kaguya, who tensed slightly at his side, and in just a few steps he was standing in front of Yukino.
"Yo, Yukino." he greeted with a familiar tone, and before she could respond, his other hand moved forward like lightning and caught Yukino's wrist.
"Eh?!"
For the first time, Yukino's icy expression cracked. She tried to pull her hand back, but Damian's fingers had already closed around hers.
"Damian-kun…"
Her voice, usually calm, now sounded alarmed. A faint blush began to color her cheeks, rushing quickly to the tips of her ears and leaving her speechless for a second. "…What are you doing? This is… very bold!"
At his side, Kaguya was watching with growing interest. Seeing Yukino, always perfect and expressionless, flustered and blushing was an unusual spectacle. The corners of her lips lifted into a smile, and a mischievous spark lit her eyes, one she didn't bother to hide.
"Bold?" Damian raised an eyebrow with feigned innocence, without loosening his grip. "It's a misunderstanding. I'm just inviting you."
"Inviting me?" Yukino narrowed her eyes, trying to regain her composure, although the color on her face betrayed her.
"Exactly." Damian nodded naturally and began to walk, gently pulling both of them, one by each hand. "Come with us. Yukino, don't be the perfect student today, be a bad one for once."
He was holding with one hand the slightly resigned but smiling Kaguya, and with the other Yukino, who walked stiffly, her face written somewhere between "this is absurd" and "let go of me already," though she couldn't manage to break free.
Three silhouettes with completely different styles moved against the norm in the cold November wind.
With each step toward the exit, they seemed to attract more stares, and the murmurs swelled like a wave.
Soon they reached the main gate, crowded with students coming and going with backpacks slung over their shoulders, some tourists taking photos of the enormous golden sign of the university, and groups chatting halfway along the path.
The moment Damian crossed the gate with both girls at his sides, a small social earthquake erupted.
"Hey, look!" A girl carrying several books nudged her friend. "That… isn't that Nero? Did he come back from the concert?"
"OH MY GOD, IT'S HIM!" Her friend gaped in disbelief. "And he's holding the president Shinomiya's hand! And the other one… that's Yukinoshita from the Economics Department? NO WAY!"
A nearby boy let out a low whistle through his teeth. "Tsss… he's taking both of them at the same time? Where the hell are they going?"
A bit further back, a short student covered her face with her hands, her eyes glossy. "Ugh… Nero-sama! How can you hold other girls like that? Let them go!"
Je." A fashionably dressed boy crossed his arms with a critical air. "Does being famous give him the right to do anything?"
Another immediately jumped in to defend. "Don't talk nonsense! Nero-sama always has a reason!"
"Exactly!" someone else squealed, eyes shining with excitement. "Look how epic he looks! So cool!"
"Let go of Shinomiya-senpai!" a voice shouted from the crowd.
"Yukinoshita-san, look at me at least once!" another cried.
The words and sharp gazes rained down on them like needles.
Yukino, cornered by the unexpected attention, felt the temperature of her face rise to an unbearable level. She tried to pull her hand free from Damian's with a desperate tug and whispered with restrained fury, "Damian-kun! Let go of me! You're causing a scene!"
Kaguya, on the other hand, didn't even blink and withstood the avalanche of stares without hesitation. She even returned a cool, elegant glance to the boy who had thrown the sarcastic comment seconds before.
Damian, meanwhile, seemed completely unfazed by the commotion.
His expression remained relaxed, amused. Noticing Yukino's attempt to break free, he just slightly adjusted the pressure of his hand and kept walking.
"Ignore it." he said without looking back, just loud enough for both of them to hear over the growing murmur.
And, with a mischievous glint in his smile, he added, "Today's plan is simple: let the radiant girl step into the sun."
________
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