𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍- ★彡[ᴀɴʏᴀ x ᴅᴀᴍɪᴀɴ]★彡

𝙎𝙞𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙣

The three stages of love.

Highly recommended for producing and maintaining a successful relationship. Damian had been taught that when he was young and religiously believed it to the point that anyone who thought otherwise caused him to gasp in horror.

He had read an article in the newspaper on the five stages in love and ever since then had been enraptured by the idea of finding it in such a way.

The first step of love was falling in love.

Well, he definitely wasn't in love with her.

The problem was, sometimes she could just be so adorable and endearing that it made his normally still heart skip a beat. He must be allergic to her and it was just the side effects that were making his insides do somersaults.

He shifted through a bunch of books in the library that day, eventually finding exactly what he was looking for. The book was titled 'Signs You're in Love' with a cartoonish drawing of a man holding a heart with a blush. He glanced around to make sure that no one was staring at him, then sat down at a table and flipped open to the first page.

If you're picking up this book, you surely are already in love with that special someone! If you feel like you have to read ahead to make sure, then go for it. ;)

Damian wondered if the added wink at the end was necessary.

1: You are always looking for them, either seeking them out with your words or with your eyes. When you daze off, you commonly find that your gaze just happens to land upon that special someone.

He thought to himself, furrowing his eyebrows. Looking back on his classroom experiences, it seemed he had stared at her quite a bit... but he assumed that it was simply because his eyes tended to wander to that general vicinity when he zoned out. Maybe it was a sign? No, it couldn't possibly be.

2: Your heart skips a beat around them and you think that they are cute/handsome. You feel excited or nervous when they speak to you.

Damian couldn't even find a valid excuse for that one. He definitely experienced heart palpitations when he was around her, but when he asked his science teacher said that there is no way to be allergic to a human itself. So maybe... NO! STOP!

3: You give them gifts or enjoy spoiling them. You feel happy seeing this special someone happy about something you did.

Damian thought back to Anya's face when he gave her the peanuts, the joyous expression... then he came to a realization. Oh no... no...

He wasn't in love with her. There was no way he was.

Slamming the book shut, he placed it back on the shelf and turned around, about to leave, when suddenly unfortunate plot convenience struck. Anya was walking around the corner with her father. Damian turned his back to them as if thinking that would cover up his identity, but that sort of move would only work in movies made for children.

"Damian!" Anya's voice chirped as she strode over to him.

She couldn't believe that they ran into each other- this was the perfect opportunity to display the progress she had made with him to her father.

"Aghhh!" he turned around, meeting her wide eyes with a blush. "W-what're you doing here?!"
"I was with my father and we were browsing the new books," Anya reached out to hold one of his hands, "it's amazing, isn't it? They've added so many new psychology books."

In complete and utter shock, Damian didn't pull away as her soft palm grasped his. The combination of her touch along with the book he just read was causing the gears in his brain to turn too fast.

Anya looked back to her father, seeing Loid Forger standing in shock, his normally soft and stoic eyes widened with surprise. She decided to push further, wanting to prove herself to her father.

"I had so much fun at our lunch the other day," she continued, "I can't wait until Monday."

"Ahem," Damian released her hand from his, growing more and more aware of the presence of her father who was nothing but a lowly psychologist.

"What were you reading?" Anya changed the subject, peeking over to see the book he had just placed on the shelf.

Despite his desperate dive to avoid her seeing what he had read, she caught wind of it anyways. A cruel smirk crawled up her list.

"Heh. So this is what you've been indulging in? I must say, I didn't take you for the type."

"Anya, let's go," Loid spoke from behind them.

Thank god! Damian inwardly held his hands in prayer. I suppose commoners are beneficial in some cases.

"Alright Papa," Anya flashed him one last radiant smile before regrouping with him, eagerly chatting about some superhero show. He vocally let out a sigh of relief once they were completely gone.

Has she guessed why I was looking at that kind of book? He was facing some serious inner turmoil. If she knew, that would be the end of him. She could reap money, status, and infinite peanuts out of him... it was a perfect situation for her. Now that she had blackmail to utilize against him, there was nothing he could do to prevent her from demolishing the standards he held himself to!

She has to understand... the steps of love are the most important rules in this entire world. If you weren't to follow the steps of love, you would be forever cursed with partners who had extreme infidelity. Damian knew this for a certain fact, as it had been scientifically proven in the books he had read. The steps of love are equivalent to the law... perhaps greater!

Jailtime could be temporary, but relationships would forever plague someone's life. Damian didn't know much about love, but he knew he could trust the professional that had written that book. I'll have to explain it to her when we next meet... this is a serious matter.

I fr think that Damian would religiously follow the steps of love. Like he would think it was the end of the world if he didn't follow them. This was a more fluff chapter but there will be a bigger Loid cameo in the upcoming chapters (and possibly a Yor ;)) hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Thank you for over 5k reads, it means the world <33

Love,

Wasabi