In a walled-off garden, Damian sat on a blanked draped over soft green grass, his back leaning against a tree. His crimson eyes were half-lidded in comfort, his dark hair wavered in the wind, and his handsome face carried a lazy smile.
Luna sat in his arm, her back resting against his chest as her long silver hair flowed down both their bodies. She looked comfortable, but her expression was a little sullen.
"Just stop thinking about it," Damian suggested with a hint of amusement.
"Hmpf…" Luna snorted in frustration. "How can I? Due to my father's actions, you won't be there to see our child grow up; I have to miss you for several years and to top it all off, you'll be in danger!"
"And that's just the personal stuff!" she continued, growing increasingly agitated as she turned around to half-glare at her lover. "I also can't believe how much the Cooperative leadership has been lying to us!"
Smiling gently, Damian leaned forward to pull her back against his chest. "All those things are true, and neither of us can do anything to solve those problems right now."
He leaned closer to whisper in her ear, fully intending to distract her from these things. "But those things will still be there tomorrow after I'm gone…" Suddenly, he licked her ear, causing Luna to shudder lightly. "So how about we do something that's only possible right now…? I don't feel like I've stocked up enough on memories of your naked body."
Damian had tried his best to enjoy as much time as possible with Lavinia, Luna, and Lilith, but… in the end, the woman he'd spent most time with was Ylva. The Amberkin needed his near-constant help to properly calibrate his catalyst.
Fortunately, everyone understood the importance of this, considering Damian would be on his own for a while. Yet, it meant he hadn't been able to spend as much time with them as he would have liked.
A blush spread on Luna's cheeks. Pouting, she reached behind her to pinch him indignantly. "Pervert…" she muttered, not very convincingly.
For a moment, her eyes shone with desire. It was not that she didn't want to feel his touch as much as he did hers, but instead of giving in, she shook her head. "Later! You promised we'd talk about our issues now!"
Wryly, Damian sighed and sagged back against the tree again. "Do we really have to do this? Can't we just… enjoy these moments before I have to go?"
Extending his hand, he caressed her back with a single finger, seeming almost forlorn. "I know we still don't see eye to eye on some important subjects, but… do you really think we can solve those now? A day before I leave? Without feeling resentful towards each other and carrying those feelings with us until we meet again?"
With a frown, Luna turned around fully and nodded. Her expression was stern. "Yes, it needs to be now, Dames, because…" her eyes wavered a little with anxiety before she continued, "because if we don't… I don't know what our relationship will look like by then."
She looked up at him as just a sliver of the nearly debilitating doubts she'd had about their relationship started bubbling up, now clearly showing in her eyes.
She pressed her hand against his chest, and Damian sighed. Knowing there was no avoiding this, he put his hand over hers and nodded encouragingly. What else could he do? If Luna needed to talk, he'd try his best. Their love may seem strange due to their differences, but it was there, and he wanted to work for it.
In the end, his charm and handsome face only brought him so far.
"Okay," he said calmly before raising an eyebrow and taking on a stern expression of his own. Since they were doing this, he'd take it seriously. "But you'll have to take the lead here. Personally… I'm not sure what else to say. I love you, but I'll never love anyone enough to bury the love I have for little Lili and Mom."
"You know it's not just about them, though," Luna immediately shot back with a fair point, to which Damian could only nod wryly.
"I guess…" but then he looked up at her, his eyes determined. "But this is simply who I am, Lunes. It's not about one woman not being enough for me or anything like that. But I have goals and a skillset tha—"
"I know, I know," Luna interrupted him quickly. "Let's not rehash these old points. We both know where we stand… And we also both have our individual kintype quirks playing interference."
She covered her own heart and continued, "My quirks baulk against the prospect of entering a harem and the relationship you have with your mother and sister." She moved her hand over to Damian's chest. "Your quirks pretty much embody the polar opposite."
Suddenly, a small smile appeared on Luna's lips. "Fortunately… we'll both share the same quirks soon… when I'm awakened into your kintype."
Immediately, Damian's eyes started shining with relief and joy. He'd thought about that before but hadn't wanted to bring it up because it felt a little opportunistic.
"Not so fast!" Luna immediately interrupted his joy with a stern frown, poking his chest with grim determination. "We don't actually know how much this will smooth things over. Not to mention that I'll still be the same person, and I doubt I'll just suddenly be okay with all this!"
Damian toned in his excitement and nodded, despite the fact he couldn't hide the charming grin on his lips. "But you, as the amazing person you are, have surely thought of a solution, right?"
Luna rolled her eyes and scoffed despite the small smile sneaking onto her face. Quickly recovering, she nodded solemnly. "I do… I want a commitment from you, Dames. I want us to enter into a kinship."
Damian raised both his eyebrows in surprise, his eyes widening slightly.
Seeing his expression, Luna quickly continued, "Now, I know tha—"
"Sure!" Damian instantly interrupted her, his charming grin having returned with extra intensity. "I didn't think you'd want to, but since you're the one proposing, hell yeah! Let's do it!"
Luna was a little taken aback by his reaction. "R— Really? Just like that?" Her gaze took on a suspicious quality as she narrowed her eyes slightly. "I know Bloodkin don't usually enter into kinships…"
Damian chuckled, his eyes twinkling with delight. "I think it was you who pointed out I am no longer a Bloodkin, Lunes," he winked. "But even if I was, it's not that unusual for Bloodkin to do this. It's just that our kinships are often a little more complicated because… well… our relationships are generally more complicated."
Kinships essentially served as an official declaration of a committed relationship in the eyes of the public and the Cooperative as a whole… but they were versatile, and Bloodkin relationships quickly became complicated.
"So… we're really doing this…?" Luna asked, feeling a little giddy at the prospect. Although part of her problem with Damian's lifestyle came from an instinctual aversion to it, she couldn't deny there was some jealousy as well… and a commitment like this would resolve many of her worries.
Yet, before Damian could agree for the second time, Nova warned him about a message from his mother.
"Dami, that boy Lex is here. Come to my study."