"Are you sure you want to keep your clothes on…?" Tilly asked him with a worried frown. She looked down at him from next to the couch, her fingers fidgeting nervously. "You can get comfortable if you like… You're also free to use the shower."
Damian looked at her and smirked slightly. Despite having known her for a very short time, he was already growing a little fond of her. She was genuine, upfront, fierce, and loyal—all traits he admired.
Damian himself, however, was far from genuine or upfront. The truth was that his clothes were not only extremely comfortable but also felt far better against his skin than whatever synthetic material this couch was made of. As for showering… the idea of standing in whatever flowed through the pipes in this place was not particularly appealing to him.
Yet, telling her these things might make her embarrassed or sad, so he withheld it. Besides, he didn't do all this just to spend the night here. Aurora's suspicions were right, in that he could easily steal some money to get into a hotel—or perhaps even simply have Nova hack a hotel's security.
No, he had his reasons for being there, but they had nothing to do with the amenities.
So, he chuckled and shook his head. "I'm fine, Tilly, thank you. I'm plenty content, not only with having a roof over my head but also with sleeping in such a beautiful house filled with pretty women."
He finished with a charming wink that made Tilly blush and Aurora scoff. The latter was sitting on the chair she'd pointed out earlier. Next to her was her gun, and she was keeping a close eye on him.
"H— How about a bed then…?" she asked with a dissatisfied pout. "I can sleep on the couch instead! You've done so much for us, I—"
"Oh no, you don't!" Aurora interrupted her gruffly. "He's fine on the couch!"
Tilly groaned and turned around. "Ugh, Mom! He's been nothing but kind and polite! You can show him a little hospitality! And do you have to sit there with your gun?" she complained, now dissatisfied with both of them—her mother for being too suspicious and Damian for being too easy to please.
"Hehe, don't worry about it, Tilly," Damian chuckled as he enjoyed her care for him and stretched his body out across the couch with a groan. "I'm fine here! As for your mother, I'm sure I can handle her," he finished with another charming wink.
Once again, Tilly blushed with a cute smile, and Aurora scoffed. Yet, noticing that Erik truly had no intention of changing anything about his situation, Tilly had no choice but to take drastic measures.
"Fine!" she pouted unhappily. "But I won't be left out!"
Without another word, she turned around and disappeared into an adjoining room, which Damian had come to understand was her bedroom. Curious about what she was planning, Damian and Aurura both raised an eyebrow.
Moments later, she stepped back outside, this time dragging an old, ratty mattress behind her, a wide grin on her lips. "If you two insist on sleeping here, then so will I! We'll make it a slumber party!"
Aurora's eyes widened, and she stood up from her chair. "Absolutely not! I don't want you sleeping anywhere near him!"
Unfortunately, Tilly appeared intent on going through with it. A stubborn glint appeared in her eyes as she pursed her lips. "Hmpf! If you insist on sitting there watching him, then what's he going to do, even if I sleep in the same room? At some point, you just have to trust people!"
Suddenly, her lips curled into a cunning grin. "You can try and stop me if you like, but you'll have to physically restrain me, and then who's going to watch Damian?"
Aurora's eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing several times. Yet, she was unable to find a rebuttal that didn't boil down to 'Damn you, I'm your mother, so listen to me'. She could only watch helplessly as Tilly stubbornly rearranged the room to fit her mattress and dumped it in the middle, a few feet from the couch.
Damian watched this generational battle with curiosity.
After bringing over her covers and pillows in silence as well, Aurora smiled with satisfaction at what she'd created.
By now, Aurora had relented. Despite obviously feeling quite bad about it, she couldn't stand actually fighting with her daughter, especially after the heated day they'd already had.
She sighed reluctantly. "At least let me rearrange things a little…" she pleaded with her daughter.
At first, Tilly scoffed, but looking into her mother's worried eyes quickly made her defences crumble. Moments later, the mattress had moved a little further from the couch, and Aurora's chair was put at their foot-end. From here, she could easily shoot Damian if he moved closer to Tilly during the night.
Truthfully, she wasn't even sure if she could stop Damian… but what else could she do when her daughter's life and innocence were at stake?
When they were all settled in again, Tilly looked at Damian with twinkling eyes. She was curled up on her side, down on the mattress, and facing the couch. "Do you mind if I ask you some more questions before we sleep?"
"Go ahead," Damian chuckled. He was enjoying this young girl's attention. It distracted him from his homesickness.
A bright smile spread on Tilly's lips. "Thank you! You said you had a family back home. Can you tell me about them?"
"Funny you should ask," Damian smiled. "You and your family actually remind me of my own."
Before she could ask any questions, he produced the necklace around his neck. Opening it, he produced the holograms of Lavinia, Lilith, and Luna with a fond smile.
Aurora looked surprised, and Tilly with wonder as Damian started to tell them about his family…
They talked for another hour until Tilly finally grew exhausted and fell asleep. Smiling slightly, Damian decided to also close his eyes for a little while. Thanks to his myst ranking, he could go without sleep for quite a while, but it still wasn't healthy.
He was glad to be able to catch a few hours of rest, but… he never truly fell asleep. He saw a tumultuous morning in his future and, hopefully, the culmination of his plans with this family.