Awkward Questions | Damian/Asric

Damian paced back and forth in front of the stairs leading up to Asric's office. He'd started to go up them several times, already, only to abort the attempt and go back to pacing. The boy's face had taken on a decided shade of pink.

Even if he hadn't felt distanced from his mentor for most of the year, Damian was pretty sure he'd have a hard time strolling up to the man's office door. He didn't know who else to ask about that stuff, however.

Stopping, Damian set his jaw determinedly, then ran up the stairs and knocked before he could chicken out, again. He forced himself to stand there, waiting for the door to open or to be beckoned inside.

This was probably going to be an awkward conversation - Damian just knew it.

A knock. That was all it took for Ric to know someone was at his office door. He apparated to the end of the corridor and took a walk up to his office. He preferred to walk even if apparating was much easier and quicker.

"Damian." He smiled as he came up behind the boy. "What can i do for you?" He asked opening his office door and standing back so the boy could go through before him.

Damian jumped slightly when Asric came from behind him, rather than the other side of the door. It wasn't like the man didn't often answer a knock on his door from being out and about.

He smiled back at the man and entered the office, taking a seat on the edge of one of the chairs, where he fidgeted with his hands.

"Master, I -" Damian began. "That is, sir... I was kinda... wondering. About girls. And, uh," his voice reduced to a rather high-pitched whisper, "sex."

He watched his apprentice move into the room before moving in himself and closing the door behind him. He moved over to the cupboard and gently placed something inside. Being careful not to show him what it was. It wasn't that he didn't trust his apprentice because he wouldn't be his apprentice if he didn't. He just could let him see, not yet anyway.

"Right." He said moving to sit on the edge of his desk. "Okay what would you like to know?" He asked.

Damian flushed redder and very nearly mumbled 'never mind' and fled.

"Well, er..." the boy stammered, instead. "I just... I don't know anything. I mean, you hear people talk about it, but... Is-isn't that something that, I dunno, I should... maybe... know about?"

He nodded. He understood how hard this must be to come and ask something like this, but it wasn't exactly easy for him either. "There comes a time when everyone should know. But not until they are ready." He said running his hand through his hair.

"Do you feel like you're ready son? Or are you only wanting to know because you feel like you have to?" He asked looking at his apprentice. "Theres nothing wrong in waiting."

Damian bit his lip, squinting in thought. His mind flashed back to that moment with Iva; her scent, the feel of her body, the way he felt...

The boy shook the thought from his head, drawing in a breath to center himself.

"I don't know," Damian squeaked. He'd been doing that a lot, recently. Stupid puberty. "I... I mean, I've... dreamed about it - what it might be like - and sometimes, I... Sometimes, I think I am, maybe.

"I just... don't wanna be... clueless." The boy shrugged a shoulder. "I didn't know who else to ask."

He studies his apprentice for a second before nodding. "Well how about we start with the basics? Then you know enough to not be naive but not too much before you're ready." He suggested. He'd hate to say something his apprentice wasn't ready for. There came a time in every mans life where he should know. But now didn't seem like his.

"And what have these dreams been of exactly?" He asked, that wasn't always a good place to start. They might not even be thinking on the same wavelength here.

"I'm always here if you need me. No mater what."

"Okay..." Damian agreed.

The boy managed to flush an as yet unseen shade of crimson at the question. Did Asric want him to tell the whole dreams, or..?

"Uh-" he began wittily. "Well... some of them don't really make much sense. Sometimes, there's... um." Grimacing slightly, Damian mumbled out a vague outline of said dreams, skipping more details than not. He might not have had much in the way of personal exposure, but Damian had ears - with enhanced hearing - and a rather good imagination on top of that.

"Right... okay." He said thinking to himself. He had no idea where to go from here. He knew that if he had children of his own this would happen, but never did he imagine he'd be having this conversation so soon. He thought he'd have at least some time to think about what he was going to say. Instead he had to do it all on the spot.

"So you are now at the age to start liking girls. When you find someone you like, you begin to start feeling things. Feelings you wont have felt before. This is happening yes?" He asked.

Damian ducked his head in mortification. Maybe he shouldn't have asked. Surely, there must be a book or something in the library? Or he could ask... He had no one. No one he'd trust, anyhow. Not with something like this.

The boy nodded. "Yes, sir," he answered. "Sometimes, I feel..."

The scent of Iva's hair... the way her accent molded her words... the feel of her lips against his...

"Things," Damian concluded vaguely.

He nodded. "And im guessing a Miss Popov is the reason for these feelings?" He guessed. He'd seem them both together over the past few months and it didn't take a rocket scientist to put 2 and 2 together.

"What you are feeling is love. Or at least a small portion of it. It's obvious you have strong feelings for her. You'll find that those feelings will either grow or weaken over time. This is normal, just follow your heart." He said.

By this point, Damian was shocked he hadn't burst into flames. It certainly felt like his skin should have been melting off, he was blushing so hard.

"Yes, sir," he murmured quietly.

His head shot up, blue eyes going wide. "L-love?" he echoed. Sure, he had blurted that out to Iva, himself, but to hear his mentor say it...

The boy began to fidget with his hands. "I... don't want them to weaken," Damian admitted. "I just - I like how she makes me feel. I... I wanna always feel like this about her.

"I... H-how do I follow my heart, then?" the boy wanted to know.

He nodded. "Yes love. It's what we feel when we find the right person. Obviously this is a different kind of love to the love we have for our parents or siblings." He explained running his hand through his hair wondering where to do on from here.

He smiled. "They don't have to. If your feelings are real for her they might never weaken. They will strengthen until you feel you can not love a person anymore than you already do. Your heart will feel about ready to explode!" He explained, checking off his feelings for Sophia as he explained to his young apprentice.

"You will know when the time comes. You will feel whats right rather than think it."

Damian nodded slowly. He thought he understood, if only a bit. A smile pulled at his lips. The way he felt for Iva - his love for her - was incredible. The thought that it might never change... He liked that thought. A lot.

"Thank you, sir," Damian said quietly.

He nodded and moved to sit behind his desk. "Any time, was there something else?" He asked surveying him over his clasped hands. He knew exactly how awkward these things could be because he'd been here once. Only he couldn't ask his master, dating for him is out of the question. He soon die a horrible death if he so much as heard about him going to ask.

Damian shook his head. "No, sir," he replied, rising to his feet.

"I- I'll let you know if I think of anything." Probably not, if he could help it.

He gave the man a small smile and headed for the door, opening quietly. "Thank you," the boy repeated.