::This is the lovely place Dar lives. It's a studio! Filled with jazzy artwork and so forth, Dar Ling eats, sleeps and bes her cool Darry self here. Looks like Daddy might supplement her cleaning wages. At the moment, Dar is in bed, sleeping. Since it's the middle of the night.::

::Freya appears next to Dar's bed, her trademark glow glowing well.::

(Sleep is very healing.)

::She glances round the apartment, trying to inform herself of Dar's situation, though she already knows most of the woman's history with Luke.::

(I should come back when she's awake.)

::So she fades away.::

::Dar's alarm goes off and she blinks herself awake, putting on the snooze feature and lying back down. A few minutes later, it goes off again. And again. Eventually she gets up and has a shower, standing under the hot water for a while as her hair plasters itself to her shoulders. She's feeling more awake now, and makes some coffee once she's done in the shower.::

(Where am I today?)

::She checks her diary, looking for where she's supposed to be and at what times.::

(Nothing at that ghastly place. Thank God.)

::Luke arrives the front door, panting a little bit and sweating because it's so goddamn hot. He knocks on the door impatiently.::

"Dar!"

::Dar jumps at the banging, and stares at the door, wide-eyed.::

(Luke?)

::She stares at the door for a minute, shocked that he's just shown up like this, and also panicking because her hair is unbrushed and in rat's tails.::

"Oh..."

::Putting the diary down, she hastily combs through her hair with her fingers and goes to open the door, wearing her bathrobe.::

"What're you doing here??"

"Get dressed. I need to get you somewhere safe."

"Excuse me??"

::Dar keeps herself in the doorway. Luke hasn't seen her place yet, and she's not sure if she wants him to.::

"I have a strong feeling that Azura's coming for you."

"..."

::Dar visibly pales. She now steps back to let Luke in.::

::Luke steps in and guilt overcomes his face, clearly indicating that there's more to the story than just that.::

"So you know about her, then."

::Dar doesn't really notice Luke's expression. She assumes he's worried.::

"Yeah. Just... uh, just get dressed, okay? We'll need to leave her as soon as possible and you might want to call in sick."

::Dar pulls a face, then turns around. Living in a studio, she only has one really big room which serves as a bedroom, living room and kitchen. The bathroom is separate. She gets some clothes and hurries into the bathroom where she dries off completely and gets dressed, feeling afraid.::

::Luke paces back and forth as he waits for Dar to finish up in the bathroom.::

::Dar towels her hair off some more, as best as she can, and brushes through it properly. She's dressed now, but in her bare feet. She walks back out to the main room to look for some shoes.::

"Why do you think she's coming for me? Did she say?"

"Dar, we don't have time for this! I'll explain it to you once I'm assured of your safety."

::Luke impatiently walks over to Dar, hoisting her over his shoulder and walks her to The Magic Shop.::

::Dar puts her key in the lock but discovers the door is open. Of course; Luke carried her kicking and screaming to the magic shop when they were last here. She sighs, thinking of Luke and how... impossible he is. The housekeeper lady feels really awful; she's covered in dirt and her stomach hurts from the steak Luke cooked her. It had tasted good. With a groan, she hauls herself into the shower, planning on getting clean and going straight to bed. However, that's not what she ends up doing once she's showered.::

(I need to get out. Somewhere nice and quiet. Have a drink. Myself.)

::She dresses prettily and cleans up quickly so she'll have a nice home to come home to and goes out to The Cot and Sod.::

::Dar unlocks the door and shoves it open, stoting in with Ozymandias behind her. She reaches out a hand casually and flicks a light switch, the place coming to life before them.::

"Home sweet home. It's small but I like it."

::No wonder, it's bloody expensive and very well furnished.::

::Ozy steps in cautiously and looks around with interest. This place is neat. It doesn't feel very small to him at all. His eyes flicker over everything and anything, finally coming to rest on his host, who he smiles at.::

"I really appreciate this, Dar."

::Dar smiles back, swinging herself from side to side lightly.::

"It's the least I can do. Now go and get yourself smelling good. You'll find men's toiletries in the cabinet. I'll see what clothes I can root out."

::Already he feels a twinge of jealousy.::

"Should I ask where all of this came from?"

::Dar's smile turns knowing.::

"Probably not."

::The ex-wih-lih gives a small nod and heads into the bathroom where he looks through all of Dar's things, backing off quickly when he locates her woman products, and finds shaving gel, a razor and male body wash. It'll do. He uses scissors first to trim off as much hair as he can before getting in the shower.::

::Dar goes over to her wardrobe and finds clothes that look like they'll fit. She then goes about her business. The business of getting drinks.::

::Ozy finishes up and shaves in the mirror before drying off and pausing. He wraps a towel around his hips and opens the door a crack.::

"Uh..."

"Here."

::Dar walks over and passes Ozy the clothes through the crack. She doesn't hide that her eyes slide over what she can see of his body.::

::Embarrassed, Ozy smiles lightly and takes the clothes.::

"Thank you."

::Dar's nails dig into the clothes lightly, not letting go.::

::Pausing uncertainly, Ozy's eyes move up to Dar's.::

::Dar's other hand is on the bathroom door. The warm steam and smell coming from the room behind Ozy is making him only more inviting. Gently, she pushes against the door with her hand.::

::Ozy waits for a second, then steps back, away from the door.::

::Undoing the buttons of her shirt, Dar lets it slip off and land on the floor outside the bathroom as she walks into the warm room. She stops in front of Ozymandias and puts a gentle, exploring hand on his chest. His skin is warm to the touch, and she slides her hand over it carefully.::

::Moving a hand to graze against Dar's cheek and push stray hair behind her ears, Ozy swallows and lets his fingers lightly touch the back of her neck. He pulls her close and leans down to kiss her tenderly.::

::Eyes closed, Dar returns the kiss with slow passion. She feels like this is something she needs to remember forever, if it doesn't last that long. Her hands move behind him and touch his smooth back.::

(You might be the most beautiful man I have ever seen.)

::Unhooking Dar's underwear, Ozy slips the bra off and lets it fall. He continues to kiss her and lets the towel he's wearing fall. After her undresses her, he picks her up and their bodies fall onto her bed where they make love.::

::Dar watches Ozy sleep for a while before leaning over and kissing his neck and jawline lovingly.::

::Ozymandias opens his eyes and smiles sleepily at Dar, catching her lips with his own.::

"Hey."

"I missed you."

::Ozy's smile widens.::

"I missed you too."

::His farthest arm comes up and he idly strokes her hair.::

"Except I dreamed about you, so maybe I didn't."

"Hmm."

::Dar tries not to grin but she can't help it.::

"I hope it was a nice dream."