Darvo nursed his cheek as they looked around for a place to crash. Still frowning and arms still crossed, Yanmei finally breaks the silence. "What about that ship of yours? You know, the ship where you sent us as bait for the Stalker?" Darvo sighed and rubbed his cheek. "You still haven't forgiven me?" Yanmei rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Of course I do. But I never forget. Never." Darvo groaned and Yanmei went back to crossing her arms. "I told you, I own the ship, but I'm currently not in possession of it. Didn't you read my intercepted message?" She was silent now. Darvo won this argument.
"I-I might have overlooked that from getting too excited," Yanmei sheepishly said, slightly embarrassed. Darvo suddenly stopped and touched her face. "Okay, what now? What now? What do I do? What do I do?" she thought as he leaned closer. She squeezed her eyes shut. "What happened to your eye?" he asked her. He traced the thin scar from her eyebrow down to the upper part of her cheek and she took his hand away. "I got it when my helmet cracked and the shards sliced it." Darvo gave her a worried look. "The Stalker Slash Dashed to me and it made the glass on my helmet crack. The next thing I know, my energy was leaking from my helmet and the right side of my face hurts like hell." Darvo's face straightened, guilt evident in his eyes. A somewhat childish smile curled on her lips. "Well, at least it made me look more badass." Darvo chuckled at her and she only managed to blurt out a 'what'.
After minutes of looking, they managed to find a cheap inn with rates low enough for them to pay. Upon entering, greedy eyes immediately fell upon Yanmei's Mag Warframe and gear. Most of the residents were Corpus merchants like Darvo himself. Great. Yanmei, however, retracted her helmet and gave them a piercing look. Sharp, crimson eyes warned them not to try anything foolish. The innkeeper motioned them to back off and they went back to their business. She got behind Darvo, and asked him, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go ask them for a room…" Darvo was taken aback from this sudden change of demeanor. "What the hell? You just went from fearsome Tenno to shy little girl." he blurted out. She frowned and punched his arm. "I'm not a little girl! And I'd rather let you do the talking, in case we need a bargain." Darvo just chuckled at her and approached the Corpus behind the desk. The man eyed both of them carefully and asked Darvo outright, "Is that Tenno a, ahem, 'companion' of yours, or is it just merchandise?" Yanmei only clinged on his arm. "She-it's my property. I have no intentions of selling it. You better not have any intentions of stealing it." Yanmei's eyes darted to him, then went back to staring at the cold, metallic floor. She's being treated like property again. The innkeeper gave them the keys to their room and Yanmei quickly snatched it from him. She barged straight into the elevator and didn't even bother to wait for Darvo.
"Look's like your property is upset with you," the innkeeper said, smirking at Darvo, who was still stupefied from the Tenno's actions. "Fuck off." The innkeeper merely laughed at him. He used the stairs instead and knocked on the door. "Yanmei, my friend, please, let me in." No answer. A few more knocks and still no reply. Darvo just sighed and sat beside the door. After a little while the door next to the one he knocked on opened. "I'm in here you idiot." Her eyes were swollen and her voice was broken. She had been crying. He stood up, only to be dragged in then punched square in the face. She busted his lip and he was still dazed when she locked the door. "That is the last time I am going to be treated like war salvage!" she exclaimed, eyes burning with rage. He took three slow steps away from her, face struck with terror. She grabbed him by his clothes and shook him. Before she could land another hit he held both of her arms. "Calm down! I only said that so he wouldn't think of something else! I'm a man, Yanmei, and trust me. Hell, If I were in his shoes, I would also immediately assume the same thing, especially in a place like this," he yelled in his strange voice, his accent thicker everytime he spoke. Yanmei just stood there, frozen, tears dried up on her face. "I just didn't want them to think of you like that." he whispered. He gently tore off her hands from him and made her sit down on the measly bed in the corner of the cramped room. "I-I'm sorry." she managed to say, voice still choked. She slowly rose up and made her way to the decontamination chamber. "I'll just get a hot shower." He nodded, wiping the blood from his lips. "Oh, and Darvo, if anyone tries to contact me using this," she removed an earpiece and gave it to him. "Ignore it if it's the Lotus or if it's father. Please?" she said, almost pleading. He nodded, and smiled at her.
A few minutes later, someone tried to contact Yanmei. Still in the showers, she didn't hear the beep. Darvo checked the caller and made sure it wasn't the two people Yanmei mentioned. Afterwards, he answered the call. "Hello? Yanyan, baby, are you there?" a female voice said. Darvo sat frozen there. He shook himself out of his stupor and managed to say a hello. "Wait, you're not Yanmei. Hey, I know that voice! Darvo?! What in the name of the f #$ing void are you doing using our Yanmei's earpiece? And where the hell is she?!" His ears ringed from her yells. He calmly explained what happened. "Oh, I knew it. That stupid, fickle-minded father of hers…" she sighed. "It's Brigitte, by the way. But I prefer being called Saryn by people I don't know so well." The woman spoke with a quasi-French accent. "It's nice to meet you." he said sarcastically. "Anyway, what's Yan doing right now?" she queried, with a hint of laziness in her voice. "She's taking a shower," he replied flat out. She let out a laugh that made chills ran down his spine. "Ooooooh what a lucky little bastard. Do you want me to teach you how to please her?" she boldly asked him. "What?! What the hell are you talking about woman?!" he yelled, face burning with embarrassment. The Saryn merely chuckled and told him flatly, "Are men really this stupid? It's obvious my bestie likes you. Hell, I had to push her just for her to muster up the courage to talk to you months ago, when you two were still strangers, literally." She remembered the day she pushed Yanmei only making her faceplant right in front of him.
"Are you serious?" he asked her after a long while. "Yes, you idiot. But don't tell her I told you. She will kill me." Darvo just sighed and tried to absorb the new information. He sensed this, but he didn't want to assume. After a long pause, Brigitte spoke up, "So, do you want me to teach you or what?" Darvo's face went red again. "What do you think I am, inexperienced?!"
"Darvo, who are you talking to?" Yanmei asked, stepping out of the decontamination chamber, with only a towel covering her unmentionables.
"Damn."
