Sorry this took so long. Lotsa stuff going on. THEN I GOT SICK. IT SUCKED. A LOT.
Thank you to my regular reviewers, who need to review or I don't update :P To my... irregular reviewers o_O I love you, too!
ALMOST FORGOT! Magnetic Rings was a term from Thursday's song "Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart." Benjamin Barker is from the movie Sweeny Todd. I am not affiliated with nor do I own Tursday, their song, Benjamin Barker, or Sweeny Todd, the film or the on-stage musical.


"Of course I trust you but I don't believe this one," 2D said, frowning. He had listened patiently to Rina telling him what happened with Murdoc but refused to take her words as truth.

"I figured he wouldn't be too happy with me if I went in there wired, so I have no proof. Hopefully it'll make an impact in his attitude, though he will probably still expect my complete attention," Rina said, not really sure if what she said made any sense.

"Yea, he'll be awright if you only ever talk to him, an' not me, then he might be a lil' bit nice," 2D argued stubbornly.

"Well, Noodle is with him now, perhaps that will improve him, if at least for the rest of the day," she said. "Though unfortunately your scenario does seem to be the only one that makes any sense." 2D pouted at her.

"Then maybe I should stay here, an' not ever go back out wiv the rest of the band up there." He seemed frustrated with his options, or lack of, and Rina wasn't doing any better trying to solve it.

"No, Stuart, that isn't reasonable at all," she said gently. He looked away from her at stared at his door. It still bore the wear and dents and gouges from him banging on it, both with his fists and various objects. While he'd been free to leave his room at will for some time, the fear that this would be taken away would never leave him. "I hate that door." 2D looked at her again.

"It wasn't anyfing for you, why d'you hate it?" He still couldn't wrap his head around this compassion thing. It was still very new.

"I know what it represents and it bothers me," she said flatly. "So, let's stop staring at it." She took his hand, loosely, and coaxed him out of his room and up the lift to the more active area of the building. Murdoc barely looked at them, which was a relief for 2D. He was sitting with Noodle, watching the television. They were more or less oblivious to things outside of themselves, and were certainly not thinking of Rina or 2D.

"Got eggs and porridge, saved some for ya both," Russel said warmly. "Figured as late as y'all tend to stay up, you'd be up late too, guess this is pretty much lunch for y'all." He appreciated the smile from Rina, a gesture he seemed to only ever get from Noodle. Even that had gotten rare in the last month or so as she had delved deeper into her thoughts. Though she meant no offense to Russel, he was still disappointed that Noodle, the last bit of sunshine they had, was clouding over.

"Did you get the water fixed?" 2D asked, feeling suddenly regretful, hoping Russel wouldn't take it as impatience. But Russel just beamed like he'd won a lottery.

"I did! It was a mess in there, what the hell were y'all doin'? Tryin'a kick it back to life?" he teased around a laugh. "But yeah, it's runnin' great now, Dave was fuckin' useless which I ain't all to surprised about."

"Akchully, Murdoc did kick it. But I guess a water heater isn't a computer…" He glanced at Rina, who was trying to bite back a smile.

"Yeah, I kicked an old computer of mine and it worked great, so Murdoc kicked the console… thing. Yeah, you saw how well that went," she said, a giggle finally escaping her. "Sorry Russel."

"Ah, no sweat. Gave me somthin' to do in my down time We try to keep practicing so when we do get back to work we aren't all over the place, tryin'a remember what we do. But on days off, it's boring, I ain't gonna lie."

"If no one's going to be up in the studio, I'd kind of like it, to myself," 2D said quietly, still timid despite Rina's almost counter-bullying air when keeping people off of him.

"Naw, no one's gonna use it, 'specially not Muds, I know you're scared of him, but uh…" Russel shot a look towards Murdoc, who was now stretched across the couch with Noodle draped over him. He was reading (a task he found difficult and painful if he wasn't careful), and she was watching the television. 2D nodded, but didn't speak. The scene was actually unsettling to him, though if it was his desire to be tangled with Rina the same way or the fact that it was NOODLE and MURDOC, he wasn't sure.

"Come then," Rina's light voice took 2D's attention and he followed her towards the lift. He studied her. She looked sad and beautiful.

"You look like you're very sad," 2D said to her, startled slightly by the glossiness in her eyes.

"I am. But I don't want to dwell on it. It isn't the point of being here, is it?" she smiled, but 2D, eyes broken and most of his brain out of order, could sense it was forced. "I just need to stop kicking he hornet's nest." He didn't understand the metaphor but didn't say so. He didn't want her thinking he was an idiot.

She sat on a bean bag chair he didn't recognise as he went to his keyboard. It was dusty, and he honestly wasn't sure when he had last played it. He wiped the dust with his sleeve pulled over his hand and turned it on, pleased to find it still worked.

"You don't have to stay an' listen, I don't fink I'm really any good." 2D said quietly, tapping out a few melodic notes.

"I've heard some of the things you've played. You're quite good, Stuart." He looked at her, she was smiling, though she still looked sad. He relented.

2D played a few notes, slow, spaced… Then faster, into a very grand and elegant flourish of sound, nothing like anything he'd ever play for Gorillaz but something he would often come up with when dreaming of a better life. His eyes were closed and he wasn't on Earth anymore. He could generally hear what he was playing, but he was drifting in and out. They spoke infrequently, Rina telling him it was beautiful, 2D muttering modest acceptance. He stopped only when his hands grew tired. He looked at Rina, almost as if unaware he'd done anything.

"That was really very lovely," Rina told him. She stood and he went to her, putting his arms around her.

"Easy to play beau'iful when… when I got you as inspiration," he said, aware of how horrible and cheesy it sounded. Rina giggled and rested her head against his shoulder, still standing in his embrace. He pulled back a bit, his hand moving to her chin, his fingertips grazing her jaw. Their eyes met, and their lips soon followed. Rina felt 2D's hold on her tighten in shy nervousness. What was to only be a tender mood setting kiss became more passionate, and when 2D pulled her closer, tighter, and their hips met, Rina bit down on his lower lip, eliciting a lustful moan from him. As much as they wanted to carry on, approaching footsteps caused a very sudden stop to their affections.

"I trust I wasn't interrupting anything." Murdoc said, looking mildly irritated with seeing his cousin and 2D alone. "Noodle has requested your presence as there is a film coming on she thinks we would both greatly enjoy." He stood where he was. "I will be escorting you to make sure you don't do anything stupid to my cousin." 2D's expression was suddenly very anxious, and he looked at Rina, waiting for a reprimand to hit Murdoc.

"I think I can take care of myself, Murdoc. I won't let him go anywhere he isn't allowed," she said, ruffling his blue hair. Murdoc grunted, and followed them back to the lower level.

"An' though I didn't see it, I'm sure you were trying to get into her pants weren't you, Faceache?" Murdoc growled, smacking 2D's head with the back of his hand. 2D let out a pained noise, rubbing his head. Rina turned around. Murdoc straightened.

"Don't. Hit him." Her face left no room for argument. Murdoc frowned. "Nothing happened. You said yourself, you weren't there." He looked at his socked feet, feeling her gaze burning him. He did notice 2D's hand graze hers, and their fingers loosely link as the three went down the lift. He stayed silent.

xXx

It had gotten darker faster than Rina had realized. Supper was ready, and they watched a gruesome film regarding one Benjamin Barker as they ate.

"The idea and the story is fit, but what's with the bloody singing? Completely ruins it." Murdoc snapped.

"No way. The singing sounds so cheerful, but it betrays the lyrics. See, makes it more macabre," Rina said. Murdoc made a face.

"They're eating people. How much more macabre can you get?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"No. You're just completely missing the point." Rina's eyes stayed glued to the television screen. She was leaning casually against 2D, who seemed comforted by the affection. Likewise, Noodle was rested against Murdoc, though he seemed stiff and unsure of how to handle the situation, contrary to how he had been earlier.

By the time the film was over, Noodle had fallen asleep on him. Murdoc decided that showing his tender side and taking her to bed was safe, as Russel was there to watch 2D. He scooped Noodle up (taking care to use his wrists and backs of his hands instead of his palms, which proved interesting though less difficult than he anticipated), waking her slightly. She looked at him, then buried her face in his chest, her arms around her neck. His heart aching, Murdoc nuzzled his head to hers.

"Can I sleep with you?" she murmured, still feeling concerned for him. His tenderness towards her was only fueling her feelings. "Not dirty, Murdoc, just… to not be alone," she yawned. Murdoc held her closer.

"Of course." He set her on her feet to shimmy his door open without hurting himself. He let Noodle in first, then closed the door and followed her to his bed. She slipped in first, looking at him sweetly. He hesitated nervously before getting in next to her. She cuddled against him, sighing contently as he put an arm around her. Noodle pulled the blankets up more, and was asleep shortly thereafter. Murdoc rested his cheek to her forehead, then kissed her, and let himself follow her into sleep, feeling happier than he had in a long time.

xXx

"You've been so sad. I can see it. Wha's wrong?" 2D asked Rina as they sat on her bed. She looked at 2D very seriously, and he felt his heart begin to race. She touched his cheek, and his hand went over hers.

"Stuart. I need to leave for-"

"Why? You don't hafta leave anywhere, wha's missing? What do you need? We can get it, you don't hafta leave!" he argued quickly, panicking. Rina put her hand over his mouth.

"Shh. Listen." She waited until his breathing had settled before dropping her hand. He still looked almost terrified. "Now that I know how to get here, I should only be gone 3 or 4 days. Murdoc asked me to stay here. I just need to get the rest of my stuff from my flat. I'll be back, as fast as I can."

"I don't trust Murdoc wifout you, what if he.." 2D felt his eyes well up with tears. He pleaded with Rina, his black eyes showing clearly his fear of Murdoc, and of losing her. She took his face in her hands, wiping his tears with her thumbs. "He's even hit me wif you 'ere still, in front of you, what will he do…" He hiccuped back a sob, and threw his arms around her. She held him in return, and they sat unmoving for several moments.

"C'mon then, let's get some rest. We won't bother with your room, or that stupid whale tonight. How does that sound?" she said gently to him, her tone consoling.

They slipped under her blankets, tangled and caressing each other. 2D studied her eyes, and brought his lips to hers. He felt her smile, but he began to tremble nervously. Ignoring this, Rina shifted, slipping a bit beneath him. He broke the kiss, gasping a bit.

"Too fast?" Rina asked, caring more for his feelings than her physical wants. He swallowed hard.

"I dunno.." His cheek was against hers, his breath on her ear. He kissed the crook of her neck. "I fink.. I want…" She tilted his head to catch his lips again, pushing her hips up against his.

"It's ok, if you want to stop," she said, trying to make sure he was comfortable.

"Mm, no, want-" he gasped as her hips met his-"Need you…" They moaned together as she thrust up again. He felt a hand on his back, one tangled in his hair. He freed her breast from her shirt, his other hand moving between her legs. In the dark of her room, 2D in the arms of the one person who'd made him feel the safest he'd ever felt, Rina's love dropping it's disguise of concern, they consummated the relationship they could delay no longer.


Hope I didn't move them too fast. And yes... her leaving WILL be as bad as you think it will. Murdoc's gonna get himself in trouble :o