"I think we might have dented my wall."
"We? What's this we? I didn't do anything apart from lie there," Darla frowned, glancing up at him. She was still flat on her back, black curls tumbling out across the somewhat dirty sheets, covers pulled up and tucked neatly over her chest.
"Yeah, you're telling me," Drake teased with a roll of his eyes, although there was an edge of playfulness to what usually would have been a purely critical comment. "Bit boring. Well, until towards the end when you decided you wanted a go on top."
Her eyes widened and and colour crept across her freckled cheeks. Red, red like that lipstick she had that he liked. Red like blood. He'd been aiming to embarrass her, and it seemed that he'd been successful. Deciding he hadn't quite embarrassed he enough, he began to snake one hand across the small space between them, creeping two fingers towards the top of the duvet that covered her.
"I'm not actually tired, if you want to-" But he was cut off, and a flash of annoyances flared up in Drake's eyes. In Darla's too, probably. She was just getting him to be almost human, and here someone was coming along trying to ruin it all. Jerks. She'd almost forgotten that other people existed.
"Don't worry, I'll get it," She assured, slipping out from beneath the cover. As she trotted around the bed to fetch some clothes, feeling Drake's steely eyes boring into her back, she called out to whoever was at the door, "Just a second!" Her body hurt. She could ignore it. Just like she could ignore what she'd just done, even with Drake still in the bed only a few feet away from her. Really, she could just tell whoever was at the door to piss off. It wasn't Caine or Diana, as they'd have probably just pushed the door open, which meant that it was nobody particularly important and therefore she could afford to ignore them. Maybe she wanted to speak to whoever was waiting. Maybe it was better than getting back into bed. But the thing was, it'd been what she'd wanted. It'd been good. It'd been everything she'd expected and more. So why did she feel so wrong about it, suddenly? Was it just that she was embarrassed that people would find out? Or was she only just beginning to really understand what had happened?
All of this contemplation only took a few moments, and soon Darla was pulling open the door. There was a kid there, small, freckled face and feathery hair. She recalled his nickname being Bug, but she'd forgotten the story behind it.
"What?" She demanded, trying to put on her most snappy, intimidating voice in the hopes that it'd shorten the encounter.
"Caine wants to talk,'' Bug paused, eyes on Darla but, she noticed, not focused on her face. When she self consciously crossed her arms over her chest, he looked up and continued, "To Drake. Not you."
"Last time I checked, this was my room?" Darla pointed out with her eyebrows raised, "Go check his."
"Oh, I know he's in here. I think everyone in the building does." A sly smirk crossed the kid's features. "Probably the kids in Perdido Beach, too."
Darla's expression darkened and she tilted her head to the side, but the irritated expression melted away to reveal a smile that was too sickly sweet to be genuine.
"You know, he's still in the bed right now." She whispered, leaning down, "So, if I were you, I'd watch how you're talking to me. He's already annoyed that you interrupted. Don't make it worse."
If Bug was scared at all, it didn't really show, but he cast an uneasy glance over the girl's shoulder as if expecting to see Drake right there, with that awful arm of his and that shark's smile. Darla wasn't Diana. Nobody messed with Diana, everyone knew better, but Darla was different. The girl didn't share all of the qualities that made Diana who she was. Even without Caine, Diana was powerful; it just helped having him as a backup threat. Nobody was really sure whether Drake was Darla's backup threat or not. Perhaps they'd begin to tread more carefully.
"Can you just get him?" Bug demanded, but before he melted away and blended into the background (a trick Darla still marvelled at), he added a sullen, "Please."
Once she'd heard the sound of footsteps retreating, Darla pulled the door shut and turned around to meet Drake's expectant gaze. After one moment of weakness where she almost didn't mention Caine, almost just trotted back over, she let her shoulders sag and flashed a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, big boy. Bigger boy wants you." She explained, bending to retrieve his shirt from the floor and tossing it to him. She wouldn't watch him struggle to put it on with only one hand- there was a point where it stopped being funny and just became a little awkward. They didn't really make clothes to accommodate whip arms, she supposed.
"Fuck him,'' Drake grumbled, yet he was already getting up and getting dressed. He still wasn't in a position to irritate Caine, even with Caine's weakened state. Not yet. Soon.
"So you're cheating on me now?" Came her weak attempt at a teasing reply. If she was being honest, she wished he didn't have to go so soon. Going meant he'd be off to the power plant, which meant possible violence, which meant him losing control, and it wasn't something she wanted to witness.
"Something like that." He shrugged, not really the type to joke back.
They spent the next few moments in silence, as he finished getting dressed and she stood picking at her nails, nonchalant. It was only when she felt his arms around her body that she looked up, taking by surprise.
"Don't die." Drake mumbled, and to Darla, that was almost equivalent to an 'I love you'. It was a start. Even though he continued and added in a comment to make it seem less worried, it was still progress. "It'll be really embarrassing if you die, I literally just told Soren you were tough."
"I'll try my best. You too. Because when it's over, I'm ready for round two." Darla joked, pulling back when he did.
"Round seven, you mean." With a wink he was gone, and she was watching the door creak closed behind him.
And then she went for a shower.
Hi! I'm so happy you're all still reading, it's great to see multiple reviews, they really do motivate me to get new chapters out!
P.S. I'm taking all of the suggestions into account. Just because they aren't in this chapter or any of the Ines immediately following doesn't mean they aren't coming. ;)