McDonald had been walking for ten minutes when he decided that he would go back to Maria's apartment. He'd never held with that supernatural bullshit: ghosts and sixth sense and the like, but something in him was nagging at him to turn around to go back. He ignored it for another five when he came out of a corner shop, bacon sandwich and watered down coffee in hand, and then it got really persistent when he was faced with the entrance of an alleyway that would lead him straight to Maria's block.

And he found himself pulled along in that direction.

I'll just – I'll just go check she's alright. I think I must've forgotten something anyway. Keys? Nope, got them. Uhrm. I forgot the pizza boxes! Yup, that's right. Recycling and all that.

Comfortable that that was an appropriate excuse to go back to somewhere that you'd been kicked out of ten minutes prior, he was all ready to explain himself when he was at Maria's door, raising his fist to knock a little awkwardly when her voice sounded from the other side.

Get out.

He wasn't sure if he was hearing things. But then it came again.

Get out.

That was definitely Maria. And she sounded near to tears. There was some scuffling, a murmured conversation, and then a thump on a roof. McDonald went still in the possibility that Kevin might have some sort of super Assassin radar detection that he wasn't aware of, but then there was a series of several thumps as Kevin took off a across the roof and then supposedly into the dead of night when everything fell silent again.

And then his phone began to ring.

'FuckshitbollocksChristfuckme!' He hissed all in one sentence, fumbling for the buzzing phone in his pocket and managing to get it out on the third ring.

And then he saw the caller ID, and started. Tentatively, he raised the phone to his ear.

'…Hello?'

'Darren? You're outside?'

He wasn't best sure how to answer that question, so he raised his hand a little haltingly and knocked tentatively on her door, his plastic carrier bag swinging on his wrist. He was still standing there with the phone pressed to his ear when the door opened.

Darren looked very, very sheepish. In fact, if he were to baa awkwardly, Maria wouldn't be surprised. Neither of them hung up their phones, but just stood there in silence, staring at each other.

After a while of nothing, Darren raised his carrier bag half-heartedly.

'I got a bacon sandwich.' He said, and Maria was crying all over again before his voice rebounded back to her in her phone.

'Oh God, oh, Maria, why are you - ?' Darren said uselessly, struggling with the bag and the phone as he tried to hang it up and reach for her at the same time.

'It's nothing, it's – '

'No no, it's not, you're crying, oh god you're crying – '

'Why didn't you - ?'

'Why didn't I what?'

'Why didn't you tell me it was Kevin?'

Darren didn't want to answer her for a moment. He set the carrier bag down on the floor awkwardly, his ribs smarting, and walked towards her carefully. His heart was in his throat, and the old him would have turned away long before this point. Given up. Would've been afraid. Not this new him. Not the person she had made him.

He gently touched the cut under this black eye. 'This hurt more than this would've done,' he said simply, gently reaching out and brushing the exposed skin over her heart. 'And that was okay with me.'

Maria stared at him as he dropped his hand, searching her face for her answer. What had he been confessing? That he was interested in more? That he was in love with her? Surely he knew that they couldn't risk it, what with Abstergo breathing down their necks?

For the first time in her life, Maria didn't know what to say.

Because there was a part of her that wanted it too.

But not now.

She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She met his hopeful – not expectant, hopeful – look with what she hoped was a cool and collected expression. She sniffed.

'I don't want anything tonight,' she said quickly. 'I just – I just want someone to be there and maybe hold me for a little while. Can you do that?'

She couldn't work out Darren's look as the hope fell from him slightly. Disappointed? Expecting the worst and having it happen?

And then he smiled at her, something small, and she was reassured.

'That I can do,' he said, shrugging off his coat, toeing off his shoes and shutting the front door behind him.

N'aw. Wee bit of shipping there. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please review :)