The rules for the place were a bit odd and undefined to her. 'All deals made must be kept. Don't brandish a weapon unless you plan to use it. Respect people's possessions unless they disrespect yours. Protecting yourself is allowed, as is punching belligerent drunks.'

"Are you sure that's a rule?" She had asked DJ.

"You will have t-t-trouble keeping them off you," he warned.

Something made her think DJ had brought her here to watch her beat up people. As she began exploring the community, she realized quickly that this place was even denser than first perceived. She was surrounded by shops that sold things she'd never heard of before. It was overwhelming.

At first, she had been hesitant to purchase anything. She kept telling herself she probably had what she needed on The Libertine. After a while, she realized why bother using someone else's belongings, when she could have her own. She could have excess, if that's she wanted. The folks she passed didn't eye her either. It was a mixed community, but DJ was right, there were drunks everywhere. They sold alcohol in every shop. But none of the drunks bothered her, as he had said they would. They seemed perfectly content to drink in corners, hoping to forget or remember or just laugh themselves silly. The place would have reminded her of Canto Bight if everyone didn't look so earnest in their actions. The only false presentation here perhaps was machismo. These were criminals, and they looked content.

After spending all day in the town exploring the shops, she headed back to The Libertine. She hadn't bought much, just a few clothes and a better pair of boots. As she headed back to the ship, the guards let her through with no issues. It was weird how they knew she belonged suddenly. The place must have had incredible security.

When entered the ship, she heard someone shuffling around. Assuming it was DJ, she decided to ignore it and put her items in her room. She made a pile of the items she'd be selling or trashing. A long haul was ahead of her considering the room contained a lot of what she considered vain or pointless frivolity. She didn't have much use for makeup, perfume, or fancy hats. But during this cleaning process she heard a loud bang, and a faint curse afterwards. It hadn't sounded like DJ.

Following the noise, she found a man digging around in a component panel of the ship. Responding immediately, she rushed over and kicked the man in the back of the head, yelling "Who the hell are you?"

He fell on his hands, hitting his head again on the floor. With speed, she sat on his back and grabbed his arms, pinning him. He didn't struggle, though he did yelp.

In the distance she heard someone yell, "No stop stop stop stop" then a pounding of feet towards her. Rounding the corner DJ appeared, soaking wet, and only wearing a worried expression and large towel around his lower half. His appearance caught her off guard. He looked especially good with the wet hair, not to mention his bare, broad chest. When he saw her sitting on top of this now whimpering man, he burst into laughter.

"Let Vitrus go. He looks s-s-so pathetic."

The woman glanced down at the man, who had begun crying. Looking back at DJ and then the man, and then back at DJ again, she slowly rose.

She felt a little sorry for the man. "Sorry, Vitrus," she muttered.

She looked over to DJ for an explanation. He responded, "He's looking for a tracking device."

The woman stared down at the man disapprovingly. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at DJ, "Isn't that something you should be good at finding?"

DJ put his hand on his chest gesturing to himself rather dramatically, "I was busy." Feigning outrage, he turned on his heel and walked away, as she heard him complain, "Now you've interrupted b-b-both my shower and my sleep, shadow lady."

Vitrus wiped his eyes and left the room in a huff as well. For a second she stood there, wondering if she had truly upset DJ. Now that she thought about it, he had been trying sleep when they'd first met. Feeling a little guilty, and also unable to get the image of DJ in a towel out of her head, she decided to follow him.

"What's this?" He said amusedly. "The shadow lady follows me, in my stat-t-te of undress?" He really must have been in the middle of a shower because with every step he left a puddle in the hallway.

"I just want to know if there's anyone else I need to be wary of on this ship," she asked sarcastically, pretending she hadn't been watching his lower half to see if the towel would fall. He stopped suddenly, and she almost ran into him.

He quickly turned, lowering his face to her. "Only me" he warned, his voice low. The hungry look in his eye startled her, and she jumped back. She crossed her arms to prevent herself from grabbing him, and gave him a scowl.

After watching her for a moment, he smirked, proud that he had caught her off guard. "You look angry when you're excited," he smiled approvingly.

He walked into his room looking smug. Frustrated and embarrassed, she rubbed her face in her hands. If she followed him in, she might really try to take that towel off.

"How can he tell anyway…I always look angry," she mumbled to herself, still a little bitter about easily he saw through her. Then, again if he was less perceptive, this game of theirs would have been much less fun.

From inside the room, he whistled a disjointed song. It was whimsical, and out of tune. He stopped and she heard strange noise she couldn't place. Out of curiosity, she peeked in. DJ stood in the doorway of the bathroom, in front of a ridiculously large mirror. He had changed into a gray shirt, and a pair of black boxer briefs. She watched as he put something on his face. Then, he hovered his hand over a small dispenser, and more of the shaving cream came out. That had been what the noise was. He glanced over at her.

"How do you like it-t-t?" he said.

She walked into the room. It looked completely redone. A lot of the weird décor her old boss had was gone. The bed caught her eye in particular because, the morosely dark covers had been replaced with white sheets, and a large blue quilt. She'd seen a shop selling similar homemade quilts in town.

She scoffed, smirking and feeling the quilt in her hand, "I was going to buy one like this."

"Hmmm," she heard him grunt as he put more shaving cream on his face.

He didn't seem to notice her, as she walked over. She leaned on the door frame to the bathroom, watching him continue to apply shaving cream to his face. He picked up an oddly assembled razor and started to shave. After a few strokes, she realized he must have made the razor handle himself.

After he wiped his face with a towel, her heart skipped a beat. His jaw line looked more defined without the facial hair. His realized his eyes still had those dark circles under them, which must mean they were always there, even when fully rested. He slapped his face with aftershave. She tried to ignore the impulse to feel how smooth his cheek was, but she couldn't resist.

DJ had begun to put away the shaving cream, when she hesitantly raised her hand to his face. Her palm was almost to her cheek when he grabbed it fiercely, and with a vigor that shocked her. He did this out of the corner of his eye, and continued to stare ahead him. His eyes narrowed.

He turned to her very slowly, looking down at her wide-eyed face. His heavy eyes, weighted by those thick eyebrows, scowled at her. The look sent a chill through her, but she stood her ground.

His gaze drifted to her hand. He brought it away from his face, and traced his fingers in her palm. When he looked back up at her, his expression had softened. She tried to remind herself to breathe as she watched him. He loosened his grip, and lead her hand to his lips. He gently kissed the inside of it. Her body tensed as she imagined his lips on her. The passion welling up inside of her was soon to spill. She bit her lip, hoping to contain it.

His eyes caught her biting her lip, and they lingered there for a moment.

He moved her hand to his cheek, and leaned into it like it were a soft pillow. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He looked very at peace. She hadn't expected a roguish man like DJ to be so intimate. She smiled, as she caressed his cheek. It felt like she was petting a wild animal. As if a she had caught a wolf relaxing in the shade and dared to wrap her fingers in its fur. At any moment, he might spring up and bite her.

His chest rose and fell in deep breaths. Transfixed by the movement, she placed a palm on it. He responded to her touch immediately and his eyes bolted open. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to him. Her heart jumped to her throat and she felt a rush nervous energy through her.

"I should have kissed you in the jail cell," he said in a hushed tone. His seductive eyes darted from her eyes to her lips and lingered there. She felt like he was draining her of everything, as she felt so weak in his arms…like a wounded bird in the paw of a lion. Her gripped her tighter again, as his presence encompassed her. He put a finger on her jaw and she tilted her head back, looking up at him in wonder.

"I was covered in…" she said weakly.

"D-d-doesn't matter," he said cutting her off, and pressing his lips to her. It hit her like a plunge into cold water. Gentle at first, he backed away, gazing briefly into her eyes

He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, and she shivered. He groaned lightly, and kissed her again, but with a desire which felt closer to hunger. He kissed her with a fervency that made her cling to him like he was the only solid thing in this swaying, dizzying world. It was a jolt of electricity to her nerves, and it evoked a longing within her she didn't realize was capable. His fingers dug into her skin. His tongue slipped into her mouth. His hands roamed and grabbed. She tried to keep up, softly pulling his hair, imagining it like the wolf in the shade. But as his intensity increased, he turned animalistic and she felt overpowered in the best way.

Every kiss she'd had before this one had been wrong. When DJ kissed her, the world faded away and there was only him. His aftershave, his shampoo and that extra smell that had just been him. It was all she wanted to focus on. It was more than a primal desire. The moment his lips touched hers, her brain rewired itself. Her wanted nothing else more than to melt into him.

His hands went under the back of her shirt. They felt rough against her smooth skin. He fought to not run them up the front and onto her chest. So, he backed away, running his hand instead in her hair. But he couldn't keep away. He bent down and kissed her neck, as a soft moan escaped her lips. The moan instinctively made him tighten the grip on her hair, pulling it down with force. She let out a sharp inhale and he let go of her.

"I should stop now," he said. He face looked flushed as he licked his lips.

"Let's spread out the fun," she said with a grin.

He chuckled, and pulled her in and they embraced. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt happy. But with his arms around her, and her face buried in his chest, she didn't have a single care. They stayed like this for a while. A few times, DJ tried to pull away, but the woman wasn't ready to let go yet, and ultimately, she was stronger than him. He relinquished, chuckling and holding on her still.

After a while, the woman felt a pain in her side and let go of him. It had been from where he grabbed. She pulled the shirt up, and there were red marks. She rubbed it gently.

He put his hand in her hair again, looking concerned, "I was too rough."

"I'll tell you if you're too rough," she said with an intoxicated smile. She felt drunk. He sighed, putting her face in his hands for another kiss. He bit her bottom lip.

"If you keep doing that, we may stay in this bedroom the rest of the night," she warned him.

He put his hands in the air, giving her that devilish grin again. With his hands in the air, something caught her eye. Something that had been poking her while they were kissing, but she had been too oversaturated until now to notice. Her eye drawn to it, she realized she needed to make herself look away. Feeling a bit lightheaded, she stumbled away from him.

"I should probably…." she said trying to appear nonchalant, and trying to avoid staring downwards. It didn't work, as she paused and gaped at him. "…go."

DJ cocked his head, and then looked down at himself. He gave her a lazy smile, "P-p-probably a good idea, shadow-lady."

Closing the door behind her in her room, she felt her head pounding. She couldn't get enough of him. She wanted more, but the idea of spreading out the fun as she had said to him earlier seemed too good. It took everything in her to not barge back into his room. Instead, she decided working on something boring like the room for a few hours would distract her enough.