[ she has a point. the meeting hadn't been disclosed to many so it's very possible someone close to her or her mother had leaked it so there could be other private things being made public. he thinks about it for a second before nodding. ]
Stay down.
[ and he drives the rest of the way in silence, taking them on a winding trip through the city to make sure there's no way to be followed. once he's fairly certain that there is no tail, he gets onto the highway and then off a few stops later.
the hotel he chooses isn't so battered that it would be obvious they'd be there. it's older but still clean and still crowded. it's tucked in between two larger buildings and would easily be passed if you didn't know it was there. ]
[ he doesn't argue — for once. it's actually nice, daisy thinks, to have her opinions considered as reasonable rather than just summarily dismissed as a product of her so-called privilege; in the wake of his taciturn acknowledgement, daisy offers her own olive branch in turn. she stays quiet, letting her eyes close as they take various twists and turns in the city streets only to pick up speed some time later. the highway, she presumes, but she doesn't sit up to find out until they've pulled into a parking space.
there's no valet — or at least, no mandatory one — so she knows this isn't one of her mother's favored five-star properties. the lobby is clean and well-lit, but the windows don't quite reach floor to ceiling and the floors don't exactly sparkle; as they approach the desk to check-in (under a fake name, always under an alias), the worker smiles. asks if they're enjoying their stay, mr and mrs...
without missing a beat, daisy lets an arm loop around his, affecting a soft smile that's strangely easy to force; she laughs a little, and shakes her head. ]
Not yet, [ a conspiratorial whisper, ] He hasn't worked up the nerve to ask.
[ the man looks bemused on her behalf, glances darting between them; as he hands over the keys, daisy leans in. ]
We just wanted a little privacy, you know? My mother is so old-fashioned. [ a wink that earns a laugh in return. ] If anybody asks for us, keep our secret?
[ of course, he nods. romance is hard to argue against, and star-crossed lovers even more so; it leaves daisy feeling particularly smug as they turn towards the elevators, keys resting in her free palm. ]
Don't ruin it, [ she finally addresses to him, tone low. ]
[ he almost interjects several times, trying to speak up for himself about a relationship that doesn't even exist. eventually, he just let's her handle it, let's her talk and then turns with her to walk away. ]
I'm not ruining anything.
[ he hasn't contradicted her or said anything to arouse suspicion that her words are a lie. in fact, as they walk, he even leans over and lets his lips just barely graze the top of her head. while she was a far, far better actor in this realm of things than he was, he could still play a part when it was needed.
when they're out of sight, he still lets her keep a hold of his arm and winds them down the hallways to the room they've been given. he since she has the keys, he nods at the door while his eyes look up and down the corridor just in case someone happens to be lurking.
the door opens and the gestures her inside before he follows, shutting and locking the door behind them.
he sighs quietly, feeling a little bit more secure now that they're out of sight. ]
[ it's not the hotel suite she'd left earlier today, but the room is large enough to be comfortable. there's a bed and a sitting area and a small desk against the wall, and an en-suite bath that she notices even has a small soaker tub under a stained glass window. it's not the ritz, but it's nice. old-fashioned, perhaps, but still. it's nice.
she wonders how he knows this place exists. something to ask at a later time. right now, she has to work — on her phone, that is, since her laptop's still left behind in the suite from this morning.
jiaying doesn't own real estate. it's easier to convince (threaten) high-end hotels to loan her luxury suites for long-term stays, and so daisy's used to bouncing from place to place every few months. she doesn't own much, anyway, and what she does can be moved easily by people paid to do it. ]
Do you think someone will know where I've been staying?
[ she really doesn't want to remote wipe her laptop, but if she has to... ]
Difficult to say. But, they knew the location of a meeting that was not public knowledge. I would not be surprised if they knew where you'd been.
[ so, better safe than sorry. and he is sorry. he's seen her work on her laptop for long stretches of time and he knows whatever's on there is probably meaningful to her. ]
If there was another way, I'd say you could probably hold off but I... [ he trails off, frustrated. this was a new situation. there had been threats before but nothing that felt this close in nature. ]
They won't know you're here, though. We can see about getting you a replacement soon.
[ she doesn't argue. can't. he's right, and she hates it; she hates what it means she has to do even more. with a few agitated presses against the screen, daisy activates the remote wipe on her laptop.
it's not a total loss — she's never been a particularly sentimental person, so there's no cherished photos kept on the drive — but it's an important step. if someone raids her room, they'll want to find out what she had access to. they won't be able to access her cloud backups on a wiped drive, and she can shut those down for the time being. until she's somewhere more stable, until she has something better than her phone to download things to.
but it's still annoying. a violation of her privacy, of what little autonomy she's carved out for herself, and she hates it.
enough to breathe out a staggered exhale, agitation shuddering her shoulders, and to swallow down a cry before it has a chance to escape her lips. but all that tension and anger and irritation has to go somewhere — as it turns out, somewhere happens to be the wall behind her, which gets a thump of her boot in her frustration. ]
God! [ only a little is, apparently, not good enough. ] This is so stupid.
[ she wants to say more, wants to scream about it, but she can't find words to say. just a mix of emotions welling up as she suddenly drops to the floor, knees pulled up to her chest. ]
[ he's seen her get angry before but it's usually directed at him or at something he's done. it's never been this desperate, anchorless anger that she can't do anything with. she kicks the wall and then collapses onto the floor. at first, he doesn't really know what to do.
he stands there, bewildered, letting her be before he realizes that that's going to just make him look more robotic and untouchable than he already knows he appears.
so, he moves closer, crouching down at her side, one hand hovering over her back. he doesn't know whether to touch her or not so it just hangs there before he finally convinces himself to get over it and lets his hand rest gently against her back. ]
I'm sorry this happened. [ it's not her fault, it's not his fault but it is a terrible situation all around. ] If there was any other way, I would take it.
[ she starts at the touch — not a flinch, not moving away from it, but just startled by the unexpected comfort. there's a moment where daisy simply stills in place, uncertain, but eventually her shoulders sag and she leans back into it, his palm a firm pressure just below her shoulder blade.]
It's not your fault. [ it needs to be said. she blames him for so many things, usually small irritations, but not this. this isn't his fault — unless, of course, he was the one to leak her location, to send her into a trap. but she doesn't think he's the cause. she doesn't know why she's so certain of that, but she is. ] It's — I don't know whose fault it is, but it's not yours.
[ her head tips back, crown resting against the wall for a beat before her eyes fall shut. ]
I don't know what to do. [ about the situation, yes, but also in the immediate sense. ] We can't leave, can we?
[ hopefully their time here would be short. he doesn't like staying in one place because it makes them too easy a target and she won't want to stay cooped up inside for too long. the longer they were here, the more likely it would be that he'd wake up or step out of the bathroom to her having sneaked out.
and that is the last thing he wants to discover. ]
If you need something, I can see about going out to get it but you'd have to stay here. [ and he's only offering this because she looks so despondent. it wouldn't be wise to leave her alone at all but she is powerful and she is capable and he'd really like it if she wasn't so sad.
No, [ quick to — dismiss? reassure? she's not certain. but to correct, in any case. ] I don't need anything.
[ even if she did (and she probably does: food, a change of clothes, something to entertain herself with) she doesn't want him to go out on her behalf. it's too dangerous, an unnecessary risk when tomorrow will bring plenty of those on its own. eventually, she'll have to go back — face her mother, face the music. gather what's left of her things, begin again.
try to prove herself worth the expense, too. a problem that bore its own weight on her shoulders, but not one she could think about right now. ]
[ he nods, giving her shoulder a squeeze before standing up and sighing. it would have been nice to be able to open the curtains and allow some fresh air but he's a little too paranoid of giving anyone a line of sight. he'll check that later.
for now, he takes a seat on the edge of the bed and sighs. ]
If you would like to take a shower, I can order something from room service for you to beat. The bathtubs are quite nice. [ so yes, he has definitely been here before. it's been quite awhile but this isn't an unfamiliar place to him. ]
It might help you relax. [ he hopes so, at least. she's been through a lot today and it doesn't look to be stopping anytime soon. she deserves a few moments of peace and quiet and time to herself to process it all. ]
Maybe. [ not right now. she doesn't want to lay in a bath and let her mind spiral on repeat over all the things that have happened, trying to piece out what she'd done wrong somewhere in her past to allow this to come to be. if she lays in the water in the quiet of the room, her mind will never turn off. it won't be relaxing. it'll be a punishment. ] Maybe later.
[ he gets up and settles on the bed, and for a moment, daisy just watches him. he's in the center, and though the clerk had been kind enough to give them what looks like a king bed (probably for his height, she thinks, if nothing else), it's not like he's left her that much space.
too bad, though. because she doesn't want to sit on the floor alone anymore, and since there's no comfortable couch to claim or a plush computer chair to flop into, she's just going to take up a side of the bed too. even if it means her shoulder bumps against his own. ]
Can we watch something while we wait?
[ for room service, she means. because she'll eat literally any time. ]
[ his shoulder warms instantly where she leans into it and that is...he should not be thinking of that. but he doesn't yank himself away either because she already thinks people don't want to be around here and he...does. even when she's berating and yelling at him, he doesn't mind being around her at all.
in answer to her question, he nods, reaching over to grab the remote and passing it to her. ]
Find something. I'll get the food.
[ there's a phone and a menu on the nightstand that he picks up, paging through once before ordering a few different things. once he's done, he hangs up and looks back over at her. ]
It will be a few minutes. What have you found to watch? [ what piece of american media was he going to be confused by today? ]
[ this hotel may not spring for every channel known to man, but there's still the basic cable lineup, and within that there's a few options. it's still mid-day, so there's the old standbys: bad soap operas and children's television to consider, the allure of melodramatic infomercials, the drone of religious sermons or calls for donations to megachurches that definitely didn't need the money. daisy doesn't opt for any of them.
instead, she lands on a classic movie channel, one she hasn't watched in years. there's a black and white movie coming on in the next few minutes, a cold war-era film she's seen only once before. somehow, she thinks he might like it. or hate it. there's never any telling with him. ]
You must be crushed it's not MTV.
[ she probably shouldn't lean into him, either, but. well. she's exhausted. today has been a lot, and his shoulder is just the right spot for her to rest her head without having to lay down completely, so she uses it. she figures he'll tell her if he wants her to move... or he'll just move her himself. he's done it before. ]
I don't even know what MTV is. [ he doesn't watch a lot of television, could you tell? he got his entertainment from other places like...standing at attention for long periods of time, exercising or reading. quite the exciting life he led but it allowed him to keep her safe so he wasn't complaining.
when her head comes to a rest against his shoulder, he stills. he probably should not be allowing this to happen because he is an employee and she is technically his employer. this is a little closer than they should be but she just looks so weary and he knows that today could not have been easy.
so, he doesn't make her move. he lets her stay as she is and focuses on not jostling her. ] You can close your eyes, if you would like. I'll be awake.
[ he would make the bellboy leave the food just outside the door and get it later, if it came to that. ]
[ famous last words uttered by a girl who probably would fall asleep before the first thirty minutes of the movie were up, but she's making it her story and sticking to it for now. stubborn as ever. ]
Is it uncomfortable?
[ because she can adjust. she can lay on her stomach, if he'd prefer she not touch him. he probably would prefer that, she thinks, but it's not reason enough to move. or maybe she doesn't want to. she's trying not to think about it too much. ]
I didn't say that. [ he lowers his voice and shakes his head. ] You're fine.
[ if this is what helps her relax and calm down after today, he's going to let her have it. maybe it is not completely appropriate and maybe he should ask her to create some distance but he doesn't. because this soothes his nerves as well. it shouldn't, it really should not, but he can't help how he feels.
what he can do is keep it to himself. so, he sighs and glances over at her. ]
Relax. [ if she's not going to sleep, so be it. but he does want her to calm down after everything that's happened today. ]
[ that much is true, at least. her breathing is steady, her limbs feel loose, and she can feel his chest rising and falling as she leans in against him. she's indisputably relaxed for the first time all day. ]
You're very warm.
[ maybe that's because he's a giant man with a jacket on indoors. ]
[ but, he doesn't really notice temperatures especially in relation to himself. he's trained himself to work in high heat and extreme cold so sitting in a warm room in a jacket doesn't phase him. if it helps her though, then all the better. he sighs and peers down at her once more. ]
Go to sleep.
[ because he knows that is going to happen whether she likes it or not. he's been around her long enough to know that she can and will fall asleep in a manner of seconds if she's comfortable and/or exhausted enough. ]
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no subject
Stay down.
[ and he drives the rest of the way in silence, taking them on a winding trip through the city to make sure there's no way to be followed. once he's fairly certain that there is no tail, he gets onto the highway and then off a few stops later.
the hotel he chooses isn't so battered that it would be obvious they'd be there. it's older but still clean and still crowded. it's tucked in between two larger buildings and would easily be passed if you didn't know it was there. ]
We're here. Come on.
no subject
there's no valet — or at least, no mandatory one — so she knows this isn't one of her mother's favored five-star properties. the lobby is clean and well-lit, but the windows don't quite reach floor to ceiling and the floors don't exactly sparkle; as they approach the desk to check-in (under a fake name, always under an alias), the worker smiles. asks if they're enjoying their stay, mr and mrs...
without missing a beat, daisy lets an arm loop around his, affecting a soft smile that's strangely easy to force; she laughs a little, and shakes her head. ]
Not yet, [ a conspiratorial whisper, ] He hasn't worked up the nerve to ask.
[ the man looks bemused on her behalf, glances darting between them; as he hands over the keys, daisy leans in. ]
We just wanted a little privacy, you know? My mother is so old-fashioned. [ a wink that earns a laugh in return. ] If anybody asks for us, keep our secret?
[ of course, he nods. romance is hard to argue against, and star-crossed lovers even more so; it leaves daisy feeling particularly smug as they turn towards the elevators, keys resting in her free palm. ]
Don't ruin it, [ she finally addresses to him, tone low. ]
no subject
I'm not ruining anything.
[ he hasn't contradicted her or said anything to arouse suspicion that her words are a lie. in fact, as they walk, he even leans over and lets his lips just barely graze the top of her head. while she was a far, far better actor in this realm of things than he was, he could still play a part when it was needed.
when they're out of sight, he still lets her keep a hold of his arm and winds them down the hallways to the room they've been given. he since she has the keys, he nods at the door while his eyes look up and down the corridor just in case someone happens to be lurking.
the door opens and the gestures her inside before he follows, shutting and locking the door behind them.
he sighs quietly, feeling a little bit more secure now that they're out of sight. ]
no subject
she wonders how he knows this place exists. something to ask at a later time. right now, she has to work — on her phone, that is, since her laptop's still left behind in the suite from this morning.
jiaying doesn't own real estate. it's easier to convince (threaten) high-end hotels to loan her luxury suites for long-term stays, and so daisy's used to bouncing from place to place every few months. she doesn't own much, anyway, and what she does can be moved easily by people paid to do it. ]
Do you think someone will know where I've been staying?
[ she really doesn't want to remote wipe her laptop, but if she has to... ]
no subject
[ so, better safe than sorry. and he is sorry. he's seen her work on her laptop for long stretches of time and he knows whatever's on there is probably meaningful to her. ]
If there was another way, I'd say you could probably hold off but I... [ he trails off, frustrated. this was a new situation. there had been threats before but nothing that felt this close in nature. ]
They won't know you're here, though. We can see about getting you a replacement soon.
no subject
it's not a total loss — she's never been a particularly sentimental person, so there's no cherished photos kept on the drive — but it's an important step. if someone raids her room, they'll want to find out what she had access to. they won't be able to access her cloud backups on a wiped drive, and she can shut those down for the time being. until she's somewhere more stable, until she has something better than her phone to download things to.
but it's still annoying. a violation of her privacy, of what little autonomy she's carved out for herself, and she hates it.
enough to breathe out a staggered exhale, agitation shuddering her shoulders, and to swallow down a cry before it has a chance to escape her lips. but all that tension and anger and irritation has to go somewhere — as it turns out, somewhere happens to be the wall behind her, which gets a thump of her boot in her frustration. ]
God! [ only a little is, apparently, not good enough. ] This is so stupid.
[ she wants to say more, wants to scream about it, but she can't find words to say. just a mix of emotions welling up as she suddenly drops to the floor, knees pulled up to her chest. ]
no subject
he stands there, bewildered, letting her be before he realizes that that's going to just make him look more robotic and untouchable than he already knows he appears.
so, he moves closer, crouching down at her side, one hand hovering over her back. he doesn't know whether to touch her or not so it just hangs there before he finally convinces himself to get over it and lets his hand rest gently against her back. ]
I'm sorry this happened. [ it's not her fault, it's not his fault but it is a terrible situation all around. ] If there was any other way, I would take it.
[ but her safety will always be the priority. ]
Can I do anything to help you?
no subject
It's not your fault. [ it needs to be said. she blames him for so many things, usually small irritations, but not this. this isn't his fault — unless, of course, he was the one to leak her location, to send her into a trap. but she doesn't think he's the cause. she doesn't know why she's so certain of that, but she is. ] It's — I don't know whose fault it is, but it's not yours.
[ her head tips back, crown resting against the wall for a beat before her eyes fall shut. ]
I don't know what to do. [ about the situation, yes, but also in the immediate sense. ] We can't leave, can we?
no subject
[ hopefully their time here would be short. he doesn't like staying in one place because it makes them too easy a target and she won't want to stay cooped up inside for too long. the longer they were here, the more likely it would be that he'd wake up or step out of the bathroom to her having sneaked out.
and that is the last thing he wants to discover. ]
If you need something, I can see about going out to get it but you'd have to stay here. [ and he's only offering this because she looks so despondent. it wouldn't be wise to leave her alone at all but she is powerful and she is capable and he'd really like it if she wasn't so sad.
it hurt to see. ]
no subject
[ even if she did (and she probably does: food, a change of clothes, something to entertain herself with) she doesn't want him to go out on her behalf. it's too dangerous, an unnecessary risk when tomorrow will bring plenty of those on its own. eventually, she'll have to go back — face her mother, face the music. gather what's left of her things, begin again.
try to prove herself worth the expense, too. a problem that bore its own weight on her shoulders, but not one she could think about right now. ]
You don't need to go anywhere.
[ i don't want to be alone, unsaid. ]
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for now, he takes a seat on the edge of the bed and sighs. ]
If you would like to take a shower, I can order something from room service for you to beat. The bathtubs are quite nice. [ so yes, he has definitely been here before. it's been quite awhile but this isn't an unfamiliar place to him. ]
It might help you relax. [ he hopes so, at least. she's been through a lot today and it doesn't look to be stopping anytime soon. she deserves a few moments of peace and quiet and time to herself to process it all. ]
no subject
[ he gets up and settles on the bed, and for a moment, daisy just watches him. he's in the center, and though the clerk had been kind enough to give them what looks like a king bed (probably for his height, she thinks, if nothing else), it's not like he's left her that much space.
too bad, though. because she doesn't want to sit on the floor alone anymore, and since there's no comfortable couch to claim or a plush computer chair to flop into, she's just going to take up a side of the bed too. even if it means her shoulder bumps against his own. ]
Can we watch something while we wait?
[ for room service, she means. because she'll eat literally any time. ]
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in answer to her question, he nods, reaching over to grab the remote and passing it to her. ]
Find something. I'll get the food.
[ there's a phone and a menu on the nightstand that he picks up, paging through once before ordering a few different things. once he's done, he hangs up and looks back over at her. ]
It will be a few minutes. What have you found to watch? [ what piece of american media was he going to be confused by today? ]
no subject
instead, she lands on a classic movie channel, one she hasn't watched in years. there's a black and white movie coming on in the next few minutes, a cold war-era film she's seen only once before. somehow, she thinks he might like it. or hate it. there's never any telling with him. ]
You must be crushed it's not MTV.
[ she probably shouldn't lean into him, either, but. well. she's exhausted. today has been a lot, and his shoulder is just the right spot for her to rest her head without having to lay down completely, so she uses it. she figures he'll tell her if he wants her to move... or he'll just move her himself. he's done it before. ]
no subject
when her head comes to a rest against his shoulder, he stills. he probably should not be allowing this to happen because he is an employee and she is technically his employer. this is a little closer than they should be but she just looks so weary and he knows that today could not have been easy.
so, he doesn't make her move. he lets her stay as she is and focuses on not jostling her. ] You can close your eyes, if you would like. I'll be awake.
[ he would make the bellboy leave the food just outside the door and get it later, if it came to that. ]
no subject
[ famous last words uttered by a girl who probably would fall asleep before the first thirty minutes of the movie were up, but she's making it her story and sticking to it for now. stubborn as ever. ]
Is it uncomfortable?
[ because she can adjust. she can lay on her stomach, if he'd prefer she not touch him. he probably would prefer that, she thinks, but it's not reason enough to move. or maybe she doesn't want to. she's trying not to think about it too much. ]
no subject
[ if this is what helps her relax and calm down after today, he's going to let her have it. maybe it is not completely appropriate and maybe he should ask her to create some distance but he doesn't. because this soothes his nerves as well. it shouldn't, it really should not, but he can't help how he feels.
what he can do is keep it to himself. so, he sighs and glances over at her. ]
Relax. [ if she's not going to sleep, so be it. but he does want her to calm down after everything that's happened today. ]
no subject
[ that much is true, at least. her breathing is steady, her limbs feel loose, and she can feel his chest rising and falling as she leans in against him. she's indisputably relaxed for the first time all day. ]
You're very warm.
[ maybe that's because he's a giant man with a jacket on indoors. ]
no subject
[ but, he doesn't really notice temperatures especially in relation to himself. he's trained himself to work in high heat and extreme cold so sitting in a warm room in a jacket doesn't phase him. if it helps her though, then all the better. he sighs and peers down at her once more. ]
Go to sleep.
[ because he knows that is going to happen whether she likes it or not. he's been around her long enough to know that she can and will fall asleep in a manner of seconds if she's comfortable and/or exhausted enough. ]