Jade-d (Davidson and Jade)

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Jade-d✧

“Listen this is just a job for me, I only want the money.” She said holding her hands up as the gun was pulled on her. Hand to hand she could easily take out the strung out man but this wasn’t even the client she was meant to be meeting. When her gaze drifted to the side she saw the body of the client she was meant to be meeting. “How about you put the gun down. I will leave and act like I didn’t see anything.” She said knowing she needed to report back to the people that hired her that their client was dead.

“Give me the money!” The man screamed, Jade realized that she shouldn’t have spoken about money. This man was clearly on something, something that seemed much more dangerous than the normal street drugs. He rang out a fire without a second thought. He was going to riddle her with what bullets he had left to get the money he thought she had on her. She panicked and turned as the first bullet ripped through her arm, the second went in her side and then.

She let her wings out and she took off, feeling two bullets rip through her wings. She flew till her wings couldn’t carry her anymore. She tried to land on a roof but missed and found herself sliding down the wall landing in an alleyway crawling then to get to what she felt like was a safe enough place and laid on her back hoping she could gain enough strength to take off again and make it to someone who would help her. Someone who would help her… Davidson is the first person to cross her mind. He was a complication for her though.

Complications, how did they get to this point? It started as being friends to Jade abandoning him to go off and become a Valkyrie. When she returned Davidson was a different man, she was different herself. She could blame them for the turn life took making them both cold as Ice. Jade would find herself pulling Davidson in when she needed comfort or needed help only to push him away when things got too emotional. She wasn’t sure if she would ever love him the way he claims to love her. Though such words had stopped leaving his lips.

A few months had passed since Jade had reached out to Davidson. At this point he probably thought she lost his number. Yet how could she when he would text her at least once a week. She would ignore them because the last time they were together the topic of her work came up and he disapproved of her taking on such dangerous jobs. She told him to mind his own business and left without much care for him to have such opinions of her life.

Yet as she laid here thinking of him while she was bleeding out her side from the bullet wound she acquired from escaping her current job. She thought maybe he had a right to show concern. “Fuck.” She groaned as she looked up to the sky from the alleyway she tucked herself in after her wings gave out. She patted her pocket hoping her phone wasn’t damaged. As she pulled it out she breathed a ragged sigh of relief before pressing his number then calling.

As the other end picked up she let out another ragged breath. “I’m gonna send you my location. I need you.” She pulled the phone away from her phone to send him her location before letting the phone fall to her chest. She could hear him on the other end but the words she couldn’t make out. She looked at the blood that was pooling around her. How many bullets hit her? “Fuck.” She said again as her vision blurred she tried to hang on to a scrap of conciseness but it slipped from her and blackness took over her causing her limbs to go limp.

[Davidson Darling]

The persistent drip hit the stone cold floor again and filled the numbing silence with its echoing sound. The swing lamp which was the only light from above came to a harsh stop as one's hand reach up, grabbed and stilled it. His cold expressionless gaze studied the small room as more of his people filed in behind him before he was met by a young man in a nice suit another one of his people who whispered softly in his ear. Davidson's face turned Grimm before he sighed and waved his hand "Clean everything. Leave no signs we were here." he spoke softly but with stern undertones and everyone quickly followed his simple command, but he did not leave them there to slave away. He rolled up his sleeves and helped as a real leader would; the sky bruised a deep shade of purple and pink as they all worked tirelessly to turn the room over and make it brand- new. 

The buzz of my phone broke the silence and my concentration. Blood stains were the hardest to clean and did not matter where they were: floors, fabrics or consciousnesses they all stained the same and stuck with you. I huffed to catch my breath and glanced down at the caller ID, only to scoff at the name which appeared. I told myself I would not answer as I tossed the phone aside and returned to cleaning the blood stained floor with some of the others.  Until I began to overthink because she never called unless she was in deep shit. So I sighed "Give me a minute." I told everyone as I picked up my phone, stepped away and answered. I said nothing as per usual because I was expecting another situation like the time she called me after meeting Spade. Instead, there was just a moment of silence and I found myself forwarding my browsing and preparing to ask if she was there until she spoke. 

Davidson knew better than to ask questions and with how weak she sounded on the other end he did not think she could answer them anyway. He let his group know he needed to go but knew he would need someone to drive if she was hurt so he grabbed his driver with him. Together they followed the GPS to the pin she dropped and Davidson instructed for him to stay in the car and keep it running. She was not conscious when he arrived and he quickly wrapped her in his suit blazer and ripped up his tie and the sleeves of his shirt to stunt her bleeding. "Jade!" he called urgently because he needed her to wake and remain conscious she had lost too much blood to let herself sleep. He carried her to the car and kept the pressure on her wounds but with the bullets still in there and the gashes still wide open there was little he could do. 

I dug out the first aid we kept in the car; I could not entirely believe this was our life together but those are the perks of the ignorance of youth. The beauty of innocence neither of us ever enjoyed and fully took for granted. The heavy thud of one of the bullets lodged in her hit the car floor as my driver zoomed down the street and I had no other choice but to stitch her up here. It was not pretty but it would do the job and she would hopefully heal as well as she always did. The car drifts and the second bullet hit the car's floor, once again I stitch her and wrap her up. Mumbling my complaints and curse words with bated breath. Her breath was soft and she was cold to the touch. "If you fucking die on me, Jade I swear I will kill you."

The sun turned the world gold as it said good morning to the land and gleamed through the open shades. Davidson's home was mostly quiet save for the occasional sounds of the morning doves outside beckoning to each other, the soft crocks of a nearby cicada and the gentle sounds of shuffling within the kitchen. Davidson was not home; after toiling over Jade and never leaving her side from when they arrived tell now he was desperately needed elsewhere. If things were different between them he might have stayed and for just once taken a break but she never loved him and he had fallen out of love with her. Instead, she was left with Aurora if she woke and wandered into the kitchen that is, at least until Davidson returned. 

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Jade-d✧

Jade figured this was the night she would die, and she wouldn’t even be honored among the Valkyries cause she chose to run instead of standing her ground. She had wished for the wind in that moment, yet it never blessed her like it did her father. She really was the outcast among her siblings. Lorenzo would have a laugh at her if he could see her gasping for air like she was. Slowly gasp turned to shallow breathing as her eyes stayed open, yet everything was a blur. As the blonde came over her and she felt the pressure on her body she wanted to scream out in pain. Yet the screams stayed inside of her throat. No sounds left her, she couldn’t even answer him stating she was there with him.

She felt like the ice in her veins had taken over her body and death's embrace was coming for her. The reaper had to be standing around the corner allowing her to feel every ounce of her poor choices. She couldn’t even feel him anymore, as her eyes finally drifted close while he worked on saving her life. Maybe she should have called 9-1-1 to not bother him. After all, he hated her after the last time they spoke. He was tired of being used by her. He had every right to hate her. She hated herself as the darkness gripped her.

Days had passed before her body would make it to the point of her Valkyrie healing would kick in. As her eyes drifted open as the sun beat down on her face. She groaned and rolled over in the bed realizing every inch of her body screamed in pain, parts of her on fire. Her wings were still open meaning they were healing and she couldn’t close them. “Motherfucker.” She groaned as she moved to throw her feet off the bed and looked around the room realizing where she was. “Welp, guess I owe you big time now.” She sighed as she thought about Davidson. When her stomach growled at her demanding to be filled. “Fuck you also.” She spoke to her stomach.

Standing reminded her of her days she trained with her grandmother. She groaned in pain and made her way down the stairs to find Aurora. “Rory? He roped you into watching me?” She sighed heavily.

“I don’t get to come home often so I volunteered when he told me you had been hurt. How are you feeling?” Her sweet as candy voice came into Jades ears as she moved over to usher her to the table to sit. “I just finished breakfast.” She said as she went to make a plate.

“I’ve been better, but it seems I will live. Did Davidson get my phone? Where is he?” Jade asked expecting him to be somewhere else in the home.

“Yes but the phone was damaged by your -uh- blood.” She gave a slight sad smile as she sat the plate in front of Jade. “He will be back, he needs to take care of something.” She said rushing to get Jade a drink.

“Right, you need to take care of something.” There was hurt in her tone. She had expected him to be in bed holding her till she woken but it was a pipe dream. He didn’t love her any more. Her heart ached in her chest but she started to eat what was sitting in front of her. “I am sure Vega is gonna be upset. I haven't checked in. I would go to the phone store but the wings are kinda healing.” She said flexing them and wincing.

“Davidson was going to take care of that for you. He said he knew your info since this isn’t the first time or something.” Aurora said as she pulled the house phone off. The base and handed it to her with a drink. “If you know their numbers.”

“Thanks,” she said looking at the phone before going back to eat the food in front of her as that was a more pressing matter and she really wished not to get an ear full from her parents at that moment.

[Davidson Darling]

The never ending cycle of her kept him spinning and yet also fighting all these years. He told himself, his, men, his family, and even her he was done. All he had to do next was ignore her next fateful call but who was he kidding the phone barely even rang more than three times before he answered. Now here was cleaning up her mess after going back to cleaning up his, reaching out to someone he knew with connections to the city that owed him a favor to close down the street leading to the alleyway he found her in. While some of his other men searched the rooftops for blood and feathers. From dusk till dawn, they all worked tirelessly to cover her tracks, following Davi's relentless lead as the sun rose higher and higher. Exhaustion filled every being and fatigued made its home in his once vibrant blue eyes. Turning the whites red as the blue dulled to grey and stung each time he tirelessly blinked. 

I came in through the back door hoping to avoid everyone but it would seem since the backdoor led right into my kitchen that is where everyone was. I should not have been surprised, given the hour and yet I did not realize how late in the morning it was. I had planned to be home sooner... They had not yet noticed me as I walked in. "I spoke to your parents already since they called to ask if I knew where you were. Did not tell them much but that you were with us." my feet drag across the floor from sheer exhaustion. I had to put up a front in front of my men and make them believe all was well and that I was alright but I felt like I was dying. I placed a new phone on the dining table beside Jade and said nothing else as I made my way to my room to shower and collapse on my bed.  I give Rory a real smile as I pass " I owe you a hug when I am clean" I manage to get out before I am at last alone in my room and my smile drops.

The mask he wore for the world dropped too and for a moment he just stood there with his back against his door staring out into space. To the world, he was expected to be strong, see, and do things no one should; It had always been this way, and when he met Jade he hoped foolishly he had found someone to trust with being vulnerable around but like everyone else she just used him. He did not have much of a heart left when he gave it to her... There was nothing left of it now. When he finally focused with a slow blink and realized he had just been standing there he could not even figure out how much time he had lost in doing so. Finally pulling and pushing himself forward to shower. The hot water helped with his muscle aches and sores while the steam helped clear the fog in his head and once he was done and dressed in the pajama pants which matched the top Jade wore he collapsed on the bed.

I forgot I put her in that in the panic of last night. I was too tired to pull out another set and I did not need a shirt to sleep anyway. I lay on my bed with my arm draped over my eyes wishing I could just turn off my phone and stay here for a month or two or whenever I was ready to face anyone again. My social battery had exploded ages ago and yet somehow I still kept on running, hanging on to that delusional hope I should have lost or let go of as a child. I dreaded every second of the silence in my room as I expected my phone to ring and tell me the world needed my presence once again but instead, I heard my door open. I knew without looking it was Jade, from the sound of her steps to the faint traces of her scent. "I do not want to argue. So you can leave." We only ever argue nowadays whenever we saw each other and I just... Just did not have the wherewithal to do that today.

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Jade-d✧

As the back door opened, she didn’t need to look up to see Davidson, She always knew his energy better than most. She swallowed the food that was in her mouth as her current broken state stayed still in that moment as the sparks of energy seemed to smack her in the face. His words on speaking with her parents made her groan out loud yet the fact her father hadn’t blown in and given her an earful meant she was only in mild trouble. “Thanks.” She managed to get out, now time to avoid her parents till they forget. Jade’s eyes landed on the phone and she didn’t look up towards him. “Thanks.” She managed to repeat.

Aurora looked between the pair and she wanted to shake them both to make them see what was right in front of them. “I will take the hug but you know I am always here for you Davey.” She watched him leave exhausted. When it came to Jade even if he would never admit it, he was always trying to protect her from the world of enemies, even from his own darkness. Rory gave an easy sigh, her brothers have always carried the brunt of the Darling issues. She looked back to Jade for a moment. “He probably made sure no one could trace you back here.” She said, as she moved to stand up.

Jade gave a long confused look towards Rory until she realized what she meant, causing Jade to look over her shoulder for a long moment. “Anyways I must get back to the bookshop now that he is home. Try not to strain yourself too much. You need to heal Birdy.” Rory said the affectionate nickname that all the Darling children use to call her.

“Yes momma Rory.” She rolled her eyes looking back to her as she disappeared out the door. Finishing the food that was made for her, staring out the window in the quiet of his house. It was the kind of silence that was deafening. She moved to turn on the phone that Davidson got her the startup sound almost making her jump out of her skin. She returned the messages she already received from her parents. She knew it was Libelle that kept Vega at home and allowing her to live her life. So the least she could do was text them and keep a line of communication open. Once she was done with a back and forth, she stood up from the table slowly still not being able to move at her full range.

She made her way towards the room she had been placed in, knowing it was his room. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say or do when she opened the door and entered the room. She moved into the room slowly as she closed the door behind her. She didn’t say anything, she wasn’t in the mood to fight him, she wasn’t in the mood for the heated side of their relationship. She moved over to the bed, with a grunt she moved to lay beside him. Accounting for her wings that she couldn’t withdraw in. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm softly, it was her way of showing she appreciated he came to rescue and what he did for her. She closed her eyes, staying quiet beside him.

[Davidson Darling]

The silence that rarely filled the air around him was always drowned out by an insistent primordial tick that always told him his time was waning. Dark clouds rolled into the forefront of his mind and darkened the present world around him. Alone. Gods, he felt so alone and drained from just trying to get everyone's head above water. Hoping someone, anyone would see that in all his effort he was the only one left to drown. He sank deeper into his bed as the weight of his thoughts filled his liver and lungs. Davidson screamed inward for a sweet release of this hell of mind he was trapped with cursed to suffer it alone- her. Like a bubble, Jade floated through his mind loosing her scent as it burst and relieved him of most of his dark thoughts.

She used to be the one person I would look forward to seeing and just being with. Even if we never spoke and I got to be in her presence for a mere second. Which was often as children since her father never liked me but could I blame him? I was a Darling after all. Nowadays... I seemed to have more issues with her than without her yet I still ran to her at her every beck and call. Like a hopeless pup in love, constantly telling myself I had to stop and that she was just using me but... I could not. Even when I tried fate seemed to find a way to tie my soul and just mine it seemed back to her. I was and am sure she could always walk away from me but I... could not do the same. No matter how hard I tried or how desperately I fought myself I always came back to her. I swallowed to alleviate my dry throat as every muscle in my body tensed the closer she came. I did not have the energy or wherewithal to argue and fight her today and to be honest ever again. I am tired.

He braced for her harsh words and prepared for one of their usual wars but when instead she joined him in bed he felt surreal. His already stiff muscles seized up further as he seemed to experience an out-of-body experience from the confusion of this new moment happening between them. Davidson was quickly grounded and shocked back into himself when her soft skin grazed across his chest. He gently grasped her petite wrist in his much larger hand with the intent to move it away but found he could not do it. She for the moment chose peace and he was wise enough to know it would last long so he might as well just cherish the fleeting moment. He did not move because he was afraid she would pull away or worse. His muscles loosened and relaxed against the bed with every second she touched him. He rested his hand over hers as he drew gentle circles with his thumb on the back of her hand. "How do you feel? How are your wings?" 

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Jade-d✧

Rejection was a specter she feared, a ghost she dared not confront, so she kept personal relationships at arm's length. Playing a game of cat and mouse, just when peace seemed within reach, her fear of vulnerability drove her to lash out with her silver tongue, using it as her armor. Most had long since given up on her, yet he remained steadfast even in the face of her cruelty. He, above all others, struck fear into her heart because with him, it could be real, it could be perfect, until he grew weary of her. After all, he was a Darling, reveling in the chase.


In that vulnerable moment, she was too wounded to engage in their usual battle, weakened by her pain. Perhaps in that moment of weakness, she could show him how much she appreciated his presence, how she could lean on him. Tentatively, she reached out, bracing herself for rejection, but to her surprise, his warm hand rested on her wrist, not pushing her away as she had feared.


As they lay next to each other, both eventually relaxed, the echoes of war fading into the background. She was exhausted, teetering on the brink of death mere hours before, and now this connection was a balm for her weary soul. "I will live," she whispered softly, the pain evident in her voice, "it hurts like hell, but I will live." Her gaze traced the lines and curves of his profile, his eyes holding depths of pain she longed to ease, yet feared she had only exacerbated. Despite his youth, the weight of the world burdened him, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she had contributed to his suffering.


"Why did you come?" she asked, her tone betraying her shock, as if he had ever abandoned her before. "You could have finally been rid of me." Self-loathing crept into her thoughts, despising how she had used him, yet grateful for any excuse to see him. Unable to meet his gaze, her eyes found solace in the window, avoiding the piercing stare of the Darling before her.

[Davidson Darling]

The Pain she felt settled into his heart and coated his skin like lit dew on grass during early mornings. Confirming what he knew to be true since they were children, since the first second his eyes landed on her. Eyes which now sharply studied her to be sure she was not lying as he knew her tells well. At last, satisfied with the truth a sudden heaviness of relief washed over him and pulled his eyelids closed. Pulling his body into the bed and allowing him to just sleep for the first time in what felt like weeks but also causing him to miss her questions entirely. Questions he would have found confusing because she should know that by now he would always come despite everything. 

The insistent buzz from my phone on the bedside counter trilled me awake as confusion swept over me in an instant. Coming to the realization that I had fallen asleep as I came to cognitive consciousness and fully registered a warmth outside of my own spreading across my chest. I then recalled who was there with me as my eyes focused and zeroed in on her keeping her arm clutched to my chest. An action I had seemingly done in my sleep. I huff as my senses refocused back on what woke me up forcing me to have to let her arm go and sit up. I sat in the bed a moment longer before answering, allowing the warmth and comfort I just felt to fall off my skin and be replaced with the cold that filled the room as my grogginess frosted over. 

 He answered with a stern hum which told whoever was on the other end they could speak. There was an icy silence from Davidson as he listened before his audible breath could be heard even over the phone. “No, you are right. That will not do.” The bite at the end of his words had the caller audible gulping and quivering as he continued relaying his info. “I will see you in five minutes.” Davidson eventually cut the man off before hanging up and not allowing for any protest. Nothing was said to Jade as peeled himself from the bed and began to dress. The well tailored suit took a second for him to throw on as he now fixed his tie and hair in the nearby mirror. “You still have clothes hanging in my closet, but I would like to see you when I come back and I would prefer it if you stayed and let yourself heal fully this time.” He looked at her through the mirror with a knowing look that he could not stop her from leaving like always. He turned to look at her straight on once he was done as his tongue loaded in his mouth to say more but never manifesting as he licked his lips he changed his mind. “I will be back in an hour or two.” He stayed a sound longer, taking her in before leaving.  

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Jade-d✧

Jade lay beside him, noting his haggard appearance. It was clear he hadn't slept in a long time. As she pulled her gaze back to his face, she observed how the sharp angles softened with her presence next to him in his bed. She wondered if it was the softness of the bed or her company that finally allowed him to relax. Her thoughts were interrupted as his hand slid over her arm, pulling it gently across his chest. She had to resist the instinct to pull away, not wanting to disturb his sleep. Instead, she shifted a fraction closer, somewhat holding him. She placed her lips against his shoulder, inhaling his scent, and relaxed further as she planted a soft kiss on his shoulder. Slowly, the sands of sleep began to flutter into her eyes.

As she drifted into slumber, she entered a rare dream—a nightmare, something almost unheard of for the Valkyrie. Jade found herself standing in a field, much like the ones near her grandmother's home, where she would train for hours. The ground was soaked with blood. Desperately searching for the source, she came upon a pair of severed wings—her wings. Her hand reached behind her, feeling the bloody stumps where her wings used to be. She wanted to scream for help but instead saw Davidson, blood oozing from him with no clear source. She tried to cross the field to reach him, to help him, but he raised his hand to his neck before the light faded from his eyes. Desperately, she pushed against an invisible wall that held her back.

Jade jolted awake from the nightmare just as he took hold of the phone, removing her arm from his chest. Her eyes widened with panic as she scanned him for wounds, for blood, but his composed demeanor on the phone reassured her that he was physically okay. She watched his icy gaze, a gaze that could cut an enemy in half. Her eyes lingered on his scars, especially the one on his lower left side—a scar she had given him when they were children, playing a game of knight and queen. She had refused to let him be the hero, declaring him the villain and jamming a wooden sword into his back. That boy was gone, replaced by a man who exuded strength and commanded respect, the alpha of the Darling clan.

Their eyes met in the mirror as she shifted into a seated position, cursing mentally at the pain that shot through her body, her wings limp at her sides. A wince crossed her face. He looked as if he wanted to say something more, his hard gaze intimidating but not frightening to someone raised by a Drake. As he turned to leave, she spoke, her voice softer than she intended, "I’ll be here when you come home." It was the first time she had ever said those words; usually, she responded with a grunt or a nod. Her eyes stayed on his back as he disappeared from view. "Be safe," she whispered softly, rolling onto her stomach on his side of the bed, still warm from his body heat.

[Davidson Darling]

I'll be here when you come home. Her words were so simple, and yet the warmth swelling in his chest made him eager to return. They tasted good on his lips as he repeated them in silent disbelief that they were said by her at all. Davidson was silent in the car ride which was not unusual so no one noticed the bright look in his eyes. A brightness that dimmed the moment the car stopped and he was submerged in the moment. The soft scent of iron filled the air for any with enhanced senses which caused Davidson to loose a harsh sigh “We will need to do something about that quick.” His voice is low as he enters one of the many stores on this block and without much explanation, a few of his men head out, in search of how to mask the iron scent. The Cafe in which he entered was well stocked with familiar and new faces causing Davidson to join the line that had formed within.

“Black, please, and uh…” I hand off enough money for two coffees “... pass it on.” I gesture to the woman behind me while offering the barista a gentle smirk. My coffee is done in seconds considering all they needed to do was pour it and after a second I find a seat by the window. I slowly enjoy the steaming cup as people pass by and leave the small Cafe. Until, it is just me, and the baristas who work for me left here. I rise and toss my now empty cup as the workers lock our door and close the window shades. It is not long before I am in the back of the store descending a pair of hidden stairs in the dark. Utilizing my wolf sight to see without the need of a light “still not speaking I see.” I tsk at the fool in the chair who jumps at the sudden sound of my voice. I chuckle and light a cigarette merely just to give him the faintest bit of light to gleam on to. Finally confirming that the scent of iron came from him and the amount of blood he had lost. “Mmm” I stub out the cigarette before turning on the lights, the bright contrast caused the man to snap his eyes shut from the pain of the bright lights. “ Shame, it seems my men have no manners." My dry words hold a faint humorous amusement as I call those very men closer. “Unchain him. Clean him up. Feed him. He is our… special guest after all.”

He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath of the now fresh air. He needed a moment before getting back into his car as he cooled off the frustration of knowing he would not be getting any information from the man they held today. “What mess did you get into this time Jade?” He huffs under his breath as he rubs his face, knowing he could not ask her. Nor could he tell her that they had a man who could lead to who had set her up and gotten her client killed. She would take matters into her own hands if she knew and right now she needed to rest… he needed to rest. He returned home since it seemed he needed to get on this man's good side to get what he wanted. He snuck in relieved to see her sound asleep as he quietly made his way to the restroom to shower before daring to get near her first. Davidson's shower was quick but since he was also quick in sneaking in it was not until he was drying off that he realized he only had a towel with him. He wrapped himself and existed to find her eyes locked with his before he made his way to his dresser. He threw on a pair of boxers before coming towards her to gently brush her hair away from her face and press his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. “Are you hungry?” 

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Jade-d✧

Jade lay cocooned in the comforting warmth of Davidson's spot, pulling the blanket snugly over her head, hoping to drift back into a peaceful slumber. Despite her efforts, sleep remained elusive, and she lay there, motionless, as if she were a statue carved from stone. The darkness behind her closed eyelids offered no respite, only a heightened awareness of the silent passage of time.

Eventually, unable to remain still any longer, she slid out from beneath the blanket, her curiosity piqued. She wandered over to his dresser, opening drawers at random, eager to explore the personal possessions of the man who intrigued her so deeply. Her fingers trailed lightly over his neatly folded clothes, a secret thrill coursing through her at the thought that her scent would linger there long after she was gone. Picking up one of the many books that lined his shelves, likely sourced from Aurora's quaint bookshop, she leafed through the titles absentmindedly before finding her way back to the bed.

Lying on her back, she winced slightly as a dull ache pulsed through her body, but it soon faded to a manageable throb. Closing her eyes once more, she attempted to summon the elusive embrace of sleep, only to be gently pulled from its edge by the familiar sound of Davidson's return. She heard the door creak open and considered sitting up to greet him, but instead chose to maintain the pretense of slumber.

The faint scent of blood clung to him as he made a hasty retreat to the luxurious bathroom adjoining his closet. The steady sound of flowing water filled the room, prompting her to open her eyes, curiosity piqued by the possibilities. What had he been up to? Was he hurt or in trouble? These questions swirled in her mind, yet she remained still, ears straining for any sign of distress—a groan or a sigh that might betray his condition.

After what felt like an eternity, the water ceased its relentless flow. Her gaze was fixed on the bathroom door, and she was momentarily startled when he emerged, clad only in a towel. She remained silent, her eyes tracing the familiar contours of his face as he approached, his presence comforting and reassuring. He leaned down to check if her fever had returned, his touch gentle and attentive, to which she responded with a nonchalant shrug.

“Depends on what you’re offering for food,” she teased, a playful lilt in her voice. “No dumb protein shakes or anything like that. I’m not trying to impress some gym bunnies with big strong arms.” With a mischievous grin, she playfully poked at his bare arm before shifting to sit up, deliberately averting her gaze from his perfectly sculpted physique, though a smile lingered on her lips as she looked away.