Apr 04 17:47:35 105 PA

From Chronicles

The current game time is: Sat Apr 04 17:47:35 105 PA.

Late at night, the apartment block has settled in for the night, the lights mostly out. One light burns in one of the flats, an old blind keeping some of the privacy. In the flat, Aimee is sat on the bed, her legs crossed, a pillow hugged in her arms. She is staring blankly into space, the soft music in the background ignored.

The moment he hears, Desmond is on the move. Stalking the streets right up to Cheapo, ascending the stairs two at a time. His heart throbs in time with the whirl of his thoughts. The possibility.. the potential.. The trip here was by instinct, his higher functions too full to focus. Then he is there.. her door. He stops, still. He takes a step back, drawing a deep breath. Forcing calm, forcing repose. Forcing his hopes to quiet for now. She needs him, surely.. not the pushing that sent her to him. The rest.. it will come if it shall. Yes. He steps back up to the door and will knock carefully. Knowing the door is not sound. "Aimee." He cannot but call out to her, his voice waving between discretion and a need to call out to her, to let her know he is here.

Aimee freezes for a moment, toying with the idea of pretending she isn't here. There is a long moment of silence before she moves, reluctantly. The door opens, without the many locks of Kid's door, just the one here. She rests her cheek against the edge of the door, her eyes pink rimmed, the evidence of tears plentiful in her face. "Des." His voice is tired, weary. "How did you know I was here?"

Desmond will show an immediate concern, an immediate softening of his firm features when he sees her. "The words of others.. perhaps the only time they have spoken something of use to me," he will rumble lowly, conscious of her concern for those clucking tongues. "I.. I could not but come, Aimee. To see that you are well. To offer.." What would he offer her? "..anything you need. An ear. A presence." His deep voice ringing with honest concern.

Aimee sighs, releasing the door, turning away, allowing him in. "Rumour mongers again. Already. I told him they would know before my bag hit the floor here." There is real bitterness in those words, her smile absent without a hint. "A bottle of something strong?" She drops back onto the bed, reaching for her pillow and hugging it, misery written in her face. "I was going to come and find you, apologise for rubbing your nose in it."

"I would share with you." Such an offer.. to drink? Some might find such a thing startling from him. Desmond comes in, his eyes scanning to take in the room. But he won't be slow in follwing her to her lounging spot, coming to a knee beside the bed. "I do not hold you to fault, Aimee. It is natural to share affection with your chosen. Such things I expected and such I will endure to preserve the friendship we share," he tells her. "I apologize for the words I spoke to Kelley. They were harsh, but I could not keep from telling him how things must be between he and I. I did not wish confusion.. further troubles. But I sense I might have been nonetheless." A pause.. then he asks softly, "Why are you here and not there?"

Aimee hugs the pillow close, listening to him, her face reflecting her emotions. "Because he doesn't see why I think us kissing was cruel to you. Because I don't know if I can be that person he sees, because I'm tired of the rumourmongers." The words come out, tired and flat. "I needed some space to think, trying to figure out what I need, not just what I want." She sighs, lifting her eyes to him. "Why are you here?"

Oh, what he might say. Desmond is quiet for a moment as so many thoughts roll through his mind. From the dark to the light.. the base to the elegant. Instinct is loud in his ear, but he does not let it rule this moment. "I am here for you, Aimee." Truth. "I am here to provide what I can to aid you. To soothe your hurt. To guard you if you need it of me." A pause, then more honesty. "I cannot say all of my reasons for being here are perfectly pure, but every urge that drew me is for you." He shifts himself, sitting on the floor beside the bed. Placing himself a bit lower than her raised place, even with their height difference. "Perhaps I might aid you in discovering what differs in your wants and needs."

Aimee sighs again, pressing her lips together, her eyes darkening. "I always wanted a man to sweep me off my feet, Des, to be all gently romantic and sweet. To somehow end up with the nice place to live, and not worrying about making the next rent cheque." She hugs the pillow tightly, resting her chin on it, her forehead wrinkled. "Kelley is lovely, so kind and he really loves me, and I'm some sort of bitch to feel like this. I just feel penned in, like everyone is watching, waiting for me to mess up, I can't even be private in his flat, because I can't have anyone there when he isn't there and ..." She trails off, her cheeks flushing. "I should be more grateful."

Desmond considers her words carefully as she speaks, his brow furrowing. His thoughts continue to roll and struggle for one aspect to dominate over the others. Thus his response comes with a bit more than his normal thoughtful lag. "You cannot help how you feel or the reality of what is. You have spent much time with Kelley. Come to see what a life with him would be. That you move slowly is good, for it allows you to look ahead. To see if what sits on the horizon is what you wish to go toward. Or if a new path would, perhaps, be better." A pause. A deep breath as he adds, "Things such as rent.. places to live and the like.. those are simple concerns. Any man can provide them, though perhaps not so rich as Kelley has at his fingertips. What matters most are your feelings. Is your comfort with the life that you choose to lead. Freedom to pursue your dreams."

Aimee nods slowly, hugging the pillow tightly, her fingers white at the knuckles. "I don't know, he and I did things I wanted to share with someone since forever, Des. He doesn't see me as someone who is cheap and easy, any kind of whore, he doesn't just want me for sex." She sighs softly, pushing her fingers through her hair, a curl flopping over her forehead, as she lifts troubled eyes to him. "He cooks and worries over me, treats me like I'm precious. But..." She looks away, her gaze dropping to the floor, "I feel like I'm pushed into a mold, dressing differently. I could face the gossips down if I was wearing my clothes, being myself, I could stare any of them down."

Desmond debates with himself in the quiet after those words. In the end, he decides that he need not hold back all in the now. "I do not see you like that, Aimee. I admit, my first days with you were a primal thing.. you bring that out in me so easily, I'm sure you recall. But I have come to know you better since then. Not so deeply as I would like to, but enough to appreciate you deeply. To acknowledge a love for you." He leans forward slightly, placing a hand against the very edge of the bed as he gazes at her with open eyes. Letting her see his truth as he speaks it. "Perhaps it is wrong for me to say such things.. to hope in this moment that things could change between us, but part of me feels it proper to express this.. perhaps to show a different path you might walk if you so choose. You are precious to me and I would do many things for you, given the chance. But I would not seek to control you or tell you what should be. You have helped me see the error in that, though it was a hard lesson to learn."

Aimee gives him a steady look before she blinks, turns her head away from him, hiding it with the pillow in her arms. The words therefore are muffled, softly spoken, "You aren't helping, Des. If I could somehow have both of you, Kelley's gentleness and the things I share with him, and the..." She hesitates, searching for the words to describe the feelings. "Passion we have, I would. I can't do that though. I don't think it would help the rumours if I tried either." She shakes her head, her face buried in the pillow, her shoulders drooping. "I need to think, and I can't think clearly."

Desmond moves then, slowly half rising, transitioning himself to sit on the edge of the bed, though he maintains a notable distance. Not reaching out to her. "I can be gentle with you Aimee. I can learn." A pause, quelling that line before he goes too far. "But yes.. I am sorry for pushing with that. Would you allow me to offer you comfort? Closeness? I do not seek to warm your bed through this, only to offer more than that pillow could. Perhaps it will help you think, perhaps not. But I would offer it with no attachment. Only an ear to listen. Words to share, if you would have them."

Aimee lifts her face from the pillow, looking up at him, her face showing her lack of years. "Des, I don't know what to do, even who I am... here, my flat, everything is clear, but I go to his flat, and I'm someone else. Someone who works nine to five, and doesn't sing loudly, and doesn't flirt in case someone calls her a whore." As the words spill out, the tears join them and her shoulders shake, as she wipes them away with the back of her hand. "Even you coming here, part of me knows that that will reach Kelley's ears with the rumours by the morning, and I'll have to explain somehow."

Desmond nods his head, sitting quietly beside her as he considers her words. "I think that, in this, you will have to accept that this will always be so." A pause before he offers, "I can feel, in a way, what vexes you. Mala and I.. our relationship was taboo. For my kind to mate a human.. it was unthinkable to others.. thought dirty and disgusting." A timbre of emotion enters him as he discusses this. A soft tinge of anger still alive after so long. "We endured.. spent our time in secret. Flirted with disaster at every turn because what we felt for each other then was true. A kinship that could not be denied." He takes and releases a deep breath as he lets the old, dark emotions flow away, his shoulders drooping just a bit. "You must find your kinship." He looks to her and tilts his head slightly. "Beyond the passion we share. Beyond the things you and Kelley did to delight in. To the core of who you want to be. I think that you are not the steady worker that Kelley has allowed you the chance to be. Or the woman who is paid to give her attentions to men. I think you are the bar owner. Working steadily, but free to sing, to enjoy something you sparked to life. To see it grow and thrive."

Aimee cuddles the pillow tightly, a weariness in her face that sits badly with her age. "I can't be that without money, Des. I can't do anything I really want without a load of money." She sighs softly, "And I don't want to use Kelley, not like that. I might have sold my body but I never gave an unfair bargain, never cheated, cept at cards." She leans her chin on the top of the pillow, her eyes sparkling with tears, balancing on her lashes. "I don't know what to tell him, Des. He has been so good, believes I'm this good person, this angel inside." There is despair mingling with the tiredness, hopelessness tied with wishes in her eyes.

Desmond must reach out to her, but he does so conservatively at first. To gauge if she is receptive to his touch. A hand placed against her back, stroking softly as he gazes at her with a sober expression. "You should be honest with him. That is the very best thing you can do, even if it harms him at first. You must be true to who you are deep within. To bend yourself in ways uncomfortable to fit the view of another.. it is not right. I would not ask this of you, Aimee. He should do the same. He could not truly love who you are if he would not do this, would not accept you as you are, rather than as he might see you through colored eyes."

Aimee goes still for a moment at the touch, her lashes sweeping down to conceal her eyes. "I can't say that to him, Des. He gave me a job, a nice place to live." She doesn't move away from the touch, her eyes showing only confusion when they are unhidden, the girl's emotions buried deeply. "I don't think I can do that job, not for long. Everytime I turn around, someone is whispering, or staring at me." She hesitates, giving him a sidelong look, her eyes narrowing, "Is Moe's short any staff? I could work tables, bar, whatever, until I save enough?"

Desmond breathes a deep sigh and shakes his head slightly as he keeps that touch for now. Simple, gently intimate. Perhaps even encouraging, if not taking more. "You might speak it in gentler terms than I, but he must accept who you are. If he loves you, he will not hold gifts over you like that. And you owe him the truth above all things. To try and misrepresent yourself from who you believe you are.. it is wrong for you and wrong for him." A pause before he adds, "If you are serious in that, I could ask. It is not the best place to work, but it suffices for now. I hope to leave it soon. To find a better job.. to find a better place to live. I might work at NTI if my searches prove fruitful."

Aimee catches her lower lip in her teeth, lifting her face to study his, her expression worried. "I don't think he would hold it over me, he never would, I just feel bad throwing everything he did for me back in his face." She sighs again, moving slightly, leaning into the touch. "At least then I'll know how to handle the people that sneer at me, Des. I'll have security toss their arses out on the pavement." She manages a small smile at that, her eyes untouched by it. "I have to go back tomorrow. Oh Des, I made him cry."

Desmond allows his hand to move, arm shifting to slip over her shoulder. To welcome her comfortably against his side. There is a sense of contentment in that. Subtle in his expression, in the tone of his deep voice as he responds to her lowly. "It is obvious he feels deeply for you. I can emphasize with that, though such displays I do not show.. surely you know from our past disagreements." A pause, then he states, "But just as you made your decision with regard to me, you must make one with regard to him. I will not offer more than that.. my bias in this is clear. How I secretly wish this would go, I'm sure you can guess. But that I push aside because your happiness means most to me. Even if it is not with me at your side. That too should be his fondest wish. That is why I focus greatly on the idea of your bar. Because I think it will bring you happiness and balance."

Aimee leans into the embrace, some of the tension in her body leaving as she tilts her head back onto his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I don't want to hurt him more. I never made a man cry before. Oh Des, I wish he could actually see me, not this shiny version of me... I'm going to have to sit and talk to him, aren't I? I might move back here, get some space to think properly." She hesitates, nibbling on her lower lip, her eyebrows drawn together in worry. "The only thing that is clear is the bar. Love should be clearer, shouldn't it? Even the old films just show one answer, not..." She trails off, with a soft sigh.

"I know not these films, though your description of them makes me curious to know the," Desmond replies. "But I have never seen an easy path to love. It has always been hard, but when a true path is found, the reward is great." He chances getting closer to her, lifting his other hand to gently pass his fingertips along her cheek in soft sweeps. "He must see who you are. He must accept it or not, for a lie to him would be improper. And while a change in life might change you, it must be a natural change. Not one that makes you feel uncomfortable or not yourself. You should speak with him.. should determine how things must be." A low, deep breath. "It will not be easy, I am sure.. it might sting, but it will be necessary for you. Few good things in life come without some struggle before them."

Aimee nods slowly, not pulling away from the light touches across her cheeks, something in her face showing the comfort from it. "I don't know how he will take it, Des. I don't want him to cry again, that was awful. I felt such a bitch, like I've been lying to him. The stupid thing is, I do love him but I just don't fit in his world, not like he thinks will happen. He thinks they will all stop talking and just accept me, Des. I don't think they will. Not ever." She sighs, closing her eyes, turning her face into the touch on her cheek, the skin beneath his fingers damp.

Desmond twists just a bit, the hand leaving her cheek. He will hug her now, drawing her as close as she allows him to. Offering his strength, his protection for a time. "Aimee, you have only tried to be another way. And have found it to not be a perfect fit. You have not lied, but tried. And now you must tell him the results. Allow him to make his own decisions knowing how you truly feel after this time spent. If he cries, he will.. we all react differently to times like this. But just as you were honest with me, you must be honest with him. It did hurt for me, when you were honest. I did not shed tears, but I did mourn for what I lost. And I have moved past that to accept what will be between us. I hope for more still, yes. But no matter what happens, no matter who claims your love in the end, I will always be with you. You may trust in that, Aimee, if nothing else. I will always be your friend.. your protector when you are in need of one."

Aimee takes the comfort, her eyes closed, snuggled against him. "I hope he sees it like that, Des. He feels so strongly, and I understand why, I do, he explained why... " She sighs, leaning her head against him, the tears taking the fight from her. "Thank you, Des...for coming over and listening to me. I know it isn't perfect, listening to me talking about another man." The corner of her mouth quirks, her eyes opening, looking up at him from the circle of his arms. "And me coming to find you to tell you sorry for kissing him in front of you... let alone talking for an hour about him. Oh Des..."

Desmond holds her close through the tears, feels them wash against him in a way past the physical. That she allows him to do this for her. When she looks up to him, he meets her eyes with a steady calm. A peacefulness he himself is surprised to feel at this moment. "As I have said, Aimee.. you are the most important thing to me." He lifts a hand to gently stroke his fingers through her short hair softly. "This is what I want most, to give you comfort.. balance. I would endure anything for you.. even witnessing your love for another silently and without comment. I would listen to you speak of him.. even send you back to him again, rather than take advantage of this moment as a darker side of me whispers so alluringly. I deny it.. I would not dishonor you in that way despite it all." He pauses then and turns his head, a flicker of shame showing before he turns his eyes from her. "I push again.. I cannot help it and I am sorry."

Aimee 's eyes close for a moment when he strokes her hair, her lashes brushing against her cheeks. "Des..." His name is a softly breathed word, a reflection of his feelings before she pulls away, reaching for the pillow to tidy it up. The movement hides her face, draws her body from his, and carries her from the bed, reaching to gather the mess in her room. The confusion in her eyes pushes her to reach for the glass she left on the side, the plate on the table. "You aren't pushing." The words are soft again, as she moves to the kitchenette.

Desmond lets her draw away. But she can feel that resistance against it.. that moment where it might seem he won't release her before those muscles relax and she is allowed her freedom willingly. He lingers, sitting on the edge of the bed as she leaves it. Puttering about. "Despite what you have taught me, I am still not sure on the fine line, Aimee." He watches her, simply enjoying the watching briefly as he offers, "I still hope for more between us, Aimee. I do not wish to complicate what is already hard for you, but.. after all that has happened, I feel a need to present myself to you again. I feel I have changed for the better from your teachings. Our conflict before.. it has taught me, though the lesson was a slow, painful one. So too I don't wish you to feel I am trying to pull you from Kelley.." even if he so aches to do just that in this moment, "..only show what I mentioned before.. another path for you should you decide the current is not for you. Would this be pushing?"

Aimee turns slowly, resting her back against the counter, the confusion written on her face clearly. "Des, you aren't pushing, I know you are there, if this doesn't work out. It doesn't make choices easier, having more." She puts up both hands, pushing the curls out of her eyes, only to have them fall over her forehead the instant she releases them. "It makes it harder, when you touch me, to think clearly." That soft confession has her green eyes skittering away from him, a faint blush touching her cheek bones.

It takes Desmond a moment to truly fathom what she means. And when he does, noting that subtle coloring she shows, he feels a secret thrill. But almost at once his reason clamps down. No.. not now. "Aimee.." He rises and will move toward her slowly. Coming close, though just shy of his own arms reach as he gazes down at her. "I am here to offer you comfort. In word.. in touch. However.. until you know what will be with Kelley, I would not allow myself to have you physically.. would not try to tempt you to this, despite the truth of my desires." He lifts one hand, extended halfway towards her. "I would stay with you tonight, if you wish. To hold you. To guard you, but only that. To provide the comfort of a friend, honored with your trust. A trust I would prove myself worthy of holding if you would allow it."

Aimee 's eyes search his face for a moment before meeting his gaze properly. "I wasn't offering..." The colour does rise in her cheeks, embarrassment before he lifts his hand, and speaks again. She listens, the colour fading, her teeth nipping at her lower lip in a outward show of her confusion. "Des, I don't know, people will talk. I mean, hell, they are probably out there taking notes on how long you have been here, already." She does take his hand, moving closer, the uncertainty in her eyes shining clearly. "I don't much want to be alone." That confession is soft.

"I know you were not offering, Aimee," Desmond tells her. "I was doing what is right. To express truth to you, how things must be tonight, despite what one might desire or not." His head turns slightly, eyes flicking towards the damage door. "I do not care for them or their words." His eyes return to her as he takes her hand gently once granted him, allowing her to move closer. "I do not regret coming to you. Doing what is right, despite how others might misinterpret it. But I will go if you tell me to. If you feel it would be better. So too I will stay if you want. Will give you comfort tonight to fortify you for what tomorrow brings. And, I admit, to feed my own desire for closeness with you. Let them speak their lies, we know what is truth. What is real. And I hold that as a welcome shield against their barbs."

Moving into him, leaning her forehead against his chest, Aimee shuts her eyes. "I'm tired, Des. I don't want to be alone, and I never want to face them all again, I don't want to have to talk to Kelley, and I don't want to be poor anymore." The words are petulant, the sign of her age showing briefly in that flash. "Stay, and I need to sleep, Des."

Desmond wraps her gently in his arms, giving a soft squeeze with his lowered arms. "I will stay with you. Lend you my strength for tonight. And thank you for this honor." Low rumbled as he holds her for as long as she needs it. It will be a night about her and her alone. How she would take her rest with him, where and in what posture. He will be accommodating and he will not look for more. Proper, but welcoming of casual intimacy. Will even resist, should she change her mind and seek more. Gently so, without showing a lack of true interest. Of course, if she is insistent and persistent beyond his considerable control, there will be little he can do. But he will resist long tonight, not wishing to portray himself as he was before. As merely another lustful male. Wanting to be her comfort alone this night.

The night passes with her curled up against him, wearing an ancient t-shirt, modestly covered for once. In sleep her face relaxes, turns her into the teenager she is, instinctively snuggled against him. She doesn't press the issue, doesn't deliberately tease. The morning light finds her curled next to him, her arm thrown over him. The current description is now 'Denim'.

Desmond will chose to keep his clothing for the sake of modesty, leaving aside his jacket and his light weaponry for comfort. He holds her through the night, finding a deep, true rest with her so close. His mind not even considering what distance remains still. When the morning light rises, his eyes will snap open. Sweeping a woefully unfamiliar ceiling. It takes him a tick to realize where he is, but her closeness does much to return to him the memories of the night before. He turns his head and allows his eyes to drift down towards Aimee. He will then lay like that for a time, one arm curled beneath to cradle her close. Watching her sleep with a lingering contentment that he finds so very pleasant. So very missed.

Aimee stirs, opening her eyes, sleepy, soft green, the bemusement in them clearing as she recognises her location, her companion. She doesn't move for a moment, allowing herself to stay in the comfort of his arms before she forces herself to move, sitting up. "I guess we have to move... I have to face Kelley, tell him what I want. When I work it out." She extracts herself from the sheet, stepping over him to jump from the bed. "Coffee?" She asks, padding across the boards in bare feet, the t-shirt hitting her mid-thigh.

Desmond does have a flicker of disappointment when she says they must move. But he allows what must be. His eyes following her when she steps over him, perhaps getting a naughty glimpse in the process. If he does, he files it away quietly without saying. For a moment he remains laid out on the bed, lamenting perhaps. But her words of coffee prompt him to shift, sitting up on the edge of the bed a moment before he stands. Executing the familiar full body stretch he often did after one of their nights, though this time he is clothed as his fingers brush idly against the ceiling. He breathes out deeply as he relaxes and shakes his head slightly. "No thank you." He pauses and considers. "I would assume then that inspiration did not strike in the night?"

Aimee moves around her old kitchen, the familiarity soothing to her. "No, not in the slightest. It was nice though, being in my place." She pours boiling water over granules in a mug, curling her hands around it as she moves to perch on the edge of the couch. "But I can't work there. That is one thing decided. I'll come hunt for work at Moe's until we save enough for the club." She hesitates, the harder decision still hanging over her. "I might see if Kelley and I, we can back down to dating, me living here, ..."

Desmond moves towards the couch as she does and will settle himself at a conversational distance from her. Turned slightly to face her as they speak. "I will speak to the other bouncers there.. to see that they treat you properly," he offers. "So too I will keep an eye for something better for you." He pauses then and muses a few moments before he dares ask, "What of you and I, Aimee? I do not wish to push.. but I do wonder where we might be when all is decided. I do not demand an answer now.. but I would ask that once you have found your balance with Kelley, that you might come and discuss that with me. That I will know what I am allowed and not."

Aimee 's gaze drops to her mug, and she takes a slow breath, releasing it before speaking. "I don't know, Des. I don't know at all. I will talk to you once I know what Kelley says, where that is." She pushes fingers through her short curls, leaving it in no less disarray than it started in. "Thanks for talking to them, Des, honey. I'll need to do a lot of work, catch up so I can pay Kelley back. It isn't fair to owe him money as well as asking the rest from him."

Desmond nods his head once. "That is all I would ask, thank you Aimee." He pauses, considering. "I know you are worried for providing for the bar.. and that you do not like charity. But what if I were to come up with enough to pay your share and mine at the start? I would not make it a gift, I would make it a loan to be repaid when it can be. To be honest, I do not fully like the idea of you working at Moe's, though I understand the necessity. I would sooner see you in your own bar, rather than too much later. Would you find such an arrangement acceptable?"

Aimee bites her lip, staring into her mug, her expression showing her feelings clearly enough for a moment, the desire to take the loan and have the bar, the desire to keep her pride. Then she blinks, hides her thoughts behind her eyes and smiles slightly at him. "Can I think about it, Des? I don't know if I could do that, it wouldn't be fair, not to you." She hesitates, "Maybe if you and Kesslan get the money, open it and I'll work for you."

"Again, you may take your time, Aimee. I have not enough myself in the now, but I thought to offer this," Desmond rumbles lowly to her. "I know you wish no charity and likely you wish not to owe anything to anyone else. I know little of running bars.. of matters like that. And it is your dream, I would see you own it, shape it as you desire. However we might come to it, that is how it must be when all is done."

Aimee finishes her coffee, rising to place the mug carefully in the sink. "Thank you, Des..." The words are soft, the smile that goes with them warming her eyes. "I think I'll see if I can catch Kelley before work, I don't think either of us will be going in with this hanging over us." She sighs, reaching for her jeans and hopping as she pulls them on. Desmond nods his head once, a softness lingering in his expression as he too rises, collecting his discarded gear. "You are welcome Aimee. I will always be here for you.. whenever you need." Said as he secures his shoulder holster in place with practiced efficiency. A pause after as he glances toward her. "And I listen, as you know now. I watch." His attention hers briefly before he glances down, securing that and the belt about his waist, various arms shifting as he precisely positions them all.

Aimee turns her back, tugging off the t-shirt and pulling a shirt over her head. She ties it at the waist, turning back to him. "My guard." She smiles up at him, her eyes warming. "I guess time to face the gossips." She grabs a comb, yanking it through her hair, her movements increasingly nerveridden. Her feet get jammed into trainers, and she straightens, looking directly at him. "So, do I look like I spent the night with a lover, cheating on my boyfriend?"

Desmond looks up to her at that first. No denial of it shown, for he has taken it as a sacred duty. Properly geared, he approaches her as she puts on the finishing touches. "You are lovely to me.. I could not think such things of you, even if I tried." Low rumbled. Honest. He will give her another hug if she allows, this one softer, briefer than those of the night before. A gentle gesture of parting. "I will go now.. linger. Compose yourself if you wish. I will be at Moe's during my work hours. I usually dine at the Silver Fork and my times otherwise are usually spent at the park, the garden or the gym. Seek me when you would, to talk. Or leave a note and I will seek you here." He takes a step back and says, "Farewell, Aimee. I wish you luck and strength to face what you must."

Aimee rises on tiptoe, having returned the hug almost fiercely, and she drops a kiss on his cheek, before she moves to take up her coat. "I'm going now, before I give in to the urge to hide in bed for the rest of the week." There is soft humour at herself there, and she pulls the coat on, snuggling into it. "I'll come and find you, Des, promise..." She picks up her keys, her bag over her shoulder and glances around the room. "Time to go."

Desmond nods and will go with her. He does so without reservation, without concern for what eyes might see. He will walk beside her until they are outside and there he will pause, giving her a glance. A few more soft words of parting before turning and going into the Dregs. His time to work starts soon and, for the moment, there is where he must go.