An entire day passed peacefully in that distant little pocket of quiet.
But it was still just one day, before the security detail arrived with a message from Darcy's parents.
"Sir. We have been tasked with informing you that there will be a press conference held tomorrow. Everything has already been prepared, you just need to show up. We will leave at seven pm so I suggest that you eat before then." The leader of the security team, a sharp looking woman dressed in a tailored suit which barely concealed the bulletproof vest beneath it, bowed to Darcy before turning to the group outside. She directed them to various stations outside the house, remaining herself like a statue in front of the door, hands clasped behind her back and eyes directed forward.
Darcy nodded, pulled out his phone and hesitated a moment before announcing, "I have to confirm with my parents that you are who you say you are, won't be a moment." He snapped a quick picture of the motionless woman and texted it to his mum. Barely five seconds passed before he received a reassuring reply. "Thank you, never can be too careful."
He made his way back into the house to inform Kand-Lei of the update, only to find him fast asleep on the couch. The movie blared in the background, framing the scene of one man standing before another, phone loosely gripped in his hand, anxiety etched into the line of his jaw. The other stirred on the couch, curling into a tiny ball around a fluffy cushion.
Darcy left him like that, refusing to be the reason that semi-peaceful expression vanished.
He made his way upstairs to change, glanced at the cat shaped clock on the wall, six-fifteen... or there abouts. Enough time.
...
When Darcy eventually came down the stairs with dripping hair that he lazily rubbed with a towel, Kand-Lei had woken up and was sitting on the couch. The movie was still playing in the background, several people were standing around yelling dramatic confessions in a coffee shop, but Kand-Lei was focused on something in his hands.
He was swiping through the news articles related to them, the majority of the new headline were on this subject so there was no shortage of material to sift through. His thumb trembled a little as he paused on a sentence before moving to a new article.
Darcy gripped the towel tighter, he moved into the kitchen, pulling things out of the cupboard. "Hungry?"
"Not really... thanks."
He made two sandwiches anyway, packing one into a portable container.
"We're leaving at seven. Press conference to get the media off our backs."
Kand-Lei nodded silently.
Ten minutes later he emerged from his blanket pile and disappeared upstairs. Darcy made himself busy tidying the parts of the house they had been in, wiping the table, putting away the mugs, folding the blanket on the couch. As he did this last task he saw Kand-Lei's phone fall on the floor. The screen was bright and the headline of the article was impossible to miss, 'Second Omega Identified, Everything to Know About Divorcee Kand-Lei Neh-Lin'.
Darcy stared at the damning words for a moment before putting it face down on the coffee table, screen now a dark void.
He sat heavily on the couch, blanket half folded in his lap. Icy water carved a delta down his back, unchecked.
This was the scene that Kand-Lei happened upon when he came back downstairs, Darcy sitting dazed on the couch, hair dripping a puddle onto his shirt and the couch below.
He paused briefly at the doorway, silent footsteps on the carpet carried him to Darcy's side. He picked up the discarded towel along the way, gently drying Darcy's hair.
"You're making a puddle."
"Oh... whoops." Darcy sighed and leaned against his hand, closing his eyes briefly. "Maybe I should just cut it. Would be easier."
Kand-Lei continued drying. "Depends on why you have your hair long. If it's just cosmetic then sure, go for it. But if you have some reason for growing your hair this long, sleep on it." Kand-Lei placed the towel to one side. "It's time to go."
The car set off with two security vehicles, one to the front and one following behind. Their little entourage sped along bumpy country roads, rapidly rejoining the highway. At some point Kand-Lei drifted off again, his head bumping lightly against Darcy's. Darcy moved slightly, a small smile curving his lips as he settled Kand-Lei's head on his shoulder.
The smile faded quickly however as he began to mentally prepare himself for the ordeal ahead. He had rarely participated in press conferences, preferring to stay out of business and the public eye entirely, so this was all new territory to him as well.
Like a university graduate with the ink still wet on their degree preparing for their first job interview, he looked up common press conference questions. When the car pulled into the driveway of his parent's manor, he had a moment to feel slightly prepared before he caught sight of a sleek sports car. It was all the blues of the midnight ocean and detailed to subtly look like waves.
Only one person had a car like that. It was a custom paint job by a famous artist, he couldn't mistake it for any other, and to see it in his parents' driveway only solidified his convictions.
A certain someone had seen the news. He gently manoeuvred so that Kand-Lei was resting against the seat rather than his shoulder, slipping as quietly as he could out of the car.
The security team, having safely escorted them to the manor were making their way to the staff quarters to receive further orders. Probably orders to finish up for the day.
Darcy stood in the empty driveway, staring at the house (only someone used to such opulence could call it a house), dreading having to step inside.
"Don't even think about it Qin-di." Came an authoritative voice from behind him. His shoulders immediately tensed as an excuse rose on his tongue.
Before he could utter a word, strong hands picked him up and swung him around like a flicked coin.