"the weirdest." a humourless laugh following the words. it seemed so ridiculous that she wanted to actually laugh at it, brush it off and say it was nonsense - but she knew that there hadn't been some grand mix-up with the results. shaking her head at the mention of food, her nose scrunched up in distaste. "i don't think food's a smart idea right now, way too queasy for that." slipping her hand into his, she tugged gently before moving to start walking towards her car. "all i need right now is you."

''oh no, did someone scare you? if luke said something to scare you, he means it in good fun. or.. or was it one of the others? was it veronica?'' now it truly had his mind wandering, and it probably didn't help her any with bombarding her a bunch with the questions so he stops and brings his free hand up as he walks alongside her. ''i'm-- i'm sorry. i'm sorry, i promise i'll stop-- its.. i'm.. did anyone say anything bad about you?''

There are maybe too many things to be worried about now, including the person who had sent her the mugshot and the article, but the thing that matters the least is who Franklin used to be. She frowns a little as he speaks and doesn't dare interrupt for fear that he might not tell her something. Still, Elena Valentina's eyes are telling—they are filled with sadness but mostly, for Frankie than for anything else. "I don't care about who you used to be," she admits. She was someone else before moving, too. Though not as dangerous as hm and his family, Elena's name is tied to many big things back home. She knows exactly what it's like to run away, to need to run away. "I just... care that you're safe right now?" It's a question, mostly, "that we're safe...?"

Was he ever really safe? Even in his current line of work, he's sat across & next to some violent criminals, and that alone put him on the edge of his seat. One thing he didn't know if his parents empire over in London had truly crumbled, but he had the satisfaction of putting them away over there & they had all this time to put something out there. Fingers drum along his desk as he looks off in thought, finally bringing his gaze to hers. ''I'm safe.'' He finally murmurs after a moment of silence, giving a nod to assure her of his words. One thing he could guarantee was that they were safe. ''We're safe. I promise you that we're safe. I wouldn't.. I wouldn't jeopardize your safety.''

lifting her hands to hold the jacket around her shoulders, she offered a small smile in thanks. he wasn't the first guard to offer his jacket to her, but he was the first one who meant something to her - and that somehow changed how the action felt. "see? you can be very gentleman like when you want to." the words teasing, as she watched him walk back to her side. "you can sneak down to the kitchens with me, to steal some brownies and stay in the den with me for a while. then i'd believe you're okay."

the chuckle leaves him before he could realize it, and he's quick to straighten & gather himself properly. at least the wound had stopped bleeding for the moment and he was upright, that had to matter? ''i try to be at least. i know i probably didn't give the best impression at first, but..i'm not too much of an arse.'' trailing off, liam meets her gaze and rather finding a response he gives a simple shrug of his shoulders and his lips only curl into a slight smirk at the idea in mind-- who was he to say no? ''--fiiiinee. i'll do it for you.. and the brownies.'' he murmurs with a chuckle, nodding towards the doors once he hears the words in his ear. ''we can head out towards the car. you ready to escape for the night?''

Florence sighs, a hand adjusting her hair as she watches Bart. "Maybe you should've thought about this before?" It's not harsh, it's soft and filled with concern. She exhales a breath, the apprehension on her face growing more and more prominent. "And... how do you suppose we go about that?"

''I didn't think I'd have to speak, in my defense.'' He almost wants to laugh aloud at the joke, but he settles for letting the corners of his lips curl as he bites back the laughter. But a hand drags along his face and he gives it some taps, moving to take some hesitant steps forward so he could place his hands on her shoulders. ''If I start to ramble? Go to the back and give me some hand gestures?''

Her head shakes, brows furrowing. "Curiosity didn't kill the cat, love," she says, "care did." She smirks a little at her own response, proud of herself for remember the original proverb. "Interesting," her voice is low and sultry, eyes brought up to look at Marcus and examine him carefully. It is rather interesting, "am I just supposed to buy that, Marcus?"

''Somethin' killed it along the way though?'' Like he'd been holding onto a losing argument, brows merely raising as he stops to stand properly infront of her-- his hands moving to her waist as he gives a playful raise of his brows. ''Yes? You're supposed to jus' smile an' nod, 'thena. ''

keeping her eyes on him, she felt herself still at the words - ignoring the banging on the door. "i may trust you, but i don't happen to like how that sounds." the words clipped, trying to keep her emotions in check and not completely fly off the handle. she wasn't certain how well they would be able to be heard - but she wasn't risking letting the people on the other side even consider that she and thomas weren't on the same side. "you know i'll kill you, if you let yourself get hurt?"

''you're going to thank me afterwards, believe me.'' it didn't sound his best, but he was planning as he went along. as uneasy as it would be leaving her, even if it had just been momentarily put him on the edge of his seat mentally. it was a sinking feeling in his stomach, but one he'd have to swallow for the moment. the slight quirk of his lips as he takes the time to properly admire her, thomas leans in to press a quick kiss to the top of her head. ''same here. so be careful and don't look back no matter what you hear.'' he murmurs, before motioning her into another direction. ''remember, i'm right behind you.''

a laugh escaped her at the reaction, scrunching her nose in response. "the best retort to anything is to say something batshit crazy or straight out of left field - didn't demarco ever mention how i win all the dumb arguments?" brow furrowing in mock confusion at the end. mindlessly playing with her rings at the words, she shook her head. "i wouldn't have minded some grand wedding with everyone's eyes on me, i happen to thrive being the centre of attention. demarco on the other hand... well it was half his day, and a quiet little ceremony is much more his style. besides, i did like getting to call him my husband a little earlier than planned." a smile breaking out on her face as she spoke, something she'd be sure to mock anyone else for - but she gave herself a pass over being grossly in love. "it'd be far too dangerous to let him think he can ever be right."

''you know he said something at first about it, but i paid it no mind?'' a laugh that manages to leave him, giving a slow nod at the explanation. it didn't manage to surprise him his friend wanted something quiet and to himself, so he lets out a chuckle. ''i hope at least whoever married you two happened to give you the sight to remember, especially if they were dressed like a version of elvis?'' head tilting in genuine curiosity, but he finds himself nodding in agreement to the words. ''i love reminding him whenever he's wrong of something, but he's reminded me too many times when he's right to so.. you got my support.'' he murmurs with a chuckle, giving a two fingered salute.

biting down on her bottom lip to muffle her laughter, a deep sigh left her. "and you weren't even paying me enough attention to appreciate my ass." shaking her ruefully as she finished speaking. her eyes shot up to meet his as she felt his hands at her waist, a smirk quickly forming on her lips as he turned them around, keeping her eyes locked to his as her back hit the door. "well that's good... didn't exactly want to pay somebody else the way i plan on paying you for coming along." the laugh that followed, dying almost instantly when she saw him lean down. moving one hand to comb through his hair and to hold him close, she slipped her other hand under his shirt, fingers dancing across his chest. "you'd look better without that." words mumbled against his lips, not wanting to move too far back from him.

it was dangerous-- this whole situation had trainwreck written all over it, but in the heat of the moment? demarco couldn't help himself & he honestly blamed it on.. well, blame was paused at least for the moment-- but he managed to keep the questioning thoughts at bay even as he felt her fingers under his shirt. no matter how much the internal voice was screaming at him not to remove his shirt, he found himself moving his hands to the bottom of his shirt to pull it up and off of himself, tossing it off behind him then turning towards her with his brows raised. ''better?''

"just be together." parroting the words with a soft smile on her face. she'd never minded how much work she had to put in, at least until she'd met him - and suddenly sacrificing her social life did upset her. time with him, never seemed like it was enough time together, before one of them had to lead to go do something. arms wrapping around him, she smiled into the kiss, pulling back to rest her head on his chest. "part of me wants to skip the whole thing, get takeout from somewhere and spend our night watching a movie."

considering the idea for a moment and after gauging the reaction to see if she'd murmur something about 'just kidding', daniel gives her side a playful nudge with his hand as he moves back to gaze down at her properly. ''i'm not opposed to the idea of getting a night off. i got to go take off again for a press conference and.. well, soaking up some time with you seems better. and the takeout isn't too bad of an idea.'' he murmurs, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to the top of her head. ''whatever you want to do, i'll support it.''