darker_london | Del / Renee - Girly support

Renee caught the soonest bus that she could to make her way down to Del's new place. Part of her didn't even want to see the girl, after what she'd done to Pierre. But that was selfish, and she knew it. There were too many other factors driving Renee on to see Del. The fact that she hadn't seen her since getting out of hospital. The fact that something bad had happened to her...

Maybe even as bad as what had happened with Marcel?

The neighbourhood she arrived in was filled with narrow but pleasant-looking terrace houses, and it didn't take her long to find the right one. It was very picturesque, and Renee was very glad that Del and Ry had at least found somewhere nice to live. With a bag full of CDs and chocolate in hand, she knocked on what was lately a very popular door...

Del was the one who pulled it open. She'd been waiting for Renee since she said she'd be coming. She pulled it open and smiled at her. "Hello there sexy."

"Hello gorgeous," Renee responded, leaning in to hug Del and kiss her on the cheek. It would have been almost perilously close to her mouth if it wasn't so cute and girly.

There was a slight mark on Del's face that Renee noticed immediately, having been mentally preparing herself for... well, pretty much anything. She made a sympathetic face, but tried not to get too sappy about it, cos that probably wasn't what Del really wanted. Certainly not when they were half standing outside the front door, anyway.

"Shall we make a start on the horrendous amount of chocolate I've brought?" she asked instead.

"God yes," she told Renee but pointed toward the stairs. "Let's go to my room first," she said and began to lead the way up. To be honest, it wasn't really chocolate she was hungry for. Her eyes trailed down Renee's figure when she opened the door and let the other girl go into her bedroom first.

Renee made a small sound of admiration as she stepped into Del's little kingdom... well, queendom. Fiefdom. That would do.

Cradle of Filth and Arch Enemy posters everywhere. The Leaning Tower of CDs. And black. Lots of black.

"This is really lovely," Renee smiled. "I'm so glad to see you and Ry found somewhere nice so quickly. I was worried that you would have a hard time," she said, letting her heavy bag slide off her shoulder to the floor.

"Nope," she said, eyes still lingering on Renee's body...lips...hips... "Everything's falling into place."

She wasn't sure what was driving it. Sure, Renee was hot. No denying. And she was usually quite the horny thing anyway. But...it felt like there were other reasons.

What would Pierre think if Del fucked his best friend? Even if she just made an overt move? Would that be enough?

And then there was the other thought. The thought of wanting to remove the other night from her memory. Wanting someone new touching her to erase the other marks.

"As much as things can, oui?" Renee responded. She was well aware that not everything was falling into place. Pierre for one. And who could say anything good about being beaten up?

She wiped a bit of dust off the stereo with her finger (these things happened when you moved), and sat down on Del's bed. She was used to taking her place there, after all, given that at Clare's house, they'd always been stuck in Del's room. Wouldn't want Clare catching more than necessary sight of any "bad influences".

"So you're not... hurt too badly, or anything?" Renee asked, letting her concern show a little more now that they had some privacy.

Del sat down on the bed facing her and shrugged, waving her hand a little. "Let's not talk about that. Let's just leave it at me getting into stupid situations." That was far easier than to explain all the rest of it. She certinally wasn't going to mention that she was trying to defile herself enough so Pierre would turn his back. Probably not the thing to tell his best friend.

"You're so beautiful," she said suddenly and out of no where.

That comment was enough to melt a lot of what frost there was in Renee's heart. With Renee, flattery would get you a long way.

"Thank you," she smiled warmly. "So are you." She reached out to lightly stroke Del's hair. "We don't have to talk about it. But just so you know... if you change your mind, I went through something similar not long ago. Indirectly... it's why I did what I did to end up in hospital. You don't have to say anything. But now you know, and... we can do whatever you like to cheer you up!"

A smirk slipped onto Delilah's lips. The touch of Renee was nice and she closed her eyes for a moment, appriciating the gentle touch of a woman as opposed to the-

When she opened her eyes she looked far into Renee's and then bit her lip gently, before leaning forward and kissing Renee.

Renee's eyes widened in surprise as Del's lips met hers. For a moment, her mind refused to register what was happening. It was just a friendly kiss, right? Any moment she would pull away, and Renee would blush at having thought it was anything more.

Del didn't pull away. But she wasn't being too forceful, and Renee was able to turn her face away from her. The colour was rising to her cheeks... but not for the reason that she had thought it would.

"Del..." she murmured. "I didn't mean... not this. Okay?"

For a split second Del was ready to push it but the look it Renee's eyes told her it would be no good. She watched her critically for a moment and then rolled her eyes and sighed, standing. "Fine." She grabbed the bag Renee had brought and looked through it, dismissing what had just happened. "What music did you bring?"

Inside her berated herself. Goddamn Renee.

Renee eyed Del warily for a moment, not quite knowing what to expect. Well, actually she half expected the girl to turn around and hit her... suddenly, she didn't seem quite so stable, and Renee wasn't too keen on the idea of being alone in a room with her. Still, Ry and Lee would be around, and Lee was a big guy...

She'd tough it out for now. Hopefully, Del would get over it. What the fuck was that about, anyway.

"Some melancholy gothic stuff, and some industrial," Renee answered. At least music was probably a safe topic. "VNV Nation, Covenant, :wumpscut:, London After Midnight... anything that I thought we might be able to chill out to, really. I thought you might want to take it easy..."

She looked over at Renee and narrowed her eyes. "What has Pierre told you?" she asked suddenly. If he'd told them about Christopher...if he'd even mentioned...she was going to kill him. She was going to walk right out of this house and find him.

Renee weighed her words carefully, but still opted to tell the truth. After all, what was there to hide? He hadn't really told her much of anything...

"He told me that you two fought. He didn't say much about the context of the fight... just that it involved his feelings for you. I don't really know much else about it, except that he seems to think that you're hiding your true feelings. But from what I understand, he's said as much to you, anyway."

She didn't want to sound like she was taking sides, even though inwardly, she very much was. That kiss had left Renee distinctly unimpressed with Delilah's part in all of this.

No Christopher. Good.

Now all she could hope was that Renee would tell Pierre about the kiss. And of course she would. She might even tell Deirdre. And in that case...no, this was good.

She smiled, part relief and part...who knew what. "Yeah. That's about how it went." She pulled London After Midnight out from the bag and put it into the CD player.

Where Good Girls Go To Die. How very appropriate. At least Del apparently was going to be calm, though. That was something. Maybe it would be safe to ask...?

"Are you two still friends?" she asked gently. Never mind sex or relationships. This was really the crucial question, wasn't it? Without that, Pierre might as well give up now.

Where Good Girls Go To Die. How very amusing.

Del pulled a block of chocolate out of the bag and snapped off a piece before tossing the rest to Renee on the bed. "I don't even know," she admitted before popping the chocolate in her mouth and looking thoughtful. "I'm sorry about the kiss."

Renee gave Del a small smile. "It's alright. It's not as if I've never kissed someone I shouldn't have." And wasn't that the truth. Kait in front of Scarlett. Jack in front of Avery and Jake, for fuck's sake. No, she really wasn't one to judge in this kind of situation.

She broke off a chunk of chocolate herself before placing it between them. At least now with that out of the way, this talk might do some good after all. "None of us can be an angel, Del." Nice choice of words, Renee.

Delilah shrugged. "Never wanted to be an angel."

"Fair enough," Renee shrugged. The temptation to start drivelling on about Avery and angels was almost overwhelming. Just the knowledge of those things made her want to... proclaim it to the world, or something. The Gospel of Renee. But of course, she kept it to herself.

"So how is living with Ry working for you? Are you driving each other mental yet?" They could come back to serious topics later, maybe... she seemed to have hit a brick wall for now.

"So far it seems to be okay. I think yesterday we had what counts in both of our worlds for a massive heart to heart." She rolled her eyes. "You know things are getting crazy when things like that start happening. And then I had Lee in here earlier inquiring as to my mental health."

She paused and skipped the song. As she watched the CD display she said, "I've been seriously thinking about moving away from London."

That last statement caught her off-guard. Delilah had just moved into a new place, and now she was planning on leaving again?

"Where would you go?" she asked, genuinely concerned. Whatever was going on, surely it didn't warrant running away?

"I don't know," she said honestly and sat down properly, crossing her legs and looking at Renee with a shrug. "I'm thinking Scotland. Haven't lived there since I was about six." She didn't know why she was being so open about this.

"Do you have anyone there? I mean, you have a job, a house, friends... it seems like you have an okay thing here, at least for now. I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, but... do you really think it would be better for you to leave now?"

Renee shifted into a more comfortable position to talk to Del, any thought that she might have to make a hasty retreat gone now. She was being honest, which was what was needed. So Renee was going to see this through.

"I don't know," she said and sighed, looking away from the other girl and leaning against her back against the waredrobe behind her. "I don't have anything waiting in Scotland. None of that stuff. I just..." she bit her lip and then looked at Renee. "Do you ever get the feeling that everything would just work out somewhere else? Somewhere where no one cares about you? No one knows you?"

There was a stab of pain in Renee's heart at those words. Del's question was asking her to speak of a time she'd sooner forget. But if this was to be quid pro quo, then Renee would have to open up, too...

"I've been there," Renee replied honestly. "Going somewhere else, where nobody knew me or cared about me. Kait had just broken up with me in France, and I was... well, as fucked up as I had ever been at that point in my life. I was only just fifteen. Goddess, it was two years ago now... anyway, my parents just uprooted me from Paris where I had lived all my life. I had to leave my friends, my Pierre, my darling cousin Tash, my ex-girlfriend whom I still loved... I came here to nothing. My little sister became insufferable, I became distanced from my parents. I had random sex an older man every now and then, but that was my only intimacy until I met Jack and Deirdre. So, I suppose, having done that, my answer is no... I don't think that. But then, the choice wasn't mine to make, either. It took me a year to find someone who made London worthwhile. I would not want to see you leave the things and people you have, only to feel the way that I did," she finished quietly.

So Renee's answer was no. But Del's feelings remained the same. She wanted out of London and away from Pierre. She couldn't- and wouldn't- explain to Renee that she had to escape her own feelings for Pierre. Scotland might just be far enough. "I'm not like you," she told Renee. "I don't need people. You were brought to London against your will and so was I. I could leave tonight without a word and not feel guilty or bad about it."

"Well, all I can tell you is that you will be missed. I'll miss you. But the choice is yours, and it doesn't sound like you want to base your decision on others. And that's okay. You do need to do what's right for you, Delilah. For whatever it might be worth, I'll understand, whether you go or stay."

It wasn't necessarily what Pierre would have wanted her to stay, but to Renee's mind, they'd moved beyond Pierre's request to check on her now. She had to be fair to Del. She had to be human.

"I don't know," she said again. At least she was being honest if she stuck with that answer for everything. She snapped off another piece of chocolate. "But, hey, if I'm gone one day when you show up here anything I've left behind is yours to have." She'd already begun planning what she would take if she left. It wouldn't be more than a bag full so there was going to be a lot of stuff left.

"Ry will probably have come a-plundering by then," Renee observed wryly. "But then, I don't suppose he would be particularly interested in your clothes. That is, unless he's creepier than I give him credit for," she said with a smirk. She grabbed another piece of chocolate herself, all too happy to distract herself with sweet goodness.

"Don't think they'd really suit him," she said, picking up a very small and slutty PVC top from nearby. "He doesn't have the cleavage to pull it off."

Renee had to chuckle at that, trying to imagine Ry with boobs. In a way, it almost worked.

"We should see if he'll try it on for us," she grinned.

The smile on her lips was of genuine amusement. "I bet with enough girly persuasion we could."

Renee almost snorted in laughter. "Girly persuasion like offering to parade about in said skimpy clothing on the condition that he does, too? That might work for you, but apparently he's unable to see me as a sex object since the deepening of our strictly platonic friendship," she said with a wink. "But then again, he is a boy, or so you tell me..."

"All men are exactly the same," she told Renee seriously and without a thought. "Every single one of them follows their cock and nothing else."

"I don't know," Renee said, breaking off another piece of chocolate. "I've known a few who have survived monogamous relationships splendidly. Although, I will admit that they are few and far between."

She wanted to point out that Pierre was no doubt one of those men. She hardly would have blamed him if he'd just given up and slept with someone else by now... especially with a gorgeous girl like Evey living under the same roof. But Del knew all that, and bringing it up directly would end the conversation in no uncertain terms. So Renee simply left it at what she'd said. Del could fill in the blanks herself.