Arias hates nightclubs.

 

Adjusting his tie in the mirror, Arias stares at his reflection. Tired hazel eyes stare back at him, and he sighs. He hasn't slept properly in several nights, staying late at the club just to get a moment with her, only to stay up until morning, thinking of what was, what could be. He would bear the club a thousand times just to see her face.

 

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimes - 9 pm. Sighing again, he grabs his car keys, shuts off the lights, and makes his way to the car.

 

Love Song is on, and it makes him want to turn off the radio, but the night is cool, and and for once he doesn’t mind listening to the sad love song. Memories of her face flash in his mind, and if he wasn't driving he'd indulge in them, simply remembering.

 

The parking lot is packed when he arrives, but the reserved parking spot she told him about was empty. He put the placard in the window to let everyone everyone know - he was important. This was his space.

 

The neon lights hit every place except for where she's standing. Even in the dark, her body shimmers, probably the body glitter all of the dancers wear. She smiled gently at him, arms crossed in front of her.

 

“You came.” Her voice is soft, but it trembles with excitement. He nods, keeping a distance. She likes her space. “Come in, it's cold. I saved you a nice spot.” she offers a hand and he takes it. The smell of sweat and cologne assaults him as she sweeps him inside.

 

A bouncer smirks as she drags him to a booth, coming over to them. “So you're the boy. She talks about you a lot.”

 

“Shut up, Javier.” She grumbles. “Go get him a drink. Put it on my tab.”

 

He opens his mouth to protest, but she shakes her head. “You came to see me dance, so tonight is a thank you. Order whatever you like.” She disappears, and he gets comfortable. Tonight, he will claim her. No excuses.

 

She was just a waitress when they collided in the club. Arias had know her a long time before then, since childhood, but they'd drifted apart after high school. He couldn't say he was surprised to find her here, but he wished he hadn't. She was too beautiful for a place like this. When she showed up on his porch last week, breathless and gorgeous, telling him she'd finally be on stage, he was both happy and horrified. He didn't want them looking at her the way they did other dancers, eyeing her like a next meal.

 

Arias adjusts his tie, thanking Javier quietly for his drink. Girls, waitresses, stare at him when they walk by. One tries to entice him into a lap dance, but he declines. He isn’t here for that.

 

He slams back one drink, and immediately another is placed in front of him. The girl that delivers it, donned in all black from her headdress to her high heels, winks. “From Desire.” like smoke, she is gone.

 

By the time the lights dim, his head is fuzzy, and he wishes nothing more than to be away from here, Desire in tow. But she is bound here, and he is bound to her, so he waits for the show to begin.

 

She is much more beautiful on stage. A goddess. Cleopatra. He watches as she shimmies on stage, drawing the eyes of every man in the room. She is enchanting, and he aches to touch her. Men crowd the stage, but they do not fight to throw money at her. No - they fight to lay it at her feet.

 

The music rises, and the motions of her hips and body become faster. There is something carnal in the men’s gazes now, and Arias sits up as she suddenly drops to all fours, crawling toward where he sits near the end of the stage. She is close enough to touch now, and her eyes say “please” and “I dare you”, and he reaches a hand out, his fingers nearly connecting with the skin of her neck when she is dragged from the stage.

 

“Hey!” he cries, and he’s reaching desperately, trying to grab her, and suddenly bouncers are on them, and he is dragged back as she is pulled from the writhing mass of men. She is saved, he thinks, she is saved.

 

She runs from the room and one of the girls goes after her. Before he can be stopped, he is going as well. The dancers say nothing of his presence in their domain - they know him or of him at least. Arias says nothing as she grabs her bag and coat, not bothering with her clothes and storms from dressing room by way of back door. He follows. The girl does not.

 

“Desire!” he calls, and stops, but doesn’t turn around. He takes a step towards her. “It’s okay-”

 

“It’s not okay!” she screams, whipping around. Tears are pouring down her face. “Nothing is okay right now! Nothing ever has been! I shouldn’t do this… I shouldn’t want this.” She drops her bags and brings her hands to her face. Arias closes the distance between them, wrapping her in a hug.

 

He’s played this game a long time. She ran, he chased. If he stopped chasing, she stopped running for a while, and they found a balance of sorts. However, something always pushed her, and the chase would begin anew. Not this time. No more running. No more chasing.

 

“You’ve had it hard.” he whispers. “It’s time to rest. Let someone love you now.”

 

She sniffs. “Who wants to love somebody like me?” she mumbles into her hands. He doesn’t answer verbally, only holds her close. This is his answer. She pushes away.

 

“Let me guess.” She drawls. “You. You want to love somebody like me.” her arms are crossed protectively in front of her. “Well, if you can love somebody like me, then you must be messed up too!”

 

He puts his hands out for her, but she ignores them. “Maybe.” he says. “But I would rather be messed up with you than without you.”

 

Slowly, she crumbles. It is both heartbreaking and relieving to watch. She falls into his arms, sobbing, and her legs are weak, but he is strong, and he holds her. They stay there, like that, until she can breathe again.

 

“Where do you want to go?” he asks gently. She buries her face in his chest.

 

“Wherever you do.” she says, and he is delighted. Hand in hand, they make their way to his car, her bag in Arias’s hand.

 

The fight in the club has sobered him, and he manages to make it home with a clear head. She falls asleep in the passenger seat, but wakes as soon as the car stops. He helps her out and inside.

 

“I don’t have a guest room.” he says. “I’m sorry.”

 

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to be away from you. Not anymore.” She says this while looking away from him, but she knows he is smiling. He offers her clothes and a shower, and he strips while she is gone, donning pajama bottoms before padding into the kitchen to find her a suitable meal. He’s not sure leftover macaroni and cheese and baked chicken count, but he’s trying.

 

Their meal is silent, but comfortably so. He cannot keep his eyes off of her, and she notices.

 

“What?” she challenges. He only smiles, shaking his head.

 

In his room, she is hesitant to get in his bed. He understands.

 

“I won’t touch you in any way you don’t want.” he says, and she nods, once, before sliding under the covers. He turns off the light and joins her.

 

“Arias.” she whispers into the silence. “Hold me, please?”

 

“Okay.” he breathes, and she wriggles over, tucking her head under his chin. Her hair is still damp, but he doesn’t complain, because he is touching her, and that is all he ever wants.

 

“Desire?”

“Yes?”

 

“Why do you call yourself that? Because of men desiring you?”

 

She sighs sleepily into his neck. “No. It’s because of how fiercely one man desired me… And how much I desired him.” in seconds she is asleep, and Arias is not, and won’t be for a while- he is too alive with her hands on his skin. He is too ignited by her touch.

 

Sleep is slow in coming. But it is finally perfect.