Ryker's Guide (Mild)

Suits

Daryl

The door opened, and the light turned on, leaving Daryl blinking into the artificial light of a conference room that smelled of stale air. It wasn't dirty, they just had not used it in a while and he was sure he wouldn't have noticed it if his senses were human. Despite looking extremely human on most days, he was finding his senses, strength, and other physical attributes maintained something more than what they had before. He was losing his humanness more and more every day, and he had yet to decide how he felt about it.

"You need anything else?" Eliza offered him a smile after a few moments of silence. "I booked the coffee shop to cater for you, so they'll deliver all the goodies. The front already has the guest list, and this level has relatively open access. You should have no problems."

The level was one of the lower floors, just above the lobby, that Daryl had never been to before. According to Eliza, it was the part of the Knight Corp Offices that were reserved for mainly human guests and those they didn't want deeper into the security framework of the building and company.

When he had asked her a couple weeks ago if she knew where he could rent out an office for a presentation, she had offered it to him without batting an eye. He had said little to anyone about what he was up to, and as relieved as he was to have the resources, he wasn't sure how the others were going to take it.

So far he had been contracting for Knight Corp only, which somehow gave him enough jobs and projects to keep him as busy as he wanted to be. But he had not yet tested the waters in what he considered the real market, to see if he was just being humoured by Alesky because of his connection to Ryker. And Meri. And, well, now Carbry as well too, he supposed.

Before it had made sense to limit his exposure to Knight Corp's projects or sub-projects, for the longest time, he was pretending to be dead. In hiding, but now that the threat keeping him underground was gone, Daryl was trying to see if the rest of the world would take him seriously as well. So he had sent out his portfolio and a project group had asked him for a full presentation for several concepts they wanted to move on. With everyone else so busy, he had not bothered to mention it to them. Partially because he was worried about jinxing himself and partially because there were always a million of other things to talk about when they met up.

"Thanks Liza." Daryl grinned, breaking himself out of thought long enough to watch her walk back out of the room before he started setting up his project.

Ryker was somewhere across the world for the next couple days and Sammy and Meri were off doing something on their own, leaving him with the entire afternoon through to late night to work on the setup. In fact, he could work straight through to the presentation if he needed to.

Daryl was crouched in front of one of his model recreations, carefully adding the last finishing touches long after midnight when Carbry spoke from beside him. "You're still here?"

Daryl jerked, and would have sent half his model crashing to the ground if Carbry hadn't caught the base it was on and held it in place, grinning ever so slightly as he looked to Daryl.

"Hol... Hi." Daryl blushed and steadied himself, glancing back to the model that was sitting innocently on the table, Carbry having already let go of it. "I thought you were away too."

He felt more than he saw Carbry wander around the room, looking at blueprints, diagrams and other models idly. "I was, flew back in a couple hours ago. It's nearly morning. You need your sleep before the presentation."

"It's... not today." Daryl blushed, glancing at his feet as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling Carbry's eyes on him as he stared at the ground. "Next day... I just wanted it set up... to... make sure I have everything, but give myself the time to fix it, if I messed up."

Carbry had stopped pacing, leaving the vampire standing in front of him. Daryl didn't know whether to shift closer to the man or take a step back, so he wavered before finding his body tensing, going stock still.

"You're nervous." Carbry's eyes were curious, almost amused, when Daryl met them with his own gaze.

Daryl was always nervous around Carbry. It just was tempered by other things when Ryker and Meri were around. He had rarely been alone in a room with the man before and he could sense the power coming off of him, though he wondered if that was a new thing. "I hate public speaking. I probably won't sleep much, anyway."

The vampire knew he was deflecting, he could see it in the man's eyes, a concerned look replacing the amusement that was there moments before. "Do you dislike me, Daryl?"

Of all the things he thought Carbry was going to say, he had not expected those words to come out of the man's mouth. Carbry oozed confidence that told anyone looking that if they didn't like him, he did not care. It was easy to forget that beyond all that front, Carbry was always watching and assessing everything and everyone.

Frowning, Daryl shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "No. I couldn't dislike someone who meant so much to Ryker. You've... done so much for him, he... I honestly think he loves you, in his way." Daryl glanced away from Carbry then, because the man's gaze was far too intense to meet for very long. "Nor could I hate anyone Meri loved. Or who loved both of them just as fiercely. I just... know you put up with me because of them."

"Oh, you know this." The amusement was back, and there was something darkly enticing in Carbry's tone, drawing a shiver of pleasure and another glance from Daryl. "Why is that?"

Daryl shrugged, feeling embarrassment burning through him as he clenched his jaw. "Meri and Ryker are rough, but... you're drawn to them and them to you because of your bonds, you work with both of them, you have similarities. Me... well... I'm nothing like any of your people."

The vampire's eyebrow rose curiously, and Daryl saw the amusement tempered by something bittersweet. "You always see yourself as an outsider, don't you?"

"Now you're sounding like the shrink." Daryl let his tone stay light hearted, grinning uncomfortably and shifting, feeling Carbry's gaze on him. "I didn't answer, really, did I?"

Carbry was still, but something about that stillness seemed restrained. At first glance, the large man appeared relaxed, comfortable. One of those people who owned a room so naturally that they didn't even have to think about it. Daryl wondered if Carbry had learned to be like that, or if it was part of the aging process for vampires that he didn't really understand. "No. You didn't."

"I think you're a great person, Carbry. I think you care a lot about all your people and pretty much everyone. I think you have a good heart, and I like you. But I don't... I.. I guess I understand that I'm not like... " Daryl stopped himself and frowned, forcing himself to let out a breath.

"No. I meant the question about you being an outsider. That's what it comes down to." Carbry grinned, and it was then that Daryl realized he was looking at the man's mouth.

Before Daryl could answer, Carbry glanced around curiously. "This looks done. If it is, would you like to join me for a drink? I have found a new whiskey."

Knowing that Carbry's liquor cabinet was something no sane person would ever turn down, Daryl gave him a half smile and nodded, before finding himself trailing behind the man like a lost puppy.