Love deserves a second C H A N C E::DARC::

[Victoria Cri]

Vi was nervous. The most nervous she had ever been. What was she going to wear? Black and red? Purple and silver? Blue and gold? Decisions, decisions. She looked up at her clock. Four hours. Okay, she could do this.

She took in a deep breath and decided to just take a shower. Calm some of her nerves. Hot water on her head always helped her calm down or make decisions.

She stayed in the shower for a little over forty minutes, just washing her hair and trying to decide on what she should do. She just loved the steam that surrounded her.

The girl turned the water off and wrapped herself in a black towel. Hair was first. Sitting on her bathroom counter, she looked in to the mirror as she blow-dried her hair. She couldn't decide what she'd want to do with it. Curl? Or just leave it be. Hmm...

'Curl it!'[/i]

Well, i guess that worked. Maybe her others weren't as bad as she thought.

Needless to say, it took more than an hour to curl her hair and another to apply her makeup. But in the end, she just couldn't decide on a dress. Her eyes were green, his were blue. Did those colors go together? Nah... She finally chose an icy blue dress, black lace gloves, and silver heels.

She felt her cat shadow rub up against her leg. Petting the cat she, she grabbed a coat and walked out the door. Olive Garden was where they were going. All she really needed now was for her ride.

[Darcy Leone]

After taking his shower, Darcy went over to the sink and shaved. He dabbed on some CK1 cologne (Just a little. Not too much.) He put on a nice black Armani suit. What kind of tie? You can tell a lot about a man by the kind of tie he wore. Black? Too classic. Blue? Matched his eyes but it was too fruity. He picked up a patterned red tie. This would be fine.

He was alone in the house. Every week, he hired a maid to do house cleaning but seeing as his "gaurdians" were in Liverpool (or rather inexistant), nobody but the maid and him set foot in the mansion. Every corner had a secret passageway. A button that opened an arsenol of specialized weapons he either created or invested in. What took Victoria 4 hours to complete took Darcy one. Maybe he'd show her in after dinner... The password system to the mansion came on. It was voice activited and DNA activated. After touching the thumb screen, it asked for his password.

[yellow]"Socrates."[/yellow]

The password after his favorite philosopher. Now the mansion's software defense system was armed. Nobody would want in there...He could guarantee that. Walking over to his car, he vaccumed it out and cleaned it for perfection. He didn't want her to think he was a slob. That itself took two hours. Then there was driving to her place. He arrived and knocked on the door. He would probably be happy with how she looked. This would be the first time he saw her dress out of that punk rocker look.

[Victoria Cri]

Vi paced back and forth behind the door, waiting. It wasn't because she was waiting for ever, it was more because of her own nervousness. She checked out her nails, fiddled with her necklace, anything that could keep her distracted.

A woof from behind her sounded. She turned. Chaos came towards her and looked up at her. He was such a cute wolf. She kneeled down to pet the wolf ad scratch behind its ear. It was rather smart. He had probably sensed her nervousness and came to try to comfort her.

She smiled at the black furred cutie. "Thanks, Chaos. You're a real sweetheart, you know that?" she said to the wold.

Suddenly she heard a knock on the door. He was right on time. Or was he early? She had never been good with timing. Lightly kissing the wolf's head, she stood up and brushed out her dress. Victoria took a deep breath and opened the door.

Chaos peeked out from behind her legs, trying to see who it was. A growl began to rise in the wolf's throat, making Vi giggle. Boy was he a defensive little thing. Patting it's head, she motioned it to leave. Finally getting to look at the boy, she smiled a rather sweet and innocent smile. "Shall we?"

[Darcy Leone]

Darcy bent down and glared at the wolf. It yelped and cringed. Darcy had experience with interrogating men in the Mid East. His blue eyes were what frightened most men because they didn't realize what he'd do next with his death glare. Then reaching out his hand as if offering power, the wolf sniffed it and let Darcy pet him.

[yellow]"What a pretty boy..."[/yellow]

The wolf though seemingly afraid at first of the ancient simply loved that he was getting attention. Darcy was rather good at taming animals. Strike fear into them. Then give them mercy in loving them. They'll love you back. He stood up from his crouching position and took Victoria by the hand, walked her to his vehicle (that was abnormally clean.). He wasn't normally a neat freak but he wanted to impress her. While they were driving they had their conversation. He assumed not only was she going to ask him questions about her exotic pet being silenced, but also others that he probably wouldn't predict. He grinned at her while they drove in the slow Gotham traffic.

[yellow]"So. A beautiful girl like you must have been to at least one nice resteraunt."[/yellow]

He smiled at her then looked back at the road.

[Victoria Cri]

Vi just stared in shock when her wolf hybrid began to act kindly to Darcy. It was rather interesting to her. She couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight of it. "Bye, Chaos. Don't you dare try and hurt shadow again," She said to her black furred protector. It let out an affirmative bark and she closed the door.

As soon as she turned, she felt Darcy take her hand. She gratefully took his lead towards his car. It was rather clean, and it was just beautiful. She couldn't help but wonder how many cars he had. That didn't matter she guessed.

She sat in the passenger side seat. The inside was just as gorgeous as the outside. Her hand just fiddled with her necklace. It was one of the only things that she really kept that remind her of her past.

"So. A beautiful girl like you must have been to at least one nice resteraunt."

She shook her head. "Not really. With my past, eating out wasn't really an option. And I don't really have the money to go out," Victoria said.

She turned slightly to look at him, though she knew he wouldn't really be able to look at her. "How did you do that? Chaos doesn't ever let others pet him."

[Darcy Leone]

Darcy looked at her closed his eyes and grinned like a goof.

[yellow]"Oh that? He seemed like a misunderstood creature. Any animal can be reasoned with... Can't say the same for humans..."[/yellow]

His eyes trailed off in all seriousness. The people he killed. The screams. It always came to haunt him. The truth was that even though Darcy had an incredible amount of self control, he was fucked up inside. Maybe that was why the two had such a connection. He turned his attention back to her, also glancing at the road here and there.

[yellow]"I have an understanding of wild animals. They can never be tamed and they're always misunderstood... Those are the perceptions humans use and label 'reality'. If you can look past the fear instilled in them you can make them realize they're no different then you are. What I did in the beginning with that glare... It was initially an interrogation technique. One of many."[/yellow]

He changed the subject before creeping her out. She didn't need to hear about what he used to be. But who he became in restrospect.

[yellow]"Well. This will be your first. We're almost there."[/yellow]

Three miles to go. There was still room for conversation. And probably more questions with the junk he explained to her.

[Victoria Cri]

She proved to be a pretty good listener. A skill she never really knew that she had. It must come with the listening to two other people in her head everyday. What he said sort of made sense. She wanted to hear more. It had grabbed her interest rather quickly. But he stopped. So thoughtful.

She looked down for a moment. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. But she didn't want to bombard him with them. She sort of offed half of them right away. Maybe bringing up his past wouldn't be her best idea. She pondered for a moment before looking back up.

"Do you like animals?" Why not ask. She did have two, and if she got her way, she'd be getting a third real soon. She'd just have to convince her brother first.

She wanted a ferret. They were so cute and it should go nicely with her other two pets. She hoped that once Vince finally came back, he'd allow her to get one.

[Darcy Leone]

Darcy stared at her a second to see if she was really serious when she asked that. Now she was just generalizing her questions.He grinned and continued driving the speed limit.

[yellow]"Who doesn't?"[/yellow]

He parked the vehicle at the sidewalk. 4 hour parking. They weren't going to be eating that long so no worries. He offered his lady his arm and walked in. They had a reservation for a table in the corner of the resteraunt. It wasn't an Olive Garden like Victoria thought. It was the fanciest Italian resteraunt in Gotham. The most expensive too. Darcy wasn't going to go through costs. He had a debit card and close to a billion dollars in his savings account. He had enough to start a corperate business. A casual dinner was easy. The waiter walkd over to the candlelit dinnertable.

[red]"Good evening. Have you both decided yet?"[/red]

Darcy simply nodded, still staring at his beautiful girlfriend.

[yellow]"I'd like the special please."[/yellow]

He didn't know what it was, but he didn't fancy the food at this moment in time. He fancied her... He continued smiling while Victoria decided what to pick.

[Victoria Cri]

"Oh, i can name quite a few people who don't like animals... Or at least not wolves." She bit her lip. He probably thought it a stupid question, but she just wanted to know.

'My Dad never liked animals.'

Flashes of visions filled her eyes. Tortures, long ago pains, and that knife. The knife that pretty much sealed her fate.

The car coming to a stop released her from her mental lapse. Vi graciously took his arm and walked in with him. Glancing around her quick, the girl became rather confused. This wasn't what she had thought and it came to be quite a surprise to her. But it was a good surprise good surprise none the less.

The inside was even more gorgeous than the out. 'This must be costin' him a fortune!'[/i] she thought. She had never had someone do something like this for her, but it was rather nice.

A waiter soon came to the table and she knew exactly what she wanted. Italian food had always been a favorite.

"Um... Can i get the Calamari Fettuccine?" Her voice had somewhat of a question in it. The waiter nodded. She was ao nervous. And yet, for once, she felt like a normal girl.

[Darcy Leone]

And so they sat there. Darcy didn't drink anything other then water and any alchoholic beverage. Especially Gin. He had a whole storage of drinking substances in his mansion. Stored far away from the naked eye. He was a 400 year old man. In a 16 year old's body. It wouldn't end well if Darcy had to fight off Gotham's police force over a casual drink. So he kept it hidden. He was never drunk. He just drunk it casually. His hand reached across the small table and felt for hers. Lifting it up to his nose he kissed it and it's scent was most attractive. He laughed.

[yellow]"How long were you in the shower? You smell delicious."[/yellow]

His eyes met hers again. He knew something was up. She wasn't asking questions she'd ask him normally. As if it mattered if he told anyone his past. She would be the only to believe him. He had a crooked half smile.

[yellow]"You're awfully quiet today. Is there something on your mind?"[/yellow]

[Victoria Cri]

Victoria's mind kept wandering from now to then. Her nervousness was getting the better of her. She had never been anywhere this fancy, never in her life. Her brother probably had, but not her.

'Jeez, Vic, why are you so nervous? Just imagine that it is just like any other restaurant.'

'Easy for you to say.'[/i]

She had gotten to into her own thoughts to realize that he had taken hold of her hand. His voice had snapped her out of it. How long had she been in the shower? "I think it was about an hour or so?" Or was it One and a half? did it really matter. Time was time.

"You're awfully quiet today. Is there something on your mind?"

"Um... Yes er, no? I don't really know. Just nervousness I guess." She really didn't know. Some one who grew up the way she did, lived the way she does, you'd get nervous at a fancy place like this.

[Darcy Leone]

Darcy winked.

[yellow]"Don't be. It's just you and me here... Nothing-[/yellow]

He moved closer across and kissed her slowly. He was getting pretty good at this. It must have been all of those chick flicks... Yes he watched chick flicks. Don't go there. It was bad enough he had a fluffy pink robe... It was comfortable! You know what? Enough about Darcy. He continued kissing her.

[yellow]"-Nothing at all is really any different from our last date."[/yellow]

She probably didn't realize he had money. Another reason for the shock. He moved back to his seat as the food came.

[yellow]"So you had family issues? You aren't the only."[/yellow]

He smiled sadly. His family was distant. They didn't even care that he disappeared in the Mid East. His father died and the family... Especially his brothers were angered that Darcy inhereted the fortune despite being the youngest of the siblings. The only one in that family who cared was his father. Now there were distant Leones all over Europe and America. A family once of nobility became commonplace like the rest of the world.

[Victoria Cri]

Victoria was really starting to dig this kissing thing. She actually felt like someone cared about her. It was still quite a strange feeling, and yet she liked it. And it kept Viv and Niica pretty quiet. There wasn't all that much that really kept them quiet, either.

What he said was pretty true. It was just him and her. And yet she still felt a tad out of place in just a restaurant. She was just a poor inner city kid that grew up to be a thief and Gotham's possible next big villain. Who wouldn't feel awkward in her situation.

Then their food was brought to their table, making him pull away from her. It was nice while it had lasted, but all good things came to an end, right?

"So you had family issues? You aren't the only."[/i]

Her eyes widened. Did she mention anything about family issues? She didn't think so, but maybe it was just her body language. Either way, the question came to be somewhat of a shock to her. After a moment, she nodded.

"Yeah... I've had family issues... Tons. But I also know that I'm not the only one. Why I don't really complain."

Glass, broken glass. Bars, knives, grits. Torture. That's all she could see as she said that. It made her nearly shiver just thinking of her past.

[Darcy Leone]

Considering Darcy grew up as royalty and ended up the scum of the earth for centuries being hated and feared by everyone... It took him a long time to get used to living like a human being and not an assassin. Then again he seldom went out to dinner, cooked his own meals and had very few luxuries in his house other then a cleaning maid (who he paid by the hour for service.). He felt like such an idiot when he said she wasn't the only. Who doesn't have family issues? He in his own idiotic way was just trying to make her feel a little better by letting her know he was there too... It didn't work since she seemed worse off then when they got there. Darcy changed the subject as he took a bite out of his food.

[yellow]"Do you plan on going to college? Or perhaps you want to be in the similar line of work I retired from?"[/yellow]

He meant assassin but also in the generalized term of professional criminal. She knew he had a bad history. It was wiped clean with age, but he still couldn't change what happened. Even if he had a time machine. His blue eyes met hers and almost glowed with curiousity. He knew if anything, she was comfortable with those. His hand movd to her fingers and fit comfortably around them as he smiled.

[yellow]"Relax... It's just us. You and me. We have our own private section. It's ok."[/yellow]

[Victoria Cri]

'C'mon, Vickie. Ah've neveh seen ya so nervous b'fore. You weren't even dis nervous when ya killed yer father.'

'I wasn't the one to kill him. Last time i knew, that was Niica.'

'Does that really mattah? Yer not nervous when ya rob a bank, when ya kill a man. But ya go to a fancy place wit' a guy that likes you an' you can't even blink wit'out feelin' nervous. What's wrong with ya?'[/i]

For once in her short existence, Vivian seemed to be right. She never said anything that was even good enough to be considered usable advice, or at least not to Victoria. Vic knew that she was nervous for no real reason. Jeez, she must look like an idiot.

His changing the subject put a small smile on her lips. At least he knew how to redirect her train of thought a bit. What was she gonna do, though. There was no way she could ever make it through college. She could barely make it through high school. It wasn't really the grades that were a problem for her, it was the actual human interaction thing that made it impossible for her to go through.

Feeling his fingers wrapped around her hand, she looked up at his reassuring smile, his marvelous blue eyes, and his comforting words. He was right. It was just him and her, no one else there to really be nervous of. Finally she sighed. "I dunno. I can't see myself being able to pay for college, let alone make it through and actually graduating." Vi paused and thought for a moment. "Probably somethin' like your 'previous' line of work. I guess you could say that is my dream to be the biggest villainess Gotham's ever seen." Her face began to glow a little bit and her smile became more apparent. "But what about you. Just because you'll be sixteen for another six hundred plus years doesn't exactly mean you will be in school all those years. You wanna do something other than go to school?"