The anchor cleared her throat.
"Up until now only alphas and omegas have been recorded as being tied by the bonds of fate, what does this mean for science? When we don't even entirely understand the bond. What does it mean for religion, because this goes against a lot of beliefs. What-"
She paused as another paper was handed to her.
She looked at someone offscreen and mouthed 'should I really say this?'
A conflicted look passed over her face before she turned back to the camera.
"We have an update. One of the omegas has been identified,"
Darcy grabbed Kand-Lei's hand, slowly standing up.
"A certain Darcy Bai-Lezhira. We are still awaiting news on his partner."
Darcy tugged Kand-Lei out of his seat as a picture of Darcy came up on the tv. The customer was too captivated by the program to see them, but the barista looked over and it was clear that she recognised Darcy.
She opened her mouth, then thought better of it. A lazy half-smirk spread across her face, she winked and nodded towards the exit, mouthing 'good luck'.
Darcy and Kand-Lei both gave her relieved expressions as they quickly made their way down the street.
Darcy frowned when he felt eyes watching him.
"Lei-di. We might have to make a run for it." He pulled Kand-Lei's hood over his head. "Less chance of paparazzi getting a good shot of your face."
Kand-Lei tugged his hood lower as Darcy donned his own covering.
They hurried down the street, avoiding the crowd and trying to look inconspicuous.
"There! Look!! Quick Shu- get the camera-!"
Darcy started sprinting when he heard those words, pulling Kand-Lei along by the hand. They ignored the shouts from behind them, seeing the doors of the hotel in front of them.
As they ducked inside Kand-Lei's hood caught the wind and fell off.
They both dashed through the lobby, security thankfully stopping the paparazzi following them from entering.
Into the elevator and up to their floor, the relief as the doors slid closed was great indeed.
Darcy leaned against the elevator wall, panting. They watched the floor numbers slowly tick up.
"How did the news get out?" Was the sudden question from Kand-Lei's fidgeting form.
Darcy straightened somewhat with an ugly look on his face, "It must have been one of the mansion staff, eavesdropping on our conversation."
Kand-Lei's mouth twitched downward.
"I'll get my parents to look into it. In the meantime, we should lay low and hope this all blows over."
Kand-Lei shook his head, "Just by existing we've challenged religion, science, and thousands of years of belief and tradition. It won't just blow over so easily."
Darcy grimaced, pulling his hood back as the elevator dinged and opened to show the empty hallway. They walked slowly towards their room, both lost in silent thought.
The moment they entered Kand-Lei grabbed the remote and turned on the tv, switching to the first news channel. With flashy graphics and taglines floating all over the screen it seemed to be a current affairs and gossip channel.
He stood there silently, white knuckling the remote.
Darcy took his shoes off at the door, hanging up his coat before following Kand-Lei to the lounge room. He paused in the doorway, eyeing the tense posture and flicking eyes of his mate.
"What happened?" He murmured, stepping towards where Kand-Lei was frozen.
The remote fell from his hands.
"They got a picture of me. It's only a matter of time until someone identifies me now."
"What?? When?!"
Kand-Lei vaguely gestured at the tv, "At least they blurred the name of the hotel I guess."
Darcy rubbed a hand over his face, "Shit."
He pulled out his phone, calling his parents.
"Darcy?"
"Did you see the news?"
"The news? What do you-" A pause that crackled slightly with static. "Oh... oh no."
"Yeah. Oh no."
"Ling Yue! Quick, get over here!"
A new voice carried through the line from a distance, "What is it?"
Her quiet gasp was the next thing heard.
"Xiao-Qin, you need to leave as soon as possible. Get out of that hotel and stay in one of the family's residences." Her tone was stern and unyielding.
"Which one? In Yahuan.. or maybe Ching-de?" Darcy rubbed his eyes as he assessed each property mentally.
"Yahuan is better, it's more remote and no one knows that we own the building. There aren't any staff and it is quite small but it should be perfect for you two to hide out in." The sound of furious typing was heard briefly, "I'll send someone to drive you there tomorrow," Then a ringtone drew her away from the conversation as she spoke brusquely with her secretary.
"Send someone I can recognise, ah- I have to go." Darcy quickly hung up the phone and rushed over to turn off the tv. He grabbed Kand-Lei's wrist, drawing his attention away from the darkened screen.
"Lei-di. Kand-Lei," Darcy's tone became strained when he didn't respond, "Kelpie, hey, look at me."
Kand-Lei slowly turned his head, staring at the carpet somewhere behind Darcy.
"It's going to be fine, I promise. Stuff like this happens sometimes. I'll handle it."
Kand-Lei nodded, he closed his eyes briefly. "Yeah. It'll be fine. Everyth-" his voice cut out and he took in a shaky breath.
Darcy gently squeezed his hand.
He turned to the side, blinking back the slight wetness building up in his eyes. A hand came up to cover his mouth, he cleared his throat.
"Thank you." He looked at where Darcy was standing with an anxious expression. "I didn't expect everything to explode like this. Everyone is suddenly watching us." He tried for a smile but it felt weak even to him.
"It's ok to be scared." Darcy took a step closer. "To be honest I'm pretty terrified myself." He smiled lopsidedly. "But I think that a hug from you would make things a lot better."
Kand-Lei chuckled as he wiped away the salty impression of tears. "Come here then."
They stood like that for a time.
Silently enduring in the middle of the lounge room, anchored to the ground by their warm embrace.