What lies in the shadow : From university to unexpected love.

While Deirdre still wonders who left her the card and the pastas, David finally settles in his office.

David sits back in his office chair, the soft hum of the fluorescent lights over his head is the only sound as the building begins to quiet down for the night. He had been so focused on his work all day that it wasn't until now, when the office was nearly empty, that he finally let himself think about the weird past few days. He had almost crossed the line with Deirdre after so many years trying hard to keep himself in check.

He runs a hand through his hair, trying to push the thoughts away. No point in dwelling on that. What matters now was the gift that had been left on his desk and the silvery envelope. He almost forgot it was secret valentines today. 

It is a neatly packaged box, wrapped in brown paper. No card attached, nothing that indicates the sender. He picks it up carefully, turning it over. Something about the weight of it feels... Odd. Too heavy for classic chocolates. As soon as his fingers brush against the surface, he hopes it is from her. He can smell her perfume in his office, and it is intoxicating.

David peels back the paper slowly, and a vintage box. His heart skips a beat when he sees it: a set of Dr. Young's Ideal Rectal Dilators. He has heard of them, but never saw a set in real life. The charlatanism around those things that promised to cure all your problems is something he always found funny.

Deirdre was the only person who would think of his passion for old medical objects as an opportunity for a Valentine's day gift. She was the only one to notice the sex related object in his collection. A thing most people wouldn't even understand. Gifting something sexual to your coworker would be very unprofessional, but at the same time, they shared love for odd things and could appreciate ancient objects without second thoughts. Deirdre had always surprised him. It was part of the reason she intrigued him so much. And she clearly did not expect him to use them ! 

On the box is a post-it note she left that is only one simple line : "What better way to cure your headache than to shove something up your ass." 

He can not help but chuckle quietly to himself. Deirdre had a strange way of knowing exactly what he needed without him ever saying a word. She had always been perceptive like that, a little too perceptive, in fact. 

There was more, though. The silvery envelope. David frowns as he picks it up, fingers brushing against the smooth surface. It wasn't from Deirdre, he was sure of it as the writing was different. It does not have her smell either. Actually the envelope has no smell at all, which is weird.

Curious, he opens the envelope with a slow, deliberate motion. Inside, sits a stack of photographs. His heart sinks as he flips through them, each picture more damning than the last. The first is a picture of him and Deirdre, taken that morning after she slept at his house. It was taken in front of his house and it was showing him and her at the door as she left. He can see the unmistakable way she'd looked at him, still a bit dazed from sleep, the two of them sharing an almost intimate moment as they were saying goodbye. There is another picture, taken through the window when she'd stepped into his kitchen, a candid shot of her holding a cinnamon roll, and another, all of those showing his naked torso.

A sick feeling settles in his stomach.

These photos are not just memories. They are a message. Someone has been watching them, and have taken these photos secretly. Someone who wants to use them against him. The blackmail was obvious… Whoever had taken the pictures wants something from him, and they are using his connection to Deirdre as leverage.

David's hand clenches around the photos as a wave of anger washes over him. This wasn't just an invasion of his privacy, it was a violation of Deirdre's as well. The very thought of her being caught up in this mess makes his blood boil.

Who would do this? And why now? Can it be someone who'd been watching him for a while, someone who knew just the right moment to strike? Someone who had seen what had happened between him and Deirdre, someone who thought they could exploit it? Because the timing, this happening right after he let his guard down with her, it is weird.

David shoves the photos into the envelope and puts it into a drawer he slams shut. His breath comes faster now, trying to push the anger down before it consumes him and loses control of himself. He is not about to let someone tear apart the carefully constructed boundaries he had put in place. He had been careful. Too careful to let something like this ruin everything for her. His secret was safe, and his attraction to her was in check until recently. But the simple thought of a threat on her is waking his most basic instincts to claim and protect her.

He locks the drawer and pushes the troubling thoughts from his mind. He needs a plan. But more than anything, he needs to be careful. The game had changed, and now he is playing for a much higher stake.

And Deirdre? He doesn't know what this means for her. What would she think when she found out? Would she ever forgive him for putting her in this position?

He pushes those thoughts away too. He can not afford to think about her right now.

But the memory of her, standing in his kitchen that morning, her face soft and sleepy and something more, lingered in his mind.