Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (Except Steve) or the show, so please don't sue me!
Warning: Slash between D/OC and mild language.
A/N: This is set just after the episode with the woman who had been turned into energy who was watching over her daughter.
They say smaller secrets are better kept than larger ones, yet I've always found it was the other way round, either way, secrets are nearly always found out. Darien's voice says.
'Mmmmm' a voice from beneath the covers mumbled.
'Morning sunshine' Darien answered, looking down from his sitting position to the other person in his bed.
'Morning already?' The voice groggily asked.
'Yep…Oh Crap!' Darien suddenly exclaimed.
'What?' The voice asked, suddenly wide-awake.
'What?' The voice asked, suddenly wide-awake.
'Claire's coming this morning to give me some counteragent.'
'And this is bad how? For some strange reason I don't really want to see you going quick silver mad!' The
voice jokingly told him.
'It's not that, I just haven't really told anyone…you know'
'Oh…OH!' The voice finally caught on to what Darien was talking about. The voice's body moved slightly
under the covers, then sat up revealing a youngish man about the same age as Darien. His short dark hair
was cut close to his head, while his crystal blue eyes and clean-shaven face added to his rugged handsome
look.
'When's she coming?' He asked.
'About 9-ish, which is…' Darien paused, then looked over to his bedside table where his clock was. 'NOW!'
He gasped.
Stumbling out of bed, he looked around for his clothes that now lay strewn across the room, mixed in with his
boyfriends.
'Oh crap oh crap' he muttered.
Joining in the search for clothes, the man suddenly asked 'Is it really that bad telling her, or any of your
friends for that matter?'
Pausing for a moment, Darien stopped doing up his belt on his trousers. Without putting on his tee shirt that
lay next to his foot, he walked over to the other man and placed his arms around the similarly dressed guy's
waist in a loose embrace.
'Steve, I know your confident about who you are, but I'm just ready to tell them yet, or ever for that matter.
I'm sorry if think its wrong to keep this from them, but I just can't…' Darien trailed off looking into his lover's
eyes.
'I don't think it's wrong. I know you; showing off who you are just isn't who you are. And now with that
invisibility gland, you really can hide who you are' Steve added jokingly after reassuring Darien. His words
were cut off by Darien swiftly kissing him.
The kiss may have become deeper had it not been for a knock at the door.
'Darien, It's Claire, are you up yet?' She called into the apartment.
'Crap!' Darien muttered, pulling away from Steve slightly. Then, shouting a little louder, he called back to his
keeper 'I'll be there in a sec.'
'Is there a back way?' Steve asked, trying to comply with Darien's wishes about their secret.
'No.' He paused thoughtfully 'Stay still, don't worry, this will feel a little cold, but as long as you stay silent
she'll never know you're here.' Darien told him.
Taking Steve's hand, he Quick-silvered Steve's body. He then grabbed his Tee shirt from the floor and put it
on while making his way to the door.
Opening it, he found Claire standing there with a small bag with his Counteragent.
'Oh, Hi. Did I wake you?' She asked upon seeing his dishevelled state.
'No, no, I was just slow to get up. Forgot to set my alarm, do you think we could maybe do this later…' Darien
started.
Claire grabbed his wrist swiftly before he could move it out of the way. Upon seeing there was one green
space left, she looked surprised.
'No' She told him firmly going into the apartment, into the living room. Forcing him to sit down on his sofa,
she drew out her needle. 'Okay, who is she?' Claire asked.
'Hmmmm?' Darien asked as he eyed up the needle.
'The woman you spent the night with. You should have at least three green squares left, instead you only
have one.' Claire told him as she tied the tourniquet around the top of his arm. As she finished, a sound that
was very much like a snort was heard.
'What was that? Don't tell me she's still here!' Claire exclaimed, then added 'Although it sounded kind of
masculine'
'Look Claire, there's no one here; the noise was probably the sink. Been having problems for days with it.
And not that its any of your business, there wasn't any woman involved.' Darien told her tiredly.
'Well something made your quicksilver levels to shoot up' Claire told him as she gave him the Counteragent.
She then put the needle back and drew out another. 'I guess this means I'll have to take some blood to see if
something wrong'; She told him.
A few minutes later, Claire was outside the door telling Darien to come by the agency in a few hours since
she should have the results by then. Darien shut the door behind her before speaking.
'Well you almost blew it' Darien told Steve huskily as the quicksilver fell off.
'Sorry, its just funny that a woman as smart as you make her out to be hasn't figured it out yet.' Steve told
him.
'Yeah, it is surprising' Darien told him as he moved in to finish what they had started. Just as he did, the
phone rang.
'Great' Darien muttered to himself as he answered it. Upon finishing the brief call, he turned back to his lover.
'That was the agency; apparently they have an assignment for me. An urgent one.' Darien said with a sigh.
'You'll be back tonight won't you?'
'I hope so. Why don't you stay here and rest for a while. You don't have to be anywhere today do you?'
'No. I'm actually booked into a motel. As soon as I heard you weren't in prison anymore I drove straight over.'
Steve told Darien as he gave Darien his jacket.
'You're staying in a motel! Why didn't you say so, go grab your things, you can stay here!' Darien
immediately.
'Are you sure that's okay, I mean I don't want to impose on you.'
'You could never do that, I mean how many years have we been going out? It's about time we moved in
together.' Darien told him.
'Okay, I'll grab my things and hopefully see you tonight.' Steve told him ecstatically.
The two men left together, walking up unto Darien's car and Steve's motorbike parked nearby.
Looking around, they saw no one about early on the Saturday morning. Before they departed, having
checked the coast was clear, they shared a lingering kiss then went in their opposite directions.
Upon leaving the house, Claire walked the short distance to her car, grabbing her keys from her pocket;
she managed to drop all of the things in her arms.
Sighing and cursing quietly to herself, she bent down and began repacking her small bag.
So intent on what she was doing, she didn't notice the front door to Darien's house open and two men
walking out.
Only when they started speaking did she realise Darien and a strange man were very close to her talking.
'See you this evening then' the stranger spoke.
'Yeah, I really hope so. Hey do you think there's anything in my blood that will give me away.' Darien then
asked.
Puzzled, Claire raised her head slightly at this remark.
'I doubt it, now be good' the first man spoke once more.
'Why when being bad is so much better' Darien told the stranger, before, much to the shock of Claire, they
shared a passionate kiss.
Staying in the position she was, Claire's brain was racing. At least she now knew why Darien's tattoo was so
low, he hadn't been with a woman, he had been with a man!
All the time these thoughts were going through her brain, she never saw Darien drive off in the opposite
direction to where she was crouching. She also didn't notice the motorbike start up, then stop as it reach
where she was.
'So, trying out a little spy work yourself then, and here I was thinking you were only a doctor' the strangers
voice came from behind the Keeper, causing her to jump and almost fall over. It was only the Strangers quick
reflexes that saved her from doing this.
'I…I dropped my bag' She stammered out showing him the half filled bag lying on the ground.
'Let me help you with that' the man told her and swiftly re-filled it, then handed it back to her.
'So now you know Darien's big secret. I'm Steve, Darien's boyfriend.' He introduced himself.
Taking the outstretched hand, she shook it before introducing herself. 'I'm Claire, Darien's Doctor. I'm taking it
you were the one who snorted earlier.' She asked, curious.
'Yeah, well it was funny you being so smart and never picking up that Darien was gay! Even after you found
out it was an old Man he molested!' He explained. (A/N: I hope I have the facts right, please tell me if I haven't)
'Yeah, easy for you to say. So how much do you know exactly about Darien's condition? Did you hear the
conversation in the apartment?' Claire asked, suddenly worried.
'I heard all of the conversation; I was in the room. Darien told me everything after he managed to go
completely invisible when I showed up on his door yesterday. Don't worry, I'm hardly going to tell anyone.'
Steve told her.
'Just one more question before I really have to go, how long have you been going out?'
'Since high school. The only time we broke up were when he was in prison in case anyone found out about
me and I had to testify against Darien. It was something we both agreed on since neither one of us wanted
that to happen. Darien isn't very open about his preference and an entire court room of people finding out
was hardly his idea of fun!'
'Oh…Sorry to dash, but I really must go. It was nice to meet you.' Claire exclaimed after checking her watch.
The two of the said their goodbyes then went off in their separate directions.
Okay, so what's the big deal which required me to give up part of my day off' Darien asked as he walked
into the Officials office.
'Excuse me?' The official asked, puzzled.
'You phoned me up this morning saying you had an urgent mission and I had to come in' Darien explained,
just as Eberts and Hobbs walked into the room.
'Hey partner, what are you doing in today?' Hobbs asked upon seeing him.
'Darien' Eberts greeted him before going to his usual place behind the Official.
'I never phoned you this morning' The Official told him, 'nor did I instruct anyone to contact you. I'm afraid it
was a crank call.'
'I'd better go home and see if I can caller ID him' Darien told the Official as he wandered out of the room,
Hobbs following him.
The two of them were half way down the corridor when Alex bumped into them 'Ah, Darien, the desk just
gave me this envelope to give to you.'
Taking the envelope, Darien quickly opened it and read it. 'Steve!' he muttered, his breath caught. Dropping
the letter, he ran off down the hallway leaving behind a very stunned Hobbs and Alex.
Alex was the first to recover; picking up the letter, She and Hobbs read it:
I have someone very close to you. Someone who arrived yesterday, you know who I mean. If you ever want
to see them alive again, come ALONE to the abandoned warehouse near he docks. Tell NO ONE!
Hobbs and Alex stared for a moment, then ran in the same direction as Fawkes had run off in. As they
rounded the corner, they both bumped into someone walking in the middle of the corridor, knocking them
over.
'Sorry' they both said together, then realising it was Claire they had bumped into, they helped her up again.
'Did you seen Fawkes a few minutes ago running down the corridor' Bobby quickly asked.
'No why?' Claire answered.
'This' Alex showed her the note. 'Before Darien ran off, he mentioned a name, Steve. Has he ever mentioned
this name to you before?' She then added.
Claire groaned upon hearing the name. 'Darien is going to kill me' She muttered to herself, then out loud 'Err,
he's a friend of Darien's' She explained before joining in the run to catch the invisible man.
The three of them stopped outside the building they had just emerged from. There was no sign of Darien
anywhere. Even his car was gone.
'Okay, we need to find him. This whole thing is a trap' Alex told the others.
'Agreed but where do we start?' Hobbs asked.
'I gave him a shot of counteragent this morning so hopefully he'll be alright but I think I shall bring some
along just in case.' Claire told the others as they started to go back into the building. Upon seeing their
expressions she added. 'What? I'm going with you. I am his Keeper!'
Not wishing to waste time arguing, they quickly filled the Official in before heading out in Bobby's van.
Darien sped away like a bat out of hell. He knew exactly which warehouse the note meant; it was one he had
discovered while searching for Arnaud a while back.
Arnaud. He was the only who would cook up such a complex and devious plan to get back at Darien.
After what seemed like an age, Darien finally arrived outside the warehouse. Getting out of his car, he
quicksilvered and cautiously made his way into the building.
The inside was large and empty except for a man tied to a chair in the centre facing the direction Darien had
come in by.
As Darien made his way closer, he could clearly see Steve was awake and unharmed.
'Darien' Steve called out softly. After checking there was no one else in the room, he unquicksilvered and
rushed to his lovers side. Nimbly he untied the ropes and helped Steve to his feet.
The two of them turned to leave as the doors flew open. Darien almost quicksilvered them both, then realised
who it was.
In the doorway stood Claire, Alex and Bobby looking stunned at how empty the place was.
'Oh now will you look at that, the cavalry has arrived' Steve remarked cruelly as he pushed Darien forwards
into his friends. As he did, he drew a gun. 'And here I was thinking you would die alone. Throw down the
weapons. Far away.' Bobby and Alex did as they were told.
'Steve?!' Darien exclaimed, confused and hurt. His body quicksilvering as he stared, only his head remaining.
'Yeah me. You really think I could find out you were out of prison? You really are as thick as you look! I faked
my own kidnapping to get you here so you would get to see the ultimate betrayal before you died.' Steve
taunted him.
'I can't believe I trusted you' Darien told him bitterly.
'You always trust those who are most likely to betray you, yet those who are close to you, you can't seem to
trust at all. Isn't that the reason why you never told them about us?' Steve threw back. Seeing the confused
faces of Alex and Hobbs, Steve carried on. 'About us dating all these years.'
Alex and Hobbs gaped at this news while Darien hung his head, unable to show his face to his friends.
Hobbs opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make a sound Claire caught his eye and shook her
head, telling Alex and Hobbs not to make a sound.
'So why are you doing this Steve? All those times I left you while I was in prison; not contacting you when I
got out or something bigger?' Darien finally asked, his body going back to normal.
'I guess it's a little bit of everything, so now here comes the part where you die. There's no way out. As we
were talking, the time released lock fell into place. I was hoping to make it out before I too was trapped, but oh
well, everything happens for a reason.' Steve answered bitterly, raising the gun.
'Wait, I know you're going to kill me, but please, just one more time. Tell me the last 10 years weren't for
nothing.' Darien asked.
'Fine, it'll just add to the pain I want you to feel. The feeling of betrayal from the one you loved and still love
now.' Steve told him.
Darien moved slowly towards his lover and the two kissed for one last time. The others turned allowing them
to have some privacy.
The kiss lasted for a few seconds and they parted once more.
His head down, he trudged back to his friends. Stopping in front of them, he turned towards the one he
loved.
Smiling, he raised the gun and fired.
ClickGasping in horror, Steve looked at his gun, then at Darien. He tried once more with the same result.
Darien smiled grimly, holding up the guns magazine. 'Do you really think I would kiss a guy who has just
committed the ultimate betrayal?' Darien asked angrily, throwing down the cartridge he held. Checking his
wrist, he saw there was only one green segment left. Claire also saw this. Although surprised at how quickly
he had gone through the Counteragent, she quickly got out another needle ready to give him.
About to inject him, Darien moved his arm, stopping her. 'No, there's something's you don't want a conscious
for' Darien told her quietly. The three of them understood and backed off.
'You said this morning you didn't want to see me Quicksilver mad, well too bad, cos here I go' Darien told him
as the first wave of pain hit. Screaming in agony, he fell to his knees, rising seconds later red eyed.
'Now, you wanted to betray me? Well guess that went slightly wrong. Here's a tip. Don't piss off a guy who
regularly looses his sanity' Darien lunged forwards at Steve, knocking him to the ground near to where the
guns had been discarded earlier. Ignoring the guns, Darien wrapped his hands around the fallen mans neck,
squeezing hard.
'Please don't hurt me, I'm begging you' Steve pleaded, terror filling his eyes.
'So it's alright if you try to kill me and my friends and tell them my biggest secret but I shouldn't kill you, am I
right.'
Unable to speak at this point, Steve could only pray for unconsciousness to consume him, which it did
moments later quickly followed by death.
Satisfied with his work, Darien stood and turned to his friend, ready to get them as well.
Alex and Hobbs instantly moved out into their fighting stances, not wishing to use guns in case they hurt
Darien.
However, Darien had barely taken a step when a tranquilliser dart hit him squarely in the chest. He looked
down, surprised, then collapsed onto the floor. Also stunned, Alex and Bobby turned to see Claire holding a
tranquilliser gun.
'What? I am his Keeper. Didn't you two realise he wasn't going to stop with Steve. Really!' Claire told them as
she went over to Darien's fallen form and gave him his shot.
Looking sheepish, the other two followed.
Moments later, Darien was awake.
'Owwww, whatcha hit me with Keepy, an elephant?' Darien asked, disorientated.
'No just a tranquilliser dart that lasts a few minutes.' As Claire finished speaking, she realised Darien had
spotted Steve's body.
With Hobbs and Claire's help, Darien was soon back on his feet. 'So now lets find out who this really was.'
'What? You mean this wasn't Steve!' Claire cried out, stunned.
'Nope' Darien told her as he knelt beside the body. Lifting up the edge of the carefully covered edge of the
mask, Darien revealed nothing.
'Arnaud' Hobbs spoke what everyone was thinking. 'At least that bastards dead.' He then added.
'But why? What would he gain from this?' Alex asked to no one in particular.
'My humiliation and death. I embarrassed him repeatedly, so he figured out my secret and exploited it. He just
didn't count on me getting the upper hand.' Darien told them quietly.
'So when did you figure out it wasn't really Steve?' Claire asked gently.
'I don't know. I always suspected Arnaud, and then when he called out my name when I was invisible
something struck me as odd. It wasn't until the kiss that it clicked.' Seeing his friends puzzled expressions, he
elaborated 'When you've been seeing someone for as long as we were dating, you know each others kisses.
The way he kissed wasn't the way Steve did.'
'If this wasn't Steve, where is he then? I take it the Steve I met this morning was the real one?' Claire asked
suddenly.
'You met Steve this morning?' Darien asked as he jumped up.
'Yeah…he sort of found me repacking the bag I'd dropped and…' Claire trailed off.
'You were spying on me' Darien told her bluntly.
'No! I really had dropped my bag, then I heard voices and saw, well you know…and then he found me and
explained everything' Claire told him quietly, lowering her head.
'And you didn't think of telling us earlier when we asked you who Steve was?' Hobbs asked angrily.
'It wasn't really my place to tell, if Darien wanted to tell that was his choice, I couldn't say.' Claire explained.
Cutting into the debate, Darien told them that it was the real Steve Claire had met earlier.
'Okay, so we sweep the perimeter, Arnaud probably kept him nearby to torment after he had killed Darien.'
Alex told them.
After escaping through a high up window, it took little searching to find Steve gagged and tied up in a
nearby car boot.
After releasing them, the group slowly made their way back to Bobby's van. The Keeper, Alex and Hobbs sat
in the front while Darien slept off the residual effects of the tranquilliser dart. Claire looked back and smiled at
Darien's peaceful state. He had fallen asleep on Steve's shoulder. Catching Claire's glance, Steve put a finger
to his lips, motioning her to be silent.
The van eventually drew up outside Fawkes's apartment. Gently waking Darien, the five of them slipped
inside and collapsed onto the sofas.
'Okay partner, confess, why didn't you tell us, we're supposed to be partners, as well as friends.' Hobbs asked
after a few moments.
Glancing quickly at Steve who was sat next to him on the two-seated sofa, Darien took a deep breath 'I never
told anyone. It's not that I'm ashamed, I just wasn't comfortable telling anyone.' Darien explained, leaning
further into Steve.
'At least it explains why you always denied seeing other women whenever I've asked, and reacted the way
you did when we had that conversation a few days ago about the energy woman' Claire spoke to no one in
particular.
'And why I've never caught you looking at my breasts!' Alex added.
'Okay, so you like men, but when your Quicksilver mad, why do you always go after women?' Hobbs asked,
curious.
'I don't know, something I would never do if was sane, someone I will never have in that way in my life, or
maybe I just try even harder to make sure my secret stays safe by going after women. I have no idea, ask me
next time I go red eyed.' Darien told him with a shrug.
'Next time!' Steve exclaimed, 'I thought you're supposed to keep him sane!' Steve told the Keeper.
She smiled 'I try to keep him as sane as possible, but sometimes he forgets to have his shots.'
'I think I may have to stay around, try to help you keep him sane for me' Steve told them sternly.
'Why do I get the feeling I'm going to need more counteragent' Claire told them jokingly, raising a laugh from
all in the room.
Secrets may be found out, but as long as friends find them out, you're okay. Let them be found out by
enemies and you're really in trouble. Darien's voice finishes.