Log: Laurie and Darcy: Hurt and Comfort

[xp_wallflower]

Darcy visits Laurie at her request and gets given some rather intense information.

Trigger Warning: Future Emotional Manipulation




Laurie smiled at her friend as she answered the door, gesturing her in as she moved the door open with her foot. She'd had to learn to get along with just the one hand in the past, forever, it seemed to her.

She was doing okay at it, or at least she felt like she was. Her physiotherapist had seemed happy with her progress, and that's all she could hope for right now. At least, it was all she could hope for until the feelers Darcy and Emma had been putting out into the world came back with something a little more concrete.

She’d also been able to make several contacts at the Hellfire Gala that would require further study and perhaps a trip in a few weeks.

"Come in, I find myself in need of your help in a matter of sensitivity."

Darcy slid around the door, giving it a bump with her hip and a nudge of an elbow to shut it behind her. "I brought most of my kit so you'd have extra options for your nails and toes." She set the items down nearby, wrapping Laurie in a hug once her hands were free. "What's this sensitive matter you need help with?”

Laurie stiffened before sinking into the hug with a deep sigh. Darcy was so open and vivacious with her affections that she’d quickly given up on keeping the distance she normally maintained with her other friends. Even with those she knew carnally, she still held a distance. It was the only way to be sure there would be no accusations of manipulation some time down the track.

“I’m leaking,” Laurie whispered, her tone miserable in its defeat. “I’m trying so hard but I can’t keep ahold lately, I’m just so tired.”

Darcy tensed slightly, then relaxed, tightening her arms for the hug instead. "How bad is it, babe? And how long do you think you've been leaking?" She cataloged her own behavior, but none of it stood out as particularly strange for her, so she figured it couldn't be that bad

“Not bad, just.”

Laurie pulled away and showed Darcy her fingernails, the decidedly purple tinge a dead giveaway for prolonged use of her powers. It normally didn’t happen with just the ambient effects of having an always ‘on’ power but given the changes from Genosha and the fact she’d been slipping without even knowing it.

She honestly couldn’t say for how long or how badly. She thought she’d been in total control.

“I don’t want them to be scared of me.”

"Ah hell." Darcy's face fell slightly at the purple. She slid her hand under Laurie's, pulling her back in with a gentle tug. "Still not scared of you, Doc," she murmured just beside Laurie's ear. She leaned back, taking in her face and hair. "Lips and hair still look fine. How long have you noticed? Is it maintaining levels or getting worse? More importantly, what do you want to do about it?"

“Today, really? I’ve been so busy with everything and trying to find a solution that it was only when I sat down to make notes that I saw.”

Laurie maintained the hug, letting herself relax against Darcy with what was almost a collapse of relief.

She wasn’t alone, she wasn’t going to be left alone.

“I need. If they see? I can’t, Darcy. I can’t deal with how they’ll look at me. They’ll call me a monster.”

"Okay. It's going to be okay, babe. C'mon, let's sit down and figure it out, and then we'll get to the fun part of the night, okay?" She guided Laurie to the couch, curling around her once they were settled. Darcy rested her chin on the other woman's shoulder and regarded the purple nails. "We could just paint them. Maybe a color that blends, so if the polish got chipped it'd be less noticeable. If we get caught doing that, it's going to be a shitstorm and we're both going to be untrustworthy monsters. Not my preference." She paused for a minute. "But... what if you're using them on me with my consent? It's not really a secret that I like knowing things, we'd take some notes so it's actually science. We start working on it through legit channels."

She shrugged from her place behind Laurie. "You're not a monster. You didn't choose your powers, and you've worked so hard to have your strong control. I'm in your corner, we're smart, let's figure out what gets you help without having people treat you like shit. They can learn to control their own fears of your capabilities."

“Okay,” Laurie breathed, allowing Darcy to take up the burden as she allowed herself to settle more fully against her friend. “We can do that. But what if they have a problem with it? They might think I’m influencing you deliberately without your consent.”

"Well, obviously they're purple this time because I wanted to see the effect your powers had on me. We'll get that looked at, make sure we ask what to do if there's some unintentional leakage the next few days from me egging you on. They should be thrilled that we noticed an issue and did something about it immediately, but I've seen how unreasonable some people are about your powers." Darcy's thumb rubbed against Laurie's wrist as she talked, an absent-minded, soothing motion.

"I'll take the heat for this one, babe. We just need to figure out why you'd be willing to agree."

“Are you sure?” Laurie turned slightly in Darcy’s arms, looking at her seriously. “I am adept at dealing with their unwarranted and draconian fears. They have never let me forget what might happen or forgiven what has happened. I am aware at all times just how much they fear me and what I can do. I do not want that for you.”

Darcy tilted her head back, staring up at the ceiling as she thought. Was she willing to do this? Her mind flashed back to the hand around her throat and the immediate decision Laurie had made to save her. The high cost they were still trying to solve. Her arms tightened involuntarily around the other woman, the decision almost as swift as the doctor's instincts had been on that fateful day. "Of course I will," she replied, eyes locked with Laurie's. "I can't profess to know what you went through before. But as long as I've been here... it's never been your control over your powers that have been the problem. Punishing you for things that happened before? That's not fair to you." She took a deep breath, calm resolve settling over her. "If they get upset that we had a problem and brought it to them, then I will take the punishment and the grudging help we're given, and I'll figure out how to help you myself."

Laurie turned in Darcy’s arms and settled her remaining hand gently on her friend’s face. Laurie watched her intently for a moment, thumb stroking almost absently.

“I need to know this isn’t out of some misplaced sense of guilt. You can’t do this because of something I chose to do. You weren’t the one who forced that choice.”

Darcy leaned into the touch. "If I'd reacted better, this might not have happened. Or at least, might not have been as severe. I'll always carry a little bit of guilt for my snap decisions causing you harm, babe." Her hands had followed Laurie as she moved around, one resting low on her back in a loose hold. "But you're my people now. You're an asshole to the others sometimes, and I'm still going to call you out on that when you start it, but you're also smart and surprisingly patient with me when I need you to break down what you're doing in small words. You told me as soon as you noticed when you could've gotten a manicure in the city and hidden it. I understand why you're worried to tell others, and... ugh, unfortunately, I share your concerns? So please, please let me take the heat for this one, babe." She nuzzled her face into Laurie's hand, pressing a kiss into her palm. "You and I both know my curiosity would've gotten the best of me eventually. We're just pushing up the timeline."

"Speaking of insatiable curiosity," Laurie replied softly, curling her hand for a moment around the kiss that Darcy had lain there. "You and I. We've gotten close lately, closer than I've let people in a long time without leaving."

"I'm persistent like that," Darcy agreed with a quiet laugh. "Once I decide I want you as one of my people, I'm pretty relentless in pursuit. Which. Thanks, for not just leaving. But is that because you don't want to, or because I'm useful and can handle you at your meanest and most blunt?"

“I won’t lie to you,” Laurie said, her hand back to resting in Darcy’s. “At first it was because you were useful. But then, you were you and how could I ever resist?”

"I don't mind that I started out useful. We were only casually friendly. My guilt and usefulness, our trauma bonding." Darcy squeezed Laurie's hand. "Glad my doggedness paid off and landed me a good friend, even if I still hate the whys of it. Then again, I might've let people who've been here longer inform my opinions instead, and completely missed out if this hadn't happened. Only see what you surface project at people, which can admittedly be unfriendly." She shrugged, lightly jostling Laurie in her spot. "We'll probably never know because I chose this path. Chose to stay by you and help when I could've foisted your care off on Jean or Amelia. And you've been choosing me too, letting me get to know you, trusting me when I say I'm not scared to touch you. Literally trusting me enough tonight, with this news."

“Thank you for not freaking out on me.” Laurie’s hand curled around Darcy’s and tugged at her lightly.

“I liked what happened after the Gala.”

Darcy's smile curved into more of a smirk. "I'm glad to hear that. I enjoyed getting to kiss and touch you. Did having Namor as a buffer help?"

“I can’t say I didn’t enjoy his enthusiastic and skilled attention but I would never need a man as a buffer with you.” Laurie stood from her embrace and gave her a rather pointed look.

“I am quite happy to prove that to you should you be doubting your attractiveness.”

"Well, don't let anyone say that I'm slow to catch a hint," Darcy replied, standing and pulling Laurie into a long kiss.

The night passed in a haze, soft hands, eager mouths, low laughter, and gasping, breathy moans as the two explored this new facet of their relationship. Pushing and pulling, at turns both demanding and pliant. A clearer memory, Darcy's voice low and insistent as she locked eyes with her.. girlfriend? friend with benefits? and implored "Lo, it's just us. Let go," before heat and pleasure and want roared through her brain and drowned logical thought out.

They woke up tangled together, and Darcy's laugh was a little hysterical as she took in the pale purple flush over Laurie's body. "Lo, babe... I don't think we need a cover story anymore." A vague memory of the night had her face scrunching up as she admitted, "I don't think you're the only one that had a slip, either." Her gut was sour at the thought, and she resolved to bump working on her control to the front of her task lists. "I'll uh... try not to look you in the eye when I'm asking something until I get that looked at?" She scrubbed at her eyes, "Least we won't have to invent a lie now. I hate having to do that to people I like and respect."

“That is not something you ever have to apologize for or worry about with me,” Laurie said with a smile, lazily reaching to stroke her hand down Darcy’s naked shoulder. “I have a favor to ask if you’re willing.”

"What is it?" Darcy asked, leaning into the touch. "I'll probably say yes because you've never asked me to do something completely unreasonable."

“I need you to ask Topaz if you can enter Avalon,” Laurie replied, continuing to lazily stroke Darcy’s skin. “I don’t know if it will be useful, but if we can find something to use for life energy or something to help with my issue, it will be worth the effort.”

"Oh yeah, no problem. Don't get your hopes up, because my understanding of magic is that it is... finicky, at nicest." Her mind was flipping over what she remembered of the catalog files for Avalon and drawing a blank on anything that would be useful. "You might have to wait until the tech can catch up a bit more." She tugged Laurie a little closer, enjoying the feel of skin on skin. "So... Jean or Amelia, for admitting that I had a slip-up and caused you to have one as well?" Darcy was already rewriting the narrative in her head. She wouldn't lie, at least not outright, but making it look more like she was having the problem was fine, especially after the chat with Kevin.

“Amelia, she doesn’t know us as well as Jean does, and she’s not a telepath who can tell when you’re not being one hundred percent truthful.”

Laurie scooched over and nestled her head against Darcy’s shoulder, breathing her in with a sigh.

“Are you sure about this? They already think I’m a monster, it won’t bother me any more than it already does.”

"It bothers me," Darcy's voice was firm. "It bothers me for all of the same reasons it bothered me before I was allowed to touch you, and it bothers me just as much now even though I can hold you when you're upset." She gave Laurie a gentle kiss on the forehead, wrapping her up in an embrace before adding quietly, "You're not a monster, Lo. Please let me do this small thing to try and protect you."

"Okay, I'll let you do this, for you." Laurie smiled and turned over to pull the pillow Darcy had been sleeping on closer to her face, enjoying the feeling of peace for at least a moment more. "Wake me when you get back?"

Darcy grabbed her phone, groaning at the time. "It's early. Let's enjoy the quiet for a bit before we deal with the fallout."