Laurie & Darcy | Inconvenient Questions
Nov. 9th, 2021 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_darcy posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsDarcy asks Laurie some inconvenient questions about her new treatment. (backdated)
Content Warning: Mental manipulation, consensual but non-ethical use of powers resembling drug use/abuse
"Hey, babe." Darcy draped her arms around Laurie's shoulders from her place behind the blonde's chair, face buried in the soft locks as she let out a sigh. "So glad we've finally got some time together outside of sleeping. Have I thanked you for helping me sleep? Sleeping well those nights makes the nightmares on other nights and Doug barely talking to me more bearable."
“What happened?”
Laurie had admittedly been far too busy recently to pay much attention to the mansion goings-on beyond what Darcy informed her of, and what she caught on the nights she was home. Still, she hadn’t realized Darcy and Doug were having an issue.
“Is it something I can help with?”
Darcy let out a sigh. "I don't think so. He offered to come to check on me the night Topaz disappeared, but after I said I'd be going to yours once you got home he stopped answering my texts." She let go of Laurie, shrugging as she rolled her own chair over and took a seat. "I know it's hard--They've been friends so long, and I'm sure he was helping Marie-Ange and Amanda too, at minimum. It just hurts to feel so easily dismissed. And maybe it's my fault a little too, being a coward instead of aggressively chasing him down for answers I might not like."
Laurie turned her seat around to face Darcy, reaching out to clasp her hand. She gave her a serious look, mixed with fondness.
“Doug is bad at using his words on things he actually cares about. You’re going to need to press him.”
Darcy squeezed Laurie's hand gratefully. "I was afraid you might say that. I will if he doesn't come to me. If it comes to it I'd rather our friendship be salvageable. Now. Tell me about Madripoor and this new treatment. You've been light on the details, even with me."
“Madripoor was an interesting place to visit.” Laurie prevaricated, continuing to hold Darcy’s hand. “And it’s very boring information. We’ve mostly been mapping my nerves and assessing the damage so far. There are a few avenues they want to try but they’re going slow in order to narrow any possibility of mistakes.”
"Sounds good," Darcy said lightly. "You don't have to give me the intricate medical details, but tell me about the group doing it. Your doctors. Friends you're making in the physio." She rubbed over Laurie's knuckles with a soothing thumb. "Let me make sure none of it's on our threat radar, babe. Then if someone decides to pry I can turn them away while maintaining your privacy."
“Of course.” Laurie smiled at her girlfriend, squeezing her hand as she leaned sideways to brush her lips against Darcy’s in a casual show of affection. “Maybe you could get us a cup of tea first?”
It was a small turn of phrase, something said casually but with certain pheromones and the knowledge Laurie had learned of hypnotism, it triggered the suggestion she’d planted in Darcy’s brain weeks ago.
That suggestion, of course, was to listen to Laurie and to remember only what she wanted her to remember.
“Now. You’ll get us tea, and when you come back, you’ll believe I’ve told you all about who I’m seeing, and what we’re doing. You’ll even write down the name of a company you helped me find. A little less than ethical at times, but cutting edge in gene therapies. You’ll feel satisfied with my answers and you won’t dig beyond the surface because you didn’t find anything worth digging for.”
Darcy's brow furrowed, and she shook her head lightly as she stood on slightly unsteady feet. "How's the pomegranate white sound? Lower caf since it's getting late, but not my sleep blend."
“That sounds wonderful.”
Laurie relaxed back, glad that Darcy seemed fine. She hadn’t quite known if the suggestion she’d planted would work when it came down to it. It had been a calculated risk, but better that than trying to manage an entire mansion worth of bad opinions and dramatic bullshit over working with Essex.
Darcy rubbed her forehead as she waited on the tea to steep, annoyed that she was getting so many stress headaches recently, and then more annoyed when she realized she could just ask Laurie for advice. She gathered their tea and walked back, sliding back into her chair with a sigh as she handed Laurie her mug. "Alright, I'll do some checking. I'm sure the place is... well, legit enough, but you know training and now Halloween has me a little paranoid."
“I understand,” Laurie murmured, giving Darcy a look of concern as she accepted the mug. “Another headache?”
"Yeah. Anxious stress and not sleeping well, probably," Darcy replied quietly. "I should probably talk to a professional. If my brain isn't producing serotonin right then maybe I need some of the store-bought kind."
“You know you can just ask me to help?” Laurie’s reply was gentle as she placed her mug down. “I understand if that would be uncomfortable, of course, but I’m more than happy to do whatever you need.”
She didn’t mention that it would also give her an easy way to explain the fact of the usage of her powers should anyone ask. Helping out her girlfriend was the perfect cover for anything else she might do.
Darcy reached out, squeezing Laurie's fingers with her free hand as she took a long sip of tea. "I don't want you to think I'm just sticking around for your powers. And I should probably talk to a professional in the know to unburden a little, at least." She gave Laurie a cheeky grin. "If you really don't mind though.. I'd love being a little more even-keeled, and you're more precise than anything I could get from an orange bottle."
“Of course, love,” Laurie replied, reaching up to run her fingers across Darcy’s cheek. “If it helps, then you should definitely see someone, and until then I’ll help with this.”
Darcy turned, brushing her lips over Laurie's fingertips. "You won't ever make me uncomfortable by offering to help. I know what you're capable of could be terrifying, but I trust you to respect my boundaries. Better topics though! You've been more tired but relaxed after physio lately. New treatment giving you a good workout?"
"I met a friend, actually. I've been helping him come to terms with everything."
Laurie let the words hang in the air, turning back briefly to dictate an observation into her speech-to-text translator before continuing on. She didn't like to leave her thoughts hanging, too many ideas had been lost that way in the past.
"It helps to have someone else to focus on at times, and we can progress together."
Darcy gave her a bright smile. "I'm glad that you're making new friends outside of here who can understand what you've been through, and that it's helping."
Content Warning: Mental manipulation, consensual but non-ethical use of powers resembling drug use/abuse
"Hey, babe." Darcy draped her arms around Laurie's shoulders from her place behind the blonde's chair, face buried in the soft locks as she let out a sigh. "So glad we've finally got some time together outside of sleeping. Have I thanked you for helping me sleep? Sleeping well those nights makes the nightmares on other nights and Doug barely talking to me more bearable."
“What happened?”
Laurie had admittedly been far too busy recently to pay much attention to the mansion goings-on beyond what Darcy informed her of, and what she caught on the nights she was home. Still, she hadn’t realized Darcy and Doug were having an issue.
“Is it something I can help with?”
Darcy let out a sigh. "I don't think so. He offered to come to check on me the night Topaz disappeared, but after I said I'd be going to yours once you got home he stopped answering my texts." She let go of Laurie, shrugging as she rolled her own chair over and took a seat. "I know it's hard--They've been friends so long, and I'm sure he was helping Marie-Ange and Amanda too, at minimum. It just hurts to feel so easily dismissed. And maybe it's my fault a little too, being a coward instead of aggressively chasing him down for answers I might not like."
Laurie turned her seat around to face Darcy, reaching out to clasp her hand. She gave her a serious look, mixed with fondness.
“Doug is bad at using his words on things he actually cares about. You’re going to need to press him.”
Darcy squeezed Laurie's hand gratefully. "I was afraid you might say that. I will if he doesn't come to me. If it comes to it I'd rather our friendship be salvageable. Now. Tell me about Madripoor and this new treatment. You've been light on the details, even with me."
“Madripoor was an interesting place to visit.” Laurie prevaricated, continuing to hold Darcy’s hand. “And it’s very boring information. We’ve mostly been mapping my nerves and assessing the damage so far. There are a few avenues they want to try but they’re going slow in order to narrow any possibility of mistakes.”
"Sounds good," Darcy said lightly. "You don't have to give me the intricate medical details, but tell me about the group doing it. Your doctors. Friends you're making in the physio." She rubbed over Laurie's knuckles with a soothing thumb. "Let me make sure none of it's on our threat radar, babe. Then if someone decides to pry I can turn them away while maintaining your privacy."
“Of course.” Laurie smiled at her girlfriend, squeezing her hand as she leaned sideways to brush her lips against Darcy’s in a casual show of affection. “Maybe you could get us a cup of tea first?”
It was a small turn of phrase, something said casually but with certain pheromones and the knowledge Laurie had learned of hypnotism, it triggered the suggestion she’d planted in Darcy’s brain weeks ago.
That suggestion, of course, was to listen to Laurie and to remember only what she wanted her to remember.
“Now. You’ll get us tea, and when you come back, you’ll believe I’ve told you all about who I’m seeing, and what we’re doing. You’ll even write down the name of a company you helped me find. A little less than ethical at times, but cutting edge in gene therapies. You’ll feel satisfied with my answers and you won’t dig beyond the surface because you didn’t find anything worth digging for.”
Darcy's brow furrowed, and she shook her head lightly as she stood on slightly unsteady feet. "How's the pomegranate white sound? Lower caf since it's getting late, but not my sleep blend."
“That sounds wonderful.”
Laurie relaxed back, glad that Darcy seemed fine. She hadn’t quite known if the suggestion she’d planted would work when it came down to it. It had been a calculated risk, but better that than trying to manage an entire mansion worth of bad opinions and dramatic bullshit over working with Essex.
Darcy rubbed her forehead as she waited on the tea to steep, annoyed that she was getting so many stress headaches recently, and then more annoyed when she realized she could just ask Laurie for advice. She gathered their tea and walked back, sliding back into her chair with a sigh as she handed Laurie her mug. "Alright, I'll do some checking. I'm sure the place is... well, legit enough, but you know training and now Halloween has me a little paranoid."
“I understand,” Laurie murmured, giving Darcy a look of concern as she accepted the mug. “Another headache?”
"Yeah. Anxious stress and not sleeping well, probably," Darcy replied quietly. "I should probably talk to a professional. If my brain isn't producing serotonin right then maybe I need some of the store-bought kind."
“You know you can just ask me to help?” Laurie’s reply was gentle as she placed her mug down. “I understand if that would be uncomfortable, of course, but I’m more than happy to do whatever you need.”
She didn’t mention that it would also give her an easy way to explain the fact of the usage of her powers should anyone ask. Helping out her girlfriend was the perfect cover for anything else she might do.
Darcy reached out, squeezing Laurie's fingers with her free hand as she took a long sip of tea. "I don't want you to think I'm just sticking around for your powers. And I should probably talk to a professional in the know to unburden a little, at least." She gave Laurie a cheeky grin. "If you really don't mind though.. I'd love being a little more even-keeled, and you're more precise than anything I could get from an orange bottle."
“Of course, love,” Laurie replied, reaching up to run her fingers across Darcy’s cheek. “If it helps, then you should definitely see someone, and until then I’ll help with this.”
Darcy turned, brushing her lips over Laurie's fingertips. "You won't ever make me uncomfortable by offering to help. I know what you're capable of could be terrifying, but I trust you to respect my boundaries. Better topics though! You've been more tired but relaxed after physio lately. New treatment giving you a good workout?"
"I met a friend, actually. I've been helping him come to terms with everything."
Laurie let the words hang in the air, turning back briefly to dictate an observation into her speech-to-text translator before continuing on. She didn't like to leave her thoughts hanging, too many ideas had been lost that way in the past.
"It helps to have someone else to focus on at times, and we can progress together."
Darcy gave her a bright smile. "I'm glad that you're making new friends outside of here who can understand what you've been through, and that it's helping."
