Snow Day - Snow Valley Offices Part 2
Jan. 28th, 2022 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsArtie checks up on Darcy and shares some common experiences.
Artie tapped on the table near Darcy to get her attention and nodded at her in greeting.
"Hell of a way to come back to work," he said, signing quickly once she was looking. "Stuck here with us."
"Worse places — people." Darcy signed back, slightly hesitant. "Some words — not sticking?" She tapped the side of her temple as she finished the signs, speaking at the same time. "Some of the damage went beyond targeted memories, especially around languages? Might have to ask you to slow down or fingerspell something if I can't figure it out." Her fingers moved along the signs she remembered, but there were gaps in signing that she let her voice fill.
Artie winced sympathetically. "We'll work on that later." He was signing more slowly and looked at Darcy carefully. Ah, fuck it. "Do you know that - when I was about 18 - the woman who raised me - not my mother - came back into my life? And she was an empath." He looked away for a moment, staring at the carpet. "Her powers … damaged me.."
"I-shit, Artie." Several things fell into place, and she reached out a cautious hand to touch his elbow. "And she used them on you steadily enough for it to be a problem." Her words were matter of fact, understanding. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"It was a long time ago." He wanted to look away but eye contact mattered in ASL. "I know there are gaps in my memories after the CIA arranged for the Morlocks to be killed. She meant well. She erased my entire childhood, when she sent me to the mansion and I didn't remember it until years later. There are more gaps in memories when I reconnected with her. I don't know what emotions are mine sometimes and what are hers. Wanting to go to the tunnels, hiding, wanting to run when things get bad. That's her." Artie sighed. "There's no reason I should want to go back somewhere where I saw almost everyone I know be killed."
"Time just... dulls it, a little. But it doesn't make it a less shitty thing to go through. Gives you a little distance, maybe." Darcy's hand squeezed the arm of the chair she was in as she leaned forward. "Hiding, running when things are bad.. that's normal, babe. Flight or fight instinct is a weird beast sometimes about what counts as safe. And when you should flee instead of fight, too."
He shrugged. Maybe. "It was a long time ago," Artie replied. Both times. He schooled his expression and said "What you need to understand is that things like this - powers that work on emotion, or hormones, or persuasion - are subtle. You'll do things that you believe are your own idea, and will seem like that but are really --" He broke off. "It's like an avalanche. They push the rocks at the top of the mountain, but everything that comes after that is the result of what they set in motion. It might feel like your choice, but you lost the ability to choose when they started."
"Yeah, there's uh.. there was a reason I didn't train mine beyond y'know. Being mostly safe to be around. Ethical issues, mostly." Her eyes slid to the floor as she rubbed a tired hand across her face, then back up, focused just off to the side of Artie's face. "If I wasn't making direct demands vocally, or forcing eye contact when I did get assertive then I wasn't a danger. And it's a non-issue now." Darcy shrugged. "But I opened that door for her. I thought... well, it doesn't really matter what I thought. I was wrong, obviously, to give her even an inch."
Artie sighed. "Refusing training didn't make you safer. It made you more dangerous. Like a kid with a gun who doesn't know how to shoot. Anyway, whatever. That's gone now. You didn't give her an inch. She manipulated you so you'd let her in and trust her, the same way you work a source until you're all friendly and they're willing to fuck their own mother to help you get what you need. It's just easier with powers."
"If you say so," Darcy replied dryly. The day had been long enough, and she wasn't in the mood to snap at someone else or fight at the moment. A subject change until she could make an exit was probably the smartest route. "Would you like a hug? You told me some fairly awful shit a few minutes ago."
Artie stiffened, almost imperceptibly. Don't fucking touch me. "Sure, if you want to," he offered.
Darcy noted the movement and shook her head in the negative. "No, rather not if you don't actually want it. It's..." she trailed off, not willing to touch the consent issues. "Best to not. You can initiate one, if you ever do. I don't usually mind, obviously." Sometimes she wondered if she was cursed to stomp directly onto the trauma of people she actually wanted to get along with. "Just don't startle me from behind, it's a great way to get injured."
Artie winced. "Ah, sorry. I'm not a big touchy feely person. It's not you or anything."
"Most people aren't as touchy feely as I am, it's why I asked. I'm not gonna get mad at you for setting boundaries dude, that would be shitty." Darcy rolled her eyes at Artie, smiling. "Offer doesn't have an expiration, if you change your mind."
He responded visually, with a facebook like icon.
Darcy tilted her head in confusion, trying to work it out. Friend request? Doomscrolling? "Mm no, don't get it. Too tired to understand, maybe?"
Shrug emoji. Puzzled face. Question mark.
"Yeah, that's about how I'm feeling right now. If you're asking if we're friends, I'd say I wouldn't mind working towards it. We're at least casually friendly, most of the time."
He gave her a wry smile and nodded.
"Friends get VIP access to my blanket forts and my couch." Darcy gave Artie a look that was half challenge, half question. "And snacks."
"I'm in for snacks."
Jubilee delivers some files to Kevin and stops for a chat.
“I feel like I should be making some sort of demand for booze and hookers,” Jubilee noted as she walked into Kevin’s office and laid out the paperwork she’d been working on. She needed to add it to the Beast but she liked to get eyes on her insights considering she was still fairly new at the analysis side of things.
She was getting there, it was just good to have the parachute of a more experienced agent sometimes.
“Or was it Booze and Cigars?”
"See, you get a paycheck to buy yourself all the booze, hookers and cigars you want. That's how a job works. If you'd like to switch to a barter system, I'm sure we can pay you in some mix of candy, grain alcohol and chicken sandwiches." He didn't look up from his screen, but reached out and slid the files she put down in front to peruse in a moment.
“So that’s what those emails were about. Here I thought I was just paid in whatever I can steal off a mark while I’m casing the place.”
Jubilee slid into one of Kevin’s office chairs and got comfortable. She’d mostly finished all the work she’d had, and some of the work she didn’t have for the day, so now she just had endless hours of making a nuisance of herself left to do.
“A regular paycheck just takes all the fun out of it.”
"That does remind me, you need to dial back your little thief sprees. I don't mind you taking a bit off the top, some from the bottom, and a slice from each side during a job, but Interpol is starting to make vague noises about some thefts on your beat." Kevin finally looked up from his screen. "You're an operative first, not a thief. Your job is to leave as small a footprint as possible moving through the world. I need you to get back to that."
“Fine. I’ll dial it back.” Jubilee gave a shrug and curled her legs up so she could lean her chin against her knees. “There’s a couple of possible future threats our reports identified. I’ll need to get someone to take a closer look, or go myself. I think Topaz might be suited once she’s off desk duty though.”
"Hmm...." Kevin said, frowning as he looked through the pages. "Take this one to Colbert. I don't know if Topaz has bounced back from the Avalon thing, but she's been working closer with her. Let her make the call."
“Done. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”
Jubilee settled back deeper into the chair, wondering if Kevin had planned on comfortable office furniture or just taken what was already available. Given that Emma Frost was their benefactor, she couldn’t see her providing anything but the best. She gave him a look, measuring the potential success of her next request.
“Have a drink with me, maybe?”
"You know where the sideboard is. I'll take a bourbon." He motioned, still going through the materials.
Jubilee let a brief smile pass her lips as she lamented her inability to really get across these sorts of things but took a trip to the sideboard anyway, pouring Kevin a bourbon and herself a G&T before heading back to place it in front of him.
She sat back down and took a sip. At least the alcohol was good.
Topaz is still sorting out the magical items and books taken from Avalon when Jubilee stops by.
Nobody let it be said that Jubilee didn’t eventually get into everything if you left her to her own devices for long enough. At least, that would have been said if it hadn’t been for magical wards.
Frankly, she felt they were all cheating but she’d never quite been able to convince Amanda of her point of view in that case. It wasn’t like she was gonna touch anything, she’d learnt her lesson way, way back when they were still in highschool on that front.
But sometimes her inability to get in everywhere just, kinda itched at the back of her head. Like unfinished business. It would serve the magic users right if she died and came back as a ghost because they wouldn’t let her nap in their offices.
“Topaz? You in here somewhere? I’m not gonna get zapped going over the threshold right?”
"Yes and no, in that order," Topaz called back. She was sitting on the floor with four different sets of post-its - blue, yellow, green, and pink - and alternating between scrolling on her phone and writing in a notebook. "What's up?"
“The Sky, ooooor, the roof if we want to get technical,” Jubilee replied, wandering her way in with a curious look around. “So this is where all the stuff from Avalon went. Have you sorted it all yet?”
"More or less. I've got everything shelved based on how much you shouldn't touch it, and I'm adding color coding to that in case anyone forgets." She gestured to the very back wall. "But the worst of it is the shelf furthest back and has the most warding on it. Everything up front is pretty tame. You might lose a hand if you touch the wrong thing, but it's better than dying."
“Note to self, no touchy if like insides on the inside. Gotcha.”
Jubilee came and sat down beside her, eyeing the post it notes curiously.
“Still sorting?”
"Color coding notes now." She grabbed the yellow post it notes to scribble something down. "Yellow is safe with the chance of giving you a minor curse, blue is probably leave it alone, green is let someone who knows more handle it, and pink is if you're close enough to read you're probably already dead."
“Need any help? I’m a pretty mean labeler of things if I do say so myself.”
"Actually that'd be great, my hand is starting to cramp." She tapped her phone screen a few times. "Sent you the list for yellow."
“Excellent!”
Jubilee pulled out her phone and propped it up using the little pull at the back so she’d be able to have her hands free. She actually enjoyed this part of the job, much as others might be surprised. Sure, she couldn’t do it for long without getting some form of the zoomies but that just meant taking a walk across the roofs to get a good cup of coffee and then she’d be back into it.
“If my hair turns purple or I get warts, not a word about it to Amanda, she’ll never let me live it down.”
"My lips are sealed."
Jubilee is on top of the fridge in the break room. Darcy is unperturbed.
Jubilee had so far finished the dedicated drinking hours of her snowed in experience given that her physiology meant she not only got super drunk super fast but also got super sober super fast as well.
One of the many reasons she preferred cocktails, since if she was gonna do alcohol then it should at least not make her want to puke on the first sip.
She’d decided to migrate to the top of the break room fridge, the open plan floor of the office meaning she not only got a view from several directions but it had the added benefit of making her feel taller.
She was currently working on a scarf, her hands moving the crochet hook almost absentmindedly as she watched the rest of her teammates.
“Darce! Welcome to the cool kids side of the office. Come hang out with me while I pretend I’m a cat.”
Darcy blinked up at Jubilee, watching the yarn wrap around the crochet hook for a few moments before shaking her head clear. "Can't be a cat, the yarn's not an attacked mess on the floor," she finally said, opening the door and grabbing one of the small bottles of apple juice she kept stashed. "If you fall asleep up there, I hope you scare the shit out of someone that isn't me."
“Yeah, but now you know I’m up here so you’ll know to check for random co-workers on top of the fridge.”
Jubilee thought her logic impeccable as always, but possibly also the logic of someone who had not quite enough sleep in the last 48.
“That made total sense in my head.”
"Spend the night playing instead of sleeping?" Darcy asked, head tilted thoughtfully as she let her mind wiggle around Jubilee's particular brand of logic. "Does teach me to check high spaces for coworkers. Barton being gone so long made me lazy about it."
“Probably sleep at some point.” Jubilee said with a soft sigh and a shrug. “It’s hard to feel safe.”
You would think a building full of spies would be the least safe feeling place in the world but honesty amongst her coworkers was one of the few places Jubilee had always slept like a baby. It’s why she could so often be found napping in several people’s offices or on one memorable occasion, under Kevin’s desk. She couldn’t quite remember the reason for that one, only that it had happened after a very long international flight and an inability to keep her eyes open long enough to make it back to the mansion.
"Why I prefer having another human in bed right now," Darcy agreed. "If you don't mind blankets and cuddling, my bed's generally open to friends. Or couch, if you want someone close but not right in your space."
“I mean, I wouldn’t say no but Doug gets a little awkward sometimes since we used to date.”
Jubilee continued with her crochet as she looked down at Darcy, the movement of her fingers enough to drain the usual energy she carried around one hundred percent of the time.
“I got a bit intense on the poor guy back in the day.”
Darcy gave her an easy grin. "Offer's still open. He sleeps in his own bed some nights, but I don't mind asking him if it's okay to have another person cuddling with us sometimes, either. I enjoy curling up platonically with my friends. Should've been a cat."
“Good to know, especially since I enjoy being platonically cuddled,”
Jubilee pondered the crochet she’d been doing before silently finishing it off and tossing it to Darcy. It was a small scarf, nothing particularly intricate but the fabric was soft and the colors soothing.
“To keep you warm.”
Darcy caught the bit of material with one hand, rubbing her fingertips over the material before draping it carefully around her neck. "A good addition to my collection. Thanks babe." She gave Jubilee a soft smile. "You want anything out of the fridge while I'm still down here? I'll probably go to bed pretty soon.”
“That’s fine. I’ve got a bottle of wine I liberated from Marie-Ange before calling my name.” Jubilee noted before uncurling her legs to drop down from the fridge with a graceful landing. “But thanks. Also, just so you know? It wasn’t your fuck up, everything that happened. It’s not a fuck up to trust the wrong person. It’s just life.”
The smile on Darcy's face soured into a rather pinched look. "It was part my fuck up. Right there in the debrief for the rest of you to read. Not the trusting, although I'm sure if you did a survey of Xavier's residents that would also be considered at least a bit of a fuck up. But the rest of it." She shrugged. "It's nice of you to say, but I did have a few weeks of actively regretting my life choices and then another few of pulling my actions apart. It wasn't all my blame, but some of it? Definitely on me. Kevin agreed, too, so like. Don't argue.”
“I understand.”
Jubilee touched her on the shoulder briefly, a comforting gesture of sorts, and then walked away.
Delivering bedding to Kevin’s office, Darcy runs into Felicia instead.
Darcy did her usual double knock on Kevin's office door before letting herself in, face partially obscured by a small stack of blankets and pillows. "I know you don't need as much sleep as the rest of us, but--of course you aren't in here right now," she huffed, taking note of the empty desk. The linens got plopped unceremoniously in the chair near his desk, revealing a blanket wrapped form on the couch.
"Shit-" Darcy startled, hand coming up to her chest in reflex. "Sorry Felicia, didn't realize you were in here. Pillow and blankets, if you're going to be in here tonight?"
"I'm not sure still," Felicia admitted, almost on reflex, her bottom lip rolling between her teeth briefly as she realised the honesty. "Sorry, I don't know where he is. Maybe Kirby's? You know, his luck. Snowed in with the most booze possible."
"See I figured he'd drink and work while the rest of us ran around like children at a sleepover," Darcy quipped with a smile. "Eye-rolling and heavy sighs included. Well, if you're thinking about it, you want some help making it comfy? Granted, my idea of that is basically a giant blanket nest."
"That seems a lot more likely," Felicia answered, her lap blanket falling to the floor as she stood. She offered her arms out for a deposit. "Is he hiding in a dark corner somewhere? The only sign his cigarette and the clinking of ice cubes? His loss, he can be angry film noir in the shadows, I'll be very snuggled up on his couch."
The image startled a laugh out of Darcy, and she stayed bent over the bedding for a moment until she had it under control. "I'm sure he'll figure it out," she agreed, handing over a set of sheets. "Do you want more cozy or just enough to be comfortable and warm?" Her hands tugged pillowcases over a set of pillows, setting them aside after to help with the sheets.
"I just came in for a bit of a quiet snooze while finding secret stashes started but before someone found a deck of cards and suggested strip go fish," Felicia said, a quick wrist snap that had the sheet unfurled and caught by Darcy. "I can technically sleep anywhere, which is a secret, don't tell it'd mess with the whole pampered bitch thing I have going, but also. Couch. So cozy I guess?"
"Obviously nothing but the finest for our favorite pampered cat," Darcy agreed with a grin as she helped smooth the sheet into place. "Cozy it is, then. And if you've got other places you might nap, let me know and I'll leave a blanket nearby. Maybe not as nice, but at least something you can cover with or bunch up."
"Oh no, these blankets are mine, I'm going to wear them wherever I go, like the spring summer 2021 couture obsession with capes, layered and kind of ridiculous, but making it work. Bonus, instant napability," Felicia replied easily, settling down. It took her moment, but she finally lay down, momentarily looking as tired as she felt. "I wasn't expecting a tuck in but I'm. Not mad at it."
"Kevin keeps reminding me that I have a team now. This... this is a thing I do for my people, so." Darcy admitted quietly as she gathered the few blankets they hadn't used. "If I treat you like my people then one day maybe it'll even be true. Have a good night, Fi."
Some emotion passed over Felicia's face, then disappeared. "Take care, Darcy."
Up on the roof, Jubilee runs into Amanda teleporting back from somewhere.
Jubilee had made it to the roof of the building finally and stood in the small roofed space that seemed to have been at one time a smoking area, although with the laws being what they were now, the ashtrays had been replaced with what looked like potted plants that had seen better days.
She watched the lights of the buildings in the distance, the soft sound of snow falling the only noise as she used the moment to center herself.
“Good spot to teleport into,” she finally said, having sensed Amanda’s appearance behind her. “Less likely to have someone spot you.”
"Smells better than the alley, too," Amanda replied dryly. Despite the whole "no smoking" thing, she was already lighting up. "Too bad I can't. 'port with passengers - it's lovely and warm in Sydney right now."
“Think how much the rats will miss you,” Jubilee quipped, hands firmly in the pockets of her jacket. “I’ll be headed out to the Ukraine once Darcy is settled back in a little better. Need to check on some assets, maybe take Natasha with me. So no summer for me for a while.”
"The rats will just have to cope," Amanda said with a nose wrinkle. "How's Darcy doing, anyway? With all the other stuff with Garrison, I haven't had a chance to really catch up."
“Surprisingly well given everything,” Jubilee replied, eyes still firmly on the lights of New York through the snowfall. “She’s sick of people trying to make her feel better though, doesn’t want to hear about it not being her fault.”
Jubilee hadn’t had a chance to truly examine how she felt over the Garrison situation. She’d mourned him, rather spectacularly, only to now find out he was alive but had been in the clutches of a Demon Lord for this entire time. How did someone come out of that? Was he still the man she’d known?
"Ah, the unhealthy dose of self-blame. No wonder she fits in with us," was Amanda's wry response. "I'll make sure I don't try to make her feel better then."
“I don’t think it’s that so much. I think it’s more that she just wants to own the parts that were mistakes and do better. Could also be having some choice in how things are seen maybe?” Jubilee noted, holding out a hand for the smoke Amanda was currently sucking on. She might have supposedly quit but that didn’t count when it was other people’s smokes. “So we just throw her into training and she’ll come good. How about you? How’s the exhaustion going?”
The witch rolled her eyes and passed over her cigarette. "Eh, it's going. Lots of food, lots of naps... It's a good thing Gar's staying with us - his usual diet is perfect for me with all the protein."
“He up for friendly visitors yet?”
Jubilee took a drag on Amanda’s cigarette and then handed it back. She sighed softly as she breathed out the smoke, aiming it upward toward the snowflakes.
“I’m a bit much for most people even on their best days, wanted to wait till he wasn’t so raw before I came to see him.”
Amanda grimaced at the inadvertent pun. "Really, the best thing would be for you to ask him that yourself. Chuck him an email and see if he's up for company." She put the returned cigarette back to her lips and drew on it. "He'd probably appreciate it."
“I’ll do that.” Jubilee replied as she pulled the leather jacket she was wearing tighter around her to ward off the chill. She glanced over at Amanda. “I’ve got some work for you when you’re done with that, if you’re up for data entry.”
Amanda pulled a face, but nodded as she finished her cigarette and stubbed it out on the railing. "Let's go. 'S too bloody cold out here anyway."
At last, Jubilee winds up with Felicia and finally gets some sleep.
Jubilee plopped down beside Felicia and handed over both snacks and the good bottle of wine she’d pilfered when helping Marie-Ange unpack all the deliveries once she’d returned.
It hadn’t actually been particularly sneaky since Marie-Ange knew she was taking it but po-tay-to, po-ta-to.
“I bring you wine, song and snacks. But mostly just the wine and snacks unless you’ve got a radio.”
Felicia looked at her strangely, taking the bottle of wine cautiously. "You mean... a phone? That also plays music because we're not in a car right now?" she asked, making a face when Jubilee pouted. "Babe, a radio. Just because I pilfer Sydney's couch for my naps doesn't mean I'm not me. Who has all her external batteries charged and a window solar panel situation already running."
Jubilee shook her head and settled more comfortably beside Fi, waving at her to open the bottle. Yes, she could have done the classy thing and got them glasses but where was the fun in that.
“Don’t worry, I got the good, probably I should use glasses stuff but we’re getting in touch with our heathen roots tonight.”
"Godless," Felicia agreed, stabbing square centre with her corkscrew, the chords of the mix she'd pressed play on thrumming low in the room. "We'll tag team it, but thank you for the wine my darling. It's better when I don't actually admit how many stashes I have around here."
“We should see how long it takes Kevin to break if we take over his office,” Jubilee replied, dropping her head to rest against Felicia’s shoulder.
Her friend never asked for affection but Jubilee knew she craved it much in the same way Jubilee did. It was a small way Jubilee could show love, and didn’t take anything, so she always made sure to give Felicia at least some form of physical contact when they were together.
The corner of her mouth lifted, a half smile, as Felicia nuzzled into her hair briefly, a small kiss. "I'm not taking that bet. I somehow always lose," she said. Something struck, but she cleared her throat. "Small flags on his territory he can never comment on are more my style. I'm happy in my stray designation."
“That’s alright, we can be strays together.”
Jubilee took the bottle from Felicia and took a drink before handing it back over. It was comfortable here, and she could feel her eyes getting heavy as she sat and listened to Fi’s playlist.
“You should see the view from the roof. It’s super pretty with the snowfall.”
Felicia pulled her a little closer, letting her curl in. "I'll wake you up for sunrise. Whether you want it or not," she said, a soft jostling as she laughed. "Sleep, sweetheart. I've got you."
Artie tapped on the table near Darcy to get her attention and nodded at her in greeting.
"Hell of a way to come back to work," he said, signing quickly once she was looking. "Stuck here with us."
"Worse places — people." Darcy signed back, slightly hesitant. "Some words — not sticking?" She tapped the side of her temple as she finished the signs, speaking at the same time. "Some of the damage went beyond targeted memories, especially around languages? Might have to ask you to slow down or fingerspell something if I can't figure it out." Her fingers moved along the signs she remembered, but there were gaps in signing that she let her voice fill.
Artie winced sympathetically. "We'll work on that later." He was signing more slowly and looked at Darcy carefully. Ah, fuck it. "Do you know that - when I was about 18 - the woman who raised me - not my mother - came back into my life? And she was an empath." He looked away for a moment, staring at the carpet. "Her powers … damaged me.."
"I-shit, Artie." Several things fell into place, and she reached out a cautious hand to touch his elbow. "And she used them on you steadily enough for it to be a problem." Her words were matter of fact, understanding. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"It was a long time ago." He wanted to look away but eye contact mattered in ASL. "I know there are gaps in my memories after the CIA arranged for the Morlocks to be killed. She meant well. She erased my entire childhood, when she sent me to the mansion and I didn't remember it until years later. There are more gaps in memories when I reconnected with her. I don't know what emotions are mine sometimes and what are hers. Wanting to go to the tunnels, hiding, wanting to run when things get bad. That's her." Artie sighed. "There's no reason I should want to go back somewhere where I saw almost everyone I know be killed."
"Time just... dulls it, a little. But it doesn't make it a less shitty thing to go through. Gives you a little distance, maybe." Darcy's hand squeezed the arm of the chair she was in as she leaned forward. "Hiding, running when things are bad.. that's normal, babe. Flight or fight instinct is a weird beast sometimes about what counts as safe. And when you should flee instead of fight, too."
He shrugged. Maybe. "It was a long time ago," Artie replied. Both times. He schooled his expression and said "What you need to understand is that things like this - powers that work on emotion, or hormones, or persuasion - are subtle. You'll do things that you believe are your own idea, and will seem like that but are really --" He broke off. "It's like an avalanche. They push the rocks at the top of the mountain, but everything that comes after that is the result of what they set in motion. It might feel like your choice, but you lost the ability to choose when they started."
"Yeah, there's uh.. there was a reason I didn't train mine beyond y'know. Being mostly safe to be around. Ethical issues, mostly." Her eyes slid to the floor as she rubbed a tired hand across her face, then back up, focused just off to the side of Artie's face. "If I wasn't making direct demands vocally, or forcing eye contact when I did get assertive then I wasn't a danger. And it's a non-issue now." Darcy shrugged. "But I opened that door for her. I thought... well, it doesn't really matter what I thought. I was wrong, obviously, to give her even an inch."
Artie sighed. "Refusing training didn't make you safer. It made you more dangerous. Like a kid with a gun who doesn't know how to shoot. Anyway, whatever. That's gone now. You didn't give her an inch. She manipulated you so you'd let her in and trust her, the same way you work a source until you're all friendly and they're willing to fuck their own mother to help you get what you need. It's just easier with powers."
"If you say so," Darcy replied dryly. The day had been long enough, and she wasn't in the mood to snap at someone else or fight at the moment. A subject change until she could make an exit was probably the smartest route. "Would you like a hug? You told me some fairly awful shit a few minutes ago."
Artie stiffened, almost imperceptibly. Don't fucking touch me. "Sure, if you want to," he offered.
Darcy noted the movement and shook her head in the negative. "No, rather not if you don't actually want it. It's..." she trailed off, not willing to touch the consent issues. "Best to not. You can initiate one, if you ever do. I don't usually mind, obviously." Sometimes she wondered if she was cursed to stomp directly onto the trauma of people she actually wanted to get along with. "Just don't startle me from behind, it's a great way to get injured."
Artie winced. "Ah, sorry. I'm not a big touchy feely person. It's not you or anything."
"Most people aren't as touchy feely as I am, it's why I asked. I'm not gonna get mad at you for setting boundaries dude, that would be shitty." Darcy rolled her eyes at Artie, smiling. "Offer doesn't have an expiration, if you change your mind."
He responded visually, with a facebook like icon.
Darcy tilted her head in confusion, trying to work it out. Friend request? Doomscrolling? "Mm no, don't get it. Too tired to understand, maybe?"
Shrug emoji. Puzzled face. Question mark.
"Yeah, that's about how I'm feeling right now. If you're asking if we're friends, I'd say I wouldn't mind working towards it. We're at least casually friendly, most of the time."
He gave her a wry smile and nodded.
"Friends get VIP access to my blanket forts and my couch." Darcy gave Artie a look that was half challenge, half question. "And snacks."
"I'm in for snacks."
Jubilee delivers some files to Kevin and stops for a chat.
“I feel like I should be making some sort of demand for booze and hookers,” Jubilee noted as she walked into Kevin’s office and laid out the paperwork she’d been working on. She needed to add it to the Beast but she liked to get eyes on her insights considering she was still fairly new at the analysis side of things.
She was getting there, it was just good to have the parachute of a more experienced agent sometimes.
“Or was it Booze and Cigars?”
"See, you get a paycheck to buy yourself all the booze, hookers and cigars you want. That's how a job works. If you'd like to switch to a barter system, I'm sure we can pay you in some mix of candy, grain alcohol and chicken sandwiches." He didn't look up from his screen, but reached out and slid the files she put down in front to peruse in a moment.
“So that’s what those emails were about. Here I thought I was just paid in whatever I can steal off a mark while I’m casing the place.”
Jubilee slid into one of Kevin’s office chairs and got comfortable. She’d mostly finished all the work she’d had, and some of the work she didn’t have for the day, so now she just had endless hours of making a nuisance of herself left to do.
“A regular paycheck just takes all the fun out of it.”
"That does remind me, you need to dial back your little thief sprees. I don't mind you taking a bit off the top, some from the bottom, and a slice from each side during a job, but Interpol is starting to make vague noises about some thefts on your beat." Kevin finally looked up from his screen. "You're an operative first, not a thief. Your job is to leave as small a footprint as possible moving through the world. I need you to get back to that."
“Fine. I’ll dial it back.” Jubilee gave a shrug and curled her legs up so she could lean her chin against her knees. “There’s a couple of possible future threats our reports identified. I’ll need to get someone to take a closer look, or go myself. I think Topaz might be suited once she’s off desk duty though.”
"Hmm...." Kevin said, frowning as he looked through the pages. "Take this one to Colbert. I don't know if Topaz has bounced back from the Avalon thing, but she's been working closer with her. Let her make the call."
“Done. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”
Jubilee settled back deeper into the chair, wondering if Kevin had planned on comfortable office furniture or just taken what was already available. Given that Emma Frost was their benefactor, she couldn’t see her providing anything but the best. She gave him a look, measuring the potential success of her next request.
“Have a drink with me, maybe?”
"You know where the sideboard is. I'll take a bourbon." He motioned, still going through the materials.
Jubilee let a brief smile pass her lips as she lamented her inability to really get across these sorts of things but took a trip to the sideboard anyway, pouring Kevin a bourbon and herself a G&T before heading back to place it in front of him.
She sat back down and took a sip. At least the alcohol was good.
Topaz is still sorting out the magical items and books taken from Avalon when Jubilee stops by.
Nobody let it be said that Jubilee didn’t eventually get into everything if you left her to her own devices for long enough. At least, that would have been said if it hadn’t been for magical wards.
Frankly, she felt they were all cheating but she’d never quite been able to convince Amanda of her point of view in that case. It wasn’t like she was gonna touch anything, she’d learnt her lesson way, way back when they were still in highschool on that front.
But sometimes her inability to get in everywhere just, kinda itched at the back of her head. Like unfinished business. It would serve the magic users right if she died and came back as a ghost because they wouldn’t let her nap in their offices.
“Topaz? You in here somewhere? I’m not gonna get zapped going over the threshold right?”
"Yes and no, in that order," Topaz called back. She was sitting on the floor with four different sets of post-its - blue, yellow, green, and pink - and alternating between scrolling on her phone and writing in a notebook. "What's up?"
“The Sky, ooooor, the roof if we want to get technical,” Jubilee replied, wandering her way in with a curious look around. “So this is where all the stuff from Avalon went. Have you sorted it all yet?”
"More or less. I've got everything shelved based on how much you shouldn't touch it, and I'm adding color coding to that in case anyone forgets." She gestured to the very back wall. "But the worst of it is the shelf furthest back and has the most warding on it. Everything up front is pretty tame. You might lose a hand if you touch the wrong thing, but it's better than dying."
“Note to self, no touchy if like insides on the inside. Gotcha.”
Jubilee came and sat down beside her, eyeing the post it notes curiously.
“Still sorting?”
"Color coding notes now." She grabbed the yellow post it notes to scribble something down. "Yellow is safe with the chance of giving you a minor curse, blue is probably leave it alone, green is let someone who knows more handle it, and pink is if you're close enough to read you're probably already dead."
“Need any help? I’m a pretty mean labeler of things if I do say so myself.”
"Actually that'd be great, my hand is starting to cramp." She tapped her phone screen a few times. "Sent you the list for yellow."
“Excellent!”
Jubilee pulled out her phone and propped it up using the little pull at the back so she’d be able to have her hands free. She actually enjoyed this part of the job, much as others might be surprised. Sure, she couldn’t do it for long without getting some form of the zoomies but that just meant taking a walk across the roofs to get a good cup of coffee and then she’d be back into it.
“If my hair turns purple or I get warts, not a word about it to Amanda, she’ll never let me live it down.”
"My lips are sealed."
Jubilee is on top of the fridge in the break room. Darcy is unperturbed.
Jubilee had so far finished the dedicated drinking hours of her snowed in experience given that her physiology meant she not only got super drunk super fast but also got super sober super fast as well.
One of the many reasons she preferred cocktails, since if she was gonna do alcohol then it should at least not make her want to puke on the first sip.
She’d decided to migrate to the top of the break room fridge, the open plan floor of the office meaning she not only got a view from several directions but it had the added benefit of making her feel taller.
She was currently working on a scarf, her hands moving the crochet hook almost absentmindedly as she watched the rest of her teammates.
“Darce! Welcome to the cool kids side of the office. Come hang out with me while I pretend I’m a cat.”
Darcy blinked up at Jubilee, watching the yarn wrap around the crochet hook for a few moments before shaking her head clear. "Can't be a cat, the yarn's not an attacked mess on the floor," she finally said, opening the door and grabbing one of the small bottles of apple juice she kept stashed. "If you fall asleep up there, I hope you scare the shit out of someone that isn't me."
“Yeah, but now you know I’m up here so you’ll know to check for random co-workers on top of the fridge.”
Jubilee thought her logic impeccable as always, but possibly also the logic of someone who had not quite enough sleep in the last 48.
“That made total sense in my head.”
"Spend the night playing instead of sleeping?" Darcy asked, head tilted thoughtfully as she let her mind wiggle around Jubilee's particular brand of logic. "Does teach me to check high spaces for coworkers. Barton being gone so long made me lazy about it."
“Probably sleep at some point.” Jubilee said with a soft sigh and a shrug. “It’s hard to feel safe.”
You would think a building full of spies would be the least safe feeling place in the world but honesty amongst her coworkers was one of the few places Jubilee had always slept like a baby. It’s why she could so often be found napping in several people’s offices or on one memorable occasion, under Kevin’s desk. She couldn’t quite remember the reason for that one, only that it had happened after a very long international flight and an inability to keep her eyes open long enough to make it back to the mansion.
"Why I prefer having another human in bed right now," Darcy agreed. "If you don't mind blankets and cuddling, my bed's generally open to friends. Or couch, if you want someone close but not right in your space."
“I mean, I wouldn’t say no but Doug gets a little awkward sometimes since we used to date.”
Jubilee continued with her crochet as she looked down at Darcy, the movement of her fingers enough to drain the usual energy she carried around one hundred percent of the time.
“I got a bit intense on the poor guy back in the day.”
Darcy gave her an easy grin. "Offer's still open. He sleeps in his own bed some nights, but I don't mind asking him if it's okay to have another person cuddling with us sometimes, either. I enjoy curling up platonically with my friends. Should've been a cat."
“Good to know, especially since I enjoy being platonically cuddled,”
Jubilee pondered the crochet she’d been doing before silently finishing it off and tossing it to Darcy. It was a small scarf, nothing particularly intricate but the fabric was soft and the colors soothing.
“To keep you warm.”
Darcy caught the bit of material with one hand, rubbing her fingertips over the material before draping it carefully around her neck. "A good addition to my collection. Thanks babe." She gave Jubilee a soft smile. "You want anything out of the fridge while I'm still down here? I'll probably go to bed pretty soon.”
“That’s fine. I’ve got a bottle of wine I liberated from Marie-Ange before calling my name.” Jubilee noted before uncurling her legs to drop down from the fridge with a graceful landing. “But thanks. Also, just so you know? It wasn’t your fuck up, everything that happened. It’s not a fuck up to trust the wrong person. It’s just life.”
The smile on Darcy's face soured into a rather pinched look. "It was part my fuck up. Right there in the debrief for the rest of you to read. Not the trusting, although I'm sure if you did a survey of Xavier's residents that would also be considered at least a bit of a fuck up. But the rest of it." She shrugged. "It's nice of you to say, but I did have a few weeks of actively regretting my life choices and then another few of pulling my actions apart. It wasn't all my blame, but some of it? Definitely on me. Kevin agreed, too, so like. Don't argue.”
“I understand.”
Jubilee touched her on the shoulder briefly, a comforting gesture of sorts, and then walked away.
Delivering bedding to Kevin’s office, Darcy runs into Felicia instead.
Darcy did her usual double knock on Kevin's office door before letting herself in, face partially obscured by a small stack of blankets and pillows. "I know you don't need as much sleep as the rest of us, but--of course you aren't in here right now," she huffed, taking note of the empty desk. The linens got plopped unceremoniously in the chair near his desk, revealing a blanket wrapped form on the couch.
"Shit-" Darcy startled, hand coming up to her chest in reflex. "Sorry Felicia, didn't realize you were in here. Pillow and blankets, if you're going to be in here tonight?"
"I'm not sure still," Felicia admitted, almost on reflex, her bottom lip rolling between her teeth briefly as she realised the honesty. "Sorry, I don't know where he is. Maybe Kirby's? You know, his luck. Snowed in with the most booze possible."
"See I figured he'd drink and work while the rest of us ran around like children at a sleepover," Darcy quipped with a smile. "Eye-rolling and heavy sighs included. Well, if you're thinking about it, you want some help making it comfy? Granted, my idea of that is basically a giant blanket nest."
"That seems a lot more likely," Felicia answered, her lap blanket falling to the floor as she stood. She offered her arms out for a deposit. "Is he hiding in a dark corner somewhere? The only sign his cigarette and the clinking of ice cubes? His loss, he can be angry film noir in the shadows, I'll be very snuggled up on his couch."
The image startled a laugh out of Darcy, and she stayed bent over the bedding for a moment until she had it under control. "I'm sure he'll figure it out," she agreed, handing over a set of sheets. "Do you want more cozy or just enough to be comfortable and warm?" Her hands tugged pillowcases over a set of pillows, setting them aside after to help with the sheets.
"I just came in for a bit of a quiet snooze while finding secret stashes started but before someone found a deck of cards and suggested strip go fish," Felicia said, a quick wrist snap that had the sheet unfurled and caught by Darcy. "I can technically sleep anywhere, which is a secret, don't tell it'd mess with the whole pampered bitch thing I have going, but also. Couch. So cozy I guess?"
"Obviously nothing but the finest for our favorite pampered cat," Darcy agreed with a grin as she helped smooth the sheet into place. "Cozy it is, then. And if you've got other places you might nap, let me know and I'll leave a blanket nearby. Maybe not as nice, but at least something you can cover with or bunch up."
"Oh no, these blankets are mine, I'm going to wear them wherever I go, like the spring summer 2021 couture obsession with capes, layered and kind of ridiculous, but making it work. Bonus, instant napability," Felicia replied easily, settling down. It took her moment, but she finally lay down, momentarily looking as tired as she felt. "I wasn't expecting a tuck in but I'm. Not mad at it."
"Kevin keeps reminding me that I have a team now. This... this is a thing I do for my people, so." Darcy admitted quietly as she gathered the few blankets they hadn't used. "If I treat you like my people then one day maybe it'll even be true. Have a good night, Fi."
Some emotion passed over Felicia's face, then disappeared. "Take care, Darcy."
Up on the roof, Jubilee runs into Amanda teleporting back from somewhere.
Jubilee had made it to the roof of the building finally and stood in the small roofed space that seemed to have been at one time a smoking area, although with the laws being what they were now, the ashtrays had been replaced with what looked like potted plants that had seen better days.
She watched the lights of the buildings in the distance, the soft sound of snow falling the only noise as she used the moment to center herself.
“Good spot to teleport into,” she finally said, having sensed Amanda’s appearance behind her. “Less likely to have someone spot you.”
"Smells better than the alley, too," Amanda replied dryly. Despite the whole "no smoking" thing, she was already lighting up. "Too bad I can't. 'port with passengers - it's lovely and warm in Sydney right now."
“Think how much the rats will miss you,” Jubilee quipped, hands firmly in the pockets of her jacket. “I’ll be headed out to the Ukraine once Darcy is settled back in a little better. Need to check on some assets, maybe take Natasha with me. So no summer for me for a while.”
"The rats will just have to cope," Amanda said with a nose wrinkle. "How's Darcy doing, anyway? With all the other stuff with Garrison, I haven't had a chance to really catch up."
“Surprisingly well given everything,” Jubilee replied, eyes still firmly on the lights of New York through the snowfall. “She’s sick of people trying to make her feel better though, doesn’t want to hear about it not being her fault.”
Jubilee hadn’t had a chance to truly examine how she felt over the Garrison situation. She’d mourned him, rather spectacularly, only to now find out he was alive but had been in the clutches of a Demon Lord for this entire time. How did someone come out of that? Was he still the man she’d known?
"Ah, the unhealthy dose of self-blame. No wonder she fits in with us," was Amanda's wry response. "I'll make sure I don't try to make her feel better then."
“I don’t think it’s that so much. I think it’s more that she just wants to own the parts that were mistakes and do better. Could also be having some choice in how things are seen maybe?” Jubilee noted, holding out a hand for the smoke Amanda was currently sucking on. She might have supposedly quit but that didn’t count when it was other people’s smokes. “So we just throw her into training and she’ll come good. How about you? How’s the exhaustion going?”
The witch rolled her eyes and passed over her cigarette. "Eh, it's going. Lots of food, lots of naps... It's a good thing Gar's staying with us - his usual diet is perfect for me with all the protein."
“He up for friendly visitors yet?”
Jubilee took a drag on Amanda’s cigarette and then handed it back. She sighed softly as she breathed out the smoke, aiming it upward toward the snowflakes.
“I’m a bit much for most people even on their best days, wanted to wait till he wasn’t so raw before I came to see him.”
Amanda grimaced at the inadvertent pun. "Really, the best thing would be for you to ask him that yourself. Chuck him an email and see if he's up for company." She put the returned cigarette back to her lips and drew on it. "He'd probably appreciate it."
“I’ll do that.” Jubilee replied as she pulled the leather jacket she was wearing tighter around her to ward off the chill. She glanced over at Amanda. “I’ve got some work for you when you’re done with that, if you’re up for data entry.”
Amanda pulled a face, but nodded as she finished her cigarette and stubbed it out on the railing. "Let's go. 'S too bloody cold out here anyway."
At last, Jubilee winds up with Felicia and finally gets some sleep.
Jubilee plopped down beside Felicia and handed over both snacks and the good bottle of wine she’d pilfered when helping Marie-Ange unpack all the deliveries once she’d returned.
It hadn’t actually been particularly sneaky since Marie-Ange knew she was taking it but po-tay-to, po-ta-to.
“I bring you wine, song and snacks. But mostly just the wine and snacks unless you’ve got a radio.”
Felicia looked at her strangely, taking the bottle of wine cautiously. "You mean... a phone? That also plays music because we're not in a car right now?" she asked, making a face when Jubilee pouted. "Babe, a radio. Just because I pilfer Sydney's couch for my naps doesn't mean I'm not me. Who has all her external batteries charged and a window solar panel situation already running."
Jubilee shook her head and settled more comfortably beside Fi, waving at her to open the bottle. Yes, she could have done the classy thing and got them glasses but where was the fun in that.
“Don’t worry, I got the good, probably I should use glasses stuff but we’re getting in touch with our heathen roots tonight.”
"Godless," Felicia agreed, stabbing square centre with her corkscrew, the chords of the mix she'd pressed play on thrumming low in the room. "We'll tag team it, but thank you for the wine my darling. It's better when I don't actually admit how many stashes I have around here."
“We should see how long it takes Kevin to break if we take over his office,” Jubilee replied, dropping her head to rest against Felicia’s shoulder.
Her friend never asked for affection but Jubilee knew she craved it much in the same way Jubilee did. It was a small way Jubilee could show love, and didn’t take anything, so she always made sure to give Felicia at least some form of physical contact when they were together.
The corner of her mouth lifted, a half smile, as Felicia nuzzled into her hair briefly, a small kiss. "I'm not taking that bet. I somehow always lose," she said. Something struck, but she cleared her throat. "Small flags on his territory he can never comment on are more my style. I'm happy in my stray designation."
“That’s alright, we can be strays together.”
Jubilee took the bottle from Felicia and took a drink before handing it back over. It was comfortable here, and she could feel her eyes getting heavy as she sat and listened to Fi’s playlist.
“You should see the view from the roof. It’s super pretty with the snowfall.”
Felicia pulled her a little closer, letting her curl in. "I'll wake you up for sunrise. Whether you want it or not," she said, a soft jostling as she laughed. "Sleep, sweetheart. I've got you."
