Maya & Darcy | Late Summer Sun
Sep. 8th, 2022 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs(backdated) Maya and Darcy take advantage of a late summer afternoon to catch up and talk about guys.
It was a nice afternoon and Darcy had decided to head home early after a short string of late nights or early mornings. She sent Maya a text once she was back at Xavier's, verifying that the other woman was available and interested in snacks and catching up, then made a quick detour to her room for a change of clothes and a bottle of wine before hitting up the kitchen for snacks. She fully intended to indulge a little, and several brownies she'd made earlier in the week made their way into the soft cooler, along with freshly cut fruits, the wine, and two glasses that probably weren't ideal for wine, but also weren't delicate enough to get smashed if they got jostled.
Ever present phone in hand, she shot Maya another text with their meeting location and moved across the grounds, settling on one of the loungers on the far side of the pool. She tipped her face back into the sun as she waited, letting out a sigh of satisfaction as the sun's rays warmed her skin.
“Long week?”
Maya settled into the lounger beside Darcy, flicking off her flip-flops so she could curl her legs under her. She’d donned a one-piece so she could go swimming later but for now, she was content to get her dose of vitamin D.
"A few of them, but hopefully we'll have a little bit of a reprieve in a week or two," Darcy agreed, turning slightly and opening her eyes to take Maya in. "I haven't met him yet, but how's it been having an old family friend show up?"
“He’s an enormous nerd but I’m glad he’s here,” Maya noted with a grin, completely brushing past the fact she was just as much of a nerd. “We haven’t seen each other since he went off to join the army so it was weird seeing he’d hurt himself and none of us knew.”
Maya reached for the glasses Darcy had brought out and started pouring them both wine.
“How about you? Anything new to report? Spill all the tea so I can live vicariously while I’m deep in study hell.”
Darcy shook her head. "I mean sure we can talk about surveillance if you want but it's booooring." She signed the boring part as exaggerated as she could manage in a partially reclined position, then dug into the cooler for the actual snacks. "Fresh-ish brownies and actually fresh fruit to soak up our grown-up juice... and you have no idea how tempted I was to get a few of those cocktail bags that look like big capri suns instead," she teased. "Although hey, did get some vitamin D a few weeks ago when I took Doug to his belated birthday gift. Got him tickets to Rockies at Mets so he could actually see his team in person. It was pretty great. What about you? How's study hell?”
“Hell,” Maya noted with a cheeky grin as she made grabby hands at the fruit. She’d never been able to go past any style of fruit, especially oranges. “But mostly it’s just a lot of reading and listening to Professors go on about all the reading. I joined a study group though in District X so it’s pretty cool. Did he make adorable and sickening goo goo eyes at you for the gift? Also, did I tell you I went on a blind date?”
"He has better ways of expressing his delight than goo goo eyes," Darcy replied with a waggle of her eyebrows. "And yes, he was thrilled to go and have good seats, even if he had to wait a few months." She popped a late-season cherry into her mouth, biting delicately around the pit before savoring the fruit. "Tell me about your blind date? I think you mentioned it was happening, but no deets."
"It wasn't bad," Maya noted non-committedly before she saw the look on Darcy's face and had to laugh. "Okay, okay. He wasn't really my type once we started talking properly. Have you ever met someone who thought they deserved something just because they're not a walking piece of trash?"
"Oh, was he a Nice Person?" Darcy did the air quotes as she said "Nice Person", face twisted into a wholly unimpressed look. "Yeah, I've gone on dates with a few of those types. Think they deserve the world because they happen to have some basic manners and shit, usually end up being some sort of nasty that drives people away, but of course it's never their fault. Because they're Nice People. Or the "woe is me, I was never socialized as a puppy" types that somehow know how to keep it borderline in a group but get real fuckin creepy around the object of their unwanted affections real fast? Those are usually unwashed nerds. Don't date the nerds that don't bathe, Maya, we have minimum standards and hygiene is one of them." She shook her finger playfully at the younger girl, giving her a mock stern stare over the rim of her glass as she took a long sip of her wine.
“He was worse than that,” Maya noted with a shudder at the mention of unwashed nerds. She’d had her fair share of those encounters given she liked to go to nerd conventions. “He tried to Alpha dog energy me at the restaurant and was talking about some random MRA guy called Andrew Tate or something. I am never allowing my college friends to set me up on a date again.”
"Maybe you need better friends if they're picking MRA types as a good option." Darcy's voice was dry. "Unless they were hoping you would eat him alive, but still. Friends don't get friends to date people that are standing on the landing to incel-land." She dug around for the brownies, setting one on the table next to Maya. "Have you just considered an extensive vibrator collection? Way less issues with incels that way."
“They said, and I quote ‘He seemed really nice at the party,’” Maya replied, complete with air quotes. “They’re on notice until I decide if I want the annoyance of finding a new study group, also they get to bring the snacks to our next meet up. Enough about my lack of love life, tell me about your work/life balance?”
"A lot of people seem nice if they have a beer in them or aren't talking much," Darcy retorted. "Work life balance is... well. You're an X-Man, you know how the life is. Sometimes it's not that busy and it's easy enough to fit in training and social stuff around the work, other times I get busy or invested enough that I consider just bringing my favorite pillow and blanket and Kevin starts making noise about how many nights I've slept on his work couch or the fact that my dry cleaning's in his coat closet. Are you managing that okay right now? I don't want you to get burnt out."
“Won’t say it’s not hard,” Maya admitted, taking a sip of her wine and then swishing it slightly in her mouth to enjoy the taste before swallowing. “It’ll be worth it in the end though. I’ll be able to help people with the system. There’s so many people who need someone on their side.”
"That's true. And hey, it's not like you don't have at least 3 lawyers on hand that might be able to help you out, at least with finding resources and knowing a little about who to contact. Angelo's probably best, but Matt and I both do some of our pro bono with the same sort of people you might end up helping." She took a few bites of brownie and followed it with a long sip of wine, savoring the flavor while she contemplated her next words. "It's... you're gonna see some really ugly things, the deeper you get into your coursework. You've seen some ugly things already, but people... humans. There are some real monsters out there, and you're gonna deal with the aftermath of some of the shit they do. And your hands will get tied by the system too. But you'll be able to do a lot of good too. There's more than one reason I didn't go into family law."
“You can bail me out after I break the nose of a Karen who reports some poor mother who wasn’t parking just how the Karen wanted,” Maya mused with a smile, tapping her fingernails against the edge of her glass. Soon it would be slightly too cold to spend any great deal of time outside, not that that would ever stop her. “Feel like there’s more of those every day.”
"The parents that are just borderline enough that child services can't do anything about it, more like," Darcy replied with a grimace. "The elder you can't quite tell is being abused. Nuisance callers like nosy neighbors or extended family that make calls because of some spat... they suck, they're a drain on already stretched resources, but I imagine you learn who they are pretty quickly." The shit she'd heard about or read in law school, damn. Or just stories from people who'd lived it, parents that cared more about getting the last verbal or financial slap than about what their kid actually needed. Family law gave her hives.
“It’s never going to be easy,” Maya acknowledged as she picked out a particularly juicy cherry and took a bite. “But if I wanted easy I’d have become a Park Ranger with something.”
"Fall back career? Decide you hate people just enough to mostly retreat into the woods or desert and come back out to yell at them for messing up the parks and causing danger?" She grinned widely at Maya, only mostly teasing. "I figure you'd find a way to help people that way too, even if it was just sticking them in a cabin or tent overnight on their way to somewhere else. Safer." Darcy reached out, giving Maya's elbow a light squeeze. "I'm really proud of you, you know? You've come a far way from the angry, scared high schooler I first met."
“Think of all the people I can avoid,” Maya replied with a grin but she shrugged after a moment. “I think I may be the drama when it comes to guys. I haven’t gone on a date yet that made me really want to have a second one. It’s like I’m looking for something and they just can’t provide.”
"Oh, that sounds like a more wine comment." Darcy refilled their glasses, turning onto her side to face Maya. "Other than surprise assholes, what about the guys you've been on dates with isn't doing it for you? Gimme deets about what isn't working, maybe I can come up with a better idea than the average college date.”
“They’re all really bland,” Maya admitted after she’d spent some time thinking and drinking as she enjoyed the feel of the sun on her limbs. It didn’t quite hold the same heat as summer but it was still nice. “I don’t want a guy to hold the door for me or get weirdly competitive about how much I can bench. Which, guys need to get over themselves. Would be nice to have someone who actually felt like I could give over a bit of control to.”
"I mean, some guys can do the door holding and nice things while also appreciating how much you can bench and then bending you over the bench and blowing your mind." Darcy grinned at Maya. "But yeah, I can see where some guy that either treats you too delicate or can't handle dating someone as good as or better at them at something... that's no good. It's funny how those dudes are like "why can't I find a gym rat girlfriend" and then they do but get all bent out of shape because she can actually throw down and isn't just... barely sweating while doing her treadmill time." She waved a hand in exasperation. "Not that there's anything wrong with just going to the gym to be cute while you do a little stationary walking or riding. I was like that until I had to get field ready for X-Force. But if someone says they want to date someone that enjoys working out, that's not the sort of person I'm thinking they mean."
She took a sip of wine as she thought through it. She was more familiar with the women that worked regularly at Helga's, but a few of the men... hm. "The control thing... feel free to elaborate on how deep you mean that, but I will say that personally it's hard for me to just let my guard down enough for someone else to take control without some measure of trust. Or like - at Helga's? I don't do things with people I'm not familiar with unless a few of the regular show runners or Helga herself approves them, and I'm still not as relaxed as I am with someone I trust. So if you don't just mean being able to relax and enjoy the push and pull - if you think you're wanting something with more structure, or with any sort of bondage and whatnot - I'd suggest figuring that out in a safe environment. Places like Fetlife are just gonna get you a bunch of unwanted dick pics and dudes demanding you treat them like a personal god without ever doing a thing to earn it.”
Maya blushed, she couldn’t help it. She might be confident in a great deal of situations and able to put on a great front in many others but this? It was mostly still completely new for her and the number of dick picks she’d received already from various dating sites were too numerous to count. Honestly, she’d make a modern art collage out of them but that might be frowned on.
“Too late, already on the site. It’s why I’m a bit gun shy, I guess? So many creepy things. So many. It’s like I rang a dinner bell ‘Baby sub here!’”
"Oh gods, send them back with googly eyes and scathing critiques. It'll either turn them on more or shut them right up," Darcy replied with a cackle. "But yeah, come to Helga's with me sometime then. Good bar, people are mostly not assholes - Helga's particular about it, the regulars weed out the creeps and refuse to interact with the borderline people until they see themselves out or shape up." She reached out to give Maya's arm a pat. "I'm thinking you might get on with Austin or Zeke, although I don't know the guys as well. Eve's good if you want to learn both sides of things, she was my... mentor, I guess you'd say."
“Maybe something a little tame to start with?” Maya noted before taking another drink of wine.
She was definitely up for attending Helga’s with Darcy, she’d been interested in seeing the place since Darcy had first mentioned it but the idea of any of it fought against her natural inclination of telling anyone who tried to assume unwarranted authority over her to touch grass. She might want it, but accepting it? That was a moving target in regards to how well therapy was going on any given day.
“Are there many rules?”
"Definitely, just a visit to get a feel for the place and meet people. A marathon, not a sprint." Darcy made a mental note to have Eve help her figure out which of the guys might be up to handling the more - well, bratty - aspects of Maya's personality in a positive way. "Rules are pretty similar to other clubs, really. No touching, filming, or photography without permission, don't interrupt scenes unless there's a medical emergency, bring a towel, blanket, or robe long enough to sit on if you're going to otherwise be scantily clad, don't out people that visit, open play is only at specific listed times, and if you see something hinky say something to one of the monitors or bartenders. I can email you the full list later, but those are the basics. Outside of open play nights Helga's operates like a higher-end nightclub. There might be demonstrations on the stage or live music, there's private play rooms that can be rented, a few VIP lounges, that sort of thing." She sat up with a stretch, crossing her legs as she changed positions.
"You know how to behave yourself in public, so I'm not that worried about bringing you along. Let you get used to interacting with people so you can see if you click with any of them."
“Let’s do it then,” Maya said with a smile, holding up her drink in a toast. “To new beginnings and cute men.”
Darcy clinked her glass against Maya's, grinning. "To getting what you want."
It was a nice afternoon and Darcy had decided to head home early after a short string of late nights or early mornings. She sent Maya a text once she was back at Xavier's, verifying that the other woman was available and interested in snacks and catching up, then made a quick detour to her room for a change of clothes and a bottle of wine before hitting up the kitchen for snacks. She fully intended to indulge a little, and several brownies she'd made earlier in the week made their way into the soft cooler, along with freshly cut fruits, the wine, and two glasses that probably weren't ideal for wine, but also weren't delicate enough to get smashed if they got jostled.
Ever present phone in hand, she shot Maya another text with their meeting location and moved across the grounds, settling on one of the loungers on the far side of the pool. She tipped her face back into the sun as she waited, letting out a sigh of satisfaction as the sun's rays warmed her skin.
“Long week?”
Maya settled into the lounger beside Darcy, flicking off her flip-flops so she could curl her legs under her. She’d donned a one-piece so she could go swimming later but for now, she was content to get her dose of vitamin D.
"A few of them, but hopefully we'll have a little bit of a reprieve in a week or two," Darcy agreed, turning slightly and opening her eyes to take Maya in. "I haven't met him yet, but how's it been having an old family friend show up?"
“He’s an enormous nerd but I’m glad he’s here,” Maya noted with a grin, completely brushing past the fact she was just as much of a nerd. “We haven’t seen each other since he went off to join the army so it was weird seeing he’d hurt himself and none of us knew.”
Maya reached for the glasses Darcy had brought out and started pouring them both wine.
“How about you? Anything new to report? Spill all the tea so I can live vicariously while I’m deep in study hell.”
Darcy shook her head. "I mean sure we can talk about surveillance if you want but it's booooring." She signed the boring part as exaggerated as she could manage in a partially reclined position, then dug into the cooler for the actual snacks. "Fresh-ish brownies and actually fresh fruit to soak up our grown-up juice... and you have no idea how tempted I was to get a few of those cocktail bags that look like big capri suns instead," she teased. "Although hey, did get some vitamin D a few weeks ago when I took Doug to his belated birthday gift. Got him tickets to Rockies at Mets so he could actually see his team in person. It was pretty great. What about you? How's study hell?”
“Hell,” Maya noted with a cheeky grin as she made grabby hands at the fruit. She’d never been able to go past any style of fruit, especially oranges. “But mostly it’s just a lot of reading and listening to Professors go on about all the reading. I joined a study group though in District X so it’s pretty cool. Did he make adorable and sickening goo goo eyes at you for the gift? Also, did I tell you I went on a blind date?”
"He has better ways of expressing his delight than goo goo eyes," Darcy replied with a waggle of her eyebrows. "And yes, he was thrilled to go and have good seats, even if he had to wait a few months." She popped a late-season cherry into her mouth, biting delicately around the pit before savoring the fruit. "Tell me about your blind date? I think you mentioned it was happening, but no deets."
"It wasn't bad," Maya noted non-committedly before she saw the look on Darcy's face and had to laugh. "Okay, okay. He wasn't really my type once we started talking properly. Have you ever met someone who thought they deserved something just because they're not a walking piece of trash?"
"Oh, was he a Nice Person?" Darcy did the air quotes as she said "Nice Person", face twisted into a wholly unimpressed look. "Yeah, I've gone on dates with a few of those types. Think they deserve the world because they happen to have some basic manners and shit, usually end up being some sort of nasty that drives people away, but of course it's never their fault. Because they're Nice People. Or the "woe is me, I was never socialized as a puppy" types that somehow know how to keep it borderline in a group but get real fuckin creepy around the object of their unwanted affections real fast? Those are usually unwashed nerds. Don't date the nerds that don't bathe, Maya, we have minimum standards and hygiene is one of them." She shook her finger playfully at the younger girl, giving her a mock stern stare over the rim of her glass as she took a long sip of her wine.
“He was worse than that,” Maya noted with a shudder at the mention of unwashed nerds. She’d had her fair share of those encounters given she liked to go to nerd conventions. “He tried to Alpha dog energy me at the restaurant and was talking about some random MRA guy called Andrew Tate or something. I am never allowing my college friends to set me up on a date again.”
"Maybe you need better friends if they're picking MRA types as a good option." Darcy's voice was dry. "Unless they were hoping you would eat him alive, but still. Friends don't get friends to date people that are standing on the landing to incel-land." She dug around for the brownies, setting one on the table next to Maya. "Have you just considered an extensive vibrator collection? Way less issues with incels that way."
“They said, and I quote ‘He seemed really nice at the party,’” Maya replied, complete with air quotes. “They’re on notice until I decide if I want the annoyance of finding a new study group, also they get to bring the snacks to our next meet up. Enough about my lack of love life, tell me about your work/life balance?”
"A lot of people seem nice if they have a beer in them or aren't talking much," Darcy retorted. "Work life balance is... well. You're an X-Man, you know how the life is. Sometimes it's not that busy and it's easy enough to fit in training and social stuff around the work, other times I get busy or invested enough that I consider just bringing my favorite pillow and blanket and Kevin starts making noise about how many nights I've slept on his work couch or the fact that my dry cleaning's in his coat closet. Are you managing that okay right now? I don't want you to get burnt out."
“Won’t say it’s not hard,” Maya admitted, taking a sip of her wine and then swishing it slightly in her mouth to enjoy the taste before swallowing. “It’ll be worth it in the end though. I’ll be able to help people with the system. There’s so many people who need someone on their side.”
"That's true. And hey, it's not like you don't have at least 3 lawyers on hand that might be able to help you out, at least with finding resources and knowing a little about who to contact. Angelo's probably best, but Matt and I both do some of our pro bono with the same sort of people you might end up helping." She took a few bites of brownie and followed it with a long sip of wine, savoring the flavor while she contemplated her next words. "It's... you're gonna see some really ugly things, the deeper you get into your coursework. You've seen some ugly things already, but people... humans. There are some real monsters out there, and you're gonna deal with the aftermath of some of the shit they do. And your hands will get tied by the system too. But you'll be able to do a lot of good too. There's more than one reason I didn't go into family law."
“You can bail me out after I break the nose of a Karen who reports some poor mother who wasn’t parking just how the Karen wanted,” Maya mused with a smile, tapping her fingernails against the edge of her glass. Soon it would be slightly too cold to spend any great deal of time outside, not that that would ever stop her. “Feel like there’s more of those every day.”
"The parents that are just borderline enough that child services can't do anything about it, more like," Darcy replied with a grimace. "The elder you can't quite tell is being abused. Nuisance callers like nosy neighbors or extended family that make calls because of some spat... they suck, they're a drain on already stretched resources, but I imagine you learn who they are pretty quickly." The shit she'd heard about or read in law school, damn. Or just stories from people who'd lived it, parents that cared more about getting the last verbal or financial slap than about what their kid actually needed. Family law gave her hives.
“It’s never going to be easy,” Maya acknowledged as she picked out a particularly juicy cherry and took a bite. “But if I wanted easy I’d have become a Park Ranger with something.”
"Fall back career? Decide you hate people just enough to mostly retreat into the woods or desert and come back out to yell at them for messing up the parks and causing danger?" She grinned widely at Maya, only mostly teasing. "I figure you'd find a way to help people that way too, even if it was just sticking them in a cabin or tent overnight on their way to somewhere else. Safer." Darcy reached out, giving Maya's elbow a light squeeze. "I'm really proud of you, you know? You've come a far way from the angry, scared high schooler I first met."
“Think of all the people I can avoid,” Maya replied with a grin but she shrugged after a moment. “I think I may be the drama when it comes to guys. I haven’t gone on a date yet that made me really want to have a second one. It’s like I’m looking for something and they just can’t provide.”
"Oh, that sounds like a more wine comment." Darcy refilled their glasses, turning onto her side to face Maya. "Other than surprise assholes, what about the guys you've been on dates with isn't doing it for you? Gimme deets about what isn't working, maybe I can come up with a better idea than the average college date.”
“They’re all really bland,” Maya admitted after she’d spent some time thinking and drinking as she enjoyed the feel of the sun on her limbs. It didn’t quite hold the same heat as summer but it was still nice. “I don’t want a guy to hold the door for me or get weirdly competitive about how much I can bench. Which, guys need to get over themselves. Would be nice to have someone who actually felt like I could give over a bit of control to.”
"I mean, some guys can do the door holding and nice things while also appreciating how much you can bench and then bending you over the bench and blowing your mind." Darcy grinned at Maya. "But yeah, I can see where some guy that either treats you too delicate or can't handle dating someone as good as or better at them at something... that's no good. It's funny how those dudes are like "why can't I find a gym rat girlfriend" and then they do but get all bent out of shape because she can actually throw down and isn't just... barely sweating while doing her treadmill time." She waved a hand in exasperation. "Not that there's anything wrong with just going to the gym to be cute while you do a little stationary walking or riding. I was like that until I had to get field ready for X-Force. But if someone says they want to date someone that enjoys working out, that's not the sort of person I'm thinking they mean."
She took a sip of wine as she thought through it. She was more familiar with the women that worked regularly at Helga's, but a few of the men... hm. "The control thing... feel free to elaborate on how deep you mean that, but I will say that personally it's hard for me to just let my guard down enough for someone else to take control without some measure of trust. Or like - at Helga's? I don't do things with people I'm not familiar with unless a few of the regular show runners or Helga herself approves them, and I'm still not as relaxed as I am with someone I trust. So if you don't just mean being able to relax and enjoy the push and pull - if you think you're wanting something with more structure, or with any sort of bondage and whatnot - I'd suggest figuring that out in a safe environment. Places like Fetlife are just gonna get you a bunch of unwanted dick pics and dudes demanding you treat them like a personal god without ever doing a thing to earn it.”
Maya blushed, she couldn’t help it. She might be confident in a great deal of situations and able to put on a great front in many others but this? It was mostly still completely new for her and the number of dick picks she’d received already from various dating sites were too numerous to count. Honestly, she’d make a modern art collage out of them but that might be frowned on.
“Too late, already on the site. It’s why I’m a bit gun shy, I guess? So many creepy things. So many. It’s like I rang a dinner bell ‘Baby sub here!’”
"Oh gods, send them back with googly eyes and scathing critiques. It'll either turn them on more or shut them right up," Darcy replied with a cackle. "But yeah, come to Helga's with me sometime then. Good bar, people are mostly not assholes - Helga's particular about it, the regulars weed out the creeps and refuse to interact with the borderline people until they see themselves out or shape up." She reached out to give Maya's arm a pat. "I'm thinking you might get on with Austin or Zeke, although I don't know the guys as well. Eve's good if you want to learn both sides of things, she was my... mentor, I guess you'd say."
“Maybe something a little tame to start with?” Maya noted before taking another drink of wine.
She was definitely up for attending Helga’s with Darcy, she’d been interested in seeing the place since Darcy had first mentioned it but the idea of any of it fought against her natural inclination of telling anyone who tried to assume unwarranted authority over her to touch grass. She might want it, but accepting it? That was a moving target in regards to how well therapy was going on any given day.
“Are there many rules?”
"Definitely, just a visit to get a feel for the place and meet people. A marathon, not a sprint." Darcy made a mental note to have Eve help her figure out which of the guys might be up to handling the more - well, bratty - aspects of Maya's personality in a positive way. "Rules are pretty similar to other clubs, really. No touching, filming, or photography without permission, don't interrupt scenes unless there's a medical emergency, bring a towel, blanket, or robe long enough to sit on if you're going to otherwise be scantily clad, don't out people that visit, open play is only at specific listed times, and if you see something hinky say something to one of the monitors or bartenders. I can email you the full list later, but those are the basics. Outside of open play nights Helga's operates like a higher-end nightclub. There might be demonstrations on the stage or live music, there's private play rooms that can be rented, a few VIP lounges, that sort of thing." She sat up with a stretch, crossing her legs as she changed positions.
"You know how to behave yourself in public, so I'm not that worried about bringing you along. Let you get used to interacting with people so you can see if you click with any of them."
“Let’s do it then,” Maya said with a smile, holding up her drink in a toast. “To new beginnings and cute men.”
Darcy clinked her glass against Maya's, grinning. "To getting what you want."
