![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_outlaw posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsInez goes to visit Darcy and discovers this wonderful place she works at, while having a serious discussion afterwards.
Darcy's face was flushed pink as she stepped off the stage at Helga's, knots and lines and weaves of pretty light blues and purples and pinks swirling into a heart shape. She took a long pull from the water in her hand, eyes bright as they landed on Inez, and she made a beeline for the other woman, throwing her arms around her shoulders and giving her an enthusiastic peck on the cheek.
"Hey sugar, what do you think of the design?" Her grin was wide, body as relaxed as it could be in the harness of rope wrapped around her chest, shoulders, and back over a short, sleeveless black dress. She did a slow twirl to give Inez the full effect, skirt flaring out slightly as she showed off the knots and various woven areas that kept the piece stable but flexible.
Inez turned her cheek with a grin to make the kiss easier, then took Darcy in as she twirled in place. She gave a nod of approval; Darcy always looked good to her, but the design and placement of all the knots and ropes was especially impressive indeed.
"Wow, that's amazin'... how did y'do all of that, dear?" she asked, seriously unsure of how to even go about starting to put something like that on. To take it off, however, she began thinking... no, stop, she told herself. "Y'look ravishin', as always," she concluded, returning the kiss on the cheek in kind.
"Mostly by standing still and looking pretty," Darcy replied with a grin, gesturing at a tall woman in green still standing on the stage. "Eve did the work, I was just the canvas. She shows off a wide variety of decorative pieces for people that are maybe curious but don't like the idea of actually being bound." She hooked her arm around Inez, pushing up on her toes to murmur quietly "And I know how to get my dress off without having to undo this, as a bonus." A nip to the blonde's ear followed before she settled back into her heels. "You wanna see where I've been staying the last few nights? Miss Helga's given me permission for you to come upstairs. We can talk, do a little whatever sounds good. Including food, if you get hungry."
"She does terrific work, but then again she has an amazing canvas to start with," Inez said without any bias at all, nope.
"And... y-y'can do that?" she asked, looking at the dress and the intricate ropework trying to suss out exactly how that'd work for a beat before nodding at her question.
"That sounds great, hon, it'd be nice to be somewhere a little more private." She had some work stuff to run past her which they couldn't address in the open, plus seeing Darcy like that... yes, private was safer for many reasons. "Lead the way, dear."
"Flatterer," Darcy teased as she led the way out of the large public space. "And yes, although it requires assistance and being careful about where to tug and how much pressure to use. Once we ease the straps off my arms it can be carefully pulled down and off." She smiled over at Inez as they made their way to a closed door, Darcy cheerfully waving at the older woman by the counter. "Miss Helga, this is my friend Inez, the one I wanted the upstairs invite for. Inez, this is Miss Helga, she runs this place and the more public club next door."
Inez listened attentively as Darcy spoke, though it was hard to keep her eyes off of her just the same. "Mhm, that... y'know, I'll just take your word for it, instead of tryin' to wrap my noggin' 'round it." She chuckled then stopped and tipped her hat to Miss Helga. "Nice t'meet you, ma'am. Thanks for letting me in to see Ms. Lewis," she added with a small tip of her head. "Y've got an amazing place here, and fantastic staff too, of course," she said with a grin at Darcy next to her.
Helga watched the younger woman for a moment, before a small smile graced her face. "You're welcome. As long as you obey the rules - and Darcy, I know you'll tell her the most important ones - then you're welcome at my establishment. Now scoot upstairs before the next crush of people comes in."
"I definitely will," Darcy promised as the door swung open, revealing a narrow set of stairs. "C'mon cowgirl, you get to see the living quarters, not just the playrooms."
Inez's mouth opened to ask just what those rules might be, but then Darcy was leading her through the door and up a set of stairs. "Ok, let's go!" she said with a chuckle, following her up to the living quarters area.
"How many rooms are there anyway?" she asked as they made their way up, keeping her voice quiet because she had no idea who else was around and what the difference was going to be between the living quarters and... was it playrooms, she called them? "I hope I'm not gettin' y'into trouble," she ventured, even though Helga just said it was ok, as long as she followed the rules.
Darcy thought about it as they climbed the stairs. "Well, there's the entrance and the main room and bar area, which you saw. Well, maybe not the bar, it's in the back of the main space, not by the staging areas. There's two dressing rooms off to the side that you only get access to if you're talent or have permission. Usually I'm coming from the mansion or work to visit, so it's got places for people to stash purses or street clothes and some toiletries, plus a basic bathroom area with a big counter and mirror space where you can apply makeup. The playrooms are... hm, six, I think? Four smaller ones that are somewhat themed and two larger ones that have bigger toys in them. And this is the private living quarters. Helga lives up here, and there's a few dorm-like rooms for talent that need a place to stay for a bit, visiting talent so they don't have to deal with hotels, that sort of thing."
They'd reached the top of the stairs, and she veered down the right hallway, opening the last room at the end of the short hall. The space was small and fairly impersonal aside from the fluffy blanket and set of pillows on the bed. "Alright, so the main rule at Helga's is consent always. She's huge on consent, for obvious reasons of what goes on around here. Otherwise, be respectful and polite, be safe, and if you see someone being a creep alert someone in a Helga's staff shirt. They're usually the most casual looking non-naked people in the room, and the shirts are bright colors. Honestly shouldn't be a problem for you, since you know how to use your manners."
She gave Inez a cheeky wink as she shut the door behind them, pulling the other woman into a languid kiss. "Missed you," she murmured, before stepping out of her shoes. "Feel free to take your shoes off and join me, we can cuddle and talk about our weeks, maybe?"
She listened in quiet awe as Darcy explained the layout of the place, not to mention the - quite reasonable - rules the run-down on how Helga cared and provides for the many people this place held.
"This is quite a special place indeed, ain't it?" she asked rhetorically, taking on Darcy's surroundings and, when the door was closed, taking Darcy herself in her arms. She kissed her back with a happy sigh against her lips then nodded, brushing some hair back out of her face as Darcy took off her shoes.
"That sounds like the best idea I've heard in a long time, hon," she concurred. Inez sat down and removed her cowboy boots, laying them side by side at the foot of Darcy's bed before laying back and patting the space in front of her. She'd be the big spoon this time I'd that worked, and she adjusted a pillow to better support her for just that purpose.
"Y'didn't miss too much, really... we got some new folk who arrived some I think y'knew," she added, thinking of Warren and Bobbi, "I confronted Q 'bout that bullshit, did some light surveillance work and some collections on a few jobs. Pretty tame, compared to before anyhow. How 'bout you, hon?"
"Mm, this was a good idea," Darcy agreed as she settled in front of Inez. "And yeah, Bobbi and Warren. They're good sorts in general, although Warren basically hit the privilege jackpot in everything except semi-difficult to conceal mutant powers, so sometimes he's a bit thoughtless too." The rest of what Inez said caught up. "Wait, you confronted him? Aww, jeez. I wasn't... Look, I'll be honest that I wish he'd face some sort of consequence for what he said to me, but I wasn't actually trying to ruin any professional relationships. That's why I was fine with you wanting to keep out of it. He's your boss, I know that sort of conflict can be awkward. And you've gotta be able to trust each other in the field." She leaned into Inez, lacing their fingers together. "Don't let our personal conflict hurt your working relationships. He's not the first asshole to tell me to off myself or threaten to kill me, and he probably won't be the last, either. He's just one of the few with the actual ability to do it, which is why I'm not sleeping at the mansion right now. My shields basically don't exist when I am, because I've never needed them to exist before."
Inez wrapped her arms around Darcy and pulled her close, nuzzling against her neck after a quick peck just behind her ear. She listened as she explained about the new people, or the ones new to her at least. She squeezed her a little at the talk of Q again. "I know, I know, but I just couldn't do nothin', hon. I didn't wanna be your white knight either, fightin' your battles for you, because I've no right t'do that, nor do y'need it, but... yeah, I had to speak my piece, and now I have." She'd let it lie now if everyone else would, but she had to at least point things out to Q.
"Actually... well, maybe this is too heavy a convo t'have now, but I was meanin' t'ask about what y'all do and if... I mean, if I were leavin' XFI, what would I need t'do if I wanted to look elsewhere?" she asked, playing with Darcy's hair a little as she considered her words.
"That's fair, I'd be upset on your behalf if the situation were reversed." Darcy squeezed their fingers, glad her hair was out of the way. "It's not that hard, in theory. You wanna tell me why you're thinking of leaving? My problems with Quire aside, the rest of them are good people."
"It's a good spot, yeah," she agreed, gently wrapping a little of Darcy's hair around one of her fingers and playing with it idly. "And the work is good, it's true. I just... it's hard to explain, maybe. Like, I don't mind it, but the whole detective side of it isn't my usual line of work." She didn't always go straight to violence, per se, but her previous gigs more often involved more physicality and muscle, and... not as happy endings, really.
"I'd kinda be more comfortable doin' what I was doin' before, but that ain't easy either. So... yeah. The whole Q thing really soured me, to be honest, but I know I'm hardly objective in that particular case," she conceded, wiggling a little closer to Darcy. "Which is a long, awkward way of sayin' it ain't you, it's me to them, ain't it?"
"Teams aren't always a good fit," Darcy acknowledged, turning so she could slip her free hand around the blonde's waist. "So bounty hunting? Or just more physicality in general? I think maybe you'd have some of the same issues with Excalibur. The science, the downtime, maybe not your idea of a great time for now? So. X-Men or X-Force. If you're wanting the physicality of it, but maybe wanting to move away from the... dead aspect of dead or alive, the X-Men could be a good fit. They don't kill, as a general rule, but they do some ass-kicking in the name of containing in a way that regular cops or military can't. If you don't mind a very uncertain future, X-Force might fit. That sounds..." she let out a sigh, head resting against Inez's chest. "Insufficient, maybe. But when I interviewed with Kevin, he opened with the fact that a fuck up could mean my painful death. Among other things. We have downtime, we have intel to analyze just like anyone else. But there are also plenty of opportunities to do those things in the field. We get our hands dirty. Sometimes we use our bodies. I wasn't brought on as an assassin, but one of my first jobs had me marking a man for death, kidnapping him, and doing full clean-up and disposal after." She tipped her head back to look Inez in the eye, serious. "I lost sleep over it, but it wasn't because he was dead. It was because I had the ability to do all of that and not be wrecked with guilt after."
"Mm, it takes some time, an' I haven't been here a terribly long time, all things considered," she replied, scooting a bit to allow Darcy's arm to slip around her. "Those sound like good options, maybe, I don't... killin' isn't something I need, for sure, it's an occupational hazard in my line of work so I'm not... unfamiliar with it," she says in a low voice; Darcy knew the folk around there but she didn't so she wasn't going to shout that out loud or anything. "But yeah, they may be a better fit for me... I'll sleep on it, for sure, nothin' rash needs to happen or anything, but the more I think about it the more I think a change of scenery might do me good."
She stroked Darcy's hair again as she spoke about one of her first jobs, and how it had resulted in her losing sleep. "Well, I mean, the fact that you did lose sleep over it tells me you're a good person, love. An' yeah, I'm biased as hell, but y'didn't collapse or nothin' but it did affect you," Inez pointed out. "I know I had similar feelings the first time I had t'deal with that, though I didn't have t'do the clean up part, not all of it anyway." Hells bells, she figured, that'd make anyone lose sleep. "You're ok now though, yeah? If y'ever need t'talk about it, or anythin' else, y'know I'm here for you." She likely knew that but she wanted to remind her, just in case.
"No need to be rash, no. And it's worth it to ask about collaborating with other teams if you think your skills would be a fit. It's not restricted, we've had Jean or Clarice and others along on missions for X-Force, Doug and I help monitor the wormhole with Excalibur, the magic types get asked to help any team that could use their particular skills. It's just a... primary designation." Darcy's fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt, stroking small circles low on Inez's spine.
"I don't know that I'm a good person, really, but I try not to be a completely terrible one." She chuckled. "Regardless of what other people might think or say, which is why I'll eventually apologize to Madin for jumping in rude-first instead of trying diplomacy. And I did start to finish because Kevin wanted me to be eyes open about the consequences of my actions. And now there's a barrel in the bay that's probably sunk far enough to be out of the reach of most human exploration now, but more importantly, we were able to prevent giant crabs from overtaking Baltimore." Her life was insane. Magic. Magic was insane. "And he was there after, too, when I was worried about being a monster for not being more upset. But yes, I'm okay. It was a few years ago. I mean, I still have nightmares and things, but it's not just from that. They're rarely from that mission anymore, honestly."
"That's also somethin' t'consider," she agreed, humming happily at Darcy's touch on her lower back. She listened to Darcy, then hesitated because she didn't want to argue with her; it sounded like there was a lot still bothering her but a) Inez was no psychiatrist, and b) Darcy was already talking to people and dealing with things, she wasn't gonna win any brownie points by hassling her about it. Quite the opposite, most likely, so instead Inez just kissed the top of her head and kept playing with her hair.
"Well, you're welcome t'come stay with me if that happens again, sweetie." She paused as she considered her offer. "I mean, not just in like... I'm not just talkin' 'bout comin' over for fun times, heh, which are alright too, but I'm not just tryin' to flirt with ya." Another head peck. "Much. I just ... I really care about ya, Darcy, and I wanna help you if I can." She's unsure just how much she can help, but she knows that she'll do anything she can if it'll make a difference.
"I like the flirting and the caring. It's good, knowing who I can depend on when I need help. Want help." She tipped her head back, kissing the underside of Inez's jaw. "I'll keep it in mind. Sometimes I get very bad about reaching out. I'm trying to be better about it. People can't understand the reactions I'm having if I haven't bothered telling them there's a problem in the first place. But it goes both ways. I care about you, so if you need help. Want help. Just want to not talk and cuddle while you think things through, whatever. I'd like to be there for you."
"Yeah, you're right, it's not easy, but it helps havin' someone. Which I'm findin' out now... god, I hope I'm not openin' up too much or anythin'," Inez said with a nervous chuckle. "I haven't stayed put in one place long enough to have friends, let alone what we have," she said, stumbling over the last part because she still had no idea what to call it. Not everything needed a label, of course, but still. It was foreign and alien and glorious all at once.
"I just don't wanna scare y'off either, pumpkin," she said, testing out a new nickname maybe. Did that work? How does one go about bequeathing cute nicknames anyway? Gosh Inez still had so much to learn. "I really like you and will be there for you, an' y'can be there for me too, we can agree on that." There, that was a good foundation from which to build at least, they could both agree on that she reckoned.
Darcy shook her head. "I like it. It's... been really rare I do something like a friends with benefits as an ongoing thing? I'm generally either a one night stand or relationship type. I had a girlfriend in college that... we sometimes brought in a guy? And a few of them got repeat invites by virtue of being cool with just being a booty call, basically. But that was it, they were guys we were socially friendly with at best. I'm a little better about it now, like... if Foggy and Marci decided tomorrow to be exclusive, I'd be more upset for Matt than myself as long as we were still friends and hung out socially. Little bit same if he decided to be exclusive with Foggy. I'd be sad, but we'd still be friends. Just not the naked kind. But I'm glad we're building something, not just screwing around. Even if we're not putting a name to it yet." She grinned, and huffed a laugh. "Anyone asks, we're gal pals. Just gals... bein pals. In the most meme sense of the phrase."
Inez nodded and stroked Darcy's hair some more as they chilled together. "Mhm, that makes sense t'me. An' yeah, we don't need any labels or anythin' as long as we're happy," she reasoned. "And... I am like the proverbial pig in shit here these days, if I'm bein' honest," she chuckled. "And also bein' graphic, sorry, heh." It might not have been the best image but hey, it was absolutely true though.
"Anyone asks it's none of their business, but, uh..." That's her stock hard-ass answer but for their friends, well. "Yeah, for folk we like, absolutely. Gals bein' pals has a nice ring to it, I like it."
"It's true, but we're all a bunch of terrible, nosy gossips." Darcy grinned brightly up at Inez, enjoying the fingers combing through her hair. "And I'm an absolutely shameless slut for having my hair stroked like this, if you haven't already guessed." Her own hands were still slowly rubbing up and down Inez's back, and in general she was feeling fairly comfy and lazy mixed with a low buzz of arousal. Considering the company, it wasn't a surprise at all, but she was content for now to just snuggle and chat while stealing the occasional kiss.
"Duly noted," she replied with a laugh, filing that away for future reference still playing with her hair and likewise content to just chill with Darcy like this for as long as she'll allow it.
Darcy's face was flushed pink as she stepped off the stage at Helga's, knots and lines and weaves of pretty light blues and purples and pinks swirling into a heart shape. She took a long pull from the water in her hand, eyes bright as they landed on Inez, and she made a beeline for the other woman, throwing her arms around her shoulders and giving her an enthusiastic peck on the cheek.
"Hey sugar, what do you think of the design?" Her grin was wide, body as relaxed as it could be in the harness of rope wrapped around her chest, shoulders, and back over a short, sleeveless black dress. She did a slow twirl to give Inez the full effect, skirt flaring out slightly as she showed off the knots and various woven areas that kept the piece stable but flexible.
Inez turned her cheek with a grin to make the kiss easier, then took Darcy in as she twirled in place. She gave a nod of approval; Darcy always looked good to her, but the design and placement of all the knots and ropes was especially impressive indeed.
"Wow, that's amazin'... how did y'do all of that, dear?" she asked, seriously unsure of how to even go about starting to put something like that on. To take it off, however, she began thinking... no, stop, she told herself. "Y'look ravishin', as always," she concluded, returning the kiss on the cheek in kind.
"Mostly by standing still and looking pretty," Darcy replied with a grin, gesturing at a tall woman in green still standing on the stage. "Eve did the work, I was just the canvas. She shows off a wide variety of decorative pieces for people that are maybe curious but don't like the idea of actually being bound." She hooked her arm around Inez, pushing up on her toes to murmur quietly "And I know how to get my dress off without having to undo this, as a bonus." A nip to the blonde's ear followed before she settled back into her heels. "You wanna see where I've been staying the last few nights? Miss Helga's given me permission for you to come upstairs. We can talk, do a little whatever sounds good. Including food, if you get hungry."
"She does terrific work, but then again she has an amazing canvas to start with," Inez said without any bias at all, nope.
"And... y-y'can do that?" she asked, looking at the dress and the intricate ropework trying to suss out exactly how that'd work for a beat before nodding at her question.
"That sounds great, hon, it'd be nice to be somewhere a little more private." She had some work stuff to run past her which they couldn't address in the open, plus seeing Darcy like that... yes, private was safer for many reasons. "Lead the way, dear."
"Flatterer," Darcy teased as she led the way out of the large public space. "And yes, although it requires assistance and being careful about where to tug and how much pressure to use. Once we ease the straps off my arms it can be carefully pulled down and off." She smiled over at Inez as they made their way to a closed door, Darcy cheerfully waving at the older woman by the counter. "Miss Helga, this is my friend Inez, the one I wanted the upstairs invite for. Inez, this is Miss Helga, she runs this place and the more public club next door."
Inez listened attentively as Darcy spoke, though it was hard to keep her eyes off of her just the same. "Mhm, that... y'know, I'll just take your word for it, instead of tryin' to wrap my noggin' 'round it." She chuckled then stopped and tipped her hat to Miss Helga. "Nice t'meet you, ma'am. Thanks for letting me in to see Ms. Lewis," she added with a small tip of her head. "Y've got an amazing place here, and fantastic staff too, of course," she said with a grin at Darcy next to her.
Helga watched the younger woman for a moment, before a small smile graced her face. "You're welcome. As long as you obey the rules - and Darcy, I know you'll tell her the most important ones - then you're welcome at my establishment. Now scoot upstairs before the next crush of people comes in."
"I definitely will," Darcy promised as the door swung open, revealing a narrow set of stairs. "C'mon cowgirl, you get to see the living quarters, not just the playrooms."
Inez's mouth opened to ask just what those rules might be, but then Darcy was leading her through the door and up a set of stairs. "Ok, let's go!" she said with a chuckle, following her up to the living quarters area.
"How many rooms are there anyway?" she asked as they made their way up, keeping her voice quiet because she had no idea who else was around and what the difference was going to be between the living quarters and... was it playrooms, she called them? "I hope I'm not gettin' y'into trouble," she ventured, even though Helga just said it was ok, as long as she followed the rules.
Darcy thought about it as they climbed the stairs. "Well, there's the entrance and the main room and bar area, which you saw. Well, maybe not the bar, it's in the back of the main space, not by the staging areas. There's two dressing rooms off to the side that you only get access to if you're talent or have permission. Usually I'm coming from the mansion or work to visit, so it's got places for people to stash purses or street clothes and some toiletries, plus a basic bathroom area with a big counter and mirror space where you can apply makeup. The playrooms are... hm, six, I think? Four smaller ones that are somewhat themed and two larger ones that have bigger toys in them. And this is the private living quarters. Helga lives up here, and there's a few dorm-like rooms for talent that need a place to stay for a bit, visiting talent so they don't have to deal with hotels, that sort of thing."
They'd reached the top of the stairs, and she veered down the right hallway, opening the last room at the end of the short hall. The space was small and fairly impersonal aside from the fluffy blanket and set of pillows on the bed. "Alright, so the main rule at Helga's is consent always. She's huge on consent, for obvious reasons of what goes on around here. Otherwise, be respectful and polite, be safe, and if you see someone being a creep alert someone in a Helga's staff shirt. They're usually the most casual looking non-naked people in the room, and the shirts are bright colors. Honestly shouldn't be a problem for you, since you know how to use your manners."
She gave Inez a cheeky wink as she shut the door behind them, pulling the other woman into a languid kiss. "Missed you," she murmured, before stepping out of her shoes. "Feel free to take your shoes off and join me, we can cuddle and talk about our weeks, maybe?"
She listened in quiet awe as Darcy explained the layout of the place, not to mention the - quite reasonable - rules the run-down on how Helga cared and provides for the many people this place held.
"This is quite a special place indeed, ain't it?" she asked rhetorically, taking on Darcy's surroundings and, when the door was closed, taking Darcy herself in her arms. She kissed her back with a happy sigh against her lips then nodded, brushing some hair back out of her face as Darcy took off her shoes.
"That sounds like the best idea I've heard in a long time, hon," she concurred. Inez sat down and removed her cowboy boots, laying them side by side at the foot of Darcy's bed before laying back and patting the space in front of her. She'd be the big spoon this time I'd that worked, and she adjusted a pillow to better support her for just that purpose.
"Y'didn't miss too much, really... we got some new folk who arrived some I think y'knew," she added, thinking of Warren and Bobbi, "I confronted Q 'bout that bullshit, did some light surveillance work and some collections on a few jobs. Pretty tame, compared to before anyhow. How 'bout you, hon?"
"Mm, this was a good idea," Darcy agreed as she settled in front of Inez. "And yeah, Bobbi and Warren. They're good sorts in general, although Warren basically hit the privilege jackpot in everything except semi-difficult to conceal mutant powers, so sometimes he's a bit thoughtless too." The rest of what Inez said caught up. "Wait, you confronted him? Aww, jeez. I wasn't... Look, I'll be honest that I wish he'd face some sort of consequence for what he said to me, but I wasn't actually trying to ruin any professional relationships. That's why I was fine with you wanting to keep out of it. He's your boss, I know that sort of conflict can be awkward. And you've gotta be able to trust each other in the field." She leaned into Inez, lacing their fingers together. "Don't let our personal conflict hurt your working relationships. He's not the first asshole to tell me to off myself or threaten to kill me, and he probably won't be the last, either. He's just one of the few with the actual ability to do it, which is why I'm not sleeping at the mansion right now. My shields basically don't exist when I am, because I've never needed them to exist before."
Inez wrapped her arms around Darcy and pulled her close, nuzzling against her neck after a quick peck just behind her ear. She listened as she explained about the new people, or the ones new to her at least. She squeezed her a little at the talk of Q again. "I know, I know, but I just couldn't do nothin', hon. I didn't wanna be your white knight either, fightin' your battles for you, because I've no right t'do that, nor do y'need it, but... yeah, I had to speak my piece, and now I have." She'd let it lie now if everyone else would, but she had to at least point things out to Q.
"Actually... well, maybe this is too heavy a convo t'have now, but I was meanin' t'ask about what y'all do and if... I mean, if I were leavin' XFI, what would I need t'do if I wanted to look elsewhere?" she asked, playing with Darcy's hair a little as she considered her words.
"That's fair, I'd be upset on your behalf if the situation were reversed." Darcy squeezed their fingers, glad her hair was out of the way. "It's not that hard, in theory. You wanna tell me why you're thinking of leaving? My problems with Quire aside, the rest of them are good people."
"It's a good spot, yeah," she agreed, gently wrapping a little of Darcy's hair around one of her fingers and playing with it idly. "And the work is good, it's true. I just... it's hard to explain, maybe. Like, I don't mind it, but the whole detective side of it isn't my usual line of work." She didn't always go straight to violence, per se, but her previous gigs more often involved more physicality and muscle, and... not as happy endings, really.
"I'd kinda be more comfortable doin' what I was doin' before, but that ain't easy either. So... yeah. The whole Q thing really soured me, to be honest, but I know I'm hardly objective in that particular case," she conceded, wiggling a little closer to Darcy. "Which is a long, awkward way of sayin' it ain't you, it's me to them, ain't it?"
"Teams aren't always a good fit," Darcy acknowledged, turning so she could slip her free hand around the blonde's waist. "So bounty hunting? Or just more physicality in general? I think maybe you'd have some of the same issues with Excalibur. The science, the downtime, maybe not your idea of a great time for now? So. X-Men or X-Force. If you're wanting the physicality of it, but maybe wanting to move away from the... dead aspect of dead or alive, the X-Men could be a good fit. They don't kill, as a general rule, but they do some ass-kicking in the name of containing in a way that regular cops or military can't. If you don't mind a very uncertain future, X-Force might fit. That sounds..." she let out a sigh, head resting against Inez's chest. "Insufficient, maybe. But when I interviewed with Kevin, he opened with the fact that a fuck up could mean my painful death. Among other things. We have downtime, we have intel to analyze just like anyone else. But there are also plenty of opportunities to do those things in the field. We get our hands dirty. Sometimes we use our bodies. I wasn't brought on as an assassin, but one of my first jobs had me marking a man for death, kidnapping him, and doing full clean-up and disposal after." She tipped her head back to look Inez in the eye, serious. "I lost sleep over it, but it wasn't because he was dead. It was because I had the ability to do all of that and not be wrecked with guilt after."
"Mm, it takes some time, an' I haven't been here a terribly long time, all things considered," she replied, scooting a bit to allow Darcy's arm to slip around her. "Those sound like good options, maybe, I don't... killin' isn't something I need, for sure, it's an occupational hazard in my line of work so I'm not... unfamiliar with it," she says in a low voice; Darcy knew the folk around there but she didn't so she wasn't going to shout that out loud or anything. "But yeah, they may be a better fit for me... I'll sleep on it, for sure, nothin' rash needs to happen or anything, but the more I think about it the more I think a change of scenery might do me good."
She stroked Darcy's hair again as she spoke about one of her first jobs, and how it had resulted in her losing sleep. "Well, I mean, the fact that you did lose sleep over it tells me you're a good person, love. An' yeah, I'm biased as hell, but y'didn't collapse or nothin' but it did affect you," Inez pointed out. "I know I had similar feelings the first time I had t'deal with that, though I didn't have t'do the clean up part, not all of it anyway." Hells bells, she figured, that'd make anyone lose sleep. "You're ok now though, yeah? If y'ever need t'talk about it, or anythin' else, y'know I'm here for you." She likely knew that but she wanted to remind her, just in case.
"No need to be rash, no. And it's worth it to ask about collaborating with other teams if you think your skills would be a fit. It's not restricted, we've had Jean or Clarice and others along on missions for X-Force, Doug and I help monitor the wormhole with Excalibur, the magic types get asked to help any team that could use their particular skills. It's just a... primary designation." Darcy's fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt, stroking small circles low on Inez's spine.
"I don't know that I'm a good person, really, but I try not to be a completely terrible one." She chuckled. "Regardless of what other people might think or say, which is why I'll eventually apologize to Madin for jumping in rude-first instead of trying diplomacy. And I did start to finish because Kevin wanted me to be eyes open about the consequences of my actions. And now there's a barrel in the bay that's probably sunk far enough to be out of the reach of most human exploration now, but more importantly, we were able to prevent giant crabs from overtaking Baltimore." Her life was insane. Magic. Magic was insane. "And he was there after, too, when I was worried about being a monster for not being more upset. But yes, I'm okay. It was a few years ago. I mean, I still have nightmares and things, but it's not just from that. They're rarely from that mission anymore, honestly."
"That's also somethin' t'consider," she agreed, humming happily at Darcy's touch on her lower back. She listened to Darcy, then hesitated because she didn't want to argue with her; it sounded like there was a lot still bothering her but a) Inez was no psychiatrist, and b) Darcy was already talking to people and dealing with things, she wasn't gonna win any brownie points by hassling her about it. Quite the opposite, most likely, so instead Inez just kissed the top of her head and kept playing with her hair.
"Well, you're welcome t'come stay with me if that happens again, sweetie." She paused as she considered her offer. "I mean, not just in like... I'm not just talkin' 'bout comin' over for fun times, heh, which are alright too, but I'm not just tryin' to flirt with ya." Another head peck. "Much. I just ... I really care about ya, Darcy, and I wanna help you if I can." She's unsure just how much she can help, but she knows that she'll do anything she can if it'll make a difference.
"I like the flirting and the caring. It's good, knowing who I can depend on when I need help. Want help." She tipped her head back, kissing the underside of Inez's jaw. "I'll keep it in mind. Sometimes I get very bad about reaching out. I'm trying to be better about it. People can't understand the reactions I'm having if I haven't bothered telling them there's a problem in the first place. But it goes both ways. I care about you, so if you need help. Want help. Just want to not talk and cuddle while you think things through, whatever. I'd like to be there for you."
"Yeah, you're right, it's not easy, but it helps havin' someone. Which I'm findin' out now... god, I hope I'm not openin' up too much or anythin'," Inez said with a nervous chuckle. "I haven't stayed put in one place long enough to have friends, let alone what we have," she said, stumbling over the last part because she still had no idea what to call it. Not everything needed a label, of course, but still. It was foreign and alien and glorious all at once.
"I just don't wanna scare y'off either, pumpkin," she said, testing out a new nickname maybe. Did that work? How does one go about bequeathing cute nicknames anyway? Gosh Inez still had so much to learn. "I really like you and will be there for you, an' y'can be there for me too, we can agree on that." There, that was a good foundation from which to build at least, they could both agree on that she reckoned.
Darcy shook her head. "I like it. It's... been really rare I do something like a friends with benefits as an ongoing thing? I'm generally either a one night stand or relationship type. I had a girlfriend in college that... we sometimes brought in a guy? And a few of them got repeat invites by virtue of being cool with just being a booty call, basically. But that was it, they were guys we were socially friendly with at best. I'm a little better about it now, like... if Foggy and Marci decided tomorrow to be exclusive, I'd be more upset for Matt than myself as long as we were still friends and hung out socially. Little bit same if he decided to be exclusive with Foggy. I'd be sad, but we'd still be friends. Just not the naked kind. But I'm glad we're building something, not just screwing around. Even if we're not putting a name to it yet." She grinned, and huffed a laugh. "Anyone asks, we're gal pals. Just gals... bein pals. In the most meme sense of the phrase."
Inez nodded and stroked Darcy's hair some more as they chilled together. "Mhm, that makes sense t'me. An' yeah, we don't need any labels or anythin' as long as we're happy," she reasoned. "And... I am like the proverbial pig in shit here these days, if I'm bein' honest," she chuckled. "And also bein' graphic, sorry, heh." It might not have been the best image but hey, it was absolutely true though.
"Anyone asks it's none of their business, but, uh..." That's her stock hard-ass answer but for their friends, well. "Yeah, for folk we like, absolutely. Gals bein' pals has a nice ring to it, I like it."
"It's true, but we're all a bunch of terrible, nosy gossips." Darcy grinned brightly up at Inez, enjoying the fingers combing through her hair. "And I'm an absolutely shameless slut for having my hair stroked like this, if you haven't already guessed." Her own hands were still slowly rubbing up and down Inez's back, and in general she was feeling fairly comfy and lazy mixed with a low buzz of arousal. Considering the company, it wasn't a surprise at all, but she was content for now to just snuggle and chat while stealing the occasional kiss.
"Duly noted," she replied with a laugh, filing that away for future reference still playing with her hair and likewise content to just chill with Darcy like this for as long as she'll allow it.
