Maya & Darcy | Dinner
Jul. 21st, 2023 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs(backdated) After the mishap in the DR, Maya grabs dinner and questions Darcy, then gives her the scoop on the guy she's dating.
Darcy sent a text as she crossed the few steps to Maya's room rather than knocking. She hadn't bothered getting more dressed as she'd left Kevin's suite, merely grabbing one of his cardigans and buttoning it over her t-shirt and shorts as she waggled her fingers at him on the way out.
"BUZZ BUZZ"
She gave Maya a wan smile as the door opened, slipping her phone into her pocket and signing "Hey Sis," at the other woman. There was a vivid bruise on her neck, and she limped slightly as she came into the room. "What's on the menu tonight?"
“Mama Lupe’s of course, she said you have to stop by once you’re feeling better,” Maya noted as she headed toward the kitchenette and the plates she’d already pulled out. “Doug made distressed hunger noises when he saw the name on the bags but I told him he’d have to wait for only possible leftovers. I brought double just in case you were hungry.”
Darcy's rasping laughter was short, but she signed the emotion past what her throat would tolerate to indicate her actual amusement. "Maybe a little hungry," she confessed, rubbing her growling stomach as the smells hit her nose. "I drained myself pretty good this morning, and only had that protein bar when I woke up. Definitely feeling it now."
“Why’d you go so hard?”
Maya had begun opening containers and she pushed several toward Darcy to give her first choice. It wasn’t that Maya didn’t trust her to know her own limits but given what had happened not so long ago, it felt like something to at least ask about.
"We needed data on how someone with baseline everything would react to the simulation," Darcy signed carefully between taking small amounts of various things. "But I haven't had to push my powers that hard in the field before. Kenya came close, but I had my gun there to get some distance. In an enclosed space, I'd have to worry about ricochet if I missed, so I was relying entirely on my powers and combat abilities." She gave Maya a look. "Besides, when have you ever known me to not give 100% in anything but running if I'm healthy?"
“I’m not sure I like that you have to be the one, but I can’t think of anything that doesn’t come across as ‘I hate that bitch and don’t want you to have to even think of her’ as a reason,” Maya admitted with a heavy sigh, her fingers displaying her dismay as she signed back. “You’re an adult, you get to decide what’s enough.”
"I didn't make her a villain, but I didn't put her down either. Least I can do now is help." Darcy cut tiny pieces of her tamale, eating slowly and chewing thoroughly to avoid upsetting her throat. "Hopefully if I ever see her in the field I'll be on a roof or something, but there's no guarantee she won't end up showing up like a bad penny. And there are people without healing factors among your lot of X-Men, too. It's good data for everyone."
“I just want you safe,” Maya admitted with a sigh as she fished her implants out of a pocket and slipped them over her ears. It was easier to eat without having to keep a hand free for sign. “Hard enough given your team, you know?”
Darcy set her phone to text to voice, then thought at it. "That goes both ways. But the Danger Room is literally one of the safest places in the world that we can push our powers. If I don't push them, I can't expand them. The last time I didn't train my powers hard enough, I almost died. Better to do it here in a room with a dampener to keep me from totally burning out and top-notch medical staff to glower at me after than to do it in the field and make Kevin bring a body home. It's the same reason any of us spend time with Vi." It was weird, hearing her phone project her thoughts while she ate, but it was a small thing that had gotten easier and easier as she kept practicing.
“I can see the need,” Maya noted, dipping one of her birria tacos in adobo broth and taking a big bite. She made a noise of contentment and did a small chair dance of good food. “I hate it but I can see it. How long you gonna be bruised up for? Did they give you something for your throat?”
Darcy shrugged, still slowly. "Until it heals up. The simulation tried to rip my throat out. That's part of why I overloaded. Flashback. PTSD is garbage. And yes, I've already scheduled some extra therapy. Still better in the DR than elsewhere. Tell me about your date."
“He’s different,” Maya said with a small smile. “We went hiking and then had dinner. He’s taller than me, which is nice.”
"That's a plus!" Darcy swallowed her last bite, and then gave Maya a full smile. "Where'd you go for dinner? Are you going to see him again?" Tamale finally finished, she scooped up some beans and rice. Soft food was great, and so was hearing about what sounded like a nice date.
“We’re going to see Barbenheimer,” Maya replied with another smile, an expression almost like contentment drifting its way across her face before disappearing again. “He promised not to nerd at me about Physics too much.”
"That sounds fake, but you've been around enough nerd types to have a decent tolerance for nerding out. You tolerate Doug and I well enough, after all, and we're horrid about it." Darcy reached out a hand to cover Maya's and gave it a squeeze. "I'm really, really happy it's going well, sis."
“It’s a weird ‘go see Barbie and then Oppenheimer’ thing people have been doing,” Maya explained with a short laugh. “And I am too. It’s nice, and he’s kind. I didn’t think I’d enjoy kind so much.”
"Difference between kind and doormat. I don't think you'd like a doormat, but... kind, smart, able to relate? That's a good combo." Darcy's grin took on a mischievous slant. "Keep dating him and we might have to do a double, let him nerd at Doug."
"I think he'd actually like that, honestly," Maya noted with a grin. Not that she thought they'd be obnoxious but they might think it hilarious to try on some kind of Big Brother routine. "If it goes well, I might even invite him to one of the mansion barbeques. He's vegan but that's more a mutation thing than anything else. He and I kind of got through the 'You're a deer mutant and I hunt' conversation on our second date. He seemed mostly chill, just has no intention of going anywhere forest-like during hunting season."
"Smart of him," Darcy noted. "And we can adjust for vegans. It's not like we don't have several vegetarians in the house already, so making sure he's got something to eat that isn't just some sad salad will be easy. If nothing else, we can do veggie skewers on a small grill, figure out some sort of vegan-friendly dipping sauce or marinade. Maybe some black bean burgers. You know me and Terry, we'll make sure everyone can eat, even if we have to make a plate or two special."
"Not sure I want to subject him to the whole entire mansion at once," Maya admitted with a wry smile. She especially didn't want anyone deciding to tell him all about how she was at sixteen, some things could wait until at least the third year of dating, if ever, honestly. "But people like you and Kyle would probably be okay."
"What do you think about starting with lunch?" Darcy asked. "Betty's does a good vegetable plate. I can ask if it's vegan. If not, there's a food truck somewhere. Or maybe something at the community center. Low key. I wouldn't want to subject someone new to the whole mansion at once, either."
“Lunch.” Maya mused, her sign showing that she was thinking about it. “Lunch could be good. Betty’s then, or there’s some good food trucks outside the Community Centre lately, I think Terry has been trying to entice them with food talk.”
"Excellent. Maybe I can convince Potato Rescue to come out, their owner's a cool dude and those sweet potato puffs hit a spot when you want something a little sweet." She grinned at Maya. "After my throat recovers though. I want to be able to talk with my hands and my voice, not my hands and my phone."
Darcy sent a text as she crossed the few steps to Maya's room rather than knocking. She hadn't bothered getting more dressed as she'd left Kevin's suite, merely grabbing one of his cardigans and buttoning it over her t-shirt and shorts as she waggled her fingers at him on the way out.
"BUZZ BUZZ"
She gave Maya a wan smile as the door opened, slipping her phone into her pocket and signing "Hey Sis," at the other woman. There was a vivid bruise on her neck, and she limped slightly as she came into the room. "What's on the menu tonight?"
“Mama Lupe’s of course, she said you have to stop by once you’re feeling better,” Maya noted as she headed toward the kitchenette and the plates she’d already pulled out. “Doug made distressed hunger noises when he saw the name on the bags but I told him he’d have to wait for only possible leftovers. I brought double just in case you were hungry.”
Darcy's rasping laughter was short, but she signed the emotion past what her throat would tolerate to indicate her actual amusement. "Maybe a little hungry," she confessed, rubbing her growling stomach as the smells hit her nose. "I drained myself pretty good this morning, and only had that protein bar when I woke up. Definitely feeling it now."
“Why’d you go so hard?”
Maya had begun opening containers and she pushed several toward Darcy to give her first choice. It wasn’t that Maya didn’t trust her to know her own limits but given what had happened not so long ago, it felt like something to at least ask about.
"We needed data on how someone with baseline everything would react to the simulation," Darcy signed carefully between taking small amounts of various things. "But I haven't had to push my powers that hard in the field before. Kenya came close, but I had my gun there to get some distance. In an enclosed space, I'd have to worry about ricochet if I missed, so I was relying entirely on my powers and combat abilities." She gave Maya a look. "Besides, when have you ever known me to not give 100% in anything but running if I'm healthy?"
“I’m not sure I like that you have to be the one, but I can’t think of anything that doesn’t come across as ‘I hate that bitch and don’t want you to have to even think of her’ as a reason,” Maya admitted with a heavy sigh, her fingers displaying her dismay as she signed back. “You’re an adult, you get to decide what’s enough.”
"I didn't make her a villain, but I didn't put her down either. Least I can do now is help." Darcy cut tiny pieces of her tamale, eating slowly and chewing thoroughly to avoid upsetting her throat. "Hopefully if I ever see her in the field I'll be on a roof or something, but there's no guarantee she won't end up showing up like a bad penny. And there are people without healing factors among your lot of X-Men, too. It's good data for everyone."
“I just want you safe,” Maya admitted with a sigh as she fished her implants out of a pocket and slipped them over her ears. It was easier to eat without having to keep a hand free for sign. “Hard enough given your team, you know?”
Darcy set her phone to text to voice, then thought at it. "That goes both ways. But the Danger Room is literally one of the safest places in the world that we can push our powers. If I don't push them, I can't expand them. The last time I didn't train my powers hard enough, I almost died. Better to do it here in a room with a dampener to keep me from totally burning out and top-notch medical staff to glower at me after than to do it in the field and make Kevin bring a body home. It's the same reason any of us spend time with Vi." It was weird, hearing her phone project her thoughts while she ate, but it was a small thing that had gotten easier and easier as she kept practicing.
“I can see the need,” Maya noted, dipping one of her birria tacos in adobo broth and taking a big bite. She made a noise of contentment and did a small chair dance of good food. “I hate it but I can see it. How long you gonna be bruised up for? Did they give you something for your throat?”
Darcy shrugged, still slowly. "Until it heals up. The simulation tried to rip my throat out. That's part of why I overloaded. Flashback. PTSD is garbage. And yes, I've already scheduled some extra therapy. Still better in the DR than elsewhere. Tell me about your date."
“He’s different,” Maya said with a small smile. “We went hiking and then had dinner. He’s taller than me, which is nice.”
"That's a plus!" Darcy swallowed her last bite, and then gave Maya a full smile. "Where'd you go for dinner? Are you going to see him again?" Tamale finally finished, she scooped up some beans and rice. Soft food was great, and so was hearing about what sounded like a nice date.
“We’re going to see Barbenheimer,” Maya replied with another smile, an expression almost like contentment drifting its way across her face before disappearing again. “He promised not to nerd at me about Physics too much.”
"That sounds fake, but you've been around enough nerd types to have a decent tolerance for nerding out. You tolerate Doug and I well enough, after all, and we're horrid about it." Darcy reached out a hand to cover Maya's and gave it a squeeze. "I'm really, really happy it's going well, sis."
“It’s a weird ‘go see Barbie and then Oppenheimer’ thing people have been doing,” Maya explained with a short laugh. “And I am too. It’s nice, and he’s kind. I didn’t think I’d enjoy kind so much.”
"Difference between kind and doormat. I don't think you'd like a doormat, but... kind, smart, able to relate? That's a good combo." Darcy's grin took on a mischievous slant. "Keep dating him and we might have to do a double, let him nerd at Doug."
"I think he'd actually like that, honestly," Maya noted with a grin. Not that she thought they'd be obnoxious but they might think it hilarious to try on some kind of Big Brother routine. "If it goes well, I might even invite him to one of the mansion barbeques. He's vegan but that's more a mutation thing than anything else. He and I kind of got through the 'You're a deer mutant and I hunt' conversation on our second date. He seemed mostly chill, just has no intention of going anywhere forest-like during hunting season."
"Smart of him," Darcy noted. "And we can adjust for vegans. It's not like we don't have several vegetarians in the house already, so making sure he's got something to eat that isn't just some sad salad will be easy. If nothing else, we can do veggie skewers on a small grill, figure out some sort of vegan-friendly dipping sauce or marinade. Maybe some black bean burgers. You know me and Terry, we'll make sure everyone can eat, even if we have to make a plate or two special."
"Not sure I want to subject him to the whole entire mansion at once," Maya admitted with a wry smile. She especially didn't want anyone deciding to tell him all about how she was at sixteen, some things could wait until at least the third year of dating, if ever, honestly. "But people like you and Kyle would probably be okay."
"What do you think about starting with lunch?" Darcy asked. "Betty's does a good vegetable plate. I can ask if it's vegan. If not, there's a food truck somewhere. Or maybe something at the community center. Low key. I wouldn't want to subject someone new to the whole mansion at once, either."
“Lunch.” Maya mused, her sign showing that she was thinking about it. “Lunch could be good. Betty’s then, or there’s some good food trucks outside the Community Centre lately, I think Terry has been trying to entice them with food talk.”
"Excellent. Maybe I can convince Potato Rescue to come out, their owner's a cool dude and those sweet potato puffs hit a spot when you want something a little sweet." She grinned at Maya. "After my throat recovers though. I want to be able to talk with my hands and my voice, not my hands and my phone."
