xp_logs | Kevin & Darcy | Early New Year's

xp_darcy posting in

Kevin and Darcy have an early drink at Kirby's to start celebrating the new year.

Normally shenanigans started later, but Kevin had been at work when he called her in to go over some data with him, so Darcy found herself at Original Kirby's for a drink at 4pm on New Years Eve.

"Just one and then you can head back and get all gussied up for whichever of your dates are taking you out. Young people understand 'gussied' still, right?" Kevin said with a wry smile as Chris brought him an Original Ballantine and the cocktail menu for her.

"I'll have a cranberry-orange whiskey sour, please," she said to Chris with a smile, before turning back to Kevin. "I don't have any plans, so this is more giving you time to change your tie for whatever date you're getting up to later tonight." Then, dryly, she added, "and yes darling, I understand what gussied up means. I didn't fall off the turnip truck last week."

"I never know. I referred to something as hokum and got an entirely blank look last week." Kevin took a sip from his pint. "And for once, no date. I'm going to spend a quiet night here... lots of drinks, a little bonding because other mansion people are supposed to be here. I don't know." He shrugged. "New years resolution... work on being less the grouchy old man. I promise nothing that it is sustained."

"You, a grouchy old man? I could never imagine such a thing." Her voice was lightly teasing and affectionate. "You're obviously a regular cuddle bear, Kevin." She poked her tongue out slightly for just a moment before settling into something amused and open as her drink was dropped off. A sip and a sigh of enjoyment followed before she offered the glass for him to taste.

He took a sip and passed it back. Too much cranberry for his taste, but a solid sour. "I'm a very old man. And some days I feel it. But-" Kevin said. "I look like a young man. In my head I'm a young man. Until I end up around everyone and it feels like an act. I'd like it to be less of an act."

Darcy tilted her head at him, watching steadily as she took a long swallow of her drink. "Fake it until it's easier. That's very millenial of you, Darling."

"It's far older than me, Darcy." He said with a wry look and a wink. "I mean, I saw 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' in the original Broadway run."

"Well, you can always be me to get in the mindset. People expect me to be friendly and I love a good cuddle, so there's no downside. Just ship me off to Vegas for a week, nobody would notice." She grinned behind the rim of her drink, red lip hidden partially by the darkness of the cranberry juice.

"Stop. I could never fake you long enough to make it work. And we need you." Kevin said, taking a sip and leveling a finger at her. "I also don't want to cuddle most of your people."

"You absolutely could. Where's this self-doubt coming from?" Darcy reached forward, nipping the tip of his finger without shame or hesitation. "You'd make a fantastic Darcy. And if not here, imagine letting Stacy have two Darcy for a week. I'm not sure my viewers could handle Me Squared, but the tips would really pad that Swiss bank account I've been contemplating."

"I know you could for you and... you're not wrong." Kevin said with a grin. "But I think they want the real thing. And so do I."

"If I remember our talks about your abilities right, if you are me then you ARE me. But sure, we'll keep Darcy Squared in the pocket for when we really need it, and not just to pad my bank account. Alas, I was really looking forward to buying that small island in the Caribbean. Invitation only, clothing optional."

"That will be a lot different from your normal clothing optional life." Kevin gave her an eyebrow bump. "So, what do you want for the new year?"

"A private island and sex so mind-blowing I forget my name for a few minutes after," Darcy quipped easily before sobering up. "I'll settle for some time to go see my family. It's been too long, and even going spontaneously hasn't worked out for me yet, let alone actually planning it." She set her drink down, propping her elbow on the table like a heathen and resting her chin against her hand. "I tried to get Doug to skip town with me for the week after that whole nightmare with the first floor, but he was more interested in seeing Namor's face at unwrapping his jokey Christmas gift. I'm not recovered enough yet to just fly without luggage and buy everything on the other end, especially not the day before Christmas. Flying would've been taxing enough."

"Hmm..." Kevin said, with a bit of a wince. "Look, I'm officially clearing your calendar. Go home. See the family. Bring me back some home cooking." He took out his phone and tapped it a couple of times before shaking his head and handing it to her. "Seriously. Minimum four days. Plug it in now. You need a rest and I need you at your best."

Darcy shook her head, a curl falling loose from her bun. "Not right now, but maybe once I'm healed up. I'd have to make another trip to the mansion for one, and Thor only knows where they're at when it comes to rebuilding. Last time the floors were so covered in debris I packed for two weeks instead of one. Marci's letting me stay in her spare room for now. She was with her folks most of the week since the firm has the week off for Christmas and New Year's, but I didn't want to explain my injuries to them. At least my face is nice and patched up now, and the forehead scar's easy enough to conceal or pass off as being hit by some flying debris. But the other wounds are taking their sweet time, especially my hand." She waved the splinted thing at him from where it was resting in her lap, black almost passing for a set of fingerless gloves in the dimmer light of the bar.

"I am not liking this push to drive yourself into the ground, Lewis. You don't want to show injuries, fine, I'll spring for a luxury spa vacation. I need your back rested and ready, and you aren't getting that bouncing around and trying to pull things together remotely."

'What.' She blew her hair out of her face and sat up straight, relaxed vibe gone. "I'm not sure why you're under the impression that I'm working myself into the ground right now, but I assure you any deviations I've had from Clarice's initial orders have, in fact, been okayed by either her or the nurse practitioner I normally see in District X. I took all of my antibiotics, I've been doing some remote work as pain and hand allow, and the only reason I came into the office at all this week is because Marci's place is a 20-minute bus ride and a short walk. I'm not bouncing around. I'm sleeping at Marci's for now because the first floor of the mansion and the main elevators got wrecked last week, and I've only just gotten approval for light stair use. It's much more relaxing to sleep in a nice spare room with an elevator and doorman than it is to sleep in a construction zone."

"Alright, alright. I surrender." Kevin said, putting his hands up.

"Sorry, I just–" Darcy rolled her eyes, but her voice was fond. "Put your hands down, silly man." She reached across with her good hand, giving his elbow a light tug. "I don't want ripped stitches or a ruined hand either, so I am doing my best. I just also get bored, which is why I've been doing some reports and stuff from whatever upholstery my butt is wiggling a groove into. I am being careful though, I promise. And you know how I feel about promises."

"While I hate admitting it, part of my job is making sure my people are okay." Kevin said with a light gesture.

"I know." She laced their fingers together, leaning close enough to bump against his shoulder. "And right now the best thing for me is staying somewhere with an elevator and a very nice doorman. I get decent sleep at night and Marci made sure I'd be able to reach things without putting unnecessary strain on my abdominal stitches while she's gone. My hand's still a wreck because bitch got like three muscles and some nerves, but I start PT for it in a few weeks. It'll probably scar, but I'm hoping I'll get mostly full functionality back. It might end up needing surgery."

"You might want to talk to Sefton. If there's nerve damage, I'm told the magical work around isn't as intensive a fix as some other procedures." Kevin said. "Or I'll talk to her if you don't."

Darcy wrinkled her nose. "I haven't had the best luck with magic being used around me, so how does a compromise sound? Let me start PT and get those scans. If it's regenerating on its own then it should already be repairing itself and I'll do my PT. If they think it might need surgery, we'll consult with Amanda before making any commitments. I don't really want the surgery, because the recovery from it is almost half a year. But if it's healing itself, I don't want to risk mucking around with magic. The PT's only about 6 weeks long, and that's mostly to make sure my muscles and tendons and fine motor control are in tip-top shape."

"I want you back at one hundred percent. I trust Sefton, but I'm always fine with waiting to see first." Kevin said with a wry smile. "Making decisions for you for your health and all that."

"There's a reason you have full access to my medical files and power of attorney, Kevin, but thank you for not being as overbearing as you could be with that power." She stuck her tongue out briefly as she winked. "I'm not going to say the idea of magic-ing myself out of pain isn't tempting when my arm feels like it's being attacked by several mounds of fire ants, but I don't want to get complacent that there's always going to be a fix. That was part of Laurie's problem. Lost an arm in the old world, got a shiny top line thing that was almost as good as the real thing. And when she didn't have it anymore, she couldn't cope and was willing to do anything to get it back. I don't want to become that."

"Laurie took the wrong message away. She wanted a shortcut from reality. This is a realistic option." Kevin pointed out. "I get the apprehension, and I respect it, but you aren't Laurie."

"No, but I understand why she took the steps she did, at least to some extent." Darcy took a long sip of her drink, bumping her shoulder against his. "I don't think I'd walk the same path, but that's mainly because I have this pretty rad old man that keeps me from staring too hard into the abyss. Doesn't mean I don't see the roads that could lead me to similar paths, just means I try not to dwell on them."

"But that doesn't mean you handicap yourself. I'm serious." Kevin huffed. "Magic... I fucking hate. I hate it so much. But I have to respect it, and for all Sefton is a fish and chip eating punkish pillock, she's entirely too smart by half in what she does. And if she can help, you're going to listen to this old man. Am I clear?"

"Clear as those pretty rocks our little cats like to run off with." Cheeky, but he needed it. "I promise, Boss. If they mention surgery once my scans are back, the two of you'll get a pretty little calendar invite to a meeting as soon as I can coordinate all three of us in the same place, okay? Besides, I'm not going to let my career end early because my ex got a clever shot in. The shame of it!" She kept her voice light, grin distorted through the glass before she took another swallow. "And in the meantime I'm going to be ordering all of us neck protection and working on ways for her to not be able to sink her claws into my stomach again. Next time she might decide not to play."

"I say during the next meeting with her we remind her what it is like to be missing limbs again." Kevin said it with a joking tone, but she knew he was deadly serious. "I can't wait to cross that particular mistake off my ledger."

"My mistake. Our mistake, maybe. Or maybe the mistake of people who were around before the whole–" Darcy mimed the whole universe colliding thing by lightly clinking their glasses together while making explosion noises. "All of that, even. I mean, she'd been here since her teens. There had to have been signs. I mean, I know my opinion of what scientists and similar do is pretty skewed, but people who knew her longer should've noticed. That mess isn't entirely on the two of us, but I do wish I'd had the words to tell you she needed to be permanently dealt with."

"You know what. We both get it. We know." Kevin waved his hand and Chris ducked back behind the bar. "So we beat her now by being better. Better than her miserable life, at least."

"We're good at that." Her phone beeped, and Darcy stuck a single finger out, silencing it. "Nothing important, just a reminder."