He considers asking if she'll feel better talking about something that's not her own issues, but (wisely) reconsiders on grounds of that sounding dickish.
So instead: "My best friend's toddler is here, except he's nineteen now. Lily's baby is here and he's twenty-odd, or something. Black remains terminally unable to exist without furiously wanking over his projected dislike of me-- but at least Edgeworth's gone."
And Darcy proves she's a horrible person by barking out a series of three short laughs before she manages to slap her hand over her mouth and stifle it. "Oh, is that all?" she asks after she's sure she isn't just going to start laughing again. But there's still a twinkle in her eye, so she's not completely over it. "I'm sorry, I am, really, but is it me or is everything more ridiculous than usual lately? Jesus."
That seems like a totally reasonable reaction tbh.
"Lunacy seems to be relative," he drawls, because really tho. If her laughter bugs him, there's no outward sign. Severus picks up two plates of food of some kind (it's late, I don't cook, whatever it is is AWESOME don't ask me) and nods at the kitchen table, setting them down. "Izzy and Diablo were household appliances while Claire was gone." --is still sort of funny, except for the whole while Claire was gone part. Conveniently, Severus is looking at the plates he's setting down and not Darcy while he says it.
"I am actually sorry I missed that." Darcy follows Severus to the table and sits down where he's set her place. "Like, I'm kind of mortified, but also really curious about what that looked like." Because it probably looked adorable somehow. There's nothing that could possibly be horrifying about this remotely.
"Speaking of Claire," and while she knows she has no right to go here, she's doing it anyway, because she can. But only after she takes a bite of food, hums appreciatively, immediately shoves three more mouthfuls in (each meal is still looked at as though it could be the last time she'll have a chance to eat) and swallows those down. It's not like she's going to talk with her mouth full, okay? "You should maybe come by the fifth floor kitchen tonight. In the middle of the night. Especially if you can smell baked goods."
"Like a lamp and a teakettle." And it actually saved them from an incredible amount of suffering due to the radiation drama, while everyone else's animals were sick and dying. So take that, haters.
He sits, table manners a little more precise - aftermarket additions, these ones installed by the pureblood aristocrat who deemed him his protege. "Why, does she want to watch me get jumped?"
"Please. I will cut a bitch." And the way she brandishes her dinner knife when she says that is actually kind of convincing. She might actually physically fight someone in Severus' defense. She expects he can defend himself, however. Magic and all.
More seriously, she continues, cutting into her meal with perhaps a little more enthusiasm than is strictly necessary, "No. Because your girlfriend should be spending her sleepless nights with you, and not baking with me." Oh that? Yeah, she noticed.
Severus doesn't quite choke on his food, but it's clear he wasn't expecting that on the heels of being faintly amused at her shiv mime, there.
It's not the smoothest recovery in the world but at least it's a recovery as he finishes chewing and sets his fork down, fingertips against the metal still. "For her it's been months."
Darcy knows that, he knows she knows. It's not like they were married, hell, they were barely properly dating, and Severus feels like he'll be being invasive if he does more than he's doing now. "She's-- we're." He stops short, because it occurs to him that oh, hey, Darcy knows they are (they were?) dating.
"And suffering. Mostly alone, because I sure as hell am not what she wants, as much as I'm trying." She doesn't set her utensils down, but she does stab her fork into a piece of food and just hold it there. Like she might be imagining she's stabbing it into his leg for being a moron or something. "I know you have no idea what it was like? But the fact that she's spending time with me means she doesn't want to be alone. And that's not your call to make anyway, is it?" Darcy's brows hike up toward her hairline. Think critically about that, professor.
There are some holes in Darcy's logic. Like if it was Claire's call, she'd say something, and it's not as if they haven't seen each other at all, it's just been awkward and distant between them. Severus hasn't pressed her and Claire hasn't reached out, and if he doesn't know where he stands at least he's still standing.
"I don't think it's strange she'd want to spend time with you." They shared an experience, after all, even if they didn't know it at the time. Darcy's right, Severus has no idea what it was like, but they do. "...It's not as if I don't want to see her."
He feels a bit like he's digesting broken glass, getting that last part out. Severus doesn't want to push her or pressure her - in fact he's downright paranoid about doing so.
"So see her." Darcy finally lets go of her silverware to rest her elbow on the table, her lips pressed into an exasperated line. She's pretty sure she's seen Severus make the exact same face at her before. "We don't know what's going to happen in this place from day to day, let alone jump to jump. Don't set yourself up for regrets, Sev. You've got too many of those already." She can tell. The way he talks about Lily, and her son, among other topics.
Anyway-- He's torn, not sure if he should feel insulted by this prying or not. But it seems to mean well, instead of Darcy being nosy over her own personal curiosity. 'Regrets' gets a raised eyebrow, because Darcy doesn't know the half of it, and maybe she wouldn't be so flippant about it if she knew more about, well, the war, but that would require Severus actually talking about it.
So no.
"It's her call." ... Which isn't a No I'm not going to do anything, it's just also not a dedication of intent. Which, honestly, Darcy shouldn't be expecting.
"It is her call. But she's less likely to ask you to be there. Not because she doesn't want to, but that's just how she is. You've gotta know that by now." Like, seriously? He has to, right? Please? "If I'm completely wrong - which I'm not - she'll more than readily tell you to fuck off, and then you can yell at me for setting you up for failure. Which is not going to happen." If she's being kind of a snot about this, it's only because she's really intense and not sure how to convey that without being more than a little bit obnoxious. Tact has never been one of Darcy's strong suits. More gently, she requests, "Please tell me you'll see her."
Severus has had these thoughts, and more. But what the hell is he supposed to do? It's been months for Claire, alone and hunted, and what does she finally return to? Not home, not her family or anyone familiar, just abandoned dogs and him, who she's only known intimately for about as long as she was lost in the bloody hallways. What a stellar consolation prize.
With that settled, Darcy resumes her quest to eat dinner in record time. "But if you don't," this said around a mouthful of food, because fuck it, "I'm going to track you down and I'm going to..." It's unsurprising that her default go-to threat would be kick your ass, but sometimes she has just enough presence of mind to abort and adjust her course. And that hesitation is neatly covered up by chewing and swallowing her food. "I'm not sure how, but I will find a way to embarrass you. Publicly. Don't make me scheme up how to embarrass you because you know I'm like one-hundred-and-ten percent capable of that."
Wan, slightly sad but only in a distant, bitter way. It looks unnerving, because Severus doesn't smile very much to begin with, making even his genuine smiles (which this really isn't) mildly off-putting.
"There's nothing you can do to me that someone else on this ship hasn't already done tenfold, over and over again."
Oh, damn it. That was exactly the opposite reaction she hoped to inspire. Foot in mouth seems to be Darcy's specialty, and she has no idea what to say to smooth this over this time. He doesn't want her sympathy, she's fairly certain. But still, she mutters, "People are such assholes." Because she'd like to punch in the face whoever did this to her friend. She might get an opportunity.
"Look, I'm just worried about her, and you're obviously worried about her, and I'm worried about you, too." She really would like to hug him right now, but expects he would be the least receptive to that. "And if it turns out I'm totally wrong, I promise not to meddle again." She drops her voice to a low murmur that she's certain he can still hear, adding, "For at least a week."
At length, he picks up his fork again. He's starting to be-- not fine with her prying, here, but at least resigned to it. If it's over now. He'll see Claire, yes, but he would anyway. If he broods about it even more than usual... it was bound to happen eventually.
"So who on your floor was being a prick about bisexuals?"
Darcy's expression is too startled immediately following his question for her to play dumb about it, and she knows it. Instead, she scowls at her rapidly disappearing food and tries to think how best to answer it in such a way as to do damage control.
"Someone who I think was projecting their own issues." That's honest, right?
"So not you." Said in a very Thank you, that answers my question sort of way. Because it does. Maybe it'll come back to bite him in the ass that he's effectively letting it be known that Claire talked about whatever that incident was, but at least it's clear she hadn't named names. It was ages ago, too. He's just very patient.
(This is definitely not the nicest thing Severus has ever done. ASK HIM IF HE CARES.)
That brings her head up suddenly in a snap. "You thought it could actually be me?" Wow, Severus. Wow. Darcy is more than just offended, but actually really hurt. "Claire is my friend. I would never-"
Except she's just said too much. She just revealed that she knows a lot about what happened there, and it's not her place to elaborate, is it? Maybe it is? She just doesn't know. Either way, it doesn't abate the sting from his words, and she just decides to keep her mouth shut. Except to push more food into it.
Not really, anyway. He wouldn't have been so quick to agree to help fix her dress, otherwise. Severus doesn't seem like he's going to pick at the issue-- he did assert the fact that Claire's a private person, after all. She didn't tell him much in the way of detail, so he's not going to try and scry more out. Maybe he was just sore from Darcy digging at him about being a shitty boyfriend and wanted to throw the balance back in his favor. Maybe this kind of thing is why he doesn't have friends at home.
"Well you are in luck," Darcy informs him with only trace amounts of rapidly dissipating bitterness left in her tone, "because I would love to move on to unrelated right now."
She sighs heavily, shakes off whatever lingering annoyance there might be, and offers a small, apologetic sort of smile. "I'm happy to help, okay? Hit me."
Severus gives her an unreadable - but not hostile - look. This is just how he is. Unfortunately.
"Do you think it's of worth to look into the experiences you, and Claire, and others went through? At Smiley's behest. You know Xenogen studies things like that, to an extent. Given my closeness I've been hesitant."
Well, that's definitely a subject Darcy should have an opinion on. And something she probably should have thought of a little bit before now. "What? You mean like test us to see if we've been changed somehow? See what kind of effects the hallways had on us?" Her tone of voice suggests that she's not thrilled at the notion, but trying to keep an open mind.
"I was thinking more of interviewing you about it first. Looking at the conversations you had with the Smiley entity prior to the incidents. I know medical is fond of tests of that nature, but from my cultural perspective..." he trails off, with a shrug. Mages aren't keen on the poking and prodding of doctors. Severus respects the work, certainly, but he remains inherently skeptical of the overall legitimacy.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
So instead: "My best friend's toddler is here, except he's nineteen now. Lily's baby is here and he's twenty-odd, or something. Black remains terminally unable to exist without furiously wanking over his projected dislike of me-- but at least Edgeworth's gone."
All recited perfectly deadpan.
no subject
Who's the bad friend now, Severus?
no subject
"Lunacy seems to be relative," he drawls, because really tho. If her laughter bugs him, there's no outward sign. Severus picks up two plates of food of some kind (it's late, I don't cook, whatever it is is AWESOME don't ask me) and nods at the kitchen table, setting them down. "Izzy and Diablo were household appliances while Claire was gone." --is still sort of funny, except for the whole while Claire was gone part. Conveniently, Severus is looking at the plates he's setting down and not Darcy while he says it.
no subject
"Speaking of Claire," and while she knows she has no right to go here, she's doing it anyway, because she can. But only after she takes a bite of food, hums appreciatively, immediately shoves three more mouthfuls in (each meal is still looked at as though it could be the last time she'll have a chance to eat) and swallows those down. It's not like she's going to talk with her mouth full, okay? "You should maybe come by the fifth floor kitchen tonight. In the middle of the night. Especially if you can smell baked goods."
no subject
He sits, table manners a little more precise - aftermarket additions, these ones installed by the pureblood aristocrat who deemed him his protege. "Why, does she want to watch me get jumped?"
no subject
More seriously, she continues, cutting into her meal with perhaps a little more enthusiasm than is strictly necessary, "No. Because your girlfriend should be spending her sleepless nights with you, and not baking with me." Oh that? Yeah, she noticed.
no subject
It's not the smoothest recovery in the world but at least it's a recovery as he finishes chewing and sets his fork down, fingertips against the metal still. "For her it's been months."
Darcy knows that, he knows she knows. It's not like they were married, hell, they were barely properly dating, and Severus feels like he'll be being invasive if he does more than he's doing now. "She's-- we're." He stops short, because it occurs to him that oh, hey, Darcy knows they are (they were?) dating.
Okay.
"Claire's a private person."
no subject
no subject
"I don't think it's strange she'd want to spend time with you." They shared an experience, after all, even if they didn't know it at the time. Darcy's right, Severus has no idea what it was like, but they do. "...It's not as if I don't want to see her."
He feels a bit like he's digesting broken glass, getting that last part out. Severus doesn't want to push her or pressure her - in fact he's downright paranoid about doing so.
no subject
no subject
Anyway-- He's torn, not sure if he should feel insulted by this prying or not. But it seems to mean well, instead of Darcy being nosy over her own personal curiosity. 'Regrets' gets a raised eyebrow, because Darcy doesn't know the half of it, and maybe she wouldn't be so flippant about it if she knew more about, well, the war, but that would require Severus actually talking about it.
So no.
"It's her call." ... Which isn't a No I'm not going to do anything, it's just also not a dedication of intent. Which, honestly, Darcy shouldn't be expecting.
no subject
"It is her call. But she's less likely to ask you to be there. Not because she doesn't want to, but that's just how she is. You've gotta know that by now." Like, seriously? He has to, right? Please? "If I'm completely wrong - which I'm not - she'll more than readily tell you to fuck off, and then you can yell at me for setting you up for failure. Which is not going to happen." If she's being kind of a snot about this, it's only because she's really intense and not sure how to convey that without being more than a little bit obnoxious. Tact has never been one of Darcy's strong suits. More gently, she requests, "Please tell me you'll see her."
no subject
Darcy pls.
Severus has had these thoughts, and more. But what the hell is he supposed to do? It's been months for Claire, alone and hunted, and what does she finally return to? Not home, not her family or anyone familiar, just abandoned dogs and him, who she's only known intimately for about as long as she was lost in the bloody hallways. What a stellar consolation prize.
no subject
With that settled, Darcy resumes her quest to eat dinner in record time. "But if you don't," this said around a mouthful of food, because fuck it, "I'm going to track you down and I'm going to..." It's unsurprising that her default go-to threat would be kick your ass, but sometimes she has just enough presence of mind to abort and adjust her course. And that hesitation is neatly covered up by chewing and swallowing her food. "I'm not sure how, but I will find a way to embarrass you. Publicly. Don't make me scheme up how to embarrass you because you know I'm like one-hundred-and-ten percent capable of that."
no subject
It's probably not the reaction she wanted.
Wan, slightly sad but only in a distant, bitter way. It looks unnerving, because Severus doesn't smile very much to begin with, making even his genuine smiles (which this really isn't) mildly off-putting.
"There's nothing you can do to me that someone else on this ship hasn't already done tenfold, over and over again."
no subject
She might get an opportunity."Look, I'm just worried about her, and you're obviously worried about her, and I'm worried about you, too." She really would like to hug him right now, but expects he would be the least receptive to that. "And if it turns out I'm totally wrong, I promise not to meddle again." She drops her voice to a low murmur that she's certain he can still hear, adding, "For at least a week."
no subject
(So is Severus, though.)
At length, he picks up his fork again. He's starting to be-- not fine with her prying, here, but at least resigned to it. If it's over now. He'll see Claire, yes, but he would anyway. If he broods about it even more than usual... it was bound to happen eventually.
"So who on your floor was being a prick about bisexuals?"
no subject
"Someone who I think was projecting their own issues." That's honest, right?
no subject
(This is definitely not the nicest thing Severus has ever done. ASK HIM IF HE CARES.)
no subject
Except she's just said too much. She just revealed that she knows a lot about what happened there, and it's not her place to elaborate, is it? Maybe it is? She just doesn't know. Either way, it doesn't abate the sting from his words, and she just decides to keep her mouth shut. Except to push more food into it.
no subject
Not really, anyway. He wouldn't have been so quick to agree to help fix her dress, otherwise. Severus doesn't seem like he's going to pick at the issue-- he did assert the fact that Claire's a private person, after all. She didn't tell him much in the way of detail, so he's not going to try and scry more out. Maybe he was just sore from Darcy digging at him about being a shitty boyfriend and wanted to throw the balance back in his favor. Maybe this kind of thing is why he doesn't have friends at home.
"I'd like your opinion on something. Unrelated."
no subject
She sighs heavily, shakes off whatever lingering annoyance there might be, and offers a small, apologetic sort of smile. "I'm happy to help, okay? Hit me."
no subject
"Do you think it's of worth to look into the experiences you, and Claire, and others went through? At Smiley's behest. You know Xenogen studies things like that, to an extent. Given my closeness I've been hesitant."
'Closeness.' At least he gets it on some level.
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)