Summary:In which a mortal, an angel, and two gods meet up for a double date. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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It had been an hour or so after Darcy's shift in the office had ended. A shower and a romp with the boyfriend later, Darcy walks hand in hand with Jimmy through the halls, headed toward the front entrance. Date night was at hand, and the order was just as backwards as Darcy likes. Afterall, it's always good to work up one's appetite before going out for foods. Darcy's wearing something Nice. With heels. With her almost too tall for professional office attire but not for a night club heels. They add a half foot to her petite frame, bringing her almost closer to six feet than to five. Her hair's up in a messy coil, her make up is just so with bright red lips, and her dress flouses at her knees and dips down to offer a view of cleavage. There's no purse. Keen eyes might spot the telltale outline of something small and soemthing rectangular under the fabric of her left breast over her heart.
As Darcy and Jimmy are heading out the door to Loki's office opens, and the Lord of Lies himself backs out, offing a hand in to his wife. Loki is immaculately dressed in a coture suit that looks like it came from India, or further east perhaps. The material of his jacket is a stunningly deep green, the top half a bit thicker with hand stitched line art forming complex interlinked squares picked out in gold thread. His shirt is black silk, the top two buttons undone, and his slacks sleek black. Golden cufflinks sport what looks to be actual emeralds, and he's wearing a watch in brushed gold with a jade face that is probably worth mid four figures.
"Now all we need to do is find my PA and thank her for her excellent work, my wife."
He's not yet seen them, ironically enough. Though Sigyn might as she emerges since he is facing quite the wrong way at the moment.
Jimmy only has what he'd brought with him, so he forms the 'ugly duck' of the grouping: a simple, standard suit with a tan coat over it, though at least that trinity-knotted blue tie does a good job of setting off his eyes. He walks hand in hand with Darcy, his thumb moving slowly over each of her knuckles in turn. "I'm not sure whether tonight's a night for pizza, or Chinese. Your thoughts?" Not quite taking initiative and Just Deciding, but neither just asking her where to go from the list of 'everywhere in the city'.
He stands by the door, ready to pull it open in a classic chivalrous gesture, when he hears Loki's door. He smiles at Darcy, hearing that comment from Loki. "Sounds like they're looking for you."
Sigyn rests her hand in Loki's with a radiant smile and a impish gleam in her eyes, "Well then, turn around." She herself is wearing a green silk top that falls to her knees, heavy with gold embroidery over matching green silk pants. Definitely a style from India, except for the black kitten heels which bring her to just a hair's breadth beneath Loki's height. The gold woven bands on her left ring finger is the other constant in her outfits, she seems to have adapted to the Midgardian tradition of wearing a wedding ring. "Good evening, Miss Lewis. Mister Baxter."
At Jimmy's words, Darcy turns to look, smiling at the dashing figure of her employer and his wife. She smiles broadly, letting her eyes cast an appriciative study over Loki then Sigyn.
"You're very welcome, Highness," Darcy says to Loki, remembering his preference for title and formality from her instead of her much more comfortable sass and familiar nickname giving. Maybe he's changed his mind? Who knows until he says something? Darcy studies Sigyn's bustline for a moment, before nodding.
"You wearing one of the ones we got the other day, or did the custom order come in, Your Highness?" she asks the goddess, eyes finally lifting to Sigyn's face and using title for her as well. Yes. Darcy's aware now that many in Asgard don't like thinking of her as a Princess. Something about her marriage to Loki being contentious. But, Loki is a Prince, and Sigyn his wife. Midgardian custom calls for the proper title. Plus, Darcy doesn't really give a shit what other Asgardian's think. Sigyn deserves the respect, and if she's going to call her Miss Lewis, Darcy might as well follow suit. Her eyes slide to Loki after Sigyn has answered.
"Ya'll going onna date?"
Loki can't help but blink once, then /laugh/ as Sigyn tells him to turn about to see his wish granted. "Apparently the luck spell must think this office is home." He turns about then, and offers the pair of Darcy and Jimmy a brilliant smile. It would seem 'His Highness' is in a fine fettle this evening.
"Miss Lewis, please, it is after business hours and we're about to go out, all four of us I hope. You can call me Loki, bot of you in fact."
He looks to Sigyn, then as they approach he offers Jimmy a hand to shake. "Mister Baxter, good evening." After the shake he turns to Darcy. "I wanted to thank you for your excellent assistance with helping Sigyn get her bearings again, the world has changed much in the time she was aware. Will you both join us for dinner?"
Jimmy dips in welcome to Sigyn, a moderate boy for the royal. "A pleasure to see you again, Your Highness." He takes his cues from Darcy. His smile turns to Loki. "And good evening to you too, Your High— er, Loki." He takes that hand in a respectably firm grip for a brief, pumping shake. "If your magic is confusing your office and your home, it sounds like you've been spending too much time at work; a night out would do you good. And yes, we were just about to go out for a date night." At the question, however, he looks to Darcy, leaving the choice up to her. His free hand, now done with the handshake, idly adjusts his tie, to try to look a little bit less out of place.
Sigyn smiles, "One of the ones from the first store, though the custom order did come in. And the final stop we made was most appreciated." That was after Sif had left, as Sigyn was not going to subject the woman to a trip to Fredricks of Hollywood. "We will have to go shopping again sometime soon, Darcy." Her eyes sparkle at her husband, "Well, there are multiple criteria for magic to consider a place home, and the Embassy has met several of them. But dinner out sounds good. I enjoy cooking but part of that is knowing the flavors you are trying for. It's easier if you've already experienced the cuisine."
Arriving from outside of the Embassy and looking a bit windblown, Sif steps into the foyer dusting off her black jacket. She stops short when she sees the small gathering already there, and her eyes flick from Loki to Sigyn to Midgardians.
It takes her a second to recover, and then she speaks up. "Prince Loki, Your Highness Sigyn, Miss Darcy… " she trails off as she looks at Jimmy. Only someone who's fought in battles with her for hundreds of years would recognize the suspicion that follows her briefly furrowed eyebrows.
"Loki it is then," Darcy says to her employer, shifting to treating him like her Boss and more like a friend.
"I'd love to. Jimmy and I were just debating pizza or Chinese. I'm not sure which of the two I'm hankering for, or if tonight's a Pho King night or not," Darcy adds helpfully, bringing the conversation she and her boyfriend had been having when Loki and Sigyn stepped out into the hall. Her green eyes slide to the angel at her side, and she reaches up to readjust his tie to be slightly loose and a little crooked. Because she can. The mischief about her is easy to feel, especially when she uses said tie to pull him down far enough that she can press a peck to the corner of his mouth, and smudge a hint of the ruby color from her lips there. Now, the mussed tie LOOKS right. She turns to the sound of Sif's voice.
"Oh. Hi Sif! Have you met my boyfriend yet? I'm trying to get him to go by Doctor Meth so when Anne Phetamine and he are running EMT for a game the pun would be complete," Darcy babbles at the warrior woman, like she's continuing a conversation from months ago. She isn't, but the familiarity between them is there.
Loki's grip matches Jimmy's and no more, polite is polite. A laugh at the magic comment, and shakes his head at that. "Honestly, that's not likely it. I spend fairly little time here, especially of late after Sigyn came home." Which is one way of describing 'rescued from Hel by a bunch of Norse deific types'.
He considers what Sigyn says, and then nods. "Yes, I suppose that it true, still, it stretches credulity a bit."
"Jimmy Baxter, Lady Sif. Darcy's fiance, I do believe…boyfriend if I was mistaken." He falls silent as Darcy answers, amused by her immense quantities of verve and moxie. Would that make her VeXie? That sounds like a perfume line, or a curse based supervillain.
He has no idea about the super names, so he simply continues to smile. He does look with mild concern to Sif, she seems a bit wound up, and then shrugs. "Well, if you want Pho we could always just go to Viet Nam, I know a place there with the best Pho on the continent."
Jimmy coughs at Darcy's particular wording. "That's as in the noodle soup restaurant, not—" He lets his voice fade out. Everyone already knows what it sounded like.
He turns to Sif when she appears, giving her quick and establishing once-over. He does his best to look unthreatening. It's not like he's glowing, his voice booming like a tumult, while wielding a sword of holy fire, so he's not the most suspicious he could look. At the introductions, he dips briefly in a bow. "Nice to meet you. Just Jimmy will be fine — I don't go by Doctor Meth, and I generally don't call Darcy by her" He side-eyes her. "derby name, either." He rises back from his bow. His eyebrows lift at Loki's offer. "Ah. Much appreciated, but I'd hate to make you have to translate for us or take us back home when the night was done; we were intending something a bit closer to home." His wings have limits.
Sigyn shrugs a little, "I can manage teleports as long as they are in the same realm. I just can't world-walk like my husband can. Then again, very few can." She smiles at Loki, and then looks at Sif, "Would you care to join us for dinner, Lady Sif? We are still deciding where to go." She looks at Darcy, "I got the impression that pizza was a rather… messy food. So perhaps Chinese would be better? Or we can change clothes if we must." Or have Loki cloak them in illusion if necessary to avoid attention, but she's enjoying getting lots of pretty clothes and learning about Midgardian fashion.
Sif offers Jimmy a small but polite enough bow in return. "Well met, Jimmy. I would advise you to treat Miss Darcy honorably, but I am confident in her ability to defend herself in most situations."
She nods to Darcy's verbal diarrhea about derby as if long since used to it, then says a bit apologetically to the group, "I have already dined, but if I may take a brief moment of your time before you depart, Prince Loki?" The fact that she's using formal terms of address might be a clue that it's something serious.
Then rather abruptly, her more serious than usual demeanor is interrupted by a frown and her brushing at her neck, dislodging a bit more sand from her jacket.
"I'm always down for a teleporting," Darcy blurts out, eyes shimmering with excitement; A child on yule morning. But then Jimmy makes a Good Point, and Darcy nods at this. Yeah. They were going to take the subway, actually, but with the royals with them, a car would be better. Maybe. They'll have to learn the subway sometime.
"Yeah. That's the point to pizza. So yeah. Don't wanna muss the clothes. And hell no. why waste time changing? We look amaze balls. I know a good all you can eat place," she offers into Sif's warning to Jimmy. It has Darcy giggling behind a hand before she quirks a brow at the sand. She's say something but Sif sounded official and Needing To Speak With The Prince. So, quiet goes the human. For now.
Seeing how Jimmy looks a bit out of sorts, Loki's eye glints, and Sigyn would /know/ mischief is afoot. Between one eye blink and the next Jimmy's attire morphs into something Coture, the colors are white and gold, the jacket thigh length and buttoning up the side to the shoulder though that part is unbuttoned, so that he has a single 'lapel' across the chest. The lining of the jacket is gold, and the embroidery on the white parts is also gold. Under the jacket is a fine white shirt of Egyptian cotton, and his slacks are egg shell in hue. The suit fits him expertly, and the shoes are hand tooled white leather. There's a linen hanky in the pocket, and a pocket watch on a chain fob at the waist. Also, neat gloves.
Loki doesn't even look at the results, so it might not be immediately apparent to Jimmy what just happened.
"And yes, I was thinking of just teleporting, but very well. Pizza is fine too. I could go for a slice, but first I needs must speak with the Lady Sif."
A bow to all assembled and then he steps slightly aside, and a shimmer over the pair of them cuts off any sound from escaping. During that, by the way, he also rids Sif of every particle of sand on her, in her clothing, or under it with a cleaning cantrip. "So, Lady, How may Loki Laufeyson serve you?"
Jimmy adjusts his tie again, fixing it up after that pull and kiss from Darcy. "You look amazeballs," he says. "I just look standard." Or, he did until just a blink ago; his peripheral view finds a very different colour, and he blinks several more times, looking down at himself. "Um." He has never worn anything like this before, and he stands in a stiff, frozen position, like he's unsure about letting it actually touch anything. Well, there's only one person who could be responsible for this. "Thank you, Loki."
He gives Sif a firm, serious nod. "As honourable as I know how." A soft smile paints across his features while he looks at Darcy.
The question of teleporting — and Darcy's clear excitement for it — tilt his head. "Hm. Perhaps we could teleport there, to somewhere in Chinatown? And then we make our way back the 'normal' way." But then there is Official Business, and like Darcy, he goes quiet.
Sigyn doesn't give away Loki's little prank, only when Jimmy reacts does she grin herself. To Loki she says, "Take care of business, darling. We'll wait." She turns back to Darcy and Jimmy, and assures them, "Don't worry, we don't have to stand here like windup dolls as we wait, and Loki can assure the privacy of their conversation as needed." She smiles at Darcy, "I've been looking through cookbooks, testing out recipes, but Loki and I share most of the same cultural biases. If I dropped off some snacks and cookies and such, do you think you could give me an honest opinion? And Christmas season is coming, it seems to be a much bigger deal than when last I was on Midgard, so I will likely need that as well."
With Jimmy's suit shifting, Darcy leans back to regard him fully. Yes, to the empath, she's always thirsty for him. But the suit is a gorgeous window dressing, and Darcy does not hide this fact AT. ALL.
"I'd fuck you," she tells him with a smirk, speaking again when Sigyn says it's okay.
"You get to be a taste-tester? Fuck yes. Sign me up!" Darcy bubbles happily, now not worried about Loki and Sif talking. The conversation of travel method can resume when Loki's back.
Despite Loki's having used his Seidr to shield their words, she still drops the AllSpeak and addresses Loki in the common language of Asgard, something that no one not raised on the golden realm would speak or understand.
"I have learned something very troubling. There is apparently a Midgardian agency spying on the Embassy using a magical ring. When you have the time, we should meet with Fenris and Astryd to speak on this further, and not in the Embassy. We have an idea on how to lure the spy out, but we will need to rely on your area of expertise to do so."
Having said what she needed, she nods to Loki indicating that the magical sound barrier is no longer needed. Once it's gone, she addresses the group again. "I have delayed your dinner enough. Thank you all for your patience." She turns, ready to head up to her room for the evening.
Loki goes very still as Sif explains, and then she and everyone present will feel the temperature inside the area drop so that there's a faint rime starting to form, and then it ramps up to significant warmth and then…nothing. It all just goes away, though Sif would see just how /angry/ the Liesmith is during the temperature fluctuations. "I thank you, Lady for this information. I will look into it and will reach out to my son and his Raven for more detailed information." A moment to regain his aplomb, and then he lowers the shielding, and steps through the barrier he raised to banish it.
Unaware of the conversation outside, Loki turns back to the others. "So…pizza?" His smile is a bit more brittle than before, but only a moment.
Jimmy smiles at Sigyn as she comes aside to continue talking with them. "That sounds wonderful. You're thinking specifically of Christmas recipes? Turkey's an absolute must. The orphanage always managed at least that much, so, I have some fond memories." Darcy's summary brings a flush to his cheeks, though he at least manages to fire back. "Okay, so the new suit is a take-it-or-leave-it thing? Since, doesn't sound like it's changed your opinion any." Of course, that leaves him wide open to Darcy trying to insist on 'leaving' the suit. Without replacement.
He doesn't hear the conversation, but he can feel the effects Loki then has on the weather. He gives just a single shiver, his eyebrows lifting as he looks to Loki. "We'd been thinking that Chinese is probably better suited to this… grade of attire. Not often someone goes out to pizza wearing clothes as fine as this."
Sigyn nods, "See, last time I oversaw a Christmas dinner, goose was traditional. I need to catch up with the times. I'm not worried about a traditional Asgardian feast, since I can arrange for one of those in my sleep… and nearly have once or twice."
Her husband's wrath gets no visible reaction from her, though she readies a few magical defenses in case he's angry because of a threat. She's remarkably calm about Loki's anger, and not afraid of Loki himself at all which may reassure the empath.
Sigyn nods in agreement with Jimmy's words when her husband rejoins them. "And if we let Darcy go off alone with Jimmy, we'll probably be another hour in leaving." She gives Darcy a grin, "Maybe two." After all, Darcy has already expressed her appreciation for the new outfit.
"Turkey is not a Christmas food! It's a Thanksgiving food. Turkey and cranberries and Stovetop Stuffing. Fight me!" Darcy argues at her Jimmy, leaning into his personal space. Perfect placement for her playful snarl to turn into a mischeivous grin.
"Suit would look better on my floor," she says just as the hall plunged into artic winter. She blinks and straightens up, looking around for what's causing it. Loki looks upset. Sif is leaving to her room. Darcy double blinks back to the topic at hand. Something about being alone with- OH! Right. Darcy's cheshire grin returns.
"Three at least. We already had our quickie." Helpful Darcy is helpful. Is Jimmy red yet?
"Ah, well then. Chinese sounds delightful. Something local, or would you like to go to China?" It doesn't even occur to him to warn anyone that Chinese food from CHINA is a bit different than that here. "I know that Miss Lewis did seem a bit intrigued at the prospect of teleportation, I'll be delighted to provide such in either case."
He makes no mention of the momentary ire that played hob with the temperature. Nope. Not going to think about it right now. "Oh, by the way, Miss Lewis…would you rather a gift card, or a necklace?"
Wait, what?
Jimmy pokes his tongue out at Darcy. "We had turkey." He intones it like it should be followed up with 'so there'. "So there are a number of different traditions you can go with. I think each family does things a little differently anyway."
Is he red yet? Jimmy hasn't stopped being red. He lets out another whining grumble from deep in the back of his throat. His glares dart between Darcy and Sigyn. Sigyn. He's almost used to this from Darcy, but who'd have expected that kind of teasing from an Asgardian princess? "A-Ah. I'd prefer to stick with somewhere local, just so we're not troubling you when it comes time to head home; we can make our own way back if it's just local."
Sigyn gives Darcy an impressed look, "Three hours? I didn't think most Midgardian males had the creativity or the stamina." She mmms at Jimmy's point, "I wouldn't let you two be stranded either way, but someplace local would be more useful for me in the short term as well. I need to know what to expect when someone invites me out for lunch, or appropriate places to invite them."
Gift card or necklace? Darcy blinks at Loki, but considers the question exactly as it was given. Would she rather a gift card or a necklace?
"Necklace for Christmas. Gift card for birthday," she tells Loki Silvertongue, her grin for Sigyn fitting right in with the Asgardian mischief makers.
"His got stamina for DAYZ," she coos, dragging out the zee sound as she leans into Jimmy's side, letting him feel how fondly she recalls their last weekend at his place. Days.
Amused as can be by Darcy's adroit flustering of her beau, Loki's intended reward for her service just got upped a notch. Chuckling, he shakes his head. "As you wish." This to Jimmy and Sigyn both wanting to stay local. Boring, but…practical. Which makes it MORE boring. Ah well, the company is good at least. "Days? That IS impressive." Loki looks speculatively at Jimmy, and not in the casual sense. A lot of people just don't understand, likely /can't/, just how flexible Loki is. Gender and species lines don't actually exist for him, the man can actually be a brick, literally, or a horse, or a beam of light. It is all Loki.
A smirk then, and he laughs when Darcy plans ahead. "Mm. Fair enough. So we'll go with a smaller token, tonight than I had intended. Jimmy, that suit will never tear, never stain, and will last so long as your love and troth for Darcy shines true." Two edged in a way, but that's very Loki.
"So…where to, gentles? What's your favorite Chinese place, or better yet, where can we get Chinese food you'd not been able to try but always wanted?"
Jimmy's face burns, but he at least keeps himself from actually and actively glowing, in that way Darcy knows he can. He says not a word about his suggested stamina. Maybe it's an exaggeration, hyperbole on his girlfriend's part… but it doesn't sound like she's lying. His eyebrows lift at Loki's explanation of the suit, and he gives it a closer look. "It should last a long time indeed, then." He considers the question, looking over at Darcy. "I was just thinking Tin Tin's — not the fanciest, but I'm fairly sure they have literally the best wonton soup in the world. But Darcy and I have looked at a couple of the higher-end places before. Hakkasan is more modern, which would be good for Her Highness to get some exposure to how things are now."
Sigyn gives Darcy a very knowing smile, "That is nice… Just remember to stay hydrated." The voice of personal experience. She smiles at Loki's gift, then chuckles to herself mentally since if Loki did have any interest in Jimmy, he just outsmarted himself with the gift to Darcy. Which is, well, it's Loki all over and makes it an even better gift for Darcy. She nods at Jimmy's suggestion. "Haakasan sounds good to me as well."
"And it's got a reservation list a mile long. No way we're getting in without me sneaking a look at the registry and saying I'm someone I'm not and then praying that person doesn't show up," Darcy says of Hakkasan. She's always wanted to try it, to see how the Other Half dine, but let's be real. Darcy's not from money. The amount that Loki's paying her each month to be his PA is more than she'd ever imagined. The commentary of Jimmy's suit has her smiling, eyes a touch worried until Jimmy says how long it'd last. A rare and genuine blush, faint and delicate, dusts over her cheeks. Her smile turns small and delicate, her eyes cutting away.
"Oh, that won't be a problem. I am sure we'll be accommodated." And of course Loki's gift oustmarts him in other ways, that really is the story of his life for the most part. He concentrates a moment, Sigyn can feel a brief surge of his magic, and his mind speech, and then he smiles. "Actually, there, there's a reservation for Liesmith, party of four."
The mindspeech used to suggest to the reservations clerk to add them, the magic to ENSURE they're added, a side spell to make sure that one of the people with real reservations is delayed in traffic, but not harmed…and there you have it, Loki's your uncle.
Loki adds. "Hydration is important, also take breathers from time to time or you'll overstimulate." A nod. "And eat, marathon sex takes a /lot/ of calories to sustain." And then he intones sonorously, going through elaborate gestures that are very impressive (and utterly not needed), before he opens an oval portal in the air to a spot just across the street from the place. "And here we go." He offers his wife his arm, and motions for Jimmy and Darcy to lead the way. "Oh, and Miss Lewis…you're getting a raise, I think two gold a week will be more apt since you're also helping my wife."
Jimmy's eyebrows lift as Loki just… does it, right then and there. He'd have thought it would take at least going to the restaurant and flexing some magic or pulling some strings; to pull the strings all the way from here is, well… "Impressive," he says aloud. "And generous of you. Thank you."
The blush from Darcy brings a warm smile to his face, and he offers her his arm, for a proper escorting gesture. "Shall we?" Nope, not saying a word about hydration or breaks or any of the other… details.
Sigyn takes her place on Loki's arm, and gives his cheek a kiss. "You are so good to me," she murmurs, as the group passes through the portal and heads off to dinner.