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Hell's Kitchen is not the place for a young lady these days but Lucy seems unconcerned. She's on her way to visit Laura and she has food for once. Sandwiches and coffee. And she's dressed like an ordinary person today, as well. She's got a pretty red dress on, polished Mary Janes, and her hair is done up like a grown woman's.
Lucy checks before she crosses the street on the way to the address where Laura promised to meet her. It's not a bad day here today. No weird fogs, no cold, no vampires in sight, not with it so sunny and pretty out.
*
Laura is right where she said she'd be, sort of rocking to-and-fro from toes to heels on the street corner. She's… well, dressed the way she has been lately— a lot of black. Rugged pants and big stomping combat boots and her old black combat jacket that is increasingly roughed around the edges. Her hair has grown out a bit in the last weeks, about shoulder-length now, and sporting a couple of thin braids from one temple back over her ear on the right side. Something long and thin and again, black, is carried across her back.
She perks and smiles when Lucy turns up, pulling her hands out of her pockets. "Lucy. Pretty dress," she offers by way of greeting. She briefly looks like she doesn't entirely know what to do with her hands, and chooses to push a stray little bit of hair behind Lucy's ear. There.
*
"Thanks." Lucy's face lights up and she bounces on her toes before offering Laura what she's carrying. She's almost wriggling with happiness, like a puppy. "I brought you lunch. I know you like meat, it's roast beef. There's cheese on it, too, I hope that's okay. And there's coffee."
She's very pleased with herself to be able to bring food for once instead of needing to be fed.
*
Ooooh, food. Laura likes food. She's all too happy to take the offering, and after a moment's hesitation to consider what reactions are appropriate in the situation based on her observations of Real People That Know How to be People, leans over to give Lucy a quick, light, peck on the cheek. It seems a bit more impulsie than it actually is. She's got to hang out with more people that aren't Kitty and Peter, honestly.
"Thank you," she approves. "I am quite hungry, so this was well-chosen." A moment to glance around… "There is a bench over there under a tree, that seems good," she suggests.
*
"Okay." Lucy lets Laura lead the way and settles onto the bench with her. She's still beaming at Laura, gives Laura one coffee while keeping the other for herself. "I had lots to eat lately, and Liv — that blonde lady who fought the dogs with us — bought me this dress and another outfit. And I got in two fights at the thing in Central Park. And I met a man who's going to teach me how to fight with a knife. What have you been doing? I've missed you."
*
Laura settles crosslegged on the bench but close to Lucy, nodding as she starts to tear into the offered food. Her manners are… well, they could be better, could be worse. This time they're on the worse side, since she's hungry and the bench isn't an ideal eating location.
Her opinion on the pile of information? "Liv? Oh, I like her, yes. She was here a little while ago." As for the fighting… "Good. We will practice when you have learned some." Chew chew swallow, and a smile. "I missed you, too." Did she? Yes. How novel. "Much of the same. Hunt, stalk, remove. Try some new things, evaluate, adapt. Reminds us of times the Program was not so bad." A pause, and she brightens. "I think I have learned to use a bow. It is pleasant."
*
"I crashed when I was fighting. Two times. It's so embarassing." Lucy gives Laura a sad look. "I'm so bad at this. I wish I'd learned how to fight instead of cheerleading class. Really fight. Then I'd be more helpful." She exhales sharply. "It's weird that this feels normal, though. Nothing from the past seems real except the bad parts."
*
Laura bobs her head, and frees a hand from food to pat Lucy's. "X-23 often feels like a completely different person. Sometimes not. It is confusing, but okay." She gets a quick couple of bites of food before continuing. "But you should not worry about being bad. It is always the first step to being good at a thing. You would not want to trade for how we were raised, I have come to realize it was awful. It is what it was, but… awful." A crisp nod.
*
"It was." Lucy knows enough to say that for certain. "I was so happy when I was a kid. My parents loved me — they weren't always nice the way other people are, sometimes they did things that were weird, not normal, but it seemed like it was okay at the time. They were proud of me."
Lucy sighs and shifts to sit a little closer to Laura, her back to Laura's shoulder, her feet up on the bench. "I was in California. Everything was always warm, always beautiful. I told Liv a little about it. I should tell you."
*
Laura believes that the proper response to such a lean is a counter-lean. So she does, letting her shoulder press into Lucy's back a little. "If you like. I will listen, and finish the food you brought me. You can talk as much as you want, and then we can talk about it together if you want." This seems sensible.
*
"I didn't want to stay at your apartment because I didn't want you to get in trouble. You said you could take care of it if anyone came, right?" Lucy fiddles with her coffee cup.
*
The question has Laura considering how best to respond. After a few moments of obvious thought, she replies quietly. "I believe so. Since we are speaking about unpleasant past, let me be more clear about something I… think I have only hinted at. I was created to be a Weapon. I specialized in assassination. I am very good at it. You have seen a little of it. But not all of it."
*
"Okay. That's good." Lucy sounds relieved, as does her sharp exhale. "You could probably kill me if you wanted, right?" Lucy looks over her shoulder at Laura.
*
SNKT. It's the first time Lucy has been able to get a very good look at Laura's claws. Just one, in this case, offered up where Lucy can see it. The Metal coating has a strange, glittering lustre to it. Adamantium, there's nothing quite like the real thing. "I… am not entirely sure what they coated these with, to be honest. But I have not found anything, ever, that does not bleed. From what we remember, that was the point."
She retracts the claw after Lucy has gotten a good look. "If what you mean to ask if I could kill someone like you if they came…" She gives Lucy a direct eye-to-eye look. "If you ask, I will find a way. It is what I do." Without thought, she adds "And I am the best at what I do." Blink. The hell was that.
*
"That's good, too." Lucy seems reassured. She shuffles around a little more so she can snuggle up against Laura's arm, her head on Laura's shoulder, as though being as close as she can will make her feel safer. It does. Laura is warm, the coffee in her hands is warm, even though the day is cool. That's what being safe is like.
"I ran away from home because my parents killed a little girl. I saw them do it. Not by accident. On purpose. For something I didn't understand. They have a lot of money, they know a lot of people." Lucy rubs her cheek against Laura's shoulder. "I told Liv a little but not all. But that's why I don't want to stay anywhere. In case they find me. And that's all."
*
Acceptable response? Lean head onto the top of Lucy's. That's correct, right? Pretty sure. Laura nods, which has the unintended effect of nuzzling Lucy's hair. "Understandable. If you would like to change that, I will help."
*
"I feel bad for running. I didn't even run. I pretended everything was normal until I just got off the bus on my way up north." Lucy sighs, shakes her head a little. "I should have done something, but I didn't know what. I need a place to…I don't know. I need to put my things somewhere. I need a place I can hide and practice being me. I'm here, I can't not help people, so I have to stop living on the street all the time."
*
"Do not feel bad for getting out of a bad situation any way you must. It is called survival and it is never what one would call pleasant, but it is admirable," Laura opines, while thinking.
"The safehouse apartment is not suitable," she muses. "It is intended to store some things and be slept in for a night or two under serious conditions. Perhaps we could acquire a better location, though."
*
"But you already live somewhere, don't you? Aren't you at a school or something? And I don't have a job, but I heard the singer at Harry's left for a better gig, so I could try that again." Lucy taps Laura's hand. "If I had a job there, maybe I could sleep in the back. Eat more, you need fuel."
*
Laura promptly eats as told, shrugging a shoulder. "I am not convinced the Institute is the correct place for me," she says simply. "It has been… nice," she allows. "And I like Kitty. She has helped me a great deal. But… there are a lot of people there. And rules we will eventually most likely break." Another shrug. "I have not decided anything. Harry's *is* close, though," she muses agreeably.
*
"I don't want you to have to leave your home and your friends. But if you want to, we could look for something. I could keep looking for a job in the city. It'd be closer to trouble, if we were needed." Lucy sits up and looks at Laura. "If you're ever not happy there, we can work something out."
*
Laura offers Lucy a smile, as she finishes off her food. "I have not made any decisions," she repeats mildly. "But it has been on our mind. I only bring it up because of the topic at hand. Still, it could not hurt to look. Looking is not deciding. Simply informing a decision."
*
It would be kind of exciting to actually have a place to live. "Would you really be okay with the idea that someone might hunt me down?" Lucy is still stuck on that. "You said you were. All of you. Both? All." She wants to make sure everyone involved is good with this. She has no trouble with the "we".
*
"Yes," Laura says promptly, adding, "Both. It is not strictly accurate, but I find it useful to think of X-23 as a different person. The programming is still mostly intact, but I am in control of it now. It is simply convenient to think of X-23 and Laura as seperate people while I am still figuring out who Laura is."
She tilts her head. "I can handle someone attempting to hunt you down. 'Okay' is not the term I would use. But you should know it is equally, if not more, likely there may people people hunting me down. The Program was damaged, not destroyed. But I do not think worrying about it is productive at this time."
*
"I would protect you, I wouldn't let them take you back," Lucy says fiercely. She puts both her hands on Laura's arm and hangs on. "If you're not worried. I won't worry. We'll…worry when we need to worry. And if they come, we'll fight them. Liv will help. We have friends. She introduced me to that big guy with the hammer, the one on the news, Thor. And his brother and their friend."
*
Laura pats Lucy on the head again. "I know you would," she notes. "And i would not let them, either. Nor your parents you. To be honest, I am not worried about the Program. They are demonstrably quite bad at keeping or re-acquiring assets that do not want to stay."
For the second time, Lucy gets a peck on the cheek. She seems more worried than she says. "But yes, it will be alright. You will have to tell me what I should do about your parents if they come. Do not say so right away. Think about it a while first. Be sure. What you tell me to do will be what I do if the time comes. We will not ask again on our own— it is not our way."
*
"Okay. I'll tell you when I know." Lucy kisses Laura on the cheek in return, because Laura keeps doing it to her. "We'll be okay. And I'll…I'll start looking for a place to live. And train. I couldn't do it without you, Laura. Do you want to go on patrol again? I'll come with you. Maybe we'll get in a fight." She sounds rather hopeful. She used to be such a nice girl.
*
Laura bobs her head once, smiles. "Let us see what we find today."