InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I believe I can fly"

Sydney, FKA Taylor (fenne) wrote in thedoorway,
@ 2013-03-01 09:55:00

Entry tags:

!log, georgiana "gigi" darcy, william darcy

WHO: Gigi and William Darcy
WHERE: 808
WHEN: March 1st, after the Lizzie/Darcy log
WHAT: Darcy and Lizzie met, hardcore shipper Gigi is psyched.
RATING: G!
STATUS: log; complete.

Darcy went through scenarios in his head of what he expected his reunion with Lizzie would be like, and truthfully what did happen was the on the better list of options. It still left him bewildered enough that when the doors opened on the eighth floor, he let them close once before rushing to open them again. It was alarming how easy it was for one woman to discombobulate him, since he was otherwise a very controlled and contained man. He used the keys to get into their new apartment and locked it behind him. One did never know who would try to find reasons to break in. Darcy was erring on the side of caution in this new environment, especially with his little sister to look after.

“Gigi, I’m back.” He texted her when he walked into the building, so he was technically late. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and hung it up. It wasn’t nearly warm enough for the weather right now, but it was what he had. Darcy put his bag down on the kitchen table and drew out the clothes, making certain they were carefully folded still. Unfortunately some edges were wrinkled since he tightened his hold on it while speaking with Lizzie.

Well. That was done. They saw each other. They would possibly be able to coexist in the same space. It would have to do. “I got what I could, but this isn’t exactly the funds we are used to living on. It’ll be an adjustment. Gigi, are you here?” It wasn’t entirely unheard of for him to talk to himself.

“I’m here!” Gigi appeared from behind her bedroom door with a smile to join her brother in the kitchen. She was dressed in a black skirt and heavy black tights paired with a thick purple sweater that she’d bought herself a day or so after arriving. They were definitely not in San Francisco anymore, and it was cold outside. The sweater was probably more expensive than practical considering, as William had just mentioned, their now somewhat limited funds, but Gigi never was the practical one in the family. “And you are late.” She grinned at William and nudged him lightly with her shoulder. “What happened? Run into Han Solo in the elevator? Stop for a chat with Sherlock Holmes?” She was endlessly entertained by the various once-fictional characters that they now shared their living quarters with.

“Sherlock Holmes is someone I might take the time for, but I suspect it would be infuriating.” Darcy knew some of the once-fictional characters by name, yet none of them appealed to him overly. He couldn’t say that he was a ‘fan’ of much. They could be content in the knowledge he wouldn’t know everything about their lives unless he bothered to go on Wikipedia. Holmes was a brilliant man, but a difficult one. Darcy didn’t have much patience for that, being difficult himself.

“We should go out again tomorrow perhaps, or the day after, I will check the weather report for what is the best day. We need to find something reasonably priced that is warmer for us both.” Yes that was deflection, don’t mind him. Darcy knew that Gigi would want to examine every detail and get overly enthusiastic, and he thought that was the wrong approach at the moment. “They say people have been here for months.”

Gigi raised an eyebrow as he shifted the conversation topic away from his reason for being late. It wasn’t a hard deflection to miss. William was the picture of punctuality, and he always explained himself should he turn up somewhere even a minute later than he was supposed to. She cocked her head to the side and studied him for a moment. And then it dawned on her...the only real reason that her brother wouldn’t want to fess up to what he’d been doing. “You saw Lizzie!”

He felt blood rushing to his face and in no universe was William Darcy going to blush, so he willed it away. His eyes narrowed at his sister, but he knew no force on earth was going to stop her from teasing him. Instead he patted his hands on his pockets to realize his phone was still in the coat. “Yes, I saw Lizzie,” he answered as he moved back to the coat rack to fish out his phone. Pretending some very important texts were coming in was a signature Darcy move. “She’s well. We exchanged pleasantries. The end.”

Gigi was delighted to see that she was right, and a grin lit up her face. She also didn’t miss the pink tinge that momentarily colored his cheeks. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head at him. Completely ridiculous. “I don’t know why either of you are playing this avoiding game.” It was obvious to her and pretty much the entire internet that William and Lizzie were crazy about each other.

When she saw him pull out his phone, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Really? Fake texting. She followed along after him and moved to snatch his phone out of his hand. “You can’t fake text. You don’t even have anyone here to fake text.”

“We’re not playing any games,” he protested. Whatever the internet claimed, Darcy wasn’t interested in games. He was terrible at them. His brief attempt was in courting Lizzie, and by ‘court’ he meant awkwardly stand around her, making random comments, reading everything she liked so he could have an opinion, and succeeding only in earning her strong dislike. Looking back on it, he saw where his errors lay, but he knew there was only one chance to make a first impression. He accepted it.

“I could have --- for your information I was looking up ...Google. I was googling reasonably priced take out for this evening.” He sighed and shook his head, taking off his shoes and setting them by the front of the door so neither of them could accidentally stumble across them later. “Gigi, we discussed the weather and the park. It was nothing to write home about.”

“Well if you ask me, you’re both being ridiculous.” Not that he did ask her. But she was more than happy to give her opinion to him anyway. It’s what little sisters did. “And you were not Googling. You were trying to avoid talking to me about Lizze.” Still, her tone softened a little and she set his phone down on the kitchen table next to his new things. Teasing aside, she gave him an encouraging look as she leaned against the table. “She’s really doing well?”

“I didn’t ask you,” Darcy echoed. It was obvious, but he wanted to reiterate it all the same. They were both terrible about meddling in each other’s affairs. He studied his sister and took his time before replying. “She said so. Something was off. They know that Lydia’s tape was taken down and … I think they know how.” It could explain her behavior. Perhaps she felt she owed him and was uncomfortable with that fact, given her disdain of him. That was one of the reasons he wanted her to never find out. He didn’t want the Bennets to feel obligated to him in any way. He was the one who owed them.

Gigi let out a long exhale at his answer, then proceeded to chew on her lower lip. He didn’t seem at all pleased that Lizzie knew he was behind the tape being pulled. Not that she was surprised given their last conversation about it back home. This? This is where costume theatre would really come in handy. William was terrible at picking up social cues and other meanings. Lizzie could have said any number of things to him, and all he would have gotten from it was that ‘something was off.’ She wished she could have heard their conversation so she could judge things for herself. Because the videos- and you’d better believe that she’d caught up on those the moment she’d arrived- seemed to paint a picture of a girl who was extremely grateful and seemed to be harboring a few ‘what ifs’ concerning William Darcy. “Weeeell,” she scrunched her face up a little. “Lizzie’s a smart girl, and my demo videos for Domino weren’t exactly what you’d call covert. If she’s seen them here, I wouldn’t be surprised that she knows.”

Darcy gave an audible sigh at that. While he was glad his sister used Domino to help them track down that weasel George Wickham, the fact it was done so publicly irritated him. Then again he did confess love for the first time in his life on camera and survived a very embarrassing rejection, so this was better. He tried to have a balancing act as a public person, CEO of a successful company, and keep his privacy at the same time. It was impossible now, and that was something he would have to deal with.

“She knows,” he confirmed. It was certain now. It meant she was grateful toward him and maybe he was right in his assessment that she was referring to him when she talked of someone restoring her faith in humanity. But what did that mean for them, if there was a them? Darcy was frustrated. This was why he avoided relationships! They were complicated and he read people wrong every time without fail. “She told me what room she’s in, if I wanted to see her. Which was a real contrast to her purposely avoiding me - us - since I - we - arrived.”

“What?” Gigi abandoned her position leaning against the table to move closer to her brother. Her face had lit up, and it was impossible not to hear the hopefulness in her voice. “She told you which room she was in? You’re going to go see her, right?” She gave him a look that said he’d better answer yes.

“It would be impolite not to, since she went out of her way to suggest it.” It would just take him some time before he had the nerve to go there. Darcy was too often unprepared when it came to her. He was going to make certain he had several conversation starters ready. “In time I will. Now do you feel settled in well to the apartment?” It was a change in conversation, but a genuine one. He didn’t know what else to say about seeing Lizzie.

Gigi seemed satisfied with that. “Good.” She gave his arm an encouraging squeeze. She’d have to do her best to keep him from overthinking things too much. He’d try to, and of course that’s when he would make a mess out of everything. But for now she’d let things be.

“It’s definitely not home, but we can make it work.” Gigi could make anything work. “It needs some more personal touches.”

Overthinking was the prime reason he ended up falling all over himself. In any given situation, Darcy ended up thinking of all the different possible outcomes and obsessing over them before making an educated decision. It was one of the reasons he seemed like he was being cold or distant from people; he was too busy thinking of how not to be too cold and distant. It was a vicious cycle.

“I don’t know if I’d get too comfortable, Gigi. I’m told people are returned eventually.” He accepted they’d have to get jobs just to make do, and he was no stranger to hard work. Rich they may be, but their parents wanted to make sure they were accomplished and multi-talented. “Just … think small.”

Gigi gave her brother an affectionate look. Always the practical one. “All right,” she answered, raising her chin in the air. “So small personal touches, then.” She turned back around and picked his phone back up from where she’d placed it on the table. She handed it back over to him with a smile. “We can start with reasonably priced take out.”

Darcy gave her a wry half smile and took the phone. “Our ‘reasonably priced’ isn’t the same as most people. I’ll aim for ‘no food poisoning.’”