what's mew mew?

"I offered. I didn't say you had to. There's a difference. And no, I do not do my paperwork in a timely manner, but it gets done eventually, though. Mostly." Loki snorted and lowered his coffee, looking over at her. "They let me do whatever I want because I'm royalty, darling. And I'm marrying Hill's brother so he's stopped being a gigantic bitch and has been downgraded to a medium-sized bitch." He hopped off the desk to gather the files they were most definitely done looking at this late. Or early. He really couldn't tell anymore. With a smirk, he continued, "They're also scared if they piss me off, I'll try to take over the city again."

Darcy laughed, shaking her head as she watched Loki gather the files. "Oh, of course. Royalty privileges and all that," she said with a playful roll of her eyes. "And marrying Hill's brother? That's one way to get on their good side, I suppose. Just make sure the wedding isn't as chaotic as your last few escapades. Pretty sure the entire city's had enough chaos for a while." She was referring to the incident they had been researching, and as much as she wanted to solve the mystery of who was behind that event she was so very glad to see Loki put the files away. "How you feeling about the whole marriage thing? I mean, you seem cool and collected about it, but if I've learned anything from watching Love is Blind, it's that there's always a million things going on in the bride's head before the wedding, so," Darcy tilted her head to the side. "If you wanna talk at all, I'm here to listen. Also, not that I need to tell you, but if I"m completely off-base, feel free to tell me to kick rocks."

"Thank you, ma'am," she smiled over at her, shrugging at the question and moving the laptop over so she could see. "Little write-up on the party. Everyone looked hot, so I got good content." April moved her laptop back in front of her. "How's the intern life treating you?"

Darcy sighed dramatically, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "Oh, you know, the usual. Coffee runs, sorting files, and trying not to roll my eyes every time Loki opens his mouth," she answered, popping a hand up to support her chin. "It's been really fun, actually. More fun than I expected, though I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for this internship anyway. Can I see some of the shots you got? Have you uploaded any of it to the socials yet?"

“Same,” he said with a wink, tossing the folder aside. “Yeah. Especially from before the whole Stark Industries rebrand.” Loki shrugged and picked up his coffee. “If not him, it has to be one of us.” He thought it over for a moment, then turned his gaze back to her. “You know, while you’re in this crime-solving mood, you should take a look at the mountain of paperwork on my desk I’ve been ignoring since Christmas.”

Darcy smirked at Loki's suggestion, shaking her head in mock exasperation. "Oh, so now you want me to clean up your messes too?" She chuckled, leaning forward to grab another folder from the table. "Also you seriously haven't done your paperwork since Christmas? Really? How do they let you run anything around here?" She teased, mindlessly flipping through the folder she'd grabbed. "I don't know... sounds like I'm getting the short end of the stick here."

“Darling, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but despite your extensive true crime knowledge, your overall vibe radiates unhinged,” Loki said, tilting his head to the side, his expression completely serious before a small smirk appeared. When she launched into another tangent, he settled himself on the edge of the table and reached for his coffee with a long, drawn out sigh. “Five shots of espresso were not enough—you do realize what time it is, right?” he teased, before shaking his head. "It's not one of the new recruits. Unless they're a robot. Or an actual psychopath." He waved it off with his hand. "I'm pretty sure Hill puts them through a 48 hour interrogation before they can so much as think about taking a breath in the lobby." He pursed his lips, lowering his cup. "Honestly? It's probably someone Tony pissed off. It always is. And then we have to be the ones that suffer. Because we have to listen to the scorned assholes give this thirty minute monologue about how their life sucks and they're miserable now and blah blah blah, whatever. And everyone pauses to give them time to talk for some reason and it's so entirely unnecessary."

Darcy chuckled at Loki's theatrical rant, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "Hey, I'll have you know my 'unhinged vibe' is part of my charm," she retorted with a playful roll of her eyes. As Loki dismissed the possibility of a new recruit being the culprit, Darcy nodded in agreement. "Fair point. It's probably not a newbie. They've got enough hurdles to jump through just to get here, let alone pull off something this elaborate," she conceded, setting down the folder and leaning forward. "But you're onto something with the revenge angle. People don't usually go rogue without a motive. Tony's got a knack for rubbing people the wrong way, and knowing him, he's got a long list of people who might want to make his life difficult."

"If you're going to hang around, can you at least sit and not hover?" April moved her laptop to the other side of the table. "You're blocking my light."

Darcy chuckled softly and slid into the chair opposite April, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, no hovering. I'm officially grounded." She leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the table. "So, whatcha working on?"

"Mm. I've done it before," Loki replied, not bothering to hide the yawn as he blindly reached for another folder, tossing the other one aside. "Faked my death," he clarified, flipping through it. "Twice actually. Rather convincingly." He raised his gaze to look at Darcy, snorting at her dismissal. "It's not your strong suit? Well, you're doing a pretty good job of bullshitting the attempt then." Loki smirked, falling silent as the other talked through her thoughts. Expression shifting to a more serious one, he nodded, closing the folder. "That's the thing, though. I think it is right in front of us and that's why we aren't seeing it. No one can control those suits but Tony," he said, nodding to the file containing the details of the night the Iron Man suits went rogue. "I'm not even sure if Banner knows how to get in that part of the lab. I think it's someone close to him. It'd make sense as to how they got in at the gala and my brother's wedding." He scrunched up his nose and reached for his coffee again. "And if it is one of us, that's going to be a bitch to deal with."

Darcy smirked at his comment at her proficient bullshitting. "Well, thankfully, I listen to an insane number of true crime podcasts and watch practically nothing but murder shows. And yes, I'm aware of how unhinged that makes me sound." Her fingers tapped thoughtfully on the table as she considered his words, a knot forming in her stomach at the thought. "Yeah, it's a real nightmare scenario," she agreed, her voice laced with concern. "But if it's someone close to Tony, we're dealing with a whole different level of betrayal here. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not see another Civil War 2.0." She paused, taking another sip of her coffee, eyes narrowing in thought. "Okay, so we're looking at someone with access to Tony's lab, which narrows it down a lot. Let's say it's not Banner; who else could it be? Rhodes? Happy? Maybe one of the new recruits we haven't vetted thoroughly?" Darcy sat up straighter, feeling a mix of excitement and dread. "If it's someone within the inner circle, we've gotta be extra careful. But that also means they'll slip up eventually. They always do."

"Seriously, you can leave if you want to. I don't think we're getting anywhere tonight." Loki walked into the conference room with two coffees and handed Darcy one. He checked his watch when his hand was free and shook his head, looking back down to the papers scattered on the table. "I'm about to fake my death or actually die again so I can get out of this." He sat on the edge of the table, rather than one of the many vacated seats, and plucked up the folder of images from the surveillance video of the night of the charity gala. "I have no idea what the hell we're supposed to still be looking for." ; @darcylewisx

Darcy took the coffee from Loki with a grateful nod, blowing gently across the surface before taking a cautious sip. She leaned back in her chair, surveying the scattered papers and the frustrated god before her. "Well, faking your death might be a bit extreme, even for you," Darcy said with a wry smile, "but I get it. This whole detective thing isn't exactly my strong suit either." She shuffled through some of the papers, trying to make sense of the chaos. "But hey, we've come this far, right? There's gotta be something we're missing." She glanced up at Loki, noting the exhaustion in his expression despite his attempts to hide it. "Maybe we're overthinking it. What if the answer's right in front of us and we're just too deep in the details?" Darcy suggested, more to herself than Loki. "Like, what if it's not about what we're looking for, but who might know something we haven't asked yet?"

Gwen smiled at the girl, "Thanks, I really appreciate it." She told her. "And even though getting chocolate was technically your idea, I'm gonna pay. You can get it when you're the one having the break down and I'm helping you alright?" She laughed, it made her feel better. Even though Darcy said they were friends, she still felt like she should do something more to thank her than just saying the words. "Is this the place up here?"

Darcy chuckled warmly, touched by Gwen's gesture. "Deal. Though let's hope I don't have a breakdown anytime soon. But seriously, I'm just glad I could help." As they approached the cafe with its inviting aroma wafting out, Darcy nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, this is the place! Prepare yourself for a sugar rush like no other." Entering the shop, they were greeted by a display case filled with decadent treats. Darcy scanned the options, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I think I'm feeling a double chocolate muffin today. How about you?"

Jessica scowled, but didn't fight it when Darcy slipped the lei over her neck. She looked down at it, considering for a long moment. "All right. I'll call it cover. Camouflaged. Whatever," she said, gesturing around. She took a sip from her flask and capped it, swapping her camera into her hand. "I'm actually a badass stalker today. Someone hired me to tail someone important."

Darcy grinned at Jessica's grudging acceptance of the lei, pleased that she hadn't outright refused. "Camouflaged detective it is then," she replied with a chuckle. The mention of Jessica's current job certainly piqued her interest, her brow shot up in hopes of getting more information on who she was after. "Sounds intriguing. Anyone I might know? And just so you know, if you need any backup or distraction," Darcy offered playfully, "just give me a shout. I'm a pro at causing diversions."

He laughed, letting her adjust the boa around his neck. "Well, if the Bifrost had to throw up on someone, I'm glad it's you." Seeing her expression, he tapped her nose. "Be nice, or I'll get glitter on you. You know it's a bitch to get off." Loki smirked and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Pause for drinks? Or are you too busy making sure everyone lives up to your rainbow standards?"

Darcy grinned at Loki's playful threat, mockingly feigning offense. "Oh, you wouldn't dare," she teased, nudging him gently with her elbow. As he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she leaned into his side comfortably, moving towards the bar. "But drinks sound perfect right about now," Darcy agreed with a nod, looking up at Loki with a playful glint in her eyes. "Lead the way, oh glittery one."

Jessica had nothing against pride -- liked it, in fact. Anything that made the uptight assholes of the city either shrink in terror, or go wild for the occasion was pretty welcome in her book. It shook things up, and that was good for business. People would cheat on each other, and then jealous spouses would need pictures, and that's where she came in. Unfortunately, that sometimes meant she got roped into the festivities, when she was really just scoping out a case. "Color's not really my thing," Jessica said, looking down at herself. Black jacket, white shirt, blue jeans, her standard array. "But I feel like you're gonna look at me like a kicked puppy if I tell you 'no,'" she said, narrowing her eyes and arching a brow.

"Well, I can be pretty persuasive," she admitted with a wink. She reached into her bag and pulled out a vibrant rainbow lei, holding it up triumphantly. "How about this? It’s subtle, but still festive." Without waiting for a response, Darcy gently placed the lei around Jessica's neck. "There! Now you're officially part of the rainbow brigade," she said, stepping back to admire her handiwork. "And don't worry, you still look like a badass detective. Just a more colorful one."

"What? Being covered head to toe in glitter's not enough for you?" Loki smirked and leaned down, more to Darcy's level to lessen their height difference, so she could put it around his neck. He moved his arm around her. "And you look like the Bifrost threw up on you."

"Well, if the Bifrost is going to throw up on someone, it might as well be me," she retorted with a giggle as she slipped the boa around his neck, her face scrunching into a pout a moment later. "Wait, never mind. Ew. But you're definitely rocking the glitter, though I think a splash of rainbow wouldn't hurt."

Gwen gave the other girl a shy smile. "Yeah, it's just so hard being thrown into all of this! I usually feel like I'm not doing enough and it's just been amplified here with how important the work is here." She sighed. "Just started and I'm already freaking myself out!" The girl laughed to herself, shaking her head.

Darcy nodded sympathetically as they walked. "I hear you, Gwen. It's a lot to take in, especially when the stakes are high. But trust me, you're doing better than you think. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were any of us." She gave her a warm smile. "And hey, don't apologize for venting. That's what friends are for, right? Plus, sometimes just getting it all out there can make the weight feel a little lighter."

"Shh. Don't be blathering about like that, darling. I have a reputation to maintain." But he smirked when he caught her gaze. "Maybe. I hope so. I mean, we already know we don't want to be anything like our father, so I'd say we're making a step in the right direction," he teased, shaking his head. "I think that's the reason I want to take over, though. I want our girls to have a different Asgard than we did."

Darcy nodded, understanding in her eyes. "That makes sense. Breaking the cycle and all that." She took another sip, contemplating Loki's words. "Creating a better future for your daughters is a pretty noble goal, Loki," she said, a genuine warmth in her voice. "I'm sure you and Thor can pull it off. I mean, stranger things have happened, right? Like you being an actual person, for one."

"This artist is quite good, aren't they?" Charles nodded at the stage, a fond smile on his face. It felt good to get out of his office once in a while and Pride celebrations were always a good reason to go out. "I'm glad they're giving the floor to smaller artists this year, as well, don't you think?"

Darcy glanced over at the stage, taking a moment to really listen before she gave her opinion. "Okay, yeah, this is kind of a bop," she replied with a grin, her head nodding to the beat of the song as she made a mental note to try and look up more of their discography later, if they had anything. "Definitely adding this to my playlist later. Have you heard of them before?"

"Don't expect it again," he teased, taking his glass back in hand. "And I'll deny being helpful, darling," Loki replied with a smirk of his own, before shaking his head a moment later. "Honestly? I don't know. Contrary to popular belief, I actually never wanted to be king. I've liked being the youngest prince who had all the perks without the responsibility much better," he explained, smirk back on his face for a moment, before it softened somewhat. "But Thor wants me to. And the gods know I've put him through hell the last few years."

"You know, maybe that's exactly why you'd be a good king. You're not just about power and glory. You actually care about your brother and the people around you, even if you don't always show it." Darcy leaned back, crossing her arms. "Besides, if you can survive the chaos you've caused and still come out on top, ruling Asgard should be a piece of cake, right? Plus, with Thor by your side, I bet you two could make some pretty awesome changes."