Chapter Text
Daria in Boston-2 01
This covers Daria’s 2nd year in Boston, starting with May just after her first year at Raft through the end of final exams the following May (2002). See ‘Daria in Boston’ for part 1. Canon copyrights likely belong to the creators, perhaps MTV and others. I’m just playing.
NOTE: I’ve been publishing fanfics since 2003, and have no desire to collaborate, have illustrations, etc. Requests on these and similar subjects will be ignored. No copyright infringement is intended. Works are unproofed by others, but they are of course free and you get what you pay for!
Thursday, May 17, 2001
Daria Morgendoffer was not happy that afternoon. She wasn’t angry or sad, and despite the circumstances she was not feeling abandoned, or unloved. A little underappreciated perhaps, but none of those other feelings.
The reason for this was simple; she was alone in the fixed-over garage that, besides herself, her lover, her best friend, and the twin of the former and lover of the latter were going to be sharing, hopefully for just over the next three years. They had just finished their final exams the previous week. Their furniture had arrived over the previous week through the previous morning, and they had moved the items from their dorm rooms over the previous week as well – and then those three had taken off the previous Friday, leaving the large job of setting up their household up to Daria.
Daria understood the reasons why. Jane’s father was having an exhibition of his more artistic recent photos in Manhattan, and this was a rare chance for her to see her father. Larry was driving her – after all, that would be why Jane could stay in the Keats family apartment in Manhattan. As Mr Keats was paying for 80 percent of the rent and had paid for most of their furniture, Daria didn’t begrudge the trip. Learning they would be coming, Mr Keats had invited Lisa and Daria – but at least one person had to stay and get the unit ready. Summer school started the next Tuesday, and the place couldn’t stay disorganized. On top of everything else, the washer and dryer were to be installed today – however they were supposed to be there between 1:00-3:00 and it was already 2:40.
Daria knew that Lisa would have stayed if Daria had asked her to, but as Daria was estranged from most of her own family, she didn’t want to contribute to Lisa’s separation from her often-absent father. There was one small bit of compensation – Larry and Lisa had gone in together and bought Daria a vehicle. Granted, she wasn’t sure if she could really call the 1993 Tracker a car or not, but it was certainly a vehicle. It had a soft top, and so was open to anyone who wanted to search it – but the radio was missing and the glove compartment had been ripped out long ago. It was also a somewhat sickly and lurid purple color. Still, for good or ill, it was hers (and she had just paid the registration and license, as well as the first insurance payment, to prove it, as the twins had resold it to her for $25 and the transfer fee).
Daria sat in a kitchen chair, tired from the work she had put in over six days: she had assembled the bedframes, placed the springs and mattresses and then made the beds; laid the rugs she and Lisa had purchased in the bedrooms and living room and arranged the furniture in those rooms and the kitchen; assembled and hooked up the computer stations and cable TV; put together the many sets of shelves for their books in the back hallway, and set up the new television and vcr, and placed the many books, put together Larry’s hi fi system; put up the shower curtains and window curtains, assembled the kitchen table, put away all her and Lisa’s clothes (Jane and Larry were on their own); etc. She had even run phone extensions into the bedrooms, and bought phones for the living room, kitchen, and her and Lisa’s bedroom – the other two could pick out their own phone. Their dishes and kitchen utensils were in place, and she had cleaned the upstairs rooms. She’d even managed to exchange her Maryland driver’s license for a Massachusetts one.
On top of everything else, Daria had sold a Melodie Powers short story, and one of the magazine editors had recommended her to a publisher. Daria had three Powers novels completed (she’d been working on them for several years), although they all needed revisions – she was to send the files to the publisher by June 30. If they sold, she wouldn’t have to worry about money. Her costs might otherwise push her budget a bit if she wasn’t careful. On top of her share of the rent and the Tracker, Daria would be paying a quarter of the utilities – electricity, gas, water, garbage collection, and the phone. Fortunately, they were getting pirated cable from the landlord, Dean Phillips, and they would be running the internet through that, so they didn’t need a second phone line or to pay for dialup.
Fortunately, the delivery people showed up at that moment, and the installation went off quickly and without any problems or leaving much of a mess. Daria had just seen them out when the phone rang. “Lane, Keats, Keats, and Morgendorffer,” she answered. “Morgendorffer speaking.”
“Hey, Sweetheart!” Lisa called through the phone.
Jane or Larry might have gotten a sardonic remark, but not Lisa. “Hi back at you. What’s up?”
“One of the firm’s other senior partners has a come down with a nasty cold, so Dad has to make a late flight to Geneva tonight to take his place. He offered me a ride to the airport and a plane ticket to Boston! Tonight! I’ll be in around nine, so any chance for a ride?”
“For you, yes!” Daria’s bad mood evaporated. “Which terminal?”
Lisa gave her the flight information, and added, “Larry will bring my stuff, so I won’t have any baggage. So don’t bother parking, just circle a bit and pick me up.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I gotta get ready, we have to leave in fifteen minutes so Dad can meet his flight. I’ll eat at the airport.”
“Okay, just one more thing….”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve missed you, Bunny,” Daria stated with real affection in her voice. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, Angel. See you a bit after nine!”
Now actually smiling, Daria considered. There was enough breakfast food for the two of them, but they’d need to go grocery shopping before lunch for them both the next day. Glancing at the time, Daria went up to work on her revisions, ignoring the textbooks she had purchased for the summer.
All four were technically taking light loads that summer. Jane would be taking a pottery class and a printmaking class, one per session, while Larry would be getting two gen ed classes out the way. Lisa had the hardest classes, as she (a Classics major) would be taking the higher two required Ancient Greek classes. Daria was taking a screenwriting class in the first session and a lit class in the second. In addition, she and Lisa were getting their remaining two phys ed classes out of the way: golf and archery.
Daria put in some solid work on her revisions, but remembered to eat a sandwich for dinner. Getting to the airport would take some time, considering Boston traffic, construction, etc., so she left with plenty of time. In the event, she only had to circle around twice before she pulled up to the waiting Lisa on the third go-round. They exchanged a brief kiss (as there were cars waiting to pull up behind them), after Lisa tossed her carry-on in the back, and the two were off.
“You look tired,” Lisa commented as they pulled out of the airport. “Let me guess, you worked like crazy to get things ready for us.”
“Well, you and I are all set up,” Daria confirmed. “Larry and Jane can unpack their own stuff. If they don’t like how I arranged their room, they can do the work to move things.” Each small bedroom had a double bed, two tall but narrow dressers (both with mirrors), and a small wardrobe (as there were no closets, other than some space in the area with a little hot water heater, furnace, and washer and dryer), plus a computer desk and office chair. Daria had also purchased a padded rocking chair and a small set of shelves for their room.
“Thank you for all your work,” Lisa responded sincerely. She was tempted to place a hand on Daria’s arm, but knew her lover was a nervous driver.
“Did you actually remember to eat?” Daria asked, a little teasingly. Lisa had a habit of being distracted by the shops at airports.
“I did, if you want to call a sandwich and a smoothie dinner,” Lisa replied. “Tell me how things are set up?”
The two chatted about the apartment for the rest of the trip.
When they arrived, Daria gave Lisa a quick tour. Upstairs, the rooms were arranged off the narrow back hallway: living room, bathroom, Larry and Jane’s room, and then Daria and Lisa’s. There was a small ‘powder room’ at the end of the hallway, next to Lisa and Daria’s room. Lisa smirked a bit at the bed arrangements: Jane and Larry’s was against the wall to the bathroom, while theirs was on the outside wall. Larry and Jane could get noisy. However, once they were in their bedroom, Lisa’s eyes lit up. While she noticed the other extras – the rocking chair, a stack of wicker baskets in one corner with some of their clothes (mostly Lisa’s) that didn’t fit otherwise, and a small set of shelves with a small tv on top and a boombox, her eyes were centered on the bed.
Daria had put up with her father calling her ‘Kiddo’, as he’d called her that since she was a baby, while her mother’s use of ‘Sweetie’ was used on both Daria and Quinn. Daria had always refused to answer to other any pet or nicknames from friends or others. However, Lisa was a cute, very petite woman with brown hair and a very adorable nose – she looked a bit like a bunny. Daria had called her that once as a joke, and Lisa had liked it so much that the name stuck, although only Daria was allowed to call her that, usually in private. If Lisa wanted to call Daria ‘Angel’ in return, Daria had been prepared to accept it, and now liked it. Lisa had slept cuddled up with a four-foot stuffed bear since she’d been a toddler – she’d missed it at Raft until Daria took its place. Daria had therefore visited a ‘build-a-stuffed animal’ store and made a two-foot brown bunny – with angel wings, and it was sitting on the bed.
“She’s wonderful!” Lisa exclaimed, going over and hugging it. “What’s her name?”
“If you don’t have one for her, how about ‘Annie Louise’?” Daria suggested. “Anne Louise or Anne Louisa didn’t sound right.” Lisa’s middle name was Anne, while Daria’s was Louise.
Lisa nodded, still hugging the toy that symbolized their relationship. She came over and gave Daria a kiss in thanks. “Annie Louisa?” Daria merely nodded in agreement.
“Did you take a shower yet?”
“I did; besides, I don’t know if the hot water tank is large enough to last us a ‘welcome back’ shower,” Daria replied.
“I’m feeling rather pre-menstrual, so we’d only shower,” Lisa confessed. Unlike Daria, whose periods just made her a bit cranky, and Jane, who sometimes had severe cramps, Lisa usually only wanted to rest and cuddle and drink lots of different teas during her periods.
“Why don’t you shower, and I’ll fix you a cup of chamomile to relax?” That sounded good to Lisa, and the two left the bedroom.
When Lisa got back from her shower, wearing only shorts, she found Daria dressed the same, plus socks. She got Lisa settled sitting up at the head of the bed, cup of tea in hand, while Daria gave her feet and calves a massage. As much as Daria enjoyed being pleasured by her lover, she enjoyed pleasuring, and cosseting, Lisa even more. Jane had always suspected that Daria had a hidden affectionate as well as passionate side, and Lisa brought both out. It helped a great deal that Lisa was such a determined cuddler – Daria had rather quickly become addicted to snuggling with her. Even at night, Lisa would usually fall asleep at least partially lying on Daria, being hugged. The other times, they were usually spooning, but Lisa still more often than not woke up being held.
When Lisa finished her tea, the two cuddled together for their first night in their bed.
Other than the one trip to the grocery store the next morning, the two stayed in the apartment. Lisa was now fully in her period, and didn’t feel like exploring, and Daria was happy to accommodate her. They did do some work, Lisa studying her Greek and Daria doing her revisions, but they spent more time either cuddled on the bed or ‘their’ sofa. The living area had two sofas – one chosen by each couple. Other than some end tables and two small chairs for visitors and the tv and associated material (vcr, shelves for tapes), that pretty much filled the space. Lisa had been surprised at how small the apartment now felt, now that it was filled with all their stuff. She, Larry, and Jane hadn’t believed Daria when she had warned them that the place would be cozy at best. It wasn’t quite cramped, but there would be four of them trying to live in the space. She was glad Daria had talked them out of getting queen or even king-sized beds – they really wouldn’t have fit.
Larry and Jane arrive late Sunday afternoon. While Jane was somewhat surprised at how almost cramped much of the apartment now was, Larry was somewhat shocked. He was almost instantly somewhat apologetic and yet defensive – this place had been his discovery, and he had easily been the most enthusiastic about taking it long-term, even if it had been left to Daria to do the negotiations. Instantly realizing that they didn’t want to live out of the boxes most of their clothes were in, Jane got the name of the store where Daria had found the stackable wicker baskets. Granted, Lisa had as many clothes as Jane and Daria together, Jane still knew she and Larry would need at least some additional storage.
After the group had had dinner, Daria pointed out what their usual summer schedule would likely be. Both her and Lisa’s classes were 10:00-11:45 Monday through Thursday, with their gym classes at 2:00. She and Lisa would therefore drive in together earlier in the mornings. Jane’s classes were on the same schedule, but Larry’s classes were at noon. He would drive Jane to BFAC and pick her up. All four were glad that Lisa and Larry had bought Daria her old car; at least some of them would have had to rely on the buses at times, which, while not hard to get to, did take much more time.
That night, as Daria and Lisa cuddled, they heard the expected noises from next door. “I’m glad you put their bed sideways,” Lisa muttered. Daria had known that had she placed the bed otherwise, they would have heard the headboard banging on the wall.
“They’re noisy enough as it is,” Daria agreed, then going on to nibble on Lisa’s left ear, making her giggle lightly. Rubbing Lisa’s tummy gently, Daria went on to nibble on Lisa’s neck. Lisa turned around to kiss Daria deeply. The pair carried on a bit before settling down to sleep.
As Daria and Lisa ate their breakfast cereal and tea, they heard a shriek from upstairs from Jane.
“Are they at it already?” Lisa asked.
“No, I’ve heard that sound a few times before,” Daria responded. “When I stayed overnight with Jane…Trent usually didn’t put the seat down, and when she’s not fully awake, Jane sometimes forgets to look.”
“Ah,” Lisa said knowingly. “One reason I was glad to have my own half bath growing up – neither Larry nor Dad usually put it down. Now that Larry’s outnumbered three to one, I think it’s time he learned his masculinity wouldn’t be threatened by sitting down all the time.”
Confronted by his three housemates just before Lisa and Daria left, Larry had to concede that fight. He would sometimes forget, and be scolded by whichever woman discovered his error – except those times when Jane was caught sitting without looking, when he’d get yelled at.
Larry would be reminded of another of his promises that afternoon before dinner, that they’d have to work together to live together. Daria sat them all down at the kitchen table and made the group agree to a list of chores. Some, they would each be in charge of, some (cleaning the toilets) were put on a rotation. On the one hand, Larry and Lisa had always had a housekeeping service which largely cleaned up after them. Lisa (and Daria to a lesser extent) tended towards neatness. Larry hadn’t been a slob in the dorm, but did have those tendencies. Jane had been proud of the size of some of the dust bunnies in the Lane household, and had only somewhat kept her dorm room picked up because her roommate had insisted.
Indeed, Larry and Jane’s room was quickly something of a disaster area. However, the rest of the place was kept relatively tidy and clean. Jane already knew that Daria could be a tough taskmaster, and it turned out that when it came to keeping the place presentable, Lisa was much the same. Larry and Jane sometimes would need reminding to do their assigned chores. It also was quickly evident that Larry (and Lisa to a lesser extent) only knew how to heat up premade food. Cold cereal and toast were pretty much the extent of Larry’s cooking skills unless it came prepackaged and with clear and simple microwave instructions, and Lisa was only slightly better. Jane had lived weeks in the summers on no breakfast except black coffee, instant ramen for lunch, and pizza or Cluster Burger or similar fast food for dinner. Despite the other three intensely disliking doing more than stacking dishes in the dishwasher, Daria soon ended up cooking at least three dinners a week (often more) with the others cleaning up and sometimes doing her chores in exchange for Daria doing their turns cooking. The rest of the time Larry or Lisa would bring home items that just needed reheating.
Neither Larry nor Jane made it to breakfast the next day. At lunch, Jane teased the other two about how quiet their room seemed. Daria’s response was, “You two make more than enough noise to cover up anything we might be up to.”
“What was that you demanded last night, Jane?” Lisa asked. “Something along the lines of ‘if you don’t use more lube, just wait until it’s your turn’?”
“It did sound something like that,” Daria agreed. That ended the teasing for the moment, although Lisa snickered and Daria smirked just a little when Larry came back later that afternoon with two rather obvious large bottles in a drug store bag.
The look Jane gave Larry later than evening suggested it was going to be another noisy night next door. Rather than watching the big tv, Daria led Lisa to their room. “You have something planned,” Lisa suggested.
“I do,” Daria agreed. “Of course, there are a number of things we can do, but maybe it’s time I tried something.” Daria turned on and tuned the radio to a hard rock station.
“Are you planning on us making more noise than usual, or is that to drown them out?”
“A bit of both, if you’re interested.” Daria pulled the vibrator she had purchased for Lisa out of a drawer. She turned it on briefly, so that it emitted a brief buzz.
Lisa thought a bit, as other than by Daria’s fingers (and tongue), Lisa had only been penetrated vaginally once, almost five years before. She gave Daria a slight nod.
“I’ll be gentle, and use plenty of lube if you need it,” Daria assured her. “If it feels at all uncomfortable, never mind painful, just say the word and we’ll stop.”
Lisa nodded again.
Daria recognized the body language. Lisa was, on occasion, somewhat passive and submissive. She wanted Daria to strip her, slowly, and control the action.
Daria was more than willing to comply. She took off both her own and Lisa’s clothes slowly, with lots of stroking and kissing and massaging. By the time they were nude, Lisa’s excitement was already evident. Daria nevertheless knelt and ran her tongue along the insides of Lisa’s thighs, before licking higher, and then into Lisa’s moistness. Neither were usually loud in bed, but Lisa was moaning softly in pleasure, increasing more to a high register rather than in loudness when Daria added a finger.
Daria flicked the vibrator on low, and used the tip to tease around Lisa’s labia. Lisa enjoyed it, but Daria couldn’t really use her tongue well while it was buzzing. She eased the tip inside Lisa, eliciting another, higher pitched, moan. Daria then turned it off, but kept the vibrator moving gently in and out, while leaning in and teasing Lisa’s clitoris with her tongue.
That brought Lisa to a major climax.
When Lisa had fully recovered, she watched Daria ease the two inches of vibrator out of her. Daria then made sure Lisa saw her clean the vibrator by placing it in her mouth and licking it clean. Daria then stood to place the vibrator on end on the dress and laid down next to Lisa. “You are so delicious,” Daria murmured.
“So are you,” Lisa told her. She rolled Daria on to her back, and licked her way down to please Daria in turn.
The next afternoon, Larry dropped Jane off and then drove off. Coming into the kitchen, she gave Lisa, who was studying at the kitchen table, a wave.
Lisa waved back and asked, “Where’d Larry drive off to?”
“He decided he wanted to get a rotisserie chicken for dinner tonight. Why are you down here?”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Daria got an email from her mother.”
“Bad?”
Lisa nodded. “She said that since Daria’s trust fund from Missus Morgendorffer’s father was four times larger than Quinn’s, Daria should contribute to Quinn’s going to that school out in California.”
Jane winced and then glanced upwards. “I’m surprised the roof is still intact.”
“It must have had time to settle,” Lisa stated dryly. “Obviously, Daria was NOT happy that her first communication from her mother was a demand to support Quinn….”
“True. Even though it’s a party school, I’m surprise Quinn even qualified for…what was it? Pepperhill?”
“Yeah, that’s it. However, Daria found out from Amy last December that her mother had been holding back some of the money from the trust fund. She made inquiries, and she was sent all the terms. It turns out her mother has been sort of cheating, reinvesting some of the funds back into the trust rather than sending them on.”
“So, technically misapplying funds rather than embezzling?”
“Something like that,” Lisa agreed. “Anyway, she talked to Dad about it then, and they decided to hold off until Missus Morgendorffer did something more egregious….”
“Which this is,” Jane put in.
“Exactly. Now, you do know that Dad has given us codes so that we can get through to him in an emergency….”
“Yep, I have one in case something happens to Larry if you’re not around, or to the three of you,” Jane stated.
“Apparently, Dad gave her a code that covered this, so I think she’s probably still talking to him.” Lisa glanced towards their bedroom, a bit worriedly. “At least I hope they’re still talking, and she not just stewing up there.”
“Well, she does stew quite often, or at least she used to,” Jane told her. “Maybe you should go to the top of the stairs and see if you can hear them. If it’s silent, well, she’s either stewing or plotting revenge.”
Lisa smirked. “You don’t want to try first? Afraid, are we?”
“Not as such,” Jane replied. “No matter how angry she is, Daria isn’t the kind of person to throw things, or even to cuss out any innocent bystanders. It’s more that if she’s still angry – I mean, she’s likely still hurt – she’ll more likely take some comforting from you.”
“That’s true,” Lisa agreed.
Jane turned towards the stairs. “I hear an approaching grumble,” she warned Lisa quietly.
Sure enough, Daria came down the stairs a few seconds later, grumbling under her breath and not quite stomping. She stopped and glared at Jane. “Did Lisa tell you what the contributor to part of my genetic makeup wanted me to do?”
“Oh, yeah,” Jane agreed. “That took a lot of nerve, even for her.”
“So, I talked with Mister Keats and Aunt Amy. According to the terms of the trust, Amy can replace Mother-dearest at my request once I turned nineteen, even without citing cause. Grandpa obviously had Mom’s measure all those years ago. Therefore, Mother-dearest cannot even successfully file an injunction according to Mister Keats. Amy okayed it, and Mister Keats apparently already had the paperwork prepared, so some junior associate of his just has to fill in the dates.” She shook her head. “He certainly has Mother’s measure as well.”
“So there’s nothing your Mom can do?” Jane asked.
“Oh, she can challenge it, I suppose, but really the only way she can win is if Amy does something she isn’t supposed to do. Since she hasn’t had a chance to do anything yet, there’s nothing Mother can do in the short run.”
Lisa turned to Jane. “You didn’t seem terribly surprised at what Missus Morgendorffer asked.”
“Well, under other circumstances, Helen would have just given Quinn all the money from the fund she set up for both daughters. While I’m a bit surprised she had the nerve to actually ask, no, I’m not surprised she wanted to take even more from Daria to give to Quinn. She always claimed she tried to treat the two equally….”
“But somehow, at least seven out of ten times, that meant screwing me over to favor Quinn,” Daria broke in. “Granted, probably two of the other times, she’d use me as an example to refuse Quinn something so that Quinn would at least partially blame me.”
“But I know you,” Jane stated. “What gesture are you going to make?”
“I’ll email Dad and tell him to give Quinn all the money from his fund if he wants or if Mother insists,” Daria admitted. “Of course, that’s only about a third of the amount compared to the increase I’ll get from Grandpa’s.”
The other two agreed that this would work – Helen would certainly understand the gesture for what it was.