Archive of Our Own

It started with boredom, you know just like the Cat in the Hat, except Darcy isn’t a little girl and Thor definitely isn’t her brother. And there isn’t an eight foot tall cat that sounds suspiciously like Dr. Evil. However, there is a crazy god, a few mad scientists, and one very questionable poison green colored drink, but we’ll get to that later. Let’s start with that one time Darcy introduced the Thunder God to the wonderful world of baking…

 

*

i.

“I’m bored and there’s nothing on… well anything that’s good anyway.”

“But I was rather enjoying the documentary on the mating habits of the hippo. We have a beast akin to your hippo on Asgard. It is of a dull yellow color, though and has a high-pitched shriek.”

Darcy arches an eyebrow at the blonde man sitting on the other end of her couch until he glances at her and smiles his brilliantly beaming (seriously, he’s like a ray of sunshine) smile, his palm lightly patting the top of her right foot where it rests on his thigh. This was the third time this week she’d found him parked in front of her TV and watching whatever channel seemed to suit his fancy that day. It’s Tuesday afternoon. You’d think any woman lucky enough to bag a freaking Nordic god would find a way to put away her research and actually spend time with him, but nope. Not Jane. Darcy had been passed the proverbial torch, she was a glorified girlfriend to the hunk of golden starshine, minus all of the actual benefits. She’s not bitter about it, she loves Thor, but she thinks Jane is an idiot. They don’t talk about it.

“Well, would you rather catch up on the history of hippos or do something? I’m hungry and I know you’re always hungry, so why don’t we order food? While we wait we can make some cookies! I think I have the ingredients—Yo, Jarvis!”

“Yes, Miss Darcy?”

“If I run out of stuff does the communal kitchen have what I need?”

“I do believe the groceries were delivered Sunday, yes. We are well stocked.”

“That settles it!” Darcy turns the TV off much to Thor’s disappointment, tosses the remote onto the coffee table and heaves off the couch. She stretches out a hand to the man and wiggles her fingers. “I won’t take no for an answer, Mr. Thunder Britches!”

With a huff of fond exasperation (she gets that a lot), Thor takes her hand and springs gracefully to his feet. Darcy leads him into her open kitchen and pulls her hand free to tie her hair up on top of her head in a messy bun. He watches her and listens to her ramble on in barely concealed fascination. He’s never met anyone quite like Lady Darcy (‘It’s just Darcy, dude. If you’re going to eat my ice cream, I think we’re on a first name basis!’) and he finds her most perplexing a companion.

“Are you listening to me? Lose the flannel so it doesn’t get in the way. I have a tendency to get messy when I bake. I blame my mother, she taught me how. Have you ever baked anything before? Or cooked at all for that matter?”

“Yes, I have prepared meals, we have to eat even during wars, but no I have not baked before.” He does as she instructs and strips down to his undershirt and he’s so used to it by now that her ‘ogling’ as she called it just makes him wink and flash her a smirk. He chuckles when she pokes him in the side and sweeps past him in a gust of lightly scented floral blushing beauty. He sputters when a wad of bright pink material hits him square in the face.

“It’s an apron, put it on.” He narrows his gaze at her as she grins at him, her hands adjusting her own simple black and white checkered apron about her frame. Thor loves her sense of humor, it almost reminding him of his brother’s own when he was feeling playful. Shutting down that train of thought quickly, he puts on his hideous garment as Darcy messes with something on the counter.

Music quickly fills the air and Thor shakes his head; Darcy turns it up before dancing over to the bank of cabinets beside her fridge and begins pulling out items. He moves to her side and investigates each thing she hands him and only moves when she hip-checks him out of her way. Thor watches the way she arranges things with the beat of the music, never missing a lyric and he finds her mesmerizing. He’s very aware of how conflicted his thoughts about Lady Darcy have become in the past few months, but he feels powerless to remove himself from her company. He really should look into why that is. ‘But not today’ a small voice says in the back of his mind and Thor silently agrees with it.

“You like ‘The Kills’? They’re good, right?” She gives him no time to reply, moving smoothly from one sentence to the next as her hands measure flour into a metal bowl. “Yep, I have awesome taste in music, I know. Hand me the eggs out of the fridge would you?”

He complies and before long they’ve made two batches of peanut butter cookies and Darcy is sitting on the counter with flour on her face and eating leftover raw dough straight from the mixing bowl. Thor unconsciously eats whatever she offers him directly from the same spoon she’s using. It’s a comfortable moment and he doesn’t think when he reaches out to rub the flour from the apple of her cheek causing them both to pause, suspended in mid-air. Darcy’s eyes widen just a fraction, but he’s close enough that he notices when they take on a glimmer of mischief.

“Forgive me, Lady… Darcy. You had white on your cheek.”

Darcy’s hands fumble (or so he thinks) to sit down the mixing bowl and he goes to take a step back but her actions stop him with surprise. She swabs a blob of cookie dough onto the tip of his nose with a grin and laughs in his face. Now Thor may not be of Midgard, but he did partake in food fights in Asgard growing up. He was the instigator in many instances, actually and it’s with a sly grin he grabs a handful of flour and deposits it directly onto Darcy’s head.

“Oh my God! You did not just…SHIT!” Darcy manages to hop off the counter and grab the mixing bowl, leaving a trail of white in her wake as she skirts around the small island, nearly missing the clump of flour Thor throws at her.

“Oh, I did! Shall I declare this war?”

If the splat of cookie dough that flies by his head and plops onto the cabinet door behind him isn’t telling, Thor isn’t Asgardian. The music blares something concerning ‘Jungle Love’ as they take up their respective stations and battle it out. A short time later when they run out of ammo at the same time there’s a mad dash for the jar of peanut butter between them. Darcy squeals as she slides in the flour and goes down, just barely grabbing the jar before hitting her ass. Bent double with his laughter, Thor kneels down to check her wellbeing and ends up with a handful of peanut butter smashed into his hair.

Through their wrestling, her shrieking, and his loudly proclaimed victory, and the music blaring neither of them hear Jarvis or the door to Darcy’s apartment open. Darcy wipes a sticky, flour-y handprint onto Thor’s messy cheek, squirming under the blonde as his fingers dig into her sides attempting to drag a defeat out of her and completely misses the sound of a throat clearing. Thor on the other hand hears it and his head snaps up as his hands still around the brunette’s waist.

“What on God’s green earth is going on in here?!”

Darcy squeaks as she leans back to peer up at Jane upside down and through her crooked glasses. Her chest heaves and she thanks Odin that she’s wearing a T-shirt today and not a cleavage buster. She raises a messy hand up to straighten her frames on her nose and gives a finger wave to her best friend.

“I can explain…”

“Lady Darcy was teaching me how to bake!”

They speak at the same time as Thor eases back from his position over her and onto his butt next to her. Darcy sits up and spins around in the flour to see just how mad the lady is. Her hands are full of bags and, oh… That’s probably their dinner. Whoops. She watches as Jane takes them in with a narrowed gaze before blowing out a breath and shaking her head at them.

“Clean this up, then you,” she points at Thor like he’s a naughty child and it’s all Darcy can do to keep a straight face. “Come and get cleaned up then you can eat. And YOU, you know better. It’ll be in the microwave whenever you’re done and you can’t complain if he eats all of your eggrolls.”

Darcy opens her mouth to protest but the oven timer chooses that moment to ding and it’s like they say; ‘Saved by the bell!’ Jane huffs out an annoyed breath, spinning on her heel mumbling to herself as she leaves Thor and Darcy sitting in the middle of her ruined kitchen. They look at each other and all at once burst into peals of laughter. Darcy takes the cookies to Jane’s later that night and Thor saves her a couple of eggrolls.

She’s calling it a win.

 

ii.

The picnic had been Darcy’s (and Sam’s, although he’s denying it now) idea. The water guns and water balloons on the other hand had been entirely Barton’s idea. Darcy is pleading the fifth and blaming him now, though. The fact that Stark made them walk back to the tower because they were soaked from head to toe? Yeah, she’s gonna blame that one on him and his rich princess ass.

“You couldn’t have at least worn a white shirt today to make it more fun, could you?”

“Fuck off, Barton.” 

“Man, I wouldn’t say that with Thor behind you.”

“Samuel is correct, you had best be thankful I left Mjolnir back at the tower.”

“Hey, buddy, I was just messing with her. She loves me, don’t you, Kid?”

“Barnes, please, please knock him out and carry him the rest of the way…”

“No can do, doll. Violence in public would be bad for my rep.”

“Your therapist is a whackjob.”

“I resent that, Lewis!”

Darcy sticks her tongue out at Sam’s back and sighs. Her jeans were rubbing her thighs and she was tired, the kind of tired from when you’re a kid and ate too much then played for hours, tired. Her bright idea of a team picnic in the park had been awesome. Even Pepper had tagged along and managed to coax Tony, Bruce, and Jane from their labs to join them. That woman was a saint.

They’d eaten and lounged around listening to music, ignoring the few people who had stopped to stare at the collection of superheroes lounging around on a sunny day. It had been perfect that is until Clint pulled out the water guns and Barnes had produced water balloons seemingly from out of thin air. Sides were taken, threats were made (Natasha was adamant that she’d make herself a new purse from anyone’s flesh if they so much as hit her with one drop), and war broke out in the middle of a civilian filled park. Okay, she can’t deny it, it had been fucking awesome, they’d even let some of the older kids join in while parents stood to the side letting the little ones meet an unmasked Iron Man and Captain America.

But all too soon the fun had wound down and they’d marched their sodden selves to their rides only to be rejected. Stark denied them, Steve laughed and roared off on his bike, and Nat just waved at them with a smirk. Damn assholes. That left Sam and Barton leading the way with Thor and Darcy behind them, and Bucky trailing them. Darcy yawns and staggers a little into Thor’s side and he chuckles down at her.

“Are you alright?”

“Mhm, just tired. I wished you would have brought Mew-Mew or Sam had brought his wings, then we’d be there already.”

“Aw, does somebody need a naaaap?”

“Brother, you are pushing your luck.”

“Stow it, Wilson.”

Darcy just rolls her eyes as Barnes chuckles behind her and Thor swings an arm around her shoulders and draws her into his side. She watches as Barnes steps around her and reaches out and yanks on the water gun that’s strapped over Clint’s chest and hanging down his back, snickering when he swears and missteps making him list into Sam. Bucky laughs harder before falling back and calling out to his teammate in a playful tone.

“Hey Barton, I think somebody else needs a nap!”

“Damn it, Barnes!”

“You kind of deserved that one… OW!”

“That’s what you get for siding with them.”

Thor laughs along with her and Bucky at Sam and Clint’s antics. They weave their way through the crowds on the sidewalk, which isn’t hard considering everyone gives them a wide berth. They’re all dripping wet; Sam’s lost his shirt, Thor’s hair is pulled back in a wet bundle and he’s sans flannel, Clint’s arms are on display, Darcy’s green tank top is threadbare and the girls are out and proud, and Barnes’ left arm is glinting in the sun. If she were anyone else, she’d be drooling, a little scared and wishing she were in that gang of hotness, but as things are, she’s in the middle of a superhero sandwich and other than tired, she’s sooo happy.

“Hey, Thor?”

“Yes, Darcy?”

“Can I have a piggyback ride?”

“Of course.”

“Barnes, get up here, I won’t have you ogling my ass back there.”

“I’ll trade places with you! OUCH!!”

“That one was not me, dude.”

Darcy laughs at all of them, Barton mostly though as he rubs the back of his head as Bucky whistles innocently, tossing her and Thor a wink over his shoulder. She moves behind Thor and huffs out a breath as he squats down instead of letting her climb him like a tree. (It’s a secret goal she has.) Yelping as he straightens and adjusts his hold on her thighs, Darcy raises an arm above her head and hollers.

“HIGH HO SILVER, AWAY!”

They all burst into laughter including a few people standing around them as they wait at a crosswalk. Before the light changes, Barton spins around with a look of madness on his face as he points at her and her golden god steed. Darcy raises a brow at him knowing that whatever he’s about to say can’t be good for her.

“THAT is a serious piggyback!!! Darcy, I am telling your mother! I’m calling her first thing when we get back!”

“Dude, you are insane and I am never watching TV with you again!”

“She got you to watch the zombies with her, too?”

“They’re walkers on that show. See in that world…”

Darcy tunes them out as they discuss things that she’s already explained to them fifteen times, the world looking much taller from her perch on Thor’s back. She hums The Black Keys and the blonde bounces her to the beat in her head making her laugh. By the time they reach the tower Sam and Clint have started singing with her while Thor and Bucky laugh at them and try to mess them up. They’re singing ‘Lonely Boy’ loudly and off key by the time they file out of the elevator and into the communal kitchen/living room.

With Darcy trying not to fall off of Thor laughing as Clint belts out the second verse, she doesn’t notice the others in the kitchen. Tony clearing his throat goes unheard when they bellow the chorus and the only thing that catches their attention is when Bucky tugs on Darcy’s pant leg and Thor stiffens under her. At her wide eyes, Barton spins around and the note he was singing dies comically.

“You’re singing, and still wet, I don’t like it.” Tony proclaims and points at them with the tines of his fork.

“Darcy! What are you doing?!”

“Uh, I got tired… Thor here gave me a lift.”

Barton, Barnes, Sam, and even Thor snort in tandem at her. Darcy bites the inside of her cheek to hold back the laughter at her poor choice of words and pats the top of the god’s head. He squats down and she wiggles down with Bucky’s hand steadying her once she hops off. She swats at his hand and offers a frowning Jane an innocent smile. Barton clears his throat rather loudly and her eyes flick towards him and she blushes scarlet when his gaze ticks down to her chest.

She’s waterlogged and it’s cold in the tower, okay? Sue her. Barnes oh-so casually shuffles a step to his left and in front of her, which she’s grateful for. She thunks her forehead into his back between his shoulder blades with a heavy sigh. Her voice is quiet, but loud to her in the now silent kitchen.

“Right… I’m going to go change now. Have a good night and thank you for the wonderful day!”

Darcy doesn’t wait for anyone to respond; instead she spins on her heels, wincing at the squeak her shoes make and taking what’s left of her dignity with her out the door. In the elevator she pulls her damp ponytail off her neck and jumps slightly when her phone chirps. Digging it out of her pocket is a struggle but she finally plucks it free just before she reaches her door. She pauses in the hall to thumb it unlocked and open the message.

‘Zombie marathon in an hour. Bring alcohol and your best PJs! P.S. Thor says that he ‘shall acquire Lady Darcy’s favorite Midgardian ice cream’. I’d say you’ve got him whipped, doll. ;)’

Darcy curses the day she told Barnes about her crush.

 

 iii.

Jane had a conference in Chicago with Bruce and was gone for three days. Darcy spent the first two days camped out on the collective couch, watching eighties movies with whomever parked next to her and vegging out. She was kind of glad that she’d been left behind and relished her days off. She still made sure Stark was fed and watered with Jarvis’ help, of course, but other than that she was her own free agent.

On Thursday, she’s laying with her head pillowed on Thor’s lap and sprawled across the couch with her feet in Barnes’ lap. Darcy idly threads her fingers through Clint’s hair where he sits with his back resting against the couch while they watch ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ and that’s when the call comes in. Within fifteen minutes everyone is suited up and Darcy is left to watch them load into the quinjet and take off. She returns to the main living area and turns off the movie, opting to watch the live feed of the Avengers (minus Banner) on CNN.

After half an hour of alternating between chewing her bottom lip into a throbbing swell and biting her nails down to the quick, Pepper joins Darcy. The woman sits quietly down next to her and tugs her hand away from her mouth and enfolds it into a strong grip. Darcy gladly holds onto the blonde’s hand as they watch the team get batted around like gnats by what is no doubt one of Doom’s creations. It’s a strike of lightning from Thor’s hammer that sends the thing into tailspins and allows Steve and Tony to take it down for good. Natasha, Barton, Bucky, and Sam make quick work of the smaller robots before the news crews call it a day and begin to replay their footage.

It’s about an hour later that Jarvis informs them that the quinjet is approaching and they make their way up to the landing pad. As the team emerges from the jet looking tired and dirty but no worse for wear, Darcy finally breathes easy. Tony greets Pepper with a genuine smile and Darcy has to look away, not wanting to witness that lest she melt from all of the mush. Her new view isn’t any better though as she watches Steve heft his shield onto his back and lace his fingers through Bucky’s metal ones, anchoring him no doubt as the assassin shakes his head as if to clear it and offers the blonde a small smile.

Darcy swallows a lump in her throat and flicks her gaze beyond them just as Thor steps down onto the roof. His expression is one of a tired warrior and it gives her pause as a frown furrows his brows as his gaze searches his surroundings. When his eyes land on her, a grin breaks out over his features, brightening them like a sunrise on the horizon and she can’t help but to grin back. She ignores the way her heart hammers as if it were trying to escape the cage of her ribs and bounce over to the man.

“Lady Darcy!”

“Thunder Dude!”

He chuckles and his steps quicken to her place by the door. Mindless of the grit of battle, Thor sweeps her off of her feet in an embrace that she eagerly returns. When he sets her back on her feet, Darcy practically beams up at him as she pats his sweaty bicep.

“You okay?”

“I am in one piece, yes.”

“Great! I bet you’re hungry aren’t you? Don’t answer that, I know you are. Come on let’s go get you something to eat.”

No one says a word as Darcy shepherds Thor off the roof. They wait until they’re out of ear shot and Natasha, Sam, and Clint have joined them. Of course it’s Tony that speaks first.

“Am I the only one seeing just how wrapped around her finger Blossom is?”

“Tony, Thor is not a Powerpuff Girl and no, you aren’t. But it isn’t our place to meddle.”

“But what about Foster? Should I get J to do a little recon?”

“NO!”

Tony sighs and puts on his pouty face at the collective nay from his friends. He’s just curious. Curiosity killed the kitty cat... He follows obediently behind Pepper admiring the view and debating on ignoring that little voice in his head. It wouldn’t hurt to spy on Lewis just little bit, right? What could it hurt, really? See, his subconscious knows he’s right.Mind made up, Tony plots to throw them together and see just what happens.

Good kitty…

 

iv. 

“You are a cheater, Lewis! No one is that good at bowling!!!”

“Read it and weep, Stark!”

Darcy taps the screen at the third strike she’s gotten in this set as she plops down unceremoniously onto Sam’s lap where he’s manning the scoreboard before his turn. He chuckles and wraps an arm around her waist, shooting Tony a shit-eating grin over Darcy’s shoulder. In the next lane Barton is explaining the art of bowling to a bored out of his mind Bucky and Sam is just glad that they’re all out and doing something normal.

Steve is attempting to teach Thor how to tame his strength to get the ball to curve just right while Natasha and Jane shamelessly watch their asses from next to Barton and Barnes. Agent Hill sits to Sam’s (and Darcy’s) left as Pepper takes her turn and Bruce sits behind them having a conversation with Coulson. When Tony plans something, he doesn’t skimp, but Pepper and Darcy had banded together and vetoed his attempt to rent out the entire bowling alley. Social interaction is what they needed on occasion and apparently what the women want, the women get.

Sam bounces Darcy on his lap to the beat of the rap that’s blaring from the jukebox and grins at her when she presses a kiss to his cheek before getting up and disappearing into the crowd. Once he’s sure she’s just making her way to the food court, he turns his attention back to the lanes. He rolls his eyes when Tony leans in to stage whisper into his ear.

“You’re getting awful friendly with our girl Friday, there!”

“Don’t make me punch you.”

“No violence necessary,” Tony raises his hands, but his eyes are glittering with amusement. Sam smirks at the glare Steve is shooting in Stark’s direction. “I was just saying! You know what I think, and you can’t deny that I’m right.”

Sam sighs and meets Tony’s gaze with his own version of Steve’s disappointed Captain face. He stands and places a heavy hand on the man’s shoulder, his grip just this side of too tight. No violence, wouldn’t want a scene, right, so he makes his fingers unclench before speaking.

“It isn’t any of our business. Now, please don’t make me tattle to Pepper like a kid. This is supposed to be our fun night.”

With that, Sam pats Tony on the back and offers Hill a wink and a grin before moving to take his turn and give Pepper her seat. He meets Barnes at the ball pickup and just gives him an eye roll at his arched brow. Bucky nods minutely and they both stride up to their lane. When neither of them knocks down more than six pins between the two of them, they both laugh as they turn around and Darcy is pointing and laughing at them. Sam steals a nacho out of her plate making her shriek and while she’s distracted Barnes steals her whole plate.

Huffing out an annoyed breath Darcy sticks her tongue out at them all before grabbing her favorite ball and zoning out. She spent a lot of time when she was younger with her dad in bowling allies then later with her friends. She honed her skill and learned to not only use concentration but whatever music was playing. Darcy lets the beat of the song thrum through her, tuning out the catcalls behind her and takes a deep breath then lets the ball fly. The clack of the pins as the ball sends them scattering is a beautiful thing and she can’t help herself as she dances in her victory.

It’s only when she turns around that she notices the team is staring in different states of amusement. Even Coulson has a small smile tilting his lips. She can’t resist grinning at them all. Darcy moves back towards her seat and offers Stark her best femme fatale sly smirk as he stares at her strangely. Strong arms wrap around her middle and squeeze and she yelps, laughing when Thor proclaims her skills unbeatable. Darcy twists around and pokes him in the abs and proceeds to tell him about her days with her father as she grabs his hand and leads him away back to the food court to replace her stolen nachos.

Sam just shakes his head as Jane spins around after her own strike three minutes later, her grin fading when she finds Thor gone. Natasha swoops in and saves the day by saying she sent him to get them more beer and Barnes has the decency to at least look sheepish as he licks cheese from the fingers of his right hand. Sam swears that if he had super hearing he could hear Steve praying for patience.

If anyone notices Barton toss a twenty at Tony, they don’t mention it.

 

 v.

The next team outing three weeks later ends up with almost everyone going. Jane, Bruce, Hill, and Coulson stay behind, with the two scientists opting to remain in their lab and the two agents out on assignment. The others get dressed up to the nines and go out to dinner before Darcy asks Tony if they can go dancing. Steve lights up at the idea and Barton just about falls out of his chair laughing. He knows exactly what kind of ‘dancing’ Darcy is referring to; he was in New Mexico with her for a while anyway. When Darcy got bored, she’d end up at the only bar and it was always a good time.

For once Stark and Darcy agree on something and as soon as the massive bill is paid, they load into Tony’s cars of the night and are on their way to a club. Darcy is in one car with Steve, Bucky, and Sam and she wastes no time getting more comfortable. Steve might be a soldier with a dirty mouth and an even dirtier mind but he still blushes when Darcy takes off her jacket and adjusts her shirt and the girls in the backseat. The other two just cackle and stare without a care while Steve drives. She rolls her eyes at them and thanks God she wore comfortable but dressy pants and her good bra.

When they pull up to the curb and Sam helps her from the car she feels like a million bucks. She grins when Tony whistles and Natasha and Pepper steal her away from the men. She barely gets a chance to see Thor’s face before they pull her into the club but she does catch Barnes’ wink just as they lose them in the press of bodies. They go straight to the bar and Darcy just knows it’s going to be a good night as the bartender offers them a bright smile and flirts with them. It isn’t the first time they’ve (they being the ladies) been there and it shows when he sits down their usual drinks and three shots of the vodka Nat favors.

They down the shots and grab their drinks before Pepper leads them back to the left corner, close to the bar but with a great view of the dance floor. Darcy sips her drink, the pomegranate flavor of the margarita a perfectly tart comparison to the alcohol that floods her taste buds. By the time the men find them Darcy is half-way through her drink and beginning to dance against Natasha’s side, much to the red head’s bemusement. She’s used to it by now, Darcy’s sure of it.

“How did you get your drinks so fast?!”

Pepper simply pats Tony’s jaw and gives him her ‘Seriously?’ face. He rolls his eyes then flicks his gaze over to Natasha and Darcy, his eyes widening. He’s seen a lot of things in his life (participated in most of them), but the assassin smirking at Lewis as she practically uses her as a pole? It will rate in the top ten list of hottest things he has ever laid eyes on. And if the way the guys falter behind him and pile up against his back, he’s betting they just got a good look at them too.

“Can we keep her, Nat? Please? I want her for Christmas.”

“You can’t have her, Stevie and I are gonna kidnap her…”

“I will give you double whatever you’re making if you’ll let her come home with us, Pep.”

“Fuck ya’ll, Darcy, marry me?”

Natasha rolls her eyes and Darcy and Pepper dissolve into useless giggles before Darcy straightens and presses a perfect pink lip print kiss to Sam’s jaw. She gulps down the remainder of her drink with a hiss and a shake of her head, tapping a finger on the tip of the man’s nose. Her smile is slow and seductive as she edges her way in between them making sure to wink at the unusually quiet Thor and tosses over her shoulder;

“Sure, Sam, but I hope you’re ready to fight. Natasha claimed me about a year ago.”

Barton’s “HELL YEAH!” is loud and follows Darcy all the way back to the bar. She does two more shots while waiting for the bartender to finish up with a gaggle of barely clad girls and gets winked at by a gorgeous girl at the end of the bar. Darcy isn’t a respecter of persons but her tastes are leaning towards Tall Blonde and Thunder even though she knows it would only end in disaster. So she waits patiently, turning her back to the bar and swaying to the music unable to stay still.

“I think you should dance with me!”

Darcy turns her head and comes face to face with the black haired beauty that winked at her and the greenest pair of eyes she’s ever seen. She smiles on instinct but shakes her head. The flash of disappointment that flickers over the woman’s features is so quick, Darcy isn’t sure she caught it.

“I better not, my friends will think I got lost!”

 “Aw, maybe in a few then? You look really fun!”

Darcy laughs despite the tiny, very itty bitty, twist in her gut that tells her it would be a bad idea to abandon her friends tonight. She agrees though and promises to save the chick a dance and grabs her margarita, salutes her and slinks back into the crowd. When she gets back to the team, Nat and Steve are missing and Tony, Clint, and Sam are having a loud conversation about something. Pepper and Thor are laughing in the corner and Darcy feels relief settle onto her shoulders as she skirts around Sam’s chair and eases down between him and Thor.

She grins at the blonde as he slings an arm onto the back of her chair and around her shoulders but obliviously continues his conversation. Bucky smirks at her across the table and she feels a light tap to her ankle. Darcy narrows her eyes at him over the lip of her glass as she takes a swig of her drink and kicks at his shin. Once she’s a third of the way through her second drink and Nat and Steve return to the table sweaty and all smiles, she makes Barton dance with her. Natasha knows about New Mexico and simply smirks while the others object loudly. She makes sure that Thor is guarding her drink and knows she’ll be back before she drags Clint onto the crowded dance floor.

Their movements are effortless as Darcy hooks an arm around his neck and steps into his personal space. They have a perfect line of sight to their table and grin at each other, not needing to speak to agree to give their friends a show. The music slides over them like a warm blanket, the bass heavy and caressing Darcy’s bones as she moves with familiarity with Barton, his hands sure on her gyrating hips. She lets her eyes close and the alcohol and melody entangle to make a heady concoction, loosening her inhibitions.

“I think Stark just had a heart attack and I’ve got ten bucks that says three if not all five men at that table just popped a boner.”

Darcy smirks as Barton’s lips brush the shell of her ear and she does this little thing where she rolls her frame starting with her hips and ending with her breasts pressed rather inappropriately against Clint’s chest. She’ll blame the alcohol later but as long as she knows Natasha isn’t going to murder her in her sleep, she’d dance with Clint any day. And hell, she dances with Nat like this too so really, she doesn’t care either way. He groans into her ear and her head falls back, dark locks cascading down her back and shivering as she laughs.

After the third song someone taps Clint on his shoulder and Darcy cants her head to the left to peer at the mystery chick from earlier. Barton’s hands tighten a fraction around her hips as the woman requests a turn and Darcy scratches reassuringly at the nape of his neck with her blunt wine painted nails. He nods once before releasing her and handing her off to the dark-haired beauty and walking away from them. Darcy finds it a bit weird that she fits so easily against this stranger as they begin to dance, but she shrugs it off and mirrors her grin. Two songs in they take a small break and acquire new drinks and Darcy stares down at the bright green drink in her hand.

“It’s good, I promise, it tastes like Kool-Aid. I swear you can’t even taste the alcohol!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Darcy laughs but shrugs and in the end drinks the mixture and finds it actually pleasing to her palate. It’s a mix between apple and lime and she’s immediately hooked to the candy-like flavor. The girl ‘I’m Lora!’ smirks at her and drains her own glass before tugging Darcy back out onto the dance floor. Darcy chances a glance back at her table and her eyes meet Thor’s gaze. He’s staring a hole through her new friend with a frown knotting his brow and she swallows thickly as he takes a swig from his beer and she watches his throat work.

“He your boyfriend or something?”

“Huh?” Darcy feels her face heat up at being caught staring at the man and turns her attention back to Lora where she’s nodding towards Thor. “Oh, no! He’s my best friend’s man, actually. This is like a company outing and we dragged him along.”

“I was about to say, he didn’t seem that concerned when you were dancing with that other guy, or me for that matter.”

“Ha, no we’re all like family actually.”

“Darling, the way he’s staring at your ass I’d say he doesn’t think of you as a little sister.”

Darcy chokes out a laugh and ignores Lora’s knowing smirk and comes to the conclusion that she’s too discerning for her own good. She waves it off and Darcy is glad when a slower song comes on because she’s lightheaded and, wow that drink packed a punch. She dances almost too easily with the chick, like they’d done this before but Darcy surely would have remembered those green eyes. She shivers when Lora’s lips ghost over her earlobe much like Barton’s had done earlier and she involuntarily licks her lips when her voice skates into Darcy’s ear.

“You should take him home and have a little fun. I bet his girlfriend wouldn’t even find out…”

“I… no, I couldn’t do that to her. That’s crazy.”

“No honey, crazy is having someone like that giving you their undivided attention and not using it to your advantage.”

“You sound like you have experience in that area?”

Lora pulls back and meets Darcy’s gaze, and later she’ll blame it on the strobe lights glinting off of her glasses but she swears the green of the woman’s eyes seems to come alive for just a second. The laugh that spills from Lora’s lips is beautiful in a frightening kind of way as she shakes her head. Darcy smiles at her a tad confused and sort of ready to head back home. She’s tired of being social and she’s maybe a little drunk.

“Oh, I do. And trust me when I tell you that letting opportunities like that pass you by will drive you absolutely mad with regret. Take my advice, take him home and hold onto him.”

Darcy swallows and nods in agreement although she has no intentions of doing anything about her crush on Thor. She’s relieved when the song ends and she bids Lora a goodnight, untangling herself from the strangely intense woman and gratefully stumbles into the crowd and weaves her way back to her friends. She plops into the empty seat beside Steve and returns the smile he shoots her.

“You having a good time, Cap?”

He shrugs and sips at his beer and she feels bad for dragging him out to a place that probably makes him uncomfortable.

“Thor’s been keeping me company since Sam stole Buck for a dance. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that being alright.”

Darcy laughs lightly and rests her head against his bicep, her gaze meeting Thor’s across the table. He gives her a slow smile and she stretches her legs out under the table and knocks her toes against his shins. They sit there for another half hour before everyone else rejoins them and suggests they head back to the tower. Darcy gladly agrees with that idea and takes Thor’s steadying arm when he offers it. She can’t help looking around as they make their way to the exit, but Lora is no where to be seen. Darcy feels unease skate down her spine but she just grins stupidly up at Thor when he asks if she’s alright.

Thor rides back with her, Steve, Bucky, and Sam, refusing to let her out of his sight in her inebriated state and it’s a quiet trip back home. Darcy feels like she’s floating when he helps her out of the car and she can’t stop touching him. Bucky gives her a strange look but she just blows him a kiss and lets Thor usher her into the building. The blonde doesn’t say a word to her until he helps her into her apartment.

“Who was that woman you were dancing with tonight?”

“Lora? I don’t know really, I met her at the bar and she made me promise her a dance. She had good taste in drinks, though even if she was a little weird.”

Thor frowns a little at her explanation but Darcy misses it as she struggles to kick her shoes off and nearly ends up on her ass. He catches her with a chuckle and asks her where she wants to be placed and despite the overwhelming desire to tell him with him in her bed she motions to her couch. Once he makes sure she’s settled and turns the TV on, she’s a little surprised when he lowers himself onto his usual spot on her couch.

They end up watching late night reruns of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and Darcy finds herself curled up against Thor’s side. She leeches the warmth from him and her heart skips every time his thumb sweeps across her arm where she has it banded around his middle. Darcy is dozing off when he mutes the TV and goosebumps break out on her skin as she feels him staring down at her. When he speaks his voice is quiet but makes no room for discussion and suddenly Darcy is very sober.

“Darcy… I think we need to speak about our circumstances.”

“I was afraid you would say that. Who told you, was it Barnes? Or did Stark or Barton find out and blab?” She pulls away from his side and feels the loss of his warmth in her bones. Darcy scoots back and wrestles one of the throw pillows onto her lap, refusing to meet his gaze just yet as she rambles on.

“It doesn’t really matter who told you, I’m just sorry you didn’t hear it from me. I know it’s wrong of me, but we spend a lot of time together and it just happened. And I swear that I won’t act on my feelings or anything. And Jane will never know that I’m a horrible friend. I’m so sorry that I let it become so obvious. Jesus, I really am horrible.”

“Lady Darcy, just hold your tongue for a moment, please.” Thor stops her ranting apology and Darcy’s gaze snaps up to meet his and she’s powerless to stop it from doing so. “I am unclear what you’re speaking of but I can assure you that you are not horrible. I merely wished to seek forgiveness for my affections. I am afraid that they… I have let them become unwieldy and it was wrong of me. You are most worthy of praises but not from my lips. I had thought my Jane alone held my heart but I was mistaken.”

Darcy’s eyes are wide when Thor crosses the distance between them and grasps her hand. She’s pretty sure that whatever Lora gave her to drink was poison and she was currently hallucinating. That would explain the way that Thor was gazing at her because nothing in her head could come up with a better excuse.

“You have helped me adapt to Midgardian customs and along the way shown me a new way to see situations. I am indebted to you, Darcy. But this poses a complication where my Jane is concerned as you well know. I wished to speak to you beforehand to assure you that I meant her no harm, and I would comply to your wishes should you reject my advances, but I must know… Where do your affections lay, Lady Darcy?”

She swallows thickly, her heart pounding out a staccato rhythm against her ribcage and it’s all Darcy can do to remain calm. Did she love Thor, her best friend’s man? Yes. Was she in love with the kind hearted prince that fell from the sky? Oh God…

“I…” Darcy blinks rapidly to keep the tears at bay but she fails as a single tear rolls down her cheek. She’s a bad friend because she wants nothing more than to throw herself at the man sitting next to her. This is her chance to have what she wants for once in her life, but just like every time she has had to make a choice in the past, Darcy chooses to sabotage herself.

“Jane loves you. I… I couldn’t do that to her. You’re amazing, Big Guy, but Jane is one of my closest friends. And I know she has issues, mostly in the paying attention to things that are under her nose department, but she means well. Honestly she does. And you two have been through so much together and me… I’m just along for the ride. I mean, thank you for the flattery, it’s fucking great and a little hard to believe, but I just can’t…”

“I understand, and my apologies for asking such things of you.” Thor squeezes her hand and gives her a sad smile and she just about says fuck everything but then he’s pulling his hand away and getting to his feet. “I do hope that we can remain comrades and continue on?” She nods and his smile seems to harden just a tad like he’s building walls behind his eyes and Darcy wants to bawl because Thor should never look like that. “Awesome. I shall take my leave, then. Goodnight, Lady Darcy. I hope you sleep well tonight.”

She smiles a little at his use of ‘awesome’ and only when he’s gone and she hears Jarvis turn the lock on her door does it all sink in. Darcy manages to turn everything off and get ready for bed, feeling numb as she crawls into her cold bed and stares with blurry vision up into the dark.

“J, can you lock everything down and make sure no one bugs me in the morning?”

“Full privacy protocol?”

“Yes. And if they ask I’m nursing a hangover, nothing more.”

“Very well. Goodnight, Miss Darcy.”

“Night, J.”

Darcy turns onto her side and sucks in a gulp of air into her lungs as the first sob hits her. She pulls a pillow to her chest as she curls into herself and lets the heartbreak wash over her in waves. Darcy cries herself into a fitful sleep and dreams of a pair of bright green eyes that appear to sneer at her as a whisper of a voice speaks from the darkness. Stupid little girl…

Five floors above Darcy, Thor lies awake in a bed with his arms wrapped around a woman that he has fallen out of love with. He stares out into the darkness of their bedroom wishing he were somewhere else. He’s struck with such a pang of homesickness at the thought and vows then and there to seek council where others know him best.

 

vi. (+i)

Darcy spends Sunday wallowing around her apartment in a pitiful state, eating her feelings and watching every sad movie she can fit into the day. She ignores her phone and after it rings for the sixth time, she turns it off and sticks it in between the couch cushions. After her third nap of the day, she drags herself to the bathroom and takes a long and hot shower, completely avoiding her reflection and dreading when she has to cover up her dark circles for work the next morning. After the second time ‘The Notebook’ rolls credits, Darcy wipes at her tearstained face and goes to bed.

Meanwhile Thor settles into a sprawl in front of the hearth, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three situated around him with happy faces and stories spilling forth to welcome his unexpected arrival. It isn’t until hours later when their bellies are full of mead and feast and their limbs are growing heavy with rest that Sif turns to Thor with a look of concern gracing her flawless features.

“What is the real reason that you travelled home?”

“Can I not merely return just to see my friends and my father? Must I have a hidden agenda?”

“Come now, I know you better than that and it is plain as day that something is amiss with you.”

“Do you all feel this way, then?”

Thor sighs feeling defeated as he takes in all of their troubled yet earnest expressions and he sits up from his slouch to hang his head. He drags a hand over his face as he inhales recalling his fight with Jane that morning. He’d woken after a fitful rest and had simply told her over breakfast that he was returning to Asgard. She had stared bleary eyed at him for a good thirty seconds before erupting into hand gestures and questions. They had argued over his leaving and past transgressions had been brought up among other things such as her suspicions that he was spending too much time with ‘her assistant’. He’d felt like a heel after throwing it in her face that if she gave him more time he wouldn’t seek out companionship from Lady Darcy.

It had ended with her face red and their raised voices ringing loudly in their kitchen as she’d stormed out of the abode. Her departure had cemented his ideal and in a way their entire fate. At once, he had dressed and fetched his hammer before asking the fellow in the ceiling to alert Tony that he was leaving and to contact him should he be needed. Thor had left before anyone could stop and question him.

“You are correct.”

“I knew it! So tell us, then, what is it that ails you, Thor?”

“I am afraid that my heart has been hindered and things have changed on Midgard.”

“Is Lady Jane well?”

“Yes… I am the one that has been conflicted as of late. You see, Jane is a dedicated scientist and has little time for interruptions, and I appear to be a walking distraction, or so I overheard Tony, Man of Iron, say. In the event that Jane leaves me to my own devices, I have found a friend in Lady Darcy. My traitor heart has found a common soul in her and I fear that I have lost touch with what Jane and I shared.”

“Lady Darcy, the shield sister that wears the spectacles?”

Thor nods at Fandral and narrows his eyes at Volstagg when his eyes alight with merriment. They always did get along when Lady Sif and the Warriors Three visited Midgard. He would worry that his friend had designs for Darcy but he knew better.

“She would make a fair companion! Why are you so glum, friend? It is a shame about Lady Jane but if she cannot see to your needs then she mustn’t be fit for you.”

“Fandral makes a wise point, Thor. We liked Lady Jane but she did seem a bit distracted the last we were in Midgard. If she is in that state more often than not, then I agree with him. Besides, I enjoy Darcy. She is rather entertaining and very accepting of us.”

“She is isn’t she?” Thor smiles wistfully into the flames until Volstagg elbows him with a wide grin making him shake his head. “Do not celebrate just yet, it still remains that I am tied to Jane and Lady Darcy has made it clear that she will not move forward in fear of bruising Jane’s feelings.”

“Then you need to have council with both of them and make Darcy see reason, as I’m sure Jane has already. We women have an intuition about these things. I think you would fair better to follow our advice instead of what is in your head.”

Thor chuckles and settles back into the cushions behind him and regards their opinions carefully. He feels lighter knowing that they’ll stand with him no matter what war rages and he knows what he has to do. His mouth opens to say as much just as a guard bursts into the room causing them all to jump to attention.

“Forgive me, my Lord, but Heimdall sent me to fetch you. He requires your presence straight away.”

He doesn’t question him or look to the others and is out the door before they can stop him. The only reason that Heimdall would ask for him is if something had gone awry on Midgard and they needed him. His steps quicken as he fears for his friends.

Darcy had just been minding her own business and craving a latte instead of the black sludge Jane considered coffee. And okay, maybe she’d gotten tired of Jane glaring at her and snapping out single word responses to everything that Darcy said to the woman. So she’d skipped out on the paperwork and avoided the assassins that tried to pry her pathetic thoughts out of her and escaped into the horribly cheerful sunlight. 

Starbucks was so close she could almost taste the sugar high when she was abruptly snatched off her feet and plunged into darkness. She didn’t even have time to scream before something was stuck in her neck and it was lights out. Later she’ll kick and scream but she finds the sudden dark warm and welcoming.

When Darcy comes to, she’s in a bare apartment, the skeleton of the building visible when her eyes focus. Her captor is sitting in the middle of the floor backwards on a chair, his meaty arms folded on the back of it and his beady eyes staring at her. Darcy really wishes she’d just stayed in bed that morning.

“Whatever you want, I don’t have it.”

“I take it this isn’t your first rodeo, then?”

“Nope, you are sadly too late if you expected to be the first one to kidnap me.”

“I don’t care what number I am, I’m just relieved that you know how this is going to go.”

“If you break my glasses like the last guy, I swear I will talk someone into ripping your head off.”

“You sure are a feisty one aren’t you? Maybe we can have some fun before I get what I want.”

“You touch me and I will kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Darcy fights the urge to recoil in disgust when he stands and walks over to her, crouching down and trailing a nasty finger along her cheek. She does however grit her teeth and jerk away when that finger makes to descend down her neck towards her collarbone. He chuckles at her and compares her to a nervous virgin and she really wishes Steve were there because men degrading women really pissed him off and an angry Cap would be awesome right about now.

“Now, I’m betting they’ve tracked your phone by now and are on their way to rescue you, but they won’t find you. I tossed your phone in the gutter.” He smirks at her and moves back to his previous position. Darcy rolls her eyes and only half listens as he monologues revealing his devious and so overused ploy to get something out of Stark. When were these idiots ever going to realize that she really doesn’t have that much to do with him? Okay, so she knew his favorite brand of liquor and what he liked to eat when he was celebrating a breakthrough, but come on! She tunes back in just in time to hear him wrap up.

“Now isn’t it unfair that he has all of that information and the money to back it up? Him and that bitch Foster have the power to do so much damage but instead they just sit on their asses in that tower. Banner, too. At least he uses his powers for destruction upon occasion, ya know?”

Darcy nods in what she hopes he believes is agreement and says a silent prayer to whoever may be listening that the team will hurry the hell up. She has a feeling this idiot won’t posture for long before he tries out the goods. The thought alone makes her skin crawl.

Barton is in the shooting range when Jarvis alerts him that Darcy has disappeared and her phone has been traced. He makes a beeline for the elevator just as Natasha comes barreling out of the doors. From years of working together they don’t speak as they gear up and meet the others. They know they’ll be the ones to search for Darcy before being told. Tony is already suited up and takes off to get a bird’s eye view as the rest of them argue over who’s going out to where her signal dropped off. Clint and Nat are out of the tower and tracing Jarvis’ directions before Steve, Bucky, or Sam even realizes they’re gone.

It isn’t hard to pinpoint Darcy’s location once they hack into the security cameras and get an ID on her kidnapper. Tony goes back to the tower to tell the rest of the team along with a worried and guilty looking Jane that the assassins have it covered. What they don’t expect is for the sun to disappear behind a suddenly dark cloud and thunder to ring out. Barton takes out two bumbling idiots with nothing more than handguns when he and Nat reach the abandoned building. They work seamlessly together and are creeping up the steps to the fifth floor when another boom of thunder claps and the entire building shakes. With a glance at each other they drop the stealth mode and take the stairs at a run.

When they bust through the door of the last apartment they come to an abrupt halt. A man lies unconscious across the room, there’s a Thor sized hole in the ceiling, and said god is wrapped around Darcy as she shakes in his arms. Clint clears his throat and Thor’s shoulders tense as his head whips around, but he exhales when he sees who has joined him.

“She alright?”

“She is shaken up but I believe she will recover.”

“Okay, then… Guys, you hear that? We’ve—Thor’s got her. We’ll be back in a few.”

Thor nods and Clint follows Nat’s retreat, keeping his mouth shut at her pointed look. They make their way to the entrance of the building just as a couple of agents show up to take away the bad guys. Barton can’t help the smirk as over their comms he hears Stark whisper; “I win all of the bets.”

Darcy clings to Thor utterly unashamed at her selfish behavior. The drugs in her system have made her groggy and when that creep had put his hands on her she’d fought to her best abilities, which wasn’t much considering her hands had been tied. She shudders again, the feel of his touch making her want to vomit. Thor had shown up just as the guy had ripped her shirt open and she had never been so happy to see him.

“Are you alright?” Thor’s voice is gentle and it makes her warm, chasing away the fear that had assaulted her. She nods not quite willing to speak just yet. He nods and she swears she feels lips press to the crown of her head before he tells her to hold fast to him. She complies and squeaks when they’re suddenly in the air, the sound of his heart competing with the whistling wind that presses against them. Traveling by Mew-Mew? Scary as hell but exhilarating.

They reach the tower quicker than she expected and is soon being dragged away from her savior and escorted to Bruce and their makeshift medical floor. He checks her over and declares her a little busted up (a scratched cheek, bruised hip and neck, and a sprained wrist) but fine. Next she’s bustled down into Hill’s office and interrogated, sorry debriefed by a stoic looking Coulson. Stark shows up and huffs and frowns as she recalls her captor’s speech. Once they’re satisfied they let her go and she follows Tony up to the communal kitchen where the others wait. They swarm her and she can’t help but laugh at their mother henning.

Darcy notices Jane and Thor’s absence and her heart sinks a little as Barnes leads her to the couch and orders her to take it easy. She rolls her eyes at him but beams at Steve when he offers her a sandwich and promises her ice cream. After she eats, she convinces them that she isn’t going to disappear again if she goes to shower and change and they begrudgingly walk her to the elevator. She’d be annoyed if she didn’t know them as well as she does. The shower works miracles for her body but not her mood and once she’s in sweatpants and her favorite Supernatural T-shirt, Darcy curls up on her couch feeling alone and a little lost.

She must fall asleep because Jarvis wakes her up sometime later with a warning that someone was about to enter her apartment. Darcy sits up and rubs her eyes with one hand and reaching for her glasses with the other as Jane lets herself in. Her eyes are sad and red but there’s a small smile tugging at her lips.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up…”

“Meh, it’s okay, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Mind if we talk for a minute?”

“Be my guest.” Darcy scoots over and curls her legs under her butt giving her friend room to sit down. She watches as the tiny scientist settles down and wrings her hands as if searching for words.

“Thor left me this morning…”

“Wow, you’re opening with that, huh?”

“What’s the point in beating around the bush, right?” Jane doesn’t give Darcy a chance to make a snappy comeback as she continues. “Look, I know that I get immersed in my work and overlook things, but I do have eyes. I’ve seen the way that you two look at each other and as much as it sucks, I know that some things are inevitable. My research is my baby, you know that, and I tend to get sidetracked but… Well, I suppose this time my actions caught up to me.”

Darcy swallows and stares at her best friend. Jane isn’t one to get emotional, everything has a scientific reason and this is the most that she’s ever said on any given subject not to do with Science! that Darcy can recall. Jane rolls her eyes at her and waits until Darcy nods for her to go on.

“Anyway, you’re my best friend and I want you to be happy. I felt bad this morning for snapping at you then you go and get kidnapped and make me about have a heart attack. I swear, Darcy you don’t make things easy do you?” They both laugh a little at that and Jane shakes her head before meeting Darcy’s gaze. “It will take me a while to get used to it, but I guess this is me giving you my blessing.”

“You’re what now? You’ve lost me with that one.”

“Dammit, Darce, stop being difficult, I’m trying to tell you it’s okay. Thor and I talked about it and… I know I neglected our relationship and I know what you told him. Thank you for that, by the way. So… I’m signing over my rights.”

“Jane! He isn’t a kid.”

They burst into laughter after a moment of silence and two minutes later finds them hugging and crying and Jane promising Darcy that they’re okay. Darcy would be worried that Jane’s been cloned and is being held somewhere but she knows deep down that Jane is just a really good (sometimes annoying and scatterbrained) person. They talk for a few more minutes and Darcy even ventures back out and walks Jane back to her lab. She hugs the petite woman again before they part and Darcy feels like a weight leaves her shoulders.

Darcy roams around for a while and ends up in the communal kitchen about half an hour later. Thor, Steve, and Bucky are standing around and all conversation stops when she steps in. Cap is quick to make excuses but Barnes is a little shit and winks at her, tugging on a lock of her hair as he passes by her following Steve leaving her and Thor alone. Darcy nibbles on her bottom lip and moves to the counter and hops up, wincing as a sharp pain shoots up her arm. Injured, right. Dummy.

Thor reaches a hand out to stabilize her and she captures it before he can pull away. Darcy takes a deep breath and opens her mouth.

“I talked to Jane…”

“I am truly sorry that I upset her.”

“We’re okay. She even cracked a science joke at me and promised me a tequila night.”

“I should not have—what?”

“I said that Jane and me, we’re good. She’s a really great person and I want to feel bad, and I do to some degree but… I like you. Okay, it is way stronger than that but I don’t want you to think that it’s some sort of hero worship because you saved me today. I lied the other night because I do want this, you, I want you and that’s where my affections lie.”

She takes in a deep breath before glancing up from their hands to Thor’s face and there it is. His smile is blinding and he reminds her of the golden retriever she had when she was a little girl, which would pounce her everyday when she got home from school. Darcy couldn’t keep the smile off her face if she tried right then.

“You are fond of me?”

“Oh my God, do I have to spell it out for you? Yes, I’m fond of you! I want to write sonnets about your smile and record your laughter so I can hear it any time that I please. Your hugs are my favorite—don’t tell Cap, and… I love you, okay? Are you happy? I am in love with you. Dear Lord, I’m in love with a Nordic god. I stole my best friend’s boyfriend. I am the girl I hated in high school! I—“

Thor cuts her off with his mouth and Darcy mumbles against his lips for a second before melting, her arms finding their way around his neck. Her breath hitches when his hands bracket her face as his hip wedges between her knees to get them to open so he can stand between her thighs. He smiles into the kiss when she wraps her legs around his hips and he can hear distant laughter above them. Darcy flips off the ceiling where Barton is no doubt spying and she sighs as Thor deepens the kiss. If his hugs are her favorite, his kisses are out of this world in Darcy’s opinion. (Pun totally intended.)

 

*

 

A couple of weeks later, Darcy drags Thor out to one of her favorite pizza joints for lunch. They’re that sickeningly sweet couple that’s wrapped up in each other and speaks in their own language. It’s adorable. When Thor excuses himself to go to the washroom, Darcy people watches from her seat next to the window. She does a double take when a flash of green catches her eye and has to squint even with her glasses on just to be sure. But sure enough she recognizes the girl, Lora, from the club walking down the sidewalk across the street. As if sensing the eyes on her, Lora stops mid-stride and pivots to face Darcy. She watches as the woman smirks at her and sends her a little wave. Darcy raises her hand to wave back but pauses as Lora seems to shimmer, but the people walking by her don’t even appear to notice her at all. Darcy stares in something akin to fascination as Lora is replaced by a tall, lanky man with wavy black hair, dressed in black jeans, black boots, and a vivid green henley with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

All at once Darcy realizes just who she’s staring at and her eyes widen comically. She remembers both Jane and Thor’s tales about Loki and he is unbeknownst to them very much alive. His grin is full of mischief as he bows to her in a grand show before holding his finger up to his lips as if to shush her, just as Thor slides back into the booth across from her, jarring her from her thoughts and shock. Darcy glances at Thor and he grins at her.

“I wasn’t gone long was I? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

Darcy giggles just a little hysterically and slaps a hand over her mouth opting instead to just point back to where his brother was. But when he asks her what she’s pointing at, she turns back to look out across the street and although less than a minute had passed, Loki is gone. She blinks rapidly and turns her gaze back to her golden ray of sunshine. His brother is alive and she has a sinking suspicion that he helped hook them up. The question is, does she tell him or do her own investigation into this new mystery? She swears as she shakes her head and tells Thor she’s ready to go that she hears laughter in her head.

 

But, that’s a story for another time…