#darcy lewis should show off her legs

[femalewarrior222]

Darcy Lewis is the Only One That Should've Been Naked in the Thor Movies

[superheroesofbothuniverses]

Soulmates and Cheese Fries (Shieldshock)

Steve was spending a lot of time at the gym, partly because he was bored in his retirement, and partly because of her. He’d nearly fallen off the treadmill the first time the curvy brunette hopped up on the machine two down from him. He’d not been so bowled over by a woman in decades and it freaked him out. She’d winked at him, and he’d nodded dumbly back, forcing himself to return to his running with intense concentration.

She’d appeared regularly after that and though they’d shared several nods, smiles, and stares (the ogling was mutual, he’d found out, when he’d caught her staring at him lifting weights) neither had said a word yet and he was deeply invested in this interesting game.

Darcy had been in a bit of a slump since Jane’s death and had made a New Year’s Resolution to get active again, hoping that a regular routine plus endorphins would help. It had to be just her luck that she happened to pick the same gym frequented by the All American hunk, Steve Rogers.

She’d frozen for a second when she’d recognized him on the treadmill, but sternly put her inner fangirl in check and got to jogging, unable to help but admire the way his muscles moved when he ran. When they moved to the weight machines, she was too busy trying to not die of exertion (being this out of shape was no fun) to really notice anything around her, but as she was wiping down the leg press bench, she looked up and accidentally met his gaze as he was lifting an ungodly amount of weight. He smiled at her and she felt warm all over.

She spent a long time thinking (and dreaming) about said smile, but never struck up a conversation with her silent gym buddy. Darcy was pretty sure Natasha would have been deeply disappointed in her, but she was reluctant to risk her little private fantasy being destroyed.

Their silent interactions continued over the next several weeks and Darcy started winking back at Steve’s little smiles. She may or may not have googled his relationship status. Then one day, he didn’t show up and didn’t return all that week. Darcy felt strangely bereft and kicked herself over the missed opportunity. She spent Valentine’s Day working, then took the next day off to revel in National Single’s Awareness day, capped off by a trip to her favorite pub for a celebratory drink.

She was sipping and chatting to Gary the awesome bartender, when she heard someone slide onto a nearby stool.

“Hey, Steve. The usual?” Gary greeted and Darcy almost did a spit take at the sight of her gym crush, looking unfairly good in semi casual attire,

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish a few times and then she blurted: “Hey, gym buddy, here to celebrate National Single’s Awareness day? You have to try the cheese fries.”

Steve turned to her, looking so shocked she was wishing she’d kept her mouth shut, but then he grinned at her.

“I was hoping it would be you. I was kinda bummed you didn’t show today.”

They stared at each other and Gary looked back and forth between them.”

“You guys okay?” he asked.

Darcy turned her hand palm up to show them her words.

Gary’s eyebrows raised and he beamed proudly at them.

“Well, congrats! Should I put in an order of cheese fries?” he asked, winking at Steve, who nodded without taking his eyes off of his soulmate. Her eyes were so blue, he could drown in them.

She hopped off her stool and took the one next to him, looking him up and down with great excitement.

“I took today off for some self care, but the universe found a way. I’m Darcy Lewis, by the way: astrophysicist and friend of Thor.”

“And I’m Steve Rogers, cheese fries devotee and gym rat.” He shook her hand and she felt downright giddy. “You wouldn’t believe how many different places I’ve gone for cheese fries on February 15.”

Darcy laughed. “While I definitely wished mine were more specific, they were comforting. I knew I Wasn't going to be rejected by my Soulmate. Believe it or not, it does happen.”

“I’ve heard the stories,” Steve sighed. “But seeing my soulmark stay steady the last few years gave me hope when I didn’t have much. I kept expecting it to fade, but it didn’t.”

“I’m too stubborn to die,” Darcy shrugged. “Just like you.”

There was much flirting over the cheese fries and sharing of stories involving their mutual friends. Talking to Steve turned out to be much easier than Darcy had imagined. He was funny, sarcastic, and showed genuine interest when she was talking, which was incredibly refreshing.

“I was kind of afraid you weren’t coming back to the gym,” Darcy admitted. “I didn’t know it was possible to miss someone I hadn’t spoken to before.”

“Me neither,” Steve agreed, rooting for the cheesiest fry he could find. “But I did. I was visiting Sam and Bucky last week and kept thinking about you. I took the red eye back to get back here for the 15th, just so I could finally say something and find out where it went.”

“Awww,” Darcy crooned, giving him her best heart eye look as she grabbed a fry. “That’s so fluffy!!” She finished off the last of her drink then turned back to Steve.

“A couple more questions, Mr. America.”

“Fire away.”

“First one, where are your Words? Second, would it be way too forward of me to kiss you?”

She spun around on her stool and he caught her hands as she stopped, laughing dizzily.

“I can’t believe Captain Cutie is my soulmate!”

“You’re adorable,” Steve chuckled, beaming down at her. He hadn’t smiled this much in years and it was a glorious feeling.

“But to answer your questions, my Words are right here,” he pulled up his shirt briefly to show the loopy scrawl trailing down his left side.

“Also,” Steve tugged her closer, so their knees were touching, “I’m up for a kiss if you are, Dr. Lewis.”

She was, indeed, very up for it.

[grimeysociety]

Darcy/Steve

Accidental first kiss/fake dating

"Whoa..."

Thanks anon! I went with fake dating. Hope you enjoy! ❤️

(T, 980 words, un-beta'd)

“Babe!” Steve had so little time to react that he kissed her automatically, though he had never spoken to her before.

“Babe!”

Steve had so little time to react that he kissed her automatically, though he had never spoken to her before. He remembered seeing Sam talking to her across the lobby one time, Sam’s head thrown back with his hand on his belly as he roared with laughter, the woman giggling as she clutched her laptop to her chest.

Her hand was gripping his arm, a desperation to it that didn’t show on her face as she pulled back, their lips smacking softly. Steve stared down at her, eyes widening as she grinned and babbled on.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see you from across the bar! You can tell it’s after 6, my brain’s all over the place.”

Steve glanced over her shoulder at a stranger in a suit, a man with hair slicked back, his collar open to show the sweaty skin beneath. He held a tumbler of scotch, his body swaying slightly. He was clearly drunk, staring at the back of this woman.

There was a flash of anxiety on her face, a pleading that tugged on Steve’s heartstrings. He cleared his throat, forcing a smile as he improvised.

“It’s okay, sweetheart, I saved you a seat.”

She kept holding his arm, waiting as Steve’s eyes trained on the stranger, who began to retreat with a turn of his heel and a stumble back from where they came from. Steve looked down at the woman again once he was gone, settling into a seat by one of the tall windows that overlooked Manhattan.

“Jesus, thanks,” the woman breathed, letting him go. “I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Are you okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, no, if I’m honest. I got stood up and then that douche canoe wasn’t leaving me alone. He was watching me for the last half an hour while I waited.”

“Sorry,” Steve said, and she shrugged.

“I should be apologizing to you,” she said, settling on the stool next to his. “I mean, it’s not the wisest move to kiss a random dude to throw another off the scent.”

She winced then, as if the situation had finally registered. She gave a little groan.

“I’m actually so sorry,” she said. “I’ll settle your tab, too. That was really wrong of me-”

Steve found himself chuckling, ducking his head as he fiddled with his beer bottle. The woman stopped abruptly when he looked back at her again, her blue eyes wider than before.  

“It’s not the first time I’ve kissed someone like that.”

She pressed her lips together, her brow furrowing. She had a heart-shaped face, with long brown waves of hair that settled past her bosom. The longer he looked at her, the more he was drawn in. She was small but lush, soft-looking and open with her expressions.

“That’s a long story, though,” he added.

The woman tilted her head slightly. “Do I look like I need to be somewhere else?”

He stared back at her, considering. After another beat, he decided he wanted to entice her to stay, instead of keeping to himself like most other nights.

He turned his body slightly, offering his free hand.

“Steve Rogers.”

“I know who you are,” the woman said, before she took his hand to shake.

Her nails were red to match her lips, and Steve realized then that he’d have a smear of lipstick on his mouth, which he confirmed when he licked them as subtly as possible.

“Darcy Lewis,” the woman said. “We work in the same building.”

He launched into the story of him and Natasha on the run years ago, and how they kissed on the escalator to evade Rumlow and his squad. As he spoke, Darcy leaned her elbow on the bar, resting her chin in her hand as she studied him. Her leg would swing every so often, her lips curling in amusement.

“Did it work?”

“Kinda,” Steve said. “But I’m not great at undercover.”

“You did pretty well back then,” Darcy said, jutting her thumb behind her.

Steve smiled at her. It was easy with her, as if they’d known one another for some time. She wasn’t treating him like a celebrity like some people from the Tower were inclined to do. There was so little barrier between them that he found himself leaning over and dropping his voice.

“We… haven’t met before, right?”

She gave a slow grin. “No. Why?”

He didn’t know how to answer that without coming across as corny or creepy. Here it was, the thing he didn’t think existed between him and other women besides Peggy – chemistry. He stared at her a beat too long, his eyes darting away as he felt his ears redden.

“I’ll get you a drink.”

He gestured to the bartender closest to them and Darcy put a hand on his, shaking her head.

“Whoa, come on. You’ve already done enough,” she chided, but he insisted, enjoying the way she touched him without preamble.

“You deserve it. It’s to make up for that jackass,” Steve said when her cider arrived. “Those two jackasses, I mean.”

She smirked, lifting her glass to sip. She licked her lips, surveying him. Steve looked down at his beer again, feeling his stomach flip. She was really cute, and it was a damn shame that guy didn’t show up for their date. But in a way, he might not have had this without him letting her down.

“Not the worst way for the night to go, though,” Darcy said, and he let his eyes swing to meet hers. “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” he said.

He felt her give his knee a squeeze.

“As long as that’s not our last kiss,” she murmured.

He felt a rush of anticipation, leaning down to meet her as he kissed her, her lip between his two, his eyes shutting as she moved against him with a sigh.

[themonkeycabal]

Wandavision Ep 5 Spoilers

Wherein I watch Wandavision at a stupid hour of the morning because I do not sleep like a regular human being, and sometimes I have things to say.

Previously on Wandavision, we all discovered that Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo were the BFFs we never knew we needed and now can't live without. Also Wanda reminded us that she's really scary.

We should be in the 80s now, right? Ahh the 80s. Leg warmers, Aquanet, and MTV.

Baby shenanigans with crying twins. Wanda tries to magic them to sleep and it doesn't work. "Maybe we just need some help." And in pops Agnes without waiting for them to answer the door. As you do in a sitcom hell. She's got a headband and leg warmers on and is on her way to jazzercise. Of course. Is the point of Agnes to really anchor us in a decade? Asking for real. She's very "this is the era, and these are the tropes, let's all play along now."

Vision is very protective of the babies, to such a degree and with such intensity that Agnes literally forgets her line and nervously asks Wanda if she wants her to take that again. Well, then. Agnes very super a lot does not want to be wished to the cornfield. 

The babies stopped crying during the whole "should we do this scene again" interlude. Vision noticed the weirdness and is trying to figure out what's going on, Wanda is trying very hard to pretend everything is normal. Agnes is being super duper bizarre in the background. And suddenly the twins are like three years old. Agnes has given up and got into the liquor. I don't blame her.

Opening credits. Okay, I'm sorry, 'baby' Vision is almost more stupidly funny than I can take. Like … what? I think I want that as my new icon, though. Also the credits are too long. I think they were very proud of their theme song, so we have to hear it all. These are my least favorite so far. Very 80s, but meh.

In the real world, Monica is getting x-rays and giving a report on being yeeted from Wanda World.

Jimmy Woo and Darcy are there to greet her at the end of the exam. "This is Doctor Darcy Lewis." Yes, she is! Still very proud. She's also the doctor of encouraging people to wear pants, shoving a pair at hospital gown-clad Monica. Erik's no-pants phase was very scarring.

The medic comes back and says the medical tests didn't work or something. The medic wants to do x-rays again because the first came back blank and also she's going to have to do another blood draw. Hmm. Monica is still somehow affected by Wanda World? Unclear on how that would work. Some sort of weird witchy radiation-like energy? Monica says 'no' to more needles and also wants to put pants on. Just let the woman have her pants.

Now we're on to a briefing with the acting Director of SWORD whose name I don't remember. He's very "government suit" bland, I have a hard time caring about anything he says. Also, does anybody else pronounce the 'w' in SWORD in their head when they read it? Like I cannot make my brain stop doing that. "s-WUH-ord'.

"Our initial theory had Wanda Maximoff as one of many victims. We now know she is the principle VICTIMIZER!" Settle down there, acting director guy. Why not say 'subject', 'suspect', 'perpetrator', or boring old 'cause of the anomaly". VICTIMIZER! Geez then. I'm going to guess his solution will be a tactical nuke or some such rot.

Jimmy gives background on Wanda.

Acting Director Guy: "The twins were subsequently radicalized, volunteering at Hydra." Jimmy Woo: "That's an oversimplification of events, but yes." I'm giving you heart-eyes Jimmy Woo.

"After unspecified experimentation with the mind stone, Maximoff gained telekinetic and telepathic abilities."

Then a weird aside where the Acting Director — who shall now be known as Acting Director Dick — wants to know if Wanda had a code name or a something, seeming to imply that not having one made her a bad guy?,  and then he points out how the first time she used her powers it was against the Avengers. He totally just ordered a tactical nuke from "overreacting-government-douchebags r us".  I hate this particular character trope, the government heavy who never listens to anybody and is always ready to napalm the suburbs because reasons. It's so tedious.

Jimmy points out that Wanda earned the Avengers trust and then became an Avenger herself, thank you very much. Acting Director Dick doesn't care, he's decided Wanda is a terrorist and he'll turn half of New Jersey into a glass parking lot to get rid of her. Sure am glad he's in charge of some sort of mysterious and powerful agency.

Jimmy Woo is not a fan either, and he walks back over to his new bestie and tells Darcy that while he tries not to speak ill of anybody … Darcy interrupts "then allow me", and she has no trouble saying that Acting Director Dick is, in fact, a dick. That's my girl.

Elsewhere AD Dick is blathering on about how they don't negotiate with terrorists. Well, since Wanda hasn't made any demands, or released a manifesto or anything …. Monica also points out Wanda is not a terrorist. AD Dick twists her report to make Wanda sound as terroristy as he can. I'm bored with him now.

Monica argues with him a bit and say she doesn't believe Wanda World is a premeditated act of aggression. I vote Darcy, Jimmy, and Monica wait until AD Dick is alone, and then they shove him in a locker for the rest of the season. If anybody asks he had to run back to sWUHord for meetings or something, "Darn, you just missed him. I'll tell him you're looking for him. Great. Buh-bye now".

AD Dick needs to make his big jackass point that Wanda is the most terroristy terrorist who ever terroristed, so he shows off footage of Wanda breaking into a SWORD facility to steal back Vision's body. Because that seems terroristy and not at all like some sort of emotional breakdown. As far as I can tell, she just busted open a few doors, but didn't hurt anybody. I think AD Dick doesn't know the meaning of the word terrorist.

And, yes, then she resurrected Vision in an idealized sitcom world in a small city in New Jersey. That's exactly like something a terrorist mastermind would do. Mmmhmm. Is it nice for the people trapped there with them? No, clearly not. Agnes and Herb in particular seem aware and are scared. They need to be rescued and Wanda needs LOADS of therapy. But Director Nuke the Site from Orbit over here isn't going to make anything better. Darcy, sister, shove that asshole into a locker stat.

Jimmy notes that stealing Vision's body is a violation of the Sokovia Accords. And while I appreciate his dedication to maintaining the Accords … well, I mean, look, it's body theft and all. It's not a great look; I absolutely allow that. But you can just sort of stop there. Though, that's very the Sokovia Accords "if this guy dies, his body must go to a shadowy government agency. for safety. yep."

Also Vision had a living will, where he didn't want to be used as a weapon. Sure, okay. Because I'm sure SWORD was just totally not doing anything at all with his body. Nope. Look, I'm totally a SHIELD girl and even I wouldn't necessarily trust SHEILD with that. So, who is SWORD to me? Pfft. I'd give him to Thor or something and ask him to be buried far far away. I'm just saying. I'm supposed to trust Johnny-Come-Lately S-WUH-ORD?

(In my head now is an inter-agency rivalry where SWORD is like "We have rocket ships!" and SHIELD is like "lol, our lead scientist got eaten by a rock and survived on an alien world for like six months". "But rocket ships?" "We've traveled through time a dozen times in the last year alone. We're a bigger chaotic disaster than you can ever hope to be".)

AD Dick undermines his own "SHE'S A TERRORIST!" thesis by saying she acted out of grief. And then he dismisses everybody. "Work the problem!" Uh … whut? Fine? What is the problem? That she's a WILD MURDERY TERRORIST who must be stopped! or a grief stricken woman who stole her technologically advanced boyfriend's body and probably should be talked down? Acting Director Lack of Clarity.

Jimmy wants to know how Wanda could have resurrected Vision without the Mind stone and Darcy wants to know what Vision will do when he figures it out. Fine questions, friends, fine questions. Monica is just like "acting director dick used to be a buddy but now I kind of want to punch him and am very conflicted. oh and wanda kind of freaks me out but also i feel bad for her" only she says all that without words.

Tommy and Billy are now about like 5 or 6 or something. I'm terrible with kids ages. They're up to shenanigans. Oh, they found a lost puppy dog and they're giving him a bath in the sink. It's all super adorable.

Vision wanders in and greets his family all formally and in his human face. He says he has a premonition someone might pop over. He's not a fan of sitcom neighbors either. And there's Agnes now with a dog house. How does she know whether to enter through the front door or the back door?

The dog tries to burn the house down by licking an electrical outlet? so they name him Sparky (harr harr) and Wanda magics him a collar with Agnes right there. Vision's all "wtf darling?" and she points out Agnes didn't even notice when the boys went from babies to five-year olds, she certainly didn't notice the magic collar. Agnes is trying very very hard not to notice anything. Poor Agnes.

Wanda says she's tired of hiding her abilities and Vision is Very Concerned. He's starting to figure things out.

They tell the boys they can't have a dog until they're 10, so the boys grin at each other and age themselves up to 10. That is all very unsettling. Agnes "Let's just hope this dog stays the same size." as she screams internally "save me!"

Real World. Jimmy's hustling back to the science room with coffee for Monica and Darcy. Monica is asking for some sort of wild mobile bunker to help her get back into Wanda World and Darcy's like "well, yes, but also no". But Monica knows an aerospace engineer who'd totally make it for her.  

"I can't guarantee the Hex won't just mind wipe you as you go in." "What's the hex?" "Oh, it's what I'm calling the anomaly because of it's hexagonal shape. It's starting to catch on." Darcy's so proud, but Jimmy's like 'not so much' but he's too polite to say.

Monica's determined to go back in. Jimmy wants to know who the kids are, if they've id'd them or the babies and Monica's all "oh, no, those are legit Wanda's." Darcy says if she can make stuff with her mind, and all the props and whatnot in the Wanda World are real then she's wielding an insane amount of power. Monica is sure she could have taken out Thanos if he hadn't cheated and snapped her. Jimmy thinks Captain Marvel could have done it. Monica very much doesn't want to talk about Captain Marvel.

Monica has an Idea!

Ah, she wants to see her outfit from Wanda World, which is now in the real world. So, is it real matter Wanda created, or is the perception field bleeding over to make them all see that outfit in the real world. That would have been hella awkward if Monica got yeeted out of her clothes.

Monica confirms they're real then steals Jimmy's gun and shoots them. Ahh, she was wearing a kevlar vest when she went into Wanda World, and that changed shape to be her super fly 70s outfit. "Wanda is rewriting reality." Changing things to fit the hex. So they'll send in something that doesn't need to be changed. Um. Sure. Fine. I don't know what that means, or how that would help in this context, but I'm sure I'll find out.

Meanwhile, Vision is at work, and all his coworkers are amazed at the actual computers. Golly shucks. Computers. Hey, so, computers have been around since the 40s. ANYWAY.

"Should we surf the internet?" We're progressing rapidly through the 80s. Oh, lol, Darcy sent an email. And the whole office creepily reads it out loud. Vision is very weirded out. As well he should be. He wipes the computer with his glowy synthezoid powers and then he glowies Norm when Norm tells him 'none of it is real'. Norm wakes up "please help me. what day is it? how long has it been?". Oh dear. Poor Vision. This is all going to go so very badly. Norm gets very freaked out begging Vision to "stop her". Vision resets him.

At the house the boys wonder where dad is, and Wanda tells them it's Monday and he's at work. Except the boys are all "um, no, it's Saturday". Wanda, your house of lies is tumbling down! You shouldn't have let them grow up so fast. Babies don't ask inconvenient questions about why Daddy needs some space from Mommy and her questionable choices for their shared reality.

Wanda takes the opportunity to impart the 80s family sitcom trope of the weekly life lesson about how family might fight, but they still love each other and family is forever. One of the twins asks if she has a brother. She does. He's far away. But, Sparky goes barking at the door. Wanda looks far away herself. She goes to open the door and Sparky runs out.

Monica has sent in a drone from the 80s. Well that wasn't really a thing. But, how does the 1980s rc plane look more high tech than the 2020s drone they sent in first? Talk to your design team, SWORD.

Anyway, Wanda spots the drone, but she's keeping it out of the broadcast, because she's the editor and director and producer of Wandavision, of course.

Monica announces herself and tries to get Wanda to acknowledge her. Whoops. Wanda's eyes go glowy. AD Dick says "take the shot" and Monica's all "what? no, the drone isn't armed." Except of course it is, because AD Dick is a monumental dick, and he's got a backup drone pilot who takes the shot. Wandavision goes off air. And, oh no, there's a breach at the Hex!

Lol. It's Wanda coming through, dragging the mangled corpse of the drone with her. That was entirely deserved, AD Dick. I hope she shoves it up your ass, dick.

"The missile was just a precaution". AD Dick backpedals quick, like a coward. You gave a three second attempt to talk to Wanda before you pulled the trigger, I don't like you. "You can hardly blame us."

Wanda warns him to stay out. "You won't bother me, I won't bother you." Okay, well, he does kind of have a point, in that there's a whole town of people who are stuck as bit players in Wanda World. That's not very nice. I mean, surely she could have found a nice empty spot somewhere and created her sitcom utopia. That's at least a fair criticism.

Monica tries her best to talk Wanda down. It doesn't work particularly well.

"What do you want?" "I have what I want and no one will ever take it from me again." And she mind controls the soldiers training their guns on her, to turn them on AD Dick. Whoops. And Wanda goes back to her world. The Hex glows all red as she goes.

And we go to commercial. Lagos Brand paper towels. "For when you make a mess you didn't mean to." Wow, so that was brutal. Wanda's not mad at you, Monica. She's just carrying a lot of guilt. Ouch.

Back in Wandavision, the boys are looking for their dog. They find Agnes hiding in the bushes with the dog. Poor Sparky apparently ate some azalea leaves and died. The boys are very sad and Wanda warns them not to age up. They can't run from their feelings. Oh Wanda. "It's too sad," Billy says. "You can fix anything mom," Tommy cries, "Fix the dead". Yikes.

Wanda "I'm trying to tell you there are rules in life." Poor Agnes is trying not to have a total meltdown. "We can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Some things are forever."

Billy and Tommy try to talk her into bringing back Sparky. And Vision turns up. Well, this is just brutal.

Vision is entirely outside of Wanda's control. "I spoke with Norm. I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and I spoke to him free of your oversight." Yikes. "He was in pain, Wanda."

Okay it's kind of funny they're arguing over the end credits. Vision is very very pissed. "I'm scared." Aww.

Wanda insists she's not in charge of every life in Westview. "I don't know how any of this started in the first place." Huh. Is that really true? Because she's pretty sure of it now. Somebody or something convinced her into a sitcom world and now she's just like "yeah, this is good"? really asking.

Ding-dong.

"I didn't do that." 

Vision: *doubt*

DING DONG

Wanda goes to answer the door.

In the real world, alarms are blaring but Darcy notices a new revelation on Wandavision.

Wanda Word — and it's Pietro at the door. See! I knew it had to be Pietro who'd be the surprise guest thingy. I mean it's hilariously X-Men Pietro (Evan Peters, like @lewstonewar suggested), but Pietro nonetheless. There's nobody else it could have been.

Darcy be all WTF? "She recast Pietro?" lol

Okay, Wanda seems legit shocked. I don't think she did that. And I super really don’t think she’d make him sound like a NYC cabbie. 

And end.

Well. I mean, I'm not sure what to think. Wanda insists she's not controlling everything. I don't think she created Pietro. But, she totally stole Vision's body and created the kids and seems mostly happy in her sitcom universe and she can traverse the Hex, which obviously suggests its her doing. Dunno. I have questions about Agnes and her convenient timeliness here and there.

The mystery continues.

Disney wants to know if I want to watch Age of Ultron next. How poorly you know me, Disney.

[imagine-loki]

Trust, Chapter 5

TITLE: Trust CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 5 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki kidnaps Darcy Lewis, in hopes of getting the tesseract in return for her. Imagine his surprise when he grows rather fond of the mortal, finding that she understands him better than anyone else ever has.  RATING: M

When Loki returned, it was the middle of the night. He was confused to see that it looked like all the lights were on in the house, it was like the Blackpool Illuminations.

He got out of the ship and had to blast a few creatures away from around the house. More of them ran scurrying back into the barley, eyes glaring at him. He frowned, that wasn’t so good if they had emerged from the barley.

Trying the door, he found it locked. He tried knocking, but Darcy didn’t answer. Using his Seidr he had the door unlock, as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, he found Darcy leaping out from the side and she started hitting him. But it barely felt like a cat pawing at his arm.

‘You bastard! You left me here all alone!’ She snarled angrily as she kept hitting him.

‘I wasn’t long, I told you I had to nip out.’ He said, amused at the tiny mortal trying to hurt him.

‘IT’S DARK! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T BE LONG! THOSE CREEPY ASS MONSTERS WERE TRYING TO GET IN!’ Darcy screeched at him.

Loki could hear some genuine fear within her voice too. He grabbed her wrists tightly and stopped her from hitting him.

‘Well, well, well. The brave, and seemingly fearless, Darcy does in-fact get scared?’ He smirked.

‘Of fucking course I was scared! You left me here all alone for bloody ages and without you I’d have no way of getting anymore food or off this planet.’

Loki was rather impressed that she admitted she was scared.

‘I may have forgot that time on this planet goes slower than anywhere else… so while I was only away for two of your mortal hours, it was a lot longer to you.’ He said sheepishly and let go of her wrists, glad when she didn’t try hitting him again. ‘I apologise for that, Darcy. It also makes sense why the Greyls came closer, they thrive on fear so will have picked up on that.’

Darcy’s mouth fell open, she couldn’t believe it. ‘Un-fucking believable. NOW he tells me all the important shit!’ She turned around and started walking away from him, throwing her hands up in the air.

-

‘What exactly is that?’

‘What is what?’ Loki asked, looking over at Darcy with a frown.

She was at the table, Loki had just been sitting crossed legged on the floor again. He seemed like he had been in a trance again.

‘When you go into that weird trance. Last time your face looked like it was going to burn off.’

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’

‘Try me.’

His jaw clenched as he stood and made his way over towards her. He sat down opposite her and clasped his hands together as he stared at her.

‘Do you really want to know?’ He asked.

‘I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.’ Darcy snarked.

Loki sighed. ‘Alright then. If you must know, I am trying to get the tesseract back for Thanos so he doesn’t snap my neck in half. When I go into those ‘trances’ as you call it, I am communicating with one of his minions. My supposed handler. Thanos is apparently getting antsy, impatient. I fear that if your team doesn’t hurry up, I will be out of time.’

Darcy’s mouth fell open, Loki could almost see her tonsils.

‘I… I had no idea. Dude, I thought you just wanted it for yourself, not because your life was in danger!’

‘Well, now you know.’ Loki shrugged.

He watched her carefully when she got up from her chair and walked over to Loki, she put her arms around him and actually hugged him. He froze on the spot, confused at her affection as she put her cheek on top of his head.

‘You poor thing. Having to make do with me. You’ve got no chance of getting the tesseract through me.’

Loki frowned, but still didn’t move. Why was this mortal hugging him?

She let go and stood up straight, tapping her lower lip she had an idea.

‘Look. I don’t believe you want to hurt me, I know you’d have done it by now.’ She started pacing back and fore. ‘But the Avengers won’t swap me for the tesseract, that’s for certain. I’m sure if Thor knew that the purple grape was still threatening you, he would see your side of it.’

Loki’s lips tugged into a smirk at her nickname for Thanos. ‘You know of Thanos?’

‘Yep. Thor explained he was the reason behind you attacking New York. But none of us had any idea that he still had control over you.’

‘He doesn’t.’ Loki snapped.

Darcy stopped pacing and folded her arms over her chest. ‘He clearly does. He’s threatened your life, that’s the highest level of control.’

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. But he realised that she was right…

‘You told me not to think so little of myself. But I think you should take your own advice. You said you’ve always felt like you were in Thor’s shadow. Why not change that, show people who you truly are. That you don’t do what other people tell you. Don’t let Thanos scare you into doing something you don’t want to do.’

Loki tilted his head slightly, thinking hard. ‘There is just one problem. Thanos and his people are far too powerful, they would find me. Eventually. No matter where I go. And as strong as you may think I am, I would not be able to defeat them alone.’

‘So, don’t fight them alone.’ Darcy said, hands on her hips.

‘Who, pray tell, do you suggest would help me?’

A big smile spread across her face.

‘No… No, no, no.’ He wagged his finger at her and abruptly stood, walking away from her. ‘I know what you’re thinking.’

Darcy followed him. ‘Come on! I know you don’t think much of them, but they managed to kick your ass and all those aliens. I’m sure together, they could help protect you and fight off Thanos.’

Loki walked over to the window and stood there, staring out. Hands balled into fists at his side. He saw Darcy’s reflection pop out from behind him.

‘You know it makes sense, Loki.’

‘They would never help me anyway. They will just lock me up. Or worse, send me back to Asgard.’

‘Not if you hand yourself in voluntarily. Explain to them what happened. Tell them about a bigger threat than you to Earth! Hell, if you get Thanos off your back then maybe, just maybe, you could show Earth your nicer side. Get some of us mortals on side and we might just elect you for president or something.’ Darcy said, clutching at straws now.

Loki raised an eyebrow and turned to face her.

‘That could happen?’

‘Sure.’ She shrugged. ‘I mean, surely you couldn’t do worse than our current president.’

‘They will never believe me.’ Loki shook his head.

He hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but he truly was stuck. He didn’t want to be under Thanos’ rule. He never did in the first place. But the thought of grovelling to the Avengers for help made him feel sick. And Darcy knew that, she could tell. 

‘Don’t think of it as asking them for help. Think of it as… trying a new tactic.’

‘Expand.’ Loki folded his arms over his chest.

‘Think about it. How annoyed would Thor be if you were able to do things he can’t. If you end up gaining a fan base on Earth, for helping people. Redeeming yourself.’ Darcy started getting excited at the thought as she talked. ‘You could become the favourite Avenger! It would be easy. You have the brains, unlike Thor. You have the built-in strength, unlike Stark who has to wear a suit for that. You’ve got agility and grace, unlike Bruce. Then there’s all your magic-ey stuff. The whole package!’

Loki grinned cockily and nodded. ‘Well, that is true. It wouldn’t take long for mortals to see I am their best hope.’

‘Exactly. And you’d have the back up of the others if Thanos does come looking for you.’ Darcy put her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers, hoping all this sweet talking would work.

Sure, she wanted to go back home. She knew convincing Loki to hand himself in was likely her only hope, as she knew for a fact they wouldn’t come and rescue her. They didn’t even know where she was. But there was a part of her too that genuinely wanted to help Loki. Even though he had kidnapped her, he hadn’t been mean to her. She’d seen an oddly vulnerable side to him and she felt that, for some weird reason, he understood her. He could’ve been mean to her, belittled her. He didn’t know her and had no obligation to her either. But he had been rather kind and supportive.

‘You certainly know how to stroke a God’s ego. I know exactly what you’re doing, Darcy.’ Loki said, eyeing her carefully. But he smiled. ‘But it’s also all true. However, as soon as I get off the ship they will lock me up, like I said.’

‘Maybe at first, but then you can talk to them. Besides, I’ll have your back.’ She smiled genuinely up at him.

‘And why would you help me?’

‘Because you’re the first person to not see so little in me.’

Loki felt a slight kick to the gut. He could relate to that, a lot.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘This is a ridiculous idea.’

‘But a brilliant idea.’ Darcy countered.

‘I really hope I’m not going to regret this.’

[dresupi]

Tasertricks - Snark off

for @gothfirefaerie Darcy Lewis/Loki 628 words Rated T For winning third place in my 3k follower giveaway so many years ago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Actually, if you’re referring to the monster, you should call him ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’,” Darcy corrected him. “Frankenstein was the doctor.”

Loki closed his eyes for a long moment and sighed. “Listen, you ineffable know-it-all, I made a mistake, obviously I meant Frankenstein’s Monster, not Dr. Frankenstein.”

Darcy wrinkled up her face in a most unflattering way and shook her head. “That’s not what you said, Bunny Bread. And for your information, I am extremely eff-able.”

The earth woman Thor had spoken so highly of was like a silver carving knife on a ceramic plate. She was the ear-splitting screech of humans. She was perched on one of the stools in Dr. Banner’s lab, and not a single person seemed to be as annoyed as Loki was.

Gods, she was magnificent.

“Should I define the word for you, darling?” he asked sweetly, his voice dripping with saccharine..

“It’s called a pun, sweetie-pie,” she retorted, batting her eyelashes. “A play on words? Do you have puns on Asgard? You’ve traveled the entire universe, haven’t you? Don’t tell me there aren’t puns somewhere.”

“There are puns. Excuse me for not recognizing it. I’m used to intelligent, coherent ones.”

“Ha! Got you. There is no such thing as a coherent pun.”

“A likely argument from someone who’s never made a coherent pun in her life,” he shot back.

“Offense, sir. I take pride on my punnery.”

“Get thee to a punnery,” he countered, arching an eyebrow. “Behold. A coherent, yet intelligent pun.”

She scoffed. “Barely.”

“I believe it still counts though.”

“Counts like your face,” she muttered.

Loki laughed aloud. “Could it be that I’ve bested you? The great Darcy Lewis, who bested my own brother in combat?”

“I bested your brother with a gun that shoots electricity. You don’t have to be smart or coherent to wield one of those, Lokes.” It sounded like a threat, and the flash in her eyes certainly felt threatening.

“I never said you weren’t smart,” he reminded her.

“Fine, intelligent.”

“I never said that either.”

“Said what?”

“That you weren’t intelligent.”

She didn’t answer, simply swung her legs on the , and looked intently at her phone.

“Darcy…” he ventured, moving a bit closer. “Darcy? Darling, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

“That isn’t an apology.”

Loki huffed indignantly. “It is too. I said I was sorry.”

“You said you were sorry if you hurt my feelings. Which puts the labor on me to forgive you, and you can sidestep the bigger issue at hand.”

“Which is?”

“That you called Frankenstein’s monster ‘Frankenstein’ and fucked up royally.” She grinned in a very self-assured way. Loki pressed his lips together and shook his head, all the while, she tittered proudly every so often.

“It was a mistake,” he began.

“Still said it.”

“A slip of the tongue.”

She waggled her eyebrows and winked. “I’ll show you a slip of the tongue.”

He chuckled. “Oh really? Please do.”

“What?” she asked.

“Show me a slip of the tongue, Darcy.”

“Can I embroider that on a pillow?” she asked, hopping up from the stool and making as if she was about to leave. There was no way Loki was allowing her to leave after dropping a flirtatious bomb in the room.  He’d let her do it too many times before not to demand an explanation now.

“Show me a slip of the tongue,” he said.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really.”

“It’s okay if I show you?”

“I’m asking,” he countered.

“Okay. You asked for it.”

“I already insisted that I--” He stopped talking abruptly as Darcy kissed him and thus succeeded in both showing him a slip of the tongue and shutting him up all in one go.

He was wrong before. She wasn’t magnificent, she was exquisite.

[that-wimpy-cowboy-doll]

For the prompt meme, 18, 2, 9? (Shieldshock bc I know you love it❤️❤️❤️)

I have, in fact, accidentally fallen completely in love with Shieldshock, and I have no regrets ;)

Shieldshock + Celebrity!AU + Enemies to Lovers + “Why are you awake so late?”

Darcy rolled onto her side to glare at the cheap motel alarm clock, which currently read 3:22 in the morning.  It ate at her just to think that Steve Fucking Rogers was keeping her up at night.

Well, not necessarily just Steve Rogers.  There was plenty to annoy her at 3:22 a.m., not the least of which included filming in the middle of Buttfuck, Nowhere (also known as Somewhere North of Durango, Colorado, according to Ava, the director); the shoots and reshoots of the stupid rock-climbing scene that had taken damn near all the daytime; Ava’s picky-ass cinematographers barking contradicting directions at her; as well as, yes, the dreaded kissing scene that she was supposed to have completed with Steve Fucking Rogers by now, that for some reason, Ava just didn’t think looked natural enough.

For the record, no kiss she shared with Steve Rogers was going to look natural, because he obviously didn’t think much of her.  He’d made that much very obvious on his first day on set.

“You cast her for Nora?”

“Is that a problem, Rogers?” Ava had asked, her accent bordering on hostile.  “She had the best audition, she’s not in this to fawn over you and your preposterous muscles, and she works damn hard.  If you don’t trust my judgment, Steve, I’ll find another Simon.”

Darcy didn’t know whether either of them knew she’d been listening, but she didn’t stop to wonder.  Just like she didn’t bother to ask him why the hell he had such a problem with her.  She’d seen him at premieres, waved politely whenever she saw him in public, but she wasn’t going to bend down to kiss the ground he walked on just because he had a stupid Oscar and one of her most prized possessions was her surfboard from the Teen Choice Awards.

(For the record, she regretted nothing about her teen TV show career.  She’d met some of her best friends on the set of Letty Waters, and the breakout role had taught her so much about acting and show business.  Without Letty Waters, it was likely she’d still be doing ravioli commercials and soap opera extra work to this day.)

Instead of lying in bed and forcing herself to count sheep, she slipped out of the covers and into a hoodie and sandals, tucked her room key into her shorts pocket, and shouldered the door open so she could dip her legs in the germ-infested hot tub in the courtyard.

The cold mountain air mixed with the hot water on her feet was strangely soothing, and because there was so little traffic in this area, she could listen to the bubbling of the water and the wind around her at peace.

And then, the thin squishing of a rubber doorstop, followed by light footsteps in her direction.

“What do you want?” she huffed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, covering her face with her sleeves.

“Why are you awake so late?”

Steve’s tone was arrogant, teasing, but he slid out of his sandals and plopped onto his perfect ass a few feet away from her, his smooth features somehow still handsome without makeup in the dim pool lights.  She refused to notice.

“Might as well ask you the same thing.”

“Somethin’ to do with today bein’ pretty shitty, huh?”

Was he really trying to seem sympathetic right now?  After all the times he’d looked down his nose at her, the lowly television star?

“It was shitty.  No thanks to you.”

“Me?”  She refused to notice the lift of his eyebrows.  He could very well be acting right now - after all, he was the Oscar winner.  “The hell did I do to make it shitty?”

“I don’t know, maybe kiss better?  Or just pretend that you like me enough to want to kiss me when we’re on the set?  You’re supposed to be this big, important actor, you should be able to make even me look okay on camera next to you.”

He fell silent, something that Darcy hadn’t realized he was able to do.

“Look, I know I’m not cut from the same ‘indie film, Oscar-winning, work out until my muscles bulge in every outfit’ fabric as you are.”  She tried to keep her voice low, crossing her legs in the water with a soft splash.  “But I think I’m a pretty decent actress, and I have worked really fucking hard on this role.  Nora means a lot to me.  So if you could just act like I’m fit to be in the same shot as you, I’d really fucking appreciate it.”

Steve watched her, frowning, both of those raised eyebrows stalling down low over his eyes.  If she hadn’t been refusing to notice him, she’d spot the subtle clench of his jaw that all the teenyboppers seemed to swoon to these days.  Not that it was really worth swooning over.

“You surprise the hell out of me, Lewis.  ‘Cause I figured out you were a better actor than me the second I saw you as Nora.”

“Do not patronize me, Rogers.”

“Darcy.”  He rested a cautious hand between them, leaning on it to look more intently at her.  He was close now, enough that she could see the flecks of blond in his eyelashes, the chapped cracks in his pillowy pink lips.  Part of her wondered whether he was going to kiss her now, and pass it off with some stupid excuse about practicing to finish their scene tomorrow.  Wait - would that have meant that he wanted to kiss her?  Or that she wanted him to want to kiss her?  “At this point, I’m mostly afraid of you upstagin’ me.  You’re a damn good actor.  And a...hell of a person, to boot.”

“Good.”  She found the gumption to smirk at him, lifting her legs out of the water and getting them beneath her.  “Because Nora’s supposed to be the lead role anyway.”

He might have called after her, but there was something to his words that brought a delightfully antagonistic spring to her step and sway to her hips.  She didn’t need to know that he thought she was a good actor - but it was nice to hear him finally fucking acknowledge it.

She slept like a baby after leaving the hot tub.

And it was probably worth mentioning that they finished their first kissing scene on the first take the following day.

It didn’t stop them from practicing the kiss when they got back to the motel, though.

[janeykath318]

A Well Built Ship (Captain) (Jim Kirk xDarcy Lewis)

Jim x Darcy

Life in the 23rd century wasn’t too bad, if somewhat strange, Darcy reflected frequently. Technology was vastly improved, there were no money issues, medical knowledge was leaps and bounds better and many societal barriers no longer existed.

It had taken them awhile to adjust to their new reality, but in the end, the four of them who’d made the time jump had started to blend in and thrive. Darcy, Sam, And Bucky had all joined Starfleet in various capacities and Jane was currently sciencing in Space on a research mission. Darcy herself was stationed on the Starbase Yorktown, undergoing some intensive cultural studies to aid her in her diplomatic jobs. She eventually hoped to get a posting on a ship and explore strange new worlds with the rest of them, but for now, she was working on situations such as how to tell when a Tellarite was seriously angry or just complimenting someone. (It could be hard to tell, given how they loved arguing). [[MORE]]

She was meandering along the beautiful walkway, (seriously, the architecture and design were mind-blowing!), when an approaching ship caught her eye.

“Is that what I think it is?” She exclaimed to herself, seeing NCC-1701 emblazoned boldly across the saucer. It was.

“Wow. The USS Enterprise,” she breathed, wondering why no one else seemed remotely excited by the appearance of the famed ship. Sure, ships arriving was a regular occurrence, but the Enterprise had never yet graced them with her regal presence.

“Oh, baby, you are gorgeous,” she muttered, reluctantly tearing her eyes off of the Enterprise. She’d have to hold off her admirations for later, or she’d be late for her next lecture. Turning on her heels, she marched off, plotting how she could get herself an up close visit to the flagship of Starfleet.

Several hours later, Darcy watched as the last stragglers from the Enterprise emerged into Yorktown’s main hub. She scanned the crew to see if their were any potential information sources, but most looked very intent on a goal or were busy in conversation or happy reunions. “Hmm, this could be harder than I thought,” she pondered. “Dang long winded ambassadors!”

Her eyes suddenly fell on a lone gold shirted man standing alone, apart from everyone else, watching the commotion and joy. He had a downright wistful look on his face that tugged on her heart. Ah. Target sighted.

She strode toward him, noting his striking good looks the closer he got. Then she saw his rank stripes and almost stopped.

She was walking right up to a Captain to ask to see his ship! Was she crazy? Maybe, but what did she have to lose? Couldn’t hurt to strike up a friendly conversation. The man looked lonely, after all.

“You look a little lost, Captain? New here?” She asked in a light, slight teasing tone.

“You could say that.” His voice was soft and deep and vivid blue eyes focused on her as he spoke. Darcy’s own eyes widened. Holy crap, the man was gorgeous. She’d seen holo pics of the famous James T. Kirk, but none of them had done him justice. Gulping slightly, she smiled at him in a hospitable manner.

“Well, welcome to the Yorktown, Sir,” she greeted. “I can point you to the nearest kiosk, if you like. I also am an expert on the best cafes and watering holes around here.”

She stopped herself and blushed at her annoying tendency to have her mouth run away from her brain. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was hitting on him. (Well, Maybe not the LAST thing.)

Captain Kirk smiled at her. “I appreciate that, Lieutenant. This place is a maze to me right now. It’s a but overwhelming after being out in the Black for so long.”

“I would imagine so,” Darcy agreed, trying to restrain her inner fangirl from getting out and betraying her. “Professional. Remain professional. You can do this,” she told herself.

“The nearest directory kiosk is just down that way about fifty meters,” she pointed out to him, indicating the direction with her finger.

“Thanks, Lieutenant....”

“Lewis. Darcy Lewis,” she replied, willingly shaking his hand, perhaps a second too long.

“Jim Kirk,” the captain responded. “Nice to meet you. Are you stationed here?”

“For now,” she answered. “But I’m going to apply for a posting on a Starship once I’ve finished my studies here. Wanna-be diplomats have a lot to master before we’re let loose on the universe.”

“Diplomacy, huh? A much needed skill these days. Goodness knows, I somewhat lack in that area myself.”

Jim grinned a self-deprecating smile and Darcy’s stomach flipped even as she giggled at him. It was no wonder Kirk could charm anyone. One look at those dimples and she’d follow him to the edge of the universe.

“Oh, I’ve heard the stories, Captain,” she assured him. Kirk had a history of getting himself shot at or punched, and even though said incidents had decreased lately, the reputation stuck.

“Of course you have,” he sighed. “Let me assure you, most of them are greatly exaggerated.”

“Really? I wonder if your CMO would agree,” she said with a smirk.

Jim snorted and rubbed his forehead sheepishly.

“Bones gets stressed over a paper cut, so no.”

The wistful look returned to his face and she followed Kirk’s gaze to a cute couple enthusiastically embracing, a small toddler clinging onto her father’s legs.

“Awww. They look happy,” she observed.

“Yep,” he sighed. “They needed this. These deep space missions can be really hard on a crew, especially those with families.”

Darcy nodded. She couldn’t imagine being away from loved ones that long. Good thing she was currently unattached. She wouldn’t be leaving anyone behind to worry about her. On the flip side, their was no one to come home to, which probably explained Kirk’s sad looks.

“I take it you don’t have family nearby?”

“My mom’s in the black and my brother is off planet. Hope you’ve got better luck.”

“Not really,” Darcy shrugged, unable to even begin to explain her time travel and that all her family was likely dead. “But I have a couple of good friends around who are like brothers, so that helps. How long will the Enterprise be here?”

“Don’t know. I’ll find that out once I’ve met with Commodore Paris.” He glanced at the time unit on a nearby screen. “Speaking of which, I need to check in with her. I should probably head over towards the important looking buildings.”

“Of course,” Darcy replied with a smile, trying to think of a way to see him again. Before she could, Jim’s eyes were back on hers.

“Hey, Maybe if you’ve got time in the next couple of days, you could show me one of those great dining spots you mentioned?”

His tone was nothing but friendly, yet with a touch of hope to it that encouraged Darcy.

“I’d be happy to, Captain,” she replied slyly, “On one condition.”

His eyebrow rose.

“What’s That?”

“You give me a tour of your beautiful lady ship,” she decreed boldly. “The Enterprise is incomparable and I have a mighty need for a close up view.” (Of that ass!) Her wicked brain added, all too aware of the fact the Captain was as well built as his ship.

The Captain looked at her with downright awe and decided interest now.

“Wow. Someone who appreciates her. It’s a deal.”

He stuck out his hand again with a wide grin. “Call me Jim.”

Matching his grin with one of her own, Darcy shook it. “And you can call me Darcy. When can we meet?”

[omnomsauruswrites]

Bucky finds sweet notes that encourage him, tucked into his clothes or gear or in books everyday from Reader or Darcy. Then the notes turn from sweet to naughty, leading to something more interesting. A smutty or fluffy as you like.

@cchellacat holds my heart and this of course is for her.

Bucky wasn’t used to being surrounded by people. Wasn’t used to the noise. Wasn’t used to bodies. He was used to cold, to silence, to a metal tank. Freedom was still a confusing concept to him.

For the most part, he was able to move around without much handling or much awareness from others. Well… scratch that, people noticed but stayed out of his way. People gave him a wide birth. Everyone took the former assassin with his stoic face, as a man that you just didn’t engage. That is except for Darcy Lewis.

Darcy had proven to him time and time again that she wasn’t afraid of him, wasn’t going to be afraid of him. To the point where, she had tried to drive his melancholy away with a finger in his face once night, when he couldn’t sleep. She had yelled at him for saying his life wasn’t worth much anymore, insisting that he should be pissed about what Hydra had taken away from him. That she personally wanted to burn down the Nazi-organization to the ground for him. His mouth had opened and closed like a fish after her rant not knowing what to say to her. And that’s when it all began.

Every morning on his protein shake there was a post-it. It varied in color and shape but always written with loopy cursive: Hey soldier; Morning Handsome; Sam doesn’t stand a chance against your right hook; Captain Spangles needs to pay for beating me in Mario Kart, make it happen. Sometimes they were pop-culture references that went right over his head: Trust No One, Bucky-Bear; Go, Go, Gadget, Go; Punch IT, Chewie!; What we have here is a failure to communicate.

A couple of months in, they started showing up in random places like his locker or his bathroom mirror. There however, were more flirty like Have you seen your ass in the mirror lately?; Put the guns away, Barnes, you’ll give a girl a heart attack; Do you like science because I've got my ion you.

Each one had him blushing or laughing. He knew of only one person who could be leaving him the notes, so he hatched out a plan.

———————-

Darcy drug herself into the labs. She was jet lagged from the trip to Iceland. The time zone change was wrecking havoc on her body and all she wanted to do was climb back in bed. Her hand rubbed her blue eyes, as she flipped on the lights, trudging to her desk. She plopped down in her chair and closed her eyes, as she sipped her coffee. After swirling her first sip around her mouth and letting the caffeine hit her tastebuds did she open her eyes.

The sight before here had her reeling and thoroughly confused.

There before her was her monitor covered in post-its with jagged words across each one of them. She squinted at them and readjusted her glasses as she peered at the first one that read, Morning Gorgeous. Her lips tilted up. Her eyes moved to the next one, Anyone ever tell you, your laugh is like music?. She continued through them, as most complimented her in someway about her eyes, her shape, and her wit. It wasn’t until the the third line, that the game started to change. When you show up in my dreams, you are a goddess in my bed, kitten. You’re spun sugar. I wonder what your cream tastes like, kitten. One day, I’m going to have you for appetizer, the main course and dessert and it’ll be the best meal of my life. She held back a moan at the last one by biting her lip, as her brain showed her flashes of what it would be like before her eyes.

Her eyes finally fell on the last one, Let me take you out for dinner and you can be my dessert.

She wasted no time after reading it, ripping it off the computer, as she ran to the elevator and took it up to the residential floors. She rushed down the hall, stopping in front of Bucky’s door. Her hand went up to knock before it flew to hair to try and tame the wildness of it, then she knocked.

The door flew open to reveal the former assassin dressed in low-slung sweatpants and nothing else. Her eyes flew to the tan skin, mesmerized by his hard muscles. His voice brought her back to the moment, “Need something, kitten?”

Her eyes flew to his that were bright with mischief and humor, a wide-grin plastered on his face. Her hand flew to his chest, pushing the post-it against it and in-turn trying to move him inside. “Let’s skip right to dessert, Barnes,” she answered, surging into him and sealing her lips against his.

His hands went to her legs, picking her up. His foot went out to kick the door closed, as he turned to push her against the hard wood. “What if I made you my breakfast, kitten?” he quipped, as he went back to kissing her.

She moaned against his lips and rubbed her hips against his, pushing her chest against his. “As long as we get to that dinner, eventually.”

“Promise, kitten, but first I want to have you for breakfast and lunch.”

[zephrbabe]

ABO Shieldshock for Miin! Featuring Tony and Jane, science bros.

Rated T.

Fifteen minutes late to work wasn’t suspicious at all, all things considered. She’d been later than that. Only last week, she’d rolled in at 2pm with Starbucks and enough pastrami to lure Jane away from bending the universe to her will.

So it really wasn’t fair that she set foot in the lab and two heads swiveled to track her. Jane actually sniffed the air and raised her eyebrows in Darcy’s direction. Rude.

Tugging up her turtleneck, she called on her bravado and said, “What.”

Jane opened her mouth, but Tony beat her to it: “My nose has been fried since I started blowing things up as a hobby, but even I can scent the alpha on you, Lewis. Ow!”

“Serves you right,” Jane pronounced, keeping the astrophysics journal rolled up in case she needed to whap him again. “You can’t talk to Darcy like that. Her scent is none of your business.”

Tony threw his hands up, and scooted his shop stool out of Jane’s reach for good measure.

Rummaging in her bag for something to cover what they were smelling, Darcy groused, “What are you even here for, Tony?”

“He’s helping me redesign the particle sensor on ol’ Clara,” Jane said, sliding a wrench and a mug full of screwdrivers in front of him. “We can’t improve her until you get a good look, so get crackin’, Stark.”

Darcy caught his mumbled, “At least Clara appreciates me,” but he was already pulling the main panel off the machine by the time she realized the deodorizing spray she usually kept in her bag was missing. Turning heads was going to be the order of the day, if she couldn’t douse herself with scent nullifier. They were definitely ordering in for lunch.

Twenty minutes later, Clara was half-disassembled and Jane and Tony were discussing something in her guts with the kind of enthusiasm Darcy usually reserved for national politics or the newest season of Game of Thrones. She couldn’t see either of them behind the machine housing.

Which was just as well, because that was when the lab door swept open and Darcy was scooped out of her chair before she could so much as squeak.

Her arms flew around broad shoulders to steady herself, and she let out a whuff of air that was almost a laugh. Steve was supposed to be in some kind of logistics meeting with the new SHIELD. He was supposed to be in meetings all day. That was the only reason she wasn’t still in bed: Steve and his meetings.

Unbidden, her lips curled into a smile, but she tried to keep a straight face to ask, “What are you doing here?”

“Missed you,” he said, pressing a kiss to her upturned lips. Steve dipped his face to the scent gland under her jaw, just above the edge of her turtleneck, and scented her. Then he licked her. With a gasp, Darcy poked him in the ribs- she was at work!- and Steve drew back with a smile. His smile wasn’t remotely as contrite as it should have been; it was mostly just smug.

Darcy teased her nails down the back of his neck to feel him shiver. “Missed me? It hasn’t even been an hour.”

Steve’s smile blossomed into a grin. “Can you play hooky?”

“I thought you had meetings all day.”

“Canceled ‘em.”

“What, all of them?”

“Hey, it isn’t every day you get bonded.”

“BONDED?!” Jane screeched. She emerged from behind Clara like a directionally-challenged jack-in-the-box. “Since when!”

It was only then that Darcy realized it might look a little weird that Steve was holding her nearly a foot off the ground so they were face-to-face. Especially since Jane had been too wrapped up in Science! mode to notice Steve had been courting Darcy for months. Oh well, Jane had to get the news at some point.

“Wait- Capsicle and Lightning Lewis? Bonded? In my tower? Who knew about this?” Tony’s head popped up behind Jane’s. He had black grease along one side of his nose.

Steve’s exasperated eye roll made Darcy snort. “Ask Friday. Or Natasha.”

“Or Thor,” Darcy added, bending far enough out of Steve’s carry to snag the strap of her bag. He made for the door, grin returning full force once his back was turned to Tony and Jane. Their legs bumped together as he walked out.

Jane’s faint “Why didn’t he tell me?” followed them out of the lab.

“He did!” Darcy shouted before the door shut completely.

She hooked an arm around Steve’s neck and nibbled on his ear while they waited for the elevator. One big hand flexed on her thigh, and Darcy smirked. She ducked her head and kissed over his scent gland, soft lips and a little purr against the skin. And right when the elevator pinged open, she bit.

Good thing the elevator was empty, or else Steve would’ve given someone a show. As it was, the emergency stop was activated for a full 20 minutes, though the system registered no errors.

Darcy was six hours late to work the next day.

[cchellacat]

Getcha Getcha Getcha

Love All The Marvel Ships Challenge

Day Twenty-Six

Prompt: Teasing Each Other

Darcy is fairly sure this is not how learning how to shoot a gun is meant to go. It’s been a torturous thirty minutes.  Bucky’s hands seem to be everywhere.  At her elbow, on her hands, adjusting her grip. On her hips, keeping her centred…. But this was going too far, she is seriously considering turning the gun on him at this point.  He’s behind her coaching her through lining up the target and how to aim and pull the trigger.  Only now he’s pressed against her back, one large hand settled against her stomach keeping her steady.  She’s not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  On the one hand, he’ll catch her if her knees suddenly go weak from the intoxicating feeling sweeping through her and leaving her light headed.  On the other hand, if he wasn’t so close, touching her there, she wouldn’t be feeling so dizzy.

Natasha and Clint come in, chatting comfortably just as Bucky steps away from her and she lets out a the breath she’d been holding.  Oh, thank Thor, she thought she was going to pass out.

Bucky calls it a day and leaves briskly, Darcy bids him goodbye and tries to get a hold of herself.

“Enjoying your lessons?”  Natasha asks with a smirk.

Darcy shrugs, honestly it was just pure frustration at this point.

“Sure.”  She gives a non-committal nod.  Natasha narrows her eyes.

“You know, he taught me how to shoot too.”

“Oh?”  Darcy asks a little sourly.

“Mmmhmm.  He never taught me like that.”  The knowing grin the red head gives her has her shaking her head.

“It’s not like that, he’s not interested in me.”

Natasha rolls her eyes. They’re both oblivious.  She watches Darcy leave, happy to have planted the seed of doubt in her mind.

“Two weeks.”  She tells Clint.

“Nah, they’ve been dancing about for months on the same page, at least four.”

They agree on a price and shake on it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You know, for two very smart people they’re kinda dumb.”  Jane comments softly next to Steve.

Steve takes a sip of beer and slings an arm around Jane while they watch Bucky and Darcy cheat like crazy while playing The Game of Life.

Darcy grabs the dice, shakes vigorously and leans over the board to make her play.  Bucky, distracted by the move, almost misses her tipping one dice over with the tip of her finger, then launches himself over the board to retaliate by tickling her into submission.  The two carry on like this for a while before Darcy gets the upper hand and smacks him in the face with a cushion, straddling his stomach and crowing at the top of her lungs.

“We should do something about it.”  He agrees quietly, running a hand along her leg.

“Darcy won’t listen to me, she thinks he’s just being friendly.”

Jane snuggles into Steve and steals his beer.  Steve pulls her into his lap proper.

“Bucky’s crazy about her, he just doesn’t seem to realise it.”

“We need a plan.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, Tony and Pepper are going to that conference in Bern.”

They’re in their apartment having breakfast and trying to figure out how to get everyone except Darcy and Bucky out of the Tower at the same time.

“I’ll send Natasha and Clint off to Argentina, there’s reports of a possible 084 down there that Coulson was looking for some intel on.”

Steve slides a brochure over her way.  “I thought we could have a weekend away.  There’s even an Observatory five miles from the hotel, what do you think?”

Jane grins back at him, it was nice having a boyfriend that always tried to put her first and remembered the things she liked.

“It’s perfect, you are perfect…  Although I still say locking them in a closet would be quicker.”

Steve snorts.

“Bucky could punch through the door in a few seconds and Darcy can pick locks better than Natasha.  I think you underestimate their resourcefulness.”

“Well, with no one but each other for company hopefully one of them will wake up and notice what’s going on.  My money’s on Darcy, she can’t stay oblivious much longer.”

“I’m not going to bet against my best girl.  But don’t count him out just yet, he can’t have forgotten everything about pretty dames.  He could charm girls into just about anything back in the day.”

“Well, this is not the day and Darcy is not just any girl.  Besides, when she goes after him, she’s going to make him suffer.”

“I’ll take that bet, he’s just as good at that game, better probably.  She’ll cave first.”

“Hmmmm.  Let’s just agree we want them together and worry about who moves first later.”

“Yes Ma’am”

Jane grabs the brochure and flicks through it.  “You know, I’m not sure I’ll have time to visit the Observatory…”

Steve flashes her a confident smile.  No, no she won’t.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darcy flips the page and her eyes run over the words slowly, she’s reading, or at least trying to.  It’s very hard to concentrate with a six-foot super soldier hovering behind you though.  They’re meant to be taking some time to relax, unwind, just chill.  The other’s were all gone for the weekend, leaving her all alone with Barnes.  Steve had asked her ever so sweetly to spend some time with him, that he was concerned about Bucky being left alone.  Feeling sorry for Barnes and not wanting to deal with Steve’s ‘Captain America is Disappointed in You’ sad face, had her agreeing without protest.

But Barnes does not know how to relax, he’s wound tighter than a bow and itching to do something.  She’d promised she would come play with him after she finished this chapter, so now, he’s right there, sitting beside her, reading over her shoulder.  She can feel his breath whispering over her skin at the nape of her neck and the first twinge of arousal makes her squeeze her thighs together.  Fuck, she’d never going to finish this with him sitting so close.  The worst part is that he has no idea what he does to her, or at least she doesn’t think he does.

“Are you nearly done?”

Darcy rolls her eyes and closes the book, one finger keeping her place within the pages.

“What are you?  Five?  If we ever road trip am I gonna get hit with ‘are we there yet?’.”

“C’mon Doll, lets go find something to do!”

She looks back down at the page and ignores him.  He huffs beside her and she eyes him sideways, watching as he taps a finger impatiently on her knee.  She swallows and continues to read, sort of, that fucking finger is drumming it’s way up her leg.  She read the same sentence for the sixth time and lets out a silent breath of relief when he moves his hand.  Watches as his face twists into a grimace of frustration and feels the first glimmer of an idea begin to grow in her mind.

It's another five minutes before he shifts again, one arm lying along the back of the sofa behind her, his flesh hand beginning to idly play with the ends of her hair.  Darcy stills, Natasha’s words echoing in her mind….  Were her friends, right?  The idea growing in her mind takes form…  for a second she feels a little shocked at her utter lack of observation…  He’s doing this on purpose, he likes her…  she stares at the page unseeing.  Bucky Barnes likes her.  She smiles and bites her lip, holding back a grin.  Well two can play at this game.

“Alright, fine.”  She puts the book down on the coffee table, slipping a bookmark into place.  “What do you want to do?”

Bucky grins, he knew he could irritate her till she stopped reading and came with him.  He didn’t mind keeping Darcy occupied for the weekend, Jane had made him promise not to let Darcy spend the whole time wrapped up in a book.  Told him to get Darcy to go do something fun.

“C’mon, there’s something I want to show you.”

He pulls her up from the couch, Darcy allows him, then accidently stumbles forward, letting him catch her.  She smiles up innocently and gives him a pretty smile of thanks before pushing away.

“Lead on then, show me what you got.”

She doesn’t want to give the game away too soon and reigns in the need to let the words sound as filthy as she knows she could make them, she’ll work up to it.  See how long it takes him to figure out she’s teasing him back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He’s been watching her all morning.  The lab is quiet today, Foster’s off at a conference and Darcy had been left behind to keep an eye on the strange machines and the numbers they spit out that only she and Foster seemed to know how to interpret.  Stark had him down here fiddling with the arm, with nothing else to do while the man muttered to himself and worked Bucky had found himself staring off into the Lab next door.

Every so often she would look up and smile at him before looking away.  It was driving him crazy.  He couldn’t tell if she was doing it on purpose or not.  She ran the end of the pen over her plump lips for the fifteenth time before biting the top then flicked her eyes up and found him watching her again.

This time he didn’t look away.  Neither did she.  Then she did it, smiled around the end of the pen, it was not a friendly smile he thinks, it was like a sharks.   The look a predator might give if they knew that they had you.  It was smile he knew well since it’s the same damn smile he used to find curling around his own lips when he knew he’d hooked a dame.  There’s something unnerving, seeing that same kinda smile on the lips of a dame like Darcy Lewis.  He must look as stunned as he felt because he can almost hear the wicked giggle through the glass.  Then she’s winking at him and blowing a kiss, the look that came with it promising mischief.

He’s startled away from the pretty picture he’s been admiring when Stark starts laughing.

“What?”  he asks, glare coming out in full force.

“Ha, you!  She’s got you good.  This is going to be so entertaining, I bet you’ve never had to deal with a woman like that before, she’ll eat you for dinner.”

“I think I can handle myself.”

“Ha!  That’s what you think now.  You’re going to be running in circles for the rest of your life with that one and you’ll like it.”

Bucky stares at him dumbly.  What the hell was he on about?

“Just wait.”  Stark says at his look.  “You’ll see, and I have no sympathy, none.  You brought it on yourself the way you’ve been hovering around watching her, all the inappropriate touching and invading her personal space.”

“I have not…”

“Nope, you have, every day for the past month, here in the lab or up in the kitchen when she’s dancing and cooking.  What?  You didn’t think she’d notice?  She saw you coming a mile off Barnes.”

Stark finished up with the arm and Bucky moved it slowly, feeling the articulation running much more smoothly.  He thinks about what Stark said and feels a tantalising shiver down his spine.

“How do you know she ‘saw me coming’ then?”

Stark looks up and grins.

“She changed her kitchen playlist from “Fancy Dancy Shit 3” to “Getcha Getcha Getcha” and swapped out all the cable knits for blouses.  She turned up the sexy librarian vibes from 3 to 10, she knows.”

A deep feeling over takes Bucky then, he’s not sure if it’s dread or anticipation, but it’s something.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bucky Barnes is like that boy in the playground pulling pigtails. He’s been teasing and winding Darcy up for a month, although things had ramped up ten days ago.  Not that the girl had taken him seriously at first.  Darcy had been convinced he’d just been having fun and no amount of opinions otherwise were going to change her mind.  The more she ignored it, the more he laid it on, enjoying the constant blushes and the way Darcy would flatten him with her scathing retorts.  Then two weeks ago she’d finally figured it out.   Pepper had been hanging on edge ever since Tony told her about the eye fucking going on down in the Lab.

Pepper watches over the rim of her coffee mug as Barnes slowly licks the spoon covered in cake batter, making Darcy waver as she mixes the frosting, snowy globs of icing spatter the counter top and she blushes, pauses and quickly tries to cleans it up.

Barnes leans over and wipes a large smudge from Darcy’s chin then cheekily licks his finger clean, some of the frosting catching on his top lip.  Pepper clearly sees the second Darcy snaps, it had been coming for a while.  The girl grabs him by the shirt and licks the last of the frosting from his lips before letting him go and flouncing off.

Tony passes her the fifty.  Pepper smiles and says nothing at Tony’s whining question of how she knew it would be today.   She just watches with a smirk as Barnes' stunned look of shock turns into a stunned look of happiness, then he runs off, chasing after the girl he’s been taking an inordinate amount of time to tease.  Clint grumbles across from her and passes Natasha a leather pouch which the other red head tosses in the air a few times, weighing it in her hand before she slips it into a pocket of her suit.

Steve is sitting with Jane in his lap, both of them drowsily drinking coffee and feeding each other pieces of blueberry muffin.  The fist bump they share and the look of absolute satisfaction goes by completely unnoticed by any except her.  It’s good to have Jarvis so up on Tower gossip, she can always rely on him to inform her of any shenanigans in the works.

NEXT

@randomlittleimp

[flashingcursor]

Fic: One More Chance Buster

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis Rating: Teen Warnings: None. Words: 984 words. Summary:  Bucky screwed up. She said I love you and he bolted. Author’s Notes: This was written for the inaugural challenge of Fandom Weekly’s relaunch over on Dreamwidth. The challenge prompt was second chances. And since I mostly had Bucky being an idiot stuck in my head this is what I came up with. And it let me focus on writing something other that this single-parent AU that I’m trying to save in case it pops up on my marvelfluffbingo round 2 card. Read on AO3

He screwed up. Bucky doesn’t remember screwing up this bad before the war. But then none of the girls he took out ever meant much more than the fun they could be back then. Life had been a game until he was sent to the front. He hadn’t had much but he still had his best friend and his family back then. Now it was his best friend and the team. They were a family in their own, not linked by blood but by experience and he needed that as much as he needed oxygen these days.

She’d said she loved him, and he bolted. He was an idiot. Growling he throws another punch at the heavy bag he’s been abusing for the better part of the afternoon. It’s become his thing since she revoked his access to her apartment.

Instead he spent hours in the gym beating up the dummies and heavy bags like they were the bad guys of his healing memories. He only stops because he hears her walk in. He knows her walk like the back of his hand. She couldn’t sneak up on him if she tried.

“FRIDAY you said you he wasn’t down here,” she yells at the ceiling.

“My apologies Miss Lewis, but my cameras didn’t show him as present at the gym.”

“I bet they didn’t,” she grumbles, and he stops punching the bag to look at her.

The bag swings back at him and he catches it just in time to watch Darcy strut by him in her too tight gray leggings and the blue t-shirt she stole from him four months ago. He just stares at her like the lost old man he was. He hasn’t felt so thoroughly ignored as this since the night he met Peggy Carter at a pub in London after Steve rescued him and the rest of the 107th from HYDRA.

“Take a picture it’ll last longer,” she bites out as she starts to stretch.

He nearly groans as she does. Or maybe it wasn’t so much an almost as he does and didn’t realize it.

“Make another sound and I’m reporting you for harassment.” She snaps bending forward to touch her toes.

He can’t help it, Bucky laughs. Her words her tone, everything it’s exactly like the day they met. Same place, same activity.

“You said that the day we met Darcy.” He wishes he could strangle the wistful tone to his voice. He’s missed her that he will accept her snapping and threatening him if it means he gets a few minutes of time with her.

“Yeah well I meant it then too.” He sees how her shoulders hitch up at the memory. She wasn’t expecting him to remember that day, but the truth is he couldn’t forget it if he tried. It’s admirable though how she tries to keep up the pretense of stretching for a workout as she rolls up to her full height and then curving her body side to side.

He’s quiet as he crosses the room to her. He knows he caught her off guard when she jumps at the feel of his flesh hand on her shoulder.

“Let me at least explain,” he whispers. She might not, and he can’t begrudge her that, but Bucky must at least try. Whatever she thinks of what happened it’s clearly worse than whatever truth he can provide her.

“There isn’t anything to explain Barnes,” she bites the words out turning to face him her blue eyes stormy with unshed tears and he curses himself. How had he missed that she was so close to falling apart in front of him. That his being there talking to her was pushing all the wrong buttons because at the end of the day she was hurt and hadn’t been able to patch up the wounds.

“God doll I’m so sorry,” he breathes before pulling her in close and pressing his lips to hers. He should have thought before he acted.

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty in these situations. He’d barely even made contact and she was punching him in the stomach.

“You don’t get to do that you jerk.”

“I’m sorry. I’m an idiot,” he wheezes.

“Damn right you are. What the hell were you thinking?” she’s crying as she says it tears rolling down her cheeks and the anger plain in her voice that he winces.

“That I love you too and I screwed up. That I needed to show you that I missed you.” He cups her face in his hands so light that it would be nothing for her to get away. He doesn’t want her to feel trapped, just see that he’s telling the truth. That he would do anything to make it right.

“But why did you run?” She hiccups trying not to sniffle.

He smiles at her, not the cocky grin he wore for the dames of his past or when he was purposely getting under Sam’s skin. This was the smile he reserved just for Darcy, the corners of his mouth curving up in a soft smile.

“I was scared. I’ve only been back in the world as me for a couple years. And there’s this perfect beautiful woman that’s smart and could have any guy she wanted telling me she loves me so earnestly that it felt like the walls were closing in a perfect dream about to shatter. I didn’t want that to happen, so I ran.”

Darcy lets what tears she’d been holding back go then as she throws herself into him bodily. It doesn’t knock them down, but it makes him stumble back a step. He holds her until her tears dry to sniffles and then until her breath evens out.

“Bucky Barnes you’re an idiot.”

“I know. Give me another chance?”

“One more chance buster.” He doesn’t get to respond as she kisses him greedily then.

[lalunaunita]

Lucky Shot Chapter 6: Roll With the Punches

An update for my Shieldshock fic!

Characters/pairing: Darcy Lewis and Steve Rogers Rating: Teen for language Hit ‘lucky shot’ in the tags to read the other chapters on Tumblr, or visit my Ao3 page. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Roll With the Punches

Steve tilted his head forward and did his best not to sniff back any of the blood issuing from his nose. His instinct was to lean back, but Natasha had assured him this was the new, proper way to stop a bloody nose. Granted, he was supposed to have a hand free to staunch the flow. He flexed involuntarily against his ropes.

Being his antagonist’s punching bag was nothing new for Steve. As long as it kept the man’s attentions off of Darcy, it worked out fine for him. Now that the leader was gone, the atmosphere of the cabin had shifted. Someone had turned on Monday night football, and the remaining men were gathered in the living room to watch. They alternately cheered and cursed as the game progressed. Steve wouldn’t have minded watching a little, but their thick bodies blocked his view. He sighed.

How could he have let things deteriorate so badly? Despite the physical pain he was in and the concern over the various plots they were a part of, all he could focus on was the fright in Darcy’s eyes at the diner. He flexed again and dropped his head, getting a glimpse of the bloody mess down the front of his ropes. He’d set out to protect her and he’d failed. More than that, though. He’d promised he would keep her safe. Something inside him felt...ashamed at not keeping his promise.

It went deeper than that, he admitted to himself. Get real, Steve, he chided. You like her.

He tried to grin to himself, but it turned into a grimace. Other than the obvious, he didn’t have much to bring to the table in that regard. Darcy wasn’t shy about complimenting his physical appearance, but they didn’t have anything in common. The same was true of everyone he knew. Work was his commonality with everyone he associated with. He didn’t play video games, hardly had time for sports, wasn’t a movie buff. Sam and Natasha didn’t seem to mind, but they were the exceptions. People didn’t hang out with Captain America, and Captain America didn’t hang out with people. They found him when there was work to be done.

Steve shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus on the problem at hand, not wallow in self-pity. He considered the chair he’d been placed in. It was reinforced steel. No matter how he strained, the chair had no give and he couldn’t get any leverage. A sense of irony descended over Steve. He’d been to some of the most secure facilities in the world, seen the restraints developed and perfected for dangerous superpowered criminals. Attempts had been made on him before, with magnetic handcuffs and all kinds of new technologies. These guys had ropes and a good chair, and he was stuck.

A particularly loud cheer from the living room was overlaid with thunder from outside. The kitchen’s small window showed black outside. The storm had only grown worse in the hours since he and Darcy were separated. He flicked his eyes back to the living room. He’d kept careful count of the assholes in there and reassured himself that none of them had left to go visit the gorgeous young woman locked in a back room of the cabin. Their desires appeared to be strictly related to watching the game.

A second round of cheers was interrupted as the entire cabin went pitch black, followed by shouts of dismay. Thunder followed.

“What the-”

“Power’s out!”

“Shit! Did you see whether Leon made the tackle?”

Several flashlights popped on. A couple of beams ran over the kitchen, where Steve sat, motionless.

“Well, he’s not going anywhere at least. You okay, Captain Rogers?” asked one voice in the darkness.

“Peachy,” Steve replied, lifting an eyebrow. The flashlights turned away from his face and he blinked, readjusting.

“Should I fire up the generator?” asked one deep voice.

“Yes!!” several voices chorused in response.

Steve smiled at the urgency. Football was a serious matter, as long as the boss wasn’t around. Deep Voice stamped out into the storm and the rest settled back down into quiet conversation.

Steve closed his eyes, not that it made much difference, and thought. Could he use the dark to his advantage? They’d wisely tied down his legs at the ankles. He potentially could stand in the chair, but most movement would make a lot of noise. The drugs were out of his system now, but he hadn’t eaten in a while. Would that affect him?

Small, cold fingers threaded into one of his palms and he felt warm breath on his ear.

“It’s just me,” Darcy whispered.

“Darcy, what the hell are you doing?” Steve whispered back, ignoring the shiver that went down his spine.

She brought her lips to his ear once more before melting into the darkness. “Busting you out, Tough Guy.”

He felt a tugging, sawing vibration at his ropes. What could she have possibly found? He smiled to himself. All that talk about underestimating herself, and he’d done the very same thing. He felt the ropes around his arms slacken, then drop away.

Darcy’s cool hand rested on his shoulder. He brought his face up blindly.

“Ankles. Hurry.”

Steve shook out his arm fatigue, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck. He didn’t hear any noise from Darcy, but soon felt the same tugging at each ankle, and the same release. The football talk went on in the other room, the men oblivious. Steve felt something pressed into his hand. Darcy’s voice was back at his ear.

“Box cutter. Best I could do.”

“It’s fantastic, Doll.”

Before he could stop himself and before she could draw away, Steve gripped her hand in his. She responded with a gentle squeeze of his fingers. He stood, testing his balance in the dark.

“Stay behind me. Maybe we can sneak out before-”

A sound like a large lawn mower fired up from outside the cabin and the lights popped back on. The men in the living room cheered as the screen of the ancient TV lit up. The cheers turned to dismay as several turned and saw Steve reaching for his shield against the back wall of the kitchen.

“He’s loose!”

“Shoot him! Don’t let them get out!”

Taking a calculated risk, Steve snatched Darcy around the waist, pressing her close. Shield in front of them, he threw himself backward against the kitchen wall. The flimsy cabin’s structure gave way at once. They tumbled backward through crumbling drywall and old, splintering wood. Bullets pinged off of Steve’s shield as he landed flat on his back in the mud, Darcy on top of him. Instinctively, she rolled away from the hole in the wall and the men with guns.

“Truck! Out front!” Steve directed as he jumped to his feet and followed her through the pounding rain.

It was pitch black as they rounded the back of the cabin and made for the gravel drive out front. Steve was tempted to try for the woods that surrounded them, but he had no idea of their location. Trying to hide Darcy safely in the woods in a storm in the middle of nowhere was a bad idea, his earlier suggestion notwithstanding. Instead, they came to the first SUV they saw. Aware that they had only moments, Steve yanked the door open, leaned in, and ripped away the plastic casing around the steering column. He slashed several wires with the box cutter and hotwired the ignition, wincing at the sparks. He threw the cutter on the passenger seat and leaned back out.

“Get in. You’re driving.”

Darcy didn’t argue. She stepped up into the compartment and strapped on her safety belt.

“Okay, Steve, get in-”

She was interrupted by a stream of bullets that pattered and whined around them. Steve slammed the door shut.

“Drive! I’ll buy you some time!” he shouted through the closed window.

Darcy shook her head, frowning, but he heard her shift into drive and jam down on the gas pedal. The SUV roared forward, headed for a tall, chain link gate with a padlock that cut across the gravel drive. It was dimly lit by a utility bulb, barely visible in the gloom.

Steve turned and sprang straight up, drawing the fire of several men on the porch. He came down on the roof of the cabin, scrambling over its slippery surface. A crash sounded; Darcy had driven right at the gate without slowing and burst through. Good girl. He kept his eyes on Darcy’s tail lights as she drove toward the road that must lay beyond the compound. They shifted left, then he lost sight of them among the trees.

“Come down, Rogers! There’s nowhere else to go!” shouted Deep Voice.

He wasn’t wrong. Steve gripped the stonework chimney that rose out of the roof. Light spilled out from the front porch on one side and the hole he’d busted through the wall on the other. Long shadows revealed the men and their weapons arranged in a circle around the cabin. He was surrounded on all sides.

Steve took a deep breath and leapt out and over, angling his shield beneath him. Staccato muzzle fire followed him into the dense forest, the bullets pinging uselessly off of vibranium. He reached out blindly with one arm in the darkness, felt the smack of something hard, sturdy, and splintery against his bicep, and managed to hook his elbow around a branch. He used his momentum to swing out further, hoping to reach a carpet of pine needles rather than slam into a tree trunk. The instant his feet felt ground, he rolled forward to break his fall. He rose and ran as fast as he could in the direction of Darcy’s tail lights. He angled further to the left, hoping the road circled around the section of trees he ran through. Sure enough, he shortly reached a chain link fence that marked the edge of the compound, smacking against it heavily. He could see the road outside. He gathered his feet under himself and jumped over, clearing the top with inches to spare.

He came down into a wet grassy ditch on the other side just as the SUV roared up, but Darcy couldn’t see him in the darkness. Steve made a last, desperate leap, feet slipping on the grass beneath him. He slammed against the driver’s side of the SUV and gripped the side mirror, legs dragging against the asphalt. Darcy screamed inside the vehicle.

“Darcy, it’s me!” Steve yelled.

She got a good look at him, then braked suddenly. Steve held on as his momentum reversed and threatened to toss him forward onto the road. He yanked open the door behind her and clambered inside, pushing the shield in first. As soon as it slammed shut, Darcy hit the gas.

“Steve, you fucking insane...weirdo...jerk-face...martyr complex - oh, shit, your face…” Darcy’s stream of words and irritation attenuated as he climbed into the front seat.

She reached out a hand, tenderly touching one of his bruised eyes. Her voice trembled with new tears.

“That smug guy was hitting you, wasn’t he?”

Steve reached for her hand and pulled it away before she could smear the blood on his cheeks and chin. “Don’t worry about it, Doll. It’ll be fine in a few hours. Just focus on the road. They might look for me for a few more minutes, but you’re the person they really want. We have to keep going.”

Darcy frowned, staring forward through the pounding rain barely kept at bay by busy windshield wipers.

“I’m so sorry, Steve,” she whispered.

Steve cocked his head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Darcy.”

“Yes I do. I left you there, and I ran. I’m such a coward.”

“I told you to. You had to, to stay alive.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. You just… you get left behind, Steve. A lot. It’s not fair. The military left you in the ice. Hydra pushed you out of SHIELD, made you a fugitive. All that you’ve given to others… you take all this shit - from everyone - and they expect you to just deal.”

“Seriously, Darcy, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay, Steve! You aren’t some caped crusader, you’re a person. You don’t deserve to be left behind. To be used and cast off. To take the beatings for someone else. I’m sorry, really sorry, and I’m not going to do it again.”

Darcy sniffled and stared straight ahead, placing both hands securely on the wheel.

Steve sat, mouth slightly agape. Darcy’s words rocked him, right down to his toes.

In the army he’d been a symbol, a rallying voice for his compatriots, and eventually a martyr. In this age, he was tool, a weapon, and he was fine with it as long as he was pointed in the right direction. His life wasn’t worth much otherwise. And he was disposable. That was the nature of the beast, wasn’t it? You use a tool until it breaks. If it doesn’t break, you use it some more.

Something confusing and ill-defined rose up within Steve. He’d given over dreams of being an artist, of having his own life. He’d given them over for the greater good. He’d never looked back. After all, his likely option had been to die an early death, weak and alone, no parents, no wife, no kids, no friends. He’d traded that in for a better way. He was committed to making good on the trade.

But Darcy didn’t understand all that. She looked at him and saw the bruises. She didn’t understand that the damage goes away. Or maybe… maybe he didn’t understand. Maybe the damage was there, under the surface, hidden from casual eyes. Steve frowned. He hadn’t been truly seen by anyone so clearly since… Peggy.

“Darcy, I…” at a loss as to what to say, Steve ran his hand through his dirty hair and leaned back.

“Ah, shit,” Darcy muttered.

Steve followed her gaze through the windshield. A tree felled by the storm lay across the road. Sheets of rain hammered the ground in front of the headlights.

“What do we do?” asked Darcy as she braked carefully on wet asphalt.

“I got it,” Steve assured her.

“Oh, right. Forgot I was road-tripping with Cap for a second there.”

Feeling their awkwardness forgotten, Steve shot her a grin as he got out - quickly though, as their pursuers had to be close behind. He jogged to the heavy tree, visible in the bright headlights. But the moment he touched it, a cacophony of sound erupted.

Darcy leaned on the horn and flashed the headlights, pointing upward. Simultaneously, the unmistakable sound of a helicopter descended upon them. Steve squinted up into its bright beam. Angled raindrops sprayed down on him as its blades spun, whipping up local precipitation into a flurry of water. He hailed it with a wave.

Darcy ran from the vehicle to join him, putting up one hand to shade her eyes from the beam. She’d thoughtfully grabbed his shield, Steve realized, perturbed by how much he enjoyed the sight of her running toward him holding it. Her hair was thoroughly wet with rain and droplets clung to the lenses of her glasses. Her full lips were just as striking without the cherry-red lipstick she usually wore. He dragged his eyes away as she came to his side.

“Please tell me these are friends!” she shouted over the noise of the helicopter’s blades.

“Yep. This is definitely our ride.”

“It’s about time!” Darcy laughed.

She handed Steve the shield and he took it almost reluctantly. They were both soaked to the bone and he knew he looked a mess, but Darcy’s bright smile in the darkness buoyed his heart. He remembered the feel of her fingers on his in the cabin; he wanted that again. Shyly, he reached out and touched her hand. His heartbeat hammered when she gripped his fingers tightly in response.

The helicopter slowed, then stopped its descent. A rope ladder rolled down from the open side as a loudspeaker boomed.

“Did you miss us, guys?” Black Widow’s amplified voice came down at them. “Hurry up, it’s chilly out here.”

Steve let go of Darcy’s hand and grabbed a rung to steady the ladder.

“Ladies first,” he offered, feeling the attempt to be charming blunted by his black-and-blue mug.

Darcy hurried up the ladder. Natasha got her secured, then turned to Steve as he settled himself and strapped in.

“We caught up with Doctor Tennison on his way back in. He was only too happy to give up the location of this compound in exchange for a deal. Apparently there was some blackmail involved; we’ll let the lawyers sort it all out.”

Steve nodded. “I guessed as much. And the ringleader of this circus?”

Nat pulled a face. “We got his driver. He managed to evade. Do you know who he is?”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t. I can give a description. Several of the guys back in the cabin are ex-SHIELD, of course, but I haven’t met their boss before.”

A quiet gasp from Darcy interrupted them.

“He got away?” she asked, eyes fearful. “What about Brendan?”

_____________________________________

Stay tuned for more!

~luna’s tip jar~

[dresupi]

working for (packing) peanuts

Darcy Lewis Crack Challenge 2019 |  Day 9: Must Include Packing Peanuts |

Ship: Darcy Lewis/David Haller |  Prompt: Day 9 - Must Include Packing Peanuts |  Other tags: Fake Marriage, Fake Relationship, Undercover as a couple, Kissing, Mutual Pining, Crack, Tech malfunctions |  Rated: M |  Word Count: 3216 | 

Summary:

Faking a relationship with a telepath feels like cheating somehow. Especially when <i>he’s</i> the telepath.

But Darcy’s pretty sure he’s not reading her mind. Because if he was, he’d know how much she wants to kill him for losing that listening device.

“Where do you want the books?” David had one of the boxes open in front of the built-in shelves that lined one entire wall in this new apartment.

Darcy was almost jealous she didn’t actually live here. The shelf space was bonkers. But she really liked her apartment too. It had Bowie, who was being fed by Jane for the foreseeable future, and it had only been eight hours and she already missed her cat. She’d start welling up again if she thought about that, so she pushed all thoughts of her special Bowie-boy out of her head and focused purely on the task at hand. Move into this apartment with David.

“Wherever they’ll fit,” she replied, fluffing a throw pillow and tossing it onto the couch.

The SHIELD movers were bringing in most of “their” stuff from the moving van, but they still had to figure out where to put it all. They’d practiced most of their in-public lovey-dovey routine, kind of like a weird acting/improv workshop where everything focused on getting her and David to kiss, but she was kind of flying by the seat of her pants here. The door was left open for the movers because that was what normal people would do. They wouldn’t shut the door every time someone walked out while they were moving in all their worldly possessions.

She had to play a convincing house.

Because the truth was, 99% of this stuff was on loan. As was the apartment. It was just lucky that they could grab the empty place for their undercover operation.

There was a couple in the building who was smuggling some rather impressive tech and the powers-that-were needed Darcy to prove the Joneses had it. She wasn’t actually sure if their name was Jones, but for all intents and purposes, in her head, they were the Joneses. And considering that SHIELD only got reads from the tech in this general vicinity and had no idea which couple had the stuff, the anonymous couple was lucky Darcy was just referring to them as the Joneses.

And that brought her to David. He was here because SHIELD needed his super fancy mind-reading powers to figure out which couple had the tech. Why they couldn’t just use David’s powers was beyond her, but it was cool. She felt like the Q to his Bond. If Bond was a major dork and could read minds.

“Come out and help me grab the groceries,” she said, walking past him and dragging her fingertips down his arm before grabbing his hand. They’d come with a few bags of what looked like generic pantry staples, but really the bags were filled with Darcy’s own personal tech.

And she guessed, on second thought, that the tech was the reason she was here. She designed her own, pretty much ensuring her job security. So yeah. That’s why she was here.

David came willingly, they really had this couple thing down pat. Maybe. As long as no one threw them any curveballs. Like sex pollen or an amnesia drug that made them think they were actually married.

She really wished she was kidding about that, but both had happened in previous undercover ops (not hers, but she’d heard about it) and it made everything super messy and feelsy. But there had been no evidence of either being attempted in this instance.

As it stood, she and David had a couple of lookie-loos who’d walked past the apartment door, nosily peeking in to get a good look at the ‘new neighbors’, so it was probably a good call to keep up their charade as long as was possible.

David followed her downstairs, dragging his feet a little as he listened in on the neighbors on each floor. The apartment was a fourth-floor walkup, which was a pain in the ass. Literally, her glutes were on freaking fire, man.

It felt a little weird, having him listen in on everyone around here, but he could control his powers pretty well.  He wasn’t listening to everything all at once, he could tune things out. ‘Like a radio,’ he’d explained. And if he didn’t hear anything of use, he tuned them out really quickly.

“Anything yet?” Darcy murmured.

He shook his head slightly, “Nope.”

They reached the landing on the second floor and an older woman stepped out after them, and David tugged on her hand, pulling Darcy close so the other woman could pass by them.  His fingers tickled a little at her waist, fingertips encountering bare skin as her shirt rode up on her torso. It made her visibly shiver. In a good way.

Darcy felt the woman smile a little as she passed them

“So you’re the newlyweds who moved in, I presume?” she asked, directing the question over her shoulder as she moved down each step in front of them.

Darcy felt David squeeze her tightly and tilt his head slightly to touch hers. “Are we that obvious?”

“Sorry…” Darcy replied, tilting her head slightly as well. “It’s our first place as husband and wife.”

Technically not a lie, so actually, Darcy didn’t show any lie-signs at all. Supposedly. Not that this woman looked like a threat in the slightest.

“It's not a problem at all,” the woman replied. “It’s refreshing to see people so in love.”

It was silent after, the only sound was the combined footsteps moving down to the first floor. The woman walked over to the mailboxes as Darcy and David exited the lobby.

They made their way out to the street and to where their car was parked in the temporary loading zone to pull out the bags of ‘groceries’. They’d have to come down later to move it, but they had twenty-four hours to do so. That sounded like something for tomorrow-morning Darcy because if she had to walk anymore today, her legs were going to go on strike.

The moving van SHIELD had used to transport all the household stuff was being closed up and the movers waved as they climbed into the cab.

They must have everything they needed.

David managed a wave before the movers pulled out and disappeared down the road.

“Nice job in the stairs, by the way,” he mused, hoisting two bags into his arms.

“Likewise.”

“What, like it’s hard to pretend to like you?” he asked, smirking a little as they made their way back upstairs. Darcy chewed on those words and the way his lips quirked in the corners for the rest of the way back up. They didn’t meet anyone, which was probably good, because she had a totally blank look on her face like she was trying to multiply two seven-digit numbers in her head.

They set the groceries on the counter in the kitchen, Darcy was about to go close the door when David suddenly smacked her ass, squeezing tightly before slipping the same arm around her waist and tugging her close. “Neighbor at four o’clock…” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her lips.

Her eyebrows went up in surprise, but she wasn’t facing the door, so David lingered on the kiss, attempting to wipe the surprised look off her face. Probably succeeding. Maybe. All Darcy could focus on was the firm pressure of his lips on hers. He seemed to know just how she liked it. But he promised he wasn’t reading her mind. And she had no reason to think he’d lie to her about something like this.

But that wasn’t what she should be focusing on. There was still a neighbor at the door. They were lingering as well. Kind of suspicious, considering that they were just standing there watching David grope her.

“Oh, sorry! Am I interrupting?” asked someone from the doorway.

Obviously, Darcy thought to herself, her back still to the doorway and whoever was standing there.

“Not at all,” David replied, eyes locking with Darcy’s as she composed herself and turned.

“Everything’s peachy,” she said, laughing a little too loudly, but it seemed to work.

“I just noticed you were moving in… I live down the hall if you need anything.” The woman smiled and Darcy swore she could count all her teeth. Weird.

“That’s super nice of you,” Darcy gushed, and the woman nodded, still smiling as she backed out into the hall.

“For real. Let me know if you need anything at all,” she said before making her complete exit.

David watched her leave, closing the door and sliding the deadbolt into place behind him.

“Well, this is going to be easier than I thought…”

“What is?” Darcy asked, her mind immediately going to that place. The place that seemed to stick longer and longer each time they engaged in coupley things. Her smile was almost flirtatious, but David didn’t seem to realize it.

“I think she’s one of our smugglers,” he gestured out the door.

Darcy’s eyebrows went up. “Why on earth did she come to visit us, then?”

“Oh, she has no idea who we are. We just need to get invited over to her place for dinner and plant the bug. We’ll be in and out in a week.”

A week? Darcy thought to herself. She was embarrassed to admit it, but she’d kind of hoped she’d have longer with David than a week. But she was quick to hide her disappointment.

“Awesome,” she said. “If you’re sure we have our smuggler, I have some surveillance gadgets to unpack.”

“Anything cool?” He was smiling again and woe be it to her if she were to deny him anything.

“Definitely, you wanna see?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay, help me unpack these bags so I can get set up.”

Contrary to what he’d said before, David didn’t actually follow her into the bedroom after he’d helped unpack the gadgets. From the sound of things, he’d gone out to the living room to watch TV.

Which kind of ruffled her feathers more than she was willing to admit. Just because he didn’t have tech didn’t mean he couldn’t help with hers.

She guessed it didn’t matter anyway. There were some super cool bugs to set up.

Darcy had some really cool ones from SHIELD. Shapeshifting bugs. She called them shifters for short. Basically, you tossed them onto a table or into a junk drawer and they cloaked as a nearby object so they could remain hidden for as long as audio feeds were needed.

She took out a teeny screwdriver to tighten a few post screws and jumped when her finger got zapped. “Fucky Charms,” she muttered, biting on her lip as she furiously shook her hand to relieve the sensation.

The TV in the living room went quiet and she heard a few hurried footsteps in the doorway as David tucked his head in to check on her. “Everything alright, Darcy?”

She sucked at her fingertip until the burning ceased and nodded. “Glorious.”

For the second time that day, she suspected he was listening to her thoughts. And without her permission too. Maybe. Or maybe not? She wasn’t sure. But she’d barely exclaimed, and he was watching TV, so...

All she knew was that he’d promised he wouldn’t. And she was super embarrassed at the images he’d find in her brain if he looked there. She took a deep breath and let it out as he fully entered the room.

“So what kind of goodies are you working with?” he asked, approaching the bed, but remaining a safe distance away. Like if he got too close, he’d get hurt or something.

Either that, or he’d looked into her mind and found those very non-PG fantasies she liked to entertain about him and one (1) can of Reddi-Whip.

She pressed her lips together for a long moment before answering. “Well, this is one of our listening devices. New SHIELD tech, state of the art. I call them shifters. Because they shapeshift into other objects. So you can hide them in a junk drawer or something and pick up a great audio feed and the target has no idea.”

She held the device in her fingers, showing him how small it was. When it wasn’t activated, it looked like a little silver capsule. About two inches long. Kind of like a bullet or something.

David looked interested. “Can I see it?”

“Sure.” She handed it over. “Now, don’t drop it because…”

He had just tossed the device in the air, attempting to catch it, only to have it slip through his fingers and dropping down into the box at her feet.

The box full of packing peanuts.

“Fuck,” she muttered.

Maybe he wasn’t reading her mind after all. Because if he was, he’d have known not to fucking toss that thing into… oh for fuck’s sake.

“I’m so sorry,” he replied. “I can find it…”

“No. You can’t. Because once it comes into contact with something other than human flesh, it activates and cloaks. As a nearby object.”

“So what does that mean?” he asked, frowning a little at the box between them.

“It means it’s one of these packing peanuts now.”

There was a long, awkward silence as they both gazed down at the slightly green styrofoam bits.

“There’s no way to figure out which one it is?” he asked, his frown deepening.

She sighed, “Unfortunately, there is. I’ve had to do this before.”

“What is it?”

She reached for a smaller cardboard box and dropped some pennies inside. She sat down on the floor and picked up a packing peanut, dropping it inside. Nothing happened, and she sighed, tossing it over her shoulder.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. That thing’s insanely expensive. We have to find it.”

David sat down beside her and reached for the box. “Let me take the first shift. It’s my fault.”

She laughed and patted the carpet beside her. “We’ll take turns.”

“Can I ask what’s funny?” he asked, settling down on the tan berber on the other side of the box.

“Definitely.  You see, twice today, I suspected you of trying to read my thoughts without permission, and this just clinches it.”

He looked alarmed. “What does?”

“There is no way you’re reading my thoughts if you did that.”

“I wouldn’t anyway…” he said, trailing off as he dropped another peanut into the small box of pennies. “What were they?”

“What was what?” she asked.

“The instances? You said there were two of them. What were they?”

Darcy felt her cheeks reddening a little, but she went on like she wasn’t flustered as hell. “Oh, when I zapped my finger, I thought you were reading my mind to find out I did it.”

He laughed. “No. You yelled out ‘Fucky Charms’ really loud. Like… super loud. Louder than the TV even.”

She scoffed. “It wasn’t that loud.”

“I guarantee it was.”

“I mean. Maybe it was.”

“Maybe it was?”

“Okay, I thought I was muttering. Apparently not.”

“Shout-muttering maybe.”

She laughed softly and reached for a handful of peanuts. “Okay. Shout-muttering.”

“What was the other one?”

Her eyes widened a little as a packing peanut stayed stationary in her fingertips, hovering over the box. “I plead the fifth.”

“What? You can’t plead the fifth to friends,” he argued, reaching out and plucking the peanut from her hand and dropping it into the box.

She pursed her lips as if deep in thought. “Yeeeaahhhh, I think you can.”

“Can’t.”

“Can.”

“Can’t.”

“Can.”

The clock chimed nine on the mantle out in the living room, and Darcy sighed, dropping another peanut into the box to no avail.

“We need to take a break to go have sex in a few minutes,” she said, nodding towards the bed and hoping no, praying that her statement would be enough to keep his mind off what the second instance had been.

Sure enough, David looked surprised at her words. “To go… have… sex?”

“Fake sex. Believe me. That’s the last thing I want to do with you right now,” she said with a smirk.

“Oh really? Thanks. Thank you so much.” His sarcasm was so thick, she could slice it up and make a sandwich, but that was fine. If he was being sarcastic, he wasn’t niggling for answers.

She wiped her hands on her pants and pushed up off the floor. “For all I know, you wouldn’t be able to find anything. I mean, that’s been my experience with you, after all,” she said, gesturing to the pile of peanuts.

“I can find everything,’ he assured her. “Just like I can find out everything. Like what that second instance was where you thought I was reading your mind?”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Just. Get on the bed, Casanova.”

Sex simulations were, fortunately, something they’d practiced in their improv/training course, so when he jumped up on the end of the bed, she followed suit, but centered herself more, while he was up at the head of the bed.

Once they were in position, they started bouncing the mattress a little. SHIELD had thankfully provided them with a very squeaky mattress, so it sounded obscene.

“Tell me,” he whispered, his gaze intent on her as he bounced around, raising his voice only to let out a very convincing grunt. One that was decidedly for their neighbors’ benefit and not hers.

“No,” she replied, speeding her bouncing a little. “Not telling.”

“Please. I need to know if it’s a weird vibe I put out…” he countered, still softly, his eyes soft and pleading as he kept up a very steady rhythm.

“No.”

“Darcy…”

“David…”

“I’d tell you.”

She scoffed, “Unlikely.”

“Please,” he said, reaching out to grasp her hand.  She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. Not when what they were doing was so ridiculous.

“When you kissed me,” she murmured. “I wondered if you were reading my mind because you were doing exactly what I liked.”

David stopped bouncing for a moment, his face almost unreadable as he soundlessly dropped to the floor. Darcy panicked a little, slowing her bounces too as she sat down, sliding her feet to the floor and scooting over to the side where he was standing. “It doesn’t need to--”

He placed his finger to his lips and shook his head.

“David.”

Another shake of his head as he stepped closer, his knees bumping the bed as he stepped between her knees and bent over her, lips pressing breathlessly against hers. Firm as his hand slid into her hair, fisting a handful of it as he parted his lips, tongue swiping lightly between her lips. When he broke off the kiss, she chased after him, a soft giggle escaping when he cupped her face in his hands and pulled away.  “Like that?”

She nodded and he kissed her again, reaching over for the headboard as he gave it a good shake, bumping it back against the wall and let out a soft moan. “Multitasking?” he whispered.

Darcy agreed and moved back up to the pillows, a slightly louder moan slipping from her lips when he followed. It wasn’t entirely fake, full disclosure.

She was pretty sure they’d be up until the ass crack of dawn finding that listening device in the packing peanuts, but neither of them really cared about it right then.

[anogete]

Camping with Dr. Bruce Banner

Here is today’s answer to the Cool for the Summer Challenge hosted by FYDL.  It can be read alone but is intended to be one of five chapters.

Prompt: Napping in the Sun (3 of 5) Rating: T (maybe M in a couple spots, but nothing explicit) Characters: Bruce Banner, Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, Erik Selvig Pairing: Bruce Banner / Darcy Lewis Words: 2,209 Tags/Warnings: Foot Fetish, Mention of Significant Age Difference, Bruce’s Sexual Fantasies, Flirting!Darcy Beta Thanks: @chocolategate , @bulmavegotaku , @itscoffeefordinner , @rachelladytietjens AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15562815/chapters/36161085

She was lying on her back on a blue quilt just inside the shade cast by a large tree a few yards past where they’d made camp. While Bruce listened to Erik and Jane debate over where exactly the third telescope should be pointed, Bruce tried to keep his attention off Darcy Lewis’ legs and on the conversation at hand. It was difficult. She had really nice legs, especially when they were sticking out of a pair of frayed cut-off denim shorts. He couldn’t see her quite as well as he’d like to from where he was standing, but he did see her shoo off the two young men who had been hired to assist with carrying and setting up the equipment and campsite. Their names were Rob and Tyler, and they’d been eager to make time with Darcy since they’d all arrived the day before.

The two young men were now having beers by the two Jeeps they’d ridden in on. He almost felt sorry for them because he knew how appealing Miss Darcy Lewis was and why they’d made more than one attempt to engage her. Bruce didn’t feel too sorry for them, though, because he liked that she seemed more interested in talking to him. She’d flirted with him last night and again this morning. Bruce wasn’t sure why, but he definitely liked it. Couldn’t do anything about it, but he liked it.

“Bruce?” Erik asked, pulling his attention away from the young woman stretched out on her back and toward the calculations on the notebook page in Jane’s hand.

He had nothing to add. His head wasn’t really in the game. His thoughts kept sliding off to the side, considering her motive in flirting with him. He was probably old enough to be her father. He was definitely old enough to know better than to consider messing around with her. If she was serious, then he’d just be leading her on because Bruce didn’t want to tempt the Other Guy with any kind of adrenaline rush, especially the rush he’d get from putting his hands all over her. Getting off with his hand and that godforsaken--yet useful--sex toy that Tony had given him were more his speed. He could control the level of excitement, back off if things got too heated. With her, he might just spiral out of control. Nothing would kill the mood like a massive green toddler throwing a temper tantrum and possibly injuring or killing the object of Bruce’s desire.

“Yeah, I don’t know. I--my head is… I think I need to take a walk a clear it.”

“Sure,” Erik replied, turning around to fiddle with the telescope they’d been adjusting. Jane had a notebook in one hand and a calculator in the other. Bruce wanted to help, but he couldn’t seem to shake the distraction, the way his thoughts slipped right through his fingers and slithered in her direction.

Bruce looked over his shoulder as he walked away, wondering if Erik or Jane had picked up on why exactly his head wasn’t in the game. They seemed oblivious as they turned their full attention back to their work. That should be him; he should be helping and focused. He was better than following his dick around, especially when he couldn’t exactly use it in any meaningful way when it came to her. Even if it seemed like she’d be more than willing to fool around with him.

Bruce shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants and walked the treeline of the clearing they were in. There was a small lake just beyond the trees, but he stuck to the clearing so he could look at Darcy. She was still flat on her back, and her legs were bent at the knee. As he moved closer to her, he saw those red-painted toenails and her flip-flops discarded in the grass beside the blanket.

He approached from the direction of her feet, imagining how he’d like to kneel there and lift her leg in the air so he could kiss and lick her foot, her calf, her thigh, all the way up to her…

“Hey, Bruce,” she said, interrupting his lascivious thoughts of eating her out. He wondered if he could manage that without fear of the Other Guy making an appearance. He hadn’t tried in years. God, she’d probably taste like heaven.

She couldn’t see him and all he could see of her were her perfect feet and legs up to her knees. He licked his lips and stepped to the side so he could look down at her raised head. “Hey, Darcy.” He didn’t know what to say. If he tried to come up with anything else he'd risk voicing all those ridiculous fantasies banging around in his head. He couldn’t do that; she’d think he was a creep. It was one thing for her to show interest and another thing for her to accept that he wanted to rub the soft soles of her feet against his cock while he ate her out.

“Did you get bored with sciencing?” Darcy asked, letting her head fall back to the blanket.

“Mmm, I don’t think science is a verb,” he told her.

“It is if I want it to be.”

Bruce chuckled and tilted his head as he looked down at the way her tits were close to falling out of her green tank top. She had to wear some sort of push-up bra contraption for them to look that good. “Fair enough,” he said.

She shifted over and patted the blanket beside her. “Come relax. Take a load off.”

Bruce glanced over his shoulder at Erik and Jane. “I should be working,” he admitted half-heartedly.

“Yeah, well, you can’t work all the time, despite what those two maniacs think.”

He looked over at the young men they’d brought with them and back down at Darcy. “Thought you weren’t looking for company since you sent those two packing,” Bruce said.

Darcy rolled her eyes and wiggled her fingers on the blanket again. “Wasn’t looking for their company.”

God, he was too old for this shit. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It was also depressing as hell when he stepped back and reminded himself the winks and the seduction were going nowhere fast. “You were looking for my company?”

“What can I say? I got a thing for smart guys.” She waved away a bug flying in front of her face and continued with, “Those two aren’t exactly dazzling me with their wit.”

“And I am?”

“Sure.”

Bruce chuckled and settled down on the blanket next to her. He adjusted the edge of the fabric that had flipped over just as he felt her tug on the back of his shirt. Giving in without any fight at all, he lay back next to Darcy, her shoulder pressed up against his.

“Don’t you have any T-shirts or shorts, Bruce?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know about you, but I think eighty-seven degrees and sunny with the humidity in the sixties is an appropriate time to break out the casual clothes.” Her tone was dry.

“You mean my attempt to impress you with these stylish khakis and button-up shirt has failed?”

Her laugh was indulgent, like velvet in his ears and all the way down his spine. “Oh, I don’t know. I think you’re pretty impressive without the clothes,” she teased.

Without the clothes. He swallowed the nervous laugh before it could escape his throat. “Be careful with the way you word things, Darcy. You might give an old guy some ideas.”

“I was careful with my wording,” she replied. “What kind of ideas you got going on, Bruce?”

When he glanced over at her, her eyes were closed and a small grin was playing at the corners of her mouth. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face even if he tried. What was it about her that made him want to let up on the wheel, loosen his grip and just try to have a little bit of fun. Fun. Did he even know how to have fun anymore? No, he didn’t. He couldn't afford fun. He couldn’t afford to let up on the wheel for fear that the Other Guy would gladly take over.

“Lots of ideas. And they’re going to stay ideas,” he said, folding his hands on his stomach.

This made her open her eyes and look over at him. “Well, that sounds lame.”

“Darcy, you know who I am.”

“Yeah, you’re the professor that everyone at Culver and probably every other university in the world creams their jeans over. Smart guy like you has bound to have some fun ideas.”

He laughed and looked up at the cloudless sky. “I don’t know about fun. I’m not really fun.”

She made a non-committal noise and said, “You’re just all buttoned up. Undo some.”

“Undo some what?”

“Buttons.”

“I don’t know how. I can’t afford to,” he replied, feeling despair set in. He’d come over to flirt and pretend like he was a fun guy just like she said, but it had all gone south when he’d been unable to shake the weight on his shoulders.

She rolled onto her side and propped her head up in her hand, arm bent at the elbow. “You want me to show you how? Thought your mom would have taught you how to when you were in kindergarten.”

“What?” he asked, glancing over. Those blue eyes and pink lips were a weapon and he was unprepared.

She chuckled and reached out to tap the top button on his shirt, the one right up against his neck. “I wasn’t being metaphorical, Bruce. It’s too hot for all the buttons. Cut loose a little.” When he opened his mouth, she rolled onto her back again. “I said a little, not a lot.”

Swallowing, he reached up and unhooked the top two buttons of the shirt. The air was hot and humid, but it felt cool against the skin he’d uncovered on his chest. “Happy?” he asked her.

“Sure,” she said, shielding her eyes from the sun that had come around the tree beside them. “Girls like the kinda-sloppy look, especially when a sexy professor is rocking it.”

Bruce’s laughter sounded almost like a bark and was loud enough to make everyone else at the campsite look in their direction. “Sexy professor, huh?” he asked her. “I didn’t see one around here, but you’re gonna make me jealous of this loser.”

“Bruce,” she said, her tone admonishing, “don’t call yourself a loser.”

God, she was witty and sexy, and she was shamelessly flirting with him. His brain was buzzing as those fantasies that he’d shoved to the recesses of his mind tried to crowd their way to his consciousness. What if she came into his tent that night and put her hands on him? He’d have to stop her, of course. Of course. But when? Couldn’t he just get away with a little bit? Couldn’t he give her pleasure without losing that tenuous grip he had on his control? Couldn’t he just run his lips over the arch of her foot and up the inside of her leg until he could…

“I don’t think Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum know who you are, which is pretty ridiculous.” Her observation knocked him right out of his fantasy.

“It’s probably for the best,” he replied, covering his eyes with his hand as the hot sun beat down on them. “They’d be nervous around me, otherwise. I hate that.” Bruce glanced over at her. She’d covered her eyes with her forearm. “Why aren’t you nervous around me. You know, about… the Other Guy.”

“Thor says you’re cool. He said I could trust you.”

“You know Thor?”

“I’m here with his girlfriend, so yeah. I know Thor.”

“Oh. Right.” Bruce folded his restless hands on his stomach again. “That’s nice of him to say you can trust me.”

“Thor’s, like, the best,” she agreed. “And also a good judge of character.”

“Well, except for when it comes to his brother,” he said.

This made Darcy laugh. “Yeah. That’s so true. Family gets you every time, dude. Every damn time.”

They rested there, side by side, on their backs as the sun climbed a bit higher in the sky. The warmth made Bruce feel drowsy. She shifted until her shoulder was pressed against his again. Tensing, he considered moving away, but if he did, then he’d be halfway off the narrow blanket. He decided to stay right where he was because the press of her skin against his shoulder, even though the shirt, felt indulgent. It wasn’t every day that he got to lie around on blankets with beautiful women who shamelessly flirted with him.

She didn’t push him further, just sighed and settled in for a nap. He did the same because sleeping next to her seemed like a much better use of his time than spinning his mental wheels with Erik and Jane while his consciousness kept drifting back to her red toes and her plush lips and how her skin would feel under his hand or tongue.

[ragwitch]

Hey! I’m back with my prompt that the tumblr fairy ate. Steve/Darcy, Love at first sight AU. (Smut is ok and encouraged!)

Hey! I think it didn’t eat it after all but it was submitted anon. But this is better cause then you’ll know when it came in! No smut, but I think you’ll like it.

Big embarrassing, over-enthusiastic hugs to @wahwahwaffles for betaing this and sharing her love of large noses.

Pairing: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers

Rating: T for language

They said it sounded like bells in your ears when it happened. Or a little triangle chime of punctuation.

Ting, you’ve seen them!

But Jane had said it sounded like fanfare, blaring through her neurons and triggering a migraine. So she hadn’t taken Thor very seriously at first.

So when Darcy sat in front of the television screen with Jane and the camera panned and zoomed in on a soot streaked chiseled jawline and eyes the color of cornflowers on the side of the road, she knew what the bone jarring GONG that ran through her meant.

“Oh my god,” Darcy said, blinking and leaning in closer to the screen. “That’s Captain America. Janie, I love him!”

Jane’s hand patted at her back. “He punched Nazis, Darce. We all love him. Do you see- Is Thor-?”

“Jane,” Darcy said, happily soaking up every second the camera lingered on Captain America’s perfect forehead or his adorably large nose. “I love him.”

Jane blinked and turned to stare at her. “Oh. Oh! Oh, Jesus, we’re a mess.”

“Janie, we have to get to New York, stat!”

_

Stat! had taken four days. Thor was back off-world—Jane was crushed—and Captain America was out of town. And worst of all, not a single one of the other superheroes, not even the Robin Hood, would tell her where he went. Because apparently, she wasn’t the only who ‘loved’ Captain America.

“Unreciprocated Sight isn’t that uncommon,” some quiet redheaded SHIELD lackey had told her with an apologetic shrug.

“But this was like…bone deep,” Darcy pressed. “I mean, jelly legs and numb fingers. It wasn’t just a little bell.”

The redhead studied her for a long moment and Darcy suddenly found herself wanting to shrink under what had previously been a very disinterested gaze.

“Steve Rogers just woke from seventy years of cold,” the woman said with a razor edged voice. “The world, and all the people in it he cared for, moved on without him. So, bell, gong, or tsunami. It can wait.”

_

It waited. Whatever it was.

_

“I think,” Ian chewed at the corner of his lip, warm fingers fiddling with hers. “I think, when I saw you…there was a little ring, you know.”

He pointed up to his ears and raised his eyebrows suggestively but even then it took Darcy longer than it should have to catch on.

“Oh! Oh. Ian…I…” So maybe she shouldn’t have kissed the intern’s intern in the heat of the moment.

His hands pulled away and he flapped them, chuckling or choking. “No, maybe not. Just a little…Probably not.”

_

“There’s a party, at Avengers Tower tonight,” Jane said.

Darcy dug crust out of her eyes—oh, ew! disgusting amounts of crust—and squinted up at Jane.

“I forgot,” Jane said wincing. “We were invited and I was going to take you and then you would finally-”

“Don’t worry about it!” Darcy said quickly, turning back to stare incomprehensibly at the computer screen in front of her.

“No, really,” Jane said. “I found my reminder but…just now.”

“It’s okay,” Darcy said, making her shoulders relax as she turned back to Jane. “Really.”

And she meant it. It had been years and there had been moments where she was a day away from meeting Steve Rogers, Captain America, her Love at First Sight. But she hadn’t and that had to mean something, didn’t it? Lots of people had their Sight land on superheroes. She would have another one. Someday. Probably.

Not knowing was going to be better than knowing that his eyes glazed over her without a second glance.

_

“We’re…we’re going to need to talk to Stark,” Jane said, falling into the spot on the couch next to Darcy. “Now that Thor’s gone. And shit is so…”

“Fucked,” Darcy supplied.

“Yeah, fucked,” Jane said, nodding. “But are you…okay with that? You know, given the whole…”

“Given the whole superhero show down in the airport parking lot?” Darcy asked.

“We could try and get in touch with Cap-” Jane started.

“Nope,” Darcy said, popping the ‘p.’ “You and me, Janie? We were not designed to be fugitives.”

Jane snorted and raised her eyebrows, fighting a grin.

“Okay,” Darcy said laughing, erasing her words with a hand through the air. “We obviously were. But let’s…let’s call Stark. Lay low. Add exorbitant clauses to your contract so that we get designer apartments with jacuzzi tubs and shit.”

“The jets feel so nice on my back,” Jane mused.

“They feel nice on my-”

“Okay,” Jane said, leaping up from the couch. “I’m calling Stark!”

_

“Hey,” Jane said, coming up from behind and wrapping her arms around Darcy’s shoulders.

“Hey,” Darcy whispered, staring out of the Wakandan lab tent they had set up for themselves in a rushed seventy-two hours. “The world almost ended,” she added.

“It did,” Jane said, nodding her chin into Darcy’s shoulder.

“But it didn’t end,” Darcy said.

“It did not,” Jane agreed.

“We helped it not end,” she pointed out.

“Oh we fucking nailed it not ending,” Jane said.

Darcy burst out into laughter but there was a sob close behind, and then another after that until Jane had turned her and wrapped her up in a near painful hug. Every bit of her was shaking and every bit of Jane was shaking and maybe even the ground was still shaking after the crash.

But hey.

Fuck it.

They were alive.

“Janie,” Darcy whispered into copious amounts of tangled hair.

“Hmm?”

“I wanna meet him.”

_

“You’re about to break your fingers,” Jane said, trying to pull Darcy’s tangling twisting fingers apart.

“Better mine than yours,” Darcy said, and her voice was all air.

They were too short for this. Two diminutive women standing on their tiptoes in the remains of the universe’s army. And what a lovely and unusual army it was. She would really appreciate all the diversity (Ent! Raccoon! Goatee Wizard!) if her heart weren’t slamming itself around her ribcage like a wild animal trying to break free.

“Gong girl,” said a low, warm tone.

Darcy blinked at the small, beautiful, blonde woman. “Shield lackey,” she said. “Ohhhhh shit not- no, sorry, not a lackey, obviously. You are…you are…great,” she finished lamely. And then shot finger guns at the Black Widow for safe measure.

“I owe you an apology. And I have someone I’d like you to meet,” Natasha said.

“Heh,” said Darcy, feet turning to mud. But Jane pushed her lightly forward to follow the Black Widow through the crowd. “I’m gonna barf,” she whispered to Jane.

“Ultimately,” Jane said, glancing down at the ground. “That won’t really matter.”

“Hmm,” Darcy said with a delirious nod of agreement.

Then she stopped still. Because a man made out of boulders had stepped out of the way and there was Captain…Steve Rogers, sitting on the back of a vehicle with a bloody cheek and a-

“Sexy as fuck, beard, Janie,” Darcy whimpered.

“Jesus,” Jane agreed.

And he was leaning against another stupidly handsome man who was petting a pile of guns in his lap like cats. Natasha was far ahead of them now, just reaching the vehicle, and he looked up at her approach. And past her to where Darcy was standing.

But Darcy wasn’t a person, she was a pulse, a thundering heavy, panicked pulse.

He was staring at her, standing up.

“Go,” Jane whispered.

“No,” Darcy said, or thought. Because she needed to know. Was it a bell? Or was he feeling the ground shift under his feet, the sky turning sideways overhead?

He passed Natasha with slow steps.

“Darcy,” Jane laughed. “Go.”

“I can’t.”

It didn’t matter. He was coming closer, and there was a gash sealing up on his arm and tears in the knees of his pants and she was on fire probably but who could tell?

“You’re…” he stopped just a foot away and swayed toward her.

Darcy whimpered and held her lips shut tight.

He swallowed and she watched his adam’s apple bob in his throat. Then he closed the distance.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.

She was going to laugh, she really was. But instead she just jumped up and he caught her. And it was a kiss or something like it. If kisses were hungry creatures that tied your throat in knots and tasted like blood and turned your hands into desperate birds, searching for more skin, every unfamiliar bit.

He was holding her a little too hard but she had the hair at the nape of his neck in a vice grip, so that was fair.

“I never thought I’d See you,” he whispered against her ear and she wanted to crawl under his skin at the feeling of his lips anywhere on her.

“I didn’t think you would either,” she said. “Really glad the world didn’t end.”

He barked out a laugh and it was a sunny sound so she swallowed it whole.