#i'll always remember your comiccon story

[littleplebe]

For @hollyspacey. A little something I wrote based on a story you told me ages ago. I had to take some creative freedom with the content but the inspiration definitely came from you. Happy belated birthday, my friend.

“Would you stop fidgeting? People are staring.”

Darcy threw a fleeting glance at an annoyed Jane before going back to spying on the open double doors. All evening, she had been keeping an eye out for Natasha, who had promised her an introduction with her favorite Avenger, the Winter Soldier.

Stark’s New Year’s Eve ball was in full swing but neither the Widow nor the Winter Soldier had made an appearance yet. Despite being nervous as hell, Darcy was beginning to think maybe the redhead had been having her on.

“What if he’s not coming?” she asked Jane, who was gazing longingly at a happy group of scientists standing some distance away. Tony Stark was right in the center of the group, as always commanding all the attention.

Jane tore her eyes from the sight and glared at Darcy. “What if I don’t care?”

Her salty response went unheard as Darcy rambled on. “Oh God, Jane! I swear I’m gonna die of nervousness. Nat says he’s reserved. What if he doesn’t talk to me? Or looks at me like I’m a silly fangirl?”

“No!” Jane gasped comically. “Why would he ever?”

“No, really. What should I say to him? Quick, help me think of something smart.”

“A minute ago, you were wondering whether he’d even show up.”

“It’s a valid concern.” Darcy paused and fluffed her hair for the hundredth time. “But it’s the eve of a new year and I have hope. Besides—”

“There they are,” Jane announced, cutting her off.

“What!”

The astrophysicist cackled when Darcy squeaked and jumped a foot in the air, her head swiveling to the double doors in blatant excitement, only to slump and turn back to Jane with a huff.

“Thanks,” she said. “You’re evil.”

“And you’re pathetic.”

“At least I’m not a liar!”

Jane rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re so worked up about, Darce. He’s just a guy.”

“A really nice, amazing, brave and attractive guy,” Darcy added emphatically. “He’s an Avenger! He’s not just some guy. I’m just a girl.”

“You’re amazing, too.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t know that.”

Jane sighed in resignation and gave up trying to make her friend see sense. The girl was apparently a goner, and when Darcy lost it, it was better to wait and let her calm down by herself.

Ten agonizing minutes later—during which Jane had to endure all kinds of crazy questions from “do my breasts look too big in this dress?” to “do you think he likes blanket forts?”—Natasha Romanoff finally arrived on the arm of Bruce Banner, followed by a subdued looking Bucky Barnes. All three of them made a beeline for the bar. Bruce especially looked like he could use some liquid courage to get him through the night.

Jane, having spotted them first, nudged Darcy. “They’re here.”

The brunette scoffed and barely looked up from her phone, in which she was obsessively checking her reflection. “Ugh. I look so slutty in this dress, Janey. Look at the amount of cleavage I’m flashing! I should have worn a scarf. Or a cardigan. You think that guy over there will lend me his coat?”

“You look fine,” Jane hissed, seizing Darcy’s jaw and forcing her face up. “Look over there.”

“Jane, what—oh!” Her eyes widened and a tiny moan escaped her lips. Jane let go of her immediately. “He’s here. Oh God, he’s here! What are we gonna do? What are we… shit, sorry for poking you!” Jane rubbed her throbbing eye while Darcy gushed, “Have you ever seen anyone so beautiful?”

“Everyone in this room is beautiful.”

“Hey, I just thought of the perfect ice breaker.”

“You’re not asking the Winter Soldier how much a polar bear weighs.”

“Why not?” She pulled out her phone excitedly. “I’m gonna take a picture of his thighs, just in case I never see him again.”

Jane dragged a weary hand down her face. It was like talking to a rock. Nothing except the Winter Soldier’s presence seemed to be penetrating Darcy’s mind, least of all good judgment. She caught Natasha’s eye and waved frantically.

“Over here!”

Jane had no doubts about the hilarity that would ensue thereafter, but even she could not predict the level of embarrassment her best friend would have to endure in the next few minutes.

While Bruce went to join the circle of conferring scientists, Natasha dragged Barnes in the direction of the two women, one of whom was subtly trying to adjust her dress again.

“Nat!” Jane greeted, giving the redhead a quick hug. “I was starting to think you had ditched us.”

“The thought crossed my mind… but I had a promise to keep.” Natasha’s green eyes twinkled as she threw Darcy a wink. “Barnes isn’t too keen on parties. I had to bribe him to make an appearance.” The man beside her said nothing, so she casually pointed at each woman and said, “Dr. Jane Foster. Darcy Lewis. They’re visiting Stark for the holidays. Ladies, meet Bucky Barnes, popularly known as the Weiner Soldier.”

Barnes grunted.

“I mean, the Winter Soldier.” Natasha smirked. “Oops.”

Jane suppressed a snort and smiled politely. “Sergeant Barnes.”

He didn’t seem inclined to do anything but nod. Jane was fine with it. Darcy wasn’t. She thrust out her hand and held it between them until a surprised Barnes finally reached for it and gave it a gentle shake.

Darcy let out a giggle, uttered a breathy hi, and forgot that handshakes were meant to be brief. With his hand still clasped securely in hers, she stammered, “I… uh… make excellent blanket forts.”

Jane resisted the urge to slap a hand to her forehead.

Barnes looked utterly nonplussed by her unexpected declaration and Jane could hardly blame him. Darcy’s quirkiness was bewildering at best and annoying at worst, but once you got used to it, nothing seemed more entertaining than her ability to say absolutely anything at any given moment.

Right now, it didn’t seem like she had the wits to follow her statement with an explanation. In fact, judging by her expression and the way her eyes closed as if to say ‘what the frakity frak, Darcy?!’, she definitely hadn’t intended on blanket forts being the first words out of her mouth when she met her long time crush.

“Don’t worry,” Jane jumped to the rescue. “She’s not fishing for compliments.”

Darcy turned pink and hastily shook her head when Barnes looked back at her. Despite her uncharacteristic bout of shyness, her wide eyes were trained firmly on him, as if afraid he would disappear if she looked away or let go of his hand.

“She’s not crazy either,” Jane added. “Our girl here doesn’t have the best record with first meetings.”

“She tazed Thor when he first landed on Earth,” Natasha supplied helpfully. “And sprayed Sam with red ink when they met.”

That seemed to pique Barnes’ interest. The tension around his eyes started to ease and his lips parted in a faint smile. When he spoke, his voice was low and gruff. (Jane had to admit, it was pretty sexy.)

“I’m sure birdbrain deserved it.”

Darcy’s jaw dropped and she nodded vigorously. “He… yeah, he did. Do you… want to know what happened?”

“Yeah.”

While a beaming Darcy launched into her tale, Jane turned to an amused Natasha and whispered, “What are we doing? She’s gonna eat him alive.”

The redhead grinned. “He may look broody, but he’s just as wild.”

“What exactly do you think is going to happen here?”

“Dunno. I’m just doing my part as the Avengers’ personal Cupid. Barnes needs someone fun and sassy like Lewis.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “Ever the matchmaker.”

“I try.” There was a pause, then Nat murmured, “Let’s make this interesting. Ten bucks says they get together by the end of this week.”

It was wrong to bet on a friend’s love life but it was also stupid to refuse an opportunity to bet against the Widow. She may be the winner of several Avenger betting pools, but Jane knew Darcy the best. This bet was hers.

“Alright. Twenty says she embarrasses herself before the night ends.”

“You’re on.”

Darcy and Bucky were still talking about Sam Wilson when both women tuned back into their conversation. Out of all the things in the world, it was their shared love of antagonizing the Falcon that had done the trick. They were bonding, and although Darcy appeared to be doing most of the talking, Barnes didn’t look like he minded. His eyes frequently crinkled in amusement as he listened to her speak. Jane noticed his hand was still trapped in hers and his thumb moved almost absently across the back of Darcy’s hand.

“We should go,” Nat announced after a while. “There are a few people who want to meet us. Also, Steve’s over there being a wallflower again.” The redhead jerked her thumb to the left and sure enough, on the other side of the room, the Captain was silently lurking in the shadows with a glass of whiskey in hand. “I need to teach him some manners.”

Barnes followed her gaze and huffed out a fond laugh. “He’s worse than me. Punk hates parties.” He shook his head and turned back to Darcy. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Lewis.” He squeezed her hand and almost looked reluctant to let it go.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Soldier. No, that’s not right. I mean, Sergeant Soldier… I mean…” she trailed away, flustered. “Shit.”

Barnes bit back a smile. “Call me Bucky.”

Jane shot a smug smile at Natasha. She was winning. Just one last thing to do. “Hey, why don’t we all take a picture together, yes? For memory’s sake.”

Darcy perked up. “Great idea.” She’d wanted a selfie with Bucky Barnes forever. She whipped out her phone and all four of them stepped closer to each other. They stood primly for the first couple of clicks. Then, Natasha made duck lips and Jane winked. Darcy stuck out her tongue and Bucky laughed. Someone behind them belched comically and that made him laugh more.

“Let’s see them,” Jane said, stealing the phone from Darcy and swiping through the pictures. “These are so good.”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Barnes laugh all week,” teased Natasha, looking over her shoulder.

“Just because I don’t find your jokes funny,” Bucky began.

“Hey, what’s this?” Jane cut in, holding up the phone so they could all see the picture Darcy had taken earlier of Bucky Barnes’ wonderfully muscular thighs.

Darcy cried out and snatched the phone from Jane’s hand, but it was too late. They had already seen what was in there. She went bright red and so did Bucky. But he also looked like he was trying not to smile, which was a good sign.

“That’s not… I mean, I didn’t…” While Darcy hopelessly tried to explain the photograph, Natasha pulled a twenty dollar bill from her bra and handed it to Jane.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Yep,” Jane said cheerfully.

“… it’s for scientific reasons, I swear,” Darcy finished lamely, picking at her dress and avoiding his eyes.

Bucky cleared his throat. “That… makes sense, I guess.”

He was humoring her. Jane decided she liked him.

The sudden awkwardness that had settled over them was cute… and kinda funny. Everyone knew Nat was a sucker for such situations and liked to revel in them, but she said they really needed to mingle, so Jane nodded and watched as both Avengers bade them farewell and walked away.

“Bye.” Darcy let out a long breath and then rounded on Jane. “What the hell? Why would you do that to me?”

Jane could have responded with sass or she could have apologized, but frankly, she was more interested in the way Bucky turned one last time to take a peek at Darcy.

Oh, it was going to be a good new year indeed.