mini nanowrimo, word count 1075, gimme a deadeye and burn the british
here's something new you might not know about me. i love diners. i love diner food. i love checkerboard floor tiles and chrome fixtures. i love juke boxes and milkshakes. i love diner sitcoms. i was a nut of a kid that loved Alice. i love diner slang. that being said. i also love the character of darcy lewis. this is not an au. darcy lewis is the only one, sadly, in food service. though if you want you can totally imagine nick fury as the sassy short order cook. i won't look.
so i made mutant baby of a fic where darcy the grad student post-Thor living in nyc works in a diner to make ends meet. a theme diner. i know, i hate me too. not as much as darcy though.
i've been working on this fic here and there. the last scene is what i came up with today for mini nano. :)
Title: Gimme a Deadeye and Burn the British
Author: clumsygyrl/thegirlthatisclumsy
Fandom: Avengers Movieverse
Pairings: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers
Summary: This was not how post-graduate life was supposed to be, then again Darcy Lewis had come to accept the surreal and mundane as part and parcel of her awesomely weird life.
Author's Notes: This is my Darcy works at a diner to finance grad school. I worked food service; this does not directly correlate how much I dislike people. It helped though. ;) Basically my take on Darcy as a waitress post-B.A. and as I have never seen 2 Broke girls, I'm going to just say any similarities therein are coincidental.
Gimme a Deadeye and Burn the British
This was not how post-graduate life was supposed to be, then again Darcy Lewis had come to accept the surreal and mundane as part and parcel of her awesomely weird life.
She was pretty sure that polyester and victory roll bangs were not actually part of her ten year plan, but what were you going to do. Needs must and needs needed payments. Needs being bills, student loan payments, and rent.
She could have done without the skirt that she was pretty sure was not era correct, but whatever, it got her better tips and at least her boss let her trade in period correct heels for comfortable Cons.
+
“Gimme a cowboy with spurs drag 'em both through Wisconsin and a cowboy coffee!” Darcy yelled through the pass through, smacking her gum and rolling her shoulders. She was at the tail end of a six hour shift and everything ached. She was looking down the rest of a night reworking her proposal for her thesis and was debating staying extra hours to avoid the mess that was her desk slash bed slash couch or big girl panty up and actually read her damn outline.
“Miss Darcy, you can damn well make the coffee yourself!” Henry yelled from the kitchen.
“Sugar, you make it so much better with the stuff you're stashing behind your radio. Don't even lie to me. I can smell the chicory from here,” Darcy shot back and surveyed the somewhat controlled chaos of the dinner rush.
They weren't the busiest themed diners in the city, but it they were popular in their corner of the burrough. It was the height of tourist season, and even if it was technically the school year, they were still pulling in visitors from different lands and timezones. It wasn't cushy like the stint in Arizona, but it was good.
Hell, nothing was like the stint in Arizona.
“Ash, damn, honey, you look like crap,” Darcy said tugging her in for a one armed hug as she poured a refill down the line of customers at the counter.
Ashley smiled weakly at Darcy. “I'm quitting.”
Darcy groaned and set the coffee pot back on the warmer. “Is it because of...?”
Ashley rubbed her face with her hand and she nodded. She wasn't even technically allowed to be out in front of the house in her civvies. The top knot of her ponytail and her Rutgers sweatshirt were not actually in uniform but Darcy could give about two fucks. Her friend looked wrecked. She'd looked wrecked since Darcy had met her about two months ago, when Darcy had started working at Leroy's. “The meds are working, but I can't be in the city. I can't be here. And with school starting up soon, I don't want to be here and see. All of it. I'm safer in Jersey,” she said with a watery little laugh.
Darcy expertly slid a slice of pie in front of her customer with a wink and she dolloped a hill of fresh whipped cream onto it. She turned back to Ash and hugged her again. “No one has ever said that about Jersey, but I believe you. You going back to work at your folks' place then?”
Ashley nodded and she leaned against Darcy and Darcy felt good that she could be solid and strong for someone for a change. “I hate leaving you and all the girls hanging.”
“We'll make do. You taught me the way, Obi Wan. I'm going to be the chipperest pseudo-Swing era Lindy hopper waitress that Leroy's ever put out. Thanks to you,” Darcy cracked her gum and made Ashley laugh.
“Damn right. You realize this means you have to visit me. Take care of my regulars for me,” Ashley looked around Leroy's like she was trying to memorize the space.
“Of course. I have strong capable hands and awesome shoulders,” Darcy swung around when Henry yelled.
“Cowboy with spurs drug through Wisconsin up! And your damn cowboy coffee, Miz Darcy Anne,” Henry slid the plates through the gap and Darcy swooped them up. “You're my favorite curmudgeon Henry!”
Ashley laughed and Henry blew Ashley a kiss. “You don't be a stranger. I don't fancy trekking through that hellhole to find you Miz Ashley Marie.” The point was made with the greasy sharp end of a spatula.
Ashley held up her hands and looked a bit better from the laughter and from Henry's insult to her homestate. “Wouldn't dream of it, Hank.”
Darcy served the cheeseburger and cheese fries to the man at the end of the counter and set the chicory coffee in front of him with a little side step to Monique who bustled in bringing the cold from the fast approaching change in weather.
“That means you too, Darce. Come to Jersey. Visit. I know you're going to be busy with school yourself, but don't forget about me,” Ashley said grabbing her hand as she passed to retrieve creamer and sugar.
“Sweetie, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried. Just ask my best friend. And that one has about three different degrees on moving bodies,” Darcy said with a kiss to her friend's cheek. “Now get going. You'll get stuck in the rain and miss the train.”
Ashley gave her one more squeeze. “Take care, Darce.”
+
Darcy's life at turns was tragic and comical.
Ashley made it safe home to Jersey and Darcy... well, she was looking down the barrel of a very big gun.
+
“Look, man. The safe can't be opened. It's on a timer. There's a slot for the cash to go in and it can't be opened without a special code. As a waitress, I do not have said code,” Darcy said, eyes crossing as she focused at the butt end of a very large shiny black gun. Her first thought was that it was really period inappropriate for a 1940s replica diner then the second thought was that she needed to get her shit together.
And her hand on her tazer that was in her apron pocket behind her notepad.
The dinner rush had died down. Monique had slipped on a spilled milkshake and Owen had begged for Darcy to stay for a double.
She needed the cash and needed to not be in the general vicinity of her notes. She'd said yes and buckled down for the post-club drunken rush of co-eds.
She'd planned for drunken asshattery.
She had not necessarily planned for armed robbery.
Which in and of itself was stupid because she lived in the big city now and it was to be expected with crime rates and urbanization and all that jazz, but she'd never actually had a gun pointed at her face. She licked her lips, mouth dry from her speech. She thought she'd be better at this. She'd faced down a god and a metal robot and aliens, but those felt like a different life. The gun and the bullets in it seemed much more present and real.
“Listen, bitch. Open up the register and give me what's inside or I will fucking kill you,” the guy stuttered and that scared Darcy even more.
Mean she could deal with but scared and with a gun, that just spelled fucking trouble. She nodded and she punched in the keys into the old fashioned register and it was the clinking noises of the keys and the rattle of the drawer that was loud in the quiet of the diner. The jukebox had been the first casuality. A bullet to its guts and that just killed all the noise. Darcy shakily put all the bills into a paper bag and bobbled the tray when she tried to get at the coins.
It was a fucking comedy of horrors when Darcy heard the gunshot and saw the drawer shatter in her hands. Bits of wood and metal burst from the contact and someone screamed.
So many more screams and bullets then the sound of breaking glass. There was a burning ache line of fire running across her arm and she had no idea how she'd ended up on the ground.
“Oh, sweet Jesus. Miz Darcy! Darcy! Baby girl you stay awake,” she heard the yell and more shouts. It sounded like the whine of an engine or a laser or something not like a car. Her head ached and it was really hard trying to see through the narrowing light, the dark pressing in a tight tunnel.
Someone had obviously spilled the cherry and chocolate syrups all over the floor.
Funny, she thought they'd be cold but they felt warm against her side.
+
Darcy was in pain. It wasn't a pain she was used to. Her feet usually ached from a long shift. Her feet hated her after working doubles. Her head hurt usually right behind her eyes from too much reading, but this pain was a lot worse and in odd places.
“Oh god! Darcy! You're awake!”
Darcy tried to open her eyes but the light was damn bright. “Ja'e?”
“Yeah, it's me,” Jane cupped her hands to Darcy's cheeks and smiled at her. “You're alive.”
“'pp'rently,” Darcy muttered and forced her eyes open wide, squinting at the lights. “Lights, Jane.”
The lights dimmed and the air crackled with static and Darcy smiled a little at that. Turning her head was interesting and very painful, but she did it any way. “Hey, Thunderdude. Didn't even know you were on this side of the galaxy,” she tried to sit up and Jane pushed the button that made the bed move.
Hospital, Darcy concluded. Her hand was taped up with an IV just like when she was nine and had to have her tonsils out. The bandages she could feel around her torso was new and the extra padding of what she assumed were more bandages against the back of her head was also new.
“I was gone for a middling bit of time, but returned soon after to collect fair Jane from the land of ice and steaks of cheese,” Thor said, his voice was loud and it echoed like an angry howl inside Darcy's head.
“They sent you to Philly?” Darcy asked wincing when Jane grimaced and nodded. “Wow. I thought after they split us up they'd at least put you up somewhere nice. I got to go home to California.”
Jane shrugged with her usual nonchalance. “No big deal. It wasn't for long. I got to publish some of the research.”
Darcy thought that was the least the shady government thugs could let Jane do. “So, you fixed the rainbow and got your guy back. It's like the happy ending to a really awesome movie.”
Thor beamed at her and he placed a big hand on her knee. Darcy could feel the heat of his hand through the sheet. “We were not aware you were living in the same fair city as we, Lady Darcy. Why did you not attempt to contact me?”
Darcy side eyed Thor and snorted. “Thor, man. You are a sweetheart, but unlike lazy superheroes who go swanning off to rescue fair maidens, I have bills to pay.” She winked at him. “S.H.I.E.L.D. was really pretty clear about my whole involvement with you guys. I had to sign about twenty non disclosure things to be able to, you know, finish out school and apply to grad school. Jane knew where I was.”
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Darce,” Jane muttered and waved a hand at Thor. “She's busy, Thor. I remember what it was like working on my first master's. Her schooling comes first and she was... safer.”
Thor frowned but he couldn't argue.
Or so Darcy thought.
“You should not work in your food serving any longer, Lady Darcy. Not when rough men come in and assault you for bits of paper and metal coin,” Thor said and nodded as if it were law.
Darcy and Jane exchanged a look. “Thor, I know that you're an alien so I'm not even going to be mad at the whole thing with your ways, but Lewis women have always made their own ways in the world and they're not going to be scared of life. It's not in us,” Darcy patted his arm and she felt the metal of the gauntlet and Jane squeezed her free hand. “So, apparently I got shot.”
“Just a little,” Jane said trying to joke.
“Awesome, anyone else get hurt?” Darcy asked, almost afraid. There were plenty of people in the diner and if she were the only one hit she'd be surprised. “Oh, god. Henry, is he...”
“The cook? He's fine. He yelled at the EMTs. He said he'd been doing field dressing before they were born. Served in 'Nam,” Jane tried to mimick Henry's rasp but her imitation of Henry was just as bad as her imitation of Erik's were. “The bullet went through the cash drawer and sliced between your ribs. You knocked your head against the counter. Your arm also got a graze from another bullet.” Jane tried for a bright smile but it was shaky. “God, Darce. You could have been killed.”
Darcy nodded, because she couldn't dispute that fact. “I'm okay. Or I will be thanks to some awesome painkillers and some time to heal.”
All told it wasn't the worst case scenario. There were a few wounded and the only dead was the scared kid with the gun. Darcy knew it was the adrenaline crash and the meds, but she was tired.
“We'll see you tomorrow, Darce,” Jane said kissing her forehead.
Darcy smiled and waved them off. “Go save the world. I'll keep this bed warm.”
And Darcy thought that was that.
+
Darcy was often wrong when it came to her life.
Her stay in the hospital was overnight, a night she spent most of drugged out of her mind. Owen stopped by and gave her two days off. “I don't want more than that Owen. I'll be fine. Jesus,” Darcy had said and hugged him. Poor guy looked more shook up than she was.
Darcy knew she'd probably have nightmares and that she'd be having a lot to talk about with her mother in the following days, but all she really wanted was to curl up in her tiny studio and sleep in her own uncomfortable bed. She groaned thinking about her mother and the gentle tirade that had raged when she'd gotten that call.
“No, Ma. You are not flying out here. Respect my boundaries. Please, for the love of Buddha, just... Thelma Louise!” Darcy had all but yelled. She heard the beep of her heart monitor accelerate.
“Darcy Anne, do not do that. I am your mother. I know that you are trying to actualize and launch, but you were SHOT. I am still influenced by my own childhood traumas and the influence of being raised Jewish in a predominantly female environment. It is bred into me to want to coddle you or guilt you into being coddled. Live with it,” Thelma said snippily.
“I have. For over twenty three years, Ma,” Darcy said and closed her eyes.
Thelma sighed. “Baby, please. I need to see you okay with my own eyes.”
Darcy decided on compromise. Lewis women were muleheaded, but they weren't unreasonable. “I will Skype you when I get back to my place okay? I will let you see the stitches and the wounds and you will see that I am okay. I will read off my prescription bottles to you and you can webmd the effects. You can ask Dr. Shah about them, but please you have to stay there.”
“You have nothing to prove to anyone, Darcy,” Thelma finally said after a long pause.
“Yes, I do, Ma. You know that,” Darcy picked up the plastic cup and sipped the water, stale and warm, but still refreshing.
“Ugh, okay. I know. Fine,” Thelma gave in with a barely there expletive. “The moment you get back to your place and I want to see it all.”
Darcy nodded even though her mother couldn't see it. “Scout's honor, Ma.”
“You got kicked out of Scouts for kissing Emily Johnston,” Thelma laughed and it was a comfort to hear the sound.
“Worth it,” Darcy said with a yawn. “Love you, Ma. Going to sleep. Then I will text you when I am discharged and will Skype you. No pestering before then.”
Thelma sighed. “Okay. Your grandmother will...”
Darcy swore. “You didn't tell her did you?”
“Darcy Anne...”
Darcy wanted to bang her head back against the bed, but she knew head wound plus fast velocity impact against surface was a bad idea. “I will call her tomorrow night after our Skype call. Okay?”
“Fine. Go to sleep, baby. Mama loves you.”
Darcy smiled at that. “G'night, Mama.”
The morning brought Jane bustling in with a tall redhead that looked like her outfit cost more than Darcy's entire four year college tuition and looked scarily competent. “Morning, Darce!”
Darcy blinked at Jane and sipped her canned apple juice. “Morning,” she mumbled around the juice and smiled at the stranger. Her hair was up in a tangle of a bun and she was pretty sure she was in need of a shower and probably now smelled like a cross between a greasy spoon diner and hospital antiseptic. Classy a smell it was not.
“Good morning, Darcy. Jane's told us a lot about you,” the redhead held out her hand and Darcy took it in the one that wasn't bandaged or IV'd. “I'm Pepper. Pepper Potts, I work with Jane.”
Darcy blinked again and she shook the hand. “Uh, pardon but I'm pretty sure you have that backwards or something. The org chart on that is wrong.”
Pepper laughed and Darcy thought even her laugh was classy. “Well, Dr. Foster is employed by Stark Industries, but I'm an employee just like she is.”
Darcy was pretty sure it was still the awesome morphine they were giving her that made her say, “I think you should get hazard pay, I mean, you work directly with Tony Stark. He has got to be at least two full time jobs from what I hear.”
Pepper's eyebrow arched and she smirked. “Eh, maybe two and a half, but I stopped counting.”
Jane giggled and Darcy shook her head. “Jane, please tell me you know when they're springing me,” Darcy said shifting on the plastic sheets of the bed. She winced when her side twinged.
“The nurse said the doctor was coming to check you over and then the they'd bring in your discharge paperwork,” Jane said patting Darcy's hand.
Darcy sighed and broke off a few grapes and chewed them slowly and looked from Jane to Pepper. “What was that look?”
“You're coming to the Tower to recuperate,” Jane said and Darcy choked on grape peel and spit.
“No. And again, HELL NO.” Darcy waved her uninjured hand at Jane. “That place is Bad Guy Attacking Get Hurt Central, how is that a place to recuperate? I'm much more comfortable and safer in my tiny nothing little place a subway ride away in Brooklyn.”
Jane made a face either at Darcy's description of her place of residence or Brooklyn.
Either way, Darcy was kind of insulted. “My place is fine. I would appreciate a ride. If you can't do that, then I'll take a cab.”
Jane pressed her lips together and Pepper shook her head slightly. “I'm pretty sure they won't release you unless you have someone with you. It's the head injury,” Pepper neatly stacked Darcy's dirty dishes on the tray and moved them out of the way.
Darcy let out an impressive string of curses in two different languages. Jane frowned and Pepper shrugged. “Them's the breaks, kid.”
“I never thought I'd feel bad for a multi billionaire before...”
Pepper patted Darcy's hand. “Welcome to the family, kiddo.”
+
Author's note: "gimme a deadeye" is a sunnyside up fried egg and "burn the british" is a toasted english muffin. :)
so i made mutant baby of a fic where darcy the grad student post-Thor living in nyc works in a diner to make ends meet. a theme diner. i know, i hate me too. not as much as darcy though.
i've been working on this fic here and there. the last scene is what i came up with today for mini nano. :)
Title: Gimme a Deadeye and Burn the British
Author: clumsygyrl/thegirlthatisclumsy
Fandom: Avengers Movieverse
Pairings: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers
Summary: This was not how post-graduate life was supposed to be, then again Darcy Lewis had come to accept the surreal and mundane as part and parcel of her awesomely weird life.
Author's Notes: This is my Darcy works at a diner to finance grad school. I worked food service; this does not directly correlate how much I dislike people. It helped though. ;) Basically my take on Darcy as a waitress post-B.A. and as I have never seen 2 Broke girls, I'm going to just say any similarities therein are coincidental.
Gimme a Deadeye and Burn the British
This was not how post-graduate life was supposed to be, then again Darcy Lewis had come to accept the surreal and mundane as part and parcel of her awesomely weird life.
She was pretty sure that polyester and victory roll bangs were not actually part of her ten year plan, but what were you going to do. Needs must and needs needed payments. Needs being bills, student loan payments, and rent.
She could have done without the skirt that she was pretty sure was not era correct, but whatever, it got her better tips and at least her boss let her trade in period correct heels for comfortable Cons.
+
“Gimme a cowboy with spurs drag 'em both through Wisconsin and a cowboy coffee!” Darcy yelled through the pass through, smacking her gum and rolling her shoulders. She was at the tail end of a six hour shift and everything ached. She was looking down the rest of a night reworking her proposal for her thesis and was debating staying extra hours to avoid the mess that was her desk slash bed slash couch or big girl panty up and actually read her damn outline.
“Miss Darcy, you can damn well make the coffee yourself!” Henry yelled from the kitchen.
“Sugar, you make it so much better with the stuff you're stashing behind your radio. Don't even lie to me. I can smell the chicory from here,” Darcy shot back and surveyed the somewhat controlled chaos of the dinner rush.
They weren't the busiest themed diners in the city, but it they were popular in their corner of the burrough. It was the height of tourist season, and even if it was technically the school year, they were still pulling in visitors from different lands and timezones. It wasn't cushy like the stint in Arizona, but it was good.
Hell, nothing was like the stint in Arizona.
“Ash, damn, honey, you look like crap,” Darcy said tugging her in for a one armed hug as she poured a refill down the line of customers at the counter.
Ashley smiled weakly at Darcy. “I'm quitting.”
Darcy groaned and set the coffee pot back on the warmer. “Is it because of...?”
Ashley rubbed her face with her hand and she nodded. She wasn't even technically allowed to be out in front of the house in her civvies. The top knot of her ponytail and her Rutgers sweatshirt were not actually in uniform but Darcy could give about two fucks. Her friend looked wrecked. She'd looked wrecked since Darcy had met her about two months ago, when Darcy had started working at Leroy's. “The meds are working, but I can't be in the city. I can't be here. And with school starting up soon, I don't want to be here and see. All of it. I'm safer in Jersey,” she said with a watery little laugh.
Darcy expertly slid a slice of pie in front of her customer with a wink and she dolloped a hill of fresh whipped cream onto it. She turned back to Ash and hugged her again. “No one has ever said that about Jersey, but I believe you. You going back to work at your folks' place then?”
Ashley nodded and she leaned against Darcy and Darcy felt good that she could be solid and strong for someone for a change. “I hate leaving you and all the girls hanging.”
“We'll make do. You taught me the way, Obi Wan. I'm going to be the chipperest pseudo-Swing era Lindy hopper waitress that Leroy's ever put out. Thanks to you,” Darcy cracked her gum and made Ashley laugh.
“Damn right. You realize this means you have to visit me. Take care of my regulars for me,” Ashley looked around Leroy's like she was trying to memorize the space.
“Of course. I have strong capable hands and awesome shoulders,” Darcy swung around when Henry yelled.
“Cowboy with spurs drug through Wisconsin up! And your damn cowboy coffee, Miz Darcy Anne,” Henry slid the plates through the gap and Darcy swooped them up. “You're my favorite curmudgeon Henry!”
Ashley laughed and Henry blew Ashley a kiss. “You don't be a stranger. I don't fancy trekking through that hellhole to find you Miz Ashley Marie.” The point was made with the greasy sharp end of a spatula.
Ashley held up her hands and looked a bit better from the laughter and from Henry's insult to her homestate. “Wouldn't dream of it, Hank.”
Darcy served the cheeseburger and cheese fries to the man at the end of the counter and set the chicory coffee in front of him with a little side step to Monique who bustled in bringing the cold from the fast approaching change in weather.
“That means you too, Darce. Come to Jersey. Visit. I know you're going to be busy with school yourself, but don't forget about me,” Ashley said grabbing her hand as she passed to retrieve creamer and sugar.
“Sweetie, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried. Just ask my best friend. And that one has about three different degrees on moving bodies,” Darcy said with a kiss to her friend's cheek. “Now get going. You'll get stuck in the rain and miss the train.”
Ashley gave her one more squeeze. “Take care, Darce.”
+
Darcy's life at turns was tragic and comical.
Ashley made it safe home to Jersey and Darcy... well, she was looking down the barrel of a very big gun.
+
“Look, man. The safe can't be opened. It's on a timer. There's a slot for the cash to go in and it can't be opened without a special code. As a waitress, I do not have said code,” Darcy said, eyes crossing as she focused at the butt end of a very large shiny black gun. Her first thought was that it was really period inappropriate for a 1940s replica diner then the second thought was that she needed to get her shit together.
And her hand on her tazer that was in her apron pocket behind her notepad.
The dinner rush had died down. Monique had slipped on a spilled milkshake and Owen had begged for Darcy to stay for a double.
She needed the cash and needed to not be in the general vicinity of her notes. She'd said yes and buckled down for the post-club drunken rush of co-eds.
She'd planned for drunken asshattery.
She had not necessarily planned for armed robbery.
Which in and of itself was stupid because she lived in the big city now and it was to be expected with crime rates and urbanization and all that jazz, but she'd never actually had a gun pointed at her face. She licked her lips, mouth dry from her speech. She thought she'd be better at this. She'd faced down a god and a metal robot and aliens, but those felt like a different life. The gun and the bullets in it seemed much more present and real.
“Listen, bitch. Open up the register and give me what's inside or I will fucking kill you,” the guy stuttered and that scared Darcy even more.
Mean she could deal with but scared and with a gun, that just spelled fucking trouble. She nodded and she punched in the keys into the old fashioned register and it was the clinking noises of the keys and the rattle of the drawer that was loud in the quiet of the diner. The jukebox had been the first casuality. A bullet to its guts and that just killed all the noise. Darcy shakily put all the bills into a paper bag and bobbled the tray when she tried to get at the coins.
It was a fucking comedy of horrors when Darcy heard the gunshot and saw the drawer shatter in her hands. Bits of wood and metal burst from the contact and someone screamed.
So many more screams and bullets then the sound of breaking glass. There was a burning ache line of fire running across her arm and she had no idea how she'd ended up on the ground.
“Oh, sweet Jesus. Miz Darcy! Darcy! Baby girl you stay awake,” she heard the yell and more shouts. It sounded like the whine of an engine or a laser or something not like a car. Her head ached and it was really hard trying to see through the narrowing light, the dark pressing in a tight tunnel.
Someone had obviously spilled the cherry and chocolate syrups all over the floor.
Funny, she thought they'd be cold but they felt warm against her side.
+
Darcy was in pain. It wasn't a pain she was used to. Her feet usually ached from a long shift. Her feet hated her after working doubles. Her head hurt usually right behind her eyes from too much reading, but this pain was a lot worse and in odd places.
“Oh god! Darcy! You're awake!”
Darcy tried to open her eyes but the light was damn bright. “Ja'e?”
“Yeah, it's me,” Jane cupped her hands to Darcy's cheeks and smiled at her. “You're alive.”
“'pp'rently,” Darcy muttered and forced her eyes open wide, squinting at the lights. “Lights, Jane.”
The lights dimmed and the air crackled with static and Darcy smiled a little at that. Turning her head was interesting and very painful, but she did it any way. “Hey, Thunderdude. Didn't even know you were on this side of the galaxy,” she tried to sit up and Jane pushed the button that made the bed move.
Hospital, Darcy concluded. Her hand was taped up with an IV just like when she was nine and had to have her tonsils out. The bandages she could feel around her torso was new and the extra padding of what she assumed were more bandages against the back of her head was also new.
“I was gone for a middling bit of time, but returned soon after to collect fair Jane from the land of ice and steaks of cheese,” Thor said, his voice was loud and it echoed like an angry howl inside Darcy's head.
“They sent you to Philly?” Darcy asked wincing when Jane grimaced and nodded. “Wow. I thought after they split us up they'd at least put you up somewhere nice. I got to go home to California.”
Jane shrugged with her usual nonchalance. “No big deal. It wasn't for long. I got to publish some of the research.”
Darcy thought that was the least the shady government thugs could let Jane do. “So, you fixed the rainbow and got your guy back. It's like the happy ending to a really awesome movie.”
Thor beamed at her and he placed a big hand on her knee. Darcy could feel the heat of his hand through the sheet. “We were not aware you were living in the same fair city as we, Lady Darcy. Why did you not attempt to contact me?”
Darcy side eyed Thor and snorted. “Thor, man. You are a sweetheart, but unlike lazy superheroes who go swanning off to rescue fair maidens, I have bills to pay.” She winked at him. “S.H.I.E.L.D. was really pretty clear about my whole involvement with you guys. I had to sign about twenty non disclosure things to be able to, you know, finish out school and apply to grad school. Jane knew where I was.”
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Darce,” Jane muttered and waved a hand at Thor. “She's busy, Thor. I remember what it was like working on my first master's. Her schooling comes first and she was... safer.”
Thor frowned but he couldn't argue.
Or so Darcy thought.
“You should not work in your food serving any longer, Lady Darcy. Not when rough men come in and assault you for bits of paper and metal coin,” Thor said and nodded as if it were law.
Darcy and Jane exchanged a look. “Thor, I know that you're an alien so I'm not even going to be mad at the whole thing with your ways, but Lewis women have always made their own ways in the world and they're not going to be scared of life. It's not in us,” Darcy patted his arm and she felt the metal of the gauntlet and Jane squeezed her free hand. “So, apparently I got shot.”
“Just a little,” Jane said trying to joke.
“Awesome, anyone else get hurt?” Darcy asked, almost afraid. There were plenty of people in the diner and if she were the only one hit she'd be surprised. “Oh, god. Henry, is he...”
“The cook? He's fine. He yelled at the EMTs. He said he'd been doing field dressing before they were born. Served in 'Nam,” Jane tried to mimick Henry's rasp but her imitation of Henry was just as bad as her imitation of Erik's were. “The bullet went through the cash drawer and sliced between your ribs. You knocked your head against the counter. Your arm also got a graze from another bullet.” Jane tried for a bright smile but it was shaky. “God, Darce. You could have been killed.”
Darcy nodded, because she couldn't dispute that fact. “I'm okay. Or I will be thanks to some awesome painkillers and some time to heal.”
All told it wasn't the worst case scenario. There were a few wounded and the only dead was the scared kid with the gun. Darcy knew it was the adrenaline crash and the meds, but she was tired.
“We'll see you tomorrow, Darce,” Jane said kissing her forehead.
Darcy smiled and waved them off. “Go save the world. I'll keep this bed warm.”
And Darcy thought that was that.
+
Darcy was often wrong when it came to her life.
Her stay in the hospital was overnight, a night she spent most of drugged out of her mind. Owen stopped by and gave her two days off. “I don't want more than that Owen. I'll be fine. Jesus,” Darcy had said and hugged him. Poor guy looked more shook up than she was.
Darcy knew she'd probably have nightmares and that she'd be having a lot to talk about with her mother in the following days, but all she really wanted was to curl up in her tiny studio and sleep in her own uncomfortable bed. She groaned thinking about her mother and the gentle tirade that had raged when she'd gotten that call.
“No, Ma. You are not flying out here. Respect my boundaries. Please, for the love of Buddha, just... Thelma Louise!” Darcy had all but yelled. She heard the beep of her heart monitor accelerate.
“Darcy Anne, do not do that. I am your mother. I know that you are trying to actualize and launch, but you were SHOT. I am still influenced by my own childhood traumas and the influence of being raised Jewish in a predominantly female environment. It is bred into me to want to coddle you or guilt you into being coddled. Live with it,” Thelma said snippily.
“I have. For over twenty three years, Ma,” Darcy said and closed her eyes.
Thelma sighed. “Baby, please. I need to see you okay with my own eyes.”
Darcy decided on compromise. Lewis women were muleheaded, but they weren't unreasonable. “I will Skype you when I get back to my place okay? I will let you see the stitches and the wounds and you will see that I am okay. I will read off my prescription bottles to you and you can webmd the effects. You can ask Dr. Shah about them, but please you have to stay there.”
“You have nothing to prove to anyone, Darcy,” Thelma finally said after a long pause.
“Yes, I do, Ma. You know that,” Darcy picked up the plastic cup and sipped the water, stale and warm, but still refreshing.
“Ugh, okay. I know. Fine,” Thelma gave in with a barely there expletive. “The moment you get back to your place and I want to see it all.”
Darcy nodded even though her mother couldn't see it. “Scout's honor, Ma.”
“You got kicked out of Scouts for kissing Emily Johnston,” Thelma laughed and it was a comfort to hear the sound.
“Worth it,” Darcy said with a yawn. “Love you, Ma. Going to sleep. Then I will text you when I am discharged and will Skype you. No pestering before then.”
Thelma sighed. “Okay. Your grandmother will...”
Darcy swore. “You didn't tell her did you?”
“Darcy Anne...”
Darcy wanted to bang her head back against the bed, but she knew head wound plus fast velocity impact against surface was a bad idea. “I will call her tomorrow night after our Skype call. Okay?”
“Fine. Go to sleep, baby. Mama loves you.”
Darcy smiled at that. “G'night, Mama.”
The morning brought Jane bustling in with a tall redhead that looked like her outfit cost more than Darcy's entire four year college tuition and looked scarily competent. “Morning, Darce!”
Darcy blinked at Jane and sipped her canned apple juice. “Morning,” she mumbled around the juice and smiled at the stranger. Her hair was up in a tangle of a bun and she was pretty sure she was in need of a shower and probably now smelled like a cross between a greasy spoon diner and hospital antiseptic. Classy a smell it was not.
“Good morning, Darcy. Jane's told us a lot about you,” the redhead held out her hand and Darcy took it in the one that wasn't bandaged or IV'd. “I'm Pepper. Pepper Potts, I work with Jane.”
Darcy blinked again and she shook the hand. “Uh, pardon but I'm pretty sure you have that backwards or something. The org chart on that is wrong.”
Pepper laughed and Darcy thought even her laugh was classy. “Well, Dr. Foster is employed by Stark Industries, but I'm an employee just like she is.”
Darcy was pretty sure it was still the awesome morphine they were giving her that made her say, “I think you should get hazard pay, I mean, you work directly with Tony Stark. He has got to be at least two full time jobs from what I hear.”
Pepper's eyebrow arched and she smirked. “Eh, maybe two and a half, but I stopped counting.”
Jane giggled and Darcy shook her head. “Jane, please tell me you know when they're springing me,” Darcy said shifting on the plastic sheets of the bed. She winced when her side twinged.
“The nurse said the doctor was coming to check you over and then the they'd bring in your discharge paperwork,” Jane said patting Darcy's hand.
Darcy sighed and broke off a few grapes and chewed them slowly and looked from Jane to Pepper. “What was that look?”
“You're coming to the Tower to recuperate,” Jane said and Darcy choked on grape peel and spit.
“No. And again, HELL NO.” Darcy waved her uninjured hand at Jane. “That place is Bad Guy Attacking Get Hurt Central, how is that a place to recuperate? I'm much more comfortable and safer in my tiny nothing little place a subway ride away in Brooklyn.”
Jane made a face either at Darcy's description of her place of residence or Brooklyn.
Either way, Darcy was kind of insulted. “My place is fine. I would appreciate a ride. If you can't do that, then I'll take a cab.”
Jane pressed her lips together and Pepper shook her head slightly. “I'm pretty sure they won't release you unless you have someone with you. It's the head injury,” Pepper neatly stacked Darcy's dirty dishes on the tray and moved them out of the way.
Darcy let out an impressive string of curses in two different languages. Jane frowned and Pepper shrugged. “Them's the breaks, kid.”
“I never thought I'd feel bad for a multi billionaire before...”
Pepper patted Darcy's hand. “Welcome to the family, kiddo.”
+
Author's note: "gimme a deadeye" is a sunnyside up fried egg and "burn the british" is a toasted english muffin. :)