quirkysmuse (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
quirkysmuse) wrote2012-02-20 08:47 pm
quirkysmuse) wrote2012-02-20 08:47 pm
Entry tags:
Thor x 2 Broke Girls, "One Good Deed (1/2)" Loki/Darcy || rated PG
Fandoms: Thor, Avengers, 2 Broke Girls
Title: One Good Deed (1/2)
Part One Title: One Compassionate Mortal
Author: Paynesgrey
Rated: PG
Characters/Pairings: Darcy Lewis, Loki, Max Black, Caroline Channing, Thor, Coulson, Fury, Jane Foster, Jane/Thor, Loki/Darcy
Genre: Crossover/Drama/Romance
Word Count: 6,130
Warnings: Some gore.
Spoilers/Notes: This is mostly AU. Knowledge of Thor, 2 Broke Girls, and general Avengers movie news is good.
Previous: The prequel One Sweet Ringer to this two-parter is HERE.
Summary: Darcy Lewis unexpectedly helps a wounded Loki and accepts his odd request.
Part One: One Compassionate Mortal
The sea of stars spun out above him as Loki tumbled from space toward Earth.
He’d felt this sensation before, this falling into the vacuum down to the blue marble planet that would effortlessly incinerate him in its atmosphere before he fell to the ground.
This time was a little different from the times before. Before, he had to take refuge in the vast sea of space from his enemies, namely the Avengers. He’d been thwarted so many times by them that Loki worked tirelessly to find some way to defeat them, and each time he was struck down.
Well, he was tired of that, and he was tired of the disappointment in Thor’s stormy eyes.
He closed his eyes and tried to purge his thoughts of his brother. What a disappointment he must be to him, so misguided and evil. Loki didn’t think of himself of any of these things, despite what the other members of the Avengers had labeled him.
His plans always seemed full-proof at the time, and yes, he was selfish, but he deserved more than he was given growing up after being deprived and lied to for so long. He’d like to think he’d still blamed the All-Father for the way he was, but Loki had long disconnected himself from his foster-father’s looming shadow. Now, Loki was the shadow, and he admitted to himself he rather liked the role. He was comfortable with it, but that did him no good in the earthly and non-earthly treasures that he deserved.
He felt the burn of the earth’s top layer, and he pooled all the remaining magic he had left in him and created a shield around himself. It was weak, and it worried him somewhat, but he knew it would protect him so far as he broke through the planet’s deadly skies. His descent, however, was another matter, and perhaps he would die from impact if his shield gave way before he reached the ground.
Saving his strength, Loki concentrated on all his magic, and he tried to think of happier times, with Thor, with the Lady Sif and the warriors, and even with Frigga. The memories gave him more ache than warmth, and instead he opened his eyes and watched the burning skies try to consume him.
He took three measured breaths, and after he blinked, his surroundings cascaded around him in a brilliant blue. The speed of his descent increased, and thankfully his weak shield was keeping him safe.
But the shield would not heal the gaping wound in his chest, still bleeding as he rerouted his magic to help his fall. He stared at his own blood pouring out and knew that it would become a problem, especially if he did not land well.
Loki really didn’t want to die in some unknown place on Midgard, but he knew he hardly had a choice. Maybe it was his fate to fall here safely, only to die slowly from a bleeding hole in his chest.
.xxxxx.
Darcy was celebrating alone with a Skinny Margarita and some leftover Halloween chocolate. She cursed Jane Foster for standing her up again, and she sat on the hood of her gray Taurus and looked up at the blue cloudless sky.
This would have been much better with Jane, she thought. Jane had acquired countless awards for her research, Thor was back and working on a relationship with Jane. Jane even got a full time job with SHIELD to be closer to him.
But really, Darcy was more celebrating for herself, even though Jane was apart of it. Jane got her a job with SHIELD too, even if she was every body’s so-called servant. Sure, she got treated like dog crap from time to time, but seriously, this was SHIELD. She couldn’t get a better job like that in her dreams. Plus, she rubbed elbows with the likes of Steve Rogers (who was very polite and acted as her knight in shining armor when other agents abused her) and Tony Stark (millionaire playboy that stared at her boobs but not when Steve was around), and not forgetting the Black Widow, who actually said she liked Darcy’s hat one time. It was the coolest moment in Darcy’s existence that she could remember.
But she was still here alone despite that. For some reason Jane got called back out to the site where Thor first appeared to take some samples, and amazingly enough, SHIELD’s computers detected small amounts of activity at that area again.
It wasn’t enough to worry about, and Coulson had shrugged it off as residual. Still, the Avengers had been cautious, citing that Loki, Thor’s nefarious brother that retreated to god-knows-where, was still at large.
Darcy shuddered when she thought of him. She’d been in the main control room when news footage had recorded the Avengers last fight with Loki. Though he seemed scary on the surface, Darcy couldn’t help but wonder about him. She pitied him for Thor’s sake too, since it seemed to affect him so strongly to have to fight his brother at all. (Darcy’s own brother was a major dick too, but she still loved him, so she sympathized with the God of Thunder’s troubles.)
Plus, Darcy didn’t know much about it, not that SHIELD would let her read any files on him. She was strictly a messenger-girl-slash-gopher and that was it.
Darcy sighed, taking a swig of her bottle and looking up at the sky. The trip out here was kind of a bust since Jane took sample readings and found nothing. The only thing Darcy was getting out of this trip was a bit of nostalgia. And oh, how her life changed when she’d met Thor and accidentally tased him.
Laying back on her car, Darcy began to drift into a lazy nap as the silence around the desert overcame her. It was so peaceful and relaxing here, and Darcy started to feel the affects of the alcohol. It didn’t help that the chocolate was starting to be unsettling, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
Of course, it was too good to be true, and she woke up scared (and surprised she didn’t shit her pants) when she heard a booming crack in the sky. She knew it wasn’t Thor; the God of Thunder was battling freaks in tights back in New York as usual.
Darcy immediately noticed something descending fast from the sky. It made a striking bam! as it broke the sound barrier, and suddenly it dawned on her at what she was seeing.
Holy shit! UFO!
It wasn’t really uncommon anymore, not with Thor and other heroes around, but it still could get her some cash at the Weekly World News if she got a decent picture.
She hopped into her car and sped toward the billowing smoke where the wreckage was, and after driving about a mile, she did a hard break to avoid the crater that had stamped out in the earth.
“Wicked!” she exclaimed, and she stood back with her camera phone ready, holding onto her excitement when she actually paused and kept a safe distance from possible radiation poison or worse.
“Hello?” The smoke still hadn’t cleared yet, but she could hear coughing. Her blood froze. Holy crap that was a person in there!
“Hey...Mr. alien...um, are you okay down there?”
The coughing ceased. “Come....quickly,” the raspy voice beckoned her but Darcy was still too scared to move.
“Um, are you...contagious or leaking any radiation? Because I would totally help you if you didn’t inadvertently kill me in the process,” she babbled.
“Please...” the voice said. “It’s alright. I will not harm you.”
“Well...” she said. “At least you speak English.” Making her way down the crater, the smoke finally cleared and she saw legs in black, charred pants and boots. She squinted through the lingering dust, and when she made out the figure on the ground, Darcy took a step back.
Oh, she was in trouble. The injured alien in the dirt was none other than Loki himself.
“Please, girl...you must help me patch the wound,” he said, and Darcy would never imagine Loki pleading for any sort of help, not with the reputation he had around the SHIELD office.
Of course, Loki didn’t know she worked for SHIELD at all. He probably assumed she was another faceless human.
Darcy bit her lip. Should she help him? It may get her fired, and she didn’t know if SHIELD was watching her now, since they had a habit of following their employees.
“Um...okay,” she said, feeling worse that he was suffering than the future consequences to her job (or the human race).
She pulled off her large sweater, and was thankful for the tight white t-shirt she’d decided to wear under it. She ran to Loki’s side, and he held up his hand, looking at her through hazy eyes. He flinched when she put pressure on the wound, and he sighed with relief when her shirt began to soak up his blood.
“What...what’s your name, woman?”
“Darcy...Darcy Lewis,” she said, and she prayed to any God that he did not know she was one of his brother’s friends.
“Many thanks, Ms. Lewis. I believe you have saved my life,” he said, and he clamped a hand down on hers over her sweater. “Now, if you would be so kind to further help me.”
“How?” she asked, and he quickly braided his hands with hers and met her eyes.
“You just need to let me hold you for a second,” he said in a strangled breath, and the way he said it brought warmth to her cheeks. Even under the dirt and burns, Darcy was starting to appreciate Loki’s looks from all those times she’d seen him on TV.
“What are you doing?” she asked, starting to feel her energy drain.
“I just need a little bit of your human life force, so I won’t die,” he said. “It’s all the magic I have left.”
“Oh,” she said dumbly, but she made no move to pull away. She supposed this was the least she could do for him, but he didn’t look like he was getting any better. “Do you need to rest somewhere? I could take you back to my room and wash up your wounds. You look really bad, man. I don’t know if magic is going to cut it.”
“I appreciate it, Ms. Lewis,” he said, and she was oddly relieved his breathing started to stabilize. The bleeding began to stop as it soaked through her sweater. Color was coming back to his cheeks too, which Darcy could see through the dirt and burns.
“I’ll...give you a moment to heal and then you can tell me when you’ll let me help you to your feet,” she said, and suddenly, she didn’t care about SHIELD, her job, or even how the Avengers would see her for helping a known villain. She just didn’t like seeing anyone hurt like this, and Darcy didn’t think she could handle if she tried to save him and he died anyway.
Also, she believed that Thor would approve of her helping him, even when no one else would.
“Ms. Lewis,” he said her name after a beat. “I would like to leave this place if you would help me.”
“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “It may hurt...”
“It’s alright,” he said, holding up his hand for her to take. “I am ready.”
Pulling him from the ground, she let him lean his weight on her as she helped him with some difficulty up the crater and to the passenger seat of her car. Aware that he was getting his blood everywhere as he still clutched her sweater to his wound, Darcy put it out of her mind as she began driving them back to town.
“I take it you don’t want to go to the hospital,” she said, keeping her eyes on the road as he turned to her. There was something about the way he kept looking at her; it felt weighted and analytical, like he was combing over her with his thoughts. Darcy shifted uncomfortably in her seat and stepped on the gas.
“You are cleverer than expected,” he said, and she could still feel his intense eyes on her.
“It’s cool. No one will bother you at my place,” Darcy said amiably.
“Why are you helping me, mortal? You could call the police, or you could turn me in to the Avengers by calling them on your phone,” he said. “Why help me? What will you get out of it?”
“The Avengers, why would I call them?” she asked, acting confused, but Loki wasn’t buying it.
“Oh, don’t be coy, young lady. You know who I am, don’t you? It’s written all over your face,” he said, and Darcy felt like an ass for being easily busted. Of course, she couldn’t get anything past someone like him. Really, it was a pointless effort, and she knew more about him than the average person.
Stupid, she chided herself, and Loki chuckled as if he could hear her thoughts.
“How curious,” he said. “You’re surprisingly calm for someone who has just helped a known criminal.”
“I’m on medication,” she grumbled. “Look, yeah, I know who you are, okay? You can stop analyzing me like that. I just wanted to help. You fell from the sky and there was a hole in your chest oozing blood. I did what any good Samaritan would do. If you are a criminal, well, that’s not my problem, is it?”
“Yes, but you are SHIELD, sort of,” Loki said, and Darcy froze. How the hell did he know that? It was like a one in a million chance he would figure that out.
She looked at him aghast. “How did you know?”
“I could see you...with my brother and Jane Foster. I saw you with them when I first attacked Midgard.” Their eyes met for a moment, and he shot her an odious grin. “I didn’t recognize your name at first, but as I healed, it suddenly came back to me.”
“So...you want me to stop helping you? Are you going to attack me?” she asked, feeling her heart racing in her chest. Loki could be unpredictable, so who knew what he was going to do to her next.
“No, I am glad for your help, but I still cannot figure out why. Do you really help me out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Yes,” Darcy said as she blew out of a breath. “Plus, if everyone knows who you are, would anyone else but me help you? Is that a gamble you can take?” She challenged him, and she watched as he arched an eyebrow.
“Well, I suppose you have a point,” he said. “Perhaps it’s better that you do know who I am.”
“Yeah,” Darcy said, and she felt a wave of relief as the town was nearing on the horizon. She sighed again. “I also know your brother too.”
For once, Loki didn’t have a smart-assed reply.
.xxxxx.
Surprisingly, Loki wasn’t very talkative as she introduced him to her room. No quips, no threats - nothing. He was silent yet watching her with a critical eye.
“So, yeah, I’m paid up for the weekend but I’m leaving on Monday. I gotta go back to work in New York,” Darcy said, turning to him. She quickly lurched away as he began removing his clothes. “Um, so whatever you decide to do then, that’s up to you.”
“I will not impose on your hospitality any more than necessary,” Loki said, and Darcy began ruffling through her bag until she found a T-Shirt. It was black and though it belonged to an ex-boyfriend who was obsessed with Muse, she kept it out of spite and wore it once in awhile to revel in the fact she’d stolen it from him. She handed it to Loki and looked away at the sight of his half-undressed state, wearing nothing but some black shorts to cover his lean torso.
“Here, it’ll fit until...you got back on your feet,” Darcy said, averting her eyes. “I can give you some bath towels to keep on that wound.”
“My thanks, Ms. Lewis,” he said, taking the shirt and towels hesitantly before dressing himself. Darcy bustled back to her other bag.
“I think I can find some pants that’ll fit,” she said, and after a few minutes, Loki was lounging in a pair of her favorite sport pants, which were incidentally men’s clothes as well. She knew it wasn’t a permanent fix, but at least he looked good dressed a human.
“When I get my magic back at fully force, I will return your clothes,” Loki said.
Darcy shrugged. “Okay,” and she turned toward the mini fridge in her room. She picked up a box of pop tarts on top and held them toward him. “Hungry?”
He stared at her for a heavy moment before taking the pop tarts, sniffing them, and then braving a first bite. He didn’t seem to hate them, and Darcy was glad for the approval. When she craved some coffee, she thought about leaving him, but she didn’t know if he’d go without leaving her from his sight. Maybe he still thought she’d nark him out to her employers?
She watched as he sat on the edge of her bed, finished off her pop tarts and then started morosely at the wound in his stomach, probably taking longer to heal than he wanted. He probably hated Darcy being there, but if he did, he really didn’t say so.
The silence was boring, so Darcy started some idle chat. “So, that wound didn’t come from just anybody did it? I don’t think Thor would do that, would he?”
Loki chuckled at her, his laughter causing a pained expression. “No, my brother did not do this, though I do not think I would put it past him. This wound came from another Avenger, the one known as Iron Man.”
“Oh, yeah, I can see that,” Darcy said. “He did say he created some new fire power.”
“With help from some outside source no doubt. No human should have such power,” Loki scoffed.
Darcy shrugged. “Not like they tell me. I just get the coffee.”
“A pity for me, the one SHIELD person to help me really has no information at all. You’re kind of worthless on that end,” Loki said.
Darcy grimaced with fury. “Yeah, you’re welcome for helping you survive. Pretty darn useless.”
Feeling completely inadequate and annoyed in his presence, Darcy headed for the door. “I need coffee, and maybe a bottle of Bailey’s to wash it down.” She turned to his curious expression. “I suppose it’ll be a surprise if you’re still here when I come back, won’t it?”
Loki pursed his lips, saying nothing as he reclined back on her bed after she left.
.xxxxx.
Darcy came back with two lattes when she found Loki sleeping soundly on her bed. He was sweating a little, but his face looked peaceful as he murmured in his sleep.
She tiptoed toward his side of the bed and lightly lifted his shirt to check on his wound. She cried with a start as he grabbed her hand in a sharp grip.
“Dude!” she said startled. “I was just checking if you needed clean bandages.”
“The wound is fine, and in another day of healing, I should have no need for the bandages,” he said roughly. Darcy jerked away her hand.
Or for me, Darcy thought suddenly. She placed a latte next to his bed and went over to the couch to turn on the TV.
She said nothing until Loki spoke to her again.
“This hot liquid is good. I believe I have tasted something similar before,” he said idly.
“It’s vanilla latte. The coffee shop in this town is no Starbucks, but the local place makes a nice blend,” Darcy answered. “Mmm, should have gotten a large.”
They sat in silence after that, with only the TV as the background. Darcy laughed a few times at the reality show she was watching, and Loki made no indication if he was tired of the TV or tired of her presence.
The next morning, Darcy woke up with the TV on after she’d fallen asleep on the couch. She glanced over at the bed where Loki was standing, neatly folding her clothes.
“Darcy Lewis, I have made a decision,” Loki said, and she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. He smirked at her, which was admittedly a little frightening. “I will stay with you a little longer.”
“What....? Why?” He looked perfectly healed now, and he was wearing his own clothes (not that battle armor she remembered, but rather he wore loose black slacks and a tight fitting pine-colored sweater). His hair was slicked back and color had returned to his pale skin. Darcy felt flushed at how gorgeous he looked up close, which only meant his decision to stay with her would be a problem.
“I have need of your healing services, Darcy,” Loki said.
“But your wound is healed now,” Darcy said confused, and Loki had strode over to her and was hovering at her feet.
“It is not my body that needs healing, Darcy,” he continued. “Time and again the Avengers have defeated me and brought me to the brink of death. You come along, a SHIELD employee and a friend to my brother, and yet you help me despite my grotesque reputation. I will never understand this compassion, but I wonder if is something I lack.”
“Wait, you want me to act as your therapist?” Darcy asked, and Loki frowned.
“I do not know what you can do for me, Darcy, but I realized you are the only person in this universe who would even bother with me and not refuse her help if asked,” Loki said.
Darcy blinked up at him with wide eyes. She rose slowly from her chair, and she didn’t know what the hell was going on or what he really wanted from her, but she could definitely feel his desperation. Maybe she couldn’t do anything at all, but his loneliness was obvious.
If anything, the God of Mischief, who was embittered and emotionally wounded, just needed a friend.
.xxxxx.
While he stayed with her in New York, Darcy Lewis took Loki by the hand and gave him a tour of her world. The best medicine, she decided, in helping him with his internal struggle was teaching him about the finer things in human life.
“Okay, so this wonderful, awesome-tastic thing is known as red velvet cheesecake,” she said, sitting on the other side of him at the restaurant. She took a bite and purred with ecstasy. “Almost as good as sex.”
She forked off another piece and held it out to him. “Your turn.”
And each time Loki obliged her it surprised her. He took the delicious bite into his mouth and savored for a moment before meeting her eyes.
“To think you were going to destroy a world that made something as wonderful as that,” Darcy joked. She grinned at him, and Loki ate the rest of her cake.
.xxxxx.
“Just relax,” Darcy said, and her hands trembled as Loki laid on his stomach on the bed. “There was this horrible year before I decided to become a poli-sci major where I wanted to be a massage therapist. When I realized I may have to touch gross people, I had to quit. Still, I did acquire a lot of skills,” Darcy said, and she placed her warm hands on his back and began to knead his muscles.
Loki lifted his head. “Do you feel you are touching a gross person now?” Loki asked her.
Darcy giggled awkwardly. “Really? Yeah right,” she said, still rubbing her hands over his back muscles.
“What about now?” he asked her, and she pulled back when his light flesh toned skin turned a brilliant blue.
“Whoa! You’re blue!” she exclaimed, and he lifted himself up to watch her reaction. She smiled at him. “Cool!”
“You think so?” he said to her with red eyes.
“It’s hot, in an Avatar kind of way,” Darcy said.
“What is ...Avatar?” Loki asked, furrowing his brow at her suspiciously.
“Ohmigawd, you’re the only person I know who doesn’t know Avatar. Seriously, that’s the next thing we have to do.” She directed him back down to the bed. “And we totally have to watch it in 3-D”
.xxxxx.
Loki surprised Darcy again when he began to love going to the movies. Darcy took him to many, from classic movies with Boggie and Marilyn Monroe to the 3-D explosions of Michael Bay. They’d seen movies outside, in their house, and in large screen theaters full of many people. Sometimes, Loki showed irritation with others around, but he never complained.
(Darcy tried to avoid taking him to romance movies, but sometimes he insisted, regardless of how awkward the movies made Darcy feel.)
After one movie, he pulled Darcy aside and told her he didn’t care for the theaters much anymore.
“I would rather just view them alone with you.”
.xxxxx.
Darcy turned to Loki on her couch one evening, and she asked him point blank, “Do you think you’ll attack the Avengers again?”
“Hmm, perhaps, but I hardly see the point right now. I don’t have a plan, I don’t have an army, and I have no strong ally that will help me beat them,” Loki said honestly.
Darcy furrowed her brow. “Will you...try to rule my planet again?” she asked.
He shifted slightly and met her eyes. “ I’ve realized that it is not my right. Besides, I am beginning to see more clearly how Midgardians live on this planet. Sometimes I do not want to rule such beasts. Some are clearly idiotic, and others....” He paused as he studied her. “Others are too strong willed, and it would be pointless to go against such resistance. And...as I have previously mentioned, the Avengers have beaten me so much it has become nauseous.”
“But you would still want more power some day?” Darcy asked, and Loki hummed his affirmation.
“Of course. I like power,” Loki said. “I also like to cause a little trouble now and again. I’m bored, and sometimes mischief amuses me.”
Darcy stared at him in silence. Loki continued, “Of course, it must seem silly to you. I think it all seems silly myself. That is why I stay with you, Darcy. I rarely see the point of it anymore.”
“Is this some sort of Asgardian depression?” she asked.
Loki smirked. “I do not always feel depressed, just tired.” He turned toward her again. “But with you, I feel none of those things.”
Darcy felt frozen, unable to process the gravity of his words. What did he mean? Darcy was floored by his obvious fondness for her.
“Just because I helped you and saved your life?” she said. “It could have been anyone.” She thought about it sadly, almost feeling jealous of some imaginary person who would have helped Loki and saved his life in her place.
“No, it had to be you,” Loki said. “You know my brother, and you know me. Anyone else would have never understood me.”
“You think so?” Darcy said, and she tilted her head to rest on his shoulder playfully. She felt him tense but then relax under her touch. Her head remained there after the movie was over, and until he shifted her sleepy form off the couch and to her bed.
.xxxxx.
SHIELD was becoming increasingly suspicious of her. Darcy found many people shadowing her as she left work toward home. It was only a matter of time before they found out she was sheltering Loki, a known enemy and criminal, and she was doing it willingly.
“Another team of agents were in your house today,” Loki told her when she came home from work. She collapsed into an exhausted heap in her kitchen chair.
“Gees, no wonder Fury was working me ragged today. I don’t usually work so much overtime,” she said.
“I made sure to hide any trace of me,” Loki said, watching her with concern. “But I do believe soon they will find me.”
“Why? They don’t have to find you, you’re good at that,” Darcy said.
“I am planning on leaving soon, Darcy,” Loki said suddenly, and Darcy turned to him.
“What?” She stood up from the chair. “You don’t have to go.”
“I must. I have...a plan to return home, to make peace with All-Father and the people of Asgard,” Loki said. “I have also burdened you enough.”
Darcy scoffed. “You’re no burden....”
Loki approached her and Darcy turned away from his gaze. She didn’t want to appear emotional, but she felt selfish that she didn’t want him to go. She was getting quite used to his presence, and ultimately, she was starting to have feelings for criminal whose life she saved.
“Do you really think it’s a good plan to make peace with your dad?” Darcy asked. Of course, it was a good idea. She knew it the moment he had spoken it, but it also meant it would take him away from her.
“You have inspired me to do this,” Loki said. “Perhaps it is the right thing that I have been avoiding from the beginning.”
“You’ll come back though, right?” Darcy said, swallowing nervously. “At least, to give me an update my therapy worked and all.”
Loki nodded. “I will do more than that.” She felt his hand on her arm, and he was drawing her close. His lips fell on hers, and she reveled in the warm moment as his tongue dove into her mouth. He was soft, and not as cold as she thought he would be. He pulled her close enough to feel his heartbeat against her breasts.
“Farewell,” he said, and he faded into the air before there was a loud banging on the door. Darcy could barely regain her composure before a team of SHIELD officers burst into her apartment and aimed their guns at her.
.xxxxx.
Having a new identity sucks, Darcy thought, but it beats being locked up in that stupid room.
Darcy also began to enjoy hating New Jersey because that’s where SHIELD had dumped her. She had agents watching her at all times, and her home was completely bugged, everywhere. Sometimes she would download horrible porn just so it would get back to Coulson and his boys to hopefully freak them out.
Well, maybe not, but the thought of freaking out Coulson gave her some comfort.
She hadn’t heard from Loki in over a year. She hoped that he was having better luck with Odin on Asgard.
Darcy tried not to think of him, but it was hard when she began downloading books on Norse mythology on her iPad. She didn’t even care what Fury and Coulson thought about that.
Some nights she dreamed of him, and sometimes she’d watch a cartoon of the Avengers on TV and would root for his character when he came on screen.
If they were allowed, Jane visited her sometimes, and so would Thor. Thor couldn’t say much, but he often repeated that he was happy that someone was able to save his brother’s life. That was all he said though. He never thanked Darcy for helping Loki beyond that, or giving him the friendship that he didn’t even know Loki had craved.
“Thor?” Darcy asked him one time. He was almost out the door to rejoin the Avengers. “Could you do me a favor? Could you tell me your fondest memory of Loki?”
Thor hesitated, looking away from her expectant gaze as he pursed his lips. He came back inside her new safe house and sat on her couch with a loud thud.
“Aye, I have many fond memories, but perhaps the fondest is when we were lads, and my brother found an injured raven in the courtyard. I wanted to put the poor creature out of its misery, but my brother insisted that we save it. He said he had shape-shifted into a raven once, and he could feel its pain,” Thor spoke. “My mother Frigga agreed with Loki, and helped him nurse the bird back to health. Once it was healed, my brother was excited for the day he would release the raven. When he did, the blasted bird came back to him and followed him around like a pet. Sometimes he would change so he and the bird could fly together,” Thor said, and Darcy heard a chuckle rise from his throat. “They would also play tricks together, my brother and that damned bird. Gave Lady Sif such a fright she almost cleaved my brother’s raven form in half with her sword.”
Darcy smiled at him, reminiscing in her imagination of the memory. “Thank you, Thor.”
“No, thank you, Darcy Lewis,” Thor said, and he was gone.
As soon as the story had settled in her mind, Darcy was drawing ravens and hanging them around her designated house.
Soon, she began to dream of them, flying in the vast skies, coming to her window and singing her songs. Suddenly, they would turn into Loki and embrace her, and then he would kiss her affectionately on the head.
.xxxxx.
I have to find Darcy Lewis, Loki thought.
He had to tell her the news. Relations with the All-Father were still fragile, but Loki felt he made some significant progress.
He would have never done such a thing without Darcy’s influence. He would have never had the chance if she hadn’t nursed him back to health and nurtured his new outlook on life.
When he’d arrived back on Midgard, he was wandering New York streets for her. He knew the search was futile, and he became annoyed when he did not find her at the former apartment where he’d last deserted her.
SHIELD must have found out, Loki thought, and he was more sure of it when he’d slipped around their agency and began spying on them again. There was no file to crack or locate on Darcy Lewis, which meant that her location was tightly sealed within the minds of Agents Coulson and Nick Fury, and probably his brother knew where she was too.
He tried stalking Jane Foster for awhile, becoming bored before finding any clues of Darcy’s whereabouts. He thought about revealing himself to her, appeal to her for Darcy’s location, but he thought against it. He’d rather not talk more than necessary with his brother’s woman, and he didn’t know if he wanted to alert SHIELD of his presence.
Loki warmed his hands in the pockets of his dark gray pea-coat, and out of the corner of his eye, he turned his attention to something to his right. It was a diner, but inside he noticed a woman whose face struck him as familiar. She was yelling orders to a blond woman, and both were wearing similar dress of yellow and red, obviously work uniforms for the diner where they worked.
When the woman’s face became clearer, Loki’s eyes widened. “Darcy?” he asked, and his feet were drawn inside.
He sat down, and the blond girl trilled cheerily at him some food special nonsense and brought him a menu. He turned to her, asking if he could be served by the lady with dark hair. Curiously, the blond woman watched him with a smile as she turned to get her comrade.
“Hey, I heard you asked for me,” she said, and immediately Loki realized this woman was not Darcy. Her looks were uncanny, and if she was Darcy’s family, perhaps he would have a chance in locating her. “What can I get you?”
“A moment,” he said. “I...believed you were someone else.”
She laughed. “I get that a lot. Hey, are you interested in a cupcake? They’re um, my recipe,” she asked, and as she babbled on, Loki became lost in her looks. He felt somewhat disappointed in not finding Darcy but finding her instead. Still, seeing her face warmed his loneliness, and he let this girl who called herself Max talk him into ordering pretty much anything.
He stayed until closing, taking some cupcakes to-go with him. He hoped he’d find Darcy in all of this, but he longed for the company of the other woman too. Maybe he would even return to this diner.
It is strange, he thought. Do I really miss Darcy that much?
End of Part One
Title: One Good Deed (1/2)
Part One Title: One Compassionate Mortal
Author: Paynesgrey
Rated: PG
Characters/Pairings: Darcy Lewis, Loki, Max Black, Caroline Channing, Thor, Coulson, Fury, Jane Foster, Jane/Thor, Loki/Darcy
Genre: Crossover/Drama/Romance
Word Count: 6,130
Warnings: Some gore.
Spoilers/Notes: This is mostly AU. Knowledge of Thor, 2 Broke Girls, and general Avengers movie news is good.
Previous: The prequel One Sweet Ringer to this two-parter is HERE.
Summary: Darcy Lewis unexpectedly helps a wounded Loki and accepts his odd request.
Part One: One Compassionate Mortal
The sea of stars spun out above him as Loki tumbled from space toward Earth.
He’d felt this sensation before, this falling into the vacuum down to the blue marble planet that would effortlessly incinerate him in its atmosphere before he fell to the ground.
This time was a little different from the times before. Before, he had to take refuge in the vast sea of space from his enemies, namely the Avengers. He’d been thwarted so many times by them that Loki worked tirelessly to find some way to defeat them, and each time he was struck down.
Well, he was tired of that, and he was tired of the disappointment in Thor’s stormy eyes.
He closed his eyes and tried to purge his thoughts of his brother. What a disappointment he must be to him, so misguided and evil. Loki didn’t think of himself of any of these things, despite what the other members of the Avengers had labeled him.
His plans always seemed full-proof at the time, and yes, he was selfish, but he deserved more than he was given growing up after being deprived and lied to for so long. He’d like to think he’d still blamed the All-Father for the way he was, but Loki had long disconnected himself from his foster-father’s looming shadow. Now, Loki was the shadow, and he admitted to himself he rather liked the role. He was comfortable with it, but that did him no good in the earthly and non-earthly treasures that he deserved.
He felt the burn of the earth’s top layer, and he pooled all the remaining magic he had left in him and created a shield around himself. It was weak, and it worried him somewhat, but he knew it would protect him so far as he broke through the planet’s deadly skies. His descent, however, was another matter, and perhaps he would die from impact if his shield gave way before he reached the ground.
Saving his strength, Loki concentrated on all his magic, and he tried to think of happier times, with Thor, with the Lady Sif and the warriors, and even with Frigga. The memories gave him more ache than warmth, and instead he opened his eyes and watched the burning skies try to consume him.
He took three measured breaths, and after he blinked, his surroundings cascaded around him in a brilliant blue. The speed of his descent increased, and thankfully his weak shield was keeping him safe.
But the shield would not heal the gaping wound in his chest, still bleeding as he rerouted his magic to help his fall. He stared at his own blood pouring out and knew that it would become a problem, especially if he did not land well.
Loki really didn’t want to die in some unknown place on Midgard, but he knew he hardly had a choice. Maybe it was his fate to fall here safely, only to die slowly from a bleeding hole in his chest.
.xxxxx.
Darcy was celebrating alone with a Skinny Margarita and some leftover Halloween chocolate. She cursed Jane Foster for standing her up again, and she sat on the hood of her gray Taurus and looked up at the blue cloudless sky.
This would have been much better with Jane, she thought. Jane had acquired countless awards for her research, Thor was back and working on a relationship with Jane. Jane even got a full time job with SHIELD to be closer to him.
But really, Darcy was more celebrating for herself, even though Jane was apart of it. Jane got her a job with SHIELD too, even if she was every body’s so-called servant. Sure, she got treated like dog crap from time to time, but seriously, this was SHIELD. She couldn’t get a better job like that in her dreams. Plus, she rubbed elbows with the likes of Steve Rogers (who was very polite and acted as her knight in shining armor when other agents abused her) and Tony Stark (millionaire playboy that stared at her boobs but not when Steve was around), and not forgetting the Black Widow, who actually said she liked Darcy’s hat one time. It was the coolest moment in Darcy’s existence that she could remember.
But she was still here alone despite that. For some reason Jane got called back out to the site where Thor first appeared to take some samples, and amazingly enough, SHIELD’s computers detected small amounts of activity at that area again.
It wasn’t enough to worry about, and Coulson had shrugged it off as residual. Still, the Avengers had been cautious, citing that Loki, Thor’s nefarious brother that retreated to god-knows-where, was still at large.
Darcy shuddered when she thought of him. She’d been in the main control room when news footage had recorded the Avengers last fight with Loki. Though he seemed scary on the surface, Darcy couldn’t help but wonder about him. She pitied him for Thor’s sake too, since it seemed to affect him so strongly to have to fight his brother at all. (Darcy’s own brother was a major dick too, but she still loved him, so she sympathized with the God of Thunder’s troubles.)
Plus, Darcy didn’t know much about it, not that SHIELD would let her read any files on him. She was strictly a messenger-girl-slash-gopher and that was it.
Darcy sighed, taking a swig of her bottle and looking up at the sky. The trip out here was kind of a bust since Jane took sample readings and found nothing. The only thing Darcy was getting out of this trip was a bit of nostalgia. And oh, how her life changed when she’d met Thor and accidentally tased him.
Laying back on her car, Darcy began to drift into a lazy nap as the silence around the desert overcame her. It was so peaceful and relaxing here, and Darcy started to feel the affects of the alcohol. It didn’t help that the chocolate was starting to be unsettling, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
Of course, it was too good to be true, and she woke up scared (and surprised she didn’t shit her pants) when she heard a booming crack in the sky. She knew it wasn’t Thor; the God of Thunder was battling freaks in tights back in New York as usual.
Darcy immediately noticed something descending fast from the sky. It made a striking bam! as it broke the sound barrier, and suddenly it dawned on her at what she was seeing.
Holy shit! UFO!
It wasn’t really uncommon anymore, not with Thor and other heroes around, but it still could get her some cash at the Weekly World News if she got a decent picture.
She hopped into her car and sped toward the billowing smoke where the wreckage was, and after driving about a mile, she did a hard break to avoid the crater that had stamped out in the earth.
“Wicked!” she exclaimed, and she stood back with her camera phone ready, holding onto her excitement when she actually paused and kept a safe distance from possible radiation poison or worse.
“Hello?” The smoke still hadn’t cleared yet, but she could hear coughing. Her blood froze. Holy crap that was a person in there!
“Hey...Mr. alien...um, are you okay down there?”
The coughing ceased. “Come....quickly,” the raspy voice beckoned her but Darcy was still too scared to move.
“Um, are you...contagious or leaking any radiation? Because I would totally help you if you didn’t inadvertently kill me in the process,” she babbled.
“Please...” the voice said. “It’s alright. I will not harm you.”
“Well...” she said. “At least you speak English.” Making her way down the crater, the smoke finally cleared and she saw legs in black, charred pants and boots. She squinted through the lingering dust, and when she made out the figure on the ground, Darcy took a step back.
Oh, she was in trouble. The injured alien in the dirt was none other than Loki himself.
“Please, girl...you must help me patch the wound,” he said, and Darcy would never imagine Loki pleading for any sort of help, not with the reputation he had around the SHIELD office.
Of course, Loki didn’t know she worked for SHIELD at all. He probably assumed she was another faceless human.
Darcy bit her lip. Should she help him? It may get her fired, and she didn’t know if SHIELD was watching her now, since they had a habit of following their employees.
“Um...okay,” she said, feeling worse that he was suffering than the future consequences to her job (or the human race).
She pulled off her large sweater, and was thankful for the tight white t-shirt she’d decided to wear under it. She ran to Loki’s side, and he held up his hand, looking at her through hazy eyes. He flinched when she put pressure on the wound, and he sighed with relief when her shirt began to soak up his blood.
“What...what’s your name, woman?”
“Darcy...Darcy Lewis,” she said, and she prayed to any God that he did not know she was one of his brother’s friends.
“Many thanks, Ms. Lewis. I believe you have saved my life,” he said, and he clamped a hand down on hers over her sweater. “Now, if you would be so kind to further help me.”
“How?” she asked, and he quickly braided his hands with hers and met her eyes.
“You just need to let me hold you for a second,” he said in a strangled breath, and the way he said it brought warmth to her cheeks. Even under the dirt and burns, Darcy was starting to appreciate Loki’s looks from all those times she’d seen him on TV.
“What are you doing?” she asked, starting to feel her energy drain.
“I just need a little bit of your human life force, so I won’t die,” he said. “It’s all the magic I have left.”
“Oh,” she said dumbly, but she made no move to pull away. She supposed this was the least she could do for him, but he didn’t look like he was getting any better. “Do you need to rest somewhere? I could take you back to my room and wash up your wounds. You look really bad, man. I don’t know if magic is going to cut it.”
“I appreciate it, Ms. Lewis,” he said, and she was oddly relieved his breathing started to stabilize. The bleeding began to stop as it soaked through her sweater. Color was coming back to his cheeks too, which Darcy could see through the dirt and burns.
“I’ll...give you a moment to heal and then you can tell me when you’ll let me help you to your feet,” she said, and suddenly, she didn’t care about SHIELD, her job, or even how the Avengers would see her for helping a known villain. She just didn’t like seeing anyone hurt like this, and Darcy didn’t think she could handle if she tried to save him and he died anyway.
Also, she believed that Thor would approve of her helping him, even when no one else would.
“Ms. Lewis,” he said her name after a beat. “I would like to leave this place if you would help me.”
“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “It may hurt...”
“It’s alright,” he said, holding up his hand for her to take. “I am ready.”
Pulling him from the ground, she let him lean his weight on her as she helped him with some difficulty up the crater and to the passenger seat of her car. Aware that he was getting his blood everywhere as he still clutched her sweater to his wound, Darcy put it out of her mind as she began driving them back to town.
“I take it you don’t want to go to the hospital,” she said, keeping her eyes on the road as he turned to her. There was something about the way he kept looking at her; it felt weighted and analytical, like he was combing over her with his thoughts. Darcy shifted uncomfortably in her seat and stepped on the gas.
“You are cleverer than expected,” he said, and she could still feel his intense eyes on her.
“It’s cool. No one will bother you at my place,” Darcy said amiably.
“Why are you helping me, mortal? You could call the police, or you could turn me in to the Avengers by calling them on your phone,” he said. “Why help me? What will you get out of it?”
“The Avengers, why would I call them?” she asked, acting confused, but Loki wasn’t buying it.
“Oh, don’t be coy, young lady. You know who I am, don’t you? It’s written all over your face,” he said, and Darcy felt like an ass for being easily busted. Of course, she couldn’t get anything past someone like him. Really, it was a pointless effort, and she knew more about him than the average person.
Stupid, she chided herself, and Loki chuckled as if he could hear her thoughts.
“How curious,” he said. “You’re surprisingly calm for someone who has just helped a known criminal.”
“I’m on medication,” she grumbled. “Look, yeah, I know who you are, okay? You can stop analyzing me like that. I just wanted to help. You fell from the sky and there was a hole in your chest oozing blood. I did what any good Samaritan would do. If you are a criminal, well, that’s not my problem, is it?”
“Yes, but you are SHIELD, sort of,” Loki said, and Darcy froze. How the hell did he know that? It was like a one in a million chance he would figure that out.
She looked at him aghast. “How did you know?”
“I could see you...with my brother and Jane Foster. I saw you with them when I first attacked Midgard.” Their eyes met for a moment, and he shot her an odious grin. “I didn’t recognize your name at first, but as I healed, it suddenly came back to me.”
“So...you want me to stop helping you? Are you going to attack me?” she asked, feeling her heart racing in her chest. Loki could be unpredictable, so who knew what he was going to do to her next.
“No, I am glad for your help, but I still cannot figure out why. Do you really help me out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Yes,” Darcy said as she blew out of a breath. “Plus, if everyone knows who you are, would anyone else but me help you? Is that a gamble you can take?” She challenged him, and she watched as he arched an eyebrow.
“Well, I suppose you have a point,” he said. “Perhaps it’s better that you do know who I am.”
“Yeah,” Darcy said, and she felt a wave of relief as the town was nearing on the horizon. She sighed again. “I also know your brother too.”
For once, Loki didn’t have a smart-assed reply.
.xxxxx.
Surprisingly, Loki wasn’t very talkative as she introduced him to her room. No quips, no threats - nothing. He was silent yet watching her with a critical eye.
“So, yeah, I’m paid up for the weekend but I’m leaving on Monday. I gotta go back to work in New York,” Darcy said, turning to him. She quickly lurched away as he began removing his clothes. “Um, so whatever you decide to do then, that’s up to you.”
“I will not impose on your hospitality any more than necessary,” Loki said, and Darcy began ruffling through her bag until she found a T-Shirt. It was black and though it belonged to an ex-boyfriend who was obsessed with Muse, she kept it out of spite and wore it once in awhile to revel in the fact she’d stolen it from him. She handed it to Loki and looked away at the sight of his half-undressed state, wearing nothing but some black shorts to cover his lean torso.
“Here, it’ll fit until...you got back on your feet,” Darcy said, averting her eyes. “I can give you some bath towels to keep on that wound.”
“My thanks, Ms. Lewis,” he said, taking the shirt and towels hesitantly before dressing himself. Darcy bustled back to her other bag.
“I think I can find some pants that’ll fit,” she said, and after a few minutes, Loki was lounging in a pair of her favorite sport pants, which were incidentally men’s clothes as well. She knew it wasn’t a permanent fix, but at least he looked good dressed a human.
“When I get my magic back at fully force, I will return your clothes,” Loki said.
Darcy shrugged. “Okay,” and she turned toward the mini fridge in her room. She picked up a box of pop tarts on top and held them toward him. “Hungry?”
He stared at her for a heavy moment before taking the pop tarts, sniffing them, and then braving a first bite. He didn’t seem to hate them, and Darcy was glad for the approval. When she craved some coffee, she thought about leaving him, but she didn’t know if he’d go without leaving her from his sight. Maybe he still thought she’d nark him out to her employers?
She watched as he sat on the edge of her bed, finished off her pop tarts and then started morosely at the wound in his stomach, probably taking longer to heal than he wanted. He probably hated Darcy being there, but if he did, he really didn’t say so.
The silence was boring, so Darcy started some idle chat. “So, that wound didn’t come from just anybody did it? I don’t think Thor would do that, would he?”
Loki chuckled at her, his laughter causing a pained expression. “No, my brother did not do this, though I do not think I would put it past him. This wound came from another Avenger, the one known as Iron Man.”
“Oh, yeah, I can see that,” Darcy said. “He did say he created some new fire power.”
“With help from some outside source no doubt. No human should have such power,” Loki scoffed.
Darcy shrugged. “Not like they tell me. I just get the coffee.”
“A pity for me, the one SHIELD person to help me really has no information at all. You’re kind of worthless on that end,” Loki said.
Darcy grimaced with fury. “Yeah, you’re welcome for helping you survive. Pretty darn useless.”
Feeling completely inadequate and annoyed in his presence, Darcy headed for the door. “I need coffee, and maybe a bottle of Bailey’s to wash it down.” She turned to his curious expression. “I suppose it’ll be a surprise if you’re still here when I come back, won’t it?”
Loki pursed his lips, saying nothing as he reclined back on her bed after she left.
.xxxxx.
Darcy came back with two lattes when she found Loki sleeping soundly on her bed. He was sweating a little, but his face looked peaceful as he murmured in his sleep.
She tiptoed toward his side of the bed and lightly lifted his shirt to check on his wound. She cried with a start as he grabbed her hand in a sharp grip.
“Dude!” she said startled. “I was just checking if you needed clean bandages.”
“The wound is fine, and in another day of healing, I should have no need for the bandages,” he said roughly. Darcy jerked away her hand.
Or for me, Darcy thought suddenly. She placed a latte next to his bed and went over to the couch to turn on the TV.
She said nothing until Loki spoke to her again.
“This hot liquid is good. I believe I have tasted something similar before,” he said idly.
“It’s vanilla latte. The coffee shop in this town is no Starbucks, but the local place makes a nice blend,” Darcy answered. “Mmm, should have gotten a large.”
They sat in silence after that, with only the TV as the background. Darcy laughed a few times at the reality show she was watching, and Loki made no indication if he was tired of the TV or tired of her presence.
The next morning, Darcy woke up with the TV on after she’d fallen asleep on the couch. She glanced over at the bed where Loki was standing, neatly folding her clothes.
“Darcy Lewis, I have made a decision,” Loki said, and she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. He smirked at her, which was admittedly a little frightening. “I will stay with you a little longer.”
“What....? Why?” He looked perfectly healed now, and he was wearing his own clothes (not that battle armor she remembered, but rather he wore loose black slacks and a tight fitting pine-colored sweater). His hair was slicked back and color had returned to his pale skin. Darcy felt flushed at how gorgeous he looked up close, which only meant his decision to stay with her would be a problem.
“I have need of your healing services, Darcy,” Loki said.
“But your wound is healed now,” Darcy said confused, and Loki had strode over to her and was hovering at her feet.
“It is not my body that needs healing, Darcy,” he continued. “Time and again the Avengers have defeated me and brought me to the brink of death. You come along, a SHIELD employee and a friend to my brother, and yet you help me despite my grotesque reputation. I will never understand this compassion, but I wonder if is something I lack.”
“Wait, you want me to act as your therapist?” Darcy asked, and Loki frowned.
“I do not know what you can do for me, Darcy, but I realized you are the only person in this universe who would even bother with me and not refuse her help if asked,” Loki said.
Darcy blinked up at him with wide eyes. She rose slowly from her chair, and she didn’t know what the hell was going on or what he really wanted from her, but she could definitely feel his desperation. Maybe she couldn’t do anything at all, but his loneliness was obvious.
If anything, the God of Mischief, who was embittered and emotionally wounded, just needed a friend.
.xxxxx.
While he stayed with her in New York, Darcy Lewis took Loki by the hand and gave him a tour of her world. The best medicine, she decided, in helping him with his internal struggle was teaching him about the finer things in human life.
“Okay, so this wonderful, awesome-tastic thing is known as red velvet cheesecake,” she said, sitting on the other side of him at the restaurant. She took a bite and purred with ecstasy. “Almost as good as sex.”
She forked off another piece and held it out to him. “Your turn.”
And each time Loki obliged her it surprised her. He took the delicious bite into his mouth and savored for a moment before meeting her eyes.
“To think you were going to destroy a world that made something as wonderful as that,” Darcy joked. She grinned at him, and Loki ate the rest of her cake.
.xxxxx.
“Just relax,” Darcy said, and her hands trembled as Loki laid on his stomach on the bed. “There was this horrible year before I decided to become a poli-sci major where I wanted to be a massage therapist. When I realized I may have to touch gross people, I had to quit. Still, I did acquire a lot of skills,” Darcy said, and she placed her warm hands on his back and began to knead his muscles.
Loki lifted his head. “Do you feel you are touching a gross person now?” Loki asked her.
Darcy giggled awkwardly. “Really? Yeah right,” she said, still rubbing her hands over his back muscles.
“What about now?” he asked her, and she pulled back when his light flesh toned skin turned a brilliant blue.
“Whoa! You’re blue!” she exclaimed, and he lifted himself up to watch her reaction. She smiled at him. “Cool!”
“You think so?” he said to her with red eyes.
“It’s hot, in an Avatar kind of way,” Darcy said.
“What is ...Avatar?” Loki asked, furrowing his brow at her suspiciously.
“Ohmigawd, you’re the only person I know who doesn’t know Avatar. Seriously, that’s the next thing we have to do.” She directed him back down to the bed. “And we totally have to watch it in 3-D”
.xxxxx.
Loki surprised Darcy again when he began to love going to the movies. Darcy took him to many, from classic movies with Boggie and Marilyn Monroe to the 3-D explosions of Michael Bay. They’d seen movies outside, in their house, and in large screen theaters full of many people. Sometimes, Loki showed irritation with others around, but he never complained.
(Darcy tried to avoid taking him to romance movies, but sometimes he insisted, regardless of how awkward the movies made Darcy feel.)
After one movie, he pulled Darcy aside and told her he didn’t care for the theaters much anymore.
“I would rather just view them alone with you.”
.xxxxx.
Darcy turned to Loki on her couch one evening, and she asked him point blank, “Do you think you’ll attack the Avengers again?”
“Hmm, perhaps, but I hardly see the point right now. I don’t have a plan, I don’t have an army, and I have no strong ally that will help me beat them,” Loki said honestly.
Darcy furrowed her brow. “Will you...try to rule my planet again?” she asked.
He shifted slightly and met her eyes. “ I’ve realized that it is not my right. Besides, I am beginning to see more clearly how Midgardians live on this planet. Sometimes I do not want to rule such beasts. Some are clearly idiotic, and others....” He paused as he studied her. “Others are too strong willed, and it would be pointless to go against such resistance. And...as I have previously mentioned, the Avengers have beaten me so much it has become nauseous.”
“But you would still want more power some day?” Darcy asked, and Loki hummed his affirmation.
“Of course. I like power,” Loki said. “I also like to cause a little trouble now and again. I’m bored, and sometimes mischief amuses me.”
Darcy stared at him in silence. Loki continued, “Of course, it must seem silly to you. I think it all seems silly myself. That is why I stay with you, Darcy. I rarely see the point of it anymore.”
“Is this some sort of Asgardian depression?” she asked.
Loki smirked. “I do not always feel depressed, just tired.” He turned toward her again. “But with you, I feel none of those things.”
Darcy felt frozen, unable to process the gravity of his words. What did he mean? Darcy was floored by his obvious fondness for her.
“Just because I helped you and saved your life?” she said. “It could have been anyone.” She thought about it sadly, almost feeling jealous of some imaginary person who would have helped Loki and saved his life in her place.
“No, it had to be you,” Loki said. “You know my brother, and you know me. Anyone else would have never understood me.”
“You think so?” Darcy said, and she tilted her head to rest on his shoulder playfully. She felt him tense but then relax under her touch. Her head remained there after the movie was over, and until he shifted her sleepy form off the couch and to her bed.
.xxxxx.
SHIELD was becoming increasingly suspicious of her. Darcy found many people shadowing her as she left work toward home. It was only a matter of time before they found out she was sheltering Loki, a known enemy and criminal, and she was doing it willingly.
“Another team of agents were in your house today,” Loki told her when she came home from work. She collapsed into an exhausted heap in her kitchen chair.
“Gees, no wonder Fury was working me ragged today. I don’t usually work so much overtime,” she said.
“I made sure to hide any trace of me,” Loki said, watching her with concern. “But I do believe soon they will find me.”
“Why? They don’t have to find you, you’re good at that,” Darcy said.
“I am planning on leaving soon, Darcy,” Loki said suddenly, and Darcy turned to him.
“What?” She stood up from the chair. “You don’t have to go.”
“I must. I have...a plan to return home, to make peace with All-Father and the people of Asgard,” Loki said. “I have also burdened you enough.”
Darcy scoffed. “You’re no burden....”
Loki approached her and Darcy turned away from his gaze. She didn’t want to appear emotional, but she felt selfish that she didn’t want him to go. She was getting quite used to his presence, and ultimately, she was starting to have feelings for criminal whose life she saved.
“Do you really think it’s a good plan to make peace with your dad?” Darcy asked. Of course, it was a good idea. She knew it the moment he had spoken it, but it also meant it would take him away from her.
“You have inspired me to do this,” Loki said. “Perhaps it is the right thing that I have been avoiding from the beginning.”
“You’ll come back though, right?” Darcy said, swallowing nervously. “At least, to give me an update my therapy worked and all.”
Loki nodded. “I will do more than that.” She felt his hand on her arm, and he was drawing her close. His lips fell on hers, and she reveled in the warm moment as his tongue dove into her mouth. He was soft, and not as cold as she thought he would be. He pulled her close enough to feel his heartbeat against her breasts.
“Farewell,” he said, and he faded into the air before there was a loud banging on the door. Darcy could barely regain her composure before a team of SHIELD officers burst into her apartment and aimed their guns at her.
.xxxxx.
Having a new identity sucks, Darcy thought, but it beats being locked up in that stupid room.
Darcy also began to enjoy hating New Jersey because that’s where SHIELD had dumped her. She had agents watching her at all times, and her home was completely bugged, everywhere. Sometimes she would download horrible porn just so it would get back to Coulson and his boys to hopefully freak them out.
Well, maybe not, but the thought of freaking out Coulson gave her some comfort.
She hadn’t heard from Loki in over a year. She hoped that he was having better luck with Odin on Asgard.
Darcy tried not to think of him, but it was hard when she began downloading books on Norse mythology on her iPad. She didn’t even care what Fury and Coulson thought about that.
Some nights she dreamed of him, and sometimes she’d watch a cartoon of the Avengers on TV and would root for his character when he came on screen.
If they were allowed, Jane visited her sometimes, and so would Thor. Thor couldn’t say much, but he often repeated that he was happy that someone was able to save his brother’s life. That was all he said though. He never thanked Darcy for helping Loki beyond that, or giving him the friendship that he didn’t even know Loki had craved.
“Thor?” Darcy asked him one time. He was almost out the door to rejoin the Avengers. “Could you do me a favor? Could you tell me your fondest memory of Loki?”
Thor hesitated, looking away from her expectant gaze as he pursed his lips. He came back inside her new safe house and sat on her couch with a loud thud.
“Aye, I have many fond memories, but perhaps the fondest is when we were lads, and my brother found an injured raven in the courtyard. I wanted to put the poor creature out of its misery, but my brother insisted that we save it. He said he had shape-shifted into a raven once, and he could feel its pain,” Thor spoke. “My mother Frigga agreed with Loki, and helped him nurse the bird back to health. Once it was healed, my brother was excited for the day he would release the raven. When he did, the blasted bird came back to him and followed him around like a pet. Sometimes he would change so he and the bird could fly together,” Thor said, and Darcy heard a chuckle rise from his throat. “They would also play tricks together, my brother and that damned bird. Gave Lady Sif such a fright she almost cleaved my brother’s raven form in half with her sword.”
Darcy smiled at him, reminiscing in her imagination of the memory. “Thank you, Thor.”
“No, thank you, Darcy Lewis,” Thor said, and he was gone.
As soon as the story had settled in her mind, Darcy was drawing ravens and hanging them around her designated house.
Soon, she began to dream of them, flying in the vast skies, coming to her window and singing her songs. Suddenly, they would turn into Loki and embrace her, and then he would kiss her affectionately on the head.
.xxxxx.
I have to find Darcy Lewis, Loki thought.
He had to tell her the news. Relations with the All-Father were still fragile, but Loki felt he made some significant progress.
He would have never done such a thing without Darcy’s influence. He would have never had the chance if she hadn’t nursed him back to health and nurtured his new outlook on life.
When he’d arrived back on Midgard, he was wandering New York streets for her. He knew the search was futile, and he became annoyed when he did not find her at the former apartment where he’d last deserted her.
SHIELD must have found out, Loki thought, and he was more sure of it when he’d slipped around their agency and began spying on them again. There was no file to crack or locate on Darcy Lewis, which meant that her location was tightly sealed within the minds of Agents Coulson and Nick Fury, and probably his brother knew where she was too.
He tried stalking Jane Foster for awhile, becoming bored before finding any clues of Darcy’s whereabouts. He thought about revealing himself to her, appeal to her for Darcy’s location, but he thought against it. He’d rather not talk more than necessary with his brother’s woman, and he didn’t know if he wanted to alert SHIELD of his presence.
Loki warmed his hands in the pockets of his dark gray pea-coat, and out of the corner of his eye, he turned his attention to something to his right. It was a diner, but inside he noticed a woman whose face struck him as familiar. She was yelling orders to a blond woman, and both were wearing similar dress of yellow and red, obviously work uniforms for the diner where they worked.
When the woman’s face became clearer, Loki’s eyes widened. “Darcy?” he asked, and his feet were drawn inside.
He sat down, and the blond girl trilled cheerily at him some food special nonsense and brought him a menu. He turned to her, asking if he could be served by the lady with dark hair. Curiously, the blond woman watched him with a smile as she turned to get her comrade.
“Hey, I heard you asked for me,” she said, and immediately Loki realized this woman was not Darcy. Her looks were uncanny, and if she was Darcy’s family, perhaps he would have a chance in locating her. “What can I get you?”
“A moment,” he said. “I...believed you were someone else.”
She laughed. “I get that a lot. Hey, are you interested in a cupcake? They’re um, my recipe,” she asked, and as she babbled on, Loki became lost in her looks. He felt somewhat disappointed in not finding Darcy but finding her instead. Still, seeing her face warmed his loneliness, and he let this girl who called herself Max talk him into ordering pretty much anything.
He stayed until closing, taking some cupcakes to-go with him. He hoped he’d find Darcy in all of this, but he longed for the company of the other woman too. Maybe he would even return to this diner.
It is strange, he thought. Do I really miss Darcy that much?
End of Part One