Darcy/Coulson 3
Darcy knocked twice on the frosted window that took up the upper half of the open office door before stepping across the threshold. “Hey.” She stood there a little awkwardly, legs crossed at the ankle and her hands going into her pocket.
Phil looked up from his paper-covered desk, his lips moving up into a small smile, apparently not sharing any of the awkwardness she was feeling. “Hey. It’s good to have you back.” It sounded so heartfelt, too, like he’d actually missed her.
She firmly told herself not to read too much into it. “It’s good to be back.” She’d been at Fury’s super secret new SHIELD/Avengers base, and then she’d been caught up in the whole Sokovia helicarrier thing, and it had been a while since she’d been back at what she now considered her home. She shook her head, puffing out her cheeks as she let out a long sigh. “You know, they’re much more uptight over there.”
The smile grew. “Would you believe Fury wouldn’t let me put a fish tank on the Bus?”
Darcy nodded, pressing her lips together. “Yes. I really, really would.” Fury was the exact opposite of letting people do fun things.
He gestured to the seat on the other side of his desk, and Darcy closed the door, walking through the room until she could sit down in the indicated chair. “How are you?” His gray eyes moved over her like he was looking for injuries or something like that.
“Me? I’m good. I’m, you know…” She shrugged. “I’m fine. You guys had a pretty eventful time when I was gone, though, so maybe I should be asking you that.” Her eyes dropped pointedly to the glove-covered hand that was lying on his desk.
He lifted it up, his gaze fixing on it as he flexed his fingers. “Stark made it for me. The mobility is about the same, but decreased sensation. He said he’s working on that for me.” Phil looked back at her, the hand returning to the top of his desk. “Are you going to be staying with us?”
It seemed odd that he was leaving it up to her. His face was pleasantly neutral, giving nothing away, and Darcy let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I mean, I don’t have to.” She winced at the words that just slipped out. They’d fucked twice, not counting the mutual orgasms in Lola’s front seats. Once on this very desk and then again in her bunk, and then… It wasn’t that it was awkward, but… Yeah, it was getting pretty fucking awkward. It wasn’t like he was avoiding her or anything, a lot of shit had come up, and she knew that. Knowing it, though, didn’t help the little voice in the back of her head that told her that he just didn’t want her that way anymore.
Phil looked at her for a long moment, then braced his hands on the desk and got to his feet. She watched him walk around to where he kept the record player on its own little table. There was a box of records still sitting beside it, and he bent down to flip through them before selecting one and taking it out. He was a pro at setting the record up, and when he set the needle gently on the spinning record, something jazzy filled the room.
He came back to the desk and stood by her chair until she got up as well, settling herself on top of the desk so that they were more eye-to-eye. “You’re an asset to the team, Darcy. I want you here. Skye’s- sorry, Daisy’s- going into the field full time with Mack, and it would be good to have strong tech support backing us up.” His eyes moved over her again. “I won’t keep you here against your will. If you want a transfer, we can make that happen.”
“No, I don’t want a transfer. I just… Like…” Darcy made a face, looking down at where she was twisting her hands together in her lap. “All my friends are here, you’re here, but it’s like you guys all have way different shit going on now, and I don’t wanna be in the way.”
A small smile moved over his face again, and his hand extended out towards her. She stared at it for a second, eyebrows raising as she lifted her gaze to look back at him. “Phil, what are you-”
“Shut up and dance with me.”
Her eyes widened a little, an incredulous smile turning up her own lips as she looked at him. He didn’t take it back, didn’t move away, and in just a second she took the offered hand and let him gently pull her to her feet. He spun her into him, and she caught herself against his chest, laughing. “You really do know how to dance.”
“SHIELD Academy.” One hand went to the small of her back as he kept ahold of her hand, and he shifted, one leg pressing between her own for balance as he dipped her backwards. She relaxed against his hands, letting him guide her down and then back against him. He was holding her a little closer than was strictly necessary for actual dancing, but after the initial two moves he seemed to have no more interest in actual dancing. “I want you to stay. I don’t have a lot of spare time right now, but I want you here.”
She nodded, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the top of his shoulder. Her free hand sneaked its way around his back, holding him close. “Does this make me the First Lady of SHIELD?”
Darcy wasn’t sure he heard her past the smooth fabric of his suit jacket, but in a second she heard his quiet huff of amusement. “Not quite. But it does mean I can change the fraternization rules.”
She turned so that she was resting her cheek against him, eyes closed. “Mm, please don’t. Now it’s got the added bonus of being forbidden.”