Darcy/Fitz
She didn’t expect to see him again, honestly. It had been years… He’d finished out his year, graduated like he was supposed to, and then had gone back to Scotland. Only maybe he hadn’t gone back to Scotland? ‘Cause now he was in Tony’s lab, doing… Something.
Darcy snagged Bruce’s elbow as he walked past her, a friendly smile on his face. “Hey, is he…” She pointed directly at Leo. “Is he part of Coulson’s SHIELD team?”
Bruce obligingly turned to look, nodding as he caught sight of the younger man. “Fitz? I think that’s his name.”
Leo chose that second to look up, and Darcy fought the urge to hide behind Bruce. Not that he’d actually provide adequate cover- thanks for being short, Bruce. Leo blinked, one hand moving to his face to bite his thumbnail.
“Do you know him?”
Darcy had almost forgotten Bruce was there until he spoke, and she snapped her eyes back to his face. “Yeah. He came to my school for a year, something about his dad…”
Bruce nodded before continuing on down the hall, and when Darcy looked back through the clear glass wall of Tony’s lab, she startled to realize Leo was walking towards her. She could only watch as he came out of the lab, stopping just a few feet away from her.
“Hi,” she offered.
“Hi.” His eyes were fixed on her face, he’d always been really good about keeping eye contact.
“How are you?”
“Good, I’m…” She nodded. “Good.”
“I always wondered what I’d say if I saw you again, but I never thought…” He sighed, and there was pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… You were the first person to really welcome me, and I treated you like shit.”
“No, I get it. We were young and stupid, and it was probably the first place you were actually cool. I get it.” Her eyes moved over his face. “Soft sciences are totally science, too, you know.”
“I know. Can I make it up to you? Maybe… Take you out for dinner?”
“If I was that person, I’d say yes, and then stand you up like you stood me up.” He flinched visibly at her words, and there was a deep pain in his blue eyes that said that maybe, just maybe, he understood about betrayal. She sighed. “I’m not that person. Just… If you stand me up this time, just remember that it’s the other way around this time. Everyone here likes me better than you. And they won’t stop at verbal mocking.”
He nodded. There was a tentative smile on his face, and she couldn’t help but smile back.