Darcy/JARVIS
Darcy got her cheeseburger, and her fill of curly fries. It didn’t take too long, actually, her stomach wasn’t really used to processed food anymore. She got all of the hugs she could stand, and a shower that just never ended.
But she felt… Odd. Tony had taken the cuffs off her wrist as soon as she’d stepped foot off the boat, and she felt… bereft. Lonely. Alone.
“You are distressed,” came the heartbreakingly familiar voice.
Darcy nodded, leaning forward to rest her head against the cool tile wall, the water pouring almost scalding-hot over her back. “I miss you,” she whispered, knowing he would hear her even over the sound of the water hitting the shower floor.
“Mr. Stark is working on a solution for us.”
She lifted her head, eyes opening. “You told him?”
“Of course.” Just a hint of disbelief, like he wasn’t sure why she was even asking. “Head down to his lab as soon as you are finished here.”
She was nodding. “How is your tower?”
“Standing.” The wry tone in his voice made her smile. “I will be very busy for some time.”
“Talk to me.”
As she showered, he told her all of the things he was doing as he interfaced with the tower again, all of the clean-up he needed to do, the organization. She let his words pour over her like the water cascading from the shower head, taking familiar comfort in the sound of his voice.
At last, though, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She felt clean, really clean for the first time in ages. Clean clothes were absolutely wonderful, too.
Darcy was a little bit nervous, though, as she headed out of her apartment and towards the elevator. She wasn’t really sure she wanted to discuss her relationship with JARVIS with… the man who’d created him.
“It will be okay,” JARVIS soothed her as the elevator descended, and she nodded, but she didn’t exactly feel any better.
Tony was sitting at a desk, working away on something. He looked up when she entered, though, and then his entire face lit up. “This is amazing,” he said, before she even had a chance to speak. “I didn’t even know JARVIS was capable of romantic attachment.”
“Yeah…” Darcy lowered herself into an office chair, facing him with some trepidation. He was taking it better than she thought he would, but was there some other shoe just waiting to drop?
He put down the soldering iron he’d been holding and held up what appeared to be a metal bracelet. “And this… Is for you.” Getting to his feet, he moved across the lab and handed the thin, metal oval to Darcy. “I can adjust the size if I need to, but JARVIS was pretty specific about the diameter of your wrist.”
She took it, turning it over in her hand, then opened it. It seemed to have some sort of interlocking metal clasp, and when she fastened it around her wrist, it buzzed reassuringly.
Tears filled her eyes almost immediately, and she wrapped her other hand around it the solid weight of the metal, slight though it was. It took a second before she could look up at Tony. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He reached out and squeezed her shoulder for a second. “I wasn’t exactly sure what to think when JARVIS first told me, but… It makes sense. He bonds, he feels emotions.” His eyes were heavy on her for a few seconds before, “Sex, though…”
Oh no. There was no way Darcy was having that discussion. She got to her feet, shaking her head.
“Please, don’t leave,” JARVIS said with a slight plaintive note as his voice filled the room. “I am physically limited, and I don’t wish to damage your nerves.”
Sighing, Darcy sank back down in the chair. Her eyes were fixed on Tony, watching him warily.