Darcy/Mack
It was hush money. Really, that was the only way to put it. But the government had paid Darcy a considerable sum to make up for “her involvement in certain dangerous extraterrestrial events.” Darcy wasn’t going to talk about it anyway, because she loved Thor and Jane and didn’t want to endanger them or cause anyone to intrude on their lives or anything. Didn’t mean she wasn’t more than happy to take the money.
And the first thing she did was buy a house. Okay, so it was a little house, and it needed a bunch of work, but Darcy wasn’t exactly a stranger to fixing things up. Cough, Jane’s lab equipment, cough. But it was nice to actually have a permanent dwelling place that she could call hers.
About three days after she moved in, she heard the sound of a heavy diesel engine in the driveway. That was… Weird. She’d had to buy an entire house-worth’s of furniture, but they weren’t due to arrive until the following day. Maybe they were early? That would be awesome. She was getting pretty sick of having to reinflate the air mattress she’d bought to use until her actual bed arrived.
She slid her feet into her flats and went outside, leaving the front door open behind her.
That… Was a U-Haul. That definitely wasn’t the truck from the furniture store. As she watched, a very tall man got out of the driver’s seat. He paused when he noticed her, confusion on his face.
Darcy waved brightly. “Hi!” she called, stepping down off her porch to walk over to him. “Are you moving in next door?” She gestured to the small house beside hers- it was in better shape, honestly, and the realtor had showed her both.
His brown eyes moved from her to her house, the followed her gesture to the one next door. “Oh, shit.” His voice was spine-vibratingly deep. “I’m sorry. A friend of mine set this up for me, this is actually the first time I’ve seen the place.”
“It’s nice.” She shrugged. “I saw both houses when I was house-shopping- I’m new here, too. Darcy.” Her hand came out, and he took it and shook it gently.
“My friends call me Mack.” He had a nice smile.
“Well, Mack, it is hotter than balls out here. Why don’t I get some iced tea going, you move your truck, and then I help you move in.” She paused, glancing from him to the house. “Please tell me your power is already on, ‘cause it’s going to be miserable without AC.”
“It should be. At least… I hope so. That sounds like a great idea, Darcy.” He flashed her another smile, and she basically had to smile, too. He pulled off the open plaid shirt he was wearing over a white sleeveless undershirt as he turned back towards the truck, and Darcy’s grin grew. She’d be calling Jane later to tell her that she’d definitely hit the hot-neighbour jackpot.