Darcy/Steve 14
It was supposed to be a nice night with their best friends. Wine, shrimp cocktail, pleasant conversation. Only Jane had been on a science bender and was running on too little sleep and too much caffeine, and the muscle in James’ jaw was jumping like it was trying to take over the world.
It devolved.
Jane was crying, James was yelling heartfelt things like, “How can you think I’m anything but hopelessly in love with you?” while looking like someone had killed his puppy.
Which led to Darcy and Steve sitting outside on the balcony with the bottle of wine she’d snagged from the table on their way out. Because while her first instinct was to jump up and start punching the fuck out of James for making her Jane cry, she realized that inserting herself in the middle of her friend’s marital issues probably wasn’t the best idea, and wouldn’t be appreciated by anyone.
She took a long swig from the bottle before offering it to Steve. He took it, taking a drink himself, and she wrapped her arms around herself. It was fully dark and getting a little chilly, and she hadn’t really dressed for outside excursions.
“You’re cold.” It wasn’t a question, saving her from having to come up with a smart-ass response.
“Yeah. It’s… Chilly.”
He moved over to lower himself onto the canvas lounge beside her, handing her the bottle back as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “Better?”
“Thanks. The benefits of having an actual space-heater for a friend.” His increased metabolism made him run a little higher than your average 98.6. She snuggled gratefully into his side.
They passed the bottle back and forth for a few minutes, and Darcy twisted her head over to look back through the window. Progress. Jane was sitting on the couch, James beside her with his hand rubbing against her arm. They were talking too, like actually talking. She couldn’t hear, but no one looked like they were yelling or sobbing.
She turned back around to face forward. “You know, awkward-for-friends moments aside, I’m glad they have each other.”
Steve nodded. “Yeah. We talked about it a bit in the army. He got around a little, but he always talked about having a girl good enough to come home to.”
“Jane is certainly that!” Darcy felt a stab of fierce protectiveness. Not that Steve had suggested she wasn’t, but she would fight him.
The arm around her squeezed like he knew what she was thinking or something and wanted to reassure her. “Yeah. I mean, she makes him happy. That’s… That’s saying something.”
“Yeah.” She took another long drink before pushing the bottle over to him. “What about you? You down for the whole marriage, white picket fence thing? Which…” Her eyes widened with a sudden idea. “I am totally making her a picket fence magnet.”
“I dunno. I used to be, but now… Now I’m not so sure.” He shrugged. “On top of all of the daily shit, most women seem to get Steve mixed up with Captain America. I’m not that guy.”
“No, I get it.” She rested her head against his chest. “Jesus, Steve, what do you keep in here? Rocks?”
Steve gave an amused huff. “Just at night. During the day it’s all vibranium.”
“Well, a guy’s got to be able to relax.” They sat for a while in silence, looking out over the city. “I miss the stars. I miss looking up and being able to see the Milky Way.”
“Yeah?” He paused for a moment, handing the bottle back. “I’ll take you out on the bike tomorrow. Drive out of town, take some dinner maybe?”
“Yeah?” Darcy smiled, resettling her cheek against his chest. “That sounds pretty awesome.”