Chapter 24
“Darcy,” Steve choked, his arms wrapping tighter. He could feel her hot tears run against his neck.
“Please tell me I’m not dreaming.” She begged. “You’re real, aren’t you? You’re really here?”
“I’m here, doll, I’m here.” He ran his fingers through her thick hair.
“How? Why?” She shook her head. “No, nevermind, not right now. I just want you to hold me right now.”
“Always going to, doll.” She smelled like lilies and lavender, something that just felt right to him.
“Umm…so what the hell is this?”
Tony’s voice finally broke them out of their bubble. They both lifted their heads to see people staring at them curiously, Stark most of all. Darcy lifted her eyes back to Steve. She got lost in their blueness, so used to seeing him through them. Her fingers reached and gently touched his face. His eyes seemed to betray his feelings of guilt as Darcy suddenly remembered what had been said before he had been killed. She stepped out of his arms, though every part of her body begged her not to leave them.
“You broke my heart, you jerk.” She pounded her fists against his chest and Steve was too ashamed to stop her. “Said you could love anyone else as much as you love me! And then you go and die on me!”
“Darcy, I…” He started but failed.
“No! You broke me completely, Steven! And then you’re here and you’re fighting aliens and you don’t even have the balls to tell me?” She yelled.
“You were happy, Darce!” He yelled back. “You’re with someone else and you’ve finally moved on! I didn’t know they would dig me up out of the eyes seventy years later!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” She hissed.
“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on here, though I really want to, but maybe you guys should take this somewhere else?” Stark hinted.
Steve glared, but he nodded towards the elevator anyways.
“I’ll by spying through Jarvis, FYI!” Tony yelled with a grin.
They were silent the entire ride, but all Darcy wanted to do was be back in his arms and finally kiss him like she had always dreamed. He was here, with her, they could finally be together, but…some part of her was holding on to what happened before. The doors finally opened and Steve led her to what she assumed was his apartment. When they were inside, Darcy’s back straightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were alive, Steve?” She demanded. “Do you know how hard I grieved for you?”
“I know, Darce.” He said quietly. “As soon as they woke me up from the ice, I searched for you. I saw you were with someone else and you were happy. I didn’t want to bring this all back up to you again.”
“What do you mean with someone else?” Her face scrunched.
“I searched online like I always saw you do.” He explained. “It said you were in a relationship.”
“Yeah, because I never changed it when you died.” She waved her hand as if that explained everything.
“I saw you in New Mexico with another guy.” He huffed as he blushed.
“You mean Oliver?” Darcy rolled his eyes. “Oliver is a friend. We met online through a grief chatroom. He’s one of my closest friends now.”
“Oh,”
“Yeah, oh!” She mocked. “None of this excuses the fact that you broke up with me or that you turned up to be alive and didn’t tell me!”
“Darcy, I broke up with you because I thought it would be better than you having to suffer through a fake relationship! I didn’t know I was going to end up in your time! And once I did…” Steve searched for the words. “Once I saw that you were happy without me, I couldn’t bring myself to bring back all the pain.”
“So you thought it would be better I would never know?” Darcy let out a weary sigh. “Steve, we lived in each other’s heads! We built a relationship and now…”
“And now, we can finally be together. That’s if you still want me.” He said hopefully.
“It’s not going to be easy, Steve.” She whispered. “It was easier when we were in each other’s heads and none of this had happened.”
“Nothing’s ever easy with us, Darcy.” He gave a small grin. “But I can finally…”
“I know,” She gave a slight smile. “You have a lot to make up for, Steve.”
“I know, doll. But for now, can I just enjoy this?”
Darcy slowly walked towards him. She held his hands in hers, thoughtfully remarked on how they still had the roughness of a soldier and an artist. Her eyes lifted up to his as they came chest-to-chest.
“Steve, I think it’s time we had our first kiss.”
Steve was hesitant as he leaned his head down. His lips were gentle as they touched hers, but Darcy felt it all the way to her toes. He was here and no part of her will get over that soon. She could feel the hair at his neck, feel his lips against hers, feel his heart beat in his chest. He was real, he was here, and he wasn’t in her head anymore. Darcy didn’t realize she was crying until he pulled away.
“Darcy?” He questioned.
“I thought you were dead,” she sobbed as he laid his forehead against hers.
“I’m not, not anymore. I’m not going anywhere, Darcy.”
“Please don’t break my heart again.” She begged with her eyes closed.
“I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make that up to you.”
Darcy burrowed her head in his chest as his hands rubbed her back. God, touching him was just as she had always imagined, except better because it was real. Her fingers gently touched the lips he had kissed.
“If you’ve been alive,” she pondered aloud. “Why didn’t hear you in my head again?”
“I haven’t tried it to see if it would still work.” He admitted. “Was terrified on how that would be on you.”
“Should we?” She lifted her face.
“Will it change things?”
Darcy shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to see. I started getting these painful headaches a lont time ago, maybe that was it.”
Steve nodded. “Okay, we’ll try it.”