Chapter 37
Avengers Tower, New York, United States
May 2011
“Jane!”
Jane snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. “What?”
Darcy was standing by the door to the lab. Because Jane knew her friend, she was able to detect uncharacteristic hesitation in Darcy’s posture. Or discomfort. Or both.
“How’s the duct tape?” Darcy asked, stepping farther into the room.
Jane hit the HRTEM with the side of her fist. “Holding. Barely. I had to start this one over. The readings—”
“I won’t understand any more than that,” Darcy interrupted.
Jane sighed. “Okay. Oh. How was your date last week?”
Darcy waved a hand. “A disaster. He smacked his food and thought I was an idiot. I can’t seem to find any decent guys.”
“That’s because you’re brilliant,” Jane said.
Darcy smiled, but she definitely looked uncomfortable. Upset even?
That caught Jane’s attention. Even when Darcy was upset, which was rare, she hid it better than anyone Jane had ever met. “What’s wrong? Did the meeting go badly?” Jane added.
“No… well, not exactly.” Darcy took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Jane examined her friend closely. “Okay…”
“You remember how Fury and Thor told us all that Loki killed Coulson?”
Jane closed her eyes. “Yes.” She missed Coulson. Wished he was still here. He was so even-keeled, easy to work with, and his humor had lightened several bad days for her. She couldn’t help thinking that he would’ve been able to check Thor-
“They lied. Thor killed Coulson.”
“Excuse me?”
Darcy nodded, face grim. “I saw it. You never asked me where I was on the helicarrier during the fight. I’d gone down to watch Loki—to see if I could pick up on anything the interrogators couldn’t. We were speaking—that conversation was weird as fuck—when the first explosion hit. I hid. Thor showed up just as Loki was leaving the cage. They were fighting and Coulson tried to interfere.”
Jane shook her head. “No.”
“Yes,” Darcy said firmly. “I’m sorry, Jane, but you know Thor has a temper. I saw the whole thing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jane said. She didn’t know what she was feeling. She wasn’t good with feelings.
Darcy wrapped her arms around herself. She looked shrunken, smaller than normal, as if she were collapsing in on herself. “Because… we were in the middle of a battle. I was going to. But then Pepper drugged us, and when we woke up everything had gone to shit, and then I wanted to give Fury a chance to tell us himself.”
“Fury knows?” Jane hated this helplessness but she couldn’t seem to do anything other than parrot Darcy’s words.
“I’m like ninety-seven percent sure. Coulson talked to Fury before he died. I’m gonna lay the odds on Coulson having told Fury who killed him and why.”
Jane closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Darcy said quietly.
“Do you regret any of the secrecy?” Jane asked.
Darcy considered. “No. But I’m sorry that it hurt you. That was never my intent.”
Jane laughed. It sounded false. “There’s the Darcy I know.”
“Are we… are we okay?” Darcy asked, watching Jane closely.
Tears pricked Jane’s eyes, fresh grief hitting her like a punch to the solar plexus, but she nodded. “You’re kind of my only friend.”
“I think we have more now,” Darcy said, pointing upstairs.
“Is Thor coming back?” Jane asked quietly. “Have you heard anything?”
Darcy shook her head.
“Good.” Jane almost unconsciously curled her left hand into a fist. “Because if he does… I’m going to make his life unpleasant.”
Darcy smirked. It was a shade weaker than normal. “I have been such a bad influence on you. It’s awesome.”
Jane wiped her eyes. “Is this where we hug?”
“I’m not any more up on hugging protocols than you are,” Darcy joked.
Jane impulsively reached out and embraced her friend. It was awkward and clumsy but it worked, somehow, and she buried her face in Darcy’s shoulder.
“I’ll help you make his life miserable.”
They jerked apart. Darcy managed to look infuriatingly collected within half a second and turned to glare at Tony. “Your timing could not be worse.”
“Sorry, did I ruin your moment? Because if so, I’m not leaving.” Tony grinned at them and sauntered farther into the lab. It didn’t quite look like his normal smile to Jane.
“We will all make his life miserable,” Darcy said. “But strategically. Let’s not start any wars with Asgard, okay, Tony?”
Tony leaned against a table. “I make no promises.”
“No wars with Asgard,” Darcy insisted.
Tony threw up his hands. “Fine, fine…”
The HRTEM beeped.
“Okay, out,” Jane said. “You’re both distracting. Go argue somewhere else.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Tony said sarcastically. “But if Thor ever comes back, I’m on your side.”
“ We are,” Darcy clarified, and dragged Tony out of the room.
As soon as they were gone, Jane leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the HRTEM.
Thor. Thor killed Coulson. Thor, who she dated, who she’d thought she loved —
This was the final proof. Romantic love was useless, blind and foolish. Jane pulled her laptop towards herself and hooked it up to the HRTEM to begin the data transfer.
She would never love blindly again.