Coffee is the only Dark Matter we need

by Sirrah's Shenanigans

An evening off in New Mexiko for Darcy Lewis, as her internship is coming to and end. She spends this night with pop-tarts, coffee, some beer, some pop-culture references, a whole lot of thinking and Jane. / A slightly humerous Friendship One Shot set between Thor and Thor 2.

Hi there, folks!

Welcome to my first dabbling into the realm of marvel-movie!fanfiction. This lovely baby is to blame on two people – janey-jane and astarayel on deviantArt. I kind of owe it to them for bearing with my rants on the topic of feminism and women in movies. Most specifically – Darcy and Jane. I was also very inspired janey-jane's picture of those two ladies. You can find that here: art/Jane-Darcy-pre-Thor-330818389

So, here's what you can expect from this: girlqualitytime. No pairings whatsoever. And, to be honest, no deeper meaning.

I also apologize for partial cheesiness. I listend to Halestorm's 'Heres to us' on top of Coffitivity a few times too often. I also warn you that there are some pop culture references in there. Have fun spotting them!

Placed between Thor and Thor 2. Canon-ish? Maybe. I didn't have the chance to watch Thor 2 yet, so if that changes things for those two characters this One Shot doesn't consider it. You don't need to have watched the Avengers or any other marvel movie (but it is recommended for their awesomeness anyway.) Enjoy!

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Coffee is the only Dark Matter we need.

:: :: :: ::

Stuck it out this far together
Put our dreams through the shredder
Let's toast cause things got better
and everything could change like that

- Halestorm, Here's to us

The lab was more of a mess than it had been a year ago, Darcy noted. Equipped with a clipboard she had been walking through the lab, making notes of things that still needed to be done before Erik returned to New Mexico in two days. He had been with those weird Shield-people that Darcy still held a grudge against, negotiating about some sort of financial support, now that they expected him and Jane to work for them. Jane wasn't thrilled about that. Darcy glanced over her shoulder to the other woman, who was currently taking a break. Jane was dressed in sweatpants and one of Donald's big flannel shirts. Though it really wasn't Donald's anymore, that big, red thing. If she'd seen any other woman wearing that night after night Darcy would probably have recommend a good therapy by now. Or called her pathetic. But with Jane it kind of made sense. Seeing how Jane had just bounced back from the disappointment and kept her chin raised high it didn't seem a quite as vulnerable gesture. It seemed … well. Darcy wasn't sure. Maybe it was a gesture of loyal. Maybe just firm in her believe in the guy that had swept her – the rational scientist – off her feet pretty unexpected.

Right now Jane didn't seem swept of her feet. She had both hands cupped around her cup of coffee as she was staring through some telescope, making notes of any possible changes. She always did that at the same time, each night. Though tonight she seemed tense. "Hey, Darcy, did Erik call while I was in the shower?" Darcy quickly turned, as if she hadn't been watching Jane, and drew something on the clipboard to make it seem like she was taking important notes. "Nope. Not even a text message." She heard Jane curse slightly. "Damn those Shield-people."

They had initially asked Jane to come for negotiations, but Jane was nothing if not realistic: being rational or not, she'd be tempted to flip them the bird. Which was so extreme that it was almost out of character for her to do. But Jane was still pissed. They might have given her back her work and her equipment, but somehow they had turned it all in a way that it still belonged to them. And not only the equipment, especially all her data, her recordings, her idea… her thoughts. Years of her life. It was unfair. Still, Jane could have adapted. She had done so, actually. She had picked up her work the day that Thor had left without any sign of return. But then those guys in their suits had turned up a week later, asking for a 'status report'. Darcy wished she had recorded Jane's angry rant before she had effectively kicked them out.

Next, that Coulson guy had returned. Or, as Darcy still fondly called him, Son of Coul. He had tried to smooth it all over. Though he had that I'm-your-favourite-uncle!vibe going, he had not been welcome. Jane would have probably kicked him out as well, but there was still that nagging fact that they could easily take her stuff again. Darcy had not quite understood all he'd said, but basically, in searching for that Einstein-Rosenthal-Bridge, Jane threatened to dabble in NASA works. Extraterrestrial life. And that border lined on being a thread to the safety of the world. Yeah, right. Even though Darcy had witnessed the Warriors Three and Lady Sif in their comic-con gear, had witnessed Thor's power and had seen that Destroyer in action... she still felt like snorting remembering that statement. Oh, how Darcy had longed to ask Son of Coul if he expected a guy with a green lantern to turn up or what sort of life they were talking about. But a well placed pop culture reference like that would probably have been lost on that Man in Black anyway.

So instead she had kept her mouth almost shut, except for some snorting and mumbling here and there. And in the end it had lead to Jane and Erik signing a contract with S.H.I.E.L.D. They had tried to make Darcy sign something, too, but Jane had stepped in there. Jane had had to sign more stuff, promising to keep Darcy in line or things like that, but in the end they had let Darcy off the hook and had left. And after that Jane had taken a liking to sleeping less and less, working more and more, and drinking coffee to stay awake on a 24-hours-rhythm.

Putting the clipboard on a box of equipment – now with a little Mirmir doodled in a corner - Darcy walked over to the mini-kitchen, taking two pop-tarts, and went over to Jane. She softly bumped her hip into the other woman's so she looked up and handed her one of the pop tarts that probably would make up their dinner. When Erik wasn't here no one seemed to remember to stock up the fridge. Jane also didn't really take the time to cook and Darcy wasn't exactly a good cook herself. "Thanks. Is it dinner time already?" Jane rightened herself, taking a big gulp of coffee and a bite from the tart-thingy. Darcy shrugged. "Might as well call it Tart Time, but yes. What are you looking for, anyway? Still waiting for ursa minor to go on another holiday?" Jane rolled her eyes at that comment. "Care to remind me how long I will still be able to bask in your wit and sarcasm?" Darcy grinned, taking a bite from her own tart and gulping it down hastily before answering. She had liked Pop Tarts before they became a daily thing. Right now she'd sell her soul for a pizza. Or, in case her soul wasn't worth that much, one of Erik's horrible tasting vegetable-dishes. "Good of you to make me remind you. One week. Do I get a surprise party before I leave?"

Jane seemed a little bit surprised at that. "Wait, really? This soon? I didn't even notice!" Jane went to the timer that they had placed above the make-do-stove-that-only-worked-when-it-felt-like-it-anyway. Yep, the next Friday was marked in red and there was a tiny note of 'End of internship, D.L.'. D.L. meaning Darcy Lewis, as Jane had noted it down when she still wasn't sure if she'd be referring to the girl as Darcy or Miss Lewis. Which meant – pretty much a year ago. Jane shook her head, still a bit unsure of how that could have escaped her. Had she really been so wrapped up in her work? She had to call Erik and ask him to bring along a farewell gift for Darcy from New York. Maybe a new I-pod. She owed Darcy that much, at least. Shield had returned Jane's equipment but apparently the I-pod had been lost. "Time really flew by."

Darcy sat down at the table in the middle of the room, brushing aside a stack of paper and photographs of some stars to make room for her empty cup. "Yeah, I'm kind of surprised myself. I thought I'd be counting the days." Her words were accompanied by a darcy!typical slightly sarcastic grin. Jane herself chuckled. "You know, had any other person applied we wouldn't be here. I mean - what would a political science major want in New Mexico? And with those glasses and your Batman-T-Shirt you looked so… how do kids your age put it…hipster?" Darcy snorted. "Ha. Ha. Thanks, granny, I love you too. Remind me to not help you when you want Shield's proxy switched off the next time." Jane smiled at that, feigning surprise."Yeah, you really proved to have some value in the end. Shocking. Maybe we really should have a surprise party for you."

A party? She had not partied for a whole year. Darcy grinned excitedly, rocking the chair she sat on backwards and forwards in the manner that had been driving Jane mad in the beginning of the internship. "Really now? Because I so know that the hot mechanic needs to be invited then. We could make it a motto party and have everyone come dressed up. I'll be that new super hero that was in the news last week. Iron Man? Or i could recycle my old Seven of Nine Costume. Erik can go as that Pierce from Community, he really hates it when I watch the show. And you could be Catwoman or… hey, you could be Thor!" Jane put her's and Darcy's cup in the sink as Darcy rambled on excitedly. She couldn't help but think that it would be a whole lot more quiet here without that girl around. Though, surprisingly, thoughts like that hadn't crossed her mind for a while now. Yeah, Darcy was a handful, but she had come to like that girl for always speaking her mind. And she had often lightened up otherwise stressful or disappointing days. A prime example of that was the T-Shirt Darcy had given Jane as a birthday gift. 'Coffee is the only Dark Matter I need' in a bright yellow font on a brown shirt. She wore it right now. "A motto party sounds good. We'll call it the 'We're so glad that you're leaving'-party."

Darcy stuck out her tongue as Jane smiled innocently at her, gathering other dirty dishes from various places in the room. "Hey, did you put that cup in my box of photographic plates?" Darcy fully ignored Jane's last question. "Pff. You so don't appreciate my glory. You'll miss me when I'm gone." Dumping everything in the sink, Jane gathered her hair in a pony tail and turned her back to Darcy, who could hear the smile in her voice anyway as Jane put some detergent and water to the dirty dishes. And she also heard a serious hint of sadness in there. "You know what? I probably really will miss you. A bit. Mostly your absurd input on everything." With a grimace Darcy got up and grabbed a towel and waited for Jane to hand her the first, cleaned cup.

"Yes you will. And I'll surely not miss the heat here. And the creepy suit-guys. Or that really horrible tasting coffee from Luke's Diner." Jane handed her the first wet cup with a slight nod, not mentioning that Shield would probably keep an eye on Darcy, wherever she was. Darcy probably knew that anyway. "Oh yes, that coffee is terrible. It always tastes burned." "That's an understatement. Burned doesn't even begin to describe the taste. I'm always afraid that my tongue will fall off when I drink it." Darcy shuddered. "Oh, and I won't miss the horribly slow wi-fi you have. Or your bad taste in music. Yes, definitely, I won't miss waking up to some dramatic Radical Face song all over the place." Darcy put the cup in one of the wall cupboard and picked up the next cup. Jane flicked water in Darcy's general direction. "Well, and I won't miss you dancing around to ridiculously old songs, like that ACDC-song or Toto's Africa, when you think no-one's looking." Chuckling Darcy performed a ballet twirl. "You know that you love my dancing. At least I don't get up at 4am to go jogging with the sun rise. That's just creepy. Even Erik agrees on that." "Well, unlike other people I like to stay in shape." Darcy put the plate away, taking the knives from Jane. "Hey, I do sports as well." "Mario Olympics on your Gameboy doesn't count." Fake-sulking Darcy crossed her arms over her chest. "You just say that because you suck at it. Speaking of it, I definitely won't miss having to hear your and Erik's lame complains about my Gameboy. And I won't miss Erik's rant on how the things on TV are all trash now compared to the good old times." Jane outright laughed at that. "He does bring it up a lot. But I really don't see why you love Community so much, either. Or do you just miss college?"

Darcy huffed, as if to say 'you cannot be seriously asking this'. Then she paused, adjusting her glasses. And brushing through her hair with one hand. "You know… actually: no. I didn't miss any of the people there a whole lot. Certainly not the people from my dorm. And most certainly not my lectures." She put away two glasses and then leaned against the table again, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.

The surprising silence that settled for a minute made Jane turn around, as she waited for the water to drain from the sink, so she could brush through it with a sponge. She took in Darcy's appearance for a minute. The frown seemed annoyed, but also the worried type of frown. Jane had seen that expression for a while, when Darcy thought Jane didn't note her staring at her. After Thor had left. It was a rare expression, though. And right now Darcy had her eyes fixed on something that wasn't in the room, but it was apparent that she was unhappy. Probably it was the future. They all seemed to worry about the future often these days. But Jane hadn't really expected for Darcy to turn 180°around to serious talk now. It wasn't that often that Darcy took something serious. Jane leaned her hip against the kitchen counter, mimicking Darcy's stance. "It is to be expected that all of what happened here will have an impact on your life as well, you know. And I don't even just mean our …asgardian experience. Even if nothing of that sort would have happened, this experiece have changed you. That's why they make you go out in the 'real world' after all."

Darcy glanced at Jane and shrugged at first and nodded. "Yeah, I know. That isn't it. I just…" And then she shook her head. "It wasn't that I settled for a Political Science because it had me thrilled. I didn't expect to be thrilled. That's why I opted for this internship as well, the one nobody seemed to want because it was so far away from New York. I took… the easy road. Again." Jane nodded, encouraging Darcy to go on, while she opened her hair again, drying her hands on her sweatpants. Even though Darcy's whole expression screamed 'unconvinced' that it was a good idea to talk about that now, she did anyway. Jane wondered for how long it had been on Darcy's chest. She really should have paid more attention to the girl and her worries. She was far away from home, friends and family here.

"I just didn't know what to do with my life after school and I figured… it would all fall into place on it's own. They really make it look like that, after the a-levels. I just picked something that sounded vaguely interesting and all grown up. Something that sounded like it could help me earn a heap of money. That sounded like a grown-up thing to do as well. Be realistic about life, don't go for a dreamjob, go for something that gives a certain standard in life that you want. And I wanted Starbucks, apple products, concerts, tons of books and my ever growing collection of series-boxes." Darcy looked at Jane now, with an impish smile, shrugging again. "I never questioned it for the first two years, but… it doesn't really seem all that grown up to me anymore." The smile died on Darcy's lips and instead she sighed. She took down her glasses, cleaning them with her sleeve, as if to distract herself. She seemed incredibly young to Jane in that moment. Younger than most of the time, at least. It made Jane want to comfort the girl, tell her that it was normal to go through a crisis like that, tell her the story of how she first went to an artschool to rebel against her father, but she knew that it wouldn't really help. Phrases and stories didn't help. Darcy needed to figure it out on her own. She could still settle for Political Science and the money it would bring and find a niche in it that would give her something she liked. But she needed to find it. And she needed to know if there even could be such a thing for her – or of she needed to switch majors to something completely different. Or not study at all. And just maybe Darcy already knew what she actually wanted to do, buried deep inside her mind. And that was not some sort of knowledge that Jane could just impart on her, like how she had taught Darcy to use a telescope.

So instead she went to the fridge and took out the only thing that was in there – half a bottle of wine and a last bottle of beer. She wordlessly handed Darcy the beer and took a glass for herself. As Darcy opened the bottle on the corner of the table, Jane now sat down on the kitchen counter, opposite of Darcy. "I'll not judge your choice or say that what you did was wrong or right. But what is it that changed your perception? Maybe that's where you ought to start." Darcy took a gulp of her beer, biting her lower lip in frustration. "I don't know. Maybe… you?" Jane raised her eyebrows at that. "Me. I changed your perception." That's a first. She always thought that nothing she did seemed to really influence Darcy at all. Darcy shrugged again, as if she was surprised by that herself. "Yeah. The way you just love your job. I'd be lying if I'd say I get what you find so thrilling about looking at stars for hours or all that. But…" Darcy shrugged helplessly. "You always seem genuine enthusiastic. You can be at it for hours and completely loose perception of time. I want that, too, I think. I want something where I'm completely happy working my ass of and where I don't sit and just glance at the clock every ten seconds."

That was… surprising. Jane leaned her head against the wall cupboards, frowning a little bit herself. It was a weird that Darcy had to point that out to her, so she remembered it herself. But it was true. She really loved her job, didn't she? Despite the recent chaos in her life, she found solace in what she did. It wasn't even like a job to her. It hadn't started out as a job, either. "Yes, I guess I'm very lucky that I can do what I love and earn money from it. But… I grew up with it. My father was an astronomer and physicist himself. So I didn't have to look around much to know what I like and what I want to do with my life. Maybe you just need to look harder at the things you love as well, Darcy." "Yeah, I know. But I doubt that anyone's going to pay me for reading books, watching series or playing games." Jane watched as Darcy let her head fall back, both her hands buried in her hair, as if she was about to tear it out by the roots. Jane shook her head slightly and then slid down from the kitchen counter. That girl was so clever sometimes, but so oblivious with other things. "Don't brush it off like that. You're blogging, aren't you? About the books you read. That could be a start. Maybe you're cut out for journalism."

Darcy stopped staring down the ceiling as if it was the sole source of her problem and all evil in the world and glanced at Jane, a bit amused and surprised at the same time. "Oh, so you did read the link I send you!" Jane smiled. "How could I not? You kept spamming my inbox with 'updates'. You're a bit harsh with some of those books, but maybe it's a start. You're good with words. You're turning them in other people's mouth before they even speak them. And you're smart. I'm sure you could do it – if that is what would make you happy. And you're good with programming and the computers as well. Even if Shield would take everything here, your new backup system could ensure that not all my files would be lost to me. It's probably illegal, your hacking, but it's a start. And as far as I know you can really earn a lot of money with that."

Darcy seemed to consider it for a moment, then she shrugged. "You know, it's an idea. All I came up with was…" she paused for a moment, afore she spoke on. Jane was startled to see a hint of familiar mischief there. "…was that I don't really want to leave here. And now that you mention it…I'm kind of good with hacking things and programming. Completely fresh thought, but maybe you need someone for that. Like, for example, that computer science guy that Erik makes sure Shield will be funding for you. Don't know where he got that idea from, but it sounds kind of perfect, doesn't it?" Jane blinked with an unchanging expression for a moment, then she brought a hand to her forehead, rubbing it, looking down. Darcy waited, patiently. It now depended on how she had winged this conversation. But surely Jane wouldn't want one of Shields-men working here, right? Then she heard an unlady-like snort coming from Jane. "God, Darcy, you're too much for me sometimes. Of cause Erik didn't come up with that himself, seeing how much he distrusts technique sometimes. Just like when you hacked that Fake ID for Thor. God. That's so like you."

Darcy put her bottle of beer on the table. Her hands had become a bit sweaty. Or maybe that was just the condensation? "So…would you take me if I applied for a job? Yes or now? Because I kind of need to know if I want to make plans for that. I can probably even switch majors right now. I read into it a bit, I could even stay for another year and make this another internship if I try computer science. And there's a college not far from here that would allow me to go to guest lectures and things, earn credit points. Though I wouldn't want to live in a dorm there, they're kind of…" Jane shook her head, made a step forward and actually lowered herself to embrace Darcy in quick hug that shut her up. Darcy didn't get to return it either, because Jane pulled back a moment later, laughing again, one hand pushed to her sight, the other ruffling her hair. "Just one thing, Darcy. One Rule." Darcy nodded with a grave expression. "Whatever it is. I'll do it. I'd even hide a dead body for you." Jane tried to put on a serious face, but she failed. "If your application has another picture of you in a batman-shirt I'll kick you out, I swear." Darcy grinned. "Oki-doky. I have a wonderful Wonder Woman Fanshirt that might be more to your liking. Or my Uhura costume." Jane snorted and emptied her glass of wine in one go. "It's just good that I didn't really already plan a surprise party for you." Darcy put on a sulky face, trying the puppy dog eyes and the Disney face that she never seemed to really master. There was too much mischiefe in her big brown eyes to pull of bambi. "Not even a little party? Maybe a 'We're happy you're not leaving'-party?" Jane shook her head. "No. But, you know what, though? Let's take tonight off, get out of the sweatpants and go to the pub. I'll pay." With a squeal of delight Darcy jumped up. "Give me five minutes! You're the best, Jane, and I'll never complain about your tendencies to be boring again." Jane shook her head as she watched Darcy darted out of the room, but she was smiling broadly as she did so. She was almost surprised, but Darcy staying was the best news she had in a while. And she was even willing to put up with her unending talkativeness for that. Maybe she get her a shirt as well.

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Okay. Err. Let's see. What needs explaining now?

The flannel shirt. Thor wears this a couple of times. I just assumed that it was Donald's before.

Green Lantern. Yes, well... just that? The DC Hero, played by handsom Ryan Reynolds. I didn't want to reference Marvel Heroes as comic characters, as they're real people in that Universe. So I went for DC.

Mirmir. I think we all fondly remember Darcy's nickname for Mjolnir, right?

Pop-tarts, because Thor liked them.

Ursa Minor. The 'little bear'-constalation. There's a scene in Thor where Jane has a discussion with Erik whether or not to believe Thor. In this scene Jane mentiones that the stars the hubble-teleskop made a picture of are completely different on the other side of the Einstein-Rosenthal-Bridge. She jokingly mentions that either this is indeed an indicator of there being a different galaxy or that the little bear has gone on a holiday.

The mention of Iron Man. I don't know if there is an official timeline for the movies. In my head-canon Iron Man takes place vaguely around the same time as Thor, maybe a tad bit later. So the news Darcy refers to is Tony Stark revealing his identity at the end of Iron Man 1.

Seven of Nine. A character from Star Trek: Voyager.

Pierce, Community. The TV-Show about a study group in a very weird college. I am guilty of having taken a liking to the show.

Creepy-suit-guys. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We know that they kept tabs on Jane.

Luke's Diner. I was too lazy to look up what the Diner they had breakfast with Thor in really was named. So I named it after the Diner in 'Gilmore Girls'. Another TV Show. It's not meant as a reference here.

The Fake ID. The one that is used when they try to get Thor out of Shield's custody. I know it is generally assumed that Erik created the fake ID. I just don't think so. And I need something to foster my head canon of Darcy being kind of brilliant with computers. But as that's just my headcanon, feel free to ignore it.

If anything else left you confused – let me know. Aside from that: Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!