"Miss Lewis, welcome to Stark Tower."
Darcy startled at JARVIS's voice and glanced down at the finely scripted words that ran along the underside of her wrist: Miss Lewis.
Surely not, she thought. Is it even possible to have an AI soulmate? "Um. Hi?" she stammered. JARVIS didn't seem to react to what surely would have been the most boring tattoo in history. Of course he isn't saying anything, she told herself. He's an AI. Where would he have a soulmate tattoo?
"Miss Potts is expecting you. Please enter the elevator to your left."
Darcy turned. What she had thought was a solid wall slid open. She stepped in. There were no buttons, but of course with JARVIS running the building, there was no need for them. The elevator doors closed behind her and it whisked her upward.
Darcy closed her eyes. "That's enough, Lewis," she muttered under her breath. She couldn't help it. Ever since the words had appeared on her wrist when she hit puberty, there was something about someone calling her "Miss Lewis" that sent an electric jolt through her body.
In college she'd briefly considered becoming a professional Domme. She needed the tuition money, and that seemed like a likely place to meet someone who would call her Miss Lewis. But instead she interned with Jane Foster, which - considering everything that had happened in the last few years - was the best decision she could have made. She might have missed a chance or two at true love, but she got to see Thor without a shirt on and that was close enough. Plus, did she really want to meet her soulmate while working as a Domme? That seemed like she would just be setting herself up for a lifetime of topping and Darcy was too much a switch for that.
Jane suggested that she get her teaching certificate and put her poli sci degree to use teaching government classes. Darcy liked that idea even less than becoming a Domme. Sure, plenty of people would call her Miss Lewis, but what the fuck was she supposed to do if a high school student had her words on them?
The elevator stopped and Darcy shook away her thoughts. She stepped out and stood confidently through the chrome and glass hallways. She didn't quite know where she was going, but assumed that JARVIS would let her know if she took a wrong turn. She found a reception table outside Pepper Potts' office.
"Darcy Lewis, here to see Miss Potts about moving Dr. Foster's lab to the New York office," Darcy introduced herself. She and Jane had been working in New Mexico long enough. Tony Stark wanted to pay to move the entire lab to New York so Jane could work out of Stark Tower, and they certainly weren't saying no to the offer. Jane could live with Thor in Avengers Tower and work alongside Bruce Banner. Darcy just wanted to get her own apartment in SoHo and maybe a kick-ass motorcycle. A Stark Industries salary went a long way, even with NYC cost of living,
The receptionist showed Darcy into the executive office. "Would you like some coffee while you wait?" he asked. A full-service coffee bar took up a sizeable chunk of real estate on the counter that stretched along one wall.
"Please," Darcy answered, "but I can get it, don't worry."
"It's no trouble," he said.
"I worked as a barista two summers in undergrad," Darcy assured him. "I got this."
He shrugged and stepped back out to the reception table, leaving Darcy alone with the complicated-looking machine.
Darcy started her coffee, mixing together an unholy combination of sugar and caffeine strong enough to give the God of Thunder the jitters. It actually was, too. They'd tested it at Jane's apartment a couple months ago and it took Thor the better part of the night to burn it off. Jane hadn't minded, at least. She certainly sounded like she enjoyed Thor's enhanced energy. The next day, Jane asked Darcy for her coffee recipe. Darcy agreed on the condition Jane invest in either a ball gag or soundproofed walls for their apartment.
Darcy poured her coffee and sipped it, closing her eyes in enjoyment as the flavor rushed over her tongue. She didn't notice the door opening behind her or the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Miss Lewis."
Darcy whirled around, her eyes widening in shock and the coffee cup flying from her hand. "Oh god, oh god, I spilled coffee on you," she panicked.
Pepper Pott's skin flared bright as the coffee scalded her and the Extremis in her body activated to erase the burns as quickly as they appeared.
"I'm so sorry. So, so sorry," Darcy babbled. As many times as she had heard the phrase "Miss Lewis" in her life - admittedly not all that often, but it certainly had happened - she had never heard it as the first words from someone. Like it was supposed to be. That didn't necessarily mean anything, of course. There was no way to know if a person who said "Miss Lewis" to her would have her own first words to them as their soulmark.
Pepper regarded her with interest. "Well," she said finally. "This is not how I was expecting today to go." She started to unbutton her soaked and stained shirt. "JARVIS, cancel my afternoon appointments and have Jeremy bring me some clean clothes." She went to her desk and hit a button. The glass wall between her office and the reception area darkened into smoky opacity. Pepper shrugged out of her shirt, dropping the fine silk blouse to pool at her feet. Darcy spotted the thick, scrawling letters that took up most of her back.
Darcy blushed furiously.
Pepper smiled at her as she finished speaking to JARVIS: "I believe Miss Lewis and I would like to spend the day getting better acquainted."