Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nor have I ever had a meet-cute in a coffee shop.
She was so late. But she deserved at least one cup of actually good coffee before work, didn't she? It was going to be insane when she got there, no matter when that happened to be, so she might as well enjoy the few moments before the chaos of her day began.
Even so, she bounced as she waited in line, eyeballing the pastries and picking one out before she got to the register. She ordered her drink, lounged impatiently near the pickup counter.
She took a bite of her chosen baked goodness, and jumped as her name was called, dropping half of it. She groaned as she watched it crumble to the floor, then leaned down to make at least some effort in cleaning it up.
As she did so, her head cracked into the person next to her, who appeared to be doing the exact same thing she was.
""Oh, you're kidding me!"" they cried out in unison.
"Ow..." Darcy continued.
"Are you okay?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, I... think so," Darcy said, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead.
"You're blocking the counter," a helpful citizen informed them.
"Yeah, thanks, we're definitely doing it on purpose," Claire snapped, helping Darcy to a nearby table with only one unoccupied chair. "Which one is yours?" she asked.
"Oh, the double iced americano," Darcy replied. "You don't have to—"
"It's okay," Claire told her. "Sit, I'll go rescue our drinks and be right back. You shouldn't move until you let me check you out." When Darcy blushed, Claire clarified: "I'm a nurse."
"I bet you say that to all the girls," Darcy told her when she returned with their coffees.
"Well," Claire admitted, "I won't say it's a line I've never used before." She bent and examined Darcy's eyes and the lump on her head.
"Am I going to live?" Darcy asked, smiling up at her.
"Likely," Claire allowed.
"At least it wasn't the coffee that we spilled," Darcy said. "That really would have been something to add to my already not-great day."
"I was just thinking the same thing," Claire said, standing back and offering Darcy a card. "You should be okay, but if you start to feel bad at all, give me a call or just come in. I work at Metro General."
Darcy regarded the card with some apprehension. "Wow," she said. "That was pretty slick. I was gearing up for a potentially embarrassing 'hey can I have your number,' so thanks for taking the pressure off." She waved the card. "Are all medical professionals as smooth as you?"
"That... wasn't..." Claire attempted to say, then cleared her throat when she saw the disappointed look on Darcy's face, so she went for it: "Maybe you should call me sometime and you can find out."
Darcy turned to search around in her bag, probably to hide a smile. "In that case..." She emerged with a card of her own.
"Stark Industries?" Claire read.
"I'm a scientist wrangler."
"Wow, really? That sounds—"
A shout from a nearby barista interrupted Claire's thought, and she glanced up at the big clock on the wall.
"I'm so late," it reminded her.
"Me too," Darcy said with a grin. "But I don't think I mind anymore."
Claire considered the look on Darcy's face and smiled. "Me either. It was nice bumping into you."
Author's Note: You can read my behind the scenes rambling on my blog, iwillwriteyourfic DOT blogspot DOT com SLASH 2016 SLASH 04 SLASH sfw-femslash-flufffest DOT html