One time Darcy got drunk and started talking and wouldn't stop.
It didn't help that everybody was there – everybody she saw at work on most days – and it was the Christmas get-together that Darcy had organized almost entirely alone.
Pepper was the only other person who helped, because everyone else was either too busy or didn't bother. Tony made some shady comment that did not land as a joke to her, so she spoke up.
"I've never felt more disgusted by some old white guy since I last turned on the TV and the president was speaking."
Natasha snorted, Tony shooting the redhead a sharp look.
Everyone seemed surprised by Darcy's outburst. Dozens of eyes were on her, which only emboldened her.
That and the champagne. She had a fuckload of champagne.
"You okay, kiddo?" Tony asked, and Darcy glared at him.
"I slaved away over fucking crudité and cared about whether anyone would notice the lack of lettuce because of that salmonella scare but oh, my fucking God, no! None of you noticed shit! And you have whole conversations like I'm not even in the room."
She glanced at Natasha, who'd sobered completely.
"I may as well be the fucking help at this point."
She promptly stormed off, leaving the room silent and awkward.
Over the next few days, people started sending her messages, cards and even gifts to show their gratitude.
Darcy ate too much. She was aware of her size and how easily she would lose weight if she was better at portion control but it wasn't as if people were counting on her being fighting fit.
It was an advantage of being a civilian working in the labs – she could be occasionally chubby and it did not affect the greater good.
She made two cakes for her birthday – one for sharing with everyone else, and then one for herself, fondant and everything included.
She had her cake and ate it for literal days.
Darcy got a dumb tattoo once. It was a tiny black heart on her ankle. It was dumb because it cost her twenty bucks and the guy who did it was an apprentice and hardly tattooed anyone at that point.
Actually, if Darcy thought about it, she was probably his first ever client. Also he just got out of prison.
The heart remained on her ankle, crooked and poorly drawn, and she sometimes covered it with socks, but often enough she let it see the sun and ignore it.
As a teen Darcy refused to dissect a frog. She ran down the school corridors yelling "I'm calling PETA".
She got detention but never had to dissect a frog.
Darcy never called PETA.
Thor patted her head, making Darcy nearly fall over in the process.
"My lightning sister," he said fondly, and Darcy smiled at him.
Her trusty taser sat in her jeans back pocket, thankfully switched off.