A/N: Another new genre for me, woo-hoo! This popped into my head one day after reading entirely too many Darcy/Loki fanfics where Loki gets to play the hero, which is nice, since in my head he only does that for a few select people, (that is a reformed 'I-don't-think-I'll-take-over-the-world-my-love-lives-on' Loki). I know I'm nowhere near the talent of some of the other great Loki/Darcy authors on here (LuvaGoodMrE, labyrinthinemelange, StarTrekFanWriter, dhauren are among my favorites…check them out if you haven't already!), but I'm trying. You'll probably notice that a lot of this is Loki-commentary, which may seem odd or irritating, but I personally find it hilarious. I offer a rather amusing commentary for movies I've seen when the notion strikes me. Also, all the humanity bashing going on in here, I figured that made sense from pre-reformed Loki's point of view. Any-who, please enjoy and I appreciate reviews, they make me all smiley and such. Oh, and clearly I own nothing, just doing this for my own insane enjoyment and that of others. (Sorry for the ferociously long author's note, please continue with the merriment)
If He Be Worthy
The chaos was unimaginable. Anarchy ruled through the streets of the city. People were screaming, fires were burning, and everyone was running, searching for some semblance of a safe haven in what is now a valley of destruction. But despite all these things, the only thought racing through my mind was 'Where is she…where's Darcy?'
When I began the campaign against Midgard, a foolish endeavor that was doomed to fail from the beginning, I gave little thought to the meager inhabitants of this dying rock. What were they to me, a veritable god amongst their race? I looked down upon them with disdain — my future subjects, future slaves; worthless, mindless creatures all of them. Always in constant need of one of a higher and more powerful caliber to rule them, as they could achieve little else on their own. In my various covert visits to this realm, I made all these observations and found no one who could refute them and prove any different; until I saw her.
Ironically, I was watching, invisibly of course, the human woman that had laid claim to my brother's heart and turned him into something…soft. She was called Jane. Such a plain name, even here in the realm full of plain names. As I was concluding my daily observations of the Jane woman (and a rather dull and ordinary being she proved to be, no matter how intelligent), my interest was piqued when she was visited by another female of a younger age who even in looks was far more appealing than the elder. In the few chances I'd had to observe Jane I saw this other female quite rarely, and even when she deigned to speak, it was only in reference to work, so I never gave her much thought until this very evening. It still confounds me that spending such a short time with her would alter my being so deeply and so completely. To understand, we must start here, in one of my first favorite memories of us, when I realized that she was just as devious as I was. Now, back to our scene:
"Jaaaaaaaane!" The new voice sang. "Get off your rear and quit staring at those stupid diagrams; I've got something fun planned for us."
"Darcy…" the girl's name was said with an exasperated sigh as if her mere presence gave Jane a headache. How amusing. "I have a lot work to get done and your plans are always too elaborate and usually lead to us getting arrested. Or at least almost arrested."
"Oh, come on, that was one time! And besides, I was wearing my lucky shirt, there was no way we were getting arrested while in the presence of my lucky shirt," she defended with a certain arrogance that alluded to her own self-confidence, a trait quite uncommon among Midgardian women. "Darcy, that shirt is not lucky, it's so low cut that officer 'eyes-up-here' didn't even stand a chance," Jane concluded with another sigh. This girl was just getting more and more interesting by the second. A show such as this often requires some sort of snack by way of facilitating entertainment. Ah there we are; movie theater popcorn, something these mortals got right and another reason I have to be grateful to a certain dark haired female.
And back to our regularly scheduled programming. "Yeah, well, I still say it's pretty lucky. Anyway, I was thinking we could go trip some alarms around the SHIELD compound and get Coulson's panties in a twist. He hasn't had a good panic attack since Stark threw that last party and I think he's about due." Well, well, this Darcy person could offer some hope for humanity yet, though just a sliver of it. Quite the little prankster we have here, and though perhaps not up to Asgardian standards, (we are considered gods after all), she is rather beautiful; even if she insists on wearing those strange ocular devices and unseemly weather-proof boots. We could get along quite famously I think.
"Darcy…no. We are not going to irritate my boss just because you're bored. Besides, like I said, I have too much to do." A loud, dramatic sigh escaped Darcy's lips before she conceded to Jane, while mumbling that she was a stick in the mud, before she departed on her own way. I decided that this Darcy creature was far more intriguing than Jane could ever hope to be and so decided to follow and observe her instead. I watched as she left Jane's small abode and strode up the dark empty streets of their miniscule town, presumably to her own place of residence. However, as she walked, I noticed another malevolent presence trailing close behind her, just in the shadows, no doubt some mortal male looking to do harm to a weaker being. I decided then that rescuing the poor damsel in distress could be a perfect advantage to getting to know this female, with the added bonus that she was friends with my brother's woman. Nevertheless, in the words of a particularly gifted Midgardian poet, 'The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,' as I had never met a human quite like Darcy Lewis.
As the male assailant closed in on her, Darcy's grip on something I couldn't quite identify tightened. I materialized not far behind them, but in the few moments I took to generate the magic, Darcy pulled out a strange contraption that when brandished and the trigger pulled released a barb at the attacker that seemed to generate the very electricity that was harnessed in the storm clouds. The man convulsed when struck and was rendered unconscious; impressive, to say the least. However, in my surprise, I failed to notice that Darcy had seen me and that she also had more than one of these contraptions on her person. She then pointed it in my direction and I too surrendered to the tiny barb of lightening and its devastating effects. How humiliating.
When consciousness finally regaled me with its presence, it was only to give way to complete and utter confusion as to why I was lying in the street with a tousle-haired brunette looming over me. My memories soon returned and I sat up swiftly, narrowly missing Darcy's head. "Umm…sorry about tazing you, I thought you were cornering me with 'Mr. Creep-tastic' over there," she bobbed her head in the direction of the still unconscious body 10 feet from us. I glanced at her, sitting cross-legged beside my seated form. "Clearly not, though I suppose that's what I deserve for assuming you were a damsel in distress," I explained standing to my feet to tower over her.
She nodded exuberantly and stood to match me, though still remaining a good foot shorter than myself. "So, what's an Asgardian doing creeping down the streets of New Mexico saving would-be distressing damsels?" She asked with a haughty eyebrow raised. I looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "How did you know that I hailed from Asgard?" She sighed as if explaining herself was a chore.
Another raised eyebrow, "seriously? The way you talk isn't a big enough hint? Or how about that kickin' armor you're rocking? Definitely not Earth-garb. Fine. There's just something about you that screams you're not from here, so I took a stab at it and figured you were from Asgard. Besides, you remind me a little of Thor with that whole chivalrous bit."
I must admit, she had me pegged, but then she had to mention his name, let alone amongst her description of me, that wasn't particularly pleasing. "Well, if that lovely little scowl plastered on your face is any kind of clue, then that would make me right! And taking into account the chaos that just happened about a year ago and your general aura tinged with evil, I figure that makes you Loki." The girl was frustrating in her guessing ability, but I felt that despite being the so called 'god of lies' I did not have the ability, nor the desire I came to discover, to lie to her. "Yes, you are correct, though how you have discerned any of this is beyond me. You need not introduce yourself, I've been watching you for quite some time Darcy." She apparently took some offence to this. "Huh, and here I was sorry I tazed you. Now I'm just sorry I don't have another one," she narrowed her eyes and cocked a hip, placing her hand there in an authoritatively serious gesture; it was cute. My mind finally caught up to my observations making me realize that I'd practically confessed to spying on her. Why can't I keep my mouth shut?
"What is it about you, girl that makes one quite unable to stay silent?" My tone, however, questioned her abilities and my own. She replied simply with a shrug saying "Dunno, it's a gift." And just like that, she turned and walked away; as if meeting a being from another planet was commonplace, though I suppose if one lives in a town situated near the site of a trans-planetary bridge, it would become so. I stood staring after her, watching her fade into the distance before deciding to simply follow her and unravel more of her mystery.
Upon arriving at Darcy's residence, a small apartment on the opposite side of town, she threw her things upon the couch unceremoniously before walking down the hallway, presumably to her own room. "Loki, I know you're there. If you have any sense of self-preservation, you'll stay out of my room." Infuriating woman. "You dare threaten me, mortal?" My voice lacked the frustration that would normally be present in dealing with a situation as this one. I suppose I was amused by her boldness. Her voice floated back to me in the living area, "Yeah, I dare, and I mean it! I'll be back out in a minute. Try to behave." I smirked to myself and settled into her couch, visible once again, to wait. It's quite humorous actually, a former Asgardian prince made to wait for a mortal girl. No matter how amusing her impertinence may be, she still must know her place. At least, that's what I thought, not that what I thought really had much of an effect on the actions of one Darcy Lewis.
She breezed back into the room within minutes, this time clad in clothing more suited for a human male than a female. "What exactly are you wearing?" She glanced down briefly, as if forgetting what she'd put on before looking back at me. With a shrug she threw herself onto the couch next to me. "These are my comfy clothes, what I wear when I'm just chillin' at home. You know soft stretchy pants and an oversized t-shirt. This used to be my brother's before I stole it. I think it looks better on me anyways." I chuckled at her explanation. "You Midgardian girls are so strange in your habits."
She suddenly turned her head towards me with a strange look in her eyes. "You keep saying that." My confusion evidently showed through as she continued on. "Girl. You keep referring to me as a girl. I'm a woman, dude; have been for quite a while by Earth standards. I'd appreciate it if you'd acknowledge it every now and then." Again, in the few short hours that I'd known her, she surprised me. Most wouldn't have taken notice to my insistence on referring to her as a girl rather than a woman. "By my own standards, you are still yet a child; hardly into your adulthood at, what, 24 years of age?" I took her silence as an affirmation. "While I am well beyond several hundred years myself, your two decades hardly holds a candle to my own." She didn't seem particularly shocked at my age; she seemed to almost expect that. With a chuckle she said "man, you are old."
Her expression became pensive before she cracked a smile and shook her head slightly at a seemingly amusing thought. "Care to share with the class, Darcy?" With a still amused look, she turned to me with searching eyes. She apparently found what she was looking for because she began to speak, this time in a voice far softer than any she'd yet been using. "I guess if you think this is too weird, you can just poof out of here and never have to see me again, so really, there's nothing to lose here. I think you're gorgeous, plain and simple. I was thinking that if we ever dated, some people might find it kind-of perverted because you're hundreds of years old and I'm only 24."
It took me some time to process through some of the vocabulary she was using, but with my superior intellect, adapting to a culture of any time period is a simple thing. Once I had it translated, however, I balked at what she was insinuating. "You consider the idea of us dating and the only concern you think people would have would be the age difference? You don't think they'll wonder why such a nice, beautiful woman would be together with a so-called 'super villain?" Never mind the fact that I was not appalled by the mere thought of creating a relationship with her; despite being human, I found her appealing. She paused for a moment in thought. "You said I was beautiful. And you called me a woman," she said with a self-satisfied smile stretching across her face, with just a hint of a blush in her cheeks. I pleased her with my praise and for some unknown reason it pleased me as well. My constant need to be distant and bitter was waning less and less the more time I spent with Darcy. It had only been but a few hours at the least and I felt as comfortable around her as I once had around Thor. The difference being that I truly had nothing to prove to her, she expected nothing from me and seemed to find enjoyment in simply talking with me, her curiosity easily sated when I answered every question she put forth, with surprising honesty I might add, which was new for me.
She turned the television on (at least that's what she told me the device was called) and changed it to what she called 'the Food Network,' declaring it her favorite channel. We spent what was left of the evening watching different food related programs and talking, sometimes about the programs and sometimes about issues in the world in general. I soon discovered that she had an interest in politics (she says she is a 'political science major,' whatever that is). Her opinions on particular political situations in other countries, as well as her own, were quite insightful, and rather strong to say the least. She is not one to hide what she thinks or feels, as was evident from the first few minutes I knew her. I was quickly becoming quite a fan of this girl, for many reasons I found both unexpected and enjoyable.
As morning arrived, I awoke to find myself lying on Darcy's couch surprised at several things; first being that I had fallen asleep in the first place. It was quite unlike me to allow myself to fall unconscious in an unfamiliar place, especially with someone I didn't trust. But did this mean I was far more comfortable with Darcy than I first thought? My second surprise did not allow me much time to think about the first as I realized that I had not woken up alone. The source of my confusion lay sprawled half across my chest with her legs tangled with mine, sleeping quite soundly with her hand over my heart and my arms around her waist. Well, this is odd; even more so because I am not disgusted by the human lying across me but am rather comforted by her weight. It was a feeling I was unaccustomed to but welcomed nonetheless. Instead of disappearing, as I probably should have done to avoid any further attachment, I remained, choosing rather to relax and tighten my arms a bit more around the frustrating girl, woman, I couldn't get enough of.
A/N 2: So this will be my first try at actually finishing a fic that's more than one chapter. I hesitate to say 'multi-chapter' because I honestly don't know if it's going to be longer than 2 or 3. I really don't know at this point. It would probably help my decision, however, if I got a few reviews *hint, hint* On a different note, it may seem that their budding relationship is developing a bit fast (probably because it is) but I have difficulties writing the small mundane moments that go on in a relationship, so let's just assume they become fond of each other rather quickly. Sorry if it seems a little unreal, but I'm not really drawing from experience here, I'm practically a perpetual bachelorette.