Ian sat stock still in the car, hands gripping the steering wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white. Darcy looked at him with mild concern.
"You doing okay there? You need a glass of water or a Tylenol or something?"
Ian shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine, I'm just...nervous, is all."
Darcy rolled her eyes. "Dude, for the last time, my parents are going to love you. They are hella chill! And you are exactly the kind of guy they would want me to bring home anyway."
Ian breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately began to wonder nervously again. "What...what kind of guy is that, exactly?"
Darcy shrugged. "I don't know, smart, funny, cute, not a hulking space muscle-god like they've been asking me about for the past year."
Ian nodded. "Right. Is that a concern they've had for a while?"
"Well, like, they saw selfies that I took with Thor and immediately thought we were more than just friends which is crazy because there are so many pictures of him and Jane out on dates and when I told them I was with you they got hella excited because I was dating a nice, normal, human boy and, really, I just think they're opposed to their family being spread across more than one realm and they probably don't want grandkids that can benchpress a car and it's like, would that even work? Is our DNA even compatible? He's a fertility god, how does that factor into biology?" Darcy stopped to catch her breath, looking amazed that she was able to get all of that out. Ian raised an eyebrow.
"Are you nervous too?"
Darcy groaned. "Yes." She hung her head. "I've never actually brought a boy home to my parents, actually."
Ian frowned. "Really? No. Really? You?" He shifted in his seat to look at her head-on. "There's no way that you've never gotten that far in a relationship."
Darcy threw her hands up in the air. "Well, I haven't. Actually, before you all my previous romances were kinda...shitty." She took another breath. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do. Is it like, 'Hey, this is my boy toy Ian, we're totes in love'?"
Ian shrugged. "Eh, basically. We'll go in and great each other, and I'll talk about work and how we met. Then your mom will drag you into another room and tell you that I'm cute except for one part about me, usually my chin -"
"But I like your chin."
"- but mother always think I have too much. And while you too are gone your dad will ask about what my intentions are and I'll tell him that I love you and respect you and I hope we can get married one day. Then he'll decide whether he likes me or not and if he doesn't..." Ian trailed off and thought about what exactly would happen if Darcy's parents didn't like him. Would they have to break up? That'd be miserable.
"If they don't like you too bad for them." Darcy said confidently. "We'll figure out another way to win them over." She smiled, then leaned over and kissed him, and they both feel strong in each other's arms. After they broke off they sat in silence for a while, just looking at each other. Then Darcy reached in the back and grabbed a tall, narrow bag. "Also, we have wine, so that will help."
"Oh, definitely."