Darcy stood leaning against the railing, her hair falling over to cover her face. She watched the man on the level below her. He bellowed as he tossed bottle after bottle through the room. This was not how things were supposed to go, she was supposed to get her happy ending. Instead her life had turned from a Disney production to a Shakespearian tragedy.
She had tried to pull him back up, to put him back together. All she had succeeded in doing was tearing herself apart along with the world around her. Now she was forced to watch as the only man she had ever loved fell completely apart with no hope of ever healing him.
Tears fell from her eyes, falling down into a single puddle on the floor below. She couldn't help him, and she couldn't help herself. Another crash and another scream ripped through the room and her heart. Maybe it was the end, but Darcy held onto the hope that it could just be a new beginning.
She wasn't that hopeful.
Darcy stood in front of the cottage that had once been a home; if only for a short time. It had been a place of hope, of love, and of the future. Now it stood for heartache.
Bucky had left a month before. She deserved better, he said. He was broken and she was still whole, and he refused to be the one to shatter her to pieces, he had told her. How funny it was, that his saving her had broken her instead.
Placing the can of gas beside her, Darcy reached into her pocket. Her fingers curled around the silver lighter that rested in her jacket. It had been a present, engraved on one side was a small poem; a declaration of eternal love… a lie.
She flicked the lighter open, her eyes fixed on the flame as she tossed it onto the porch. It landed on the white swing next to the door. Bucky had worked on the thing in secret for weeks after they moved in, presenting it to her on her birthday. It was large enough for four people, elegantly carved with images of swans in flight and rest.
The two of them used to spend lazy Sunday mornings curled up on the thing, Darcy against his chest as he read his favorite poets to her. Now the swing was engulfed in flames, cleansing it of all memories.
Darcy stood watching the cottage burn until the heat became more than she could bear. Picking up the can of gas she turned and headed down the hill. She had tried so hard to fix him, now she had to find a way to fix herself.
Darcy pushed against Bucky's chest, her breathing was labored. She hated him, she loved him. Tears ran down her face as she advanced on him, pounding against him.
"Why?! Did you think I wouldn't find out?!" Darcy pounded against his chest harder and harder, she knew if he hadn't been enhanced she would've hurt him by now.
"I hope you would. I never kept it a secret. I just never realized you were so oblivious." Bucky stood leaning up against the wall, his arms at his side. He would take her abuse, he would take her hate, because in the end she would be safe.
"I HATE YOU!" Darcy fell against Bucky's chest, her face pressed against him. She shook as she cried.
"Good." Bucky pulled away from Darcy. He kept himself from steadying her when she swayed, and just headed towards the door.
Darcy slid down the wall until she was curled up on the floor. This wasn't supposed to be her life. She pressed her hand to her stomach and cried harder. She hadn't even been able to tell him, and now she never would.
The commenter's voice was nothing but static in the room. The three women huddled together on the couch, their eyes plastered on the tv, never heard the words coming from the man's mouth. All they focus on was the image on the screen.
Darcy felt bile rise in her throat. She wanted to scream, she wanted to throw things. It all had to be a joke, a big misunderstanding, because she couldn't be seeing what she was.
Jane curled her arms around her friend, pulling her into her embrace. Shocked tears prickled at her eyes. It didn't feel real, but it as right there for them to see on the screen. His mangled body lay broken and battered in the middle of the collapsed building. There was no way he could have survived that.
Darcy looked away from the tv, her eyes resting on her hand. There, on her finger, sat a small ring. He had just asked the night before. There had been tears, kisses, and laughter. They had curled up in bed together to celebrate, exploring paths they had taken before. And now there she was, experiencing the end before the beginning could even start.
Darcy leaned back in her booth, she sipped slowly at her drink and watched. Bucky sat with his newest flavor of the month just a few tables away. The poor woman looked totally enraptured. The fool had a lot to learn.
Setting her glass down, she rested one hand on the table and tapped out a rhythm. It got his attention like she knew it would. His eyes grew large as he looked over at her. If she wasn't mistaken he had paled as well.
Keeping her gaze on his, she grabbed a piece of ice from her glass and slowly placed it just inside her mouth. She sucked in just a bit, keeping the melting water from dripping onto her cleavage. And there it was, his breathing increased, his hands clenched and unclenched, his mouth hanging open slightly.
She pulled the ice from her mouth and just held it in her hand. Icy water dripped down onto her chest, dotting her pale skin. She laughed to herself as the poor fool beside him was completely ignored. When would they learn, when would he learn that he was hers?
Dropping the ice back into the glass with a click, she stood, gathered her purse and left. She had no need to turn around, she knew he was following. Within the hour she would have him completely bare, tied to her bed with her above him.
Darcy had been watching him for over a month now. It wasn't like she was stalking him or anything, he just came into the labs a lot. He was friends with Bruce, it was an unexpected friendship, but somehow the two made it work. He normally came in during lunch, lingering around the labs for an hour or two afterwards.
He was there now, laughing on the other side of the room with one of the other interns, Molly. Darcy had never gotten the courage to talk to him, to tell him how much her admired him. She wanted to though. She wanted to ask him out for a coffee, or lunch, or just anything.
Every morning she would tell herself that she would approach him, but she would always falter when he came in. But not today, today she was going to introduce herself.
She stood from her desk, smoothed down her skirt and headed straight for him. She was only ten feet away when she watched in horror as he leaned down, pressing his lips to Molly's in a kiss that was obviously not their first. She must have squeaked, because the two pulled apart and looked at her.
"Yes? Can I help you with anything?" Bucky smiled at the young woman. He had seen her around the labs, Bruce had told him she was Foster's friend. He also remembered something about Thor calling her his sister too, but he had been knee deep in Asgardian ale at the time and couldn't remember much of that night.
"Um, yeah, uh… I was just going to go and get coffee… uh Jane sort of lives off the stuff, and I thought while I'm out I could grab some for everyone. Uh, anything either of you want?" Darcy felt like sinking into the ground. How had she never seen it before? It obviously had been going on for awhile.
"Thanks, but I was just about to leave. Promised Steve we would train today." Bucky looked down at the small woman beside him.
"Anything you want, Molly?"
"No, sorry. Thanks, but I only drink tea." Molly nodded to Darcy, an awkward smile on her face. She felt a bit sorry for the girl, everyone in the labs knew she had been crushing on Bucky.
"That's ok, I just thought I'd ask." Darcy stepped backwards, hoping to leave before any tears escaped.
"Hey, you're Darcy right? Thor's sister or something?" Bucky took a step forward, one hand still on Molly's back.
"Uh, oh yeah, something. I'm not really, he just likes to tell everyone I am. Jane's pretty sure that he's actually adopted me on Asgard." Darcy smiled awkwardly, wringing her hands together behind her back.
"Don't think you could ask for a better brother. Look, a bunch of us are going out tonight. There's this bar that Sam's been trying to get us to go to. Why don't you come along, I could introduce you to Steve." Bucky had seen how lonely his friend was, and this girl looked his type. She was pretty, curvy, had to be smart if she worked with Foster. And hell, she had to be something if Thor called her his sister.
"Uh, yeah, um I'm not sure about that." Darcy cringed, she couldn't say she was busy, had a date, anything?
"Come on, you'll have fun. Plus, I'm sure you'll get along with Steve. I know everyone like to tease about him being straight-laced, but believe me he is anything but. You should ask him about stilettos… actually if you have a pair, red, you should wear them." Bucky was smiling ear to ear as he clapped his hands together. "Alright, I'll tell you what. We'll come pick you up at seven, dress to impress, ok Doll?"
Darcy sputtered as she watched Bucky practically prance out of the labs. She wished she could have just said no, she didn't want to spend the night watching him make-out with Molly. She sighed as she turned back to her desk. Maybe she could get Jane to work extra late tonight.
Darcy laid on the floor, arms and legs wide open. She stared up at the ceiling-fan, watched as it twirled slowly 'round and 'round. She took in a deep breath, her lungs being filled with his scent. She refused to look over at the bed where she still laid.
It had been a mistake. She was with his best friend for God's sake! She wished she could say she had been drunk, but she had been stone cold sober. No, what they did, they had done knowing full well what they were doing.
"Don't think about it too much, Doll." Bucky leaned down off the end of the bed, his hand going out to smooth down her hair. She was beautiful, there on his floor completely nude and still glistening from their activities.
"Don't think about it?! Bucky we just… I just… we shouldn't have done it." Darcy turned her head away so his hand couldn't reach her scalp.
The two of them had been doing this weird dance for months, and it had been so wrong. She was engaged! To his best friend!
"Don't you even start regretting this." Bucky slipped off the bed, kneeling beside her and forcing her to look at him. "You are mine, and I don't care what anyone else thinks. We are supposed to be together, I can feel it. We are supposed meant to be, in every world we are connected, and I will do anything it takes to make sure we are together."
"But Steve…" Darcy teared up, she loved him, oh she did. But Bucky was right, they were connected.
"Let me deal with him." He gathered her up in his arms, rocking her back and forth as he pressed his face into her hair. "Everything will work out, I promise."
Bucky leaned his against the window watching as the rain hit the glass. He smiled at the silence around him. It hadn't been that quiet for the past two months.
The light from his bedside clock flashed as the time switched over. Three AM and the only sounds in the room was three sets of breathing and the tapping of the rain. He looked down at the bundle in his arms and felt tears come to his eyes.
He had never imagined that this would be his life, not since before everything. He had been blessed, that was the only thing he could think of that would allow him to have what he did.
"Mmm, Bucky Honey, you don't have to hold Grant all night. Put him back in the co-sleeper and come back to bed." Darcy rolled over, her eyes blinking away the sleep. She smiled up at her husband and son. Who would have thought two years ago that coffee would lead to this?
"He's finally asleep. You know if I put him down he'll wake up again." Bucky sat down on the side of the bed, Grant still safely in his arms.
"You don't actually plan to stay up holding him the rest of the night, do you?" Darcy scooted over so she could rest her head on Bucky's lap, right next to her son's head.
"I got enough sleep. You, on the other hand, have a meeting tomorrow. Get some sleep, I'll watch over both of you." Bucky slipped the hand at Grant's legs down a little so he could wind his finger's with Darcy's.
Darcy's breathing calmed down as she fell back to sleep, her head still resting on his leg. Bucky leaned his head against the headboard, closing his eyes and just listening to his family breathe. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve them, but he was grateful.
Am still feeling sick and dealing with a fever, so I was listening to a lot of the music I did as a teen, well I realized I used to listen to a lot of angsty crap and I got inspired. So here ya go, bits and pieces of the different universes and Darcy and Bucky's relationship in them. I might do more later.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.