Too much work. Darcy Lewis exhaled loudly as she stuffed the thick stack of papers into her messenger bag. All work and no play makes Darcy…well, grumpy. A frown etched itself permanently on her face as she stomped out of the small office S.H.I.E.L.D. had allowed her to use. Her iPhone buzzed annoyingly. She glanced at the screen only briefly before shoving it back into her pocket and rushing into the elevator before the doors closed.
Darcy inched away from the agent next to her, eager to be left alone. The lady seemed to understand and concentrated on her tablet, the screen illuminating her face. Sighing again, Darcy pushed up her glasses. Wait, was that—a crack? Oh, heck. Director Fury was going to hear of this. She knew that all agents were usually in a hurry, but did she have to be pushed out of the way into the coffeemaker? She sniffed her shirt as inconspicuously as possible. It still smelled strongly of coffee, but the stain was mostly out.
Buzz. Buzz. Her phone vibrated in her pocket rapidly. The agent looked up and Darcy shot her an apologetic look. Angrily, she took the device out of her pocket and punched the "ignore" icon. Stop calling me, Loki. I'm not in the mood.
Her boyfriend called her every evening after her work shift ended. He'd probably be worried—the overprotective sweetheart—but Darcy just wanted to be left alone at the moment.
The elevator dinged and Darcy let the agent exit first. Being angry didn't mean she couldn't be polite a little. She practically ran to the front doors and bit her lip as her ID was scanned. The guard let her pass and she hurried outside.
It was snowing. Didn't that figure. At least Loki would be in a good mood.
Hefting her bag higher on her shoulder, she started the walk to her flat. She and Loki had gotten two apartments side by side, and only a couple miles from the S.H.I.E.L.D. building where she worked so that she wouldn't have to walk as far. But in the frigid cold that came on the stiff breeze, Darcy felt that the trek would take forever.
Her whole face was freezing, and her hands felt like they did after holding a frozen ice cream carton for too long. She felt her phone vibrate again but didn't bother to let her hands get colder by letting them out of the flimsy warmth of her coat pockets. After a few seconds it stopped buzzing.
Suddenly rough hands grabbed her and jerked her into an alley. She screamed, but her call for help was cut off by a dirty hand slammed over her mouth. Biting the hand resulted in a curse and a knock against her head, but the hand was gone from her mouth. Darcy reached back into her coat pocket for her ever-present Taser and pulled the trigger. It hit one of the man-shaped shadows and he spasmed before dropping.
The others charged her and she ran toward the end of the alley, where the light shone, screaming at the top of her lungs. A hand grasped her coat and yanked her back. She hit the ground hard, the force pushing the air out of her. Four pairs of hands grabbed her and she struggled, sending a successful kick to one man's groin. Another of them raised a fist to hit her.
Abruptly all the men shrieked and tumbled off of her, clutching their own bodies in pain. Green and silver mist enveloped them, the snow making the fog thicker. A deep, familiar, slightly British voice said menacingly, "No more!"
The men disappeared and Darcy spun painfully. All of a sudden, Loki was there, next to her, holding her gingerly and assessing for injuries. "Darcy, I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner, are you all right?" he questioned swiftly, bare fingers brushing over her skin.
She shivered at his cold touch. "Yeah, fine, I guess. Where'd they go?"
A smirk passed his pale lips briefly, that bit of insanity she loved so well. "Siberia."
Darcy smacked his arm. "You moron, we should've taken them to the police!"
"Yes, but S.H.I.E.L.D. would quite literally kill me if they found that I was using magic around mere mortals."
In one quick move, Loki picked her up and she huddled against him. "Thanks for at least wearing a long sleeved shirt," she said sarcastically, "or else I'd freeze to death."
"Why didn't you respond to my calls?" her boyfriend asked, concerned.
"I was mad at people from work. What the heck was so important that you had to call me so many times?"
They'd reached the front door of the apartment building by then. By Odin, he was a fast walker. "I made you dinner," he said enthusiastically. "And I wanted to see if you wanted me to come to walk you home."
Already halfway up to their flats. "Thanks. I guess you did, sort of."
Loki peered at her quizzically. "Are your glasses cracked?"
"Long story," she sighed. Loki put her down in front of his door and opened it for her. The smell of real Italian pizza wafted toward her. Her frozen limbs were already thawing. Loki took her coat and hung it up for her.
Then Darcy remembered something.
"I dropped my taser!"