Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the blessing which Netflix has bestowed upon us known as Daredevil. I have also never worn *cough*real*cough* handcuffs.

Darcy couldn't see. It was cold and damp where she was, but she wasn't uncomfortable. She moaned and tried to sit up, but her head was swimming. Great, she thought, this again.

"Another day, another kidnapping," she observed into the darkness.

"Tell me about it," a voice uttered the familiar Words from nearby. Very nearby. "We have got to stop meeting like this."

Okay, so not your typical abduction. Darcy squirmed and discovered that she was sitting on her Soulmate's lap. "Um?" she said, her tone a plea for information.

"So," he continued, pointedly not explaining. "Come here often?"

Darcy tried not to sigh in frustration; it was possible he didn't know anything more than she did.

"More often than I like," she replied. "What's a nice Soulmate like you doing in a place like this?"

"Just doing my duty, protecting the innocent, meeting the woman of my destiny," he told her. "The usual."

"Doing your duty?" Darcy echoed.

"Didn't want you to wake up on a cold, wet, cement floor. You'd have done the same for me, I'm sure."

She shrugged. He was probably right.

"And the whole 'protecting the innocent' thing?" she asked.

"I'm a cop," he told her. "You are innocent, aren't you? If they handcuffed me to a bad guy who turned out to be my Soulmate, our relationship is likely to be an uphill battle."

"Handcuffed...?" Darcy sat back and tugged her left wrist away, but she didn't get far.

"Hey, whoa, easy there," Soulmate P.D. said, steadying her with his free hand on her back. "You cracked your head pretty good when they tossed us down here."

Darcy had a million questions. But— "I think I'm going to—"

"It's all right, you'll be okay," she heard him saying as she was violently sick against the wall.

"Guess this cuts down on the chances of us making out while we wait to get rescued, huh?" she managed to say as her Soulmate pulled her hair away from her neck just in case.

He laughed. It was the best sound Darcy had ever heard, and despite her off-kilter equilibrium, the fact that her stomach was revolting against her, and the whole kidnapping situation, she was really excited about the idea of getting to hear that laugh every day for the rest of her life.

"Best kidnapping ever," she said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and resting her head against his shoulder.

"Definitely gonna be a good story for our grandkids," he agreed. "But more importantly... I should know your name if I'm going to introduce you to my mom when we get outta here."

"Darcy," she said into his shirt. "Darcy Lewis."

"Brett Mahoney," he told her. "You know I became a cop because of what you said? I'd show you my Words, but they're on my back, so I'd have to take my shirt off—"

"And it's dark," Darcy finished.

"That too," Brett said, a smile in his voice.

"They teach you how to break out of handcuffs in cop school?" she asked.

"Mostly just how to put them on," Brett replied.

"Natasha's been trying to teach me how, but I'm pretty terrible at it," Darcy admitted. "My phone was in my bag. What about you?"

"Nope," he said with a shake of his head. "They took everything: phone, radio, even my badge. I've got nothing."

Darcy was silent for a moment. "Know any superheroes?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, actually," Brett told her, though he sounded reluctant. "But his bad guys are the smart kind. Don't know if we want him rescuing us, even if we are down here as bait for him."

"That's mostly terrifying," Darcy allowed. "I... might have a way out."

"What's that?"

"I sort of have a tracking chip I can activate?" she confessed. "Plan Double T; for emergencies only. Thor and Tony could be here in 90 seconds or less."

"Tony..." Brett contemplated. "Tony Stark?"

"Yeah," Darcy said. "I don't know how you feel about being flown across New York by a guy in a robot suit, but..." She poked her forearm. "Incoming."

"I guess it's better than being hunted down later for being seen talking to a guy in an alley."

"Huh. Your superhero sounds hardcore."

Brett shook his head. "You have no idea."

"So," Darcy said into the slightly awkward silence that followed. "Wanna swap worst first date stories? Or would you rather go straight for the relatives list and how many kids we want to have?"

Brett laughed again, and the sound made Darcy feel safe.

"Darcy!"

"Thor! That was fast! We're down here!"

"Thor, the thunder god."

Darcy shrugged. "Perks of being bffs with his lady friend."

Brett paused. "And here I was thinking I dragged you into this."

"Yeah, a bunch of the SI support staff moonlights as professional damsels in distress. Hence the chip. You were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I was in exactly the right place," Brett told her. His words sent a shiver down Darcy's spine, and she smiled.

Then both of them winced away from light that suddenly shone down from above.

"Darcy, are you okay?"

Tony.

"No; I'm concussed," Darcy said, scrunching her eyes shut. "Are there any bad guys? My Soulmate says there might be bad guys."

"Thor's got 'em," he assured them. "Your Soulmate, huh?"

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark," said Brett.

"Let's get you out of there and we can do handshakes and debriefs and shovel talks when everyone is safe."

"Good call," Darcy agreed.

"Can you stand up?" asked Brett.

"I'll bloody well walk out of here," Darcy replied, her eyes still closed.

"You could if you weren't in a hole," Tony told her.

"And if I actually could stand up," added Darcy, attempting to do so using Brett's shoulders but failing spectacularly. "Too woozy."

Things got fuzzy from there. Darcy knew there was some kind of an argument happening about flying cars or something, but she must have passed out, because the next thing she knew, she was in a hospital bed with Jane hovering over her.

"Nooooo," she protested.

The apprehension on Jane's face immediately dialed up to 11. "What is it?!" she cried, frantically hitting the button to call the nurse. "Are you in pain?"

Darcy placed a hand over her eyes to shield them from the overwhelming amount of light in the room. "Well, yeah, but... Jane, please tell me I didn't just slip on a wet floor outside the lab and crack my head on the floor and dream I met my Soulmate," she requested.

"What, the severed handcuffs you're still wearing aren't proof enough?" asked a familiar voice.

"Brett!" Darcy decided to brave the light, splitting headache be damned, and pulled her hand away from her eyes.

There he was, in a crisp suit and tie (He must have changed already, Darcy thought), holding his half of the handcuffs and a key to unlock hers. "Whoa," she marveled. "You're..."

"I'm what?" he asked. "Black? Tall? A paragon of virtue and justice?"

These things were all true, but Darcy went with: "Super hot! I totally won the Soulmate jackpot! Awesome!" Darcy held up a hand, and Jane indulged her with a high five.

"I'll go call Bruce," Jane said, moving toward the door. "Everybody at the Tower is pretty worried about you. Tony wanted to take you to there immediately, but Brett wouldn't let him."

"You kept Tony Stark from doing exactly what he pleased?" Darcy asked, aghast.

"Soulmate," Brett reminded her. "Besides, a flight across the city in your condition could have done more harm than good."

"Logic," Jane pointed out. "I'll be right back."

Brett reached over and took Darcy's hand. She blushed even though she knew he was just freeing her from the handcuffs.

"Is half a set of broken handcuffs a weird memento to keep?" she wondered.

"I'm keeping mine," he told her, stashing his half in his coat pocket. He pulled a chair closer and sat down next to her, slipping his fingers through hers.

Now that he was holding her hand for real, Darcy allowed herself a blush.

"So," he said. "We've got a while before the doctors clear you to leave."

"I could have Jane get me a toothbrush," Darcy suggested. "Or we could just talk for a while."

Brett smiled. "Four."

"Four?" Darcy repeated, stunned at the way his eyes were shining as they looked into hers.

He nodded. "I want at least four kids."

Darcy grinned. "Hey, know what?"

"What?" Brett asked.

"I've never been so happy to get kidnapped."

Author's Note (August 10, 2016): Thank you for joining me in rare pair hell! This fic is the first of a series I wrote in May for fydl POC Week. You can check out my thoughts on this fic and the others in the series on my blog: iwillwriteyourfic . blogspot 2016 / 05 / fydl-darcyland-poc-week . html