Tale as Old as Time
Rated T for language
A Loki x Darcy fanfiction. This will not be following the Disney version exactly. I'm adding some of my own inventions and taking some things out. So enjoy! I recommend listening to the original Broadway Soundtrack.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Nowhere's-ville
"Hey, I'm going into town for breakfast. Want something?"
Erik looked up from his computer screen. "No thank you." he settled back into the porch chair.
Darcy swung a leg over her bike. "Alright. See ya' in a little while."
He waved at her, already refocused on the charts and figures SHIELD had sent him. She rolled her eyes and pedaled off toward the center of town. The owners of the only café had only just finished rebuilding from when Loki's transformer-bot blew it up. Darcy locked her bike in the rack and ducked inside.
"Hello, Darcy. What can I get you?" The owner asked.
"Croissant and a coffee, please. Erik's got me doing numbers again." She pushed a bill across the counter.
"That's nice. Your order will be right up."
Darcy shrugged, stuck her headphones in her ears, and sat down at one of the yellow plastic tables to wait. The waitress called her order a minute later and Darcy grabbed it, shooting a quick thank you over her shoulder as she left.
She fumbled with the bike lock with one hand, taking a bite of the buttery croissant. The lock clicked free and Darcy hopped on, music blasting in her ears. The wheels bumped over the cracks in the street the battle with the robot had made. The tray wobbled in the bike's basket and she reached out to steady her coffee.
Darcy stopped outside the library and settled down to finish her breakfast. Then she threw the cup and paper bag in one of the town's new eco-friendly trash bins and slipped inside.
The librarian, an older, reedy guy with half-moon glasses that always reminded Darcy of Dumbledore, waved at her. "Good morning, Darcy."
"Hey." She leaned on the counter, scanning the shelves behind him. "Got anything on Norse Mythology?"
He raised an eyebrow. "New hobby?"
"Um, no. It's kinda a crazy story. You would never believe me."
The librarian walked down one of the aisles, running a wrinkled finger down the books' spines. "Here we are."
He pulled a slim, blue book off the shelf and pressed in into her hands. "Popular Norse Myths." Darcy smiled up at him, "Thanks."
She gave him her card and he filled out the slip. "It's due in two weeks. Have a nice day."
"Thanks again. You too!" Darcy ducked out the door and went over to her bike.
She was on her way home when the front wheel of her bike hit a particularly nasty crack in the road. The library book went flying. Darcy hopped off and went after it.
"This yours?"
She looked up. "Oh. Hey, Tony."
He looked at the cover. "Norse? Darcy, we have an expert right at SHIELD headquarters. Why are you bothering with this?"
She snatched the book back. "You know they didn't let Jane take her laptop or her phone or anything. I can't contact her. And Thor doesn't have a phone."
"I could always-"
"I'm fine with my reading, thanks. Why are you out here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be back at headquarters?"
"I'm taking the day off. Listen, Darce. I've been asking for a while. Come out to dinner with me already."
"I said no." Darcy started toward her bike.
"C'mon. You'd get to say you had a superhero for a boyfriend."
"One, one date would not make you my boyfriend. Two, don't you have Pepper? Three, Jane's my best friend, remember? Superhero boyfriends aren't everything they're cracked up to be." She pedaled away.
~OoOoO~
Darcy marched into the house, very carefully not slamming the door. "Hey Erik! I'm back."
"Great. Could you come here for a minute? I'm in the workshop"
She ran down the stairs. Erik's legs were poking out from under an enormous machine covered with a sheet.
"Think you finally got it right?"
He rolled into view. "I hope so."
"Jane is going to be ecstatic."
"She will." Erik's expression turned serious. "Now we'll be able to open the Bifrost from this side. We'll need all the help we can get."
Darcy nodded. "What's the latest Loki report?"
"Not good. He crashed a party in Germany. The Avengers caught him, but he broke free a couple hours later. Clint's back with us, though."
She kicked the tool bench, unable to form words.
"I know." Erik set a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I have to drop this off with Director Fury. The sooner we get Thor here, the sooner this can all be over. But… you understand that you can't come with me."
"Yeah, need-to-know basis. I get it. I'll be fine here. Just tell Coulson that Stark got off his leash."
Erik looked at her sideways.
"I ran into Tony again today."
"Nice guy."
"So's an alligator."
He gave Darcy a quick hug. "I'll tell Jane you said hello. And I'll give her the printouts of your emails so she can read them."
"You're the best." Darcy stepped back. "Stay safe."
A/N: I was originally using Clint as Gaston because of the bow and arrows, but he was so out of character it hurt. So I switched to Tony and now everything fits much better.
Constructive reviews, no flames, are appreciated.