Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If I did, every day would be Captain America Day.
Soulmark AU Reminder: Everyone has a Soulmark, a tattoo of the first words their Soulmate will say to them.
"Wonder if I'm gonna meet my Soulmate today," Darcy mused, as she flicked through a list of the day's weird holidays on her phone.
"Darcy..." Jane drew out her name in a warning tone as she leaned over a microscope. "It's too early for this."
"What? It's 10 AM! I'll hit the coffee shop when I'm done with this and every lab on this floor will be caffeinated, I promise."
Jane sighed and stepped back from the Science to give Darcy a look. "You know the Lab Supervisor said he was gonna talk to Stark if he saw you..." she flicked a hand at Darcy's portable web browsing. "Doing that."
Darcy shrugged. "He's just mad I'm more popular than he is. Got ticked off when he caught me telling the amazingly true story of how I didn't die for six college credits in New Mexico. And then there was that other time when I was telling the new lab tech about how I totally didn't die in London. He interrupted during the kissing part, so now he says I'm 'inappropriate.' Translation: awesome. Awesomer than he is."
She set her phone down and hefted herself onto the lab bench. "There's nothing good today, anyway. Just Employee Appreciation Day. So either I'm going to be appreciated instead of lectured for once or someone's going to appreciate him, which will keep him off my back."
Jane rolled her eyes. "Good. Because I don't want you getting chucked out of here. If you go, I go, and I don't want to go back making all my equipment by hand."
Darcy shot her a disbelieving look.
"Not... that... I couldn't, it's just that the auto-fabrication assembly line here is... really great, and—"
"National Butterscotch Pudding Day?" Darcy interrupted, as she returned to a general list of little-known holidays. "That'd be weird. But I guess if it's my Soulmate, I'll learn to love that occasional butterscotchy part of them."
"Seriously, Darcy," Jane pleaded. "I've got Banner coming down later to look at my research, so maybe you should go for that coffee now?"
Darcy obligingly leaped off the table, but her eyes were still glued to her phone. Jane returned to her microscope.
"Heh, it's National Hug A GI Day." She sighed wistfully and descended into a momentary fantasy about a certain Avenger. "A girl can dream."
"Darcy..." Jane groaned.
Darcy moved slowly toward the exit. "I'm going!" she lied, without looking up from her phone. The elevator dinged from down the hallway, reminding her that she ought to be on it, but now she was looking up whether there was a National Meet Your Soulmate Day.
There wasn't, but she found something else. "Ha, Jane! Check it out! International Kiss A Stranger Day! May Fifth!"
"Not a holiday I'd normally celebrate, but maybe it's the kind of thing you have try at least once."
Darcy dropped her phone. She stared at the man who had just come through the door. It wasn't International Kiss a Stranger Day, but as of that moment, it was officially Darcy, Meet Your Soulmate Day, so she seized the day and her Soulmate and celebrated.
"Darcy, what—?!" she heard Jane say.
At least she thought she might have heard something like that. It was hard to pay attention to anything but her Soulmate's lips, the feeling of his hand wrapped around her waist, and the way he melted from surprise to willingness to eager participation.
"Miss Lewis! This is really the last straw!"
The Lab Supervisor's shout startled her back into reality. She looked up at her Soulmate, breathless, and whispered, "I am so fired!"
His eyes widened as he realized why she'd kissed him, and, with a smile, he bent to kiss her again. It was over in a moment, though, because the ranting coming from behind them was kind of killing the mood.
The Lab Supervisor's tirade about how he had always known that Darcy's work ethic, "or lack thereof," would bring about her dismissal was swallowed when her Soulmate straightened to his full, impressive height and pinned the man with a glare. "...Captain Rogers?"
Captain Rogers. Steve Rogers. Darcy hadn't recognized him without his spangly gear and patriotic frisbee.
He was her Soulmate.
He was a great kisser.
"And you are...?" he growled.
"Owen Fleming, Head Lab Supervisor, Captain Rogers. Pleased to—"
"I'm sure that human resources will want to investigate whatever claim you have against this young woman," he told the trembling lab supervisor. "But if I understand correctly, Miss Potts has the 'meeting your Soulmate at work' clause on lockdown."
"Captain Rogers, I—" the man began.
"And if you're lucky," Steve continued, cutting him off. "I'll forget that you interrupted this fated meeting."
The Lab Supervisor fled.
"Nice!" Darcy went up for a high five.
Steve obliged with a smile, then turned to Jane. "Well, I originally came down here to wait for Doctor Banner, but I think we're going to have to let the two of you Science it out alone." He pulled Darcy closer and tucked her under one arm. "We've got a holiday to celebrate."
"Yeah," Darcy added. "We're totally gonna go make out some more."
Jane nodded. "I got that, thanks. Uh… Happy Soulmate Meeting Day."
Darcy grinned and glanced up at the man at her side. "Gotta get that one on the official calendar."
Author's Note (March 4th, 2016): Happy National Salesperson Day! That is all.
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