Darcy is going to drown.
She knows this because she's currently gripping a piece of metal awning that was once part of the ceiling, and the water is rising up to her waist.
She fell into the pool when she was looking for Jane – and where was her boss now? Definitely not looking for her. When she was walking past the pool just minutes ago the alarm went off and then there was a crash above her head. Darcy was forced to jump out of the way of some falling rubble into the Olympic sized swimming pool, only to find herself stuck.
More fell on top and she screamed. No-one came running. She even yelled for JARVIS, instead grabbing the metal rail-awning-thing and her arms became tense with the effort. She tried ducking down before but she was stuck. The tiny bit of space she managed to land in earlier was surrounded by rubble and Darcy didn't have the muscles to shift any of it.
Hence screaming for JARVIS. Is the water rising because the sprinklers are on or because she's sinking? She doesn't have time to figure that out. She knows she's out of options.
Drowning in a pool in Manhattan, in the basement of a government building? Yikes. Darcy tries to make herself laugh even though her heart is racing and her arms ache. And then a sob bubbles up and she can feel her chin wobble.
No, she can't handle dying by drowning. She's seen it in movies before and it always looks awful, and they say movies make death look glamorous. The water is up to her chest and she keeps crying, touching the cement above her with one hand. How many minutes of air does she have left?
She feels a pound of vibration above her, and she freezes. Someone landing?
She takes one last deep breath, feeling her lungs fill with air and she screams out:
"HELP ME! I'M DOWN HERE! HELP!"
No sound in response. She's alone. She'll die alone. She grips the awning with both hands, and then there's movement below. Then bubbles come to the surface, and Darcy's eyes widen. She glances down into the depths, squinting. She can barely see, anyway.
There's a splash, and suddenly Darcy's face to face with Bucky Barnes. She doesn't care that they've never really spoken before, and he's a virtual stranger. She's never been happier to see another human in her whole life.
He flicks his long hair back and gives Darcy a thorough once-over with his stormy eyes and Darcy flushes despite everything else she's feeling. There's so little space between them.
"Darcy," she says.
"Bucky," Bucky says. "Didn't think anyone was down here."
"You're not the only one," Darcy said, "I'm guessing no-one thought to check the spa slash pool situation?"
There's something like a flash of a smile on his face and Darcy knows she amuses him, and there's the brief flare of triumph, before she remembers she's up to her neck in water.
"No," he replies. His voice is quiet, a rumble. "Any broken bones?"
"I don't… think so," Darcy replies, moving her body under the water a little to feel if there's much pain. She shakes her head.
His hand comes up from the water, and he lifts his finger to gesture at his own mouth.
"You got a cut on your… on your lip."
"What?" Darcy says. She knows she sounds dumb.
Bucky looks at her hands, her white knuckles.
"Gotta get movin', doll," he murmurs. "But I need a second. Can you wait?"
"What?" Darcy yells. "Don't leave me."
Bucky meets her gaze and his jaw ticks. "You can't make it outta here without me but you can't hold your breath like me."
"Bucky –"
His face changes as she says his name with a whimper, and he swallows.
"I'll come back, doll," he says. "Okay? I promise."
Darcy whimpers again, and he reaches out to touch her face for a lightning second before he dives down into the water once more, disappearing. Darcy could feel the water up to her chin and she let go of the awning, her hands flat against the cement above as she gulped the air.
She waits, and she loses track of the time.
A splash, water in her face.
"Doll, doll –"
Darcy turns herself as best she can without sinking, craning her head up to what's left of the air. She sees the scuba gear he's holding and she laughs, kind of hysterical.
"What about you?" she gasps, and he shakes his head.
He shoves the mouthpiece toward her and Darcy obliges, opening her mouth to it. He helps tug on the mask. It's wet and clumsy but Darcy can breathe better.
"I'll hold the tank," he says. "You ready?"
Darcy gives a nod.
"Okay, doll. Dive!"
Darcy plunges into the water, and it's dark. Bucky guides her down, down, down to the bottom of the pool, where Darcy can see a gap at the bottom, some metal torn back. Bucky must have ripped it apart to get to her.
Darcy keeps kicking, trying to swim as fast as she possibly can, struggling through the water. Her clothes are too heavy, pulling her back. Bucky pushes, and she squeezes through the opening, and glances up. Light and the surface awaits her.
When they break the surface, Darcy feels Bucky take her by the waist and pull her out of the water, and she's thrown up onto the side of the pool.
She rips off the mask and the rest of the gear and looks around, seeing Bucky above her. She sits up, panting.
"You okay?" he murmurs, hands pushing back her wet hair.
"Yeah," she pants. "'m fine. You?"
He chuckles. "Jesus, doll."
Darcy breaks eye contact to look around, seeing the massive hole in the ceiling. The commotion is probably upstairs.
"What the fuck happened?"
"Explosion in the labs."
"Fuck!" Darcy hisses, trying to scramble to her feet. "Jane!"
"She's fine, she's fine," Bucky says, hands on her shoulders. "Some intern left something on. Jane was getting coffee."
"Shit, and I was down here –"
"Yeah, I figured," he replies, eyes bright again. "Come on, we should get you cleaned up."
He moves to let her go, but Darcy is struck by the sudden urge to touch him. She grabs at his arms and pulls him toward her. She hugs him, tucking her chin onto his shoulder.
"Thank you," she whispers. "Thank you."
"Not… not a problem, doll," he manages to murmur. He clears his throat.
Darcy pulls back, feeling her face flush again.
"Sorry, I shouldn't – I'm touchy-feely," she stammers. She's suddenly aware that she's way too close to him, and she licks her lips.
His eyes dart to her mouth and Darcy notes he doesn't pull away, doesn't push her off of him, either. Her heart is still hammering, either from the adrenaline or being so close to someone as ridiculously handsome as Bucky Barnes. She's grateful, but beneath that she can feel a warmth pooling between her legs under his intense gaze.
"Bucky," she whispers, and she leans slightly forward, and there's only an inch between their faces.
She doesn't push him too far. She keeps still, gazing at him. She can feel his breath on her face. When he finally moves, Darcy remains rigid, blinking as he presses a kiss to her wet nose.
She laughs, and Bucky gives her a smile. His shyness makes her want to wrap her arms around him.
"Hey!"
Darcy turns her head to the voice, seeing a SHIELD employee with a flashlight by the doors.
"You good?"
"Yeah," Bucky calls. "No thanks to you guys. No-one bothered to check down here?"
The SHIELD guy looks flustered, frowning at them. "Is Miss Lewis alright?"
"She's fine," Darcy replies, and she feels Bucky bump his mouth against her hair as his arm gathers around her waist. "Barnes will take me back to my room to recuperate."
SHIELD guy frowns again. "Okay?"
When he leaves, Bucky laughs into her hair and Darcy turns her head, smiling at him.
"He'll report us to everyone," Bucky says.
Darcy narrows one eye. "I don't give a fuck."
"Yeah," Bucky says. "Me, neither."
Their mouths slant together and Darcy closes her eyes, feeling the glide of his tongue as he slips into her mouth. She moans, and maybe the shock is enhancing the sensations, but fuck if Bucky isn't a good kisser.
He cups the back of her head, his other arm still around her waist. Darcy's fingers thread into his wet hair, pulling him impossibly closer. His returning touch has Darcy believe that he's ready to devour her, and when they finally break apart his eyes are darker, full of want.
"We could use a hot shower, huh?" Darcy whispers, and Bucky blinks. "My place?"
"You sure?" Bucky asks, his voice rough. It's enough to make Darcy want to clamp her legs together.
She nods, pulling him into another needy kiss, and he groans for the first time.
"I haven't – done this in a while."
"Me, neither," Darcy replies. She touches her lip because it stings. She likes that they're at least on the same page.
"I shouldn't be so rough with you," he murmurs, looking at the blood on her fingertip.
"I'm fine," she murmurs back, smiling. She points to the other side of her lips. "Just kiss me more here."
He smiles, moving to plant a slow peck on the corner of her mouth.
"Bucky, I'm serious. My place?"
She stands up, offering Bucky a hand.
They walk toward the elevator, only to nearly run into Jane.
"Darcy, what the hell -?" Jane cuts herself off to look down at their joined hands and she narrows her eyes at Bucky in confusion. "What's going on?"
"Can't talk now, Jane," Darcy says, using her spare arm to block the elevator from closing. She tugs Bucky in with her, Jane's mouth hanging open. "Nearly drowned, but I had a guy pull me out. Talk soon. Love you!"
"Hey, that's my elevator!" Jane retorted, as the doors closed on her face.
Darcy only felt slightly guilty. Jane had basically done the same thing last time Thor was there, and when that happened they agreed to only ditch each other in dire situations.
Darcy considered wanting to be naked as fast as possible with Bucky Barnes a fucking dire situation.
They reached her floor and Darcy waved her pass from her pocket on the handle and she let herself in, tugging Bucky with her.
She knew he was letting her do that. He was enhanced and she appreciated him indulging her more romantic possessiveness as it came over her. She pushed him against her closed front door and reached on tip-toes to kiss him again.
"Shower?" she whispers, as he moves to kiss down her neck.
She shivers, and closes her eyes for a second, distracted.
"Fuck."
Her breath hitches as his teeth graze her skin.
"I'm thinking we shower after," he murmurs into her skin, and Darcy bites her lip, on the non-injured side.
"After -?"
He suddenly lifts her and Darcy's eyes widen. He turns them to carry her down the hall, and he does it with ease.
"Oh, fuck me," Darcy whispers, which only makes Bucky chuckle.
He places her on the bed and she tugs awkwardly at her clothes, kicking off wet sneakers. Bucky helps, hands moving to pull wet, heavy material away.
She shivers, but not with anticipation. Her teeth chatter.
"You cold, doll?" Bucky murmurs, and Darcy sees she's wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders. She nods.
"But you feel warm," she replies, nodding at him.
She's sitting on her bed in her underwear and Bucky's still dressed. She glances at his crotch and her eyes widen once more.
"Come here," she says, beckoning him with one hand.
He obliges, moving closer so he's standing by her, Darcy's hands resting against his belt, tugging him toward her open legs.
It's awkward, but they manage to pull off his Henley, and Darcy has her first glimpse of his muscles and all heat goes to her face and between her legs. Her hands run over his skin.
"Can I?" she offers, hands going to his belt.
"Sure," he replies, but his voice is rough again. She unbuckles his belt and pulls down his fly. The rasping sound of the zipper echoes in her head, and reality suddenly hits her.
This is really happening.
"Shit," she hisses.
"Yeah," Bucky replies.
Oh. He's nervous, too. She glances up at him, sees his face has changed to something softer, fond.
"You sure?" he asks again.
Darcy nods, and she pushes down his jeans enough to run her hand along the length of him through his boxers. He hisses, then licks his lips.
"Fuck, doll," he whispers.
He's quick, pulling down jeans and underwear to reveal his cock that bobs between his legs, the thick thatch of hair above it. He climbs on top of her, and Darcy grabs him by the shaft.
She pumps him a few times, testing. His eyes flutter shut and he bucks slightly. She rips a moan from him. He finally kisses her, fucks her with his tongue for a while as Darcy's hand strokes him.
"You gotta stop or I'll come all over you," he whispers.
"Would that be so bad?" she manages to retort, though her voices shakes a little.
His hand comes to rest on her wrist, stopping her.
"Wanna come inside you," he murmurs.
No-one has ever said that to Darcy, at least not in that way, not with that look in their eye. He wants to wreck her, and she nods, pulling her hand away from his cock.
Her hands go to push down her wet panties, and she can't tell if they're soaked from the pool or her own overwhelming arousal, but they're tossed aside just the same.
Bucky sucks in a breath as he looks at her wet cunt between him and the bed. He takes a finger and sucks on it, before slipping down Darcy's bare stomach to her slit, making her gasp.
"Bucky."
"Tell me what feels good," he whispers.
He wants to please her so badly and Darcy bites her lip again. Her chest heaves as he circles her clit, and she nods at him.
"Like this?" he murmurs. "What about my thumb?"
He changes it up, rubbing her with the pad of his thumb. Darcy rocks into him, feeling the coil tighten deep within her. She's not cold anymore. She can feel she's too flustered not to start to sweat.
"What if I fuck you with my fingers, doll? Huh?"
She gasps as two of his fingers push inside her cunt, filling her just enough to make her constrict around him.
"You feel so wet, doll." He hisses again, his eyes darting from her face to her cunt and back up again. "Feel so fucking good, Darcy."
Darcy lets out a breathless laugh. She's never heard something sound so good, Bucky praising her like this with filthy words. She never thought it'd make her so riled up but now she's thinking this kind of dirty talk has to be mandatory from now on.
She comes with a grunt, clamping down on him, her orgasm like a hard throb and she closes her eyes for a second. When she opens her eyes, Bucky's fingers are still inside her, and her hands comes down on his wrist, their eyes meeting.
"That feel good?" he asks, and Darcy sees he's serious.
She nods, panting a little. He withdraws his fingers and she misses him instantly, completely, and then he brings his wet fingers up to his mouth and sucks on them contentedly.
"Fuck, Bucky," she whispers. She chuckles.
He moves forward again, kissing her cheek. Darcy realises he's avoiding her mouth because of the taste of her on his tongue, so she pulls him back to kiss him properly, filthy and demanding.
He grunts in surprise and he melts against her, hands going to pull her bra straps down. Darcy struggles to pull the offending garment off but when she finally does, Bucky's eyes widen at her naked underneath him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he says, as Darcy's hand goes to grab his cock again to line them up.
She pauses, wondering what she did wrong.
"I need a second," he says. His eyes rove her body and Darcy bites her lip again.
"Very flattering," she says, trying not to sound too impatient and failing miserably. "But I want you inside me."
She touches his cock again and he moans.
"Specifically, this part of you," Darcy says, and Bucky ducks his head.
They kiss, Darcy's legs hooking over his hips. Darcy keeps her eyes open and glued to Bucky when he finally pushes inside her. She adjusts to the stretch of him but still feels overwhelmed, like she might break apart under him if he did it just right.
A good kind of break – like she'd had the best sex of her life kind of break. A mind-shattering kind of fuck. She murmurs as much into his ear as he starts to move.
She knows she's babbling nonsense but she's already come and she's feeling pretty fucking good for someone who almost drowned less than an hour ago.
They rut together and Darcy can feel she's on the precipice, and Bucky's close, too. He keeps moaning into her ear. Darcy wants to remember this forever.
She might never get over this. It slips out of her mouth the second before she comes again, Bucky's thumb on her throbbing clit.
"Don't think for a second I'm letting you go after this, Darcy," he whispers, his voice strained.
He manages three more thrusts before he comes, fingers digging into her ass as he spills deep inside her.
They pant for a few moments and Darcy smiles at him blissfully, covered in sweat.
"Shower?" she says, raising an eyebrow.
About ten minutes after they dry off, Darcy leaves him dozing in her unmade bed as she goes to the spare, unharmed lab, a distinct glow on her face.
"Jane, I have an incident report to fill out," she says, smiling at her boss, who doesn't seem impressed.
"I think you need to go to HR for that kind of thing," Jane retorts, sipping a coffee.
Darcy tilts her head. "I mean for the pool downstairs when the lab exploded. I almost drowned?"
Jane's eyes bulge. "I thought you were kidding!"