Darcy got into the routine of Stark tower very quickly. Wake up, breakfast with Jane and Thor, get Jane to the labs, leave to get dressed and coffee, get coffee for jane, sit and watch science, get lunch for herself and Jane, convince Jane to eat the lunch, sit and watch more science, retrieve dinner, convince Jane to eat again, watch more science, then finally drag Jane away from her science and to bed. Even still, Darcy found time (mostly during the science) to explore the other areas of the tower. She had discovered the other labs (locked by Jarvis), the best staff cafeteria (on the 19th floor, near the law office), and, most importantly, she found all the gyms and workout rooms. She had asked Jarvis which was least used and explored it. It was on the floor below hers, which was an unused residence floor. And today, she was finally going to go use it.
Jane had been fed breakfast and was off working, which gave Darcy her free time. She took her iPhone (yeah Stark payed her bills, but she was an apple slave and admitted as much) and headed down to the unused gym. Once she got there, she pulled off the sweatshirt she was wearing to reveal a loose-fitting tank top underneath. As she bent over to take off her shoes, Darcy paused.
"Jarvis, can you cut video in here? I would really prefer if there wasn't a video record of this for the others to laugh at."
"Of course Miss Lewis. Audio recording must remain though, for safety."
Darcy smiled and finished pulling off her shoes and socks.
"That will be fine Jarvis. Can you play my playlist?"
"Of course Miss Lewis."
Soft piano notes and a calm voice began drifting through the speakers as Darcy made her way to the center of the workout room. She stretched briefly- as an in sting more than as a necessity. And as the music began to slightly pick up, Darcy began to dance.
Darcy had discovered dance as a form of expression not to long after she arrived in the dimension. She had taken a dance class and had fallen in love with the movement and freedom. She had felt like her own person the most when dancing. And now, with the cameras off, she almost could be.
Darcy continued dancing, moving fluidly until the song ended. The next song was also slow, but had a heavier rock undertone. As the music continued to pick up intensity, Darcy allowed her claws to slowly extend from her hands and feet. When the music hit its peak, she had her claws fully extended and was dancing beyond any choreography. She was twirling and feeling alive.
In that moment, she was no longer Darcy, the snarky intern who hid so much of herself. She also was not X-23, the girl made into a weapon by those she hated as well as those the loved. In that dance, she was Laura, the one who defied control and who created her own self.
All too soon, the song ended and moved to a much angrier rap song. The song pulled at the instincts in Laura's brain, and the dance slowly became a beautiful attack. It was less mindless now, and had become a chance to perform the motions within her muscle memory. The beat was sharp and forceful with lyrics to match, and Laura was hitting every note with her movements. It was calming and refreshing to her.
But even in her freedom, she wasn't really free. As the music began to fade out, she could hear footsteps approaching the room. Darcy kept moving as though she hadn't heard, but quickly retracted the claws back into her arms. When the next song began, she kept moving like she hadn't seen the door open.
"Pause." Darcy looked up as the music stopped. Well... She hadn't been expecting the Black Widow to be the one to interrupt her dancing.
Natasha had a single eyebrow raised "I had no idea you danced."
Darcy shrugged "It's a good way to get emotions out. I was minoring in dance at Culver before I had to drop out."
Natasha gave a small nod. "You're quite good. Your form was excellent. Did you have childhood training?"
Darcy shook her head. Natasha was tiptoeing a little close for Darcy's liking- asking all the right questions. "No, not really. I was on the dance company in high school for a year, and was in a modern class from 8th grade to college." A bit of a lie and a bit of the truth (she did enroll in a high school after she dimension-jumped and had been on the dance company there, but hadn't really seen the value as an alternative to her training until college).
Natasha sharply nodded, before sighing softly. "I'm going to stop avoiding the point of this. James. Don't break his heart."
Darcy was surprised. "Well I don't plan to. We're not even really dating yet. At this point, I just want to get to know him. Maybe beyond that at some point, but not right now."
Natasha raised an eyebrow, "If you're not dating, then why are you two going out on a date tonight."
"It's not a date! OK well, maybe it is but it's as friends! And we're not even going anywhere, we're just gonna stay in and watch netflix and eat pizza."
Natasha smiled "Well then we shouldn't have a problem. And if he breaks your heart, I'll fight him is you ask me to."
Darcy laughed, "Don't you worry. If he breaks my heart, he'll have to fight me first."
Natasha chuckled, "Well I'll let you have the first shot at him. I've heard you're pretty good with a taser."
Darcy smiled widely, before moving to collect her shoes and phone. "I am quite good a taser, but it sure as hell isn't my only weapon."
Natasha laughed lowly, and Darcy joined her. Oh, she had no idea.


The songs that I described in this chapter were all ones I listened to as I wrote.
The first one was Take Me to Church by Hozier, the second one started out as Centuries by Fall Out Boy (I wanted a more upbeat song but whatever, I didn't specifically say a song in there), and the last one was Black Skinhead by Kanye West. If you ever want to dance like you're gonna punch someone, dance to Black Skinhead.
Next chapter is the date and a bit of a surprise!