The smooth sound of something sliding over the sheets told Darcy she was longer alone in bed. It took a little more effort than usual, but she rolled over to face her visitor, tucking an arm under her pillow. Even in the middle of the night, New York City glowed, and that soft light had found its way into her room, lighting the figure beside her.
"Hey," she whispered.
Loki gave a soft smile that Darcy couldn't see in his eyes. "Hey," he whispered back, easily adopting the Midgardian salutation.
She reached up and smoothed her eyebrow with one finger. "Didja get the number of the bus that hit you?" The pale light illuminated a dark blemish along Loki's normally fair face, from his eye and sweeping back to disappear in his hair. Tracing the shape of his brow was a furrow in the skin, slick and black.
Quietly he answered, "I believe Stark calls it his 'Mark Ten'." Again, there was that soft smile but it quickly faded.
"Didn't know he was back in the suit. He's been sick for a while, you know?" Darcy pointedly looked at Loki, a questioning rise to her eyebrows.
This time his smile was genuine. "I hadn't heard." Darcy just hummed and nodded in response.
The room was quiet for long minutes. Neither looked at the other, instead finding something else to lock their eyes on then blinking away the blurriness in the dim light and again finding something else to look upon.
Loki shifted, unnecessarily pulling at his surcoat and scabbard when his knuckles brushed against Darcy's stomach. He pulled his hand back and stilled it. His eyes went to her face. "Apologies." He had made it a point to not touch her there, whenever he'd come around. It was easy enough when fucking. The swell of her belly made it nearly impossible to face one another and she had forgone the usual stripping naked when they started by keeping her top on. He only noticed this behavior because he was beginning to miss her breasts. He wasn't entirely sure why but there was a thin and shallow reasoning in his mind that told him if he didn't acknowledge that Darcy was pregnant, then it would hold no consequence over him.
Darcy rubbed a hand over her belly where Loki had touched. The innocent contact had sent her heart racing, the spike of adrenaline tingling like needles over her skin. "It's okay. She doesn't bite. Not yet, anyways." She smiled like she'd just told some great joke that he was supposed to get.
"She?" An eyebrow rose in question.
Stilling her hand Darcy replied, "Yep. Darcy junior." When Loki didn't say anything else she continued, "I was trying to find a name a little more, I dunno, you-ish…maybe something with a line through a vowel or dots above a letter. Anything that people'd hafta toggle to the alt-keyboard for would be perfect." Darcy looked at Loki expectantly. But he either didn't see the opening or didn't wish to go through it.
"I'm sure whatever you chose will be suitable," he said rather diplomatically. Darcy's face dropped and Loki felt a pang of regret. He didn't want to be unkind to the girl. They did have a rather enjoyable history together but he viewed the future as an uncertainty and, logically, he didn't want to draw her in with false assumptions from either of them.
Brushing off her disappointment, Darcy replied, "Yeah, well, I got a list picked out so I'm sure I'll whittle it down to something cool." She shrugged. "If not, I can always pull a name out of a hat. The tried and true method," she said, nodding. Loki nodded along with her, acquiescing for no real reason.
Another silence fell between them as they lay there, looking but not-looking at each other. Darcy's breathing was even and he thought she might've fallen asleep when he heard the flicking of her eyelashes. She moved then, bringing her hand to her face. She scrubbed at her eye and pushed her hair back from her face, though it was relatively sound tucked behind her ear.
Loki was about to make up his mind to go, thinking of a lie or some half-truth to tell her he was taking his leave, feeling he owed her that rather than just disappearing with no word, when she spoke. "You should find another job, you know?"
He creased his brow, not understanding her meaning. "I am not currently employed as it is." Sometimes she made the most confusing statements.
Darcy clarified by saying, "Being their punching bag." She toyed with the edge of the sheet that covered her, not looking at him. "You're kinda over-qualified for that sorta thing. Maybe you could just, I dunno," she shrugged again, "just not be that, anymore?"
There, again, was that strange and alien flavor he tasted. Sentiment. She felt for him. And was misguidedly trying to steer him onto another path. But was it for him? Herself? Or the unborn child in her womb? She was clumsy in her subtlety having lived too long blundering into situations she was unprepared for. Though she was courageous in her naivety, he would give her that.
Loki sighed and rolled onto his back. "It is more complicated than you understand, girl." He was tired and he hurt from the battle and he just didn't have it in him to make her see. He didn't think he would ever have it in him.
Darcy's voice was soft in the dark. "Don't call me 'girl'. Don't ever call me that again." Confused, Loki turned his head to look at Darcy, her brows drawn together, hurt and angry and pushing back. He had crossed an invisible line and he couldn't hold her gaze. He turned his eyes back to the ceiling.
"You're right," he whispered. "My mistake." He folded his hands across his abdomen and let his body relax. Darcy's anger stung him but he accepted it. He had brought it on and deserved no less. He frowned in the dimness. How easily he accepted that. What was this girl, no, woman, doing to him? There was movement next to him and he looked over to see that Darcy had inched closer, as close as she could, and was sliding her hand over his. She curled her other hand around his upper arm and the contact made Loki look down at her, unable to pinpoint any one emotion. But the warmth of her hand on his caused a rush of heat to fill his chest and he breathed in deep against it. He slipped one hand free and laid it atop hers.
At some point in the quiet dark, Darcy had drifted to sleep, her grip on Loki's arm slacking. Though tired as he was, Loki had not once closed his eyes and now, slowly, a warm light began to fill the room as dawn approached. Gently, he detached himself from Darcy and slipped from the bed. He looked down at her rounded form, her now empty arms reaching in sleep for someone who wasn't there. A strange pain filled his chest once more and he pressed an open palm against it, trying to ease the pressure.
He had the thought to leave, to flee from the apartment before the tightness in his chest worsened. In the smallest of moments of time between being here and being there, Loki knew, before he had fully teleported away that leaving only made the pain worse.
A/N: BAM! Less than 3 hours to write this! Can you tell? Sorry if it's sloppy or there are mistakes...I wanted this out before X-Mas since I will be AFK for a bit. Please leave a review...they're the best gift an author can get!
