Ch. 21

Coulson sat on the couch nursing a cup of coffee. He was drinking too much of it lately, sleeping too little. It had been two weeks since Loki had taken Skye to Asgard and everyone was pushed past their limits. Nobody slept enough, nobody ate enough and he was sure that Dr. Foster and Fitzsimmons hadn't seen the sun since they started working together. Thor tried to answer their questions as best he could, but it was incredibly difficult to translate Asgardian technology into terms the rest of them could understand. And, while he did have a good grasp of how the Bifrost worked, he was hardly an expert and he had to guess more often than not while helping them.

They had been crisscrossing the globe so that May and Ward could collect the needed materials. Unlike Loki, they didn't have an army of minions to help them out and even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files on the portal that Loki had created, it was slow going. Ward and May had been driven, taking risks they shouldn't have to get what they needed to create the Bifrost. Ward had already gotten stabbed once during one mission and May broke a finger during another.

Darcy came over and plopped down next to him and Coulson had to smile. On the surface, she would seem like the most unnecessary member of their newly formed team, but Coulson didn't know how they would have made it without her. A consummate organizer, she made sure they all had enough food on the Bus, cooking enormous dinners nearly every night and bullying everyone into taking a break and eating together. Her sunny, irreverent disposition brightened everyone's day and made the last few harrowing weeks manageable. Everyone, even May, grinned when they saw her, a ray of light during such a dark time.

"So, big guy, what's the situation with the Abercrombie and Fitch model?"

"Who? Oh, Ward. The situation? What situation?" Coulson asked.

"Don't make me spell it out," she replied, looking at him pointedly.

"Oh . . . .," he said, rubbing his temples and trying to avert the beginnings of a caffeine and stress-induced headache. He flashed back on May's revelation that she and Ward were having an affair. "Let's just say, it's complicated."

"And Scotty?"

He bit back a laugh at Darcy's nickname for Fitz. "I don't think he's officially dating anyone, but . . ." Coulson trailed off with a huff. He'd seen the stolen glances between him and Simmons, especially when they thought the other wasn't looking.

"So all the eligible guys on this plane are taken?" she whined.

"More or less. I thought you were dating your intern, Ian?"

"Were is the operative word in that sentence. We only dated for like three weeks. Wait, how did you know? I swear, S.H.I.E.L.D. has files on everyone," she said, exasperated.

"Oh, no, it wasn't that. Somehow I ended up Facebook friends with Selvig."

Darcy shot him a look of disbelief.

"What was that look for? I'm still with it," Coulson protested.

Darcy cocked an eyebrow and then shook her head slowly. "Well, great, once again, I'm the odd one out. Do you know how hard it is to be around Romeo and Juliet over there?" she asked, vaguely pointing in Thor and Jane's direction. "I mean, they are literally star-crossed lovers. He gave up a kingdom for her. My last Valentine's day, I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's and rewatched the first two seasons of Sherlock."

"The BBC one?"

"Of course," Darcy said emphatically.

"There's someone out there for everyone, Darcy," Coulson said as he watched May walk through the room. He turned back to look at Darcy. "Who knows? Loki's unattached. You could be the next queen of Asgard," he said dryly, just ducking the pillow she sent winging at his head.

"You better be nice to me, then," she snarled in mock anger, "or next time, I'll be the one with the glowstick of destiny."