Written for: pegasusdragontiger. April 25th, 2019 ShieldShock with witch!Darcy.

Darcy Lewis was a witch, not a psychic.

Her great-aunt was a psychic and successfully predicted both her parents' divorce and the blue ribbon she'd win in sixth grade for track. Her half-brother could also do this thing where he'd look into his babysitter's eyes and instantly know where the cookie jar was hidden.

Darcy, however, had not inherited such talents. It was sad but true.

And she should've remembered that when she set out into the world and got herself an internship with an brilliant, if eccentric, scientist stationed in the middle of the desert.

Expectation: spend a few months building sandcastles while practicing her potion brewing and wow-ing her squishy muggle friend with some magic tricks.

Reality: walk into the lab on Day Two to find Jane sucking blood out of a bag through a straw of all things and suddenly understand why she never ate and was pretty much nocturnal.

"You're a vampire!" Darcy screamed, pointing at Jane's bloodstained lips.

"Yeah," Jane said, blinking her red eyes away and retracting her fangs. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was going to but some things came up and I never got around to it."

"You're a vampire!"

"Er...yes, I am.

"Why are you a vampire?!"

"You mean was I born this way?" Jane tossed the empty blood bag away. "Kind of. My dad's a vampire and my mom is human, but when I was twenty-three, I decided-"

"Why are you a vampire?"

The conversation went on like that for a few hours until Darcy threw up her hands and accepted it.

She would continue to accept things all the way to the Avengers main HQ in upstate New York, where Jane had been taken on by Tony Stark as a member of his exclusive science team (which mostly meant them and Dr. Banner would hole away for days at a time, building robots or whatever). Being Tony Stark, he took the witch and vampire thing in stride and the two of them quickly settled into their new lives and new responsibilities.

Expectation: Get another year of experience as an administrative assistant before applying to grad school, try to get that one cooling charm to work in time for summer, and not see her supernatural life conflict with her superhero life in any way.

Reality: Visit her new best acquaintances Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes after they were attacked on a mission and realize those dog bites were not dog bites.

"I think it's a werewolf," she told Jane later when they were alone.

"Are you sure?" Jane was in the middle of arranging a meeting with her blood dealer, which was a thing for vampires apparently. "Could've just been a really big dog."

"I don't know." Darcy flipped through the photos her mom had sent her. They all looked just like the gashes on Steve's shoulder and Bucky's stomach.

They were discharged the next day, miraculously healed and feeling better than ever. Over the next few weeks, certain… changes would occur. Bucky made a scene in the lounge one day accusing Sam of raiding his fridge.

"I did not take your stupid ice cream, asshole."

"Oh yes you did, I can smell it on you!"

"I bought my own ice cream and ate it yesterday. What do you mean you smell it?"

Steve reported a case of sexual harassment after overhearing a janitor making lewd comments about the receptionist.

"I can't believe none of you heard him. He was practically screaming."

"He was all the way across the lobby. And it's crowded in here. How did you hear him?"

Both of them caused several thousand dollars in property damage by accidentally ripping doors apart and putting holes in the wall.

"Okay, I know the serum was good, but since when is it this good?"

"It's not. At least, I don't think it is. I don't know anymore."

A day before the next full moon, Darcy knew it was time to bite the bullet and tell them her theory. She dragged Jane along with her, just in case she needed back up. They found Steve and Bucky duking it out in one of the only training rooms they hadn't destroyed yet. No one else was around, which was good. Those claws and gold eyes would've been really hard to explain to a Normie.

"Huh," Jane said, her eyes clouding and turning red as she was almost hypnotically drawn to Bucky's aggressive stance. "Guess you were right."

The battle was at a standstill for the moment. Both men had lost their shirts and their bare chests were covered in claw marks. Glass windows had been cracked and safety mats shredded. Steve's teeth grew sharper by the second as he snarled at his best friend, ready to strike.

"Hey, guys!" Darcy shouted, using a spell to magnify her voice. "You need to come out so we can talk. It's important."

"I think we should stay in here," Steve said calmly.

"Might be safer for you," Bucky agreed.

"Look, I know what you're going through. Granted not firsthand, but I've read about it, and the first month after the bite is really hard. It'll be easier after you transform tomorrow. Until then, you have to chill."

"Chill?" Bucky rounded on them, stomping hard enough to leave massive imprints in the metal floor. "I don't care what you've read, you have no idea what this feels like!"

Every word came out as a feral growl. Darcy shivered in fear. Jane shivered for a whole other reason.

"I don't think this is working," she muttered to Darcy.

"Got any better ideas?"

"Just one," Jane smiled and licked her lips, "but I get the tasty one."

"You get the whatnow?"

Vampires were very fast. And very strong. Maybe not quite at supersoldierwerewolf (weresupersoldier?) level, but Bucky definitely did not expect her to leap clear over the twelve-foot glass and tackle him to the ground. He went down easily and didn't resist when Jane licked him from neck to ear. She grinned, fangs flashing. Bucky's eyes turned gold.

"I knew there was something up with you," he purred.

"Oh yeah?"

She pulled him into a kiss which immediately became far too R-rated to watch. Darcy took that as her cue to grab Steve and get the hell out of dodge.

They went through the locker room, Steve gagging at the intense odors he couldn't block out. Darcy guided him to her and Jane's apartment. By then, he'd relaxed enough that his claws retracted and his eyes returned to their normal (if still magical in Darcy's opinion) blue hue.

"Okay, we're good," she said. He shuffled to the couch while Darcy made him a quick sandwich. She piled on meat and a few vegetables to keep it balanced. Everything a growing wolfman needed.

"We're not good," Steve mumbled, staring at his hands. "Is this going to keep happening?"

"For a little while," Darcy admitted. "I know it's hard, but I promise it'll get easier. What you and Bucky are dealing with right now, they're just growing pains. This time next month, you'll be completely settled and out hunting fresh deer in between punching bad guys."

He put his head in his hands and Darcy stopped talking. She considered putting a 'shut up' spell on herself, but that might be taking it too far. "So… always had a feeling about Jane and Bucky, you know? They seem like perfect halves."

"She had fangs."

"Yeah, she's a vampire. Technically, it's not a secret, but Jane's kind of private and no one ever asks, so it doesn't come up."

"She's a vampire, Buck and I are werewolves," he stared at her, "so what are you?"

"A witch," she said. "Not a great witch, mind you, but you know, a witch."

She swirled her hand to create sparks. It was a good trick for little kids. Not so much for grown men in the middle of lycanthropic turmoil.

Steve's shoulders slumped. "I guess it could be worse. At least I'm not really losing my mind."

Darcy took his hand, ignoring for the moment how big it was and how good those callouses felt against her soft flesh. "You're going to get through this, okay? Both of you. I'm with you every step of the way. I can introduce you to older werewolves who can show you the ropes or make a potion to ease the transition, whatever you need."

"What if we don't come back from it?"

"You will," Darcy scooted closer. "Come on, you guys are way too tough for that. Everything you've survived, a little werewolf bite is nothing."

Steve smiled, which had to be a good sign. "I like your optimism."

"Thank you, I do try."

"Think you and I could be perfect halves?"

Darcy choked. The question, while unexpected, was not out of nowhere. Not for her anyway. "I.. well, we're only just getting to know each other. Hard to tell just yet, but I mean… I mean maybe. You never know…"

"Sorry if that's too much," he said like he could smell the combination of anxiety and desire welling up in her chest, and he probably could, "but I wouldn't mind if we were."

They had a quick meal (quick for Steve being the sandwich followed by two more) and Steve got the first good night's sleep he'd had in weeks thanks to one of Darcy's sleeping draughts. Bucky and Jane were back the next morning, just roughed up enough that Darcy didn't have to ask what they'd been doing and definitely didn't wanted to.

"Glad you're here," Darcy sang. "I'm ordering pizza later with a side of B positive for you, Jane. We've got a whole twelve hours to get through before the moon rises."

"Good. I'm taking a nap." Jane dragged Bucky into the bedroom with her, but from the lack of noise that followed, she really did mean to sleep.

"Thanks for this," Steve said as Darcy handed him a stack of pancakes. "Really, I can't thank you enough."

"So don't," Darcy replied. "I want to help. I may not be the best witch ever, but I can be the best buddy in the world."

Steve dropped his plate on the table, and right when it looked like he'd dig in without another word, he leaned over to peck Darcy on the lips, a tiny growl reverberating in his chest like he'd just marked her as his.

"Still gonna thank you," he whispered.

Expectation: Keep her head down and be just another face in the crowd among the heroes.

Reality: ...pretty freaking great right now.