Wanda/Darcy 3

*** I own nothing. I'm just having fun. ***

Life just really sucked sometimes. Really, really sucked.

Darcy didn't want to go on this stupid trip. She had tried to tell Jane as much, but her friend just wasn't listening. Jane wanted to go to a beach resort with her hunky boyfriend (who went by the name of Thor, of all things), and she wanted to take Darcy with her. Apparently she "didn't get out enough" or something. Whatevs. As if Jane should talk. This was her first vacation in probably ever, with how obsessed she was with her work. It took a sexy, blonde alpha male to distract her at all.

Still, Jane really wanted her to go, and Thor was paying for everything. He seemed more than happy to have Darcy invited along, which was cool, and how could she say no to that? Jane even insisted on taking her shopping for some warm weather clothes, since Darcy didn't have much in the way of beachwear at the moment. She'd be a bad friend to turn them down when her bestie was so excited about having her there, right?

Jane took an afternoon off just to go shopping with her, and Darcy found herself enjoying it a lot. Spending time with her friend was always a good thing, something she sorely missed. They'd worked together for a long time before Darcy finally took the plunge and went for her dream of being a professional photographer. She'd built up quite a client base since then, through hard work and not a small amount of luck, but she missed those long days and nights spent helping Jane on her path to becoming one of the world's foremost astronomers. The woman was a marvel, and Darcy had learned a lot about the importance of perseverance at Jane's side.

That was probably the real reason she gave in to Jane's repeated attempts to drag Darcy on this island getaway. Jane would never give up on something she really wanted, and Darcy needed to overcome her aversion to exposure. She knew she did. Jane was looking out for her, as she always had. Gotta love the girl for that.

Darcy's stomach clenched, however, when she looked at the two piece swimsuit she'd brought. What had she been thinking? Jane must've cast some sort of spell over her to make her buy this thing. She never wore things like this if she could help it. Ever.

She sighed. No sense delaying the inevitable. She changed quickly, then stopped in front of the mirror to look at herself.

She was okay, she supposed. Full lips, dark hair, and pale skin (she reminded herself to apply liberal amounts of sunscreen when she went out). Her job kept her on her feet and in shape as much as possible for someone who avoided the gym like it was her grade school bully. She had full breasts, nice curves... and a huge, ugly scar splashed across her stomach and down her left thigh.

God, she hated it. It had been there as long as she could remember. She'd been burned as a young child, and although she couldn't remember the experience (thank goodness), it made her self conscious. She'd received so much pain just for having the rippled, discolored skin on her body. Kids could be evil little monsters, and she'd been the target of more than her fair share of bullying and teasing. That had left a scar all it's own, one harder to get over. The laughter and cruel, cutting remarks were always there in the back of her mind, waiting to remind her of why she had so few friends over the years.

Even now, as an adult, people could be dicks about it. She'd had lovers (if you could call them that), who had broken things off as soon as they'd seen her, too unsettled by the sight of the scar to ever be comfortable touching her. It was hard to trust someone enough to let them in after experiences like that.

She sighed again as she traced her fingers over the scar. There was one other reason she hated this thing. It had burned off her soul mark. She had no idea what it said or looked like, only the placement, the only thing her parents could remember about it, for some reason. Would the mark show up when it flared? She'd had skin grafts on the area, so she couldn't be sure. She might never get to see the beautiful color that would indicate her soul bond.

She blew out a quick breath in frustration, chiding herself for dwelling on the past. What's done was done, right? No use crying over spilled milk, as they said. It was time to get over herself and get over her hangups about this. Time to step into the light, literally.

Darcy put a cover up on until she reached the beach, though, where she took a deep breath before removing it and settling down on a lounge chair to soak up some sun. She forced herself not to fidget, told herself no one was looking, no one cared.

She was repeating that to herself, eyes closed tight, when suddenly sand was kicked onto her, and she heard someone suck in a quick breath. Darcy's eyes snapped open, anger and embarrassment triggering her fight or flight instincts, and boy, was she ready to fight. She looked at the woman in front of her, expecting to see disgust or shock or something equally humiliating on her face as she stared at Darcy's scar, but the woman's eyes were on her face, not her stomach, and she didn't look repulsed at all. In fact, she looked rather flushed, like she was blushing...

And what eyes she had, sparkling green, kind and, yup, a bit embarrassed. The girl was gorgeous. Darcy struggled to find something to say, something witty or at least not completely ridiculous, but she was distracted by the woman's tiny bikini and gentle curves, not to mention the long, shapely length of her legs. She wanted to shrivel up and hide, faced with such a beautiful specimen of femininity. Her scar had never felt more hideous.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to stare, you're just so beautiful," the woman said, words coming out all in a rush, and Darcy's eyes widened. Her jaw absolutely hit the floor, and she might've frozen that way for ages except for the sharp, stinging pain across her stomach. She looked down at herself and started to laugh a bit hysterically, and her new soulmate looked completely confused.

The woman's words were emblazoned on her stomach, in the most beautiful, flowing script she'd ever seen. Darcy traced her fingers over the letters wordlessly, throat tight with emotion and tears in her eyes. Her hands shook with the force of the emotions suddenly roiling inside of her, and she swallowed hard a few times, trying to find her voice.

"You are my soulmate," the woman said in wonder. "Did- did I upset you? Do you want me to leave?" The girl sounded unsure, afraid, and it was that fear that finally gave Darcy the strength to speak.

"It's just the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Darcy said, tears finally spilling over. "I always loved this color." She smiled, and the woman seemed to relax again.

"My name is Wanda," she said, running her hands over her stomach where Darcy's words, which she hadn't noticed until now, had morphed from plain black to a vivid green. "I can't believe you're here!"

"I almost wasn't," Darcy said ruefully. "I've never been so happy to have been dragged into something in my life." She stood up, wanting to be closer to her soulmate. "I'm Darcy," she said.

"That's a pretty name," Wanda said bashfully, ducking her head. Her hair fell in front of her face, and without even thinking about what she was doing, Darcy reached out and tucked it behind Wanda's ear. The girl's lips quirked up in a flirty smile.

"You're pretty," Darcy said softly, and was pleased when Wanda blushed all over again. It was adorable. She could definitely get used to this.

She flinched when she felt Wanda's fingers on her stomach, on her scar, and Wanda paused for a moment.

"Is this alright?" she asked. Darcy swallowed hard and nodded jerkily, steeling herself.

Wanda's gaze dropped to Darcy's stomach, where she ran her fingertips over her words, and Darcy felt an unexpected jolt of pleasure shoot through her at the contact. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. She'd always heard that having your soulmate touch their words could be arousing, but this was so much more powerful than she had ever imagined. Suddenly it was just the two of them on this stretch of beach, and Darcy wanted nothing more than to press her lips to her words where they were scrawled on Wanda's toned stomach. She wanted to kiss this woman breathless, explore her body, learn her taste and feel. The want was nearly overwhelming.

Wanda seemed to feel something similar, as she sucked in a deep, shaky breath and visibly gathered herself.

"I want you," Wanda said boldly. "Can we go back to your room? I have a roommate." Wanda pointed over at a group of people laughing and playing around a few yards away. "I'm sorry I kicked sand on you. I was trying to retrieve our ball." She picked up a volleyball Darcy hadn't even noticed, tossing it with her graceful, slender fingers. Darcy glanced over at Wanda's friends.

"Won't they miss you?" she asked. "And aren't we moving a little fast?"

"Only fast if you don't want it." Wanda suddenly looked very uncertain. "Do you want to be with me now? I'm sorry I assumed."

"Oh yeah. I am totally not against some alone time for the two of us, believe me. I just don't wanna interrupt anything," Darcy said.

"You aren't. I will return the ball. They will understand. Wait here," Wanda said. She ran over to her friends and tossed them the ball. Darcy watched her talk to them, suddenly self conscious again as Wanda pointed to her, but her friends only smiled over at Darcy, one offering a little wave. They shooed Wanda away with good natured laughter, and she returned to Darcy with flushed cheeks.

"They took that well," Darcy said. Wanda took Darcy's hand and brought it to her lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"They've been worried for me. They tell me I've been alone too long."

"How is that even possible? I mean, look at you," Darcy exclaimed without thinking. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but Wanda just laughed.

"I was waiting for you," she said, and warmth suffused Darcy's body at the honest affection in Wanda's gaze.

"Wow," was all she could think of to say, but she tugged Wanda along behind her, her soul mark absolutely tingling at the thought of touching her soulmate once again. She stopped in front of her room, turning to Wanda once more.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" she asked, needing reassurance. Wanda cupped her face, stroking her thumb along Darcy's cheek.

"I do," Wanda murmured, leaning in close, their lips almost touching. "Let me show you." She brought their lips together, kissing Darcy gently, but insistently, and Darcy moaned into her mouth.

Darcy wasn't gonna question it anymore. She opened the door and pulled Wanda inside.