Chapter 70: Stashed
Darla and Darcy slept in. Darcy had reached over her new friend to snooze, and ultimately delete, the multiple alarms set on Darla's phone. Darla awoke to the sight of Darcy drooling onto her pillowcase. It made her laugh, a polite, quiet sound. Then she noticed the time and gasped, which was not quiet at all. Darcy awoke with a start.
"What is it?" Darcy demanded. She sat up and looked around, disoriented.
"It's nearly nine-thirty," Darla said, scrambling out of bed.
Darcy flung herself back onto the pillow and wiped the spit from her cheek. "That's not an emergency," she said.
"We're late!"
"You can't be late for volunteer work," Darcy said.
Darla ignored this, though she was primed to fight the validity of it, and retrieved her jumpsuit from the closet.
"Aww, don't wear that," Darcy said.
Darla frowned. The only other options were the pajamas she currently had on or the ill fitting jeans and t-shirt that she wore around the house on her days off.
Darcy forced herself out of bed, ready to help pick an outfit. When she was met with the sight of the sad, barren closet, she said, "Oh, yeah. I forgot you have no clothes. Well, put on these terrible mom jeans and let's see what I have in my room back at SHIELD. My clothes would be too big for you, but I think Jane may have left a few things behind at some point. Worst case, we'll go to a store."
They got ready and Darla drove them in. Throughout the trip, Darcy would periodically stick her finger in the waistband of Darla's jeans, scowling at how poorly they fit. Darla parked in the SHIELD garage and they headed for the elevator with their dresses for the night over their arms.
"Why don't you have any nice clothes?" Darcy asked. "I wouldn't paint a room in what you're wearing. Though, hard to say what I would paint a room in. Maybe I should've just said 'I wouldn't paint a room.'"
The elevator doors opened, and Darla didn't have time to answer. Bruce was inside.
Darcy, who had become quickly invested in Bruce and Darla's will-they-won't-they, shoved Darla to the side, out of view of the doors.
Darla had seen Bruce for a split second, and shot Darcy a grateful look when she was done stumbling.
"Hey Darcy," Bruce said. He looked and sounded suspicious, no doubt reacting to how high Darcy's eyebrows were raised.
"We're, uh, I'm going to take the stairs," Darcy said as she scurried off to the right, dragging Darla along behind her. The stairwell had not yet been repaired, so Darcy hopped through the giant hole in the wall while Darla opted for the door. Darcy, exasperated, ushered her to scamper up the steps. They prayed he had been too perplexed in the moment to exit the elevator and spot them.
By the time they got to the next floor up, they were both panting.
"That dude is stalking you, I swear," Darcy said between breaths. "We can just catch the elevator on its way back up. My room is on too high a floor for us to really climb all those stairs."
They walked back over to the elevator. This floor was like a finished basement as it was the one between the main lobby and the garage. It was far less nice than the lobby and the rest of the building, but there were still works of art hanging here and there and potted plants that had to be fake for the lack of sun. Darcy hit the button to go up.
"I wouldn't have had to push you like that if you were wearing a normal outfit instead of something my mom would wear to garden in. Spill. What's up with your closet?"
Darla opened her mouth and the elevator doors slid open in the same instance. There, once again, was Bruce. Darcy pushed Darla again but there was a potted ficus to her right that she crashed into instead, still in full view of the elevator's opening. Darla whacked her face into some leaves and tried to catch herself, accidentally burying her hands in the dirt of the wide pot, her knees colliding with the brim. Bruce saw it all.
"I forgot my keys…" he said, and the doors closed with agonizing slowness.
Darla sat down on the floor.
Darcy bit her upper lip. "All of that? Not ideal."
"Nope," Darla said. "Not ideal at all."
They went to a separate elevator, Darcy noting that they should have done that in the first place, and would do next time if something similar were to happen. She couldn't imagine something so specific going down again, but with Darla's luck it was a distinct possibility. Darcy led the way to her room while Darla picked the dirt out from under her fingernails. Once they were inside, using Darla's badge to gain entry, the SHIELD agent went to wash her hands more thoroughly.
"This is great," Darcy said. "If you're with me, I don't have to worry about propping my door open anymore."
"Did you lose your badge?" Darla asked.
"Uh, yeah."
"And they won't give you a replacement?"
Darcy rifled through her closet, looking for something of Jane's. "I bet they would, but I'm a little nervous about asking. I had a weird role in all that Loki stuff and I think I made Fury's shit list. I'm worried that if I ask it'll open up a bunch of opportunities for him to ask more questions."
She had found a tank top with a cute print and a pair of jeans that would never pull over her curvy hips. She checked the size and knew they weren't hers, so she thrust them at Darla to put on.
Darla went into the bathroom to change. "You don't want Fury asking questions?"
Darcy took a long pause. Darla tilted her head toward the bathroom door, wondering if the walls were soundproof and Darcy couldn't hear her. Then, the door swung open.
"Hey!" Darla was half undressed.
"I've already seen you in your underwear," Darcy said. Her face was cold and stony.
"Is something wrong?"
"How could I be so stupid?" Darcy snatched the tank top back before Darla could put it on.
"Hey! What the―?"
"I thought I was so lucky that Fury wasn't pressing, that he hadn't sent anybody to get in my head. I was at your house last night, shopping with you yesterday, really thinking that. I am just so dense. He did send someone!"
Darla had her arms crossed over her chest. She waited for Darcy to provide more information, but they just stared at each other. "Wait, you mean me?"
"You're damn right I mean you! Nobody could just waltz into SHIELD and get a job, let alone get involved in some major Avengers bull shit while also maintaining potential affairs with two of the team's hottest and most crucial members. Yet here you are. Getting into hilarious hijinks with me. What were you hired to do?"
Darla went to answer but stopped herself.
Darcy narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms and locked one leg.
Darla dropped her arms. "Surveillance."
"A-HA!"
"I was released from that, though. Fury told me to―"
Darcy's body language continued to get more and more aggressive. "He told you to follow me. Befriend me."
"Darcy, you came to help Tony after I was already there. You gave me your phone number, you insisted we hang out. I didn't initiate any of that."
Unconvinced, Darcy pointed at Darla's face. "That's the brilliance of it all! I'm a friendly person, anyone could predict that I'd wanna take your unfortunate ass under my wing."
Darla's gaze shifted to the bathroom mirror unintentionally. She made eye contact with herself and broke it, once again covering her body up.
Darcy took a small step toward her. The hand she was using to point relaxed. She extended her other arm to hand her the tank top, which she slipped over her head right away. It fit Darla well, but she didn't check.
"It sucks," Darcy said, pausing to scratch underneath her ear, "because I like being an open book, and now it sort of feels like I'm not allowed to. I feel like I can't just tell people stuff and I love telling people stuff. Keeping secrets makes me break out."
Darla couldn't relate to this, but it was so honest that she dared not argue. She was also curious about what secrets Darcy had, wondering if they correlated with her own, but she knew better than to ask. "Fury makes me so nervous," she said. "If he did ask me to spy on you, I'd do it. But he didn't ask me to."
Darcy's mouth went into a slant. "See, I'm no good at figuring out when I'm being tricked. That really doesn't make me feel better."
"Okay, well…"
"It's all so weird. Your freaky apartment, like you just moved in and you're on the run from something so you couldn't take any of your stuff. Or do you just not have any stuff? It's like a hotel room without any flourishes."
"Look, I get you not wanting Fury in your business. I do. I respect that, and you don't have to tell me anything you feel I might share with him. The thing is, Fury already knows too much about me. I'm sort of indebted to him, he got me this job, he got me that apartment. I was really down on my luck. Now, with the way you all talk about him, I'm thinking he's the wrong person to be indebted to. That scares me."
"Oof," Darcy said. "That's pretty heavy. Uh, I'm sorry I barged in here like that, I'm just a little paranoid. You seem like good people. I'm sorry I called you unfortunate."
Darla smiled weakly.
Darcy clapped her hands. "Don't you worry! I'm gonna make sure tonight makes up for everything that happened this morning and cures whatever else ails you! Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Darla said. "That sounds nice."
Elsewhere
Loki had retreated to the room he previously shared with Eve and got into bed. He had trouble falling asleep, found himself tossing and turning. Half of this was due to fear that his brother would wake from his slumber and come by to bash his head in. For Thor to kill him would require less effort, and certainly less time, than what his current plan entailed. Every little sound the house made had Loki fearing for his life.
The other half of his discomfort came from the thought of his mortal stowaway locked in with the pup and the pool. She had done her best to persuade him away from sending her home, and in a way she succeeded. Overall, getting her back and then worrying about her actions once all was said and done seemed like far too much effort. Better to keep her locked up where the only damage she could do was to the decor.
Whether or not Eve possessed any power to help SHIELD locate Loki was debatable. She could tell them his secrets, recount every last trick he pulled and even that Thor had jumped ship to play parole officer. Loki still had the power to continuously run away, keep an eye out for Thor and devise a new plan to put this dismal realm through hell. He didn't want to do that. For whatever it was worth, he had been enjoying himself. These low pressure days with Eve, the days where they were getting along, proved healing and promoted serenity. It couldn't have lasted. Nothing ever does. He was naive to think it might.
He did end up getting a bit of sleep, but his dreams were troubled. He had horrible visions of getting found out, of Thor discovering Eve, of Eve finding a way around his spell. None of those scenarios were possible, but he'd thought it was impossible for anyone to find them out here. Thor had communed with a sky rat and flown straight to their front door.
At last, a noise came from across the hall that was decidedly not produced by the house settling or water flowing through the pipes. It sounded like a burglar, someone sneaking around. Loki rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and noted that the sky was that muted blue it turns before the sun rises. He cloaked himself and snuck around the hall to find the culprit.
As should have been obvious, it was his brother. He was going through a large closet in one of the guestrooms.
"What are you doing?" Loki asked when a few minutes of observation didn't make it clear.
Thor stepped out of the closet and back into the room. His eyes had dark circles under them. "Where is Eve?"
Loki revealed himself and raised one eyebrow. "You think I stashed her in a closet and asked her to stand there indefinitely?"
"I don't know, Loki. I don't know what you'd do. Is she still alive?"
Loki's first reaction was to be offended. How dare Thor think that he would―but he stopped himself. He'd threatened just that many, many times. "She was when I left her."
A shelf in the closet fell down, thwacking against the hardwood floor, displaced by Thor's broad shoulders. "I need to bring her home so we can sort this out without you using her as a bargaining chip."
Loki tried not to scowl. If he had just waited, made up some other excuse, he could have had Thor force her to go home. He could have convinced her he would come back for her. There was, of course, no guarantee she would buy it. Still, he mourned the lost opportunity.
"Fine," Loki said. "Check all the closets. Check every closet in the neighborhood."
"I am too tired to deal with this."
"Then go back to sleep."
Thor sighed and glanced at the fallen shelf. "I can't. I can't rest knowing you have an innocent woman here somewhere, or you killed her and you won't let me notify those who care about her."
Loki said, "Who were you going to notify?"
"Well, Director Fury. He would know who to call. Where in New York did you leave her? I'll send a message and―"
"I'm not telling you anything about her," Loki said. "Resume your path of destruction, I'm going to get some rest."
Thor chuckled in that condescending way he had a knack for.
Loki tried not to take the bait. He buried the anger that noise brewed in him deep, deep down to his ankles, but the pressure backfired and he whirled around. "What exactly is so funny?"
Thor kicked a few articles of clothing he'd dragged out with him back into the closet and shut the door. "She dumped you. That's funny."
Loki was stuck, but his pride got the better of him. "She didn't dump me," he said. It wasn't a lie.
"Ahh, so you guys are trying to make long distance work? Must be hard since you are in hiding." Thor spoke as if it were all a joke.
"You're one to talk," Loki spat.
Thor's amused grin deflated. "I suggest you not press me."
"Come on, brother, are you really going to chase me around the planet for the rest of your life?"
"It is not my preference," Thor said. "It is simply what's right."
"Then wouldn't it be easier to just do away with me?"
Thor brushed by him and went to the next room, not acknowledging this statement in any way. Loki followed him. Thor looked around this next room and already appeared exhausted by his own plan to do a thorough search of the house. He knew that if Loki was hiding something, it tended to stay hidden. If only he had kept the raven on his shoulder a while longer.
"So you're telling me," Thor said, "that you went through all the trouble of breaking Eve out of SHIELD and then at the first opportunity you left her on a street corner?"
Loki swallowed, trying to find a way that was believable and also didn't besmurch his image. "I couldn't have her slowing me down. After we left her house, after I returned Jane to you, we had a run in with some authorities and she almost cost me everything." Once he was done saying it, he was satisfied. Yet, something else was steeping inside him. When they had run into the police in the library, she had done extremely well for herself. She had duped and threatened and bested the officer. She had used Loki's magic as it was granted to her without hesitation or complaint. Thinking on this, he was reminded of her worth.
"You don't even care if she's safe?"
"I left her in a good neighborhood."
Thor gave up on his search and left the room. "That all depresses me. I thought that...well, I thought that maybe you cared for her. I was thinking I would get to see a merciful side of you again someday soon. In fact, my journey here was partly fueled by the hope that you may be rehabilitated." He paused. "I realize these thoughts have no effect on you, but this fatigue is keeping me honest. I'll rest more and we can figure this all out in the morning, or in a few days when I find your new hiding spot."
Loki was fighting with the idea that if he had told the truth and not locked up Eve, his brother would have seen him in a more compassionate light. Shouldn't that have been obvious to him? Everyone looks less threatening when they're cradling a helpless animal in their arms.
"I'm not going to run," Loki said.
Thor considered this and, before turning to leave, said, "You're not even going to crash the party?"
Loki narrowed his eyes. "What party?"
A/N:
I'm thinking about bringing this story to a close soon. Not VERY soon, but in the near future. I'm getting to the point where I had planned to end the story for a while. I do have an idea for a followup story/sequel. I don't spend as much time reading fanfiction as I used to, so I was wondering how you all feel about sequels in general? Would you rather I just keep updating this story or post a new one with info in the last chapter of this one? Or does it not matter to you at all? Again, this is a ways down the line. I like the idea of being able to tag this story as finished after so long haha, but I'm open to suggestions here.
