A/N: Everyone is born with the first words their Soulmate will speak to them tattooed on their body. It is considered very taboo to show these Words to someone else, but if you do, it is considered to be a uniquely strong sign of trust and friendship.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Darcy considered herself lucky when it came to her SoulMark. While it didn't give her a date or a location of when or where she would meet her SoulMate, it at least gave her a context clue of what she would be doing when the big Meeting Day came. And it just so happened to involve one of her favorite movies. (Or was it her favorite movie because she ultimately knew it would lead her to her Soulmate? Nuance.)
She made sure to cover all of her bases. She would have the movie playing whenever she knew she would be meeting new people (this was before New Mexico and the subsequent life-changing series of events, back when she still had a T.V.); she would quote the movie given any opportunity. Most of the time people didn't notice, especially Jane, but it was a fun little bit of something that Darcy got to enjoy whenever she could.
"Hey Darcy, can you call me a cab?" Jane had distractedly asked once when they had been in London.
"Ok, you're a cab!" Darcy had responded with a mischievous grin. But Jane had merely rolled her eyes and called the cab herself.
Other times Darcy took her Words literally, though that required a lot preparation and paying attention to weather forecasts. But she came to enjoy those silly little moments, even though time after time they led to nothing. She wasn't going to give up though. Her Soulmate was out there somewhere; she wouldn't give up the search.
Which was why she was tripping out of bed at 3:00 in the morning, desperately searching for her iPod in the dark. Why? Because it was raining.
iPod found, and her rain boots on, Darcy hurried from her room and down towards the kitchen. Since she and Jane had moved into Avengers Tower, she had been delighted to discover just how many balconies there were for her to utilize as she indulged in her tradition. But she found that she preferred the one off the kitchen best; it was partially covered, and was always set up for outdoor dining, so when she got tired of dancing, she could just sit and watch it rain. Plus it had a terrific view of the night skyline.
Stepping through the sliding doors, Darcy took a deep breath of the rain-filled air. She loved the smell of the rain. It was the perfect rainy conditions too: not raining too hard, and the temperature was just perfect. Deciding to take her Words literally today - just in case - she selected her Singin' in the Rain playlist and just started moving and dancing.
It really was freeing, and a great stress reliever. She should get Jane to try it one day; considering the astrophysicists' Soulmate was the literal God of Thunder, one would think Jane would be more into thunderstorms. But part of Darcy didn't want to let anyone else in on her rainy-day tradition. After a month of living in the Tower, she didn't think she had been caught yet. Well, she thought Natasha might have seen her, if the small smirk the Black Widow had given her after one session was any clue. But she hadn't quite worked up the nerve to ask the red-head about it yet.
Grinning as the title song came up on her playlist, Darcy began to hum along as she stepped up her puddle-splashing game. Seriously, why did people think jumping in puddles was only fun for kids?
The song was just coming to an end, and there was the briefest moment of silence before the next one, when she heard, "Singin' in the Rain." Twirling around to see who had spoken her Words, Darcy only had time to glimpse the outline of a man coming towards her before her too-exuberant twirl, combined with the rain, sent her slipping not so gracefully on the deck.
"Ow!" she groaned out, struggling to sit up and untangle herself from her earbuds. Great, the one time she actually had a clumsy moment, and it just had to be in front of...
"Sorry! I didn't mean to - I thought you knew I was there and...are you okay?" he asked as he knelt by her side and helped her sit up. And it was only then that Darcy realized who her potential Soulmate was.
Captain America. "Wow. I mean, hi! I mean, yes I'm fine, I…" I'm rambling.
Steve chuckled. "I'm glad you're fine. And, are you…?" he trailed off, the question hanging in the air before he shyly offered her his right wrist. There, the oh-so-eloquent word 'Ow' was forever stamped. It was his SoulMark, and it was in her handwriting.
Darcy beamed up at him as she immediately shucked off her right rain boot. "Please tell me that's your handwriting!" she said eagerly as she showed him the top of her foot where her Words were written.
Steve glanced from the Words, then up at Darcy with a brilliant smile. "It is!" He took in her rain gear, her earbuds, and her Words once more. "Wait, don't tell me you've done this every single time it's been raining…"
"Not every time," Darcy revealed. "But the Soulmate thing aside, dancing in the rain is just plain fun!" She stared at him for a few seconds. "Oh my gosh, you've never done it before, have you?"
Steve shook his head before he helped his Soulmate to her feet. "Can't say that I have."
"Well that changes right now!" Darcy declared. "No Soulmate of mine is going to miss out on such a milestone! Oh! I obviously know who you are," and here she smiled at him in a way that had Steve blushing, "but I'm Darcy. Darcy Lewis."
"Well then, Darcy, lead on," Steve said, genuinely excited.
