A/N: as the latest part of Physical Phenomena is currently kicking my ass in, I'm briefly diverting over to the world of 'Everything is Now, and We Are Here'. Obviously, you'll have to have read that one first otherwise this will make absolutely no sense whatsoever. For right now this piece is going to be posted as chapter two of that story, but I'll migrate it over into its own story once more parts are written (and as soon as I think of a title, which for some reason is the most difficult part). So keep an eye out for that update in the future. The other thing to keep in mind is that this story follows directly on from the initial one, which means it also takes place prior to the Avengers movie.
"I wonder if this means the dreams will stop?" Darcy says through a mouthful of pizza. "You know, now that we're here in person and all of that."
Steve shrugs, tossing his napkin to the side. The pizza is good but the restaurant (and really, the eating area's more of a closed off patio than anything else) is a bit chilly for his tastes, with only thin plastic walls keeping the outdoor weather at bay. "No idea," he says, grabbing another slice off of the tray. "I can't explain it as it is." He takes a bite and chews slowly, thoughtfully. The taste is different than what he's used to, but the flavor's good and he has the passing thought that he's glad he's awake to experience it. "But I haven't had any of the dreams since I was..." Steve trails off, trying to find the right words to describe the situation. "Revived," he eventually says, mindful of the small crowd of people around them, complete with young children running about and screaming like they've got no cares in the world aside from what's for dinner.
"I dreamed about the ice," Darcy says, her eyes following the cars rushing by on the street outside. "But that stopped right around the time I'm betting you woke up. Maybe it really is over."
"Welcome to a whole new world," Steve mutters.
Of course it's not over.
The first dream is about falling, which is such a dream cliché that Darcy's almost disappointed about it. But she can't fret about that until she wakes up as she's too busy hanging onto Steve's neck as they plummet towards the ground. There's a bright cerulean sky above them and mottled green land far below them that might possibly be Earth, but something's off with it in that fuzzy way that dreams have and she's not sure where they're headed. She tightens her arms around his neck and hopes like hell that she's not choking him in this warped version of a piggyback ride.
While Darcy is in a state of utter and total panic, digging her nails into the heavy uniform jacket beneath her hands, Steve seems to be a bit more level headed. He pulls one of her legs around his waist, signaling to her to bring the other one around and hold on even tighter. Super soldier better be able to handle this, she thinks, locking her ankles around his middle. The air is getting colder, and they're starting to move marginally faster.
Then Steve raises his shield above their heads, and it's the older triangle style one that made an appearance in all those comic books and trading cards and even those silly propaganda movies. Whatever's in the shield seems to work, however, making them slow down just enough that they don't die when they crash land on the grassy hillside. The shield flies off of Steve's arm as they hit the ground and they begin slide downwards. They tumble head over heels for what seems like an age, getting dizzier and dizzier with dirt in their hair and grass in their mouths.
Finally they come to a stop at the base of the hill, a mixed up tangle of limbs that struggles to get their breath back after the free fall. Darcy pushes some hair out of her face and looks up at Steve. He rolls to his back, staring up at the sky they just fell from. His mouth opens and closes a few times, searching for the right words. Even in dreams the words don't come easy, so he just shakes his head a final time and says, "Well, okay then."
It's chance when they see each other the next morning on the subway platform into Manhattan. Steve has a 'no, it's not required but highly recommended you attend' meeting with one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s therapists, while Darcy received an early morning wakeup call from her agency because someone needed a temp to babysit a front desk and phone for the day. It's boring but hey, easy money that can be put toward the rent payment.
"So, falling?" Steve eventually says as they stand in the subway car like sardines packed in a tin, uncomfortably close with humanity pressing in on all sides. Steve's got a death grip on a metal bar, while Darcy grabs onto the hem of his jacket as she's just short enough that reaching the nearest support is impossible. Still, Steve doesn't seem to mind, and it's nice to have a bit of a barrier between her and the rest of the commuters, at least on one side.
It's also an oddly close and intimate move, but once you've been inside someone's dreams typical intimacy needs to be redefined a bit.
"Yeah," Darcy replies. "It's not my usual sort of thing, though," she continues. "You?"
"Only if I'm in a plane," he says, jaw clenched and eyes unfocused.
Darcy fights back the instinctual wince at that statement. "At least it was a soft landing," she says with a shrug and a tilt of her head.
The laugh that Steve gives is weak and barely there, but it counts for something. "There is that."
Still, the wary, shared looks make it easy to determine that both of them are more than slightly freaked out by this new development.
A/n, part two: as always, I'm open to suggestions for dream scenes for Steve and Darcy, and the weirder the better. If you'd like you can leave suggestions in the comments, or drop me a line at my tumblr: aenariasbookshelf dot tumblr dot com. Thanks for reading!