Author's Note: Suddenly got hit with a wave of inspiration for this story so I decided to upload a new chapter! Please enjoy!
"And if we calculate the distance between these two points," Jane continued, pointing to two dots on the simulation machine. "We might be able to triangulate some coordinates close to Asgard." Tony stared at the screen and Darcy could see the wheels turning in his mind. This was the second week since Iron Man himself had joined their project and it had seemed that he and Jane had made a lot of progress in these past days than Jane had ever had made on her own. The two had formed an unlikely partnership and with Stark here, Fury didn't dare to say anything rude to Jane.
"Add those points to the ones I calculated earlier and we might have an actual location to set my machine to," Tony said with a small smile and Darcy could see Jane's face light up. An actual location to try out which meant that there was a possibility that Jane would be re-united with Thor. Tony turned to Jane and allowed a smile to break out onto his face. "Well done, Jane."
"So, does this mean we can go out to eat, tonight?" Darcy piped up from the desk she was sitting on top of. Smirking, she took out one of her ear buds and cast her I-pod aside and she rose from the desk. "Because I've been dying for something other than cereal."
"We don't have anything to celebrate yet," Jane gently informed her. "I don't want to jinx this." Darcy wrapped an arm around her boss and pouted.
"Please, Jane!" Darcy protested. "Please, please, please! I've been watching everyone work so hard and honestly, it's been making my head hurt." Jane rolled her eyes.
"You haven't done any work." Jane informed her.
"I got you a coffee last week," Darcy reminded her. "That was hard work!"
"Last time I take a political science intern." She muttered.
"Aw, c'mon!" Darcy exclaimed. "You know you love me!"
"I think going out is a great idea," Tony interjected with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "How about a nice dinner at Chez Laurent?" Jane's mouth fell open in shock and Darcy's eyes widened.
"B-but that's in New York!" Jane exclaimed.
"I've got a private jet for a reason," Tony stated obviously. "We could be there in a few hours."
"Wow!" Darcy shouted. "That would be so cool! I've always wanted to go there!" She glanced at Jane who was clearly in shock and Darcy waved a hand in front of her boss' face. "You who? Earth to Jane? Come in, Jane?" Jane snapped out of her trance and shook her head.
"No way," Jane refused. "I mean, thank you for offering, but Chez Laurent is so expensive and—"
"Is that what you're worried about?" Tony chuckled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, shiny black wallet. Swiftly, he pulled out a blue card and handed it to Jane.
"Woah," Darcy mumbled. "Tony Stark's credit card!" She snatched it from Jane and held it up to the light, almost as if she was unsure if anything that was happening right now was real. Convinced she wasn't dreaming, Darcy quickly slipped the card into her jacket.
"Tony, I can't—" Jane feebly mumbled only to be silenced when Tony held up his hand.
"Who said it was for you?" Tony questioned with a smirk on his face. "You heard Darcy. She's sick of having cereal. This dinner is for her."
"For me?" Darcy echoed, shock lacing her tone and Tony nodded. Their gazes met and a moment of understanding passed between the two. "Right, this dinner is for me and Jane, you have to come with me!"
"What?" Jane asked.
"Yeah!" Darcy enthused. "Because it's your fault I've had to eat more cereal than I even care to think about."
"There we go then," Tony interrupted. "I'll have Pepper make all the arrangements."
"But—!"
"Jane, shut up!" Darcy exclaimed. "You are not ruining my chance at a dinner other than cereal!"
"Pepper and I will meet you here at—let's see," He glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost midnight. "I'll be back here at eight am." With a small wave, Tony Stark vanished from the empty room and Darcy sighed contently.
"Dinner at the most expensive and famous French restaurant in the U.S.!" Darcy shouted. "Suddenly, my life's gotten way better!"
Jane sighed and finally gave up on trying to get out of going to dinner. They had made some progress tonight and to be honest, Jane had been getting sick of cereal too. Perhaps a nice dinner was just what the doctor ordered. Still . . . she didn't want to jinx herself. While seeing Thor in her dream had briefly given her more energy to throw into her work, she was still wary that this project would be an utter failure and Fury would terminate the project.
But they had coordinates now—a place where Thor might be. If they were right, Thor could be back in her arms before the week was up. If they were wrong—no, there was no point in worrying. Maybe Darcy was right. Maybe she did need to go out and celebrate something. The last time she had been out to dinner was right before Thor had come.
She would go out. She would have fun.
And then she would enter those coordinates and bring Thor back.
Author's Note: Next chapter: Dinner in New York with the ultra-rich Tony Stark and his lovely girlfriend, Pepper Potts! What could possibly go wrong? Many, many things! Please review!