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The theme song for this chapter is "Catch My Breath" by Kelly Clarkson, which I pretty much consider to be Clint's theme song.
Chapter 40: The Silver Lining
"I'm sorry about that," Natasha said as soon as Clint had left.
"No," Loki sighed. "I suppose it was sort of inevitable. I just hope he'll feel better after sparring."
Natasha came and sat on the couch next to her. "You think it will work?"
"I don't know. Clint isn't as strong as Him, simply put, and that means either He'll let him win, and Clint will probably know it, or He'll just make him angrier by kicking his ass all over town."
She frowned, thinking. "Well I suppose it's up to Him to figure that out."
Loki rubbed her face with her hands. "I just wish there was some way to make it up to Clint. I've been trying so hard to reach him, and it just isn't working."
"I think the whole thing was a lot more personal for him than the rest of us," Natasha explained.
They sat silent for a few minutes, staring out the window.
"I have a question-" Loki said at the same moment that Natasha said "What about the-" they both stopped.
"You go first," Loki said quickly.
"We lost track of the question of the mementos," she explained.
"Right," Loki frowned. "I swear I didn't put them there."
"I believe you," Natasha agreed, "because you're still here if nothing else. But that still leaves the question of how they got there."
Loki chewed on her lip, thinking. "When something is vanished, it doesn't just cease to exist," she explained, and pulled a pencil, the last thing she had vanished, from thin air. "It goes somewhere, sometimes to another dimension. It's possible, when I vanished those things, they went to the box. But I wasn't even aware of its existence until a couple weeks ago!"
Natasha frowned. "Then how did those things get there?"
She was quiet a minute. "I think... Maybe the difference between Him and me isn't as clear cut as I'd like." She glanced at Natasha, clearly unhappy with the idea.
"Sometimes, usually right after we switch, I feel... different. Like last time, when you were sparring, I felt tired."
"Well you do share a body, so that makes sense," Natasha offered.
Loki nodded. "And it also explains this morning, when I..." she blushed and trailed off. "But it's not just physical. Sometimes someone will say or do something, and it will make me laugh or get angry and I don't know why. I mean, given that he remembers everything, I suppose he's in here somewhere," she touched her forehead, "and I hate it. Some days I feel like he's trying to push me out."
Natasha sighed. "What were you going to ask me?"
"Oh that. It's something Clint said, about not being able to afford the lifestyle you wanted. Is that really true? Because other than His poker winnings, we're pretty much broke."
She frowned. "You didn't get paid for the mission in Poland?"
Loki shook her head. "I made an agreement with Fury that I'll start getting paid when I work off all the expenses the attack caused."
She let out a long breath. "That's a lot of money..."
"My restoration work goes toward it," she added hopefully, "and that's a big thing. But yeah, I'll probably owe my soul to the company store for a long time. It doesn't
bother me, because I can summon whatever I need, but..." she paused. "Well, the first thing He asked for was money."
Natasha laughed at the use of the antiquated expression. "No, it's not true. Not that I don't enjoy some of the perks of rubbing elbows with the quality, if you can call rich people these days that, but there have been times in my life I've made do with less than nothing."
"Then why does Clint think that?" Loki wondered.
She sighed, staring at her hands. "I let him. The truth is, I knew I was bad for him. He needed someone who would cheer him up, not wallow in the darkness. And that's just not who I am."
Loki's eyes narrowed. "So... he needs someone cheerful..."
Natasha nodded, smiling. "But smart. He's dated a couple vapid girls and it just doesn't work."
"And it would need to be someone who knew about SHIELD so they wouldn't get angry when he left on short notice for long periods of time..." she tapped a finger to her lips.
She looked at Loki, suspicious. "What are you thinking?"
Loki smiled. "I have a fabulous idea. Let's call Pepper."
"I don't think this is such a good idea," Darcy called from the dressing room.
"Oh don't worry, you'll do fine," Pepper assured her, trying not to laugh.
Darcy walked out, smoothing her hands over the dress. "It's just... I'm not a spy or anything."
Pepper fluttered a hand. "You don't have to do any spying. You're just arm candy, part of the disguise. What do you think?" She gestured to the mirror behind her.
Darcy moved so she could see her reflection. She wore a navy blue halter-top dress that went down to her knees and fitted her like a glove. The front of it was encrusted with glittering white crystals. "Whoa..." she said softly, turning so she could see the back, where the crystals met and trailed down to the hem in swirls. "I am arm candy," she grinned.
Pepper smiled. "Well, that's Jovani for you. Here," she handed her a pair of shoes.
Darcy's face lit up. "Are these Prada?"
Pepper looked very amused. "Of course. You can't play the part without the correct props."
She raised an eyebrow. "Even the La Perla?"
"Especially the La Perla. It's amazing what some really expensive unmentionables will do for a girl's confidence," she murmured conspiratorially.
Darcy looked in the mirror again. It was like something out of her dreams. "This is way better than prom," she admitted.
Pepper laughed. "So that's a yes, then?"
"Uh, duh!" Darcy grinned.
"Ok, let's go get your hair done, then!" Pepper said, fishing out her credit card. Some days she really loved being rich.
Clint paced in the front hall of the restaurant. Natasha was late. Natasha was never late. He tugged at the lapel of his suit jacket-he never felt comfortable in these getups. Suddenly his phone beeped, and he whipped it out of his pocket. It was a text from Natasha.
Hey, I can't make it tonight, situation down in Bosnia. No sense wasting the reservation, so I'm sending a friend instead. Order whatever you want, I'm blackmailing the owner.
He groaned. Some days he really hated his job. When Natasha had offered to go to dinner with him, part of him knew it was too good to be true. She was really only trying to apologize for-
"Clint Barton? Hi!"
He looked up to see an unfamiliar girl holding out her hand and smiling at him. He took her hand, surprised. She shook it.
"I'm Darcy Lewis. I'm Natasha's replacement," she explained. She glanced around the restaurant. The lights were dim and live piano music drifted across the diners. "Jeez, this place is swanky. I'm not used to this kind of thing. How do I look?" she asked nervously.
Clint took a moment to look her over, from her perfectly coiffed hair to her peep-toe pumps. "You look... gorgeous," he admitted, grinning.
She returned the grin. "Thanks!"
At this point a waiter appeared and directed them to their table. He left them with menus, promising to be right back. They both opened the menus.
Clint sighed heavily, and Darcy squinted at the words, then opened her eyes wide when she saw the prices.
"I gotta be honest," she said, eyebrows raised. "I don't know what half of this stuff is."
"Me either," Clint admitted. "Usually Natasha orders. We could just pick something random?" he suggested.
She shrugged. "Sure. I guess it doesn't really matter what we eat, anyway."
Clint frowned. "Why not?"
"Well you know," she said under her breath. "That's not why we're here. Who are we tailing, anyway? Is it the fat guy in the corner? I saw you eyeball him when we came in. Is he some kind of arms dealer, or something?"
He just stared at her.
"Oh god, I'm sorry. I talk way too much. Shutting up now." Darcy pressed her lips together tightly.
Clint started laughing.
She frowned. "What? What did I say?"
He shook his head, wiping at his eyes. "You think we're on a mission? Who told you that?"
Darcy blinked rapidly. "Pepper. She said you had a thing to do, but then Natasha had to do this other thing, and you needed arm candy to make it look real."
Clint only laughed harder, drawing the attention of surrounding tables. "Miss Lewis, we have been set up," he managed to say.
Darcy frowned a minute. "Oh my god... this is a blind date, isn't it?"
"Yes," Clint agreed, still shaking with laughter. Darcy laughed with him this time.
"Well, gee, they could have just asked me, you know. It's not like I need an excuse to do the Cinderella treatment. Plus, you've got the whole James Bond thing going on, it's not like torture or anything."
He grinned at the comparison. "You know what, let's ditch this place," he suggested, tossing his menu on the table. "It's not my speed, and under the 'Cinderella' getup, I think you're a burger and fries kinda girl."
Darcy lifted her chin. "I take that as the highest of compliments."
"I know a great place," he said, standing and holding out a hand.
She took it. "Lead away, oh knower of the fries," she said dramatically. They left laughing, completely ignoring the looks from the other diners.
"I wonder who set us up," Clint said aloud.
Darcy had been regaling him with the story of her whirlwind shopping trip. Her milkshake had arrived and she was struggling to get it up the straw. The sight was highly distracting to Clint, so he was desperate for a new conversation topic.
"Natasha and Pepper, obviously," Darcy paused long enough to say.
"Well, yeah, but it's not the sort of thing Natasha would usually do," he argued.
"Oh, it's right up Pepper's alley. She's such a gossip, and I'm not much better," she admitted.
Clint raised his eyebrows. "She'll be thrilled this week then," he said sarcastically.
Darcy's eyes narrowed. "Ooh, you know something, don't you?"
He sat back, crossing his arms, lips sealed.
She rolled her eyes. "Ok, Mr. Superspy, obviously I'm not going to wheedle it out of you, so I'll just have to use deductive reasoning!"
He lifted an eyebrow. "Try it, Sherlock."
"Let's see... it's gotta be something juicy..." she paused, mentally ticking off the various potential relationships among their little circle. "It can't be Steve and Maria... No, it's something that pissed you off..." She paused when she hit on the right one, looking up at Clint with eyes wide. "No way..." she grinned. "Loki and Natasha?"
He let out a long breath, as if he had been holding it. "How do you do that?"
She shrugged. "Wait, are we talking about Guy Loki or Femme Loki?"
Clint gave her an incredulous look.
"What? It's the 21st century, you know," she grinned.
He shook his head. "You have a dirty mind, Miss Lewis."
She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him. "You don't know the half of it. And I told you, call me Darcy. Ooh, look, our food's here."
The waitress set down two plates overflowing with fries and enormous hamburgers.
"That is a thing of beauty," Darcy said in an awed voice.
"Tastes good, too," Clint joked, biting into his own.
She picked up the burger with both hands, and sank her teeth in. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned. "Oh, god," she mumbled around the mouthful.
Clint's mouth went dry, and he nearly choked on his food. God help him, he liked this girl. "Try the fries," he suggested.
She put down the burger and popped a fry in her mouth. "Mmm. Man, this is more calories than I usually eat in a week," she admitted.
He shrugged. "Well I guess we'll just have to go dancing next then," he suggested.
Her eyes lit up. "Like, clubbing? I've never been. Things are pretty dead in New Mexico."
Clint grinned. "Sure thing. You'll love it." He watched with amusement as she drizzled ketchup all over her fries and dug in. Silently, he resolved to thank Pepper personally. This was exactly what he needed to turn around a really shitty week. Top it off with the opportunity to kick Loki's ass, and it was actually looking pretty good.
A/N: So if you're curious what Darcy's dress is like, do a search for Jovani 72732. It's the blue knee-length one. I love Darcy, and this was way too much fun to write. ^w^
A few clarifications for confused readers (and I'm sorry for being overly subtle, if I have): In chapter 37, the lie which caused Loki to switch was when he said "Of course not!" in response to Tony's questioning whether Loki was "falling for" Natasha. In chapter 38, the reason Femme Loki laughs at the comment from Clint concerning lip-biting is because Dude Loki remembers when (in Chapter 36) Natasha did a lot of lip-biting. He finds the fact that Clint's attempt to make him feel inadequate backfired so hilarious that it breaks through Femme Loki's personality. Hope that makes sense.
Again, thank you so much for all your time spent reading and reviews, I love every single one of them! Next Wednesday, see what happens when Loki and Clint go toe-to-toe in "Showdown."
