Caged Fury
Chapter 3: A Date Plus A Little
xXx
"Darcy, what a pleasant surprise." Pepper greeted as said woman stepped into her office closing the door behind her. Her smile quickly faded when she noticed the nervous look on Darcy face. "What's wrong?" she continued standing from her seat and meeting Darcy half way. She ushered the younger woman to the plush sofa across the room.
Darcy took a deep breath as she sat down. Looking up at her mentor's concerned expression everything just sort of came flooding out after that. "I have a date."
Pepper's face lit up. "Oh honey that great. Who is he, anyone we know?"
Darcy shook her head. "I met him the other night, when I went out with Jane to meet Thor."
"Why don't you look at all happy about it?"
"I am." She defended immediately. "It's just, it's been awhile since I've been on a date and I don't really know what I'm doing." Darcy sighed. "Even if it doesn't lead to anything I really want to make a good impression."
"Of course. We'll get you all ready, and on Tony's dime no less."
Darcy laughed the weight that had settled in her chest that morning finally letting up.
xXx
"Pepper, love of my life, apple of my eye." Tony greeted said woman as she walked into his lab. "To what do I owe the pleasure of gazing upon your lovely visage this bright and sunny morning."
"You're so much more pleasant when you sleep through the night." She noted.
Tony chuckled embracing her and laying a kiss on her cheek.
"I need your help with something." Pepper told him when they pulled apart.
"Anything, what's up?"
"Darcy has a date of Friday and I want you to look into him."
Tony froze, "A date? She's dating? When did she start that?"
"I would assume in high school."
Tony did not look amused. "You know what I mean Pep."
She chuckled. "Yes, I do and according to her she decided yesterday when he asked her out."
"Yesterday, where did she meet this guy and when and how. She's not just going out with a total stranger is she?"
"She met him Monday night when she went with Jane to meet Thor. They met again yesterday after lunch by chance and he asked her out. Now, to the reason I'm here. I want you to do a background check on this man. From what I understand he's very nice but so was Darrell at first."
"I'm on it, what's this guy's name?"
"Jack Rollins."
"Jarvis." Tony called out and there was a pause before;
"There are four Jack Rollins in the Empire State, however only one of the men are registered on the underground fight roster."
Within moments a photo of said man appeared on a holo screen along with information dating as far back as his time in foster care.
"Jack Rollins, Thirty, six foot two; born March 19th, 1986. He's a homicide detective with the NYPD's twelfth precinct. Former Military, injured, received an honorable discharge, lives in Brooklyn." Tony rattled off. "Looks like a pretty decent guy to me."
"He's very handsome too." Pepper added looking over his military and NYPD ID photos. "Well," she began with a sigh. "So far so good, maybe wait and see how their first date goes and then keep an eye on him."
"As you wish." Tony replied pecking her on the cheek.
xXx
Pepper, the goddess that she was helped Darcy pick out the perfect dress for her first date with Jack. The bistro they were going to was fancy but not so fancy that she needed to wear a gown so they found her a little red sleeveless cocktail dress with a layered skirt and matching red pumps. It promised to be chilly so she kept her hair down in loose long curls and applied her make up lightly the only exception being her bright red signature lipstick.
Once she was ready she didn't stop moving, never giving herself the chance to talk herself out of this. She took a cab to the bistro and was greeted by the owner like the regular she was.
"Miss Lewis, what a pleasant surprise." He told her, a kiss on each cheek. "I wasn't aware you had a reservation this evening." He seemed a bit nervous; probably thinking one of his employees lost her reservation.
"I didn't make the reservation this time, I'm meeting someone." She told him. "Jack Rollins."
"Ah, yes, Mr. Rollins. He just walked in not a few moments ago. Come, come, I'll see you to your table."
The owner led her through the dining room and over to the glassed in veranda overlooking the pond in the back of the property. She spotted Jack as they rounded the corner, smiling more to herself at how handsome he looked in his blue suit and crisp white shirt. He wore no tie and his hair was slicked back with just a bit of scruff on his face. Darcy smiled to herself, drinking him in before he noticed their approach and stood from his seat to greet her.
She smiled shyly as he pulled out her chair for her before retaking his seat. The owner asked for their drink orders and Darcy ordered a Moscato while Jack simply ordered water. There was no conversation while they looked over the menu and when the waiter brought their drinks over they ordered their food. Once all of that was taken care of and there was no threat of interruption they turned to each other.
"You look incredible." Jack told her and she blushed ever so slightly.
"Thank you, you look very handsome yourself." She replied. He quietly thanked her and a silence fell between them again. It was Darcy who broke it, unwilling to let this date be a disaster. They may not go anywhere, but she would damn well make sure that that wasn't because they couldn't work up the nerve to talk.
"So, Jack, what do you do? I mean obviously I know you're with the police but what exactly do you do?"
Jack looked grateful for the question to break up the silence. "I'm a homicide detective with the Twelfth precinct."
"Really, and Brock is your partner right?"
Jack nodded. "Steve works with us too. I don't know if you remember him."
"I do, nice guy."
"He has his moments." Jack replied. "How about you? What do you do?"
"I'm a lobbyist for Stark Industries." She told him.
"And do you like it?" he asked and suddenly he was taken back by the glow the emanated from her as she smiled.
"I love my job. I've always loved politics and with SI I get to be right in the middle of everything, rub elbows with the political elite, it's a dream come true." She gushed. Darcy stopped, blushing as she realized she'd just unloaded on a man he barely knew. "I'm sorry, sometimes I get a little carried away."
Jack was suddenly struck with how embarrassed she actually seemed to be. It made him wonder just who exactly told her it was a bad thing to be openly passionate about things. "Don't apologize. I think it's great that you love your job so much. Not many people can say the same."
She smiled. "What about you, do you love what you do?"
Jack thought about for a minute. He hadn't ever really considered how he felt about his job. He knew how different kinds of cases made him feel and the satisfaction of putting a criminal behind bars where they couldn't hurt anyone else. But he'd never really considered how he felt about the job as a whole. "Yeah, you know, I do. It's nice being able to help people and sometimes it actually feels like I'm making a difference."
"You know that's why I got into politics." She told him. "I just wanted to change things for the better."
He nodded his understanding. "I don't think I've ever really considered it like that until now. I mean I spent most of my life just kind of moving forward. I never really thought about the impact of what I was doing."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing." she replied.
Jack hummed thoughtfully but was spared from having to reply when their food arrived. As they ate it was like the floodgates had opened up and they began talking about anything and everything they could think of. Their lives, their jobs, their pasts. They sat in that restaurant for three hours just talking. At some point the owner came over reluctantly to let them know they were closing.
Embarrassed they paid and left, but hesitant to end the evening just yet they walked around. Eventually when they did part ways, Jack put her in a cab but not before making plans to go out again.
xXx
"You had a date and you didn't tell me?"
"Shhhh." Darcy hushed Jane looking around the pub. When she looked back to her friend she found her pouting, arms crossed over her chest. Darcy rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry okay, but I didn't want to make a big deal about it. You know, in case it didn't work out."
"Oh." Jane replied softly. "I guess that makes sense."
The two friends were quiet as they continued to eat their lunches.
"So, anyone I know?" Jane eventually spoke up again.
"Jack, you know the guy from the fights last week."
"You mean the guy I was asking you about and you said nothing happened?" she squinted accusingly at Darcy. "That Jack?"
"Nothing did happen… that night."
"What do you mean that night?"
"Exactly what it sounded like. That night, nothing happened. Last week after our lunch however…" Darcy refused to make eye contact and she could feel Jane's eyes burning holes in her skin.
"Explain. Everything. Now."
Darcy sighed harshly before proceeding to tell Jane everything from that afternoon on the street to his call later that night to the date itself Friday night where she had the most fun she'd had in nearly two years. In fact, thinking back on it she wasn't even sure Darrell had inspired her to be so open and honest on their first date. She felt like for the first time since ending her relationship with Darrell, whether or not things worked out she was finally moving on.
"We stayed at the restaurant talking for so long that the owner, who I'm friends with, had to come over and tell us the bistro was closing and that he wanted to send his staff home for the night."
Jane's smile was radiant. "Really?"
Darcy nodded. "Even after we left we kept walking around and talking for at least another hour."
Jane practically squealed at the little blush that tinted her cheeks. "Are you going out again?"
Darcy nodded. "We're meeting for coffee tomorrow."
xXx
"So," Brock began in lieu of greeting. "How was it?"
"How was what?" Jack replied sipping at the to go cup of coffee from the coffee shop down the street.
"What do you mean what? Your date."
Jack shrugged, sitting at his desk and logging on to his computer.
"Really? You're going to be a dick about this aren't you?" Brock questioned plopping down into his own chair. Jack simply smirked around the rim of his cup.
"So, how was your date with Beth?"
"Oh, you want to know how my date was?" Brock replied incredulously. "Well I'll tell you, because you were kind enough to ask and it's only polite to respond to a question asked by a friend about your life or your well being-"
"I'm sorry I asked." Jack muttered as Brock continued on.
"It was a lot of fun. We went to Coney Island on Saturday. I was totally cliche and won her a stuffed animal at one of the game booths. We ate greasy food and when the sun started going down we walked the beach."
"That sounds nice." Jack told him, as Steve stepped up to their desks.
"Hey, Jack how was your date?"
"It was nice. We had dinner and talked all night. I just got back from coffee with her. She's coming to my fight this weekend and since we're both really busy this week we'll probably meet up for coffee again in a couple of days." Jack replied turning a shit eating grin on Brock across the desks.
Brock just stared at him, expression unreadable before; "Fuck you, Jack, Fuck you." Brock shook his head.