Chapter 8: Resolute is a polite term for obstinate.

NOTE:
My apologies for taking so long to update. I've been very swamped with work. In retrospect, there are many things I would change about this story, my characterization has been quite flawed. So, just to note, just in case any of you spot a paradigm shift in their personalities, Jane is going to be written to be less empathetic and friendly, very contrary to what has been written in previous chapters. Seeing her again in Thor & Thor 2, I think her friendship (if it could be called that) with Darcy is tenuous and tolerated more than embraced, so from this chapter on, that terse dynamic will be reflected.

Darcy awoke in a plush bed, with warm lights about her.

She moved to rub her eyes, but felt a slight sharp tug of resistance from her left hand that stung a little and she desisted, letting it fall delicately back to her side.

She glanced to her side, finding a near empty bag of IV drip hanging limply from a metal pole. Her gaze shifts down, and she is swathed in a thick comforter, in rich shades of vermillion and sienna.

She sighs, stretching her neck back.

There's a soft knock on the door and Jane enters.

"Darcy?" she starts cautiously.

"Hi," Darcy mumbled, raising her hand weakly in greeting.

"Gawd, you're awake. You just blacked out! Gastroenteritis, they said. Why did you drink coffee on a barely full stomach, you know what that does to your system," Jane berated, seating herself next to Darcy.

"If Loki hadn't found you and alerted JARVIS, you would be worse off!" she continued, tutting at the sight of the IV trailing down to Darcy's hand.

"Sorry Mom, I was sorting data for you and just got really into it, geez," Darcy grumbled struggling to sit up.

Jane reached forward and helped her sit upright, careful not to tug on the IV.

"Well, thanks," Jane relented. "But you really should try to take better care of yourself! I've had to manage for the past 3 days on my own."

"3 days? I've been out for 3 days?" Darcy repeated, incredulous. "Holy shit." She muttered.

"Yeah well. You rest now. I'll see you back in the lab soon," Jane says with a nod, patting her on the arm before rising to leave, leaving her to her thoughts.

Darcy sighed, leaning against the headboard, gazing around. Judging from the lush décor, she was probably still at Stark Tower. Which made sense, since Jane had mentioned wanting access to one of the R&D floors, needing to consult with the energy experts.

Darcy glanced out the window, peering through the panes. The sky was a dark, hazy grey, threatening to split at the seams and pour.

The hours passed and she sat there, fiddling, commiserating to a Thor and Erik who swung by to say hello with a bunch of droopy looking freesias, placing it in the empty soda bottle by her bed.

"There's nothing to do here," she groaned, which Thor responded to with a firm but friendly remark about healing faster when one focuses on rest- or some jazz like that. She sighs, thanking them for coming by.

She slips in and out of sleep, fidgeting, trying not to strain the IV on her hand.

"Darcy?"

Darcy started, turning to face the door, and the source of the voice. She knew that voice and once recognition kicked in, her heart began pounding harder.

Loki stood at the door as it stood ajar, peering at her. He walked in, closing the door behind him, settling into the chair Jane sat in hours back.

"Um…hi," she greeted, cursing herself for flushing, knowing he would pick up on it.
She waited, waiting for his taunt, the jibe about roses blooming on ivory or some crap.

But it never came. Instead he sat there, gazing at her curiously.

Eventually, the silence wore thin, and she cleared her throat, nodding. "I guess I owe you thanks for getting help," she offered, pursing her lips.

Loki looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue.

"Well, thanks. It's good that you found me," she said with a slight nod.

"Gladly," he obliged with a nod of his own, his gaze still trained on her.

She waited for him to leave, to issue a brief comment about her callous behaviour, and this time, she wasn't disappointed.

"Although, it wouldn't hurt for you to exercise more care in your behaviour," he continued, a scowl marring his features. "You mortals are so fragile susceptible to such an immense array of ailments," he said with a shake of his head.

Darcy exhaled loudly, sighing. "Yeah okay, sorry for being a mortal and all. Thanks for your help, you can just…just go now."

Loki arched a brow at her words, nodding before glancing down. "Would you like me to?" he asked eventually, looking up at her, his expression inscrutable.

Darcy's eyes widened for a split second at his words before she pursed her lips, shaking her head, before she spoke. "Well…some company is better than no company, but you don't have to stay here. I know you find me stupid and clumsy and shit- so you don't have to-"

"And who told you that?" Loki asked sharply, his gaze latched onto hers again.

Darcy recoiled slightly at his tone but met his ferocity with her own. "No one needs to tell me anything," she responded harshly, "I know how you look at me, how you regard me, you're always telling me I'm inferior in some way, at every opportunity you get so, it's not exactly hard to guess," she finished, looking at him, exasperated.

"I came to check on your welfare, because the last time I saw you, you were swooning and you eventually lost consciousness," Loki responded with gritted teeth, her absurd indignance rubbing against him the wrong way.

"Well, I'm here and I'm awake, thanks for the concern," Darcy said sourly, turning away and staring out of the window determinedly.

Loki rose to leave, the door slamming behind him.

The nerve of that mortal! He seethed. What kind of…he shook his head, trying to comprehend why he bothered at all to pay her a visit, if she was going to greet him with the same kind of churlish vitriol he could find elsewhere.

-

Darcy is back at her desk, sipping carefully at a large cup of soup. The doctor told her to take it easy- so no Taco Bell, Chipotle, Thai- or anything that would challenge her digestive system for a while. She acquiesced grudgingly, her hand still bruised from the IV and not wanting to revisit those days.

Loki had taken care to avoid her, with forced interactions being nothing more than a nod in the other's direction- cordial but very, very cold.

She found him moody, bitchy and annoying, while he found her absurd, tempestuous and tedious- this arrangement suited them just fine.

"Darcy!" Jane barked, breaking her out of her reverie and making her burn her lip on her soup.

"Fuc- what is it, Jane?!" she called back, irascible. "It's 5.37pm, I've already done most of the filing for today, cut me some slack!"

The work had increased a fair bit since Jane began working with SHIELD, especially since they could provide her with all the lab space and equipment she needed. Between that and her basement/garage space- this was a major upgrade and Jane leapt at the opportunity like a rabid dog at a juicy in bone ribeye.

It also meant they got their own apartments. Well, Jane usually shared with Thor, and Loki and him usually shared an apartment.

"No, this isn't work related. Not really. I need you to keep an eye for Loki over the weekend," she said, her voice firm, but her tone somewhat sheepish.

That got Darcy's attention and she turned around in her swivel chair, her expression incredulous, annoyed.

"Are you kidding me? The dude hates me! And how do I even-" Darcy sputters, while Jane holds up a hand to interrupt.

"Look, SHIELD has a couple of agents watching him as well, and he's on surveillance- it's just for the weekend alright? And Thor wants someone familiar keeping an eye on him. We're going on a trip," Jane explained, stuttering a little on the last few words.

Darcy looked at her, her expression that of mounting annoyance and disbelief. "Seriously? Because you two need a weekend getaway, I have to nanny your dude's little brother?" she snaps.

Jane then moves to Plans B & C, issuing threats about disowning her as an assistant, before finally deciding to pay her a little for her time.

Darcy accepts with grudging glee (that was when she grumbled, talking about how Jane owed her, while her face struggled to conceal the smile spilling on it.)

Jane leaves that day- a little poorer- while Darcy slowly packs her things, thinking of how to spend the extra cash. Rent wasn't an issue now that they had their apartments- so the spare money was a welcome treat.

Jane wasn't content with Loki being completely alone (well, Thor wasn't, so by default, neither was Jane- a 1 for 1 deal with these two). So Darcy unlocked Jane and Thor's apartment, pushing in.

She moves to the couch (Pft, their bedroom? Hell no, Lord knows what action those sheets have been seeing), dumping a duffel bag onto it. Sure, her apartment was nearby. Ish. If you counted a couple of floors down in the next block nearby, so she decided to just bring a whole ton of stuff to avoid shuttling back and forth.

She hears a shuffle of feet, tensing and what she sees is nothing that she expects. She finds Loki wet, hair dripping, a white towel slung on his hips. She flushes crimson, hands flailing as she struggles between closing her eyes and looking away, and wanting to stare.

"Tcha- dude, clothes!" she manages, sputtering incoherently.

"Why are you here?" Loki demands, his tone sharp and imperious as he gives her a disgusted one over. His eyes fall on the overnight bag and he sighs deeply.

"This is Thor's doing, wasn't it?" he asked through gritted teeth, his fists curling as he spoke.

"Look, I was literally paid to be here, okay, so I'm as thrilled as you," Darcy said with no little exasperation, turning to Loki with a set jaw. "I'm just going to sit here and chill with some movies alright? This doesn't have to get shitty. You do your thing, I do mine- we ignore each other. Happy?"

A small muscle tightens in Loki's jaw and he mutters something that sounds vaguely like assent before he moves toward her, leaning in.

"Fine, we'll comply by your little regulations but Miss Lewis," he says quietly. "It's rude to ogle," he murmurs, before drawing back, leaving Darcy indignant, mildly flustered, and curiously glad she was caught in what she was in.