It was officially all set. Tickets booked, hotel reserved, Fast Passes purchased, and only three weeks to wait before getting up at oh god o'clock to catch the plane. Darcy even found herself surfing Wikipedia to get ready for the trip, making a list of all the attractions she wanted to visit first.

For four years, it had been a pipe dream. The sort of thing they always talked about, but never actually expected to do. It wasn't like going to Disneyland, where you could at least save a little bit of money by staying in an off-resort hotel. There was only one hotel on Isla Nublar, and it was the Jurassic World Resort Hotel.

Between the hotel, and the resort admission, and getting to Costa Rica, and having enough left over for actually eating and doing things, it was never going to happen. Except, it was. It totally was. When they went from broke-ass college students to actually making real money, they kept their crappy little apartment and saved up every penny to make their pipe dream happen.

Somewhere along the line, their trip for two became a couples trip when Jane's boyfriend decided he wanted to come along. Not that Darcy minded. She had her hot, dorky, sexy English boyfriend as well, and was more than glad to spend a week in South America with him, looking at dinosaurs. And now he'd called her and said he had something important to talk about, and wanted to go out somewhere to talk about it. Darcy didn't even want to think about what he might want to talk about, because if it was what she thought it was, she worried she might just get so nervous and giddy that she'd actually puke.

And if she got her hopes up for nothing, she thought she really would puke.

Darcy climbed the stairs to the apartment and dug her keys out of her bag, stopping when she got to the door. Someone's keys were already in the lock. Sighing the annoyed sigh of someone who regularly had to deal with unwanted guests, Darcy pulled the keys from the door and stepped inside.

"Who gave you this key?" she asked, holding the key ring up. She couldn't actually see Loki where he was no doubt sprawled out on their sofa, but she could see his humongous black dog licking its balls in front of the TV.

"I don't know. Why?" asked Loki tiredly.

As Darcy moved toward the kitchen, she could indeed see him sprawled out on the sofa, with his ratty, holey sneakers up on the arm rest, and his wild black hair half-covering his face. Darcy didn't know what he did for work, but apparently whatever it was, it took him into Brooklyn frequently. And when Loki was in Brooklyn, he always decided to stop by.

Darcy worked her apartment key off of his key ring, swearing to herself that she would murder whoever kept giving it to him. "Because it's not yours," she said. She tossed Loki's keys to him, taking his stolen key back to her bedroom to hide with with the others she'd liberated from him. He wasn't getting them back from her, because they were all still in her jewellery box, so it must have been either from Jane or Thor. And neither of them tolerated him being around even half as much as Darcy did.

"We're not supposed to have pets," she said flatly as she walked back out to the kitchen to plug her phone in and drop off her bag. Actually, she wouldn't mind him being around hardly at all, if he didn't keep trying to get them evicted with 150 pounds of shaggy dog.

"You don't. I do," Loki said.

Darcy had to hold her breath for a few seconds to keep from shouting at him. "Jane will sue you if you get us evicted," she said instead.

Loki laughed. "And she can have every one of my eighteen dollars."

"And your big, stupid van," Darcy chirped, knowing they probably wouldn't get any more than a grand out of it. "Where is it, anyway?"

"Parked outside," Loki said. "Didn't you see it?"

"That ugly thing? It's impossible to miss. Was it double parked?" Darcy asked him.

"Fuck!" Loki leapt up from the sofa and ran out of the apartment, followed close behind by his dog. As soon as they were both gone, Darcy calmly walked over to the door and shut it, latching every one of the locks to make sure he stayed out, leaving only the chain unlocked in case Jane got home early.

With Loki gone, Darcy turned off the TV and went to run a shower. Not even Loki breaking in and eating all their food while he watched crappy reality TV distracted her from her upcoming date. She showered quickly, skimping on her hair so she had more time to focus on getting everything else clean. Ian's request for a date had been incredibly last minute, and dealing with Loki cost her the time it normally took her to wash her hair.

She got out of the shower and began making her way to her room, wearing nothing more than a loosely-wrapped towel. As she stepped into the living room, she was glad she'd bothered to put on even that much, since the apartment was once again not empty. Thor stood in the living room, glaring at everything as if he had walked into the scene of a horrible crime.

"Oh my god!" Darcy shouted, grabbing the towel around her chest and making sure she wasn't flashing Jane's boyfriend. "What are you doing here?"

Before Thor could answer, Darcy ran into her room to put some clothes on. It was the fastest she'd ever got dressed for a date in her life, partially because she was already on the verge of being late, and partially because she was sick of men who weren't her boyfriend being in her apartment.

"Are you decent now?" Thor asked with a laugh as Darcy stepped back into the living room. Like his brother, Thor had an odd accent that couldn't be placed, because it wasn't actually from anywhere.

"Yes," she said sternly. "Don't sneak up on naked people. It isn't nice." She shook her finger at Thor's face as she walked back to the bathroom to fix her hair and make-up.

"I saw my brother outside on my way up. Was he in here?" Thor asked, ignoring Darcy's scolding.

"Yeah. Was he throwing a tantrum because the Van Halen Mobile got towed?" asked Darcy as she painted her eyeliner on.

"Perhaps. He seemed angry about something, but I didn't stop to ask," said Thor. He watched her from the door way, the same way he watched Jane when she put on her make-up; not with any kind of admiration, but with the unease of somebody who expected to see someone poke their own eye out at any moment.

"I don't actually mind him being here, as long as he's supervised. I mean, he wasn't even watching porn today or anything," Darcy said.

"He's dangerous," Thor argued.

Darcy knew that if it wasn't for their mother, Thor would have abandoned his brother a long time ago. But there was family drama, and then there was their family. Darcy didn't know the full story, other than apparently after dragging his kids all across the world until they were old enough to finally get a permanent residence of their own, their dad got unexpectedly sick, and somehow, everyone blamed one another for it.

"Then find out how he keeps getting keys to this place. I've got more keys than jewellery in my jewellery box right now," Darcy said.

She finished her eyeliner and touched up the dark spots under her eyes with a concealer stick, before contemplating her lips, puckering her face up as she looked at herself in the mirror. A few shades lighter than usual, she decided. It seemed a little too cold for the dark red she usually wore, somehow. Probably because it was the same shade of red as the stupid vest Ian always wore when it was cold.

She wished she had more time to get out of the house, so she could put a little more effort into looking nice for Ian and whatever big thing he had to talk to her about. Trying not to feel too giddy, she finished her face and put all her make-up away into her drawer by the sink.

"Darcy, next time he comes in like that, call the police on him. He won't do it again if you do," Thor told her as she came out of the bathroom.

Darcy didn't even begin to know how to respond to that, so she looked for a good pair of shoes and changed the subject. "How's your mom doing?" she asked as she dug around the bottom of her closet.

"She's well," Thor said, sounding sad. "She still spends more time at my father's side than she does at home, though."

Darcy realised her error in changing the subject. She'd assumed Thor's mother would have moved on a bit more by then, but it seemed she was mistaken.

"How long's it been?" she asked, finding a pair of low mules that might work.

"Two years, next month," said Thor. "The doctors say there's little chance of him waking, but mother still holds out hope."

"Sorry," Darcy said, feeling stupid for bringing it up.

Thor shook his head. "She does as she wants. If it makes her happy to pray by his bedside, then who am I to take that from her?"

"Well, I'm still sorry," Darcy said. "I know it's gotta suck for all of you."

She looked at the clock on the microwave and swore under her breath. Surprisingly, Thor laughed.

"Running late?" he asked.

Darcy rushed out to the kitchen to grab her bag and her phone. "Very," she said. "Sorry for getting all heavy and then having to run out on you like this."

"No, it's fine," Thor assured, sitting down and turning the TV back on. "Go. Don't be late."

"Wish me luck," Darcy said as she made her way toward the door, grabbing her heavy black coat on the way out.

"For what?" asked Thor.

Darcy shrugged. "I don't know, but I feel like I'll need it."

Thor laughed again, wishing her good luck as she rushed out of the apartment and back down the stairs. By the time she got outside, Loki was gone, leaving no trace that he was ever even there. Grateful that Ian had asked to meet only a few blocks from her apartment, Darcy made her way down to the little Indian place he liked so much. There wasn't any snow on the ground, but small flurries fell from the sky every few minutes, making Darcy almost wish she had called a cab. But waiting around for it would have only made her even later than she already was.

Ian was already there, waiting in a seat by the front window. He was wearing that stupid puffy vest of his, and looked like he hadn't even bothered to pick up a comb all day. Any hopes Darcy had still been holding onto we're dashed in an instant, because nobody ever proposed to their girlfriend looking like that. Nervous all over again, Darcy sat down in front of him and took off her coat, letting it hang over the back of her seat.

"Hi," she said, reaching out for his hand. "What's up?"

"Uh," said Ian awkwardly. "Do you want to order first?" he asked.

"No," said Darcy, suddenly suspicious. "What's going on?"

Ian cringed dramatically. "Well. Uh. The thing is."

Darcy wondered how long he was going to dance around whatever it was he wasn't saying. "The thing is what?" she asked.

"The thing is, I'm going back to England," Ian said slowly.

"What?" Darcy almost shouted. "When?"

Everyone in the restaurant was looking at them, but she didn't even care.

"Two weeks," said Ian with another cringe.

"But you're coming back, right? The trip is in three weeks. Everything's already booked." She'd paid for most of his portion herself, and it was entirely non-refundable. If he didn't go, that was a lot of money she'd never get back.

"Darcy," Ian said, looking around as if trying to make everyone else stop looking at them. "We both knew my visa was running out anyway."

"In the spring," Darcy reminded him. "It's December!"

"I know," Ian said, looking pained. It just made Darcy want to shout even more.

"Darcy, listen. My visa was good until the spring because that's when I was supposed to graduate. But I took those summer courses, so I could go on this trip and not have any classes to miss. Which means I technically graduate at the end of this term. Which means I'm not a student."

"Oh, come on," Darcy said bitterly. "You can hide in someone's basement for a week, and go to Costa Rica with us. Who's gonna care if you're here an extra week?"

"The government," Ian said.

Darcy scoffed. "Well, are you coming back?" she asked.

Ian went strangely silent at that.

"Are you?" asked Darcy, suddenly desperate to know.

"I don't know," said Ian. "And I don't want to ask you to wait for me, in case I can't."

Darcy wished she had a drink, just so she could throw it at him. "So, you're breaking up with me. You asked me on a date so you could break up with me?"

Ian cringed again. Darcy used to think it was cute, but now it was just obnoxious. Shouting loudly, Darcy turned and stomped out of the restaurant, getting half a block home before she even realised what she was doing.

She got a full block away before she realised Ian hadn't followed after her. She wasn't sure what was worse; that he wasn't following, or that she was mad that he wasn't following. She stomped all the way home, trying to huddle up against herself to keep warm since she'd left her coat behind, and didn't want to go back to get it, and have to see Ian again. It was only a coat. What was $100 when she'd already dropped almost five grand on the Costa Rica trip? The apartment was empty when she got home, which she decided was the first good thing to happen all day. She turned on the TV, grabbed her phone, and ordered some of the greasiest Chinese food she could get her hands on. When someone knocked at the door ten minutes later, Darcy got up and wondered how big of a tip to give the world's fastest delivery guy.

Instead, when she opened the door, she found Loki standing in the hall with his dog sniffing at the neighbour's door.

"Not supposed to be here," Darcy reminded him flatly.

"I can't get my van out of impound, I don't have enough money to get back to Yonkers, and it's really cold outside," Loki said. "And it's getting dark. Can I come in?"

Darcy sighed. "Well, at least you asked this time," she said, stepping out of the way. "You still got your eighteen bucks?"

"Yeah," said Loki as he walked around her. "Why?"

Darcy took her seat back before Loki could take it. "Good. You can pay the Chinese guy when he gets here."

Loki sat down on the floor with his dog and took off his jacket. The dog, for its massive size, was at least well-behaved. Darcy had to give it that. It never pissed on anything or chewed on anything, and generally just seemed to follow Loki around like a giant, furry shadow. Darcy always thought it looked kind of like a husky, if huskies were completely black and the size of a Great Dane. It sat down on the floor and immediately started panting, while Loki pulled out his phone and started texting someone. They stayed like that, everyone minding their own business until another knock came at the door. Loki automatically got up and answered it, giving the last of his money to the delivery guy.

"I'm four dollars short," he called out.

Darcy grabbed ten bucks from her bag and brought it over, eagerly taking her dinner away and spreading it out on the coffee table.

"Do you want some?" she asked, pulling the paper-wrapped chopsticks from the bag and offering a pair to Loki. "You did pay for it."

Loki took the offered chopsticks and sat down on the floor again. "Do you always get dressed up for the Chinese guy?" he asked as he pulled his sticks apart.

Darcy snorted. "Only when my boyfriend asks me out to break up with me," she said bitterly, before stuffing her mouth full of over-spiced orange chicken.

"Want me to beat him up?" asked Loki, completely without irony.

Considering he'd once stabbed a guy in a bar, Darcy assumed he was serious and shook her head. "He's not worth it," she said once her mouth was empty. She sighed, still not sure what she felt. "I mean, it wasn't supposed to be serious or anything. I knew he was only here on a student visa. I guess I just thought he'd stick around somehow." She stuffed her face with more chicken so she'd stop talking. Loki didn't need to know any of this.

They got halfway through the lo mein and an episode of iDirty Jobs/i when the door opened and Jane and Thor came in.

"Hey," Jane called out as she stepped inside and shed her coat.

"I thought you were going out," Thor said, stopping in his tracks when he saw Loki. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Eating dinner," Loki responded, pointing at what was left of it with his sticks.

"Get out," Thor demanded, stomping toward them.

"He's fine," Darcy protested, but like always, she went ignored.

Thor pulled Loki up by his shirt and picked up his leather jacket on the way to hauling him to the door, with Loki's dog following them both and growling loudly. Pissed off, with its hackles raised, the dog seemed even bigger than usual,

"Yes, throw me out to the street when I have no way home. I'm sure mother would love to hear about that," Loki protested, trying to squirm out of his brother's grip.

Thor let go of him violently and pulled his wallet out. "Here," he said, thrusting a handful of bills into Loki's hand. "That goes in a cab. Not your arm."

"I don't put anything in my arm," Loki argued as he put his jacket back on.

"Between your toes, then," Thor said.

Loki glared at him murderously. "Go fuck yourself," he said, throwing the cash back in Thor's face before storming out of the apartment and slamming the door hard enough to make the dishes in the cupboards rattle. Everyone stayed silent for a long moment after that, not knowing what to say or do in the wake of the sudden explosion.

"I told you to call the police the next time he showed up here," Thor said, sounding like he was trying not to sound angry.

"He was stranded and it's trying to snow out," Darcy argued. "His dog might have a fur coat, but he doesn't. I wasn't gonna just leave him outside. And he bought most of my dinner."

Thor and Jane retreated to Jane's bedroom, leaving Darcy once again alone. She could hear them talking angrily about something, and even with the door closed between them, she had a good idea of what. She looked at the remains of dinner spread out on the coffee table and sighed, picked up her handbag, and rushed out the apartment and down to the street. She spotted Loki walking down the street, huddled into his jacket as tightly as possible against the steady snow that fell now, and caught up with him.

"Here," she called out to get his attention.

Loki turned to her as she dug through her bag and pulled out her last two twenties. "Will this get you home?" she asked.

Loki took it and shrugged. "It might get me to Manhattan."

Darcy didn't think being stranded in Manhattan would really be any better than being stranded in Brooklyn. "Uh. Here," she said again, pulling out her phone. "What's your address?" she asked.

She punched it into her phone as Loki gave it to her, and pulled up bus directions. She showed the screen to Loki and screencapped it. "Text that to yourself," she said, passing him her phone.

Loki quickly sent the picture to himself and handed the phone and one of the twenties back to her.

"You'll have to get change," Darcy told him as she slid both into her bag. She pointed up to the corner. "The bus stop's just right up there. Sometimes, if you ask them to let you off at a certain stop, they'll let you know when you get to it."

"Thanks," said Loki, looking down at his dog and sighing. He pulled a ratty old leash out of his pocket and attached it to the dog's collar, almost reluctantly. Darcy wasn't sure if they'd let the dog on the bus, but she wasn't sure what else to offer him, either.

"Good luck. Sorry your day sucked," she said as she turned to walk back home.

"Sorry yours sucked too," Loki said, taking his dog to go find a place to break a twenty dollar bill.