Chapter Text
November
Darcy blinked at the screen of numbers she was staring at before looking away and rubbing her eyes. She leaned back in her chair to stretch, groaning slightly. She really wanted to go get some coffee but, after what had happened last time, she was sort of anxious to leave the building.
“What do you need?” Yasha asked in his steady tone, just to her left. Darcy startled a bit in her chair but looked over to smile at him. It had been a few days and he had been her dark and ominous shadow around the Tower.
“I was thinking of going on a coffee run. Jane could probably use some caffeine and I could use some time away from this monitor.” Darcy said, gesturing to the screen. Yasha frowned.
“You were taken the last time you went on a coffee run.” He said with slight disapproval in his tone. Darcy reached out and took his metal hand in her own.
“You came and rescued me.” She gave him a squeeze before standing up. “Maybe come with me on the coffee run?” She suggested, feeling more confident. Who would dare attack her with Yasha around? He nodded.
“Yes. We will go and get coffee.” He said and Darcy gave him another smile before asking Jane what she wanted.
Once they had written down Jane’s surprisingly complicated and specific coffee order, they left the building to go to Darcy’s favorite coffee shop, about two blocks away. Darcy looped her arm through Yasha’s right arm and he nodded his approval. Last time he had been allowed to be with his handler, he had told her he liked to have his left arm free so he could better protect her from threats. From then on, she had always stood on his right. She began chatting to him in Russian while he monitored the street around them for threats. Occasionally he would correct her phrasing as she had told him she was rusty and wanted to improve her Russian language skills. Before too long they had reached the coffee shop and Darcy groaned at the length of the line.
“Oh man. Looks like we’ll be here for a while.” She sighed, noticing how Yasha had become even more tense. Darcy frowned before her face cleared in realization. He was nervous about being a sitting duck while they waited in this line. She bit her lip, thinking. Before too long, her features relaxed into a mischievous grin and she turned her face up to look at her favorite Russian assassin.
“What if you maybe…encourage people to let us cut?” She muttered, knowing he would hear. He looked down at her with a frown and Darcy rushed to clarify. “Nothing, you know, physical. Just sort of give them that look.” She broke off and made an attempt at his frowny, dangerous, dead eyed look before breaking into a grin at him again. “You know. Glower them into submission.” She shrugged.
“Mission accepted.” Yasha said and Darcy’s grin widened. Yasha moved slightly to loom ominously over the person directly in front of them, who was talking on their cell phone.
“Uhm…yeah. I gotta go.” The man said over his phone and rushed out of the line and out of the coffee shop. Darcy and Yasha moved up a place in line. Before too long, they had their coffees and were on their way back to the tower. Darcy grinned at Yasha and he felt his lips twitch in response. He quickly schooled his face into its normal, stoic lines. But he could feel the smile inside him as he escorted his handler, his wonderful, beautiful handler, back to their base.
*~*~*~*~
February
It had been two weeks since Bucky Barnes had been displaced by the Winter Soldier. Or Yasha as Darcy called him. Darcy frowned as she opened the door of her bedroom that morning and saw him leaning against the wall, not fully asleep but not fully awake. He had refused all offers of cushions or cots or anything to help with his comfort. She wasn’t upset at sharing her space with him, but it did make her feel a bit guilty to see him so uncomfortable. Well, he never admitted he wasn’t comfortable, she just assumed that it wouldn’t be comfortable to sleep propped up against a wall for so long; knowing what she did of his past, she thought he deserved to be comfortable. And happy.
Darcy’s face cleared as she had an epiphany. She smiled as she moved towards the kitchen, Yasha rolled into a standing position as he got up and followed her.
“Good morning, Yasha.” Darcy said and Yasha nodded at her. “Since it’s the weekend and we don’t have to go to the lab today, why don’t we stay here and make some goodies for the team.”
“Whatever you would like.” He replied, his face not indicating if he would enjoy this change or not. Darcy frowned a bit and he instantly stiffened. “I am at your disposal.” She saw that he tensed even more as her frown deepened and she told herself to cut it out.
“I want to have a nice, relaxing Saturday with you. Today that means baking.” Darcy said with a firm nod. She began to gather ingredients and felt a bit relieved when some of the tension bled from his shoulders.
Darcy puttered around her kitchen under Yasha’s watchful gaze as she started making some cream puffs and pudding. There had been a Harry Potter movie marathon on TV earlier and she had seen a video about making a Sorting Hat Croquembouche that she had been dying to try. With Yasha’s kitchen assistance it didn’t seem quite as onerous. His metal arm was better than any mixer she had ever owned. Several hours later, it was finally done and Darcy clapped with gleeful delight looking at their creation.
“Now, let’s take it out to the Common Room and make everyone try it out!” Darcy said gleefully. Yasha nodded, a little bit of a pout slipping into his normally stoic expression. He quickly schooled his face, hoping that his handler didn’t notice.
“I will carry it.” He said and moved to pick up the mass of pastry that he knew would be demolished in mere moments by the others. He didn’t like that they didn’t seem to appreciate Darcy’s efforts to care for them.
“Hold on! Let’s take a picture before those heathens ruin our hard work.” She pulled out her phone and Yasha watched, fondly, as she photographed the Croquembouche before taking a few pictures with both of them smiling at their mountain of pastry. Well, Darcy was smiling. Yasha looked slightly less grim. “And don’t look so sad. I saved you some cream puffs.”
“Thank you.” Yasha said and was alarmed when he felt his lips twitch slightly as though to smile. Past handlers had punished all such indications of emotion and he thought he had managed to catch himself before his new handler had noticed any of his slips… He looked sharply over at Darcy, but she was smiling at him softly.
“Here. You deserve to have the first one, before we take it to the Common Room.” She said, indicating that he should choose a cream puff. He swallowed hard and selected one. It was filled with strawberry custard…his favorite.
*~*~*~*~
August
Yasha looked down at his handler’s head, where it was resting against his shoulder. He had been away for a long time. The Bucky part of him had been in control and he had missed his handler. When she opened the door for him today, her smile was so broad and happy, he had almost smiled back. Again. Instead he had asked her what the mission was for the day.
“I would really just like to be with you.” His handler replied. He didn’t know what she meant, so he tilted his head to the side, silently asking for more information.
“Well, I’ve really missed you, Yasha.” Her face twisted and he silently cursed Bucky for not seeing how special his handler was. “Would it be ok if we just, you know, cuddled on the couch?”
“Yes. We can do that.” Yasha said, reaching out to her to stop her from twisting the bottom of her sweatshirt.
Darcy looked relieved and she led him over to the couch and let him arrange them on it so he would be comfortable and still have a range of motion to protect them if they became under attack. Not that Darcy expected any imminent attack, but it made Yasha feel better. She snuggled into his side, relishing his warmth, and shifted until she was comfortable against him.
“Good?” Darcy asked and Yasha nodded. After a while, Yasha could tell that Darcy was absorbed in her show. She started to absently stroke his knee and his arm where she was resting against him. He felt that strange smile in his heart again. Never had he had another handler like her. He was pleased that after her kidnapping, she had accepted him as her asset.
“You want something to eat? I was thinking of making roast chicken or a meatloaf for dinner.” She asked and Yasha nodded. He moved with her to the kitchen to help her chop up vegetables and potatoes. He thought that he had been a very good asset for his handler today.
Now, if only Bucky would accept her, he would be able to relax too. Bucky could use a good handler and Yasha thought that maybe Bucky could help give Darcy all the things Yasha knew she wanted but would never ask him for. Since those things were things he knew Bucky wanted too…Yasha knew he just had to keep trying. One day, Bucky would realize that Yasha wasn’t here to hurt him; he had never been there to hurt him but to protect him.
With a soft puff of air, he focused on helping his handler. She had put some music on and was dancing and singing as she put together their dinner. He watched her, fondly, and decided that he would make it his mission to get Bucky to accept her as his handler, as their handler. With a firm nod of his head, he went back to help with dinner, knowing that his handler would insist that they eat dinner together.
Then…he had his own mission to accomplish.