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“Jarvis, where are our insulated bags?” Darcy called out, her head halfway in one of the kitchen cabinets.
“I believe they are in the hall closet, Darcy.”
“Thanks, J!” Darcy said, standing up and moving towards the closet that the AI had mentioned.
“No problem, ma’am, but may I ask why you need them?”
“I’m going shopping and I want something to carry my things in,” Darcy explained as she grabbed one of the bag-stuffed-in-a-bag bundles.
“I’m certain I could order everything you need and have it here for you soon,” Jarvis offered.
“I know you could, J, but you’re also no good at keeping secrets from Tony so I’ve got to do this one on my own.”
“Very well,” Jarvis replied, obviously exasperated. “When do you expect to return? You know he will ask after you when he finds you aren’t here.” Darcy paused as she tied her shoes, “I dunno. Probably an hour or so?” Once she was certain she had everything she needed, she took off out the door.
Forty-five minutes later, Darcy, had a cab drop her off at the back entrance to the tower’s garage, gathered her two heavy bags from the trunk and made towards the large freight elevator that sat in the back corner. She pressed the call button and rested her two bags in front of the doors, ready to shove them in the elevator without picking them up again.
Once safely ensconced inside she paused for a moment as she considered what floor she needed to go to - Jarvis controlled the elevators she usually rode and he just knew where to take her without issue. She pressed the button firmly and waited as the elevator groaned to life, slowly moving upwards. “Shit,” she muttered to herself as she sank to the ground, “Seventy-seven floors at this speed is going to take forever.”
Five or ten minutes later, Darcy couldn’t be sure as her cell phone had died after she hailed her cab, there was a creaking noise, a shudder, and then the elevator came to a halt. “Oh, fuck,” Darcy said, getting to her feet, which turned out to be a mistake as the elevator dropped a few inches as it settled with her moving weight. “Ooookay, not moving again, got it,” she said as she carefully sat back down against the wall.
“Jarvis?” she tried hopefully, “You in here buddy?” When there was no reply she hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on her arms. “Well, now you’re fucked.” She gave into the panic for a few moments, her breath coming fast as she struggled not to cry. It didn’t take long for her to get a little bored with that, however, and she began to think about it.
Jarvis had asked her how long she expected to be out and she’d told him an hour. When she’d last looked at her phone about thirty minutes had passed, and she had to figure the cab ride here took at least ten minutes. That meant it couldn’t be too long before Jarvis would figure her to be missing and alert Tony if he didn’t know already.
“Okay,” Darcy sighed to herself, “So now it’s just a waiting game until Tony finds me.”
“Sir,” Jarvis intoned over the music in Tony’s lab. “Darcy was expected back at the tower fifteen minutes ago and she has not returned.”
“Cut the music, Jarvis,” Tony said, sitting up straight and setting his tools down on the nearest surface. “Where was she going?”
“She did not want to tell me, something about keeping a secret from you, however, her last known location was that the grocers on 3rd.”
“Last known location?” Tony asked, curiously.
“It appears her cell phone died, I have been unable to locate her for the past forty-five minutes, but assumed she was still en route back to the tower.”
“Fuck,” Tony muttered to himself before turning in his chair to face a bay of computer screens. “Give me street camera view of the store the at her last known time.” Seconds later a blurry image of Darcy in front of the store hailing a cab appeared, the cab she got in blessedly stopping at the perfect angle for him to make out the plates. “Jarvis-”
“I’m on it, Sir.” There were a few tense, silent moments as Jarvis searched any camera footage he could find to trace the cab. “Here,” the AI said finally as a video pulled up on the monitor in front of Tony. The video showed Darcy exiting the cab and getting two bags from the trunk before trudging into the back garage of the tower.
“Jarvis? I thought you said she was missing?” Tony asked, his voice growing impatient.
“I do not have any record of her arriving, Sir. She did not take the residential elevator.”
“Well, she wouldn’t have taken the stairs, that’s for damn sure. Is there another elevator in the garage, Jarvis?”
“The freight elevator, but deliveries have been instructed to use the one off of 5th as this one needs repairs.”
Tony’s face paled as he realized that Darcy must have taken the freight elevator. “Do you have any access to the status of that car, Jarvis?” Tony asked, already grabbing a tool belt and moving toward the staircase at the back of his labs.
“No, Sir, but you can reach the channel easiest if you follow my lead.” The ground in front of Tony lit up to show him the way he needed to go, as he tore down the stairs and through hallways.
Darcy thought she heard a muffled noise from somewhere above her a few moments ago, but she couldn’t have been certain she wasn’t imagining it. She had no idea how long she’d been stuck, and though she knew it was only a matter of time before Tony found her, she was still having trouble staying calm. She hugged her knees to her chest and began to take deep breaths as she waited.
There was another noise from above her, this time louder and clearer. “Darcy?” Tony’s voice called out to her, “Are you down there?”
“Tony!” she yelled as she jumped to her feet, “I’m here!” The moment her feet hit the floor of the car it jolted down a few more inches, causing Darcy to scream.
“Hang on, Baby Girl, I’m coming,” Tony called to her, his voice sounding closer if still muffled from the ceiling tile.
Darcy was grateful in that moment for the strange kinks in their relationship. A pet name, two little words, had conveyed so much to her - that Tony was alone, that he was not upset with her, that he would always be there for her when she needed him. “Okay,” she breathed out, now terrified to move from her spot closer to the center of the car. “I’m scared,” she admitted, her head tilted towards the ceiling so he could hear her better. “What if the car falls with me still inside? Or while you’re on top of it, fuck I don’t want you getting hurt because of me!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about the car falling?” Tony asked, his voice closer than it had been before.
“Every time I move it falls a few feet. I’m kind of stuck in the middle of the floor right now, I’m afraid to move.”
“Nonsense, Buttercup,” Tony replied, his feet touching down to the roof of the elevator car causing it to shake. “Well, apart from that. Hang on a second-” Darcy could hear noises almost directly above her before Tony’s voice came back, though his words were spoken around what was most likely a screwdriver in his mouth, “Okay, the emergency brake has been engaged, this should be pretty solid now. Darcy, can you test it out for me?”
“I-I guess?”
“It’ll be fine, Baby Girl, just take a few steps closer to my voice,” Tony tapped lightly on the roof of the car to guide her.
“Okay, I moved,” Darcy spoke hesitantly. There was a prying noise, and then Darcy could see a crack in the ceiling of the elevator. Tony removed the entire panel and climbed down into the steadied car with Darcy who stood in front of him, barely controlling the shaking in her limbs.
“Hey, there,” Tony whispered into Darcy’s hair as he held her tightly to his chest. “I’m here, I’ve got you. We’re safe.” She shuddered against him, her breath coming in short, rapid bursts. “Alright, Kid, I need you to breathe with me, okay? In,” he took a long, deep breath in through his chest and held it for a second. “Out,” he breathed out slowly, the push of air fluttering the hair beneath his head. “Can you do that with me?” he asked, again drawing in a deep breath.
Darcy struggled to control her breathing as she stood in Tony’s arms. She was trying as hard as she could to breathe in time with him but each time she came close she shook again and lost the rhythm. “That’s a good girl,” Tony was whispering into her hair as he continued to breathe slowly to calm Darcy down. “You’re doing so good, just keep breathing.”
She tried to focus on the sound of his voice, the rush of air against her scalp as he blew out his breath across the top of her head. It took another few minutes before Darcy was able to control her breathing with any regularity, “Thank you,” she whispered finally when she knew she was finally in control. “Can we get out of here now?”
Tony walked slowly back to the nearest wall of the elevator car, carefully lowering himself down to the floor and pulling Darcy with him. Once she was settled across his lap he replied, “I’m afraid not, Baby Girl. I know a lot about a lot of machines, but elevators are not my forte and I am not willing to play around with it when you’re stuck inside here.” He saw Darcy’s eyes grow large and added quickly, “Jarvis was calling in an emergency technician when I was coming down the chute to you, they’ll be here soon. Speaking of,” Tony pulled his phone from his pocket, “Jarvis, let them know we’re stuck somewhere between the 18th and 19th floors, their best bet will be to come in from the entryway on the 20th.”
“Wait,” Darcy said, pulling back from where her head was rested on his shoulder, “If you can’t fix an elevator, why did you come down here?”
Tony pursed his lips, “Do you really think I’d let my Baby Girl wait for a stranger in a broken elevator car all alone?”
“I would have been okay, Tony,” Darcy replied, her brow furrowed.
“I never said you wouldn’t have been okay, Darce. But there are miles between ‘okay’ and ‘happy’, and we both know I’m not in the habit of letting you be anything less than happy, right?”
“Yeah,” Darcy shrugged, “You’re right. I’m much happier with you here,” she smiled.
“I’m glad,” Tony’s smile lit up his face and Darcy snuggled herself back into his embrace.
A few minutes passed before there was a loud noise from overhead followed, “Mr. Stark?” the elevator technician called down to them.
“Right here,” Tony replied as he tangled his hand in Darcy’s soft curls.
“I’m going to get you lowered down to the 18th floor so we can get you out and then I’ll work on fixing things,” the technician explained. “Give me a minute and we’ll be moving.”
Darcy tensed in Tony’s arms, her calm breathing beginning to waiver. “You’re alright, Kid,” he whispered as the car jolted into motion. “Say, while we’re sitting here, why don’t you tell me about this surprise?”
Darcy’s thoughts were racing as the elevator made its slow descent downwards. She knew Tony was trying to distract her, but focusing on anything other than the rickety motion of the elevator was difficult. “I, um,” she took a deep breath in when Tony did, exhaling in time with him before speaking again. “I wanted to make you dinner, but I didn’t want Jarvis to tell you about it.”
“That’s sweet,” Tony kissed the top of her head. “Was there any particular reason you wanted to surprise me?” Darcy blushed, tucking her head further into Tony’s embrace to hide the flush in her cheeks. “Oh, so there is a reason, huh? No worries, sweetheart, I’ll get it out of you soon enough.”
The elevator came to a sudden stop, “Alright, sir,” the technician called, his voice further away than before. “Give me a second to get the doors opened and I’ll have you out of there.”
Silently, Tony shuffled Darcy out of his lap, standing and offering a hand to pull her up. The doors opened seconds later and she was overcome with the urge to run from the car and onto the steady ground, but Tony’s hand in hers kept her grounded. They slowly walked to the doors and once Darcy had made it into the hallway Tony turned and took hold of her two grocery bags.
“Hey, Kid?”
“Yeah?”
“Next time take the residential elevator, I promise Jarvis won’t tell me any of your secrets unless they were going to put me in danger,” he smiled, shouldering the two bags so he could take her hand.
“There’s a residential elevator in the garage?” Darcy asked, trying hard to hide her embarrassment.
“Yeah, it’s right behind the - oh. Oh, damn,” Tony said and Darcy could have sworn if his hands weren’t full he would have facepalmed. “It’s right behind the hidden workshop that I instructed Jarvis not to tell anyone about.”
They’d reached the bay of residential elevators and Tony noticed Darcy hesitate before pressing the call button. When the doors opened he stepped in first, “Hey, Jarvis how fast do you think you can get us from here to our floor? Our girl is understandably skittish of elevators at the moment.”
“One point five seconds, Sir. Miss Lewis, it should comfort you to know that I am in complete control of this elevator and there are no known issues with its mechanisms.”
“Okay,” Darcy said as she stepped over the threshold and into the car. “Here goes nothing.” The car zoomed upwards fast enough that Darcy barely had time to grasp Tony’s hand before the doors were opening again. “Thank you, J,” Darcy said as she quickly exited the car.
“So, are any of these still good, do you think?” Tony asked as he walked the grocery bags into the kitchen.
“The bags are insulated, I think it should be fine,” Darcy replied as she began to unpack the ingredients. “Thank you, again,” she said as she turned to hold Tony in front of her. “You didn’t have to come to my rescue.”
“I know I didn’t, Baby Girl, but I wanted to.” Tony wrapped his arms around her waist, “I like taking care of you. I like pretending I’m rescuing you from some terrible fate - god knows I don’t want to ever actually have to rescue you from one.”
“That’s fair, I don’t want you to have to rescue me from one either. The Destroyer and the Dark Elves were enough, thank you.” She turned around in his embrace and lined up vegetables on the counter, washing them before she carefully began to cut them and place them in the waiting meal prep bowls.
“Wanna tell me what you’re making?” Tony asked
“And ruin the surprise?” Darcy joked. “Never.”
“C’mon, Darcy,” he whispered into the skin of her neck before placing a kiss just below her ear, “I know you wanna tell me.”
“I know I want to wait until I’ve actually succeeded before telling you and screwing it all up,” she replied.
“Like you could screw anything up,” Tony laughed. “You’re perfect.”
“Hardly,” Darcy deadpanned.
“Well, I mean, no. Nobody’s perfect, but you’re perfect for me and that’s got to count for something right?”
Darcy squirmed out of his embrace so she could get something from the refrigerator, “I know what you’re doing here, mister. Don’t think it’s going to work as easy as it did last time.”
Tony’s eyes sparkled at the mention of last time, “Oh, that’s right. That was a good one, wasn’t it? And you’re sure you won’t break?” His hands were extended, fingers wiggling slowly in the air as he came towards her.
“Positive,” Darcy replied before biting down on her lip and stilling herself for the coming onslaught. Tony got to her quickly, his fingers reaching out to tickle up and down her ribs while she struggled not to laugh. It was a fruitless effort, she was already doubled over laughing as she tried to block Tony’s hands with her forearms.
“Well,” Tony smirked, “If you’re sure you won’t break then I guess I can just keep on doing this, huh?”
One of his arms reached down to tickle the spot behind her knee and she squealed out, “Uncle! Uncle! You got me, please,” she was wheezing, “Please stop.”
“Okay,” Tony said, his hands leaving her side immediately as he moved to get her a glass of water. “Here, drink up and then you can tell me all about it.”
Darcy gulped down the water, grateful that Tony was so good at anticipating her needs. “I thought I’d try my hand at making lasagna,” she admitted.
“Mmm, lasagna. Any particular reason why?” When the flush returned to Darcy’s cheeks Tony extended his fingers towards her again.
“Okay, okay! Fine, itwasbecausewe’vebeenlivingtogetherayeartoday,” she spat out in one breath.
“Wait, hold on. Do you think you could repeat that, maybe with some spaces between the words?” Tony smiled as he walked towards her, his hands coming to rest possessively on her hips. “Did you really say what I think you said?”
Darcy ducked her head, “That we’ve been living together for a year,” she stammered out.
Tony hugged her to him and hummed into the top of her head, “Best year of my life, I’d say.”
“Mine too,” Darcy smiled. “Think we’ll make it another one?” she asked cautiously.
“Oh, Baby Girl. I don’t think it,” Tony smiled, “I know.”