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When Darcy Lewis wakes up on December 1, it’s with considerably less enthusiasm than she normally has at the beginning of December.
Darcy usually loves everything leading up to Christmas, but she just found out the night before that none of her brothers are going home for Christmas, instead spending it with their wives’ families. Her youngest brother’s mother-in-law has invited her parents to spend the day with them and while Darcy has been invited, she just can’t stomach the idea of spending another holiday with her brother’s in-laws. They’re nice people, but they’re a bit much and after the wedding this summer and spending every holiday with them for the last three years, Darcy has had enough.
So now she’s looking down the barrel of Christmas on her own.
***
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to Asgard with us?” Jane asks while peeking inside the pastry boxes lined up on the counter of the common room kitchen.
“Um, yes, I’m 100% sure that I don’t want to be the third wheel on your Christmas vacation,” Darcy tells Jane, before selecting a chocolate glazed donut and pouring herself a cup of tea.
“You wouldn’t be a third wheel! Thor and I love spending time with you,” Jane insists as she selects a pastry and joins Darcy at the main dining table.
“I know you do. And you’re so sweet to offer, but you and Thor deserve to spend some time together.” Darcy takes a sip of her tea, humming with satisfaction.
“I just hate the thought of you here by yourself at Christmas.”
“Jane, it’s fine. I’m going to be rushed off my feet getting this place ready for Christmas and making sure the team is prepared to hit the ground running in the New Year. By the time Christmas Day rolls around, I’m going to be so grateful for a break. I’m going to enjoy being here without anyone around to mock my love of Hallmark Christmas movies.”
Darcy hopes that by Christmas she’ll actually believe that.
**
Steve doesn’t mean to eavesdrop on Darcy and Jane, but he has enhanced hearing, so he unintentionally eavesdrops on a lot of conversations. Also, Steve’s been in love with Darcy since approximately five minutes after he first met her, so he pays attention where she’s concerned, and she just sounds so sad. Something that he just can’t stand.
Steve corners Jane later that day for a full explanation of what’s going on with Darcy. He spends the evening coming up with a plan to make Darcy’s Christmas as magical as she makes everyone else feel all year long.
**
As the operations manager at the upstate Avengers facility, Darcy’s responsibilities include preparing the facility for Christmas. So, the next morning she is up earlier than usual to get an early start to the day. When Darcy makes it to her desk, she is surprised to discover a peppermint hot chocolate waiting for her. It’s still piping hot but no one else is in the office. While her computer boots up, she warms her hands around the cup and ponders who could have left the delicious beverage for her. Once she logs into her email, Darcy’s thoughts are soon consumed with her daily tasks and her mystery gift giver is soon forgotten.
But as Darcy’s week continues, so too do the hot chocolate deliveries. Always at a different time of the day, but always when she needs it the most, including one day after a meeting with one of her most difficult internal stakeholders.
And hot chocolate isn’t the only item in her secret Santa’s arsenal. About a week after the first hot chocolate delivery, she returns to her suite to discover a brightly wrapped box sitting on her kitchen counter. When Darcy opens the box, she’s delighted to find it full of vinyl Christmas albums from the last 80 years. Darcy pulls out the turquoise suitcase Victrola turntable that Bucky gave her for her birthday and spends the evening listening to Bing Crosby and Jo Stafford sing Christmas standards while doing the last of her online shopping for the season.
It’s not just gifts though. Darcy’s secret Santa also sends people to her with Christmas experiences. Natasha takes her to a concert at a Russian Orthodox church. Wanda invites her to bake cookies one evening. Peter Parker comes over to watch The Santa Clause.
It all culminates two days before Christmas, during the annual tree-trimming party. The party is usually only well attended for the cookies and booze and she ends up being the only one decorating, but everyone from Jane and Thor to Sam and Bucky stops by to decorate the tree and have a chat. It leaves her with the best Christmas feeling in years that she actually gets a little teary-eyed on Steve’s shoulder when they’re sitting next to each other on the sofa in the common room, even more so when he wraps his arm around her shoulders and she snuggles into his warmth. For a minute, she thinks Steve might have kissed her head, but that would be too good to be true.
Darcy could tell him that she knows he’s her secret Santa. She could tell him how amazing she thinks he is, turn her head and kiss him.
**
Steve joins Darcy on the sofa where she’s sitting with a cup of rum punch, watching Sam and Bucky bicker over Christmas ornaments.
“Hey, you okay?” Steve asks, crestfallen that his plan might have backfired.
“Yeah. I just have a case of the Christmas feels,” Darcy tells him before leaning her head against his shoulder. “I really needed this.”
Steve wraps his arm around her and pulls Darcy into his side before kissing the crown of her head. For a minute, he thinks she snuggles in closer, but that would be too good to be true.
Steve could tell her that he’s her secret Santa. He could tell her how amazing he thinks she is, turn his head and kiss her.
**
And so, they do. It’s a soft and gentle kiss filled with the promise of more. Her head returns to his shoulder and his cheek rests against her hair as the peace and love of Christmas rest gently around them and those they love.