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Darcy swears that she didn’t plan this. She swears. When she picked up the egg in the antique store, she swore it had Hardened, that it couldn’t become a dragon anymore; she just wanted the small amethyst colored egg as a gorgeous centerpiece, or maybe a paperweight. It was veined with gold and had absolutely shone in the sunlight when Darcy had walked by the front window, and she just knew she had to have it.
But once she had bought the egg, she… couldn’t put it down…
Instead of setting it on her desk or her coffee table, Darcy kept the egg in her purse, in her hoodie pockets, kept tucked in scarves and safe in the first drawer of her desk. It was Darcy’s constant companions for just under a month when Darcy noticed two things: one, her egg’s color had darkened and obscured turning grey and dull, and two, it was pulsing warmth.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Darcy exclaimed, snatching up her egg and cradling it in her palms. “Jane!” Darcy yelled as she pressed the egg to her chest. The tiny astrophysicist’s head popped out from around her whiteboard, no fewer than 6 pens decorating her French braid.
“Yeah? What’s up, Darce?” she mumbled around the cap of an erasable marker, eyes widening in shock as she took in Darcy’s panicked clutch at the egg.
“What’s happening?” the astrophysicist yelped, the marker hitting the floor as she scrambled to Darcy.
“I don’t know! It’s all dark now and it’s pulsing and Jane, what is happening?? You’re smart! You should know!” Darcy panicked as the pulsing grew quicker, the egg heating up in her arms.
“Not about eggs! I don’t know anything about those; just the stars!!” Jane wailed, tugging at her braid.
“That’s just great, Jane! I’m freaking out here!” Darcy’s voice wobbled, working herself up to a true panic.
“If I may, Miss Lewis,” the cultured tone of JARVIS halted her panic spiral in its tracks. Darcy’s head snapped up to the ceiling as JARVIS continued, “it seems like your egg is Hatching.”
“Hatching?! What do you mean ‘Hatching’?” Darcy questioned as the egg began glowing in her hands. “The antique dealer said this one had Hardened! It’s not supposed to hatch!”
“Whether it was or was not supposed to Hatch is irrelevant, Miss Lewis, as I am most confident that the egg in your hands is in fact Hatching,” JARVIS retorted primly, and Darcy whined in the back of her throat.
“I’ve taken the liberty of contacting Sergeant Barnes,” JARVIS continued. “He is the only person currently in the Tower who has any expertise concerning Hatching and should be with you shortly.”
As JARVIS’s last word hung in the air, the egg in Darcy’s hands began juddering and shining brightly, finite cracks pouring golden light splitting the surface. Darcy exhaled in awe just as the lab’s door slammed open behind her.
“I’m just in time,” Sergeant Barnes’, Bucky Barnes', the Winter Soldier’s , voice carried through the room just as the light from the egg grew blinding. Darcy clenched her eyes shut as the egg split open, the two halves dropping to the table with a clatter. Slowly, Darcy became aware of the small, breathing warmth she still held cradled in her hands.
“Oh, Darcy,” Jane breathed. “It’s beautiful.”
“ He’s beautiful,” Bucky corrected the astrophysicist in the same reverent tone. Darcy cautiously cracked her eyes open.
Nestled in the palms of her hands lay a deep royal purple drake, strips of gold and amethyst veining throughout his small body. Sleepily, the young dragon’s eyes blinked open and revealed a blue so deep it was nearly black. An irrepressible smile took over Darcy’s face as the young dragon arched its neck toward her, blinking slowly as its slit pupils dilated.
“Hey, you,” Darcy murmured, leaning her head down toward him. “Welcome to the world. I’m so excited you’re here.”
The drake yawned, exposing two rows of sharp needlepoint teeth before nudging its forehead ridges against her own forehead.
Darcy heard Jane strangle a squeal and the click of a camera as Darcy stared into her new dragon’s eyes. Slowly, she looked over to her boss and wasn’t surprised to see the woman scrubbing her cheeks rid of her tears. She looked over at Bucky, surprised at the beaming smile stretching the man’s handsome, but normally melancholy, face and the phone still poised in his hands.
“A Hatching is a moment you never want to forget,” the normally taciturn man explained, snapping another picture of Darcy with her dragon in her arms. “And you seemed to be doing just fine with the little guy, so I didn’t want to interfere. It’s important for a Laird and her dragon to bond without too much outside involvement.”
Jane, who had steadily been creeping closer to Darcy and her new companion, abruptly froze in place and wilted, sulking away from where she had been trying to touch the tiny drake.
“What's his name, Miss Lewis?” Bucky asked, his smile much smaller but still present on his lips.
Darcy stared at the young drake, who started right back at her unblinkingly. “Zjarr,” Darcy blurted the word, unsure of where it came from, and Bucky nodded.
“Welcome to the world, Zjarr,” he murmured. And with one last smile, he slipped from the room soundlessly.
“Wait, Sergeant Barnes! What do I need to do for him?” Darcy called, but Bucky had vanished and left her question unanswered.
“If I may, MIss Lewis,” JARVIS called softly. Zjarr’s head tilted as his eyes slid up to the ceiling. Darcy felt her eyes do the same as she waited for JARVIS to continue. “I’ve taken the liberty of uploading the most updated and comprehensive drake-rearing guides to your Stark Tablet. Unfortunately, as dragons haven’t hatched in any significant capacity in the last 80 years, the guides may be a bit outdated. Please let me know if any advice is incorrect or needs updating throughout your time with Zjarr. I will correct any misinformation immediately.”
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief as she relaxed her tense shoulders. Zjarr cooed in the back of his throat and curled up in Darcy’s embrace, his fathomless eyes sliding closed.
“Thank you, JARVIS,” Darcy smiled, adjusting her grip on Zjarr and making sure he was comfortable. “And one more thing? Could you not tell Tony about this?” she ventured cautiously. “He didn’t want normal pets in the Tower; I can’t imagine having a dragon would be something he’d be cool with.”
JARVIS was silent for a long moment, and Darcy chewed on her bottom lip anxiously. Eventually, the AI replied with what sounded like a weary sigh. “If Sir asks me directly about Zjarr, I will not lie to him. However, I will not notify him of the young drake’s presence otherwise.”
Darcy bounced on her toes as she grinned, walking out of the lab and toward the elevators. “Thank you so much, JARVIS! You’re the best!” Darcy chirped, and Zjarr let out a single chirp in agreement as they made their way to Darcy’s room.
What followed was the oddest, and yet most rewarding, month and half of Darcy’s life. Zjarr accompanied Darcy wherever she went, often curled around her neck and covered in her scarf, wrapped around one of Darcy’s arms, or poking his head up from the depths of Darcy’s purse. Darcy attempted to keep the drake out of trouble, for the most part, but also allowed the young dragon the freedom to explore her room, Jane’s room, and the non-chemical areas of the labs.
Jane quickly became one of Zjarr’s favorite people as the woman took to balancing him on her head as she yammered on about Einstein-Rosen equations and snuck the drake food she thought Darcy didn’t know about. He also took a shine to Captain Rogers who became a frequent visitor down to the labs. And while Darcy didn’t ever see him directly after Zjarr’s Hatching day, she knew that Sergeant Barnes was sending gifts of sticks and dog toys along with Captain Rogers each time he visited. Sometimes, she swore she could feel the handsome former-assassin watching her solemnly, but she could never see him when she turned to look.
He was a former-assassin, after all. If he didn’t want to be seen, he wouldn’t be, and Darcy tried not to be hurt by the man’s continued avoidance.
It all came to a head one day when Tony was back from a trip to Malibu with Pepper. The man strode into Jane’s lab, squawking about how he needed Jane’s “star-brain” to help him deal with the problem of how to upgrade his gauntlets to combat Asgardian physiology.
Darcy immediately scrambled to where Zjarr was perched on the edge of her desk as Jane launched into a tirade about how that wasn’t her field of study, and why did he keep asking her about that? Rifling through her purse, Darcy nearly crowed in triumph as her fingers closed around what she was looking for. Pulling it out of her bag, Darcy turned and slid a small headband with fluffy purple cat ears into place atop Zjarr’s head just as the self-proclaimed “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” swung toward her.
Tony’s words cut off abruptly as his eyes grew wide at the sight of Zjarr. Darcy nervously smiled at the man, running a soothing finger down the back of Zjarr’s neck and rubbing between the spines on his back.
“Uh, excuse me? What the hell is that?” Tony Stark asked flatly. Darcy barely suppressed a flinch as her fingers stilled.
“A cat,” the deep voice of Bucky Barnes intoned from next to her and Darcy nearly jumped out of her skin, yelping in surprise. Zjarr’s head snapped up at the perceived threat to his owner, hissing at the Winter Soldier in warning. Bucky maintained eye contact with the young drake, nodding slowly as he extended his fingers toward the dragon. After a few moments of intense staring, Zjarr blinked and allowed Bucky to rub between his eye ridges, careful not to dislodge the kitty headband.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Tony’s eyebrow ticked up as he stared at Zjarr in fascination. “That is clearly a dragon wearing a cat ear headband.”
“N-no! It’s not,” Darcy stuttered, a high-pitched giggle escaping her. “It’s a cat! See!” Darcy scooped up Zjarr and hugged him to her chest. Zjarr looked up at his laird, gauging her nervous energy, before turning his dark eyes to Tony. Zjarr’s pupils constricted to thin lines as the drake hissed at the inventor, a small tongue of flame escaping.
Darcy watched the flame spurt out of Zjarr’s mouth numbly, her smile fixed to her face in shock as she looked back at the genius. Silence stretched for a long, uncomfortable moment before Bucky’s voice rumbled, “Yep. It’s a cat, alright.”
Darcy nearly bit her tongue in half at the deadpan delivery and Tony spluttered in disbelief. “You can’t seriously-” the billionaire started, running a oil-covered hand over his hair. Darcy winced a bit in disgust and froze as the man’s wild eyes met her own. “It just breathed fire!”
Darcy looked from Tony to Zjarr, who had the smuggest look on his face imaginable, and back to Tony again. “...It’s a very rare breed?” she offered quietly, and this time Jane couldn’t hold back a snicker.
Tony simply glared at Darcy, switching his gaze to Bucky as the man stepped up to Darcy’s shoulder, presenting a united front. Tony’s eyes narrowed, and Darcy nearly caved, before the man flicked his eyes to the ceiling.
“JARVIS!” Tony called, and Darcy tensed, arms flexing around Zjarr as he gave an unhappy whine. She nearly flinched again when she felt a cold metal hand grip her right shoulder gently, offering silent support. Darcy didn’t know where Barnes had been for the past month and a half, but having him here was a godsend for her nerves.
“Yes, Sir?” JARVIS asked promptly, and Tony turned to Darcy with a smug look on his face.
“Could you tell me what that...creature is in Lewis’ arms please?” Tony demanded, and Darcy sighed in defeat.
JARVIS was silent for a moment before the AI replied, “I believe Miss Lewis said it was a cat. A rare breed, I do recall her saying.”
Tony’s entire face fell and Darcy couldn’t contain her hysterics any longer, doubling over with tears in her eyes. Tony immediately began whining at his AI as he hightailed it from Jane’s lab. Darcy loosened her grip on Zjarr, and the drake scampered up her arm to drape around her neck, pressing his head into Bucky’s metal hand demandingly. Immediately complying with the drake’s wishes, Bucky began scratching the drake under the chin as Darcy got a hold of herself. Plucking the cat ears off of Zjarr’s head, Bucky offered them to Darcy who took them with a smile.
“Thank you for your help, Sergeant Barnes,” Darcy smiled, rubbing her hand along Zjarr’s tail. “I don’t think I could’ve done that without you.”
“It’s Bucky, Miss,” the man replied quickly, a small smile tilting at the corner of his lips as his eyes met and dropped from hers quickly. “And it was no trouble. I couldn’t let Tony get mad at this little gem, now could I?”
Zjarr preened under the attention, puffing up his chest and exhaling another tiny spurt of flame. Darcy sighed as it nearly caught her beanie aflame. “Please, call me Darcy,” she asked, dragging the drake off of her shoulders and depositing him back on her desk. “I have a feeling that I’m going to need all the help I can get with this little fire-starter.”
The tiny smile on Bucky’s lips stretched into something fragile and beautiful, bringing a brightness to his eyes and banishing some of the lingering shadows. “Believe me, Darcy, it would be an honor.”