Work Text:
Kerrigan’s was just two blocks down from SHIELD headquarters in New York City and it was probably Darcy’s favorite spot in the city. She discovered it on her third day in New York.
She and Jane, plus a variety of SHIELD-supplied, slightly-jackbooted lab assistants, had just finished assembling the lab to Jane’s exacting requirements. And it only took them two and a half days. After the forced, if paid, labor, Darcy decided that she deserved the rest of the day off to get caffeinated and possibly tackle the stacks of boxes in her brand-spanking-new, to her anyways, Brooklyn apartment. She shoved a box of pop tarts under Jane’s nose and informed her that she was leaving for the day. Jane, being Jane, just nodded and pushed the pop tarts off the piece of equipment she was calibrating.
Exiting SHIELD HQ meant emerging into the non-stop crazy that was Manhattan streets. Darcy found herself a little overwhelmed by fast moving pedestrians, honking taxis and the generally hectic presence of a busy downtown business sector. She took a moment to survey her surroundings, acclimate, and determine that everything looked basically the same, at least to her; one block much like the next, and there was a Starbucks on every corner. And she did not want generic, burnt-tasting, crap coffee. She needed good coffee. Right then. So, with really no idea where such coffee might be found, Darcy picked a direction to go by picking a pedestrian to follow. The focused redhead in a power suit and bright blue pumps seemed as good a bet as any. She stalked her prey for about a block and a half before she found Kerrigan’s.
Well, she didn’t so much find it as stumble out of the way of a couple of pushy businessmen and into the doorway of the cute little coffee shop, nestled between a laundromat and a modern-looking design firm. The foam-coated latte bowl on the table by the door was her first clue that this was the place for her. The second was the clientele. The redheaded woman she followed was ordering a skinny triple-shot latte, there was a group of what she guessed must be college students in one corner crowded around some textbooks, a couple of middle aged women were knitting and chatting at a table near the window, and a 20-something business casual type guy was seated on a comfy looking couch tapping away at a Macbook. So basically, it was diverse. Not a mob scene for hipsters, or waist deep in stuffy businessmen. It was a cozy little coffee shop that seemed to specialize in chocolate. And that would be Darcy’s third clue. Kerrigan’s was perfect for her.
Darcy stopped in Kerrigan’s at least once a day, usually twice. She came in so frequently that Jack, the cute little barista boy, knew her name and usual order, Mexican mocha, big and extra sweet. So it wasn’t unusual for her to saunter in mid-morning.
It was unusual for her to be towing a large blond guy behind her.
Darcy dropped Steve’s hand when they reached the counter. “Hey Jack, I’ll have the usual, and for here please.”
Jack nodded, “One extra sweet Mexi-mocha in a latte bowl.” He scratched some abbreviations on a piece of receipt scrap and curiously looked up at Steve, “And you?”
Steve blushed slightly as he looked from Darcy to Jack to the cramped chalkboard, full of long and creatively named coffee beverages, behind the counter, “I... Uh, I’ve never... There are so many... What is... Um, coffee? Please?”
Darcy laughed and slapped him on the back, “You act like you’ve never been in a coffee shop before! You just want coffee? Nothing fancy? They have all the amazing caffeine here. Seriously all of it.” She nodded at Jack who grinned back at her.
Steve nodded slowly as he stared wide eyed at the board, “Just.... coffee please.”
Darcy snorted softly through her nose, “Ok then, Jack, a coffee for the big guy. Steve you want room for cream?”
Steve was still looking slightly flustered, but his blush had faded, “Sure.”
Jack nodded and filled a mug with black coffee from the house blend coffee brewer within easy reach of the register. “Ok, that will be $7.25” He looked expectantly at Steve and Darcy.
Steve goggled back at Jack, “$7.25? For two cups of coffee?”
Darcy laughed, “Did you just transfer in or something? Trust me, for the caffeine we are getting $7.25 is not bad at all.” She dug around in her giant canvas satchel bag for her wallet. When she eventually found it, under her paper back and stainless steel water bottle, she made a small cry of triumph and started looking for the appropriate capital to hand Jack.
Steve, having recovered from his glimpse into the black hole that is Darcy’s bag, placed a hand over hers and her wallet, “I said I’d pay, remember?” He pulled his own neatly organized wallet out of the back pocket of his slacks.
“Actually, you didn’t. I said you’d pay.” She shook off his hand and passed Jack a ten. “And since I dragged you out of the building, down two city blocks, and apparently way out of your comfort zone, I got this.”
Steve stared at her, then his wallet, then her, then put his wallet away, “Ok.”
Darcy patted him on the shoulder, “Yes, it is ok.” She grabbed his coffee and lead the way to her favorite table. It was located in the little window nook created by the recessed doorway - she loved how it gave her almost twice as much window to people watch through. “Have a seat, Steve.” She set his mug on the table and grabbed the chair against the not window wall. She could watch both the pedestrians on the sidewalk and the coffee shop patrons from there, and it was the where she always sat. Well, when it was free. Which was most times. Which she would have found odd if she had paused to consider it, as this seat was the best seat. Somewhere, way back in her mind, she had a niggling of a suspicion that Jack somehow kept it free for her with his mad awesome barista skills, somehow. He was magic. And they had that kind of awesome customer-coffee purveyor relationship. They had bonded over his cute nose ring and her awesome taste in caffeine.
Steve looked at the small space and chose the chair with its back to the room, the one requiring the least amount of maneuvering into.
They sat in silence while Darcy waited for her Mexican Mocha. He stared at her, the interior of the coffee shop, occasionally Jack, and the chalkboard menu. Darcy stared at him. God he was attractive. Great build, great face, seriously great eyes. His lashes were longer than any guy’s had any right to be. And he was sitting with perfect posture in the straight-back, salvaged, oh-so-shabby-chic, chair. Yeah, definitely hot. And kinda stiff, like he was uncomfortable or something. Weird guy. Darcy couldn’t wait to find out more about him.
A couple minutes later, Jack showed up at their table with a latte bowl full of delicious light brown foamy goodness sprinkled with chocolate powder and spices. It wasn’t really typical for a barista to deliver drinks to a table, but Jack gave Darcy special attention. She sighed happily, “Thanks Jack.” She took a long sip of her tasty caffeinated beverage and moaned softly from pure enjoyment, “Oh, that’s the stuff.”
Steve stared at her, slightly wide-eyed. “So, it’s good then?”
Darcy grinned, “The best. How’s your coffee? Did you want to add cream to that?”
He took a sip of his drink and his eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. “Wow, this is really good.”
“Right?!” Darcy slapped the table lightly, “Kerrigan’s is seriously the best coffee on the island. Totally worth the cash.” She took another long and moan-inducing sip of her mocha. “So, cream?”
Steve shrugged, “It’s good as it is.”
Darcy nodded, “Well, ok then.”
And they lapsed into silence occasionally punctuated by Darcy’s soft sounds of coffee-inspired pleasure.
Eventually, about halfway through her latte bowl, the companionable quiet got to be too much for Darcy, “So.... Steve. What do you do for SHIELD?” She said “SHIELD” with extra spooky emphasis. Because, well, it deserved it.
For a moment Steve looked vaguely uncomfortable, but he answered, “Well, I was a captain in the army before I was recruited by Colonel Fury. Now I’m.... Kind of a jack-of-all-trades, tactical response, reconnaissance, combat...”
Darcy nodded as he trailed off, “Ok, so soldier-type stuff.”
Steve shrugged, like that about summed it up.
Darcy tapped her fingernails on the table and stared at Steve with a slightly perturbed expression. She didn’t know what kind of answer she had been expecting, but she definitely expected something a little more interesting. She had this feeling that under the khaki and starch he was a really fascinating guy. “Well, what do you do outside of SHIELD?”
He stared at her blankly, looking more than a little uncomfortable, possibly because of the face she was making at him, “Um, what do you mean?”
Darcy stopped tapping her nails and dropped her hand on the table with a thud. She couldn’t tell if he was being intentionally obtuse or if he was just a little simple. She was leaning towards the latter. “What do you do for fun? You know, when you aren’t soldiering?”
Steve blinked and leaned back in his chair, he looked surprised by the question, like no one had ever asked about his personal life before. “Oh. Huh. I read a lot when I am off duty.”
Darcy nodded eagerly. Now they were getting somewhere. “Really? What do you read?”
She believed that you could tell a lot about a person by the books they liked. For example, her last boyfriend had read nothing but... well, really nothing but sports magazines. He wasn’t much of a boyfriend, which totally supported her theory. And yeah, they hadn’t lasted long.
Steve looked up like he was trying to remember what books he had on his bedside table. He was cute when he was thinking hard. “Mostly recent history and current events stuff.”
Darcy leaned back in her chair, “Oh.” Well, at least he was reading serious grown-up books, even if they were a little bit dry for her taste.
“And the occasional pulp fiction.” He added before she could get much further in her musings on his very serious taste in books.
Darcy blinked, “Pulp fiction? Like old sci fi books?” She leaned forward with her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands. Now they were getting somewhere.
Steve blushed and shifted in his chair, “Uh, well, yes, but I actually prefer detective stories.” She couldn’t figure out why this caused him to blush. He was kind of adorable.
“Oh, like Dick Tracy?” She wasn’t really all that familiar with old pulp fiction. Just about everything Darcy read could be found on a college lit reading list, with the occasional exception of really bad romance novels. But she saved those for when she was feeling particularly low. Or horny. Or for Tuesdays. Tuesdays were for smut.
Steve actually laughed, it was short and soft, but adorable. “No, Dick Tracy is actually a comic strip.”
It was Darcy’s turn to blush. But only slightly, she hoped. And she recovered quickly, she thought. “Yeah, I don’t know much about pulp fiction. Obviously. So, what are some of your favorites?”
Steve leaned back in his chair and wrapped his hands around his coffee mug, “Well. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett, is one of my favorites. I also like just about anything by Carroll John Daly or Raymond Chandler.” He was grinning while he listed off works he liked and she couldn’t help but think about how young he looked when he relaxed and smiled. He didn’t seem much older than Darcy now. But when she first met him she had pegged him as a 30-something. Must be the soldiery job stress. He obviously needed to relax more.
“The onIy one of those I recognized was The Maltese Falcon, and I think that’s just because they made it into a movie at some point. I will have to google some these guys when I get home.” Darcy grinned and licked some of the foam residue off the inside of her latte bowl. Yay sugar.
Steve nodded, still grinning, “You should, they are great.”
Darcy nodded, “I will. Maybe you could-”
She was going to asked him to recommend a specific book she could pick up after work, at the funky little used bookstore down the street from her apartment, but Steve’s phone started beeping, loudly. He pulled it out and frowned at the screen. “I’ve got to go. Work. Thanks for the coffee.” And he was out of his chair and out the door before Darcy even had a chance to say goodbye.
“Huh.” Darcy stared at his half-finished coffee and then out the window. Steve was a little bit adorable. She kind of hoped she would see him again. He would probably have to come by the labs again to visit Dr. B, as their appointment for today was apparently canceled. Darcy looked down at her latte bowl, she was getting down to the sugary foamy awesomeness that is the last couple of sips of one of Jack’s Mexi-Mochas. Why was he meeting with Dr. B anyways? He said he was a soldier-type, which meant he was an agent, basically a jack-booted thug. They didn’t tend to mix well with the mad scientist-types. It was a mystery. Darcy snorted as she remembered Steve talking about his detective stories. She would totally have to look some of those up.
Three sips and her coffee was gone. She bussed both mugs to the plastic bin under the cream and sugar station. “Thanks Jack!” She waved as she marched out the door. It was time to get back to the lab. Where the science happened.