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Darcy stared out the window of Tony's penthouse with her arms wrapped tightly around her waist anxiously waiting for the others to return. From what she could interpret from Tony's hushed mumblings, Loki had broken one of his promises to her after they started seeing one another.
The one thing Darcy hated more than anything else in the world was a broken promise. Promises were made between friends, and broken promises existed between those who were strangers.
She couldn't stop her mind from jumping to the worst-case scenario. The others would return carrying Loki's limp body, and she would mourn the loss of someone she used to love. The more thought she gave to it, the better that scenario looked to her. It would be easier to mourn Loki's life than to realize that he was no longer the man she fell in love with.
"Six months," Darcy tsked, shaking her head as she sighed. It felt as though all that time had been wasted on someone whom she hardly knew, and she only knew the facade that Loki had let her get to know. Six months of what she thought to be open communication and getting to know one another personally were all gone in the blink of an eye.
Behind her, the sound of the elevator chimed, signaling her that someone had returned and was now coming down from the roof. With a heavy heart, Darcy turned on her heels just as the door slid open revealing Tony and Thor with Loki standing between them in cuffs.
A jab of pain radiated through her body as though someone had just ripped her heart out and was offering it to her in their hands. She closed her eyes and scrubbed her hands over her face.
"I wasn't expecting you to be here," Tony said, his voice cold as they walked towards her.
"I wanted to see the truth for what it was," Darcy replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I needed to see the fact that he had been lying to me for the last six months."
Tony motioned for Thor to take Loki to the lab, where a holding cell was waiting for him. "I'll be there in a minute. Your handprint will open the cell," he said, stopping beside Darcy. He looked her over and let out a sigh before turning his attention to follow Thor leading his brother out of the room.
"I just can't believe it," Darcy whispered, shaking her head. "I swear, he was starting to come around and becoming more trusting. At least, I thought he was."
Tony reached a hand out to Darcy's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Just be happy that you were here and not on the scene."
Darcy turned to look at him, furrowing her brow. "How many people did he kill this time?"
"Don't let that destroy your memory of him," Tony replied calmly. "Deep down, he is still the Loki you fell in love with."
"I don't even recognize the shell of a man that just walked past me," Darcy scoffed, shaking her head. "He really had me fooled."
Tony watched her for a few moments, carefully taking note of her body language. He wanted to offer her a hug, but at the same time, he was afraid of being elbowed in the chest for being touched. After a few more minutes, he watched as she stepped away from him and moved back toward the window where she could stare out at the city.
"Do you want to go and talk to him?" Tony asked, remaining where she had left him. The only response he was given was a quick nod of her head. "Alright, let's go."
Darcy spun on her heels quickly and followed after Tony as he led her down the hallway on the far side of the penthouse. About halfway down, he stopped and placed his hand on one of the sensors. A few chirps and bells ringing later, the door in front of them slid open, revealing a prison cell in the middle of the room. Loki was sitting on the cot on the far side of the cell.
Thor pushed himself off the wall and walked over to join Tony and Darcy at the door. He reached out and wrapped Darcy's small body up in his arms and pulled her to his chest, patting her back gently.
"We'll be down the hall if you need anything," Tony said, patting her on her shoulder as Thor let her go and moved to stand beside her. He pointed to a large red button on the wall. "Just press this button to signal us."
"Thanks," she said, nodding her head as she took a few steps inside the room, never taking her eyes off Loki as the door closed behind her. She could hear a series of beeps and chirps, signaling the locks Tony's hand had released sliding back into place. "Do you have anything to say to me?"
Loki looked up at her, furrowing his brow as he pushed himself up from the cot. "I know not what to say at a time like this," he replied, moving to stand directly across from her with only the bars of his cell between them.
"That's funny," Darcy said, offering a half-hearted smile, "usually you know exactly what to say to make me smile or swoon."
"I'm not here to make you smile," Loki stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "I am here to serve my sentence."
"You promised me forever," Darcy said, blinking her eyes furiously in a desperate attempt to stop the tears from rolling down her cheek. She studied his face as she waited for an answer, but the man standing in front of her wasn't the man she had fallen in love with; he was a stranger.
"I promised you no such thing," Loki replied, turning on his heel to walk back to the cot at the far side of his cell. He shook his head as he took a seat. "I will return to Asgard with Thor to await trial and spend the rest of my days in the Asgardian Dungeons."
"Wow," Darcy said, shaking her head as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "So you aren't even going to fight to stay with me."
"Darcy," Loki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a heavy sigh. "There is no use in fighting a battle I will never win, and my fate has been set in stone."
Darcy turned on her heel and made her way over to the door, placing her hand on the sensors. The same beeps and chirps echoed through the room as her tears started rolling freely down her cheek. After a few moments, the door slid open, and she made her way outside quickly, and she couldn't cry in front of him.
She heard the door close on the other side of the door, and she collapsed to her knees in the middle of the hallway, tears streaming down her face. Unbeknownst to Darcy, Jane had been waiting outside of the room for her to emerge. Jane took a seat on the floor beside Darcy, lifting Darcy's head into her lap as she rubbed a hand up and down her friend's back.
"That's not the man I fell in love with," Darcy managed to say between gut-wrenching sobs.
"I know," Jane replied, shaking her head as she leaned forward to wrap her arms around Darcy's shoulders, protecting her from the world around her.