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Unlike a lot of people, Darcy knew exactly who her Soulmate was. It wasn’t an introduction, per say—no “Hello, my name is” for her—but there was only one person she could imagine ever saying those words.
She only sought him out once. She was an oh-so-mature fifteen, and she’d had a fight with her parents. In her infinite wisdom, she decided to run away and start her “happily ever after” with her Soulmate.
He wasn’t hard to track down, of course, but she was surprised that he was in the next town over. She’d expected him to be farther away; but, since he was so close, she’d be able to get there for the science convention he was speaking at.
She made it there just before it finished and joined the line of people who wanted to talk to him. She was near the front of the line when she suddenly knew that it wasn’t time. She remembered what she’d somehow overlooked: that her Words did not, in any way, shape, or form, match this situation.
It was too soon.
She was too young, and he wasn’t ready.
She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did—and so she stepped out of line.
What Darcy wasn’t expecting was for him to notice her then. He was clearly surprised that she was leaving, if the way his eyebrows shot up was any indication. She shrugged, smiled a bit ruefully, and winked at him before leaving.
She thought about it again when she finally graduated high school, but it still… didn’t feel right. It was just—he was a genius, with who knew how many degrees, and… Well, with the age difference and everything… she didn’t want them to be any more unequal than they already were. It might not be much, but she’d like to have at least some college under her belt before she went looking for him again.
So, she went about her life. She kept an eye on what her Soulmate was doing, but her only nod to his identity was in the classes she signed up for freshman year. Namely, All Of The Science Classes.
By the time she actually remembered how much she hated science, it was too late to change her mind. She suffered through it and vowed never to let her Soulmate influence her decisions again.
It was interesting, sometimes, watching the pieces come together. She’d been beyond excited when Apple came out with the iPod, even if her parents did refuse to buy one for her. (She mostly understood. They just… didn’t want her to meet him while she was still in high school. But, really, was that any reason to deprive her of super-portable tunes?)
They’d given one to her as a graduation present, though, which was much appreciated.
She found it slightly ironic that the jack-booted thugs “confiscated” it just a week before the next piece slid into place.
It was exciting, knowing that it was coming, that she would meet him soon. Soon… but not yet.
And anyway, if the rumors were to be believed, it wasn’t really the best time for a Soulmate to show up in his life. (Was it weird that she actually kinda shipped it? ‘Cause, on the one hand, he was her Soulmate… but on the other hand, she totally shipped it. It left her on a seesaw between “I hope it works out!” (because OTP) and “I hope they break up before I meet him!” (because Soulmates). Mostly, she hoped they went amicably from OTP to BroTP. Darcy was not a fan of angst, and all other options sounded pretty angst-ridden.)
In spite of herself, Darcy was surprised when she finally met him.
She’d been fully prepared when Thor brought her and Jane to New York… but after the first month or so without seeing the man, she’d stopped expecting it.
Which was why she was shocked into staring dumbly when Tony Stark practically stormed into Jane’s lab saying, “Hey, you, with the iPod! Yes, you! No Apple products allowed in my tower. Stark tech only.”
After a few moments, she shook her head, grinned, and said, “You might be my Soulmate, but Thor will always be my favorite.”
“Have I met you before? It’s been driving me nuts since I saw your file.”
“I winked at you when I was fifteen.”
“I remember you! You’re the girl who left that meet’n’greet!”
“Yep, that was me. Now, can we talk about this whole ‘Stark tech only’ thing? Because—hey! You can’t just grab things like that!”
“This isn’t even a new iPod!”
“It has sentimental value!”
“So put it on a shelf, along with all your other antiques. I’ll build something better for you to actually use.”
“You know, you can be kind of a jerk.”
“Yeah, but apparently I’m your jerk.”
“...yeah, you are.”