#astroshock

The wind is howling past them, the train moving too quickly, and Darcy has one arm on the loose train door and the other in Jane’s hand. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They were supposed to win the war and go home together. They were supposed to beat HYDRA and Hitler and know that they did everything they could to make the world just a little less terrible, or maybe a little more survivable. 

Darcy is terrified, and it’s a horrifying thing to see, because she was always the stronger of the two, always the one who laughed when things got tough, who chose to grin instead of wallow, who knocked her on the chin and said, “Cheer up, Janey.” She was the strong one, damn it. Not Jane. Jane was always the one being pulled up, the one holding onto Darcy’s hand as she ran headfirst into life, making it bow to her whims. But here they are, in the middle of the snowy mountains, in a country that isn’t theirs, fighting to hold onto the only person they’ve got left. 

The team is on the train; they’re further up, doing what they can. And Jane cares about them, she does. They’re her brothers; war’s bonded them in ways that can’t be broken. But Darcy isn’t just her sister, she’s her everything. She’s her best friend and her soul and the very heart of her. She’s the only person that ever looked at her and didn’t see someone to pity but someone to befriend. 

“Hold on tight. I’m going to pull you in, okay?” She plants her foot against the wall; if she can just get a good hold...

“The door is coming off,” Darcy shouts, and her voice feels so far away. It’s too far away. “Janey, please. I don’t want to die.” 

And there are tears. Tears stinging her eyes and spilling down her cheeks, and Jane shakes her head, tries to clear her throat and smile like it’s okay, she’s got this. But Darcy is crying and the wind is so loud and the blood on her hand is so slippery. 

It drips to the floor and her boot catches on it. She lurches forward, shoulder slamming, hand slipping, and catches herself against the side of the train with her leg. Darcy’s precarious position falls even further and the door gives a terrible, ominous creak. 

“Don’t let go!” Darcy cries. 

“I won’t! I won’t!”

But she does. 

The door detaches from the train and the extra weight yanks Darcy down so abruptly that it knocks Jane’s grip loose. All she’s left with is a torn sleeve as Darcy tumbles backwards, the echo of her scream answered in Jane’s return cry. 

Arm around Jane’s narrow waist, she continued to hold them upright as they rode the elevator to their floor. “Remind me again why you were drinking in the lab?” 

“Science,” she replied gravely. 

“Usually science is better when you can remember what you did.” Darcy raised an eyebrow back at her. 

“No. I mean... I mean the science... It wasn’t co-oper... co-opera’ing... It was being bad,” Jane said, stomping her foot. 

The elevator doors opened then and they stepped out together, one a little more coordinated than the other, before they started the short trek toward their apartment.

“Okay... And you thought drinking would, what, loosen it up?” 

She shook her head, briefly distracted by Darcy’s hair as she began to pet it. “So soft... Smells so good...” 

“We use the same shampoo.” Darcy came to a stop in front of their door. “C’mon Janey, we’re almost home.” Digging her key card out from her pocket, she stuck it in and waited for the light to flash before she pushed down on the handle and let them in. Kicking off her shoes at the door, she led them down the hall with a stumbling Jane at her hip, glad for the open concept design Tony offered in all the apartments so they didn’t bump into anything. 

Making their way into Jane’s room, Darcy let her to her bed and let her flop down atop the mattress while she unlaced her sneakers and tossed them out of the way. “Okay. Water and Tylenol,” she muttered to herself before slipping away to the bathroom. 

It wasn’t often that Jane drank, and very rarely did she do it alone, so Darcy would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little worried. But trying to get anything out of her when she was drunk wouldn’t get them anywhere, so she’d have to wait for answers in the morning. 

Returning to Jane’s room, she found her flopped over on her back, eyes half-lidded as she hummed a song under her breath. 

“Here. Drink some water before you fall asleep,” she said, holding the glass out as she put the Tylenol on the bed side table. 

Jane managed to push up onto her elbows and accept the glass. She drank nearly half of it before she handed it back a little aggressively and Darcy nearly dropped it. 

“Whoops,” Jane giggled. 

“Uh-huh. Don’t think we aren’t talking about why you felt like getting plastered and didn’t even invite me. Because I’m a good friend, I’ll let you sleep in tomorrow. But as soon as you’re up, we’re going to have a conversation about why sharing is caring and--”

She wasn’t expecting the kiss. She’d thought about it. Hey, when someone has a best friend/boss as pretty and smart and awesome as Jane is, thoughts happen. But she hadn’t expected any of those thoughts to actually manifest. And then Jane’s lips are on hers and they’re as sweet and soft as Darcy had imagined. They’re also fleeting, since she falls back to her bed, snuggles her pillow, and says, “Sleep now.” 

Which effectively ends that moment.