Invisibility and Ice Cream

A Thor fanfic.

Written by Saelryth-Windstalker

~DISCLAIMER~

I do not own, nor do I claim to own, any characters or settings in this fiction. All copyright and credit goes to Marvel. No money is made off of this work.

Chapter 10

After a night of tossing and turning on her couch, Darcy was grumpy and her hair was a mess. She didn't even want to look in a mirror, what was the point of scaring herself with her morning face?
Although maybe there was one person she could scare with it.
Scare? She thought. More like amuse. He'd probably find it the most funny thing about me so far. My dumb face.
She sighed heavily, a half growling sound that expressed her frustration to the stuffed animal at the end of the couch.
"Well?" She asked it. "Show some sympathy, damn you. My bed has been commandeered by an alien."
The thought of Loki as a stereotypical green alien with antenna made her giggle a bit.
"What's so funny?" Asked a male voice right next to her ear. She yelped and jumped off of the couch, scrambling to get away from the possessed cushions.
"Demon couch!" She yelled, eyes wide. She heard a chuckle that morphed into a full blown laugh.
"Demon couch? Surely you haven't forgotten about me, Miss. Lewis." Came the velvety smooth voice of the trickster from the other side of the room. "I'm a bit saddened by your lack of memory. To forget someone such as myself, and so easily?" Loki tsked at her in mock disapproval.

Darcy glared in the direction of the mocking sound. "I didn't forget," She hissed. "I just thought you preferred not to mingle with the mortals." She stood up and plopped into a chair opposite of the couch, crossing her arms and legs, one eyebrow raised and jaw set. She hoped that she looked like the very image of the phrase 'we are not amused.'
Loki yawned audibly, resting his head on one hand that was in the air next to him, supported by the armrest of the couch. He knew she couldn't see it, but perhaps his attitude would exude confidence, indifference and superiority as well as his current pose did.
"Frankly, Miss Lewis, I'm quite bored." He yawned again.
Darcy glanced at a clock on the wall. "Well, you're bored, and if I don't move my carcass, I'll be late to work, so just let me know how that goes for you, hmm?" She said in a sickly sweet tone as she rose and stalked into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her and locking it, before entering the bathroom and beginning her morning routine.

Back in the living room, Loki sighed and crossed his arms. To anyone looking, they would've said he was pouting.
Good thing no one could see him, then.

She dressed for work, walking briskly through her front hallway, stopping in the kitchen to grab a toaster pastry before she headed out. As Darcy opened the door, she looked back into the apartment, though it's not like I'll see anything, she thought.
With a shard of pasty hanging from her mouth like a cigarette, she called back into the house behind her:

"Goodbye, Loki. Don't be here when I get back." And firmly closed the door behind her, stopping to pop in her headphones. It was time to start the day; a clean slate from the outlandish events of the past week or so.
As she made her way to work, her music was blaring in her ears, and the day was warm, so Darcy didn't even notice the cold draft behind her as she walked into the SHIELD building.

"Morning, Darce." A man behind the front desk called. Darcy grunted in annoyance, and pulled out her headphones and put her work bag on the conveyor belt that ran through an x-ray machine.
She started to walk through the human-sized metal detector, but paused to take off her shoes and place them on the conveyor belt as well before stepping in.
The machine whirred and beeped, and Darcy made to step out of the doorway-like structure before the security guard stopped her.

"Hold up, Darcy. Something on my screen." He called from the other side of the security desk.
"Like what?" Darcy called, her curiosity rising.
"I'm honestly not sure. The detector says you're clean, but...when you stepped in, for a split second, I saw another heat signature behind you." The guard looked at his screen, clicking away, replaying the footage, completely puzzled.
"Really." Darcy said through slightly gritted teeth. There could only be one explanation...
"Yeah, but-" The guard stood up straight and lifted his hat to scratch his head. "I guess I was just seeing things. Maybe a glitch or something, 'cause there's nothing on the playback."

Darcy mentally heaved a sigh of relief and simultaneously mentally glared in all directions, and hoped he could feel her death glare through the back of her head. She imagined him, innocently gazing around and shrugging as if he'd done nothing wrong. She rolled her eyes.
"You can come on through. You're good." The guard beckoned her with his hand.
Darcy grinned. "As usual!" she said cheerily, trying to hide the fact that an invisible, wanted alien was behind her in a top-secret government facility.
She walked down the hall to her old cubicle, humming as she went, but stopped in her tracks when she saw the empty space. Everything personal was gone, and even the computer was nowhere to be found. Instead, all that was in the cubicle was an envelope addressed to her.
Brow furrowed, Darcy walked into the empty square and picked the letter up, ripped it open, and began to read.

'Miss Lewis,

I have taken the time to discuss your employment with Mr. Stark. You will be happy to know that we have reached an agreement. You will no longer be a SHIELD employee, strictly speaking, but rather, the liaison between Stark Industries and SHIELD. While Mr. Stark is away, you will handle all communications to and from SHIELD and Stark Industries, specifically Mr. Tony Stark.
Your work will still be classified, however, your security clearance will be higher, and you will have access to top-notch security programs to make sure that communications from SHIELD and Stark Industries, particularly where Mr. Stark is directly concerned, are properly encrypted and safeguarded for secrecy.
You will also be in charge of proofreading and filing reports for one Dr. Foster, who has requested that you remain her personal assistant. You will be on call for Dr. Foster during regular work hours, should she need you.
Please be aware that we have moved your things into a small office, room 113-TA. Your official title is 'Stark Liaison,' as requested by Mr. Stark. With this new title comes a pay raise, as well as an office, and more responsibility than you previously have handled. We expect you to finish any and all training on time and with top marks.
You will be on loan to SHIELD as Liaison until Mr. Stark requests your presence in other areas, should that occur. You will be expected to commute to the Stark Industries building in New Mexico twice a week, where you will work on your primary employer's side of business. The other three, you will return to the SHIELD base, and resume your duties as liaison.
We expect great things from you, Miss Lewis.

Cordially,
Agent Coulson'

Darcy could've squealed in happiness, but remained quiet out of respect for the other workers, tucked away in their own little cubes of monotony.
She left the cubicle corral and headed to office 113-TA, and was happy to see her name engraved on a modest little plaque on the door, and underneath, another plaque that said "Stark Liaison."

Opening the door, she peeked inside, to see all of her personal things neatly arranged on a larger desk, and her computer turned on and ready to go. Two chairs sat opposite of the desk, modern furniture that was both stylish and modest, to save on cost. Only big wigs got the really, really nice chairs.
Darcy stepped inside, shrugging off her bag and hanging it on a hook she spotted beside the door, and went to close it behind her, but was stopped by the sound of a muffled "Oof!" And swung the door back open, not even bothering to look behind her.
Loki swept into the room, a bit ruffled that she had closed the door partially on him, and gracefully sat in one of the chairs, spreading his long legs out in front of himself comfortably.
Again, Darcy shut the door, but this time, she was able to close it all the way. Loki heard her take a deep breath and then watched her turn around, hands joined in front of her face as if she was praying, eyes closed, the very picture of exasperation.
"I cannot believe," Darcy ground out slowly, "That you followed me to work." She opened her eyes and looked towards the one chair that had a slight depression in the cushion.
"I told you I was bored." Loki replied uninterestedly.
"Yeah?" Darcy sat behind her desk, and swiveled around in her chair to face the computer to log on and clock in. "And you'll be more bored here. There's nothing to do but work, and that's why I'm here. So now you're stuck here until I get to go home. Congratulations, in your quest for boredom busters, you just gave yourself first prize in doing the exact freaking opposite."
Loki chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to say that, Miss Lewis. I'm hardly stuck."
Darcy turned towards the voice, mouth open and ready to ask what he meant, when a knock came at the door.
"Miss Lewis?" A lady asked from the other side. "Agent Coulson sent me. He'd like to see you for a briefing, please."
"Just a second!" Darcy called, before locking her computer so that Loki couldn't snoop at will while she was away. "Behave." She hissed, and walked out of her office, shutting the door behind her.
"Hello!" She greeted the lady in the pencil skirt and heels, who smiled back at her and exchanged greetings. They made to walk away from the office, making small talk, but Darcy suddenly felt cold. Oh no. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach.
"Will you give me a sec, please?" Darcy asked sheepishly. "I forgot my bag. I'm not sure if Agent Coulson will want me to take notes."
"Of course, feel free." The other woman responded, smiling. She paused in the hallway and waited for Darcy to scurry back to the small office and duck inside.

"Loki?!" Darcy whispered frantically into the small space, while grabbing her bag. She stared at the cushions on the chairs, only to see no depression. That could only mean... She swallowed heavily and exited the room, closing the door behind her.
"Alright, all set!" She said cheerily, but on the inside, Darcy was screaming.
Loki was loose in a top-secret government facility.

And what was worse, he was invisible. And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Oh. My. God.
I know, I know, a chapter after what, three years? It's awful, and I'm sorry. I kind of lost steam with writing, because life just. Happened.
It's a short chapter, too, because I'm dipping my toes back in, and also because I go to work at 5am every morning. It's 7:23 pm right now, so...bed time soon.
Also, after, what, five years? I've learned how to get single line breaks on this format, hallelujah! I always wondered why my documents were single line breaks, but when you upload them they're double line breaks.
Anyhow. I hope this chapter was good. Or at least ok? I know my writing style may have changed after all this time, and the way I write isn't as...immature now. Hope that doesn't ruin it for everyone. Still trying to get my grasp of these characters back, because honestly it's been a long time since I watched Thor, or any Marvel superhero movie besides Deadpool. Just kind of superhero'd out, I guess. But still, I want to finish this story because it's fun, and because, on a whim a while ago, I looked up my story, and read through the recent reviews, to see that, my God, some of y'all are still reading and asking for more!
That made me so, so happy! And even though the last review was last year, I still hope that this update will bring smiles to some people. I hope that this chapter was a good one, even though nothing will be worth a three year wait, haha.
I do plan on continuing this, but please be aware that life is very different for me now. I'm working quite a lot, and a lot of my life is devoted to work, so I only have limited time to devote to my myriad of hobbies. That being said, it may be a while before you see another chapter from me, but hopefully it won't be three freaking years! I will absolutely try to write more and get this story completed, because I want to make you guys happy!
Also I'm working on another fic, this one is a GoT one. I may or may not upload it for a while, I'd like to get a few chapters written before I upload it. (Y'all waited long enough for just chapter 10, I wasn't gonna make y'all wait for more chapters, too.)
So yeah. I'm back. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you soon!

Love and hugs,
-Sael :)
ps...if anyone wants to chat, I've got a kik. it's Rocket_Number_Nine
Also there's my tumblr, which you can find the url for in previous chapters. I'd like to hear whatever feedback I can, either through reviews or just chatting. Also, if anyone wants to be my beta?
Sorry for long A/N. I'll shush now, I swear. 3