Ben Wolf (agoodman) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-09-14 23:49:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | darcy lewis, door: marvel comics, thor |
Who: Ben/Archie --> Thor/Darcy
What: The first time through the door
Where: Passages, then New Mexico
When: Backdated.
Warnings/Rating: Nope.
When the journal and key had first arrived, Archie had thought it was all just a weird hoax, kind of like those fake keys that car dealerships send when they want to try and sucker you into something.
For two days the items had set on his kitchen counter, almost a world away from the return address, and stared him down. They weren’t super imposing -- the journal was sparkly and the key had a little ‘dookie’ cover on it for christs sakes -- even so, Arch had felt a weird apprehension every time he’d walk by them. It was like something calling out to him from inside his own head.
The two days had been like a hundred pound weight on Archie’s shoulders that had lifted as soon as he’d packed himself up and headed back to his hometown.
Since the feeling was gone, Arch hardly thought another thing about the objects that had brought him back home. He visited his sister, his parents, he’d gotten an apartment and even met up with his agent who drove in from Tuscan. A week later, the journal made itself known at Archie’s bedside and he couldn’t resist the curiosity and urge to figure out why it had been sent.
That opened a whole other can of worms that Arch was still trying to get through. What with the other people who had the same problems he did (which was crazy in and of itself) then with Tiffani and that almost-too-good-to-be-true coincidence and proceeding reunion. It was all just too much for Archie to take in at one time.
Then Darcy wiggled around and somehow took hold of his body. She’d made a bit of a ruckus, which was appearing to be just her style, but she’d actually made a little bit of progress in letting Archie figure some of his problems out so, all in all it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She was still really freaking annoying and wouldn’t shut up until Archie’d picked up the strange key and headed for the door.
The drive was short, just a few miles from Archie’s apartment, but the whole way had seemed to take forever. Archie was nervous, he didn’t like the lurching gap of the unknown that stretched out endlessly in front of him. He wasn’t used to not knowing what was going to happen, hadn’t been for a few years and in all reality, Archie had moved out of his adventurous stage. At least enough to settle down in Ireland, but it would have been hard for him to travel and write so he kind of didn’t have a choice in the matter. Or something. The point was, Archie was nervous and he didn’t like it.
The address was to that of exactly what it had said, Passages Hotel. Of course Archie’d heard of it. It had been around for decades before he’d even been born and it was quite the tourist attraction. Arch had never seen it before, however, and was caught off guard by just how magnificent it was, despite its age. It was hard for Archie to pull himself away from the view of it to try and open the front gate. It required a small bit of heaving, but he got in alright, after parking his car in a nondescript location right outside the hotel.
Stepping into the front foyer felt like stepping back in time, Archie thought as he made his way through the double doors and into the lobby. The reading rooms on the first floor were plush and even though everything looked its age, it also felt very homely and comfortable. He’d assumed the empty, quiet hotel would have been super eerie and creepy, but it felt just as if he was a late coming customer there for the night.
It took a moment for Arch to shake the feeling before he could convince himself to wander upstairs. He just hoped he’d find what he was looking for quickly, the suspense was killing him.
The note from Lizzy had been strange enough, the words clipped, but the message precise. She had to spend some time out of town with her little sister, something to do with her mother that hadn't been explained. She'd be back as soon as she could, she'd miss him, and hoped everything went well with Loki on his side of the door.
Odd as it was, there were so many other things in his life that were just as strange that he couldn't stop to get hung up on it. He grabbed a bit to eat, his cell phone, and left a message with the doorman that a young lady might come by the apartment by the name of Justine Sorenson. She was to be let in if she arrived.
That taken care of, he headed back to the hotel. Thor needed to check on his brother, and check on the status of the kvidr members to see who they were still waiting on. As soon as the panel was assembled, they could begin Loki's trial and the sooner that was completed, the sooner that Ben could rest easy.
His key warm in his hand, he stepped out of the building and walked towards the hotel. It was only a few blocks and even with the heat, he preferred the walk to taking a cab. Driving was out of the question since he had no car, and Lizzy's was gone from the space. Whistling softly under his breath, he took note of the car already parked in front of the hotel -- not an unusual occurrence -- but it always piqued his interest to think of who he might meet here. Perhaps not anyone.
The hotel was becoming more and more familiar, and the less he really looked at the old girl before he entered the main door and headed upstairs. He only got a few steps before he saw someone there and grinned. "Hey."
Intrigued just as must as he was mystified by the hotel that had drawn him all the way from his cottage in Ireland, Archie couldn’t bring himself to hear the creak of the stairs just yet. He was fascinated beyond belief with the architecture and magnificence of the building itself. There was no short in rooms to meander through on the bottom floor and Archie was just unsure of himself enough to go through each and every one of them.
Having no time table since Tiffani had gone out earlier that day, Arch was content in wandering before he took the final leap into the unknown. Darcy was fighting him on it, but she fought him on just about everything (eating breakfast was such a chore in and of itself, Archie was ready to boycott the meal entirely) so it was kind of par for the course. She was practically the opposite of him in every way possible, it was a given that they would disagree on everything. So when Archie felt apprehensive, Darce felt adventurous -- she had been given the reigns earlier that week, however, so she was pretty passive for the most part. Kind of.
Either way it didn’t matter because Archie was practically terrified of what was going to be behind the door, of what would become of him, etcetera etcetera so he was going to take all the time he damn well pleased. That thought firmly in place, Archie continued on his surveillance of the hotel ground floor, but it was all too soon that the combination of his own curiosity and Darcy’s nagging drove him to practically running to the stairs. Heaving a calming breath, Archie began his ascent slowly.
Making it about halfway up, Archie turned to the sound of the main door opening. Wide eyed, the man waited in his position as another man began climbing the stairs. Archie couldn’t speak for a moment, a bit flabbergasted at finding someone else there, as the other man spoke to him, giving a pleasant greeting.
“Uh, hello.” Arch managed to choke out dryly as he stood still a few steps above the man.
That wide eyed look wasn't one that he'd expect anyone dangerous to be wearing. Though appearances could be deceiving, he didn't give off that feeling that Mike and Gary had taught him to listen to and that, more than anything, was what kept Ben talking and looking a little more closely at the other man.
Pretty blue eyes were the most noticeable feature, a little bright but it was the look on the man's face -- "First time?" He asked, smiling as he paused on the stairs. Ben didn't think he'd ever worn that look, not even the first time he came here. By then, Thor was an old friend and he'd been nearly as excited to cross the threshold as the Asgardian had been. The memory brought a smile to his face as he offered his hand out to the other man on the stairs.
"I'm Ben. You'd think with all the people using these, you'd meet more people while you were here, but you don't always." Including this encounter, this was the third time he'd met someone here, but the first time had been when Felicia was waiting for him, the second when Loki's counterpart texted him to let him know his brother was going through the door. It wasn't quite the same thing as a random encounter.
After his initial shock of meeting another person at the seemingly deserted hotel, Archie took a quick, deep breath to soothe his frazzled nerves. He wasn’t usually such an anxious person, he didn’t jump at the faintest sounds, didn’t panic, nothing could normally send him into such a heightened state of over-awareness. Everything had just been so insane in his life recently, however, and Arch wasn’t quite used to that either. Between the voice in his head, moving back to Vegas, Tiffani, and now this door ordeal -- it was all starting to wear the man down a bit.
Letting down his guard was easy, Archie wasn’t the type to automatically suspect the worst from his peers, but the man didn’t look like any trouble, especially as he smiled nicely and offered his hand. Giving a soft laugh himself, Arch grabbed the back of his neck in embarrassment with one hand while offering his other to accept the shake.
“Yeah, it is my first time here, but I did expect more people, considering how many write in the journal. I got here and didn’t see any though, so I assumed it may just be me or something. I mean I don’t know much about anything to do with this place or whatever.” Archie bit his tongue, realizing that he was ranting a bit (his slight accent becoming more pronounced the quicker he spoke), of which he tended to do when he was nervous -- that or not talk at all. The second wasn’t an option, not only because he was being spoken to by the man, Ben he’d said, but also because Archie felt an odd kinsmanship toward the man. He was in the same-ish predicament and he looked so well acclimated to it, maybe Arch could learn to feel the same?
“I’m Archie, do you come round here much or?”
"Yeah, you'd think this place would be backed, as much as people write on the journals," Ben said with a laugh. His first time here -- had it only been a few months ago? He'd been so impatient to actually get to the door that if he'd met anyone, he thought he might have barreled them over. But by that point, he'd had Thor in his mind for so long that he hadn't been worried about what would happen, strange as it might have been.
It was Ben's turn to rub the back of his neck, almost nervously laughing before he answered the last question. "You could say that, yeah. My guy, he's pretty busy on his side of the door." Usually when Loki was involved, but Thor had Asgard to take care of as well, though Ben knew that the other man was hoping his father would return home soon, so that Thor might return to what he did best and Odin would resume ruling Asgard.
Until then, Thor would do the best he could, but Ben knew how much it wore on him, though he never said anything. "You know who you're sharing with yet?" He questioned, gently. There were some people he knew that didn't know and others still who avoided this place like the plague. They were all as different as the people in their heads.
Darcy was running commentary a mile a minute in the back of Archie’s mind -- ’Damn he’s fine.’, ‘Seriously, he’s good looking, but we should get this show on the road.’, ‘Archiiiie!’ -- but Arch tried his best to shove her back just a bit more, trying to think over the dull roar. He hoped and prayed that she would keep it down when he let her through the door, it’d be worth it to come here a few days out of the week just to get her to shut the hell up. He told her as much, quietly and with little menace, but she still took on a sulk and, seeing that he wasn’t about to get a move on, decided that she should continue her commentary, though it was specific to the man in front of them now.
Archie cocked his head a bit to the side as Ben said he frequented the hotel. Arch didn’t know exactly who was in Ben’s head, but they seemed to have a lot going for them on their side of the door. He wondered if Darcy had much to do on hers, but he only caught a bit of the conversation she’d had with Jane when Darcy had taken over. There wasn’t anything he could really get from their conversation, but he hadn’t been exactly prying either. It was Darcy’s life, not his, Archie didn’t really want to get overly involved in it, seeing as how it was supposedly in another world... or something.
“I’m kind of hoping the same of this girl, her name’s Darcy Lewis and she’s really quite mouthy. I’m hoping the adventures on her side of the door will exhaust her so I can get some peace.” Archie smiled wide, softening his slightly harsh words, showing he didn’t mean them as such.
For all that Thor's world was supposed to be completely different than his, there wasn't a huge separation between them. They'd gotten beyond the 'letting each other know' stage and could tell when the other one had something important going on that they needed to be there for. Luckily enough, they'd never run into that time where they were both required in their respective worlds. Ben didn't know what would happen then, but if the past was anything to go on, they'd work it out like they always did.
"Oh hell, mate, a girl?" He asked, his accent slipping for a few seconds. Thor knew a Darcy, but what were the chances? And he didn't even know her last name. "I'm glad he's at least got the same equipment," Ben said, low, grinning at Archie's smile. He really did have quite amazing eyes.
"How does that even work? Most of the people I know, they're the same on both sides." His words were decidedly curious, but said lightly enough that the other man could say he didn't want to talk about it and Ben would just as easily change the subject. "And good luck on the peace. But –" he shook his head, still grinning. "I wouldn't give it up for anything."
Darcy’s sulk lasted for all of ten seconds, she wasn’t one to give up very quickly (if at all) and as soon as Archie thought he would get a minute of peace, she was right back at it again. ’Man, this guy could almost give Thor a run for his money, he’s just that damn hot.’ Archie mostly succeeded in keeping his flush of embarrassment at bay, but a light dusting of red rosed his cheeks as Darcy continued to wax poetic about the man. She didn’t normally go on and on about men she found attractive, because she could no doubt feel how uncomfortable it made Archie. He knew she was doing it on purpose at the moment, just to ruffle his feathers. It was working.
Archie had nothing against people who were attracted to their own gender, nothing at all (his younger sister was a lesbian, in fact, and there was absolutely no love lost there). He also couldn’t say he would have a problem with himself if he had previously found himself inclined to be attracted to some of the male persuasion. Previously. As in, some time before he’d turned thirty, at least. But he hadn’t. There wasn’t one man that Archie had met in all of his travels that he had been sexually attracted to.
Sure, he was able to admit when a man looked nice, he wasn’t that kind of guy, but not one had tickled his fancy. So to go from that, to having someone stuck in his head that was almost constantly thinking about men, well it was a real change and Archie wasn’t sure he was adapting quite well. As Darcy rambled on in his head, Archie couldn’t help but actually notice the things she was talking about and then immediately feel completely flustered for sizing the guy up.
Pushing down his internal embarrassment, Archie focused on the man’s words, though he couldn’t help but notice how nice Ben’s smile was as it brightened his face. “Oh yeah, to be honest, it’s quite... weird, to put it lightly.” Archie laughed at the quip about their ‘equipment’ though it did hit a little closer to home than he was completely comfortable with, Archie ignored the jump of nervousness in his stomach, covering himself with a grin.
“She’s very prominent in here,” Archie tapped his temple lightly with the knuckle of his forefinger, “But she’s said that she’d rather ‘not see my junk all the time’ so she kind of knows when to back off for a bit.” Quoting Darcy with his fingers, Arch couldn’t keep the flush from his cheeks that time, but he ignored it in lieu of a question of his own.
“It’s really nice that you get along so well with your guy. Can I ask who he is?” Archie asked with the same hesitance as Ben had asked, not wanting to pry.
Ben almost wondered if that flush was because of what he'd said about their equipment, but Archie seemed to recover fairly well... He wouldn't mention it again though. It was hard enough dealing with a fresh person in one's head, add to that anything that made someone uncomfortable and it was a recipe for disaster.
Besides, Ben didn't like making people uncomfortable and dropped it after that. Though he caught the little gazes Archie made, he didn't focus on them. Thor was used to being looked at, and by now, that same indifference passed on to Ben.
"It's -- ah," Ben laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He'd never been asked that question, not by someone that didn't already know Thor and thus make it easier to answer it. Who believed someone that said they had an Asgardian god in their head? It was a one way ticket to a therapist and Ben had already tried to put himself there once.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he finally said, laughing, and dodged a bit around the question. "So, do you know which door is yours yet?" If Archie pressed, he'd answer, but he didn't want to look even more mad by saying that he had the God of Thunder in his head.
Watching the man in front of him rub the back of his neck, diverting the question, Arch tilted his head slightly to the side in interest. Wouldn’t believe him? Archie severely doubted that, he had a twenty-something year old girl running rampant through his mind, he was quickly growing comfortable with the so called ‘unbelievable’. It wasn’t in him to push, but he wanted to know who was mucking around in Ben’s head that would seem so far-fetched so he decided to risk one more jab, but he’d leave the issue be if Ben deflected again.
“Seriously? I really doubt that. The last few weeks have been filled with things that I would have never believed if they hadn’t actually happened. Try me?” The grin on Arch’s face was amiable as a good natured shrug accompanied his last question, he tried to convey that he wouldn’t push the issue if Ben really didn’t want to tell him. At Ben’s own question however, Archie’s grin upturned into a slight frown. He hadn’t ventured any further up the stairs than he’d gotten when Ben had walked in though his key didn’t have a number attached to it so Arch didn’t really know how he was even going to find ‘his’ door.
“Um, no I actually have no idea. I just got up the guts to start climbing the stairs when you showed up. There’s nothing on my key to tell me where it would be either so I was just gonna wing it.” Arch didn’t know what else to do in the situation, he didn’t really have any other option than to just walk to every door around the floors and check each one.
Ben laughed a little, but acquiesced. "Don't say I didn't try to warn you. Though some things are easier to show rather than to tell." He'd never told anyone face to face who he was that hadn't already met Thor. It was a little weird, but there was no time like the present. "Thor. His name is Thor. And yes, that one. Thunder, Odin, Asgard, Mjolnir." Ben gave another little huff of laughter.
"All of it." He took a step up the stairs and grinned at the other man. "If you want to see, I can show you, but we should find your door first."
There was a moment of bustle in Archie’s mind as Ben laughed and spoke of just who he had in his head. Darcy’s presence practically burst at the seams in excitement, yelling at Arch a mantra of ’That’s him! I know him! Thorrrrr!’ while Archie mimicked Ben’s easy laugh in an attempt to shake off his initial start at Darcy’s internal screams.
“Well, your voice is a bit more far fetched than mine, I’d have to say, but at this point I’m pretty willing to believe anything. A Norse God though, that must be a trip.” Archie spoke with an easy smile, ignoring his own voice as she chattered nonstop. It was slowly just becoming white noise, something Archie could push to the back of his mind without thinking too much about it. His smile grew a shade brighter as Ben began to ascend the stairs and offered to show him Thor in person, which was really quite tempting, but Archie had a hunch that he and Ben were going to the same place anyway.
“I’d rather like that, though I have a feeling that we just might be headed in the same direction.” Rubbing at his temple and trying to persuade Darcy to stop talking, Arch continued, “I think my Darcy has been acquainted with a Thor. God of Thunder, big muscles, brother’s a dick -- her words, not mine let me state. It may be very possible that they’re one in the same, your voice and the Thor that Darcy knows.” Archie palmed the back of his neck as he spoke, hoping that he didn’t sound quite as insane as he thought he did.
"It's... interesting," Ben said with a laugh. That was understating it a bit, but still truthful. He never would have the chance to see Asgard if not for Thor nor Nidavellir, nor had the chance to ever call down lightning. He never would have wielded Mjolnir, nor a hundred other things that he'd learned and seen since he'd had the other man in his head.
The memories made him smile as he took the stairs slowly, matching his pace with Archie's. It had cost much, but now he had Justine back and that was worth almost everything. He was still smiling when the other man mentioned Darcy again, but as soon as he mentioned Thor and Thor's brother, he stopped.
Thor was wide awake. "Darcy? Jane's Darcy?" He remembered her well, small, dark haired and pretty. Could Archie's Darcy be Jane's Darcy as well? And could he be the Thor that she knew? "Come on," he said, taking the stairs two by two suddenly, eager to get to the door.
At Ben’s laugh, Archie couldn’t help the grin that attached itself to his lips. Ben seemed to be a really nice guy, nothing like he’d expected to run into on his new adventures around his home town. There was a sense of ease and calm that pervaded the air in a way that cut through the overall hustle and bustle feel of the city that Arch could feel even behind the doors of the hotel. It was nice, comforting and reminded him of his little cottage in Ireland. It was a really nice revert of pace and Arch wanted to hold to the calmness of mentality while he could.
It was easy, falling into place with Ben as they ascended the stairs, and they meandered a good few feet up the spiral while Archie spoke, but as he mentioned that Darcy might know Thor, Ben stopped stock still. Arch was a step ahead when he realized and he turned with a hesitant questing expression, fearing he’d said something wrong. Darcy perked right up at her name from the other man’s lips and agreed, she was Jane’s Darcy alright. Jane Foster, astrophysicist and the girl who’d ran Thor over with her car twice before getting his name. Arch couldn’t help giving Darcy an internal grin, she was starting to grow on him, before turning back to Ben.
“Yeah, she is Jane Foster’s Darcy. She also says Thor should really look both ways before he crosses the road too.” Archie cracked a smile as he watched Ben bound up the stairs in eagerness and took after him without hesitating.
In the back of his mind, Thor was laughing at the joke as they took up the stairs, but it was Ben's laugh that filled the air. Pulling his key from his pocket, he stopped in front of the door, ready to fit it into the hole when he paused, stepped back, and gestured for Archie to do the honors.
"It's your first time. You should do it this time." He was still grinning, his key flipping back and forth over his knuckles. "I'll follow you through." Otherwise, it was just as likely that he'd end up in Asgard, rather than New Mexico, where he assumed that Darcy's key would open up at.
As the twosome reached the door, Archie felt like it was the right one. Just the general aura around it kind of motioned to him, pulled him in. He had the feeling that he would have known this was the correct door right off the bat, even if he’d been there himself. As Ben reached out toward the door, key in hand and a grin on his face, Archie’s heart jumped into his throat. There was a nervousness, but also an excitement that made Arch’s hands twitch -- he brought them in front of his body and rubbed them together in an effort to relieve the feeling.
Ben suddenly turned to him, his key out and at the ready, but he didn’t open the door, instead he offered the pleasure to Archie. Blinking at the offer, Arch hesitantly reached for his own key in his pocket, the head an ostentatious, plastic green. Looking from the key in his hand, to the door, to Ben Archie shook off his hesitation with a wide smile before moving to the door and pushing the key through the knob.
Archie was completely stunned when the door opened and revealed a rounded, glass-walled building. The building was ground level and seemed to be placed somewhere in a desert town, the wind blew up sand and pale dirt. Darcy spoke up, saying something about their research facility in New Mexico, but it was the feeling she gave off that made him take his first steps through the door.
The transformation was almost seamless and automatically apparent as Archie shrank and lost muscle mass only to gain voluptuous curves and long, dark hair. Darcy grinned wide at Ben from the other side, wiggling her fingers in a cute little wave.
It wasn't a building that Ben knew, but Thor knew the building they were looking at and he knew the dark haired girl currently waving at them. 'She's cute,' Ben told him and grinned as they stepped over the threshold to follow Darcy through.
His hair lightened and grew longer, a few inches of height adding to his already tall frame, but it was the armor and the sheer muscle mass that brought the biggest change. He didn't wait to even say hello before he picked up Darcy into a fierce hug, careful of her more delicate, human body, and laughed. "Darcy! It is good to see you well!"
“Thooor!” A squeal escaped Darcy’s mouth as she wrapped her arms around Thor’s neck as picked her up into a hug. It was so good to see him again and be in her own body! Darcy had to stifle the urge to wriggle around, just to enjoy the feel of her own weight and bouncy parts, she didn’t think Thor would quite appreciate it.
Arch was stunned to find Thor clutching him in a fierce grasp but he decided it was just as strange as the rest of the whole gig -- he was just excited to have Darcy in the forefront for a bit. He really hoped it’d take the edge off of her stress or whatnot. Maybe she would be quiet for a moment or two. Hopefully.