Who: Darcy Lewis & Steve Rogers What: Netflix & Chill (ish) Where: Darcy's house When: Sunday evening Warnings: Nope Status: complete
The family dinner had gone well and Darcy was starting to think this whole dating Steve thing might actually work out. She hadn’t been looking for it, especially not this soon after losing Haymitch, but after being in this town for nearly seven years, she also knew that nothing was guaranteed and you had to make the best of things while you could.
She’d invited him over tonight for a scary movie marathon. Jason was out with friends and Stephanie was in bed, having insisted on Uncle Steve reading her multiple stories. Darcy made popcorn and had some candy on the coffee table as well. When Steve finally came back downstairs, she was curled up on the sofa with a soda waiting for him.
“All good now?” she asked.
***
Steve was relieved to have made it through dinner with the boys. Stephanie was an absolute treasure. And Darcy...well, she was a very pleasant surprise. He was really beginning to enjoy his life. Part of him thought Peggy would be happy for him. It helped.
He chuckled as he joined Darcy on the couch. “If I don’t change the voices with every reading I have to start all over.” Didn’t matter what book. Steve had to make silly voices and sound effects.
He got himself settled with an arm on the back of the couch in invitation for her to get comfortable against him. “So what are we watching tonight?”
***
“Well, you said that you were familiar with Hitchcock already,” Darcy said. “So I thought maybe we could check out some of the other classics. You can pick from The Shining, The Exorcist, or The Blair Witch Project.”
There were plenty of others if none of those appealed to him, but she felt like they were solid choices.
She accepted the invitation to curl up against him, trying once again not to think about how much she wanted to kiss him. She’d known, and Daisy had warned, that dating Steve would mean taking things slower than she was used to and she was okay with that even though it was difficult.
***
He curled his arm around her once she got settled against him and pondered his choices. “Obviously, I haven’t seen any of them, but I haven’t heard of The Blair Witch project. What’s it about?”
He snitched her soda so he could take a drink while she answered. Did he have his own? Sure, but he left it way over there.”
***
Darcy blinked in surprise when he snagged her soda, but she didn’t really mind all that much so she didn’t protest either though she was tempted to make a joke about having cooties. Instead, she decided to answer his question.
“It’s found footage,” she explained, not bothering to add that it was fictional. “These kids went out to try and prove the existence of the Blair Witch and recorded it.”
***
Steve had never heard of a found footage movie. He understood the gist of it. It sounded similar to a documentary. He liked those, and felt that this would probably be less disturbing than the other two. “Let’s watch that then.”
He handed her soda back with that self same smirk on his face. “You know, if you’d put everything where I could reach it without having to dump you on the floor you wouldn’t have to share.”
***
As the parent of a four year old, Darcy was used to having nothing to call her own so sharing a drink didn’t really phase her at all. “Well, I guess I could move things,” she said. “But sharing is caring. Ask Steph, she’ll tell you.” It was one of the lessons she was learning in preschool.
She grabbed the remote and pushed buttons until she had The Blair Witch Project on the screen ready to start. “Need anything before I start this?” she asked.
***
Steve chuckled because as a matter of fact, Stephanie had informed Steve of this when she offered him a bite of her cookie that she had already bitten into. He’d had to think fast on how to politely decline without hurting her feelings.
“No. I’m good.” Because if he really did want something, all joking aside, he was perfectly capable of getting it himself without dumping Darcy onto the floor. “Have you seen this?”
***
“I saw it when it first came out,” Darcy said. “But that’s been a while so I don’t remember a lot of the details.”
She started the movie and leaned against him, enjoying the feeling of his warm strength. It wasn’t her style to get creeped out by movies, especially after living in this town for so long, but there was something reassuring about his presence.
***
He shifted position so he could put both arms around her and still see the tv. As with almost every documentary he’d watched before the opening sequence didn’t phase him much. “1994. Wow. That was back before smartphones and stuff. How did anyone survive?”
Steve was capable of making a joke. Anything to do with what people considered old and outdated was easy for him to poke fun at.
***
Darcy laughed. “Well, I was much younger then, but we managed,” she said. “In hindsight, I can’t believe that my parents let me see this.” Then again, her parents hadn’t exactly been super hands-on so maybe it wasn’t all that surprising. Most likely, she’d lied about where she was going anyway.
“Hopefully you don’t get motion sickness,” she added. The footage was jerky and she remembered hearing stories about people feeling ill in the theaters.
***
“Oh you mean you were actually born?” Steve grinned. It was a little creepy with their age difference, but it wasn’t as if there were any other people walking around that were anywhere near his age. If he didn’t make light of it then who would?
Steve gave a small snort. “I’m fine. Remember, I jump out of airplanes without a parachute.”
The movie introduced them to two of the people in the film. “Good looking kids,” he commented. “She seems a little prima donna, though.” Then he checked himself. He shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. His mom would come back to haunt him.
***
The age difference never really crossed Darcy’s mind. For one thing, she’d been in a relationship with Haymitch for years and he was nearly twice her age. With Steve, it wasn’t as obvious since he looked much younger than his true age. Plus, if you didn’t count the years in the ice, they were actually close to the same age in terms of lived experience.
“Haha,” she said, turning slightly so she could poke him in the ribs. “Someone’s feeling funny tonight.” Not that she really minded. It was nice to see Steve relaxing.
***
Steve gave her a bit of a squish with his arms by way of apology, but his attention was back on the tv. His brows came down then further down. “Wait. She’s going out into the woods with two guys, one she hardly knows and the other she doesn’t know at all? And sharing a hotel room?!” He knew he was a bit old fashioned but still!
“Where are her parents? Do they know she’s doing this?” Steve’s chest went tight as if he were ready to spring to Heather’s rescue. “These two could be hardened criminals for all she knows!”
***
“She’s an adult, Steve,” Darcy pointed out. “Fully capable of making her own choices.” Trust that he’d find that part more shocking than the legend of the witch or the fact that these kids purportedly died in the pursuit of proving the legend.
Maybe this was a bit more advanced than she should have shown him. Did Hitchcock films do the whole ‘married people in separate beds’ thing like the fifties sitcoms did? She couldn’t remember, but maybe those would be more his speed.
***
He gave Darcy a bit of a grimace. “Yes, I know she’s an adult. That doesn’t mean they can’t care about her or that their responsibilities as parents end.” But, after the whole Wanda’s sex life fiasco he was definitely willing to let it drop.
The movie moved on to where they were actually in Burkittsville and interviewing that lady with the Bible. Steve blinked. “Wow. She’s uh...got a lot of conviction.” He peered over Darcy’s head at her. “Why does anyone even live there?”
***
Darcy thought his old fashioned morals were kind of adorable, even if they simultaneously drove her crazy. Her battery budget had increased greatly over the past couple of months because of it.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I guess because they like it there. I mean, every place has downsides, right? If you live in California, you have to deal with earthquakes. Kansas has tornados. Florida has hurricanes. Canada has snow. I’d probably pick evil spirits over any of those things.”
***
“I guess you could just stay out of the woods,” he commented. A moment went by. “Just like if you don’t want to get bit by a shark, stay out of the water.” He smirked, knowing he was being a bit ridiculous.
A good chunk of time went by without Steve making a comment until… “He kicked the map into the river?! Why? Even if it seemed as if it wasn’t helping kicking it into the river really made it useless!” He was taking this all very seriously, and so far none of the jump scares had really made him, well, jump.
***
It occurred to Darcy then that he didn’t realize this was fiction. Maybe she should have made that clear before they started the film. Oh well. It did make the experience more creepy if you thought it was real. “Because people are dumb,” she said. “Especially when they’re in stressful situations.”
She knew that she’d made plenty of bad choices in her life, some in situations that were more stressful than others. Even though she’d seen the movie before and knew it was fake, a couple of the jump scares did startle her and she found herself cuddling a little closer to Steve.
***
“Huh.” Steve shrugged a little. He could understand her reasoning. Not everyone was as cool as a cucumber when under duress. They couldn’t be expected to react well under these circumstances.
Then, as if to confirm what Darcy had been thinking… “I can’t imagine it was easy for their friends and families to watch this. I don’t pretend to know what motivated them to share this with the world.” Other than warning everyone to stay the heck out of Maryland!
***
Oh. Okay. She really should tell him now, right? Yeah, that would be the kind thing to do.
Darcy shifted so she was actually looking at him. “Steve. This is fiction. It’s not real. It’s just supposed to look that way.” Hopefully he wouldn’t be mad that she hadn’t said as much sooner.
***
Steve blinked at her. This was...what now? “But you said it was found footage. So like a documentary.” Then he thought about the time he watched Shark Week on Discovery and he sighed. His head dropped back as if he was completely defeated.
“Why do they DO things like this?!”
***
“I’m sorry,” she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. “I should have made that clear. It’s a pretty common storytelling trope these days.” He still had a lot to learn about modern entertainment and Darcy was more than happy to teach him.
She gave him a cute smile. “Are you mad at me?”
***
“I’m relieved, actually.” He let out with another sigh as if he’d been holding it in. “Who cares about some witch. I felt bad for those kids!”
He turned his head as best he could to give Darcy a smile. “Why would I be mad?” Then, almost as if he did this one purpose, he closed the small distance between them to give her a reassuring kiss.
He had meant it to just be quick, but it didn’t end up that way. The kiss became gentle, more motivated. It was almost as if he’d been surprised by how nice it was and he just stayed there for more.
***
Darcy was not expecting a kiss though she wasn’t complaining either. It was something she’d been wanting to do for a while. Of course, it was well worth the wait. She shifted again, almost on his lap when she moved her hand to the back of his neck, returning the kiss with an equal amount of pressure.
***
Steve’s hands went to Darcy’s hips automatically as he continued kissing her. But it probably didn’t last as long as she would like. He did eventually release the kiss to smile at her. “So, hi,” he said for a lack of better things to say.
***
When he pulled back, Darcy leaned back as well, wanting to make sure to give him the space that he needed. She knew this was all new to him and as much as she was ready to rip his clothes off and drag him upstairs, he wasn’t and she kept reminding herself of that.
“Hi,” she said, smiling at him. “That was nice.”
***
Uh, no. There were still a lot of firsts for Steve just waiting. While this hadn’t been his first, nor his second kiss, it was still something very new for him. Just cuddling up on the couch was new for him. The best way to scare him off would be to push for too much, too soon.
“Very nice,” he said as he looked up at her. “Although I’m not sure I did it right.” There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he said that.
***
That twinkle in his eye made Darcy’s stomach do flips. “Well, you know what they say,” she said. “Practice makes perfect.” And she was more than happy to practice with him as much as he wanted. Though if he preferred to go back to watching the movie, that would be okay too.
Even though she was hoping he’d want to kiss her again.
***
He’d lost interest in the movie as soon as he learned it wasn’t real. Even then, kissing was much more interesting than any movie in the world. Steve grinned before he leaned forward to give it another try. This time he deepened it a little more, followed his curiosity. Steve was fairly certain Darcy wouldn’t mind, but he was also aware that this would probably tease the heck out of her.
A little reluctant, he broke the kiss. “I guess we can practice that every so often.”
***
Darcy resisted the urge to slip her tongue into his mouth when he deepened the kiss. That would probably be going too fast and she was determined to respect his boundaries. She grinned when he said they could practice every so often. “I’m happy to practice any time you want,” she said. “And if you want to learn more, well…”
She wouldn’t push, but she figured there was nothing wrong with letting him know she was willing to take things at his pace.
***
He appreciated that. All of it. Her patience, and her volunteering to teach him. Uh, yeah. That would come later, thanks. Mostly because his male pride would need a boost every now and then, thanks.
Steve chuckled as his thumb caressed her cheek. She really was very pretty. Her eyes reflected her impish personality but in a way that made you want to play along instead of run out of her sights.
“No gossiping to the girls,” he said as he pulled her back down into a hug. “And no bragging to Phil.”
***
“Aww, but Phil would be so jealous,” Darcy joked as she settled against him again. “I’m pretty sure you’re one of his hall passes.”
She had no intention of gossiping though. Whatever they were doing here was real and she was taking it seriously. As much as she liked to joke and tease, she did have the ability to be serious when the occasion called for it and this was very much the type of thing that did.
***
“Hall passes?” That one went right over his head so he peered down at Darcy with an openly confused look on his face.
And he would be very grateful she wouldn’t gossip. Steve will will happily share his experiences with his friends, but the idea of them nattering about it behind his back just put his spine out of place.
***
At some point Darcy would realize that she needed to give him more context when she used modern slang. Clearly that wasn’t happening today. “Right, so… it’s a thing that couples sometimes do. A lot of times it’s a joke, but some people are more… open. And they’ll make a list of people that they can hook up with outside the relationship.”
She suspected that he would not be the type who would be open to that. Then again, she was still fairly certain that Steve, Bucky, Veronica, and Kara had some sort of weird quadrangle thing going on so maybe he’d surprise her.
***
“Oh!” Steve actually understood what Darcy was talking about. “I’ve heard it called the Top Five. Didn’t realize there were different names for it.” He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know Darcy’s Top Five/Hall Passes. Just thinking about it made jealousy thud in his chest. Better to stick to other people’s lists.
“And I’m on Phil’s list?” He couldn’t help but chuckle.
***
Darcy didn’t have a list these days. Honestly, even when she was with Haymitch she hadn’t really needed one since he’d been okay with them either welcoming Johanna into bed with them or letting Darcy have a little fun with Natasha when she felt like she needed to indulge. The only action she was getting lately was battery-operated.
“I mean, I can’t say for sure,” she said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you were. You should ask him sometime”
***
“Yeah, no.” Steve laughed a little as he shook his head. “I think I’m happier living in ignorance with that one.” It had been weird enough with the trading cards. He’d had to do that back when he’d been working with the USO. But that has been worth it since it sold War Bonds. This? No thank you.
***
“Fair enough,” Darcy said with a grin before leaning over to press a quick kiss to his lips. She gave him a hopeful look after. “I hope that’s okay.” As patient as she was willing to be with him taking things slow, now that he’d started the kissing thing, she was going to keep it up if he didn’t object.
***
“Hey I opened that door,” he said with a fond smile for her. Besides, he liked it. That was easy enough to see on his face as he tucked her hair behind her ear. And if his fingers happened to caress her cheek while he did that, oops.
“Pretty sure it’s opened for good.” As if to prove it he gave her a kiss in return. It wasn’t as quick as hers, but it wasn’t a lingering distraction either.
Speaking of distraction, the tv gave a loud MIKE as the end of the movie was taking place. “Guess they’re all about to be dead.”
***
With all the kissing, Darcy had kind of forgotten about the movie and she looked momentarily confused. “Oh, right, yeah, I guess we should watch the end, huh?” she said. “Do you want to do another one after this or do you need to get going?” She wasn’t sure what time Jason would be home, but she didn’t mind staying up for another movie if Steve wanted to stick around.
***
“I can stay for another one,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her again. “What about Paranormal Activity?” It was listed as a recommendation while the credits rolled. “Another documentary.” He smirked at her as he put his chin on her shoulder.
***
Darcy laughed and reached for the remote before settling back against him. This was nice. A perfect evening really.