DYER | STEVE ROGERS

𝐕𝐈.𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈

〚 IMPERMANENCE 〛

Darla sat beside Briar, his arms rested on the back of hers and Natasha's chair as they watched Steve carefully. He was stood beside the hologram displays of the infinity stones.

"Okay, so the how works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones." Steve announced, smiling down at Darla.

"Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones." Tony added on, looking over to Steve, who seemed to be distracted by Darla.

Darla slouched down her chair, pulling at her jumper, trying not to smile towards Steve. After their conversation last night they both had barely been able to take their eyes off of one another. All they wanted to do was be happy.

"I haven't, I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about." Scott half heartedly chuckled.

"Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history." Bruce announced as he walked around the table.

"Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in." Tony announced as he placed his hands on the back of Darla's chair.

Darla looked up to the man with a warm smile. Over the past few weeks that he had been at the compound he had become more and more of a father figure to her.

He constantly checked up on her and asked if she was okay. He always wanted to spend time with her and develop her powers further than they already had and the girl was eternally grateful for him.

"Which means we have to pick our targets." Clint questioned from across the room.

"Correct." Tony nodded. Darla grabbed his coffee from his hands, causing him to lean down and whisper, "There's a little Irish in there."

Darla smirked at the man, taking a sip of the coffee and slightly grimacing at the taste of the alcohol. It had been years since she had a drink, making because the voices had become manageable and she could turn them on and off.

"Let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?" Steve questioned, looking over to Thor as Darla stood up and walked over to him.

Steve smiled at the girl as she wrapped her arms around his torso. His hand cupped the back of her head and he pressed his lips against her temple.

Everyone turned to look at Thor, he wore sunglasses inside and a can of coke in his hands. Darla couldn't even figure out if he was asleep or awake.

"Is he asleep?" Natasha questioned, looking over to Darla.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's dead." Rhodey responded sarcastically.

Darla rolled her eyes and fired a quick shock at the man, it wasn't at all painful, just enough to wake him him. Thor let out a small groan and stood up, sending a small glare at the girl.

"Where to start? Umm-The Aether, first, is not a stone, someone called it a stone before. It's more of a-" Thor pointed over to Steve. "an angry sludge thing, so... someones gonna need to amend that."

Darla looked up to Steve to see if he had any idea about what Thor was saying but it was clear that he didn't.

"Here's an interesting story though, many years ago. My grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves." He wiggled his fingers. "Wooooh, scary beings. So Jane, Oh, there she is. That's Jane, She's-an old flame of mine." Thor uttered as he pulled a picture of Jane up. "She-she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time and then the Aether stuck itself inside her."

Steve wrapped his arms around Darla's shoulders and pulled her back into his chest, swaying them slightly as Thor spoke.

"And, she became very, very sick. So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead," Thor became choked up and it broke Darla's heart. "and oh you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, these things happen though you know, nothing last forever,"

Darla pulled away from Steve to go and hug Thor. Thor smiled at the girl, she was always so sweet and comforting to everyone.

Tony stood beside the pair and tried to convince Thor to go and sit down, but Thor just pushed Tony back.

"I'm not done yet, the only thing permanent in life is impermanence." Thor laughed, his hand resting on the small of Darla's back.

Steve lowered his head, his eyes flickering to Darla who pulled away from Thor slightly. He offered her a small smile and opened up his arms for her to come back to him, which she did almost instantly.

"Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?" Tony questioned, knowing that in some way Thor's words had an effect on Darla.

"I'd like a Bloody Mary, thank you." Thor shook his head almost in disgust at the idea of anything other than alcohol for breakfast.

Steve pressed his lips onto Darla's cheek, knowing that she was over thinking Thor's words about the only permanent in life is impermanence. 

"We're going to be happy." He whispered into her ear, causing her to hum in response. "I promise baby."