𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃

19. 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱

     DARCY FINALLY RETURNED HOME WITHIN A FEW HOURS. Tired and in a desperate need of sleep, the woman enters her apartment and shuts the door after her, and continues her way into the small little apartment. The apartment that once homed a family before her, but they had also been a victim of Thanos' snap; the landlord resulted to having to put most of the apartments back up for rent; Darcy changed the apartment as much as she could without disturbing many of the family's personal items--that are kept in a bucket deep in the closet by the front door. The woman scratches her head and drags her feet toward the kitchen in need of some beverage.

     Darcy opens the fridge door and bends down a bit so she can examine the half-empty fridge. Almost like a cat on high alert, the woman shuts the door harshly and grabs the intruder's arm, and twists their body around; Darcy kicks the person's back knee and causes them to fall to their knees with a surprised yelp.

     "Whoa, whoa! Calm down. It's just me!" Blinking quickly, Darcy registered the voice into her mind and immediately grew guilty for attacking the woman she's grown to know. Darcy retracts, letting Sofia go from her hold. "Jesus, Darc, what the hell?"

     Playing it off, Darcy goes back to the fridge as she allows the woman to stand back up to her feet and to glare at her. "What have I told you about sneaking up on me?"

     Sofia rolls her eyes, pouting annoyingly as she plants her hands on her curvy hips. "Well, excuse me for wanting to greet my gir--"

     "Yeah, yeah," Darcy shuts the fridge door, pouring herself a cup of juice as she eyes Sofia with slight confusion. Sofia was dressed up. "What's got you all dolled up?"

     "I always dress up. I like feeling pretty," Sofia interjects.

     "You're always pretty. Gorgeous, even."

     Sofia bounces between her heels and toes as she intertwines her fingers in front of her, puckering her lips. Sofia's mood changes. "So, did you tell him?"

     Darcy shakes her head, frowning. "No. I couldn't," Darcy glances up upon seeing the look on Sofia's face. The woman pouts and makes her way over to the slightly shorter woman, wrapping her arms around her. "I don't know if he's ready to hear it."

     But Sofia shrugs Darcy's arms from her shoulder, sulking a bit as she trudges towards the living room with Darcy following close behind. "I don't think you're ready to admit it out loud," it hurt Sofia whenever the older woman couldn't say those words out loud. The Hispanic woman plops onto the couch, turning on the TV to ignore Darcy, but the woman sits down beside her.

     "It's . . . It's complicated. You have to see it from my point of view, Sof," Darcy practically pleads. Her own feelings were complicated, and oftentimes, the woman wasn't sure exactly how she feels. "When I was born, this wasn't exactly legal when I was growing up."

     "But how many years have you been living in the twenty-first century?"

     "You mean when I was being mind-controlled and forced to kill people?" Darcy retorts, which immediately shuts Sofia up. The ex-assassin exhales softly. "I--I'm sorry. It's just . . . you actually grew up and got to understand who you are. I didn't. I'm still trying to figure out who I am."

     Sofia eyes the woman she's grown to adore, her chocolate eyes shifting over Darcy's face as she admires her, and every time, her breath is taken away. The woman can swoon her over with her British accent, to the way she can dominate her, to even the way she's completely clumsy for an ex-assassin. Sofia considered Darcy as her best friend when they first got to know each other over the past three years of knowing each other, but they soon developed feelings. It was confusing for them, though, because Darcy didn't know what it's like to like another woman before. Sofia has always been patient and supportive of the woman, giving her space and making sure not to make her feel uncomfortable.

     "I get it, babe, but you have to understand that it hurts me, too," Sofia admits. Her heart clenches when Darcy meets her eyes, fearing that she might backtrack. "We've been dating for nearly a year, and it hurts knowing that your girlfriend is questioning her sexuality while dating you."

     Bowing her head in guilt, Darcy felt the lump growing in her throat. "I know."

     "I don't get why you don't want to tell him. I mean, you've already told Tony," Sofia pauses for a second, a little skeptical now. "He does know, right? 'Cause, that would be kind of awkward since I've met him and all."

     Sniffling softly, Darcy nods, smiling softly as she reassures her girlfriend that she's okay, merely emotional. "Yeah, he knows," Sofia smiles sadly, but a small part of her was happy that Darcy told someone important to her that she's dating a woman. "I hadn't spoken to Steve in five years. It's just . . . a little weird, I guess."

     "It's fine. I'm sorry for getting upset," Sofia apologizes, brushing Darcy's hair behind her ear and letting her thumb graze across her lover's cheek. "I know it's kind of hard, you know, exploring more about your sexual orientation. But know that I'm here for you as a friend and as a girlfriend."

     Sofia uses her hands to make Darcy face her, keeping eye contact to show her that she means it and that she'll always be there for her. It didn't matter if Darcy turns out to really be straight or not, just having the woman in her life is better than not at all. Not saying that if they were to break up and Sofia would be okay with it, she'd be heartbroken because she knows she's madly into Darcy.

     Gazing into one another's eyes, Darcy's eyes fall to Sofia's lips, and for a split second, she shifts back up to meet the woman's eyes. Without a doubt, Darcy knows she was attracted to Sofia a few months into knowing her, but it wasn't until a year when she began to experiment with another woman. It was strange at first, but also kind of good? Darcy had mixed feelings and didn't want to talk to anyone about it, but it wasn't until Pepper acknowledged their feelings for one another after a year of the two being more clingy around each other.

     "Speaking of Tony, he and the Mrs invited us over tomorrow for lunch," Sofia quickly changes the subject, not wanting either of them to be in a gloomy mood. The Hispanic woman shifts in her spot and immediately curls her body into Darcy's, who immediately gets comfortable and wraps her arms around Sofia. "You weren't answering your phone, so I just told them yeah."

     Staring absently at the tv, Darcy continues to reply. "That's fine. I miss them."

     Sofia kisses her lover's wrist, watching the television as well, loving that they can sit close together and pretend the world is normal. "Same. I miss a good home-cooked meal."

     "Uh, excuse you, but you don't know how to cook either," Darcy gasps in laughter, pinching Sofia's hip as the woman yelps in surprise. "I at least have an excuse as to why I can't cook. What's yours?"

"You can't use that excuse all the time," Sofia rolls her eyes, her fingers tickling Darcy's thigh now. "I've had my fair share of cooking, babe."

     "I miss your mom. She knows how to treat me better."

     "Are you secretly in love with my mom?"

     Darcy scoffs, smiling ridiculously at her girlfriend as she shifts on the couch so that Sofia is lying in between her legs. "That would be a little weird."

     "Weirder than us together? You're older than both my mom and me," Sofia giggles, a little proud of her joke; Darcy shakes her head lovingly, rolling her eyes at the rather lame joke that she's heard one too many times (but she always lets Sofia slide).

     "My god, you're absolutely horrible," Darcy exasperated but was ignored by the constant giggling coming from the shorter woman in her lap. "Seriously. I hate you. You're annoying. Please get off."

     Through her fit of giggles, Sofia tries to swipe the tears from her ears as she tries to speak, but only giggles as she thought about her joke. "I--I'm sorry. I--It's j--just funny."

     Darcy chuckles a bit because she couldn't contain herself, but she tries to glare at her girlfriend sternly. Smacking her hand against the older woman's hand, Sofia was stuck in a giggle fit.

     Shaking her head fondly, Darcy lets Sofia laugh it out, running her fingers through the straightened hair of the younger woman. "Just let it out."