Work Text:
"I don't know. Did you see the papers I left with Pep? I know you hate papers, that's why I gave them to her."
Rico's head shot up and he spun on his chair so quickly he had to catch himself on the desk to keep from falling off.
"We're not calling it Tony's. How about Phil's? Nick's?"
He knew that voice. He knew that voice like he knew his mother's voice. Was she here? No, way. Without calling him? Well, yes, okay, she would do that.
"I was joking, geez, dad. Clint suggested the Bolt Hole and then he laughed for like fifteen minutes."
Her voice was getting closer, but there was the low murmur of another voice he couldn't quite make out. Oh God, she didn't bring Tony, too, did she? Rico stood up and quickly tried to smooth his hair and then grimaced at the popcorn crumbs on his shirt. Brushing them away he straightened himself up and bit his lip.
"Clint is totally a moron. 'Kay, look, I'm here. Well, if he turns me down, you'll still have your chance. I'll talk to you tomorrow, let you know how it went. "
There were four other students in the computer lab, each craning his or her head around their own monitors, curious about the voice probably, but more curious about why Rico was standing in the middle of the room like an idiot. He turned back to his workstation and grabbed the back of his chair. He thought about sitting back down, trying to look casual, like he was just so in the zone with his work he never heard her approach. But, it was too late. She was there in the doorway, grinning at him, while he stood vacillating stupidly.
"Rico!" Darcy called with glee. "My buddy, my pal, mi amigo, my second favorite brother from another mother!"
Rico forgot his awkwardness in the swirling, wild appearance of his oldest friend and frowned. "Who's your first favorite brother from another mother?"
"Jarvis. But," she looked thoughtful and wrinkled her nose. "I guess he doesn't really have a mother, so, never mind." She spread her arms wide and announced again, "Rico! My absolute favorite brother from another mother!"
Dropping his head, he laughed and held his own arms out for a hug. She stepped into him for a rib-cracking embrace. He winced; she'd somehow got hella strong. "DL, it's awesome to see you."
"I have missed the hell out of your face, Rico."
Pulling back he grinned down at her and put his hands on her shoulders, standing her back from him and eyeing her. "You look thin. Are you too thin?"
"I'm fine, mama Perez." She gave him a light shove on the shoulder then looked around the lab with a smile. "Stanford man. Look at you, all awesome and whatnot. Dad's been super proud."
"Oh, uh," Rico shifted on his feet and ran a hand through his hair. "He's not here is he?" He asked in a low whisper.
"No, you're safe. For now," she told him in tone laced with amused warning. "Hey, so, do you have a few? I know I'm all interrupting you, and I'd apologize but I kind of need to talk to you."
He probably only knew a tenth of what she'd been through lately, but that tenth he did know was awful enough. Kidnappings, killer robots, and who the hell knew what else. He hadn't seen her since the Spring, after she escaped Hydra, and he'd been the one to go to her. So what was bad enough that it could bring her all the way back to California just to have a chat? His stomach tightened with nervous worry. "You could have called. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine." She waved off his concern and pulled him into another hug, half whispering, "This is an in-person conversation. And there's somebody I want you to meet."
"Sure, I have time. I was just messing around." He waved a hand back towards his workstation. "I've only been back like a week."
"Hm, yeah." She nodded and snaked her arm around his waist, drawing him towards the door.
"Wait, let me save. Hold on." He dashed back to his computer, saved his work to the server and shut down everything.
Neil looked at him, eyebrows raised and murmured, "Good catch, man."
"She's been my bff since third grade, she's like a sister to me. Don't be gross," Rico hissed back with a glare.
"Oh, that's Darcy?" Neil looked over at where Darcy stood leaning against the door, phone in her hand, scrolling through something. Darcy tended to take on mythic proportions with his school friends. He didn't mean to do it, but he talked about her often enough, and then he'd get funny emails from her or irritating ones and he'd share those, or the care packages, or random visits where she blew in like a hurricane and blew out again just as quickly. This was the first time she'd come to see him at Stanford, however. "She doesn't look that scary."
"She's not scary." Rico shook his head and stood up again, giving Neil a toothy grin, "Mostly."
Darcy straightened from her slouch as he walked back over.
"So, who do you want me to meet?" He asked, then dropped his voice lower, "It's not the Black Widow is it?" He was half hoping she'd say yes, half hoping she'd say no. Oh life, so complicated.
She laughed. "Funny story, apparently you've already met her." Rico missed a step and gave her a wide-eyed, shocked stare. She just laughed more. "Relax. I guess she liked you."
"Um, yay? So I get to keep breathing?"
"She's not that bad. Come on." She tugged at his arm and pulled him into the hallway.
"Wait, when did I meet her?" He demanded. He'd met a Russian assassin and never knew it. Though, that was probably the point of an assassin. Still, though, he'd like to know how close he'd come to death.
"I don't know. I got the story from Clint. Last year or something? You walked a red-headed bombshell to administration and you were, you know, you, so all polite and respectful and whatnot." She patted his arm. "Good boy."
He remembered. He wasn't likely to forget. She was beautiful, and she'd asked the way to administration and then when he walked her she asked him about his studies and told him she was researching schools for her masters. He'd kind of gone on for a while about how great Stanford was. Then he waved at her once she got to the building and he probably looked like the world's biggest dork. How did Darcy keep getting him into those situations? It was bad enough when she brought Captain America home for Thanksgiving that one year. Though, that turned out okay. Steve was a good guy, as you'd hope Captain America would be. And they'd enjoyed teaming up on Darcy.
Letting out a long breath, Rico dropped his arm around Darcy's shoulder and felt himself relax. It was a weird life, but it was hers, and in a way it was his, so surprise Russian assassins aside, it was okay. Or he thought it was until he spotted the tall man leaning against the wall. There was dark stubble across his chin, long hair obscured half his face, he was dressed casually in jeans, a white t-shirt and a green, army jacket, but there was something actually scary about him. He watched Rico and Darcy approach with cold, expressionless eyes. A wave of goose bumps rolled over Rico's arms and up his scalp.
"Outside," Darcy murmured. The man nodded once and then looked at Rico again. Rico felt himself straighten, and he stared back at the man. This strange dude might scream danger and bloody violence, but while Rico never figured he was a big hero, not the sort Darcy knew, he was no pushover. Then the man smiled. It was small, but it was there and Rico's face fell into a puzzled frown.
"Boys," Darcy chided with a laugh. "Outside, come on."
Rico led the pair to the green outside of the Gates building and over to a bench. He dropped down onto it and kicked out his legs, but they continued to stand. "So, what's up?"
"Rico, my oldest and dearest friend," Darcy said, hands out towards him, "Don't freak out."
He gave her a narrow-eyed look. "So stale, Darce."
Darcy snickered. "What, you're here, I can't make that joke?"
"That was a joke?" The mystery man asked in a quiet, rough voice.
"Never mind," she told him. "We'll catch you up on pop culture later."
"It was a dumb joke, too," Rico grumped, "because I already know you were all spy chick."
She shrugged and looked around the area, but they were mostly alone, before she admitted, "Am. Still. Present tense."
"Oh. Okay." Rico looked over at the other man, who was shaking his head and staring up at the sky. "Hi, I'm Rico."
The man dropped his head back down and a small smirk appeared on his lips. "I know."
"He stalked you once," Darcy put in.
"I did not stalk him," the man huffed.
"Are you a Russian assassin, too?" Rico asked with a laugh. When the man went still and Darcy cleared her throat, trying to look innocent, Rico threw his hands up in the air. "Really? Geez. Do you collect them, Darce?"
"Three is not a collection," she told him with a sniff.
"Three?"
"Well, Clint's not Russian. And technically he's a sniper," she corrected.
Rico rolled his eyes and waved a hand at her. "So introduce me to your new assassin and I won't freak out."
He watched her steel herself, raising her chin and taking a deep breath before saying, "Rico, meet Bucky Barnes. Bucky, Rico."
Rico stared at her, feeling irritable. If she came three thousand miles just to mess with him … "Don't play."
"Not playing. Actual Bucky Barnes, right here." She put a hand on the man's arm, giving it a little presentation tug. He looked like his own reserve of patience was dropping rapidly.
Rico propped his elbow on the bench's armrest, set his chin in his hand, and stared up at the two of them. "Bucky Barnes. Steve's buddy. Who, no offense," he nodded at the man, "died in the war?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Nice to meet you," Rico said with a nod.
Bucky — really? — frowned. "Usually people have more questions."
"I have so very, very many," Rico assured him. "But Darcy's just going to talk in circles. I can tell she's in a 'I have something to say but I can't quite get myself to say it' mood."
Bucky chuckled and Darcy scowled. "I don't do that."
"You do that," Rico said.
"You do," Bucky agreed.
Darcy pointed a finger at Rico. "This better not be like you and Steve all over again."
"Whatever." Rico looked at his friend and he finally noticed the lines of tension in her shoulders and the strained set of her jaw. She was nervous about them meeting. That was … sweet, and kind of hilarious. Darcy was never nervous; he didn't even think she knew how to be nervous. She hadn't been this twitchy when it was Steve, or Dr. Foster, or, God help him, Tony. What was different about Bucky? Aside from the fact that it was Bucky freaking Barnes. How weird was that? But, if this really was Bucky, then he'd been on ice like Steve — or something — so not really that strange, right? Rico long ago accepted the bizarreness of the universe.
"I don't get to say this ever," Rico laughed, "but relax, DL. Come on, sit down, and tell me why you're here."
"And try to get to the point today," Bucky muttered.
Darcy sat down next to Rico but tossed Bucky a glare. "Bite me, Barnes."
He grinned. "Any time, doll."
Doll? Oh … oh wow, that was flirting. Rico swallowed a laugh. That sort of explained her twitchiness now. Aww, did she have a crush on Bucky Barnes? That was awesome and he could mine material from that for the rest of their lives.
"The point," she mumbled to herself then took another deep breath. "Okay. So, you know about SHIELD."
"Right, the whole Hydra thing." Darcy winced and Rico echoed it. She'd been kidnapped by them for two weeks after all. That still left him shaky, who knew what it did to her. "Sorry."
"No, it's true. So, yes, SHIELD went underground. Well, what was left of SHIELD, which honestly, wasn't a lot."
"I saw the big ship thing of SHIELD's in Sokovia," Rico said. "With the evil robots."
"Ahh, my least favorite brother." Darcy bared her teeth in a snarling grimace. "Fucking Ultron."
"That was creepy," Rico said with a shudder.
"You're telling us," Bucky grumbled, his face tightening into something ugly and feral.
Rico straightened up and shot Darcy worried look, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It didn't do anything to you, did it?"
"No," she shook her head. "I mean, aside from hunting down his 'sister' and giving me nightmares for the rest of my life, no. Bucky's got mad robot killing skills."
Bucky crossed his not-inconsiderable arms and nodded. "I musta killed twenty of them."
"At least," Darcy said with a tired shrug. "Though, I totally got like three."
"You did," Bucky acknowledged with a smile and dip of his chin. Her returning smile was wan and forced. Bucky's smile slipped and he looked down at the grass beneath his feet.
"Okay," Rico said, trying to pull them out of that horror show. "What's that got to do with your visit? I thought the Avengers took care of that guy?"
"They did, though dad's hung up the suit. At least for now. But, that'll be good for him. I think he needs to step back." She pursed her lips as she thought about her father, then shook it off. "But, anyway, SHIELD announced to the world that it was still around."
"And you never left," he observed.
"Well, of course not," Darcy laughed a little. "My grandfather was one of the founders. I'm going to make sure it's done right. I have to."
Rico smiled at her; his shiftless friend who never knew what she wanted to do, who was always afraid of going the 'wrong' way, the deliberate underachiever, finally found her calling. As a super spy of all things. That was so Darcy, he couldn't help but gaze at her with the fondness of a lifetime of understanding. "Good for you."
She turned to face him, dropping her arm over the back of the bench, and smiled more genuinely. "So, let me ask you, have you ever considered the graduate programs at Columbia?"
Rico scratched at his cheek and blinked a couple of times at the non-sequitur. "Uh … no? Should I have? No, wait, it gets cold there."
"It gets cold here."
"It does not blizzard here."
"Yeah, okay. But, I need you, Rico." She glanced up at Bucky and then back to Rico. "We need you. We desperately need a dedicated computer security and systems expert."
Rico blinked at that and rubbed a hand over his face. He hadn't expected that. "Is my country calling me?" He asked weakly as he tried to take in the sudden pitch. It was a wicked slider and he was still staring after it.
"If Chitauri, Dark Elves, and Ultron have taught us anything, it's that your planet is calling you. Also me, your oldest and bestest friend."
"You're on a SHIELD recruiting drive, huh?"
"Not exactly. We're starting up the new base in New York. We have literally zero agents at the moment. Or, well, three. And me and Bucky, so five whole agents. I mean, I imagine we'll get some more. We're working with the Director, but we're just starting. Hell, we just bought the land for the base. Like, only a few weeks ago."
"That took forever," Bucky mumbled under his breath.
"Somebody insisted it had to be in Brooklyn," Darcy said with a flat look in the other man's direction. Then she gave Rico a pleading look. "Do you know what the real estate market is like in Brooklyn?"
"Um, no. Is it … bad?" Rico guessed.
"Horrible," she moaned. "Expensive as hell. I mean, dad came in on the project with some of the financing. And we fleeced Hydra for millions, so that's in, too. That part was fun, at least."
"She decked the Hydra banker," Bucky told Rico.
Darcy shook her head and gave him a despairing look. "Why is that the first part of the story you always tell?"
"Because it was great."
Rico gave Bucky a nonchalant shrug. "She's been boxing forever."
"I know," he said with something like pride in his voice. "We're getting a gym with a boxing ring."
"Cool."
Bucky looked him over closely and asked, "Do you box?"
"No. I was on the track team, though."
"Oh," Bucky said, his interest evaporating entirely. Ouch. So track wasn't as impressive as Darcy's pugilistic hobby, but, geez, the guy didn't have to look so unimpressed. They came in second at state one year. So there, Mr. War Hero from out of time.
"Okay," Rico said slowly, pulling the conversation back to the point. "So you're going to run a SHIELD base?"
"Not me," Darcy shook her head. "I think we all agree I need more experience first. But, I've got somebody in mind." Bucky made a sound low in his throat, the warning growl of an untamed, vicious creature. Rico's hair stood up on his arms again, but Darcy seemed unbothered. "She'll grow on you."
"She ratted us out!" Bucky hissed, his lips going thin and white as he glared back at her.
"But, not like out of any sort of malice or anything," Darcy replied calmly. "She thought she was doing the right thing. I mean, yes, okay, I wish she'd actually talked to us. But, nobody died horribly and it all turned out mostly okay."
Bucky's jaw worked for a second and he gave her a profoundly unhappy look, like that was just about the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. She raised an eyebrow at him and he scowled. "We'll talk about it later."
"Fine." Darcy shrugged. "I'm not married to her or anything. It's just a thought."
Bucky looked away out over the grass and the trees. Darcy rolled her eyes. Rico glanced between them, wary and wondering if he should duck and cover, but the storm seemed to pass.
"And, uh, you need me?" He asked, hesitant and not wanting to contribute to whatever that little tiff had been. Though, he did find himself diverted by Darcy's comment on needing more experience, while clearly, you know, already totally acting like the boss of the base; buying the land, making the plans, deciding who they did and didn't need and where they'd go. Just like Darcy to not notice she'd taken charge. She'd take over the world and still insist she was an intern.
"Yes," Darcy agreed. "And we can transfer you to Columbia, so you can finish your masters, because I know how important that is to you and your mom."
"But … blizzards, DL," Rico whined. It was the only protest he could come up with, because he just wasn't sure yet what to think about this whole thing and he didn't want to disappoint her while he was trying to sort through it all.
"Oh, sack up, Perez," she groaned.
Rico rubbed at his chin and looked out through the trees. This wasn't anything he expected. Of course, it was Darcy, so … expected? What? Ha ha ha.
He had two job offers for when he got out of school already — one was from Stark Industries, of course. He always felt sort of weird about that, like it was some kind of nepotism by proxy, but Pepper Potts assured him he was qualified and talented and they wanted him. The downside was that Tony was the CTO, but Rico knew he was the only person who'd consider that a downside. Not that he didn't like Tony, in fact Tony was still his hero, it was just … Tony — larger than life and intimidating as hell. Rico supposed he really had to get over that. And, the last time he'd seen the man, right after Darcy got back home from being kidnapped by Hydra, they'd both been too worried about Darcy to be weird around each other; they'd spent an afternoon talking about computers and AIs and robotics.
Still … SHIELD was a world apart from anywhere he'd ever seen himself. That wasn't necessarily bad, it was just big. Really big. Saving the world big.
He looked back over at Darcy who was looking at Bucky, the pair of them engaged in a wordless discussion conveyed by micro-expressions and small head shakes. Bucky shrugged after a moment and let his eyes wander away again, watching a handful of passing students.
The curiosity of the silent conversation prompted Rico to ask, "How long have you guys known each other?"
Bucky's gaze snapped back to him and he tilted his head as he thought. "Little more than a year. Last July."
"Forever," Darcy said, her voice quiet and a strange, distant look on her face.
"No," Bucky told her with a sharp shake of his head. "That doesn't count."
"Whatever."
"No," he repeated, his voice a low, intense growl. "If I don't get to blame myself for the things Hydra made me do, you don't get to blame yourself for Hydra doing them."
Letting out a long breath, Darcy slumped back on the bench and tossed him a crooked smile. "Alright."
"Yeah, it is."
Rico frowned, not following any of that at all. He really wasn't following a lot of what was going on here. It was a little like stepping into the middle of one of his abuela's telenovelas, only with fewer hysterics and sequins.
"I didn't tell you because it was sort of complicated. And classified," Darcy said, squinting at her friend, like she was waiting for him to get grumpy about it.
"No, that's fine. I was just curious," Rico assured her. Would it have been nice to have her not spring this on him? Sure, but it was hardly something to get twisted up about. Besides, it was a lesson he learned a long time ago: if you wanted to be friends with Darcy you had to expect the unexpected, and understand that her world was composed of many odd, surprising parts — some of which you wouldn't see for years, if ever.
"He came to get me in China."
Rico's head tipped back and he looked over at Bucky, giving the man a grateful smile.
Bucky shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her an exasperated look. "You got yourself out. Come on, doll. How many times?"
Darcy rolled her eyes, just as exasperated. "Can you just let me be glad you were there?"
"Sure." His eyes shifted over to Rico. "She blew the base up. It was impressive."
Though she'd been reluctant to go into details about her captivity, Rico'd heard that part from Clint, who told the story with proud delight. Rico was damned proud himself. Who else had a bff who blew up Hydra bases? Nobody, that's who. "Way to go, Darce," he praised his friend and clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks. Bucky turned up when I was getting out." She gave the man another smile, this one almost challenging him to dismiss his part in her escape. "If Sif hadn't shown up, with you there I wouldn't have had to find my way out of the ass-end of China by myself."
"You would've done it."
"It's nice to know I didn't have to," she pressed, insistent on the point of her appreciation.
"Aright, alright," Bucky relented with a sigh.
Darcy looked triumphant as she turned back to Rico. "So, that's the deal. I know that's a lot to take in right away. Like, boom! Come save the world! Believe me, I know what this conversation is like from your side." She chewed on her lower lip and gave him a pleading look. "But, just, would you think about it? I can send you deal paperwork, so you can see that we're paying peanuts, and not good peanuts, but like those shitty circus peanuts that taste like nail polish remover, but you will have free housing in an exciting and insanely expensive part of hipster haven Brooklyn. And you'll have front row seats for when Bucky encounters his first hipsters. You can't put a price on fun like that, my friend."
"We had hipsters in my day. That's not new," Bucky protested with a soft snort.
"You have no idea, old man," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.
"I'll show you an old man, doll," Bucky grumbled nearly inaudibly, but his cold, blue eyes held a spark of amusement and something a little … hotter? Rico's eyebrows shot up. The flirting kind of gave the idea that the crush wasn't all on Darcy's side, but comments like that weren't subtle at all. Well … well. Oh, Darcy. A 90-something-year old, freeze-dried soldier? He'd kind of thought it would be Steve, honestly. But, maybe he shouldn't be surprised, there'd always been a slightly rougher edge to Darcy, and Bucky, well just looking at him, he seemed to be made up of mostly rough edges.
Darcy ignored Bucky's comment and continued on with her pitch, "And you'll have access to top of the line tech; hell, you'll get to build the base's systems from the ground up, and like I said, we can get you into Columbia. Plus, if all that wasn't enough, you'll get to see me all the time." She held out her arms and beamed at him.
"See, you should have led with that," Rico laughed faintly, still a little overwhelmed, his head buzzing with all the new information. "Is this your first recruitment?"
She scrunched her face up contemplatively. "Maybe? I don't know, does Bucky count?"
Rico looked at the other man. "Do you?"
"Yes," he said, his lips twitching up into a little smirk. "She gets persistent."
"Totally. Totally," Rico agreed absently, his mind sorting through the offer. He'd never lived outside California. He'd be a long way from his mom, his uncles and cousins, his grandmother. But, he would be closer to his bestie, who he really hadn't spent nearly enough time with over the last few years. He'd actually had a little panic attack when he left New York in the Spring; she was so different after all that, he was afraid they were drifting too far apart, that life was taking them out of each other's sphere. That would suck.
"Look," Darcy said. "Just spend some time thinking on it. It's okay if you don't want to, but you were, honestly, the first person I thought of. I trust you and not just as my friend. I trust you with SHIELD. And, you know, if you're not down by being a full-time agent or anything, maybe you could consult on the build? And then, you know, go to work at SI."
That drew a laugh out of him. "SI, right."
"Oh, come on. You're going to take Pepper's offer. You hate Silicon Valley, and you know it," she said with a knowing look, and he bowed his head in acknowledgement of her point.
He'd interned at a place in San Jose that summer, and the weird, antiseptic blandness that tried so desperately to present itself as quirky individuality made him tense and fidgety. He spent most of his internship worrying his shoes were going to make scuff marks on the bright, polished floors, that he was going to leave smudged fingerprints all over the glass and steel, and that he was going to trip and take out the million dollar, creepy modern art. Proximity to Silicon Valley, Stanford being practically the heart of it after all, and with most of his classmates' ambitions aimed at the tech companies that surrounded them, did nothing to make him more comfortable with it. He admired the technical creativity, the genius that grew out of the valley and went on to change the world, but at the same time he felt almost smothered by it, too. He preferred things messy and organic. No doubt that was at least part of the reason he was friends with Darcy.
Darcy's eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers at Bucky. "There's the other cover business — a software development place. That, you know, actually develops software, or whatever." She grinned over at Rico. "Want your own company? Like, it would mostly be a cover, but it could be a R&D sort of place. You could work on your own projects and do SHIELD stuff. Huh? Awesome, right?"
"In New York?" Rico protested, but it was weak. Darcy had a way of tearing apart any objections with brain-twisting logic and enthusiasm, and knowing just what buttons to push. His own company. The freedom of that was really appealing, even if it was a cover business for SHIELD. "Weren't you just saying property prices are insane? Are you going to venture capital me?"
"Rico, buddy, pal, dearest friend of my heart, I bought a fucking city block. Well, it's one of those weird angular half blocks, because it butts up against the expressway, but there's like five buildings on it. I've got room." He gaped at her. Sometimes he forgot she was really, really rich, which was weird because he never forgot Tony Stark was her dad. "We have one lot that we aren't sure what to do with. The building there now is a craphole, we've already started tearing it down, but then what? Right? A tech startup would be perfect. I like it."
"Uh …"
"Hey, hey," Darcy said, soothing him with a pat on his shoulder. "Don't sweat it. Just think about it, huh? That's all I ask. Let me give you the contract and you can read it over. We should go out to dinner tonight. I can bring it then. Just say yes to that much."
"Yes," Rico said easily. "That I can do."
"Cool." She stood up and grinned down at him. "And, you know, this wasn't just a recruitment trip. It's really good to see you; I've missed you."
"I know," he told her, grinning back. "I missed you, too."
"Okay. So, I'll let you get back to work. I'll call later, we'll figure out a place for dinner, huh?"
"Sounds good. I'm free after six."
"Got it." She turned to her … whatever he was and threaded her arm through Bucky's. "Come on, Buck. Let's go sightsee."
"Is there anything to see?" He asked, amused.
"I'm sure we'll find something. I hear they've got a really tall tree around here." Glancing over her shoulder, she tossed back a, "see you, Rico."
Laughing quietly to himself, Rico spread his arms across the back of the bench and watched them walk away. There she went, his very own force of nature, rolling in like a towering storm over the desert, wild and beautiful. She'd go just as quickly as she arrived, but like that storm in the desert, there was always something new growing where she'd touched the land — an idea, a thought, a laugh, a hope, a belief, a bewildered brain, a topsy-turvy world.
Rico wasn't sure what he was going to do about her offer; he really would need time to think it through. But, greater than the inducement of tech, of his own company, or the chance to help the world in a very direct way, was the pull of having that spark that Darcy carried near him again. He had plenty of friends, but Darcy was the lifelong friend, and he knew just how rare that could be. They'd become blood brothers after reading Tom Sawyer in third grade; he still had the thin sliver of a scar on his thumb. They spent more than one summer vacation mapping out long, complicated adventures to the Arctic and the Andes and Orange County. Afternoons were spent drawing their futures with crayons and construction paper; they would have houses next to each other when they grew up, and in their childish fantasies, they'd have that swimming pool that crossed both their yards, and a three story tree house with a telescope and a ship's wheel and a little cannon that actually worked. Now, even as a grown up, a little part of him still wanted those houses and that pool. And, yeah, the tree house.
They had an unshakeable history; but the future was less clear than it had been when they were eleven. But, she was still the one friend who he knew would always and forever be there for him. The one who let him be there for her. It was no little thing for her to ask for help. He felt the weight of it. Come save the world, she said. Come be a part of my world. Come stand by my side and fight demons with me. He shook his head at himself and laughed a little. He was getting all sappy now.
He was kind of interested in seeing what super spy Darcy looked like. He didn't think he'd ever seen that. Though, that was kind of the point of a spy, he supposed. Rico thought she was probably a pretty good one. And, he really wanted the story of how Bucky Barnes was still alive. And the mischievous part of him wanted to third wheel one of their dates and watch the awkward flirting, because even just the little taste of it he'd had was freaking gold. And if Tony Stark had taught him anything, it was that anybody could reshape themselves into a hero if they wanted it badly enough.
Rico saw the aliens, the evil robots, the terrorists, and the crazy nazis. And now he was presented with the opportunity to help, and to help with his best friend. He'd get the contract from Darcy, and he'd spend some time thinking. If they'd only just broke ground on the land, then he had time. He could probably finish his semester before moving to New York, if that's what he decided. He'd make lists — pros, and cons, and undecideds, and who the hell knew. He'd talk to his mom — well, he'd make sure he could tell his mom. That might be the deal breaker, he couldn't lie to his mom. He would keep it from anybody and everybody else, but not his mom. Not even for Darcy. He'd read a thing once that said CIA agents were encouraged to tell their spouse and one parent — it took the pressure off, made it so they didn't have to lie to the people closest to them, or at least not all the people closest to them. He wasn't sure what SHIELD's policy on that was, but since Darcy seemed to have worked her way into being a boss, whether she knew it or not, maybe he could get her to institute the spouse/parent thing.
Standing up, Rico felt resolved in his decision to think about things, which was actually resolve even if it didn't seem like it, because it would be serious consideration and not just flying by his gut. And he had a million questions. Lists. He had to make lists. Lists of questions and concerns and decisions that needed to be made. And he had a meeting with his independent project advisor in — he glanced at his watch — twelve minutes. Oh crap. Oh man, oh man, it was only the second meeting of the year, and would determine how he did for the rest of his program. For the rest of his life. Or, maybe only for this part of his life. That was a freeing sort of thought. Still, if he didn't make it, the semester could turn into an uphill battle.
Dashing back into the Gates building, up to the lab, he slammed into the door jamb, bounced into the room, ran to the desk, slid to a halt, grabbed his backpack, ignored Neil laughing, and dashed back out again. Track's not impressive, huh, Sgt. Ice Man? Rico left the building and took off at a run. He had ten minutes, he'd make it in six. And then he'd figure out the rest of his life.