Lipstick Lightning

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

Johnny never noticed that the clock moved fast while they continued to dance; he marked his intervals as Darcy grabbed needed drinks from the bar, and only called an intervention when the next time she came up to him, she stumbled in her outrageously, offensively attractive heels.

“Whoops-a-daisy, Darce, c’mon, there’s a good girl,” Johnny murmured as he slipped an arm around her waist to provide some sort of steadying influence for her to follow. Paying the bartender, Johnny guided the rather unsteady woman out of the club from it’s smoky haze and blinding, pounding beat into fresh air as he fumbled for his keys. Despite being a little drunk, Darcy had good enough motor control to lean against the side of the car as he looked for his keys, and he took a quick second to appreciate the line her body made against the curve of the car before digging out the clicker and unlocking the door for her.

“After you, my lady.”

He held the door open for her and smiled back at her bright grin as she slipped into the leather seat. Making sure she was comfortable, Johnny quickly made his way around and sat down in the driver’s side, grin widening when she revved to life. “Ah, which way is home, Darcy baby?”

#HEADING OUT #howhotdoyouwantme

There was no doubt. Darcy was drunk. And tired, and sweaty and her feet ached. And she was happier than she'd been in ages. In the brief amount of time between Johnny closing her down and opening his own, she frowned down at her feet, debating taking off her shoes. No, she thought, better to wait until the elevator at home.

When she heard Johnny slide into his seat, she smiled at him, wide and brilliant. "Uh." Peaking her head to look out the window, she squinted as she found the large tower that served as home. "That way!" she giggled, pointing towards it, laughter only growing as Johnny hit the gas, and took off. It was nearly 3am, they hadn't quite made it 'till last call, but that was alright. The streets of New York, though never exactly empty, were quiet enough for Johnny to let loose, enjoying Darcy's 'whoop' of excitement as the city lights flew by.

It seemed like record time had passed, before they were pulling up to Stark Tower. Darcy curled up in her seat, taking care not to let her heels scratch the leather, even as drunk as she was. She gave Johnny a lopsided grin, before going wide-eyed. "My feet hurt. Carry me in?"

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

Johnny nudged up behind her ear to breathe, “I can only flatter something if it’s wonderful to begin with; basic rules of flirtation, lovely one.” She was the least tense he’d seen tonight all wrapped up in his arms like this, and when they moved together so easily it was extremely simple to fall into a rhythm of just their own, mimicking the rhythm of the music but falling into counterpoint with the pounding beat.

The floor was slightly sticky under the soles of his shoes as he moved in time with the vixen in front of him, and the lights were dim and flashing, which should have made it hard to focus on anything but instead brought Johnny’s eyes to the curve of Darcy’s dress and the even sweeter slow curve of her lips as she smiled wide, dancing with an abandon and sincerity that the blonde just had to admire.

She wasn’t even fixed up all that much; light on the face paint and body glitter and cheap stuff that the girls desperate for attention wore to attract guys desperate for an easy lay. No, she cleaned up classy, with a dress that left more to imagination (and if Johnny’s imagination had always been a tad bit advanced, well, one couldn’t hold it against him) and a simple emphasis of her eyes and mouth, and, well. He wouldn’t leave a date, anyways, but if anyone thought they were cutting in tonight they’d find themselves in for a tough fight.

#HEADING OUT #howhotdoyouwantme

Darcy shivered in Johnny's arms, as he breath ghosted over her ear. Her cheeks were flushed, and Darcy wondered if she could write that off to the dancing. She ducked her head, the hand in his belt loops making it's way up his chest, resting there idly.

There was a lull in the music, a shift in the beat that she wasn't fond of. Patting her hand (damn, his chest was hard) Darcy smiled up at him. "I could use a drink, come on." Unwinding herself from Johnny's body, Darcy took his hand and pulled him back towards the bar, where Darcy claimed something orangey and smelling like Tequila. She might have also done another shot, but Johnny was sober and she always enjoyed being just drunk enough that her head felt floaty.

She tugged on Johnny, pulling him close while sipping on her drink. "Thank you for taking me out."

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

An eyebrow quirked upwards more of it’s own accord than anything else, but it was offset by the same quirk pulling his lips up into a smirk. “Oh? Right here, huh? What’d I do to deserve the honor?”

Closer was fine by Johnny, by all means. He moved a little accommodate her better in their lack of space on the dance floor (noting that her hips were pleasantly sloping, not non-existent like many girls that hit on him theses days were) and let his hands clasp at the small of her back, no further and no lower. “Y’know,” he told her with a wink, “I think I’m pretty happy with you right here, too.”

#heading out #howhotdoyouwantme

Her smile was brilliant. "Flatterer," Darcy said into Johnny's ear. His hands were in a comfortable spot, his body warm and moving against hers. It was good. Falling silent, Darcy closed her eyes, let her body move with the beat of the music.

These were the kind of nights that she missed. Ever since moving to New York, nearly all of Darcy's time had been spent wrangling scientists. She'd barely left the Tower, save for a few shopping trips. She missed the warm nights in New Mexico, the dive bar only a walk away from her trailer, and loud music that let her cut loose like nobody was watching.

She knew Johnny was watching, though. Darcy was glad she'd worn a top low enough to compete with the girls around her, in their short dresses and body glitter. But Johnny had come with her, and she knew he wasn't the kind of guy to leave with somebody else. She didn't really have anything to worry about.

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

The blonde laughed at her comment and then clasped an arm tightly around her waist, swinging her a little into more of a groove that he wanted. This way, they were closer, sharing body heat and breathing space, and it made Johnny hyper aware of the hand lingering near his belt loops and the hand resting on his neck. Squeezing gently with his fingers at her waistline, Johnny asked, “I better they could, if you asked nice enough.”

But the first question was whether he’d let go of her or not. He had no intention to unless she really did want to go and see whether the DJ could do a little more with the music, in which case he supposed he would give her up, albeit grudgingly. It was just that the contact felt so nice; the warmth of her through the legs of his jeans, the press of her fingers at his neck, it wasn’t anything more than touching and dancing but it felt nice in a way that contact with another person hadn’t, for a while.

"Hmm," she pretending to consider the option for a moment. He probably couldn't actually hear her hum, but they were close enough that he might be able to feel it. At the very least, Johnny'd be able to read the smirk on her lips, before Darcy shook her head, falling into rhythm with him. The warm of his hand on her waist was nice, she thought, could feel the strength there, not too different than the times she spent with Clint, but so much better than any of the other guys she'd dated.

Darcy wasn't stupid, she knew what the tabloids said about Johnny. But she also knew what people said about Tony or even Jane, and more often, it never proved to be true. So far, Johnny was a perfect gentleman, having fun and not pushing any boundaries than Darcy herself hadn't already set. She was more than willing to formulate her own opinions on the man.

But opinions were for later. For now, she just let him pull her a little closer, slotting her hips between his legs, "I think I'm pretty happy right here."

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

When she grinned up at him, he couldn’t do a thing but toss back his own drink and lick away the salt, grabbing up her wrist to kiss it gently before she traipsed onto the dance floor.

“You missed some. Now, how about you show me how amazing you are at dancing, Miss Darcy?”

The blonde allowed himself to taken to the dance floor and managed to elbow out some room for him to dance with the very beautiful brunet in front of him. After all, he hadn’t brought her here to have fun by herself. The music had bass that tried to insinuate itself into his chest and substitute for his heartbeat, solid bass that had ear-splitting treble layered on top that completely blew out his other senses, and it was perfect. Leaning in, he asked Darcy, “Loud enough for you?”

When Johnny's mouth hit Darcy's wrist, she couldn't help but shiver. It was going to be a good night, she thought.

On the dance floor, she let the beat take over, felt it move through her skin, loud and perfect, even as the tequila hit her hard. It was warm in the club, and Johnny was even warmer, but that didn't stop her from pressing in close, one arm coming up to wrap around his neck, the other idly hooking onto a belt loop. She let the music take over, moving her body in time, barely enough space between them for a hand to pass through.

Well, Johnny did say he wanted to see her dance.

"I think the better question is, can they make it even louder!"

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

Johnny noted with a grin the warmth of Darcy pressed against his side as he gesture firmly, “One, only one shot, and then yes, I’ll dance with you.” Normally, by himself, he’d definitely be drinking, but again, normally and by himself, Johnny would have kept his baby at home and not taken her out for a spin, maybe calling up a taxi or another hero to hang with.

As it was, there was no way he was even running risk of driving his darling impaired, so as they made their way up to the bar he smiled brightly at the bartender and motioned, “One shot for me, please, and however the many the lady wants for the rest of the night.” It wasn’t as if it wasn’t tempting, but the Porsche’s silver paint kept flashing in his mind’s eye whenever he thought of taking more than just the one.

"So responsible," Darcy teased, even as she handed him a tall glass of amber liquid. Reaching for his other hand, Darcy licked Johnny's wrist, a wicked glint in her eye, before sprinkling salt on his skin. She salted herself quickly, not giving him the chance to return the favor, at least, not right away. Throwing the shot back, Darcy licked away the salt, letting the tequila warm her insides. Good tequila didn't need the ritual, but this was not top shelf. Darcy was okay with that.

She motioned for one more, knocked it back quickly, and grinned up at Johnny. "Okay, I'm ready to dance, now!"

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

“Tequila and many, many other things. I guess this means I’ll need to set up an extra room in the Baxter Building,” Johnny smirked as he revved up the car past the ridiculously long entry line of the club they had originally considered. A part of the blonde was relieved the club had been taken off the table of options; too many people knew him there, and he wanted to spend some time just hanging with Darcy.

They pulled up a little while later, parking next to the curb, the mouth of the alley dim and sketchy. Getting out, Johnny quickly opened the door for his partner in crime and held out a hand.

“Your good evening awaits, my lady.”

This was going to be the best night of drinking she ever had, or so help him his name wasn’t Johnny Storm.

She laughed, and let him help her out of the car. The alley into the bar was dark, but Darcy wasn't worried. She had a taser in her small wristlet (thank you, Tony Stark) and a superhero at her side. Curious, Darcy led the way in, pleased to realize that she could actually feel the music under her feet, the closer they got.

There was a bouncer at the door, but one look at Johnny, and they were waved in. As promised, the music was loud and she pressed in close to yell in Johnny's ear, "Shots first, then dance with me?"

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

He sucked in a small breath as her voice lowered into a dejected murmur, and when he looked over at her, her face and jaw were set in a clenched manner that had to hurt. Sighing, he let his hand resting on the stick shift drift to cover her own for a moment so he could squeeze her hand gently before he drew back.

“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s always kinda tough if you wanted it to work out.”

Now that cemented it. They had to go somewhere that Darcy would be able to completely forget about her problem. Things like this, matters of the heart, were only solved by small amounts of judgment and large amounts of alcohol. Ruminating, Johnny asked, “I know a place that’s out of the way. Tucked up an alley and nothing but loud dubstep and drinks that make you forget your name. You interested?”

Darcy gave herself exactly 30 seconds of lingering disappointment, before kicking it away, and putting her smile back in place. She was out on the town, in a smoking car, with a super hot guy on her arm. There was no room for frowns, and even if that was how she felt, Darcy was fairly certain Johnny was going to do his best to keep her happy.

Completely stepping over the offered comfort, as much as she appreciated it, she turned that smile in Johnny's direction. "Baby, you have no idea how interested I am. Tell me they serve tequila, and I'm yours forever." Perfect, Darcy thought, Johnny was just the guy she needed.

Medium is the Message | Steve and Darcy

Steve gestured to a desk in the corner of his living room. A number of large books sat on it, with a laptop perched on top of them. “I was looking up artists earlier, but there’s so much stuff out there. It’s hard to sift through. Google is great and all, but it gives you so many options. I haven’t looked at that other thing. I don’t think?”

#medium is the message #spangly-suited

Darcy slid off the couch, grabbing Steve's laptop before coming back. She sat close enough to tilt the display towards him, so he could read over her shoulder.

"Here," she said, her fingers tapping away at the keyboard. It only took Darcy a moment to pull up Wikipedia's main page, news articles popping up in all four corners. "You've used an encyclopedia before, right? Gone to the library? This is so much easier."

Doing a quick search for 'animation,' Darcy passed the computer over to Steve. "Now, this is user created, so anybody, like me or you or even Tony, could go through and edit or add to this. But, it's usually mostly accurate and you can always use it as a starting off point for real research later on."

Um. Clint, is there something we should know? Did you double as a short order cook?

#abowandarrowtype #what are you even wearing?#avengersroleplay

Medium is the Message | Steve and Darcy

“Sounds good to me. Maybe I should read up on how they do animation now. I used to make little flip books in my sketch pads, but I’m sure they’re a lot more involved now.” Steve sighed, but he was smiling as he did so. It was easy to relax like this. Darcy was nice, and she didn’t make him feel stupid for not knowing things that had changed.

#spangly-suited #medium is the message

"You should make me a flip book," Darcy teased, tucking her hair behind her ear. "That would so awesome." She glanced around the apartment, "Do you have a computer? I'll show you wikipedia. And Google. Unless somebody else already did?"

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

She looked good reclining in the leather seat, her legs long as they stretched in the seat. Johnny reminded himself just how taken she was at the party and drew his eyes away, pulling out and onto the road. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her hand run across the dashboard and couldn’t help the smirk that graced his face in response.

“Well, I’d love to just kidnap you for the night but I can’t promise I’d return you; Jane would have to learn to live without you for a couple of days, Darce.”

The Rose Bar was a fairly popular club, at least for some of the high risers he’d been rubbing elbows with lately. With a shrug, the blonde said, “Eh, I hear it’s a little too popular, if you get my drift, but if that’s where you wanna go then I can guarantee we can get in; I know the bouncer.”

Darcy seemed a little agitated, looking like she had an itch she just couldn’t seem to scratch, and as the quiet grew in the car the blonde nudged the woman sitting next to him. “You okay over there?”

#howhotdoyouwantme #heading out #it's okay baby! I've seen later!

Darcy shrugged, surprised that Johnny could tell she wasn't at her best. "We can go anywhere. Honestly, I'd love to find a dive bar that serves decent tequila, plays loud music, and has a pool table." She did manage a small smirk though, glancing at Johnny's profile, "Maybe you can kidnap me some other day. I'm sure nobody will notice."

Silent for a moment, Darcy watched the city lights pass them, as Johnny drove through the streets. She flicked some imaginary lint off her jeans, deciding what to say. "Do you remember, at Halloween? When I said I was sort of seeing somebody? Over. Over before it even started really." Blinking, Darcy took a breath, refusing to tear up. It wasn't a big deal, they hadn't even kissed or anything.

"I don't even know why I'm so bummed about it, honestly."

Medium is the Message | Steve and Darcy

“Well, don’t tell Tony I said so,” Darcy said with a grin, pushing as his shoulder playfully, “but you’re pretty much the best hero ever. When I was a kid, I had this little poster of you hanging next to me bed. I used to stare at it a lot, but like, not in the creepy way, I promise.” She shrugged a shoulder, “You were all in the suit, with the stars and stripes and totally vintage. I used to tell myself that if you could fight for freedom, I could too. Not in a war or anything, because ew, but like, civil rights and stuff. I used to volunteer for The Human Rights Campaign, in college.”

When he mentioned the cartoons, Darcy perked up, bouncing excitedly on the couch. “Oh Steve, I have to show them to you. They’re beautiful and educational and heartbreaking. We can watch Sleeping Beauty for the art, but then Toy Story for the graphics, and Brave, because it’s the only Disney movie where the princess has a healthy relationship with her mom, and because she’s a hero in her own right, and it’ll be so much fun, I promise!”

“Disney, huh? Wow. I used to love that stuff.” Steve grinned, thinking back to watching short animated films in the theaters. “I thought, you know, some day? Maybe I could do that. Draw something and make it come to life.” He looked at Darcy. “So… I guess there are a lot of movies by Disney, right? We could spend a day watching them?”

#spangly-suited #medium is the message

"I'm gonna get Tony to get you an iPad or whatever tablet he's working on. You can do so many thing with technology now, make so much art. You'll love it, I mean, I know it's going to be different from what you're used to, but it makes animation so much easier. At least, that's what I've heard." Darcy was excited by the possibilities, this need of hers to help Steve get comfortable. And maybe make a new friend in the meantime. It wasn't like she had a lot of people to talk to, stuck up in New York like she was.

"We could totally do a whole day. I mean, really it would take a few days, but I'll pick out, like 12 hours of my favorites, we can work with that."

Heading Out For a Couple Drinks

Johnny smiled at the gorgeous picture that presented itself to him, chuckling at the click of Darcy’s heels even as the shimmer of her shirt caught his eye in the streetlight. Slipping an arm around her shoulder and squeezing affectionately in a one armed hug, the blonde opened her door for her and winked.

“This is all for you, hotter stuff. Let me know what your favorite haunt is and we’ll see about getting in.”

His car was nicer on the inside than it was on the outside, to be sure; black leather with heated seats and a touchscreen control board made it luxurious, fine, but the way the leather felt under his hands and the way it revved when he pushed on the pedal was what made Johnny love the car. It worked fast and ran hot, just like him, and he couldn’t help the way his body relaxed into the seat when he sat down in the driver’s seat.

Darcy leaned into the hug, enjoying the brief flash of warmth off Johnny's skin, before sliding into the car, sinking back into the warm leather. This car was dangerous, Darcy thought. She knew exactly why Johnny owned it.

"Mmm, I'm half tempted to tell you to drive out of the city, let this baby loose." She ran a hand along the dashboard, noticing the complete lack of dust. Somebody loved their car very much.

"But," she sighed, throwing Johnny a teasing grin, "we should probably save that for next time. Where do you do want to go... there's Rose Bar, if we want to drink, dance, and lounge or maybe Santos'? I haven't been there yet, but I hear it's fabulous for dancing." Darcy shrugged, "Honestly, I just want some tequila and loud music." And maybe somebody to dance against, but Darcy didn't say that part out loud.

manintheironsuit-blog

Original Pranksters | Darcy & Tony

The stainless steel doors of the elevator slid open as they reached the ninety-second floor, Tony mindlessly tapping at his phone as he led a pair of deliverymen through the building. They carried a large crate marked ‘Special Delivery’ on the side, and after opening the door to the apartment on this floor he instructed them to leave it in the living room, noting that he would take care of the rest.

He and Darcy had been planning to do this for some time now, and while he recognised that this may not have been the best time to pull this prank, he had decided that Clint could use the laugh. And since Tony was always right, he couldn’t foresee (or rather, refused to acknowledge) any repercussions that could arise from this.

And Tony was looking forward to spending some time with Darcy and getting to know her better anyway. Bruce had nothing but good things to say about her, and Tony already loved drinking and going out with her, so it seemed only natural that the pair of them should hang out more.