Chapter Text
The team was setting up Christmas decorations in the common room when everything went to chaos. One minute, the team was laughing as they argued over where the ornaments were supposed to go on the tree, and the next, weapons were drawn. It took Darcy’s brain a moment to realize that her father had just materialized in the common room, and she threw herself in front of him and the Avengers.
“Whoa! Whoa! He’s my dad!” She shouted, causing everyone to falter.
“How the hell did he get into this tower?” Tony asked. “Fri?”
“He materialized out of nowhere, sir,” came Friday’s smooth voice.
Everyone’s eyes landed on Darcy, who knew her cover was blown to hell now. “Fuck,” the curse slipped out before she could stop it, and she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Darcy Elizabeth Lewis!” Her father barked.
She cringed, whilst amongst the humans she had picked up quite the vocabulary. “Sorry, Papa,” she turned to her father. “Slipped out, and forgive me if it did because you’ve just blown my cover!”
“Cover?” Natasha asked, voice devoid of any emotion. It was her scary Widow’s voice that sent a chill down Darcy’s spine anytime she had heard it. “You’ve been spying on us, Lewis?”
Her shoulders dropped, and she turned to see the betrayal on everyone’s faces. But the one that hurt the most was the look on Bucky’s face. Over the past year and a half, they had grown closer, not only as friends but as something that was turning into a little more than friends. She wasn’t sure when her feelings for him shifted, but they had, and it seemed he felt the same way at times. She wasn’t going to push him because, while he was doing much better than he had been when he had first arrived, there was still a lot of healing he was doing.
“No, not spying,” Darcy said with a sigh. “You’re not gonna believe me if I tell you.”
“Give us some credit, Darce,” Clint said. “I mean, we’ve got a god from space on the team, and aliens invading Earth is what brought us together in the first place.”
She felt her father’s hand on her shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze to let her know he was there and that she could do this. “So I’m an elf, and I work for Santa Claus.”
There was a beat of silence, and then Thor shocked them all by saying, “I knew it.”
Darcy couldn’t help the little laugh that bubbled out of her. She could always count on Thor to be open and trusting, never questioning whether she was telling the truth or not; he just believed her. “What, that I was an elf or that I was just not human?”
“I have come into contact with many an elf in my time amongst the humans,” Thor said. “When I was still a young god, we encountered them more frequently than now. I never could figure out why you were sticking with us as you were. Most elves would leave the area after a year or two and never stayed with certain people for long.”
“Santa,” Darcy told him. “He wanted me to look after you all. Help you. Also, I check in with the elves in the field whenever I go on missions with you.”
Tony pointed at her, “We are coming back to this later, kid. Right now, I want to know why your pops appeared in our common room.”
She turned back to her dad, who had a grim look on his face. “Santa’s been kidnapped.”
For a moment, it felt like the whole world had stopped for Darcy, and she felt someone steadying her. “That’s impossible!” She cried out. “How the hell was he kidnapped?”
There was another sharp look from her father at her swearing, but she wasn’t going to let him make her shrink like she was some naughty kid. “One of the elves in the field wrote to him, saying he needed Santa to come and see something with a particular child. You know how Nick gets sometimes when he hasn’t been around humans. He thought he’d pop in, see what was wrong, and come straight home. Only he didn’t. We can’t locate him, Darce. The tracker in his pocket watch isn’t working either. We need your friends to help locate him.”
They were three weeks away from Christmas; if they couldn’t find Nick before then, they were screwed.
“What about the usual suspects? Krampus? Jólakötturinn?” Darcy was desperate, and she knew her father would have checked with each.
“The Yule Cat is still locked up with the Council for several hundred more years, and Krampus is just as mad as the rest of us. He promised he wouldn't do that, not since the two of them came to an understanding.” Her father opened a portal, and she heard Tony make a noise at the sight before him. Santa’s workshop was right there, and the elves were still working, but Darcy could tell there was a somber mood. “Come with me, we can talk more at the command center.”
Jane opted to stay behind and watch over the Tower while they were gone, and she promised not to finish decorating without them. The rest of the Avengers followed after Darcy and her father, all of them a little confused and a lot curious. Darcy wished she had come clean sooner about her true identity, but working for Santa meant that keeping the secret was like the highest level of security the Avengers had. The only reason they would ever know was in a situation like this, when the North Pole was on DEFCON 1.
Elves watched them pass as they made their way through the halls toward the command center, where meetings were already underway. Mrs. Claus would be there, next in charge in Santa’s absence.
The moment Darcy stepped into the room with her friends, she saw every eye swivel toward them. Elves she had known all her life were grim-faced and unsure. Mrs. Claus was clearly trying to keep it together, but clearly wanted to be doing anything but having this meeting. Darcy immediately went to her side and hugged her. “We’ll find him,” she whispered.
Voices were beginning to talk again, and Mrs. Claus patted her back, “Why don’t you and I go get some refreshments from your mother? Everyone is getting a little hungry and cranky.”
Darcy saw this for what it was, an excuse for her to step out and breathe for a few minutes. “All right,” she agreed.
As they left the room, Darcy felt like someone was watching her, but didn’t turn to see who it was. She and Mrs. Claus made their way through the back halls to avoid most of the traffic from everyone else doing their jobs. The few elves they did cross paths with nodded at Mrs. Claus and murmured a polite, “Ma’am.”
“Everyone is treating me like I’m as fragile as a Christmas ornament,” she said. “I feel like the security team is trying to humor me in some way and are probably sharing their true thoughts now that I’m not there.”
That wouldn’t surprise Darcy in the slightest. As far as she was aware, this situation had never happened like this before. The few times Santa had been kidnapped, they always knew who was behind it. Krampus used to be the main culprit, but once he and Santa struck a deal, the two hadn’t crossed paths much since, unless it was at the yearly Council meeting.
“I was shocked when Papa appeared and told me that Santa had been taken,” Darcy admitted. “I was upset with him before he told me because he blew my cover.”
Mrs. Claus smiled, “You’ve managed well amongst the humans. It suits you.”
“They’re easy to love,” Darcy said with a shrug.
Mrs. Claus hummed, “I think one of them is easier to love than others.” Darcy’s head snapped up to look at her. “Nick isn’t the only one with talents, you know. I used to help him out, too, before the elves turned into the force they are now. I use it now to check in on the elves out in the field, see how they are, make sure they’re all right. Nick and I don’t have children, as you’re well aware, so the elves became my family. I’ve watched all of you grow from the children you were to the elves you are now.”
She really shouldn’t have been surprised, but she was. “I can’t believe you watch us.”
The first genuine laugh since Santa had been kidnapped escaped her. “I like to make sure you’re okay. Sergeant Barnes seems to care about you a great deal. I remember when he was a boy, he cared so much about his sisters. Saved up all his money to buy them sweets and make sure they had gifts on Christmas.”
Darcy tried picturing that version of Bucky, the one not quite jaded by time and what had been done to him. Wanting to be there for his sisters and family. “He’s a good guy,” her throat felt tight as she said the words. “I… the look on his face, though, when Papa arrived.” Tears blurred her vision. “I think I lost any trust I might have built with him.”
“I don’t think you have,” Mrs. Claus said as they paused outside the kitchen. “In fact, I think he’ll be more understanding than you realize if you are honest with him.” With those words, she pushed the door open and entered the kitchen, where things were still a flurry of activity.
Her mother and the other chefs wouldn’t slow down or stop in a time like this. Food often brought comfort, and right now, they all needed that. Liliana Lewis looked up as the doors opened, ready to ask whoever was entering what they needed, when she saw her daughter and Mrs. Claus.
“Darcy bell,” hearing the nickname her mother had given her as a child almost made her want to cry. “I didn’t realize your father was going to call you in.”
“He technically called the Avengers,” she responded as she let her mother wrap her in her arms. She smelled of gingerbread and sugar. “They’re with Papa right now in the command center. Mrs. Claus and I came to get food for everyone.”
“Right,” her mother pulled back and clapped her hands. “All right, people, we’ve got Avengers to feed, and we all know how the god of thunder and the super soldiers eat with their metabolisms. I want filling foods and cookies on carts ASAP!”
“Yes, Chef!” Came the response of the elves.
“Liliana, why don’t you take a break and come greet Darcy’s friends?” Mrs. Claus suggested. “I’m sure Chris and Iris can watch over the kitchen for a bit while you step out.”
Chris appeared out of thin air. His dark brown skin had a dusting of flour from whatever he had been making on his hands. Today, he had his locs tied back with red ribbons that had little reindeer on them. He towered over the three of them at six feet tall, while they ranged from five feet to nearly five feet six inches. “We’ve got this, Lili,” he promised, his voice soft and smooth. Darcy always liked hearing him sing in the off months when some of the elves put on little shows for each other before they got started on the next season. “Good to see you, Darce.”
“You too, Chris,” she smiled and gave him a quick hug. “You can come by later. I know you want to meet the Avengers.”
“Do you think they’d sign my trading cards?” He asked, a shy look on his face. “Santa got them for me last year.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they’d be happy to do that,” she confirmed.
He nodded and turned back to the kitchen, and began giving instructions to the elves still learning how to make certain dishes. The three of them left and headed back to the command center, where images were pulled up on the screen of the last images that had been taken of Santa. Tony was the one talking when they entered.
“These are the last images Friday was able to gather before he went off the grid,” Tony said. “He just vanished after that.”
“Could the person who had abducted him have a pendant like my necklace?” Darcy blurted out, causing everyone to look at her. “All elves are equipped with something that will help them get home, but it can also help them portal to other places. Whoever took Santa could have gotten their hands on the elf that initially reached out and knew how to use it.”
Her father rubbed his chin and said, “That’s not a bad theory. If the person who took Nick is within our circle of mythical beings, they would know about the pendants. It’s not a stretch.”
“What if we’re not dealing with one of us?” Ophelia, another senior agent for the elves, asked. They had grown up together, and for some reason, she always seemed to dislike Darcy. “What if a human found out about the existence of Santa and of us and used that knowledge. Your daughter has been spending a lot more time with them than most of us usually do.”
Everyone in the room stiffened at the insinuation in her tone. “Are you implying that I outed Santa?”
Ophelia shrugged; for her, this seemed like the simplest solution to their current problem. “Well, it is a possibility. I always thought you were wrong for the job you were given, but I was overridden in the decision to place you with the division that goes to the human world.”
Darcy clenched her fists together, “Not once have I ever spoken about this place with another human. Santa trusted me with my job, and I’ve taken it very seriously.”
“So seriously that you rarely come home anymore,” Ophelia shot back. “You’d rather spend your time with them. You even gave one of them a magical cat!”
Darcy slammed her hands down on the table, causing a few of them to flinch in response. “You leave Alpine out of this!”
Ophelia rose and matched her position, “Nick was always too soft with you!”
“Ophelia!” Her father barked. “Stand down, right now.”
Ophelia turned cold eyes toward her father. “We’re all thinking it, Elijah. She’s a liability to us and the safety of the North Pole.”
Tears filled Darcy’s eyes, and she felt Mrs. Claus’s hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away and started backing out of the room. “I know you’ve always disliked me, Ophelia. But that’s the cruelest fucking thing you’ve ever said. I would never put this place in jeopardy.” Then she spun and hurried down the hall, not wanting to take the abuse any longer.