The four set off, leaving the familiar sprawl of the city behind for the long, lonely stretch of highway leading towards New Mexico.
The convoy was an absurd mismatch: leading the way was the battered, beige, and beloved 1980s RV belonging to Jane and Dr. Selvig, stuffed with outdated equipment and fueled by astronomical theories. Trailing behind it was Su Yi's sleek, obsidian-black Class A motorhome, a fortress of luxury and technological capability.
Darcy Lewis sat in the passenger seat of Su Yi's RV, her face pressed against the panoramic window, utterly mesmerized by the digital weather station and the whisper-quiet ride.
The two quickly became acquainted. As someone who readily prioritized aesthetic appeal and instant gratification, Darcy unhesitatingly 'sold out' her sister Jane, offering Su Yi blunt, enthusiastic advice on how to proceed.
"Okay, look, Jane's only weakness is her complete inability to register social cues when she's focused on a wormhole," Darcy lectured, gesturing wildly with a half-eaten bag of chips.
"You have to speak her language. She likes big words. She likes being challenged, but not dismissed. And for the love of everything holy, do not let her forget to eat. I'm the only reason she hasn't vanished into a cloud of theoretical particles yet."
Su Yi listened intently, his responses gentle, witty, and perfectly tailored to reinforce his shared intellectual curiosity with Jane while also acknowledging Darcy's valuable role in the ecosystem. His genuine interest in Darcy's observations—beyond just Jane—made her impression of him skyrocket.
"You're a crucial member of this team, Darcy," Su Yi stated honestly. "Jane might be the theoretical genius, but you're the operational anchor. The one who keeps the vehicle running and the sanity intact."
Darcy preened. "See? I told you I'm an asset! Not just an intern!"
After driving for over ten hours, as the sun dipped below the rugged horizon, painting the sky in fiery oranges and purples, the group rested by the roadside. They set up camp in a quiet, isolated area, and a campfire was soon crackling merrily.
The group gathered around the flames, and the conversation naturally reverted to astronomy and theoretical physics. Although Su Yi wasn't personally invested in the specifics, he was invested in the bonding process.
He drew out Dr. Selvig and Jane with incisive, challenging questions that steered the discussion away from basic science and towards the nature of multiversal convergence and interdimensional energy transfer.
Dr. Selvig, initially wary, was soon utterly fascinated. "Your understanding, Mr. Su, is... intuitive. Are you certain you haven't published anything? Some of your geometric concepts are strangely reminiscent of the work done by certain European groups decades ago."
Jane, meanwhile, had completely forgotten her shyness, her eyes shining with intellectual excitement. She felt a rare and powerful kinship with Su Yi—a man who could follow her thoughts right to the edge of the known universe and ask, What's next?
Darcy, meanwhile, was mostly a background presence, providing comic relief and periodically roasting marshmallows, watching the academic fireworks with mild amusement.
It was getting late, and the embers of the fire were beginning to glow deep red. It was time to rest.
"Jane, you and Darcy can sleep in my RV tonight," Su Yi offered, indicating the spacious, climate-controlled luxury vehicle. "I can sleep in a tent. It's much more comfortable than that cramped space you're in."
Jane was still a bit embarrassed by the offer. "How can that be? You are the host of the better vehicle."
"Dr. Selvig is older, so it would be better for him to sleep in the RV," Su Yi countered, knowing the appeal to respect would work on Jane.
Darcy immediately chimed in to assist her friend. "Then we'll take turns, Jane! It's only fair. Tomorrow, we'll sleep in tents, and the Doctor and Su can share the good RV! Come on, it has a hot shower!"
Dr. Selvig, not wanting to be excluded from the discussion, also joined in. "I can share an RV with Su. We can continue our discussion on the unified field theory of gravitational anomalies."
"No need, Dr. Selvig," Su Yi smiled, extracting his high-end, all-weather tent. "I prefer sleeping in a tent. The fresh air and the stars are the real luxury."
Su Yi began to set up his spacious tent. Jane, feeling a profound sense of indebtedness and also bad that he was roughing it while they were comfortable, immediately helped him secure the poles. Darcy, sensing the romantic significance of 'setting up house,' was also tactful and rushed over to assist.
After a while of communal busyness, Su Yi retired to his tent. With his current peak human physical condition, he could easily go days without sleep or teleport home to rest. However, Su Yi was worried about the safety of Jane and the others. The imminent Bifrost tear and Thor's arrival would bring unintended cosmic consequences, and he needed to be present.
The first day ended just like that, and this was only the beginning. From their current location, it would probably take about half a month to reach their destination. This half a month would be enough time for Su Yi to gently 'conquer' Jane's trust and intellectual respect.
A few days passed in a flash, and the group continued their journey. The routine was set: long days of driving, punctuated by deep intellectual discussions and interspersed with Darcy's surprisingly insightful pop culture commentary.
One night, they stopped in a particularly isolated canyon where the light pollution was minimal. Jane, obsessed with collecting a perfect baseline reading before the predicted event, observed the starry sky until past midnight. Su Yi also didn't rest, accompanying Jane at the telescope.
"I want to observe a bit too," Su Yi murmured, deliberately moving closer. Their shoulders brushed as they both looked through the eyepiece at the infinite, cold expanse.
Jane didn't mind; she had already grown accustomed to Su Yi's protective presence and intellectual sparring. Unbeknownst to them, the two had grown immensely closer, the shared passion for the unknown bridging the gap between their different worlds.
Darcy, curled up in her warm sleeping bag in the RV, noticed this scene through the window—two figures silhouetted against the colossal, glittering canvas of the night sky. She 'shipped' the couple with silent, joyous intensity.
"Yes, just like that! He's playing the long game," Darcy thought, pulling the blanket tighter. "It looks like Jane and Su are about to succeed. He's the first guy who's ever made her stop thinking about the stars long enough to look at him. It's just a pity, Su is also totally my type—intelligent, ridiculously hot, and owns a five-star RV. But I can only give him to Jane. It's for the greater good of my thesis-writing sanity."
Watching the two continue to gaze at the starry sky, Darcy couldn't help but feel a little sleepy. "Forget it, it's time to rest."
Just as Darcy was about to drift off, Su Yi made his calculated move.
"Jane, it's getting late. I think you should rest too. You haven't slept properly in three days."
Jane, however, was incredibly energetic, fueled by a new idea sparked by one of their conversations. "No, I can't. I still have some thoughts about that geometric folding theory you mentioned yesterday. If we adjust the variable for..."
Su Yi smiled, knowing he had her on the hook. "Why don't we put away the equipment first, and then we can go into the tent and chat slowly? It's quite windy out here, and the cold will only distract us."
Jane, completely lost in the problem, didn't notice that she had fallen directly into Su Yi's plan. She simply smiled and agreed. "Okay. The tent will be better for sketching out the equations."
The two packed up their things, and their movement woke Darcy.
"Jane, are you going to rest?" Darcy called out sleepily from the RV.
"I'm going to Su's tent..." Jane had only said half her sentence when Darcy immediately perked up, her eyes wide with anticipation.
Jane then realized the unfortunate implication of what she said. "W-We still have a problem to discuss," she quickly corrected, her cheeks flushing in the dark. "I might be back late. You go ahead and rest. I promise I'll be quiet when I come back so I don't disturb you."
"Go quickly, go," Darcy urged, giving a thumbs-up from her sleeping bag, her voice filled with knowing encouragement.
Jane felt Darcy seemed a little strange, but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. She dismissed it, simply focusing her mind on the complex theoretical problem they were about to discuss. "Goodnight, Darcy!"
"Goodnight!" Darcy called back, her heart racing.
Jane left the RV. The night wind blew, making her feel a little cold, a shiver that vanished as soon as she entered Su Yi's warm, quiet tent.
"Su, I think the error is in the tensor calculus..."
The two began their discussion, filling the tent with the low murmur of scientific terms. What Jane didn't know was that Darcy, wrapped herself in a thick blanket, quietly left the RV, and crept to a discreet distance near Su Yi's tent.
Listening intently to the muffled sounds of their conversation, she strained to hear something—anything—that sounded less like theoretical astrophysics. After ten minutes, she managed to vaguely make out words like "Singularity," "Event Horizon," and "Symmetry Breaking."
Darcy finally erupted into a silent, frustrated fit, stamping her foot on the dusty ground. "What?! Su, are you kidding me?" she whispered aggressively to the silent, starry night. "At this time, when she's in your tent, you're discussing these things with Jane? You should be making a move! Be more proactive! Seize the moment, you beautiful idiot!"
Su Yi heard every single word of Darcy's highly passionate, yet completely silent, tactical complaint. He smirked internally, realizing the futility of his 'slow burn' approach with an overzealous wingman present.
Another hour passed in a flash. Jane, exhausted after three days of minimal sleep and intense intellectual strain, finally looked at the documents, her vision blurring. Finally, sleepiness washed over her, and she collapsed, her head gently resting on Su Yi's shoulder.
Su Yi looked at the academically obsessed Jane and smiled. It was not a smile of victory, but of genuine warmth and admiration. Jane sleeping here tonight proved that he had earned her complete trust and respect. He didn't need to rush; he had secured her intellectual and emotional core.
He gently laid Jane down on the portable air mattress, tidied up the scattered documents, helped her cover herself with the blanket, and let Jane sleep soundly, her breathing deep and even.
"Next up, it's Darcy," Su Yi thought. He truly hadn't expected Darcy to be so persistent. She had been eavesdropping outside the tent for over an hour and still hadn't gone back. Su Yi decided the reward for her persistence and loyalty was due.
Coming out of the tent, Su Yi saw Darcy nearby, still shrouded in her blanket, her back against a large boulder, already looking profoundly drowsy.
Su Yi quietly approached Darcy, his footsteps silent on the sand, and whispered, "Darcy, what are you doing out here? It's freezing."
The sound was soft, but to the half-asleep Darcy, it was like a clap of thunder, instantly startling her awake. She gasped and scrambled to her feet, her thoughts racing, trying to conjure a plausible, non-creepy answer.
"I... I noticed Jane hadn't come back yet! I was worried she'd catch a cold!"
Su Yi unhesitatingly exposed Darcy's lie, his voice low and teasing. "Jane only just fell asleep, and you were already outside eavesdropping. It's been over an hour, Darcy. Weren't you tired of hearing about the theoretical breakdown of the Klein Bottle model?"
Caught red-handed, and disappointed in the outcome, Darcy decided to throw caution to the wind and frankly admitted it. "Of course, I'm tired!" she lamented, throwing her hands up. "But, with such a perfect opportunity—Jane, the tent, the moonlight—what were you doing? You should seize the opportunity! Instead of chatting about boring astronomy and academics until she passed out on your shoulder!"
Darcy's expression of 'hating iron for not becoming steel' made Su Yi unable to help but laugh—a quiet, deep sound that melted away the awkwardness. He had seen sisters being 'sold out,' but Darcy was doing it with unparalleled enthusiasm.
"So, you were hoping to hear something... different?" Su Yi asked, stepping closer.
"Of course! Otherwise, do you think I'd listen to you two drone on about the stability of the cosmic constants for an hour?" Darcy confessed, frustrated. She hadn't heard what she had hoped would happen.
It was even later now, and Darcy was preparing to accept defeat and go back to rest. She hadn't even walked away when Su Yi's strong arms gently encircled her waist, pulling her close into the shadow of the boulder.
Darcy froze for a moment, her breath hitching in her throat, then she heard Su Yi whisper, his voice soft against her ear, "Why listen, Darcy? I think you can experience something yourself."
Darcy felt her breathing quicken, the cold desert air suddenly feeling warm. She was unsure how to respond, her mind reeling from the sudden pivot.
"Do you think Jane is the only person on this trip who deserves to be cared for?" Su Yi continued, his hands resting reassuringly on her waist.
Darcy was about to exclaim a surprised protest but was stopped by Su Yi placing a finger on her lips.
"Quiet," he whispered. "Jane just fell asleep. And Dr. Selvig is a heavy sleeper."
He locked eyes with her, his intent clear and unwavering. "Everyone is a normal person, Darcy. With needs, desires, and curiosity. Don't you agree?"
Darcy understood Su Yi's meaning, but she was still caught between the loyalty to her friend and her overwhelming attraction to him. She had spent years doing research on the road, with no time for a normal life, much less romance.
She hadn't even had a normal male companion in ages. Looking at Su Yi, who was perfectly her type—handsome, smart, and dominant—she decided to stop hesitating and take the initiative he had presented.
"You're absolutely right," she finally whispered, her eyes wide, before rising up and pressing her lips to his.
The cold night wind grew fiercer, the tent rustled softly in the distance where Jane was sleeping, and the two luxury vehicles stood as silent, silver witnesses to the tactical shift in the campaign of Su Yi.
The silence of the desert was broken only by the distant sounds of the night and the immediate, close sounds of shared passion.