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“She is a most enchanting lady, Captain. I have no doubts you will be impressed with her!”
Steve didn’t even try to suppress the smile that came to his face; he’d been forcing smiles less since he began spending time with the Avengers. Thor’s enthusiasm was especially infectious. “I’m sure I will have the utmost respect for Dr. Foster. You and Dr. Banner have said so many great things about her.”
“Aye, the good doctor has been an excellent help in explaining her research to me. I am most proud of what she’s accomplishing.”
Thor shouldered open the door to a large lab space completely cluttered with boxes and machinery Steve had never seen before. Not that it was difficult to surround him with things he didn’t know, per se, but since he’d moved into the Tower, he’d started getting used to Tony’s sleeker, futuristic-looking devices that had leapt straight off the pages of his favorite sci-fis. The equipment around him now looked more strung together, duct tape and bailing wire constant themes across the machines.
“Thor!” a voice shrieked. Steve turned to see a blur of curly dark hair and distracting curves streak across the room and launch itself at Thor.
Thor simply laughed, caught her effortlessly and spun her around. “My lightning sister! I should have known you’d be down here already, you are never far from my lady’s side!”
As soon as he’d set her back on her feet, the girl took a small step back, poking him hard in the stomach. Thor didn’t even seem to feel it. “Thor, we’ve talked about this. Remember the discussion on women’s rights? Jane isn’t yours. Hell, it’s arguable if she’s even a lady.” Despite her words, the girl had a grin on her face, her tongue pressing against her teeth.
Thor bowed his head to her, a solemn expression on his face. “My apologies, Lady Darcy. I do not deign to imply the fierce Jane belongs to anyone but her own bouts of whim and intellect.”
The girl threw her head back with a cackle. “You’re damn right about that; Jane’s had me down here unpacking since we arrived. I haven’t even gotten to check out my room yet! But I make it a rule not to argue with the boss-lady. Too much. Before she’s distracted by science.”
She lowered her eyes, and they caught on Steve. He cursed himself, but his cheeks immediately started to flame. Unnoticing or uncaring, the girl let out a low whistle. “Damn, New York is the place to be. Does everyone around here come in various flavors of blond and hunky?”
Thor’s eyes twinkled with mischief, even while he clapped Steve on the shoulder. “Lady Darcy, this is my good friend Steve Rogers. Captain, this is the esteemed Lady Darcy Lewis, mighty warrior and assistant to my— to Jane.”
Darcy hadn’t noticed his slip; she was too busy gawking up at Steve. “Holy shit, your Captain America.”
He hadn’t thought it possible, but he flushed a few shades deeper. “Um.”
“Yeah, sorry, lack of filter, you get used to it. So it really is you. Didn’t you die, like, seventy years ago?”
“Darcy!” a sharp voice called out from the back of the lab, just barely preceded by a clatter and a crash.
“Oops, gotta go. See you around, Cap!” With a wave of her hand and a flick of her hair, Darcy flounced back into the maze of boxes and machines. Steve blinked after her a few times, before turning back to a grinning Thor.
“She is unique and fierce, and she does a great service to my Lady Jane. Who seems to be in need of some additional assistance. If you’ll excuse me, Captain.”
Steve watched him follow after Darcy with a shake of his head.
***
In the month they’d been living and working together, the Avengers had found a way to complete post-mission debriefs that worked for all of them. Thanks to Clint and Tony, that generally involved a bottle of tequila, but Steve made sure they didn’t do too much damage to themselves. Besides, after most of the things they had to get involved in, the team could use help to unwind.
Today’s mission hadn’t been the hardest thing they’d had to deal with since the invasion of New York, but it had been messy. The terrorist cell had Hawkeye pinned down, Iron Man and Captain America in a tight place, and Thor had been unable to access them. The only reason they’d gotten out without any casualties on their side had been some quick thinking on Black Widow’s part, and her ability to take out all six men before things had gotten any worse.
She was sitting quietly in her chair at one end of the table, two shots already downed when Tony slid past her, clapping her on the shoulder. “Great work back there, Widow. If it was anyone else, I’d hate to admit you saved my ass, but I’m sure you’d probably kick mine if I didn’t.” She nodded silently and downed another shot, and Steve pushed the meeting along.
He didn’t even think anything of it, until after the meeting and a shower, he’d wandered towards the kitchen for food. He always seemed to be hungry because of the serum, but it was worse after a battle.
Just inside the door, he froze. Darcy was standing in front of Natasha, next to the little island in the center of the room, with a concerned look on her face. She threw her arms around Natasha’s shoulders, pulling her in. Natasha froze, arms tight to her sides, nails curling into her palms.
Steve sucked in a sharp breath and took a step forward, ready to intervene on Darcy’s behalf. No one touched Widow without her permission; the only reason Tony had gotten away with it in the debrief was because they were all tired and worn-down. Steve didn’t want to imagine the hurt she could inflict on Darcy.
But before he got very far, Natasha melted against her. Her head dropped to her shoulder, and her arms slowly raised to cling hard to Darcy in return. A puff of air made her hair flutter, a shudder ran down her back, and then she was still, pressed into the embrace.
Keeping silent, Steve backed out of the kitchen, a worried but thoughtful purse to his lips. He hadn’t thought about it earlier, too busy praising her along with everyone else. But Miss Lewis had obviously seen something the rest of them had missed. Natasha had taken six lives today. Just because she was an assassin, just because she had a history with doing similar things, he’d assumed it wouldn’t weigh on her. As a soldier, he should have realized how wrong that assumption would be.
He headed for the elevator with a plan to pick a few hot dogs up from a vendor outside, and made a mental note to himself to keep a better eye on his team. All of them.
***
The alarms had started just as he’d gotten out of the shower. Of course. He’d barely had time to pull on some sweats and snap up his shield before he was off and running. “JARVIS, what’s happening?”
“I’m afraid there has been an accident in one of the labs, Captain Rogers. Dr. Banner is in a precarious situation. An evacuation has been organized, but I think it best you get there before too much damage is inflicted to the structure.”
Steve swore under his breath and put more power into his legs, jumping down the stairs to the landings and skipping the stairs. The labs Tony had built were ten stories below the residential floors. He could already hear the noises of people streaming out below him, panic in the air but still controlled. Tony had picked his staff well.
They cleared the door long enough for him to slip into the hall and guide the last of the fleeing lab workers out, shutting the fire door securely behind them. Glass littered the floor from one of the lab spaces at the end of the hall, smoke curling into the air. Not enough to be dangerous, but enough to darken and smudge the floors and ceiling in a blast pattern stretching away from the destroyed lab.
Steve crept forward, eyes fixed on the hole in the wall, wondering why he was only hearing the Hulk’s heavy breathing. He would have expected the usual roars, some crackling and crashes as the Hulk destroyed the space around him in his fear and pain after whatever had blown up.
He peaked around the gap in the wall, and his heart plummeted into his stomach. Darcy Lewis stood in the middle of the lab, facing the Hulk, slowly picking her way across the shattered glass and machinery towards him. The Hulk’s eyes were fixed intently on her, but he didn’t move, other than to lift his lip in a snarl.
He didn’t want to startle the Hulk, he couldn’t reach Darcy from here. But he had to get her out of here, had to get her clear where she would be safe before he could figure out a way to subdue the Hulk. Images of her flattened against the floor, of Bruce’s distress after finding out he’d hurt her, flashed through his mind and made his mouth run dry. He couldn’t afford to waste time.
“Darcy,” he hissed, shifting forward and gripping his shield tighter. “Get out of here. Now.”
Darcy ignored his warning, taking another step closer to the Hulk. The Hulk’s eyes flickered to Steve, a low growl rumbling out of his chest as he flexed his hands into tighter fists. Darcy’s hands went up, gentle and coaxing. She took another step forward. His eyes snapped back to her.
“Darcy—”
“Hey there, big guy,” Darcy spoke over him, but her voice was still low, gentle, soothing. “I know, that probably hurt, didn’t it? Stupid faulty machinery. We’ll be sure to bill Tony. Also, he can never make fun of Jane’s homemade stuff again. So hers has also blown up, but not in the Tower, and he doesn’t need to know that, right?”
He snorted and took a half step forward, but Darcy didn’t even flinch. She took another step closer. “It’s okay. Everyone’s gone, no one was hurt. Well, no one but you. You’re really good at protecting Dr. Banner, you know that? But that doesn’t mean it never hurts you. I’m not going to hurt you either. I just…”
Darcy had reached him, her head tilted back to look up at him. “It’s okay, big guy. Let me help.”
Every instinct in Steve screamed at him to get her away, to get her safe. He’d never reach her in time. Before he could think of anything else, she’d stretch up on her toes, wrapping her arms as best as she could across his chest and around his arms. She barely stretched across his front.
Breath held, Steve watched as the Hulk tilted his head curiously at her to one side, before he let out a soft groan and closed his eyes. His whole body curled over her, and he slowly started to shrink, green draining out of him into a more natural fleshy color. Her arms traveled with him until he’d shrunk back to Dr. Banner, on his knees in front of her with his face pressed to her stomach. He let out a soft whimper, hands clutching her waist. She made a soft shushing noise, stroking one hand through his hair.
“Lets get you checked over by the medics, eh, Doc? And then I’ll get you some ice cream and we can tease Tony forever about fucking up one of his toys he’s always so proud of.”
Bruce’s chuckle flitted through the space. She turned to look at Steve, flashing him a soft smile, before she tugged lightly on Bruce’s hair. “C’mon, Doc. Not that I’d complain, you’re secretly ripped under all those lab coats, but you don’t want me to see you naked now, do you? I’ll help you raid Tony’s closet for something not purple!” Bruce huffed out something between another laugh and a groan, but let Darcy guide him to his feet.
When he saw Steve standing near the doorway, shield at his side, his mouth tightened. “Did everyone make it out? Is everyone alright?” Steve nodded, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Steve.” He let Darcy steer him carefully past the shattered glass and metal, Steve trailing thoughtfully behind them.
***
Steve chewed on his lip, steps echoing around him in the empty hall as he headed towards the workshop. He’d already looked for Tony in the common room, the garage, and the kitchen; all were empty. Normally he’d wait until Tony resurfaced on his own, but he’d taken Steve’s phone, wandering off with loud promises to improve it.
He’d taken the phone just when Steve had been working up the courage to ask Darcy out for coffee.
Heaving a sigh, he stopped in front of the workshop as the doors slid open to greet him. All of the lights were dim. Most of the tower stayed dark when no one was around, to conserve electricity, but JARVIS usually brought up the lights when he came down here. A worried feeling gnawed at his stomach.
“JARVIS?” he whispered, but the AI didn’t respond. Steve took a few careful steps into the lab, looking around.
The place was a mess. Not that Tony was ever very focused on order when he was in the middle of a project. But this wasn’t the happy chaos of creation. Wires and chunks of metal scattered across the floor, still sparking in places. A heavy mallet was dropped on one bench, surrounded by shattered glass. A wrench stuck out of the plaster of the wall, looking like it had been hurled there in a pique of anger.
He hurried deeper into the room, craning around, looking for any sign of Tony. He even ducked between benches to check the floor.
He rounded a corner of the large room, and skidded to a stop. At the back end of the workshop, Darcy and Tony were standing in a face-off, both holding themselves in tight lines and angry postures. The fingers of one of Tony’s hands was wrapped tightly around the neck of an expensive bottle of whiskey from the open cabinet behind him.
Steve’s heart plummeted a little. When they’d first become a team, Tony’s reliance on alcohol had been the point for a lot of concern, a lot of anger, and a lot of arguments. Tony had been insistent that he was a high-functioning alcoholic, thanks, so they could all be assured that it wouldn’t affect his performance. It had taken them months to get him to understand that it wasn’t his performance they cared about; it was him.
Tony had been clean for four months. A streak that looked to be at its end.
The liquid sloshed as he waved it at Darcy. “Yes, thank you for your concern, Miss Lewis, but I don’t care. I’m busy, if you hadn’t noticed, so you can politely leave.”
“And what?” Darcy asked, her voice thick with something like anger, her hands flipping back at Tony. “Leave you here to throw away everything you’ve been working at for months, to throw away—”
A laugh so harsh it made Steve flinch back cut her off; he hadn’t heard Tony sound like that since they first started working together. “Throw away what? There is nothing left to throw away. I don’t think you people understand that. This is who I am. You’ve been playing with Nice Tony for months now, but in the end, I fuck everything up and destroy more than I build. It’s the Stark way.” His voice was flippant, but every line of him screamed out in pain.
Darcy’s shoulders slumped, softening just a touch. “Look, I know relationships are hard, and sometimes they suck a lot. But you didn’t fuck everything up with you and Pepper. You—”
“Don’t.” If Steve hadn’t known Tony so well, he wouldn’t have caught the waver in his voice. “You don’t get to come in here and tell me how things are going to be between me and Miss Potts. In case you hadn’t noticed, only one of us in this room is a genius, so I think I know what I’m talking about.” He pointed a finger at Darcy, the bottle wavering between them. “Don’t.”
She didn’t seem to be impressed by his threatening tone. Steve watched as she took a deep breath, pushed the bottle out of her way, stepped into Tony’s space, and wrapped her arms around him.
Tony looked like he’d been electrified, every muscle jerking and seizing. He started pushing at her, snarling for her to let go of him. Darcy ignored his flailing and his words and just held tighter to him. “Let go of me, get off right this… Let go, let…” His voice hitched, and his hands, clawing at her shoulders, slipped, until his grip caught lower on her shirt. Instead of prying her off, he clung to her, burying his face in her shoulder as a sob racked his frame.
Darcy reacted the same as she had when he tried to push her off. Her arms tightened, and she only moved enough to slip the unopened bottle out of his hands and slide it to the floor. Steve stood in the shadows, watching Darcy stroke along Tony’s hair even as his sobs stuttered off, his heart twisting into odd knots.
With a last rattling breath, Tony pulled himself together and took a step back, refusing to acknowledge the tears on his face by even pushing them away.
Darcy gave him a smirk, bumping her hip into his as she scooped up the bottle and headed to the cabinet behind him. “Look, Stark, I know you can be a bit of an ass, but you haven’t done anything dickish enough to blow it all to hell. Yet. Pepper’s put up with you this long; it would take a much weaker woman to give you up over something like this. You’re not the best at talking about feelings, believe me, we’ve all got that, but you can work this out with her. I’ve got faith in you.”
He snorted a laugh at her mocking tone that covered the sincere words beneath. He tugged a rag from his pocket, wiping his hands on it before running it casually over his face. It cleared away the tear tracks, but left smudges of oil across his face. “Pepper will be back from that Italy conference thingy in three days; give you both some time to cool down. You’re a stubborn ass. You can fix this.” Darcy continued, politely ignoring Tony as she set the bottle back into the cabinet and locked it.
She turned to face him, a mischievous smirk on her face. “And when Pepper gets back, she’ll be glad to know you didn’t fall off the wagon without her babysitting you.” She plucked away the fabric of the front of her shirt, held up the key, and dropped it between her cleavage.
Tony threw his head back with a real laugh, doubling over to support his weight on his knees. “Lewis, don’t even think that’ll stop me, it won’t even give me pause, I am not afraid to go in there after it.”
“Maybe you should be. Thor did tell you about the time I tazed him, didn’t he?”
A smile and a shake of his head, and Steve backed out slowly from the room before either of them could know he was there.
***
He yawned and stretched, scratching passively at his stomach. It was three in the morning, but try to tell his stomach that. At least he wasn’t the only one on his team anymore with odd eating habits; the kitchen was stashed to the brim with options of snacks he never would have dreamed about as a kid.
But when he reached the kitchen, a soft noise made him stop. He slowly pushed the door out of his way, and peered into the soft-lit space.
Darcy sat on the island in the middle of the kitchen, her legs swinging down. They were spread just enough for Clint to squeeze between them, his head resting on her chest, his fingers knotted tightly in her light pajama shirt, twitching occasionally. Darcy’s arms looped lightly around his shoulders, her head rested on top of his, her face turned towards the door but her eyes closed.
Her fingers brushed along the nape of his neck, and she turned her head enough to brush a kiss along his hair before she dropped low enough to murmur something in his ear. He shook his head and tightened his grip on her. She sighed softly and returned to her earlier position.
Steve’s stomach rolled. It wasn’t like him and Darcy had… meant anything. Hell, he had still been working up the courage to ask her on that coffee date. At this point, it was just a couple movie nights together in the theater room, some days where he sat and drew for hours while she curled up on the couch next to him with a book, some forays out into New York where she could tease him and explain new things to him in equal measure. It’s not like he’d asked Darcy to be his girl or anything.
And now he’d missed his chance.
He backed out of the room, but rather than heading back to his bed, he steered himself towards the gym. He wasn’t getting anymore sleep tonight.
+++
The TV murmured in the background, but Steve’s eyes refused to focus on the flashing images in the dark room. His whole world was off-tilt, his balance rocked and him left unable to find his footing.
Bucky was alive.
No, he reminded himself harshly, remote creaking as he tightened his fingers around it. The Winter Soldier.
The Winter Soldier, Russian Assassin, bane of the system and ghost to many civilized nations. The Winter Soldier, who was currently seated in SHIELD holding facilities, with ten armed guards stationed very close to his monitored cell.
The Winter Soldier, who looked and sounded so much like his best friend that it knocked the breath out of him every time he let himself stop to think about it.
He took a deep, steadying breath, and immediately regretted it as a lance of pain shot through his ribs. Even the Super Soldier serum hadn’t been enough to magic away all the pains his fight with the Winter Soldier had inflicted, at least not this soon after the fight.
The door of the common room opened, and out of the corner of his eye, he watched Darcy hesitating in the doorway. She was watching him worriedly. As most of the agents around him had done since he’d brought the Winter Soldier in, since he’d insisted they didn’t hurt him. He wanted to tell her to go away, to leave him alone, but a bone-deep weariness dragged him down. He ignored her, pretending to focus on the television.
She sat next to him, her eyes focused on him, and twisted her fingers around each other. Fidgeting. She was fidgeting. He made her nervous.
“Steve…”
He didn’t respond, just clicked the volume on the television up a few notches.
She hummed in a distraught way, but her hands stayed in her lap. He felt more than saw her take a deep breath, before she turned to him, tugged his arm up and out of her way, slung herself over his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He froze, feeling her warmth along his front. His hands flitted around her waist unsure where to settle, until he gripped her shoulders and tried to pull her off. He didn’t want her pity. He didn’t deserve… He…
Darcy pulled away just a bit, not so far that her hands have to leave his neck. Her fingers tightened in the short hairs at the base of his skull, and she leveled an unimpressed look at him. “Steve.”
His resolve shattered, and he pulled her against him. He buried his face in her hair and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing until his arms started to shake under the strain. She let out a squeak and he felt her hands spasm against his shoulders, and he immediately loosened his hold, murmuring apologies from somewhere tangled in her hair.
She slid back slowly, looking at him with sorrowful eyes, but none of the pity he feared was there. No accusations, no confusion or fear, no doubt. Just a sadness and a deep wealth of caring that threatened to shatter his heart all over again.
Without consulting his brain first, his hands cupped her face, drawing her to him in a desperate kiss. She melted into him, making a surprised noise before her lips moved against his, her hands tangling in his hair.
Then an image of her curled around Clint in the kitchen flashed through his mind and he gasped, jerking back and away from her. He flushed deep red again, he could feel the heat in his cheeks, but he tried to get her off his lap, get her back onto the couch, get her away from him so he could flee. “Sorry. Sorry, I… Sorry.”
A gentle hand brushed along his cheek and he flinched away, but his eyes lock on hers. Confusion had encroached on the compassion, but she refused to be budged from his lap. “Steve. It’s okay.”
He shook his head, dislodging her touch. “No, it’s not. I’m sorry for taking advantage of you. I shouldn’t—”
A laugh burbled out of her, mirth dancing in her eyes. “If anyone was taking advantage, it was me, Cap. I’m sorry for pouncing on your emotional weak spot.”
He stared up at her in confusion, but shook his head again slowly. “No, it’s not that… It’s just… But you and Clint.”
A line appeared between her eyebrows, and she cocked her head at him. He wasn't prepared for the laughter that barked out of her, the way she tipped back into his hands as she shook with laughter. “Think there’s been some miscommunication somewhere, Cap. There is no Clint and I. Bird brain’s like my brother. My pervy older brother who happens to flirt with me.”
Steve’s confusion just deepened. “I saw you and him in the kitchen, last week.”
Darcy’s laughter melted away, replaced with a different kind of concern as she glanced towards the door. “Clint’s had a hard life. Like most of you messed up lunatics. I know you all like to play the strong hero, but it’s taken a toll on all of you, I’m sure. Clint has nightmares. Nasty, terrible nightmares. I’m not going into how I know, that’s not a story for you. But Clint knows he can come to me when he can’t sleep, that I can just be there for him, and that I’m not going to judge him or take it out on his ass later. I’m his teddy bear, that’s all, Steve. His teddy bear with sass and big boobs.”
He could tell by the way she eyed him that she expected an argument. Or at the very least embarrassment over how she ended her last sentence. But he was too busy feeling overwhelming relief.
He hadn’t missed his chance.
“Oh thank god.” He tugged her down against him, cutting off any more teasing with a firm press of his lips.
Eventually they separated, looking each other over in the darkness. He tugged lightly on her sides, and she leaned back forward, wrapping her arms once more around his neck and stroking gently at the back of his head.
Steve felt like he’d just learned something the rest of the Avengers had discovered before him; Darcy’s hugs weren’t magical, exactly, but having someone there, who, even if they didn’t understand everything they were facing, someone who was there for them, who wouldn’t judge them, who only offered quiet and unconditional support… It might not be magical, but it could do a lot to heal the things he faced.
The things all of them faced.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Darcy tilted her head to brush a kiss along his temple and didn’t reply, just held him tighter.