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There was a bar in Brooklyn that had been open for longer than most people in the neighborhood could remember. It was on the corner above a bakery that had been around longer than the bar. It wasn’t fancy, the hipsters moving into the area turned their noses up at it, preferring the craft beer place a few blocks over. Inside on any given night you’d find a decent representation of the population. People of all ages, races, religions, and backgrounds mingling together enjoying decent booze and good company. The best part of the bar though was the patio. It was a good size, about half the square footage of the interior. Had multicolored strings of lights crisscrossing the space and three large picnic tables. The view wasn’t much, overlooking the parking lot, but it was private and comfortable. The bars regulars knew that twice a month the patio was rented out on Friday nights for a private party.
Anyone from the press, or who knew anything about Tony Stark would never believe this simple neighborhood bar in Brooklyn was the preferred hang out of The Avengers. It started out as just Steve, but after a month or two of the patrons and owner not outing him to the press he started to relax and mentioned the place to Clint who lived over in Bed Stuy. Of course, where Clint went Natasha was soon to follow. Thor could smell an outing involving drinking from Niflheim, and once Tony caught on to the fact that four of them had been going out together a couple Friday’s a month dragged Bruce along too. At first Tony complained about the quality of the booze, teasing the owner Marsha that she should start buying the good stuff. Marsha shot right back saying if he wanted liquor that cost hundreds of dollars a bottle he should put his money where his mouth was and invest in the business. The next day a messenger brought her a certified check for $50,000 with a note from Tony telling her to go nuts and replace her entire stock.
If Tony thought investing in the bar meant Marsha was going to take his crap, he was sorely mistaken. She still didn’t hesitate to give as good as she got, even smacking him upside the head Gibbs style if he crossed a line. Her only concession was to start calling him Tony instead of Stark. Eventually other people close to them started joining the team and Tony started renting out the patio for them all. Those Fridays were for them to relax and have fun together.
One warm Friday night the whole gang was out in force, laughter and banter filling the patio and spilling out into the humid night air. Darcy lifted her hair and wound it into a messy bun trying to cool the back of her neck off. Within seconds the mass of heavy locks fell back down around her.
“I could braid it for you if you’ve got a hair tie,” Clint offered clinking his beer against her apple ale. Darcy raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.
“You know how to braid?” she asked unconvinced.
“Yeah, I went undercover as a makeup artist and hair stylist, I’ve been doing Nat’s makeup for ops for years,” Clint assured her.
“It’s true, he’s ridiculously good at it,” Natasha agreed leaning on the table with a genuine smile. Darcy shrugged and turned her back to Clint so he could reach her hair. If it was good enough for Natasha it was good enough for her. Clint scooted back so he could lift his right leg over the bench to sit sideways, his knees spread around her hips. Clint gently ran his fingers through her hair, carefully working out any minor tangles she’d developed through the day. Once he was done he sectioned of a bit of hair on the crown of her head and began weaving it into a long braid. Once he was done with that part, he sectioned off a similar piece of hair on either side of her head and braided those with the first, continuing in this fashion until he’d completely French braided her hair.
“Hair tie?” he prompted leaning forward to speak lowly into her ear. Darcy shivered as his breath hit the sensitive skin of her ear, and took the hair tie she always kept on her wrist off handing it back to him. Clint tied off the braid and let his hands fall to her hips, sliding in closer to her so Darcy was tucked into his body before gently flipping the braid forward so she could see it. “Like it?” he asked tucking his chin onto her shoulder. Darcy inspected the well-formed braid as she leaned back into him.
“I think you did better on my hair than I do,” she admitted with a chuckle.
“Get a room you two,” Steve teased tossing a couple kernels of popcorn at them.
“Fuck off Rogers,” the chorused together causing the group to burst into laughter. They disentangled themselves turning to sit properly on the bench, Clint chuckling at the frown Nat was giving Steve. Cap was going to regret that come Monday’s sparring session. Nat had been poking at Clint to make an actual move on Darcy rather than dancing around each other like they had been. So, Steve interfering didn’t fit with her plans. Clint took a long sip of his beer before softly dumping her arm with his. Darcy looked at him with an easy smile, one that only brightened when dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
“That okay?” he asked with a crooked smile. Darcy grinned and leaned forward kissing him again.
“So okay,” she agreed snuggling into his side. Slowly the party started to break up, Steve leaving first to walk home. As people started to gather their things Clint tilted his head down to speak directly into Darcy’s ear.
“Hey mama, wanna come over to my place?” he asked giving her hip a squeeze.
“No way hot shot,” she retorted even as she snuggled in closer to him.
“Kinda getting mixed signals here Darce,” he teased. Darcy laughed and pulled away from him.
“How about we start with sharing a cab?” she offered. Clint smiled and nodded. They stood, Darcy grabbing her purse and making sure the skirt of her sundress was settled correctly. Saying good bye to the others they made their way down to the street. Darcy lived about six blocks away from Clint in the Fort Greene neighborhood. So, sharing a cab actually made sense. Still when the cab pulled up in front of the building he’d fallen into owning, Clint was a little surprised to find Darcy wordlessly following him out onto the street.
“Thought we were just sharing a cab,” he said with a shit eating grin as he pulled her close.
“I said we’d start with sharing a cab, I never said we’d finish there,” Darcy snarked raising up on her tiptoes to capture his lips in a kiss. Clint pulled reluctantly away, glancing around at the people on stoops he knew were watching them.
“Come on mama, let’s take this inside,” he said taking her hand. He led her up the steps and unlocked the outer door. As they headed up the first flight of stairs, Darcy trailing behind him, she couldn’t help but comment on the view.
“Your ass looks really good in those jeans,” she complimented. As soon as they were on the landing Clint was pushing her into the wall with a thump so he could kiss her senseless.
“Fuck Darce, you feel so good,” Clint groaned his hands roaming her curves. Darcy ran her hands up his arms, over his shoulders, down his back to grasp two good handfuls of his delectable backside.
“So do you,” she murmured before kissing him again. Finally, Clint wrenched himself away and started up the stairs again, Darcy’s hand firmly in his as he hurried her up. Darcy giggled as they got to his floor and smacked him on the ass. Clint growled and tugged her back into his arms, backing her into the door with a thud that rattled the door on its hinges, the noise echoing in the empty hall.
“Keep that shit down!” Clint’s neighbor and tenant called out crankily.
“Sorry!” Darcy replied as Clint attacked her neck with nipping kisses while trying to unlock the door. After a few minutes Darcy pushed him away and stepped aside so he could let them into his apartment. Once the door was locked behind them Darcy was stepping back into his arms. They ended up on his couch making out like teenagers, him tugging her onto his lap so he could slip a hand up her skirt. “We gotta quit doing this,” Darcy panted even as she leaned in for another kiss.
“We can if you want,” Clint said stilling his hand on its trek up her thigh.
“It’s, it’s just that I really like you and I can’t just…” she trailed off biting her lip with an uncertain shrug.
“Hey, no Darcy, this isn’t some one-night stand for me. I’m seriously into you, I want so much more than one night,” he told her sincerely, his hand cupping her cheek.
“Yeah?” she asked with a breathless smile.
“Hell yeah mama,” Clint agreed grinning back.
“Well then,” Darcy said with a mischievous smile before pulling away and standing up. Clint had just opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when she reached back and started sliding the zipper of her dress down. For a long moment the only sound was the rasp of the zipper and Clint’s thudding heart and then suddenly her pretty dress was on the floor.
“Fuck,” he breathed out taking in her hot pink bra with black lace detail and a plunge so deep there was barely an inch of fabric connecting the cups. This was paired with matching black trimmed pink panties that left his mouth dry. Darcy walked toward him, her hips swaying and then she was stopping in front of him.
“I think it’s time to lose this shirt don’t you?” Darcy encouraged, bending enough to tug gently on his worn black t-shirt. Clint smirked and lifted his arms, letting her peel it off him, his hands falling to his sides as she tossed it onto the floor. Darcy stood over looking at the newly uncovered skin. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him shirtless. Basketball games between him and his fellow Avengers was a sight to behold. Even with Thor and Steve beside him, Darcy had always preferred the leaner body in front of her. Lean muscle over a solid torso, developed over countless hours of hard work. No chest hair, but a faint treasure trail catching her gaze. Long, well turned arms leading to knobby fingers and rough palms that she knew would rasp just right across her skin.
Clint sat there, letting her look her fill. He’d caught her looking too many times to feel any trepidation about her gaze. He was more than happy to sit back and let her set the pace, even if it meant they slowed to a crawl. Darcy shifted on her feet before moving back to the couch and settling down so she was straddling his lap again. Clint cupped her cheek in his left hand with a soft smile that only broadened when she nuzzled into his touch.
“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed.
“So are you,” Darcy replied leaning down to nip at his bottom lip. Clint chuckled against her mouth even as he kissed her back. “You don’t believe me?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“Hey, I’m just glad you’re here. I’m not gonna argue if you like the view mama,” Clint smirked. Darcy chuckled and shook her head at him.
“You are beautiful. You have these eyes, grey blue like the Atlantic Ocean, and these crinkles,” she said with a soft smile as she gently ran the fingers of her left hand over the delicate skin next to his eye. “You may have your stone-cold agent face down pat, but these eyes, these expressive eyes give you away,” Darcy teased before pressing a gentle kiss against the right side of his face. “Beautiful,” she breathed before pulling away. Something clenched inside Clint, it felt like fear and joy, falling and flying all at the same time. “And this nose,” she continued running her finger down the bridge before gently booping the end. “A little smushed from being broken so many times, but it has character. I adore this nose,” Darcy insisted before pressing another soft kiss to the bridge. “Beautiful,” she repeated. “These shoulders, strong enough to carry so many burdens but soft enough to lean on,” Darcy described, running her hands down the sides of his neck and over his shoulders. Clint inhaled deeply as she pressed kisses to each one. “Beautiful,” she declared before drawing back and sliding to the floor, kneeling between his feet.
“Don’t,” he protested weakly, reaching forward to pull her off her knees. The last place this woman belonged was at anyone’s feet.
“These hands,” Darcy continued capturing them in her own. “Strong and rough, gentle and fierce. They’ve loosed thousands of arrows and danced across piano keys,” she said softly, pressing a kiss to each palm. “Beautiful,” Darcy swore, her eyes locked on his. Clint drew in a shuddering breath as he fought the tears gathering in his eyes. What was she doing to him? Releasing his hands, Darcy pressed her left hand to his chest, his heart beating beneath her palm. “This heart, this heart that looked at a Russian assassin and made another call. That sat beside a very green around the edges Bruce and talked him down from the edge. That braided my hair because he didn’t quite know how to tell me he likes me,” she teased with a lopsided smile startling a huff of laughter out of him. Darcy leaned forward, sliding her hand away and replacing if with her lips before slowly pulling back just enough to look up and meet his gaze. “Beautiful.”
Clint couldn’t help himself, he had to kiss her. He had to stop the flow of words and show her how much she’d given him by saying them. Leaning forward Clint gently scooped her into his arms. Twisting mid movement, he laid her back on the couch so he was hovering over her. He paused with his lips parted above hers, wanting to speak, to tell her what she meant to him but his voice had fled. Instead he employed his mouth, and the body she’d shown such care in other ways.
Clint roused in the early morning light, the place in front of him very much cold and devoid of anything warm and Darcy shaped. Disappointment and fear lanced through him as his eyes flew open, only to see the most wonderful sight in the universe. Darcy stood in the kitchen putting the bag of dog food she’d clearly used to fill Lucky’s bowl back in the upper cabinet. He relaxed back into the cushions of the couch they hadn’t made it off of the night before as she talked softly to his dog.
“You’re such a good boy, waiting so patiently for your food. Yeah, you’re a good boy, aren’t you?” she asked softly as she gently ruffled the Lucky’s fur before turning back to the couch. When she saw he was awake, Darcy’s smile broadened as she strolled back over to him.
“Nice shirt, looks good on you,” Clint told her with a playful smile tilting his lips.
“Thanks, picked up off the floor myself,” she teased, sliding onto the couch and snuggling into him again. Clint readjusted the blanket they’d slept under so they were both covered again.
“Got any plans today?” he asked casually.
“Well, I need to do some laundry but it’s not set in stone. Why, you got something in mind?” she asked grinning as she pulled back to look him in the eye.
“I was thinking I’d take you out for breakfast and take it from there,” Clint offered with a smile.
“Counter proposal, you shower and pack a bag to spend the rest of the weekend at my place while I take Lucky out for a walk. Then the three of us go back to my mine and you make French toast while I shower and toss in a load of laundry. Later we can take Lucky to the dog park then order in at my place,” Darcy offered snuggling into him again.
“I like this plan, I’m excited to be a part of it,” Clint agreed hugging her close.
“Awesome,” she mumbled, starting to relax into sleep.
Clint let himself completely relax into her, warm sleep settling over him like a blanket. The last thought he had before slipping under was, “She really does look good in my t-shirt.”