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She was going to be the death of him. That, or he was going to be the death of her. Either way, though, the blame would still lie firmly on the shoulders of one Darcy Lewis. It would definitely be her fault in the end.
She was so full of life. When he’d first seen her it was like a fog had been lifted and he’d never even realized he wasn’t seeing clearly. She’d been sitting on some metal contraption which Doctor Foster had built, shouting “Tally-ho rent-a-minions!” as agents steered the object into Jane’s new labs. Agent Sitwell hadn’t seemed at all thrown by the girl so Steven had assumed this was fairly regular behavior for the young woman. He’d been right.
“So you’re into busty brunettes who can eat you for dinner.” It definitely wasn’t a question. Tony didn’t like to ask questions so much as he liked to know answers and make statements to the fact, so it wasn’t really a surprise.
“If you ask me if I want to draw her like one of my French girls I will be disappointed.” Steve responded, not looking up from the book he was reading.
“You’re quoting Titanic. I am disappointed.” The genius shot back, flopping down on a chair facing his (supposed) friend. Steve sighed and finished the paragraph before marking the page. If Tony was settling in and getting comfortable rather than moving at a hundred miles per hour he had a specific endgame in mind and Steve wasn’t going to be allowed to finish the book. The easiest way to deal with that, the soldier had found, was to simply let it play out … or call Pepper. As far as Steve was concerned, that woman was a saint.
“So, Lewis.” Tony announced after a few moments of silence.
“Grand Poobah of level 3 R&D, or so I’ve heard.” Steve responded, a grin on his lips.
Everyone in the tower had heard of Darcy Lewis within two weeks of her transfer into SI with Jane Foster. She’d started work with the firm understanding that Jane was hers. All research, research assistants, office flunkies, and various supplies and personnel who might fall under Jane’s purview were, by association, also Darcy’s. It was simple. She’d set up Jane’s new labs (or choreographed those who better knew what they were doing) and within two days had everything set up in a way which made her favorite scientist (slash best friend) happy. It only took one more day to begin “fixing” other areas.
She’d cleared Bruce’s office, the one he used to collect odd take-out cartons and paperwork which would probably never be filled out. At least not until Darcy walked in and worked her magic. She wasn’t at all afraid of Bruce, though she’d admitted she didn’t want to go face to face with his “grr-face”. That was right before she asked him who he thought would in a fight; The original Godzilla or the Hulk.
In two weeks R&D Level 3 (which was actually three and a half floors) was pretty much being run by the mouthy girl who admitted to not understanding most of what they were doing and not wanting to. She was a legend by month three.
“The very one.” Tony agreed easily. “The one you keep managing to run into all over the tower. The one you make Disney princess eyes at whenever she comes into view.”
“I’m not exactly sure I understand that last reference.” Steve commented, knowing he wouldn’t be distracting the other man. He pulled out his beat up little notebook and jotted it down for later.
“Pepper likes Darcy.” The billionaire announced, abruptly changing tactics.
“Most people like Darcy.” Steve agreed.
“No,” Tony grinned roguishly, “Most of the scientists fear her. It’s a subtle difference.”
“Most non-scientists like Darcy,” Steve corrected himself, an indulgent smile on his face.
“ Yes, that is true. Thankfully most of them don’t have the cojones to ask a woman like that out.” Tony stared at Steve expectantly.
“I wish you wouldn’t say cojones.” Steve sighed.
“Tough.” Tony’s response was instant and dismissive.
“What is it that you would like me to do, Tony? Ask her out?” Steve’s voice was calm and even, the hint of a smirk on his lips. The brunette stared at him, his eyes growing wider by the moment.
“You already did!” The man exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at his teammate. He was a bit miffed he hadn’t realized.
“Last week. We’ve had three dates.” The hint of a smirk grew into a self satisfied grin.
“Who all knows?” Tony demanded. He hated being the last one with the good gossip.
“JARVIS, Pepper, and Jane. Though Darcy thinks Phil figured it out.” Steve shrugged and noted the mollified look on Tony’s face.
“Three dates, huh? Guess that makes you guys official.” Tony had called Jarvis to order and jumped to his feet. Later Steve would learn the billionaire had won some kind of betting pool on his and Darcy’s relationship. Darcy, for her part, would laugh hysterically at Steve’s grumbling.
Darcy had discovered that life was far more boring after college. Especially for a political science major whose most interesting essays had been redacted for governmental security reasons. When she’d been tapped to join SHIELD she’d balked. The woman hadn’t wanted to give up her comfortable thriftware chic wardrobe. She’d been given time to think it over, the agent headhunting her obviously expecting her to come to the shady side.
During her ponderance (read: plot to move to Canada where no one would force her to wear a boring suit and stop smiling) she was contacted by Stark Industries on behalf of their newest R&D expert; Jane Foster. Darcy had snatched up the job immediately. She’d get medical, dental, time off, hazard pay, and, well, actual pay. That fateful summer with Jane had been one of an unpaid intern, and the London thing … technically she was just a friend hanging out with Jane claiming to be an unpaid intern.
Now, Darcy had taken over Level 3 R&D (all of the fully classified sections.) She got to banter with Superheroes practically every day and she was dating a living, breathing cross between GI Joe and a Ken Doll. One who blushed the most adorable shade of rose pink every time she shouted the word ‘balls’. Seeing how it was her favorite expletive, he blushed a lot.
Once people realized they were dating there were a lot of questions for them. About the difference in age (“He’s 28 and I’m 26. I don’t see your point.”) about the cultural differences between their times (“He’s got a twitter account you can follow if you want to be amused by his foray into pop culture.”) and the moral centers in the forties compared to now (“I really think those things are more individualistic than time centric.”)
Steve had entranced her from the moment she spotted him her first day in Avengers Tower. She’d been picking on their borrowed muscle and he’d just leaned against the wall and stared at her like she was a good friend he hadn’t seen in a while. Just crossed his arms and shook his head in fond amusement. She’d wanted to climb him like a tree.
It had taken Steve almost ten weeks to ask her out. She had been so close to giving up and just asking him out first, but she was glad he’d made the first move. She liked to be chased, even if she planned on an easy catch.
Their first date had been coffee and a visit to the museum where they shared stories of their childhoods and Steve joked about the caveman exhibit at least being older than he was. The sarcasm and slightly self effacing humor was kind of darling. He’d give people dirty looks for cursing in front of ladies and blush if the ladies shot it back. The brunette made sure to do it often, she liked his blush.
Their second date was to the batting cages so Steve could show Darcy how to hit a ball. He thought she’d looked ridiculously cute in the helmet and laughed uproariously over how she jumped back every time the ball came near. By the end of the session she was able to hit about a quarter of the balls, though not well. She’d even talked about getting a baseball bat to discourage midnight visitors. They’d ended at a tiny corner pub which was advertising fish and chips.
Third date had been to the zoo. Darcy loved the bears, no explaining it. After the zoo they’d ended up at her place, both of them missing shirts, him sprawled half across her using her breasts (in the cutest blue and white striped bra) as pillows while they watched Schindler's List.
That was another thing about Darcy that Steve appreciated. She didn’t apologize for things she wasn’t directly responsible for. She also didn't sugarcoat things. She was showing him her favorite WWII true story movies, most of which were also filled with sadness. That was war though, never pretty.
There was, of course, a betting pool. More than one. The minx he was quite definitely falling for had rigged it, he was sure. He just couldn’t quite figure out how and that meant he couldn’t prove it. The pool was definitely rigged though. Tony won the “how long will it take Cap to ask her out” set, which was actually good because it meant he got to be part of the attention and he was all for the relationship, no take-backs.
Phil won the “when will the public figure out their hero is no longer single” pool, which meant he already had PR statements ready and NDA forms with HR on standby in case anything went to hell. He was ready for anything and it seemed to make him smug and also happy.
One day Steve was just going to ask her how she managed it. Even Natasha was impressed. Darcy won most of the polls she wasn’t part of, which involved statistics Steve didn’t want to know about. He was pretty sure Jarvis was in on it, though. The AI seemed to like the young woman, which amused Pepper and confounded Tony.
So in the end, when it came out, all of their friends were happy, or at least satisfied. Steve liked that people were supporting them, it made things infinitely easier. Even if Tony did send him links for pornography and insist it was for research to be sure he “did right by the kid.”