Chapter Text
Clint
“First of all, let me ask you how you’re doing,” Pepper Potts said as she slid a magazine across the desk at him. Clint glanced down at it, saw the glossy picture of him exiting a CVS on the cover, and grimaced.
“Hawkeye Buys Birth Control for His New Mistress,” he read, brushing a finger across the grainy close up of his shopping bag. “I’m pretty sure all I bought was tylenol and a Snickers.” Pepper gave him a sympathetic look, patting his hand where it rested on her immaculately neat desk.
“Yes, this particular publication is known for fabrications. Of course, I already have my lawyers going after them for slander. I promise you nothing less than a full retraction by the end of the week, Clint.”
“That’s kind of you, Pepper…” Clint began, fidgeting in his chair and gazing out the floor to ceiling windows lining her office. “But can I ask why the CEO of Stark industries is taking an interest in this?”
“Can’t I just want to help a friend?” Pepper asked. Clint grinned at her.
“Not when you’re on the Forbes 30 Under 30. Come on Pepper, I know you care about me and I appreciate that, but level with me here. What is this meeting about?” When he’d gotten a call from Pepper yesterday asking him to come speak with her, Clint guessed it might have something to do with him and Natasha breaking too many training dummies or the fact that he sometimes hid in the vents to avoid mission debriefing. He had definitely not expected news coverage of his recent divorce.
Pepper sighed and when she steepled her fingers the engagement ring on her left hand glittered in the sunlight. It was a massive diamond; Tony Stark never did anything by half measures. Clint suspected the only reason it wasn’t bigger was because Pepper had forbidden it. Clint wondered if the stone secretly had a laser gun or a nanobot or something inside of it. That seemed like something Tony would do. “When Hydra’s files were leaked last year, it changed the landscape of what it means to be a hero forever. Tony and Steve used to be anomalies-- superheroes whose real identities were known to the public. But now everyone in the world knows the names and faces of this team. Fan blogs, paparazzi photos, Vogue covers--”
“Superhero is the new celebrity,” Clint interpreted. Pepper nodded. While he wasn’t as popular as Steve or Tony, Clint had experienced a rise in stardom himself the past year. Having people come up to him in the street and ask for an autograph was still weird to Clint and likely always would be. The spy in him hated being so visible, so known. At least if he put on a hat and sunglasses, he could still pass through crowds unnoticed. And the fact that he’d moved out of he and Laura’s old house and into Stark Tower meant he didn’t have to worry as much about security now that his identity was known. Realizing he was lost in his thoughts, Clint gestured for Pepper to go on.
“The rumors surrounding your divorce will die down eventually, but the reputation they’ll leave behind is another matter. Believe me. Tony’s been through more public scandals than the Kardashians, so I’m well versed in the damage these sorts of publications can do.” With an elegant sweep of her hand, Pepper dropped the magazine into the garbage. “I’m concerned about the long term impact this could have on you and the team as a whole. The day Natasha leaked those files, the Avengers became more than a team of heroes. You became a brand.” One closely tied to Stark Industries, Clint interpreted.
Sensing the direction of his thoughts, Pepper said “Clint, I’m truly sorry to have to bring this up to you at all. Things between you and Laura are your private business and they should have been able to stay that way. Since they didn’t, however, the best thing you can do for yourself and for Laura is damage control.” Pepper rubbed anxiously at the band of her engagement ring.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” While Clint could understand how a sullying of his reputation might reflect badly on the Avengers, he couldn’t see it being serious enough to warrant a Pepper Potts intervention.
Pepper chewed her lip. “There’s been more murmurings about the Sokovia Accords.” Clint’s eyebrows went up in surprise. The Sokovia Accords were a proposition within the United Nations, formulated shortly after the release of the Hydra files. Concerned about the power heros wielded, there had been a push to de-privatize the Avengers and put the team under UN control. The Accords had sparked fierce debate both in the UN and the general public, especially when a mandated superhero registry was amended into the documents. Opinions were divided enough that after a few months the accords had been tabled indefinitely. Up until now, Clint had assumed they were dead in the water. Apparently not.
“A few tabloids about your divorce aren’t going to matter, of course,” Pepper assured him, “it’s just that…”
“That anything that makes this team look irresponsible or untrustworthy right now could tip the scales and reignite what is effectively the super powered version of Pandora’s Box.” Clint finished for her. Pepper nodded.
“I’m acting out of an abundance of caution here, Clint.” There was a long, thoughtful silence before Clint spoke.
“I never cheated on my ex-wife, you know,” Clint told her. Pepper smiled sadly at him.
“I know, Clint. And anyone who’s ever met you knows that trash” she nodded her head to the garbage bin, “is pure fiction.” The look on her face almost made Clint feel sorry for the poor sods who’d published it. An angry Pepper Potts was a force to be reckoned with.
“So what’s your plan?” Clint asked.
Pepper smiled, looking more relaxed this time. “I think it’s time you met the Avengers new Public Relations Manager.”
Darcy
“Darcy if you keep pacing, you’re going to wear through the floor,” Jane said, peeking her head around a stack of schematics almost as tall as she was. The blonde nodded at one of the passing interns and handed him her mug for a coffee refill. “One for Darcy too, please. She needs the caffeine.”
Vaguely, Darcy thought about how weird it was to have someone else getting coffee for her. She’d spent too many years out in the New Mexico desert trying to keep the dust out of Jane’s mug (three sugars, no cream) while her best friend tinkered over a piece of lab equipment so old it was mostly rust, to not feel weird about this. This wasn’t Darcy’s job anymore. It was a bittersweet realization. “Of course I won’t wear through the floor Janey,” Darcy dismissed. “It’s probably vibranium or something.”
Jane chuckled, highlighting a section of a graph while she did. “I doubt that. I’m pretty sure it’s laminated.”
“Laminated vibranium,” Darcy muttered. She noticed Bruce watching her with concern from his section of the lab and waved a miserable hello. Aside from Jane and Thor, Bruce was her closest friend in New York and the only other Avenger she knew. Well, besides Tony of course, but then only barely.
Darcy had been there two years ago when Jane and Tony met. Tony came to visit Jane’s lab after Thor had ‘accidentally’ left a copy of her research on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge on his coffee table. Although not really subtle, the God of Thunder was a lot slicker than most people gave him credit for. After meeting her and seeing first hand how brilliant Jane was,Tony had offered her a job immediately. It came with a six figure paycheck, a huge lab full of support staff, and equipment that Jane hadn’t built herself with parts from Ebay and RadioShack. Plus the added benefit of being closer to Thor. Jane, of course, accepted the offer. On one condition: Darcy could come with her. Tony glanced first at Darcy and then at the breakers full of what was clearly jello shots in her hands. In Darcy’s defense, they hadn’t been expecting company. “Deal,” was all Tony said, and one week later Darcy was getting on a plane to New York City.
She’d started out initially as Jane’s assistant. There was a lot to do when they first moved in, including re-organizing all their old files and keeping Jane from passing out when Tony told her she could buy any equipment she wanted, regardless of cost. But once the initial move was done, it became clear that Darcy’s days of trying to do the job of an entire lab team were over.There were other people to run maintenance checks on the machines and sweep broken glass off the floor and the million other tiny chores that had been part of Darcy’s daily life. Which gave Darcy time to focus on documenting Jane’s research and making sure her boss didn’t keel over from poptart induced malnutrition.
Darcy got used to delegating tasks out to Jane’s lab team and following up on their progress. She got so good at overseeing Jane’s team, that one day a tentative Bruce Banner approached her and asked for help with his. “I know you’re probably very busy,” he’d apologized, fidgeting. Although they’d been working in the same lab for two months, Darcy had only exchanged a few words with the man at that point. He was the sort of man who usually kept to himself. “It’s just that I’m not good in leadership roles. I can handle the science part of it, but I’m not great at communicating to my lab assistants and--”
“Of course I’ll help,” Darcy assured him. Bruce smiled bashfully and just like that, Darcy had adopted another scientist. Their relationship only grew over the following months. Darcy’s friendship with the reclusive Doctor Banner and the successful management of the entire 75th floor lab eventually made its way to none other than Pepper Potts. The Stark Industries CEO had offered Darcy a promotion and a new title-- Lab Manager, a job Darcy had been excelling in for a year in a half now.Then, just this week, she’d offered Darcy a promotion again. But this one was life altering: official Avenger’s PR manager.
Darcy hadn’t seen the connection between the jobs at first, but Pepper, who knew more about most of her employees than they did themselves, seemed confident in Darcy. “You have the proper degree from a very prestigious university. The skills you utilize as lab manager are quite transferable and I’ve even heard that you run the--” Pepper had looked down at the Stark Tablet in her hands-- “Justice4BuckyBarnes twitter account. 50,000 followers, quite impressive.”
Darcy grinned weakly. How in the nine realms did Pepper know about that? “It’s just a hobby.” She mumbled. “The Hydra leak painted him in a bad light. People need to know that he’s not responsible for what happened while he was brainwashed.”
Pepper smiled warmly. “You have the skill set, Ms. Lewis, and your entire team in the lab speaks highly of you. I believe you are the best choice for this job. I know you won’t let me down.” And just like that, Darcy was hired.
“Darcy, for Odin’s sake,” Jane pleaded, interrupting Darcy’s thoughts once more. “Sit down, you’re making me dizzy.” Realizing she’d made several more frantic circles while questioning the last two years of her life, Darcy dropped into the chair beside Jane and took the mug of coffee that had somehow appeared without Darcy noticing. The two women sipped in silence for a moment before Jane said “Darcy, I thought you were happy about this new job.”
Darcy set her cup down. “I am. Not that I didn’t love being lab manager, but Communications is what I majored in. A PR job like this has always been my dream.” Not to mention the pay raise was significant.
“Then why have you been so unsettled this week?” Jane asked. “You don’t seem like a woman who just got her dream job.”
Darcy sighed. “I’m just nervous. I haven’t worked in a formal PR job before. Not since my first college internship, and that was years ago. What if I’m not good at it? What if I fuck up and Pepper hates me and I get banned from the Tower and have start hooking?”
“Darcy, you’re going to be great,” Jane assured her, “and even if you aren’t, you won’t need to start hooking. Unless you want to, of course. We support sex workers in this lab.” Darcy and Jane bumped fists. “If Pepper Potts thinks you’re the woman for the job, then you’re the woman for the job,” Jane swore.
“I’ll miss you, you know,” Darcy said quietly. She grasped Jane’s hand and the scientist squeezed Darcy’s hand in return. “Working with you these past years has been--”
“Stop!” Jane insisted. “Too mushy feely. You’ll make me cry.” They smiled at one another. “You’re going to be great, Darce.”
On cue, Darcy’s phone rang. She stared at Pepper’s name on the screen for a long moment before picking up. She’d decided that she was going to be the best PR manager the Avengers had ever seen. Nothing would stand in her way. “Hey-o Pepper. What can I do for you?”
“Darcy,” Pepper greeted. “I have your first assignment.”