Work Text:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Life in the Tower was good.
After Steve’s heart-to-heart with Darcy and James’s heart-to-heart with Steve, tensions in the Tower eased and everyone was more relaxed. James hadn’t realized just how much their issues were affecting everyone around them until the thread finally snapped.
James and Steve were…better. They weren’t back to where they used to be, and might never get back to that point, but they were becoming friends again. Not clinging to the past (or trying to remember it) helped. Steve did his best not to push. Without the added pressure, James remembered more of his life Before and could actually assign context for most of it. It was still disconcerting at times, but he felt more complete, so he counted it as good. He and Steve talked and made a point to spend time together. They sparred. James cooked for Steve and the rest of the residents once it got out just how good he was. Steve was also making an effort to get to know Darcy and they were slowly becoming friends as well. That made James pretty happy.
He had to admit that Smudge helped a lot. She seemed to instinctively know what each of the Avengers and other residents needed at any given time. While she was definitely James’s dog and was going through a training program for legal reasons, he didn’t mind at all that she’d also bonded with the others. They all had their problems and there was no way he’d deny them if they felt even a fraction of the comfort he did with Smudge around.
Of course, Tony had put up a token protest when he first found out, but after declaring the lab floor off-limits for safety reasons, he could be found on the floor playing tug-of-war with the puppy whenever James brought her up to the common floor. The rest of the Avengers were just as smitten. Natasha loved to curl up in her favorite armchair with Smudge draped over her feet as she read. Clint played Frisbee and fetch with her in the gym and at the park. Bruce liked to meditate with his hands buried in her curly coat. Steve had half a sketchbook filled with pictures of her and James knew JARVIS had let her out on more than one occasion to comfort Steve when his nightmares got really bad. Sam adored her and Thor had in-depth discussions with her about her training and what she did during the day.
James was so damn jealous of the Allspeak, but Thor readily translated with Smudge’s permission.
It made him feel really good to know that Smudge loved him as much as he loved her. Although she did wish she had a more dignified name than Smudge.
Smudge had received her Therapy Dog certification the previous week, so James was planning a celebration dinner now that everyone was back in the Tower.
He and Steve had been sparring, but it was time for him to get prepped and cooking. He took the elevator up to the common floor and was met with a wall of sound. It wasn’t quite Tony’s lab level loud, but it was up there. He didn’t recognize the song, but he liked it. The woman’s voice was pleasant and the horns and rhythm section had him tapping a tattoo against his leg without even realizing. It reminded him of the music from his day, but he was almost certain it was much more recent than that.
“Who is this, JARVIS?” he asked as he looked at the camera across from the elevator.
“Caro Emerald, sir. She’s a Dutch artist who is just now becoming popular here in the States.”
“Please remind me to look her up later.”
“Of course, James.”
He could hear Darcy singing along and Smudge throwing her voice into the mix as well. He rounded the wall with a smile on his face and pulled up short at the sight that greeted him.
Darcy and Jane were dancing in the open space in front of the bar. Smudge was jumping around their feet. Honestly, James was impressed the puppy hadn’t managed to trip them up. He leaned against the wall and just watched, enjoying the sight of his girl and her best friend/boss being goofy. They were pretty good swing dancers, too.
He felt someone come up behind him and glanced over his shoulder. Steve was there, hair still damp from his shower, with his hands shoved into his pockets and a wistful look on his face.
“You gonna tell me you still never learned how to dance, Stevie?” James asked softly.
Steve shrugged. “Not really. Not like that. Nat dragged me out to a club a couple of times when we were in DC, but they didn’t dance like this. It wasn’t horrible, but not really my thing. I know there are places around where I could take lessons, but I just never did it.”
Before James could say anything, the volume lowered and Darcy called out, “Quit being wallflowers and dance with us!”
Jane nodded in agreement, a big smile on her face. “We’re celebrating!”
The guys pushed off the wall and moved towards the two women. Darcy jumped into James’s arms and he caught her easily. She gave him a smacking kiss on the mouth and then pulled away to ruffle Steve’s hair. He rolled his eyes at her, but he was smiling, so James figured it was okay.
“What are you celebrating?” Steve asked as he leaned down to scratch Smudge behind the ear. She sat down on his foot and tilted her head for a better angle.
Jane bounced over to the bar and scooped up a magazine. She thrust it out in their direction. “My latest paper got published in Scientific American and Darcy got co-writing credit.”
James’s eyes widened and his face lit up in a beaming grin as he grabbed Darcy and hugged her. “Congratulations, sweetheart.” He looked over Darcy’s shoulder and said to Jane, “You, too, Doc.”
Jane beamed at them as Steve gave her a hug. “Thanks! And thanks for being so understanding of me hogging Darcy’s time last couple of months. We were fighting to get it done in time.”
James waved her off. “Work is work. You do what you gotta do.”
Steve smiled sheepishly. “Uh, I don’t know how to dance.”
Jane and Darcy both blinked at him. “Still?” Darcy asked.
Steve shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. Smudge leaned harder against his leg.
Jane and Darcy looked at each other then Darcy announced, “Well, that’s gonna change right now. We’ll teach you.”
Steve looked a little panicked, but James wasn’t going to help. He had a meal to prepare. He leaned in and gave Darcy a quick kiss. “I gotta get dinner started.” He looked between the two women. “Try not to break him, alright?”
Darcy waved him off. “Pfft! We know what we’re doing. Go. Make yummy things and take Smudge with you. We don’t need her tripping us up.” She leaned down and smooshed Smudge’s cheeks as she pecked just above her wet nose. “You are a great dancer, but we need to teach the human.”
Smudge huffed and, James was pretty sure, rolled her eyes. She licked Steve’s hand then trotted into the kitchen.
Steve watched her go. “Well, I guess I’m learning to dance.”
James clapped him on the shoulder. “Relax. You know they won’t bite. Just enjoy yourself.”
Steve nodded, still eyeing Darcy and Jane with trepidation. “Yeah. Sure. Have fun cooking.”
All three of them rolled their eyes at each other. James leaned into Darcy. “Keep playing Caro Emerald? I kinda like what I heard when I came in.”
Darcy beamed at him. “You got it.”
James headed into the kitchen and grinned at the sight of Smudge sitting imperiously in the dog bed Pepper had gotten her. “You ready, baby?”
Smudge barked her agreement and he got to work.
The others made their way onto the common floor in fits and starts over the next couple of hours and James couldn’t remember when he’d heard so much laughter. He had to chase Clint out of the kitchen, because he kept stealing nibbles and he actually swatted Natasha with a spatula when she tried to open the oven door. The look of outraged surprise on her face was one he’d never forget.
James looked around as they all finally settled at the table and he thought to himself, yeah, life is really good.
-30-