Chapter Two: BTW.

'She's a tough 'tater.'

Steve raised his head wearily and straightened his hunched shoulders.

Although he agreed with the sentiment, his eyes somehow avoided looking at the prone figure in front of him. Instead, he watched stoically as Stark blustered his way into the tiny hospital room, hidden in the depths of SHIELDs' headquarters, sans Iron Man suit.

Hours had passed, but he was still in his grime-ridden suit and here was Stark, looking like he'd just stepped out of a Very Important Meeting in a three-piece that probably cost more than a year's salary for the general population. It made him feel slightly silly, like a little boy playing dress up in his superhero costume.

Then again, Tony Stark had a magical way about him that made Steve feel silly whenever they were in the same room together.

'Agent Son of Coul is waiting to be debriefed on sub-level 4, btw.' Stark must have seen the dazed expression on his face because he rolled his eyes. 'Go talk to Coulson, I'll have Happy come and sit with her or something.'

Steve frowned. 'Why not you?'

'Ew, no.' The look of absolute disgust on his collegue's face gave him his answer, but Tony still decided to chime in. 'Me and hospitals don't get along. Even if they're in a secret government facility that's... Not so secret,' he quickly added before Steve could interject.

He warily observed Tony as he paced the room, hands behind his back. The billionaire's gaze roamed around the place with a look of thinly veiled contempt before he pulled out his phone and began fiddling with it. He was obviously extremely uncomfortable in his surroundings and Steve couldn't help feel a little bit sympathetic.

As Tony contemplated the contents of his phone, the words that had been stuck in Steve's throat since the incident a few hours ago slowly bubbled to the surface. 'It's my fault that she's in here, isn't it?' The words felt heavy and bitter on his tongue, but they were familiar. He was no stranger to guilt, after all.

Stark froze. 'Just for the record, I'm not good with the whole emotional spewage-'

'-Tony!'

The sigh released by other man was long and suffering. 'Ok, fine, you want the truth?'

He nodded cautiously, wondering if this was a good idea.

It wasn't.

'It kind of was your fault. You should have been paying attention, but it was a mistake. Get over it. Make it up to her,' Stark paused, contemplating. 'You want me to send her an iTunes gift card? I could do that. Honestly, she'd forgive you in, like, a nanosecond.'

'I don't think that's an appropriate gift for almost getting someone killed.' Steve frowned. Although... Tony Stark was many things, but wrong was not one of them.

'This is Lewis we're talking about, Captain. She's the poster child of inappropriate.'

Stark squinted at him before his face lit up, alarming Steve with its rather manic quality. 'Or you could just man up and give her an apology followed by a big old smacker. She's been waiting for you to make a move for months, you know.'

He didn't know, actually. But the information was not entirely unwelcome, judging by the way his heart twisted in his chest and pumped a little faster.

A lot faster.

In fact, months later, Steve still distinctly remembers the first time he'd met Darcy Lewis on a misty Wednesday morning, last October when Tony had called him in to test his strength against some equipment.

The lab he had entered was like a tribute to organised chaos with papers and metal objects strewn all over the place. He remembered when, just as he was about to hit some metal prototype, Darcy had whirled into the room like a brunette storm in a teacup, all loud and bubbly and smiling, packaged in a body with endless curves that would have sent any man to his knees in supplication. She had gotten Tony to sign some papers with minimal bloodshed, saluted Steve with a wink that could only have been described as salacious, before twirling out as fast as she'd entered.

He never even had the time to blush.

It had been... An unforgettable first meeting. One that had left a lasting impression.

Sadly, his inability to converse normally with the opposite sex meant that he never knew what to say whenever they happened to be in the same room, which wasn't often. Instead, not saying anything at all became the norm between them, and he had let the status quo drag on until today when she'd almost gotten herself killed.

Unfortunately for him, his final warning was actually the reason she'd almost gotten herself killed the second time, so he wasn't too confident that Darcy would even be happy to entertain the idea of his company, let alone a kiss.

Shaking his head, Steve lowered his reddened face but instantly became alert as a tiny moan drifted over from the hospital bed.

'Must you be so loud, Sparky? I don't think they heard you all the way in Kentucky.'

Steve started slightly, stood up and took a guilty step back as Darcy slowly righted herself, a generous bruise shading the right side of her face.

She ignored him in favour of glaring at Stark. 'I still want that voucher.'