A/N: So, you might wonder what happened to Skipping. The last chapter is halfway finished, but I got distracted by the excellent progress the MCU has made and...I will finish it someday. In the mean time, for those of you who have already seen Age of Ultron, this is set pretty much right after the credits roll, so, spoilers, obviously. And, yes, this is Steve/Darcy, because I am still the person writing it. Frak canon.
...
"Huh," was all Darcy could manage to say when she stopped her Accord on the gravel drive in front of the white glass and steel structure in upstate New York.
"Darcy Lewis! How'd you get talked into this circus?"
She turned around and smiled at the grinning figure of Clint Barton coming toward her looking completely un-Avenger-like in jeans and flannel. "What are you doing here, Barton? I heard you retired," she said as she reached up to hug him.
"From full-time Avenging, yes," he said, returning her hug. "I still come down occasionally to consult and train."
"Getting bored with civilian life?"
"Woman, I have three children. I come here to relax," he replied, eliciting a giggle from Darcy. "You here to see Selvig?"
"Yeah. I think he wants to offer me a job."
"You sound so enthusiastic about it," Clint said as he led her into the building.
"I just… He's practically Jane's godfather. What if he winds up agreeing with her?"
"I heard about Foster. Of course, the whole world's pretty much heard it too."
"Some people think it's understandable. I think it's impossible to turn on people you say you love like that, or it should be."
"You're probably going to think this is strange, but I kind of agree with her."
Darcy stopped in her tracks and said, "She's essentially saying the group of people you 'consult and train' should be thrown in jail."
"That's not what's she's said."
"But that's what she means, and I know because I've been with her this whole time."
Clint held his hands up and said, "Okay, okay. Down, girl."
She glared at him and said, "I am not a puppy."
"No, you're more like a full grown pit bull. It's a compliment, Darce. Roll with it."
They continued down a little farther and voices drifted back toward them.
"What were you thinking, man? You could've killed me!"
"Will you stop being such a drama queen? You're starting to take after Stark."
"You wanna say that again?!"
"This should be interesting," Clint muttered as she followed him into a large, open room.
"That's enough!" an uncostumed Steve Rogers yelled, standing between Falcon and War Machine.
"He started it."
"What are you, twelve?"
"Everyone, just calm—"
"Don't you dare!" Rogers suddenly yelled, turning on the woman clad in red.
She jumped and timidly said, "I wasn't."
"Steve, calm down," Natasha Romanoff said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He shook her off and hissed, "I'm not him."
"Geez, Cap'n Tightpants, loosen up," Darcy said, just loud enough to be heard.
"Who the hell are you?" Steve asked, whipping around to face her.
"Uh, this is—"
"I'm Darcy Lewis," she said, cutting Clint off.
Steve's lips pressed into a thin line. "Jane Foster's assistant."
"Not anymore. We apparently have distinct philosophical differences."
"Good for you," he replied flatly. "We're done for the day."
They all watched in silence as he marched out of the room.
Colonel Rhodes sighed deeply and said, "Sorry I almost shot you."
"Sorry I popped you in the face for almost shooting me," Sam Wilson replied.
"What was so hard about doing that while Captain friggin' America was still in here?" Clint asked them.
"Are you alright?"
Everyone's attention turned to the Vision, who had been silent through the previous exchange, as he gently spoke to the woman in red. She smiled weakly back at him and said, "He doesn't really trust me. I cannot blame him for that."
"His reactions today were more…harsh than usual," Vision pointed out.
"Yeah, well, you can hit the showers or whatever," Natasha said. "It's the weekend. We'll call you if there's an emergency." She came up the steps toward Clint and Darcy and said, "Walk with me."
When they were out of earshot of the training room, Clint said, "How long has he been that way?"
"All week," she replied, looking at Darcy, "ever since your boss said heroes like the Avengers should be kept on a tight leash."
"Not my boss anymore. Don't know how many times I have to say that."
"Then why are you here?"
"Nat, I know her. Give her a break."
"I can speak for myself, Hawkeye," Darcy told him. "Look, I stayed with Jane for so long because she needed someone to make sure she, like, ate and stuff and because it was amazing. Inter-dimensional travel, gravometric anomalies, other stuff I can't pronounce. I got to experience things other people can't imagine. Some of them were kind of scary, but some of them were just plain awesome. But now Jane travels all the time and doesn't need me to take care of her, and…she's stopped looking for the better and brighter things. I couldn't stay."
"Okay, then," Natasha said before turning and walking down the hall. "Are you coming? Selvig is probably waiting for you."
...
"So…what do you think?"
Darcy looked up at the much taller man and said, "I think it's weird that you're here, and Jane's not."
"Darcy, you know why she said those things."
"I know she's hurting because he left…again. I just don't think it's an excuse."
"What happened to your young man? Ian, was it?"
Darcy rolled her eyes. "I got caught up in the moment. It only lasted about two weeks. I tell myself he was a HYDRA plant when I feel bad about it."
Selvig chuckled as a knock sounded at the door to the lab. They turned to find Steve Rogers even more dressed down in jeans and a compression t-shirt. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting," he said quietly.
"Not at all," Selvig told him. "I'm just waiting patiently for this one to give me an answer."
"This isn't a job at Starbucks. It does actually make sense to think about it for a minute or two," Darcy replied.
"Well, you can give me an answer on Monday," Erik told her. "I have a date tonight."
"Look at you, you silver fox," Darcy teased.
"Stop it, or I'll rescind my offer," he teased back as he picked up his jacket and briefcase.
"Like you could find anyone else willing to join this circus."
"Is that a yes?" Selvig asked, looking back at her.
"Of course it's a yes," Darcy replied, smirking with a slight shake of the head.
"Excellent. See you on Monday, then. Captain."
"Dr. Selvig," Steve said, as the man walked past him, leaving him alone with Darcy.
"I, uh, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier," Steve told her. "Sort of had a tough week, but that's really no excuse."
"I'm not really the one you should be apologizing to," she told him.
"I've already talked to Wanda," he replied matter-of-factly. "I know when I'm wrong."
"Well, there's a talent some of your friends seem to lack."
"Yeah…well...Clint's about to take off and he wanted me to invite you to dinner at his house this evening," Steve said with forced brightness.
Darcy cocked her head curiously. "He sent you to invite me?"
"His exact words were, 'Go tell Lewis she's coming to dinner,' but I thought I'd be polite about it," he told her with a genuine smile.
"Of course you did," Darcy said. "I guess I need to grab my stuff from my car."
"Pretty sure Hawkeye's already taken care of that," Steve told her as they started out of the lab. "He doesn't really take no for an answer."
"Yeah, I know."
"How do you know Barton, anyway?" Steve asked her.
"He was in New Mexico with Coulson and his goons when Thor made his initial splash down," Darcy explained. "When they gave all our stuff back, he had my iPod, but he told me this sob story about how his son had been begging for one, but he couldn't really afford it on a government salary and I caved. I mean, I knew he was full of shit to an extent, but I'm a sucker when it comes to kids."
"You might want to watch your language, Ms. Lewis," Natasha said, apparently appearing out of the ether. "The captain doesn't like such talk."
"That joke stopped being funny six months ago," Steve told the red head as Darcy looked between them amusedly.
"The iPod's been passed down to Clint's daughter, Lila, by the way," Natasha continued. "Cooper managed not to destroy or lose it."
"Well, they made those things to last before they started making a new phone every year," Darcy replied.
"True enough."
"Hurry up, you guys!" Clint yelled at them from the ramp of a Quinjet as they entered the aircraft hangar. "Laura's marinated some steaks. We're grillin' out tonight."
"You know I'm a vegetarian, right?" Darcy asked as she walked up the ramp.
Clint raised an eyebrow and she smiled in reply. "Just kidding. Bring on the heart disease."
Steve snorted a laugh as he strapped in and Clint smirked at Natasha and quietly said, "A smile. Miraculous."
"What are you playing at, Barton?" she asked quietly as she followed him to the cockpit.
"Me? Play? I don't know what you mean."