Trying to start and maintain a grown-up relationship while living in the same space as your only living blood relative (bio-mom does not count) is nearly impossible. Darcy and Bucky are young, sexual beings and it's hard to find a moment of privacy that isn't interrupted by an annoyed Uncle or a nosy billionaire genius that has nothing better to do than embarrass said couple should the opportunity arise.

Anywhere that's not Darcy's bedroom or Bucky's is completely off limits, but even then Clint's pounding on a wall and yelling for them to shutup or Steve's being a smug little shit about anything he's heard. So when Natasha drags Clint along with her on an intel gathering mission and Steve heads out for his morning jog in the park, Bucky and Darcy take advantage of them pretty much being on their lonesome. With Bruce and Tony locked away in their labs, and Pepper running SI, Darcy and Bucky fall into one another in the Communal Kitchen. It's not the most sanitary of places to get it on, but it wasn't like they had planned it and they can't seem to break apart long enough to race back to one of their bedrooms.

Darcy's settled atop the counter, breakfast long forgotten as the couple hurriedly strips themselves of their shirts and Bucky settles himself between Darcy's knees. Everything about their movements is rushed and they come together in a frenzy, grasping and clinging to one another. Tongues lick and teeth nip, and Darcy whimpers as Bucky trails his lips from her mouth to her chin, and down the side of her neck.

Darcy's legs wrap around Bucky's waist, the heels of feet pressing into the small of his back. "Goddammit, Barnes. Stop wasting time and get in me."

"With a mouth like that, doll, I'm surprised you're rationed."

"Shutup. You love it."

Darcy manages to catch Bucky's mouth with hers once more, her hands trailing from the back of his neck and down his muscled back. She chuckles as his muscles twitch beneath her fingers and smirks as Bucky groans when she manages to slip her hands beneath the waist band of his sweat pants.

Hands full of Bucky's boxer brief covered ass, she uses her feet to slip down his sweat pants inch by inch. Sweat pants then down around his knees, Darcy slips her thumbs into the waist band of his boxer briefs as she keeps him busy with her teeth and tongue.

"You're a lot more clothed than I am, sweetheart. S'not fair," he pants as she drags her lips across his jaw and the side of his neck.

"Chop, chop, Sarge. We don't have all day."

Bucky growls and moves his hands down Darcy's sides, completely passing up her electric blue bra and twisting the fabric of her sleep shorts between his fingers. He manages to rip one side of her shorts and catch a glimpse of lacy underwear that matches the color of her bra, but before he can peel the shorts off, a bellow of rage startles both he and Darcy.

"HOW DARE YOU DISHONOR MY LITTLE LIGHTNING SISTER, YOU HEATHEN!"

Bucky manages to break free of Darcy and pull up his pants all within two blinks, the plates in his arm whirring angrily as he whirls around. Thor's standing there in his Asgardian garb and glaring at Bucky, Mjölnir pointed threateningly at him. And as Bucky reaches back to Darcy's left and his hand searches for a knife that had been left there, Darcy squeaks and reaches for Bucky's shoulders, grasping him and yanking him back while also wrapping her legs back around his waist.

"Don't! Thor's a friend. He's a friendly," she blurts while clinging to her boyfriend's back like a koala and using him like a shield for her nearly nude form. Glancing up, she finds Thor's stormy gaze still latched onto Bucky. "And you," she shouts. "-put Mew-Mew away and go find Jane. Bucky wasn't doing anything I didn't want him to."

"He dishonors you, little one." Thor's voice lowers to a more acceptable level and he lowers Mjölnir back to his side. "He dishonors you, your home, your family.. and your cow." The ending of his statement is enough to finally make him crack, his stormy gaze turning into sparkling amusement.

Bucky frowns and Darcy gasps, she cackling a moment later as Thor joins in her merriment. "You're such a fucking troll, I swear," she laughs and Bucky finally relaxes beneath her. "Did Tony put you up to this?"

"Aye," Thor grins. "Friend Steven as well," he admits. "I believe FRIDAY gave them a live feed of the event." Darcy squeaks and cheeks flame as she glances at her state of undress, but Thor's there to soothe her worries. "Fear not, little one. My beloved was there as well and kept the Man of Iron from leering at your.. assets."

Bucky suddenly snickers and Darcy pinches his side in retaliation. "Laugh it up, Buckaroo. I have a feeling Thor's only being friendly for right now. I have no doubt he's waiting until he gets you alone."

"Aye," Thor flashes Bucky a dazzling smile which then causes Bucky to tense once more. "I look forward to engaging you in battle, friend James. Steven has told me tales of what a worthy opponent you are."

Bucky curses beneath his breath and it's Darcy's turn to snicker.

Thor is definitely a good bro even if his actions were totally uncalled for.

"Whatever you want, big guy, you got it. Just not right now and you have to promise to not break Bucky. I sort of need him. A girl's got needs, you know."

Having Thor around the Tower is surprisingly fun. He doesn't nose around Bucky's relationship with Darcy, and he doesn't pull back his punches when sparring like Steve does. Clint had pouted and whined that he wasn't present for the shovel talk, but even at that, Thor had only conjured up a bit of lightning, thunder, and wind, and made Bucky promise to never harm his little lightning sister.

In good spirit, Bucky just rolled with it all and even threw in that should he hurt her without meaning to, he's pretty sure Darcy would hurt him back all in her own way before letting anyone take their shot at him. And in true Lewis form, she winked and agreed and zapped her taser in good warning.

Life goes on, the Avengers avenge (Bucky now included), and Darcy does her damnedest to make sure no one is tarnishing the reputation she's managed to build up for her family and friends. And on the days the Avengers are not out saving the world or writing up paperwork, Darcy and Pepper have the team going out to surprise the public with games for children, speeches to motivate the citizens in all that they do, or just hanging out and having a good one on one with whomever comes up to them first and starts a conversation. (Honestly, hardly anything is ever planned and Darcy's favorite day is the day they hauled hundreds of water guns to the park, encouraging children to join as they started a water fight).

It's on a seemingly normal day that everything goes to shit.

Darcy's out grabbing coffee for herself and the Scientists Three, and out of nowhere there's a prick to the side of her neck. Darcy swears and stumbles to the side as her tray of drinks fall, and a seemingly average looking guy comes up to her while muttering assurances that she really needs to lay off the alcohol as he steers her towards an alley. Darcy mumbles more swear words as she's dragged away from civilian eyes, and then a bag is pulled down over her head as she's lead to a nondescript SUV. She's then shoved into the vehicle and there are several deep voices talking over one another as she loses consciousness.

When Darcy comes to, her vision is fuzzy around the edges and her tongue feels heavy in her mouth. She shifts to move her arms- well, tries to move her arms- and she realizes that each wrist is bound to the back of the chair she's sitting on. She tugs experimentally and realizes that she's bound decently tight, and shifts even more in her seat in a brief moment of panic. The wooden chair creaks under her weight and Darcy freezes.

Taking a deep breath to attempt at calming herself, Darcy decides to take stock of her well being and her surroundings. Nothing else on her persons is aching other than her head and wrists, and the place she's being kept in is a rather clean and well stocked warehouse. She realizes that she's been stripped of her messenger bag and keys in her jean pocket that held a small cylinder of mace, but her feet have been left unbound.

"Amateur," she mumbles. "Think, Lewis. W.W.R.D. What would Romanoff do?" Her gaze starts scanning her surroundings once more and it's then she takes notice of the logos stamped on a few crates. She can't see what it says even as she squints with her glasses on, so she uncomfortably stands to her feet- hunched since she has to carry the chair- and walks her way closer. And when the logo is finally visible, she groans at what she sees. "Ohh, you have got to be kidding me!"

xXx

"Darcy's been missing for two hours," Jane exclaims. "Two! I can understand one hour because the lines at the coffee shop can get long, but two? And- and her phone's off. She never turns her phone off! Something's definitely wrong."

"So you alert her uncle," Tony huffs, gesturing at Clint who's twirling an arrow in hand and pacing the length of their shared labs as Jane continues shuffling through her portion of the lab in hopes of finding something that will help. "You could have gone to Cap or hell, even Romanoff," he then gestures to the redhead who's typing at one of their hologram screens suspended in mid-air. "-but no. You go to her uncle who's easily compromised and will start a war to get her back."

"Yeah, well, let's all be happy she didn't go to Bucky," Steve sighs.

Jane's side of the lab goes eerily quiet, Natasha stops tapping at her screen, and Clint stops his pacing.

Bruce looks up from a tablet in his hands and presses his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, sighing through his nose. "You told Bucky, didn't you?"

Jane avoids everyone's gaze and jumps in surprise when thunder rumbles loudly. Everyone's gaze darts to the window showing off the brilliant view of New York and just as the sky darkens ominously, lightning cracks across the sky. "And Thor," Jane squeaks.

There's a collective groan from the men in the room, and Natasha smirks as she gets back to work on the screen before her.

"I panicked, okay?!" Jane ties to defend herself. "And technically, I didn't tell Bucky. Thor was present at the time and since he has this weird friendship going on with James, he told! Bucky is not my fault."

FRIDAY alerts Tony to Sirs Odinson and Barnes being on their way to the lab floor, and everyone's gaze then darts the elevator. Sure enough, there's a ping to alert of incoming people and the doors open to reveal the frightening figures of Thor and Bucky. Well, Thor and the Winter Soldier.

The two very intense and scowling beings march down the hall, everyone's gaze tracking their movement through the glass wall. Thor's decked out in his Asgardian garb, red cape billowing behind him and Mjölnir gripped tight in hand. Bucky keeps up with the God's pace, he too decked out in uniform, but he's back in the Winter Soldier garb complete with the black war paint across his eyes. Various weapons are strapped to his body and the only thing missing from his outfit are the goggles and face mask that covers his lower face.

"Oh, shit," Tony suddenly chuckles. "We're most definitely going to war."

Just as Thor and the Soldier stand shoulder to shoulder in the doorway, Natasha clears her throat and makes every gaze swivel in her direction. They then stare curiously between the redhead and the screen showcasing a map and a red blinking dot. "Suit up, boys. We have a hellion to rescue."

xXx

"Hammer Industries," Darcy scoffs in disgust, staring at the various logos stamped across the crates. "And here I thought Justin had an ounce of intelligence in that puny brain of his. How the hell did this moron get out of prison so early?"

"Why, Miss Lewis, I'm offended." Darcy doesn't startle at the voice and instead merely glances over her shoulder at the approaching male in question. Justin Hammer's flashing her a smarmy smile, and Darcy rolls her eyes. "If I didn't need the information that's in that pretty little head of yours, I'd let my men have some fun with you."

As if on cue, several thug-like men in black military style pants and ridiculously tight t-shirts file in. Each of them are carrying an assault rifle, glocks are strapped to their thighs, and every single goon has a comm link in his ear.

"Information?" Darcy huffs after her perusal of the men. "What information? You want to know my Nana's secret recipes or something?"

"You can play dumb all you'd like, but I know for a fact that you have access to Stark, Banner, and Foster's work in their labs. I want intel from the inside, Miss Lewis, and you're going to give it to me." He's squatting in front of her now and it takes everything in Darcy to not kick the man in his face.

Reigning in her anger, Darcy tries to calm her rapidly beating heart and settles on amusement. She allows the corner of her lips to tilt upward in a grin and laughs in the man's face instead. "Correction, I had access to their labs. Once I got promoted to PR manager, all access codes were changed. And with my attention not needed on the science and math that I didn't even understand to begin with, it all just went in one ear and out other," she snorts. "I'm pretty much Jon Snow in this scenario, you douche canoe. I know nothing."

All during her little rant, Justin's smile got smaller and smaller, and the glint in his eyes took on an angrier warning. His gaze darts up the men Darcy can hear shuffling behind her, and Darcy smiles triumphantly. "It seems your intel is a little outdated, Mr. Hammer. Wanna learn some more?" His gaze darts back to her- is that hope in his eyes?!- and Darcy snorts at the man's stupidity. "You're absolutely lucky that I'm tied down. The Black Widow's been my mentor for quite some time and I'm especially fond of the death by thigh choke-hold maneuver she taught me."

Instead of being scared like any sane person would at the mention of the Black Widow, Justin has the audacity to leer and practically undress Darcy with his eyes. "I wouldn't mind if it was your thighs around my head, sweetheart." He pushes to his feet, looming over Darcy as his hired help chuckles behind Darcy's back.

Darcy glares, but manages a cruel smirk. "You'll pay for that comment, asshole. The Avengers dote on me and I'm pretty sure they're going to have some fun sticking you with pointy objects when they get here."

"You sound so sure they'll find you."

"Duh," she says. "You might have taken my things away from me, but I bet you didn't destroy my phone because it might have held valuable information that I only knew how to unlock. Luckily for me, Stark's one paranoid bastard and had all my electronics bugged with GPS." Justin's expression completely goes blank and Darcy triumphantly giggles. "With your smug as shit attitude and your allowance of me running my mouth, I'm pretty sure I bought the Avengers all the time they needed to find me. And before you say it's too early to notice my disappearance," she cuts off Justin right away as he opened his mouth to retort. "-I was totally on a caffeine run when your thugs picked me up. When the scientists didn't get their fill, their little mental alarms started blaring. Give it up, man. You're fucked."

The sound of glass breaking is the only warning they get, but it's a warning seconds too late. Two thugs immediately go down, one with a bullet wound to the chest and another with an arrow through the heart.

"And that- that would be the boyfriend a.k.a the Winter Soldier and my Uncle a.k.a Hawkeye to the rescue." Men start shouting and Darcy gleefully watches as everyone scrambles for cover, all except Justin who merely uses Darcy as a human shield when he crouches behind her. Thunder rumbles and Darcy grins over her shoulder. "Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the God of Thunder calls me his little lightning sister? Hold on tight to both nuts, Hammer, and pray you don't get bitten by a spider. Auntie Widow is very lethal."

From her position, Darcy can barely make out as Justin pales. He scrambles off to the side, using crates as a shield now as he tries to make a getaway. As more windows break and gun shots ring out, Darcy feels a little too vulnerable out in the open. So letting her mind wander, her mind flashes on an escape technique Nat once told her about. Groaning, Darcy checks the stability of the chair once more and deeming it safe, she sighs and puts the technique in motion.

Climbing to her feet once more in a hunched position, Darcy counts to three and then jumps while simultaneously throwing her weight back and letting the chair crash on it's weak back legs. The wood cracks beneath Darcy's weight as she hits the ground and she groans in pain once she's able to move her hands freely. "That.. fucking.. hurts," she pants. "I'm never listening to Nat ever again."

"Chin up, kid. That was awesome," Iron Man says just as he hovers a few feet above her. "Now where's that squirrely little bastard at?"

"That way," she gestures blindly in the direction she last saw Justin run in.

Darcy whimpers some more as she fidgets with the broken chair beneath her back, she then finally sitting up and working the rope off her wrists. Thunder's constantly rumbling, lightning is lighting up the inside of the warehouse, gunshots are ringing out, and there is some very manly screaming going on. And just as Darcy is climbing to her feet since the fight seems to be taking place somewhere else, Hawkeye and the Black Widow appear out of thin air and sidle up on either side of her.

"Jesus, Darce," Clint breathes, collapsing his bow and setting it on the ground. "You okay?"

"Mhm," she winces. "Just decided to rescue myself which FYI," she turns to Natasha who still has her guns in hand and keeping watch of their surroundings. "-you never told me how much that little stunt with a wooden chair hurts, Nat!"

"It was pretty much a given, kitten," Natasha says, slipping in her favorite Russian pet name for Darcy. "Now get yourself together and keep an eye out. Your boyfriend slipped into Winter Soldier mode and we're not sure how he's going to react when he sees us with you."

"What?"

"S'true, D," Clint frowns. "It's the first time this has happened since Steve's brought him in. Cap's a bit worried, but so far all of the Soldier's attention is on those who took you. Sam's on his way back with the twins in case Bucky needs a session with him."

"Oh, God," she groans.

"It'll be okay," he assures her. "Nat has tranqs in case the worst case scenario starts unfolding."

That doesn't seem to calm Darcy at all if the slight whimper from her or the glare from Natasha is anything to go by. The screaming has tapered off so Natasha cautiously reholsters one of her guns, and then Darcy's tapping at Natasha's shoulder. "Hey, Nat, how attached are you right now to your Widow Bites?"

"Not at all, really," she shrugs and glances down at the vibrant blue glow of her wristlet-slash-glove. "Why do you ask?"

"Hammer's got it coming to him," Darcy's eyes narrow in annoyance. "He made.. a sexual remark that I'm not very fond of coming from him. I was thinking I'd give him a little jolt since I told him you were practically my mentor."

Natasha's lips twitch and she shrugs, holstering her second weapon and carefully pulling off her glove. The fight elsewhere has gone quiet and just as Darcy's pulling the glove over on her own hand, Justin Hammer lands at her feet where he quickly settles back on his haunches and holds up his hands in surrender.

Holding Hammer at repulsor point, Iron Man's face plate slides up and Tony smirks. "I say we end his pathetic existence right here, right now. I'm pretty sure he knows too much to be let go."

"Whoa, hey. Hey! Come on now," Justin tries to reason.

"He does," Darcy chimes in, ignoring the man's pleas and flexing her fingers in the finger-less gloves. "I got mouthy. I couldn't help it."

Clint grumbles as he glares at Justin, and then Captain America rounds the corner. "We don't kill people, Tony. That's not who we are."

"Agreed!" Justin blurts. "Listen to Captain America. He's a smart man."

"Shutup," Steve then glares at him as well before turning his attention back to Tony. "If he knows too much, then we dig up everything we can about Hammer and pile it on him before turning him over to the authorities."

"Yeah, like that did anything the first time around," Tony huffs. "Hammer shouldn't be out of prison yet here he is. The government won't hold him and he touched Lewis. No one touches our family, Cap."

"Agreed," Thor's booming voice answers.

Everyone turns toward the Asgardian, they all shifting from foot to foot at the approach of not only said Asgardian, but the Winter Soldier as well. Bucky is standing next to Thor, eyes dull and gaze threatening. Darcy barely contains the gasp that threatened to spill from her lips, her own eyes watering at the sight of her boyfriend who's not really her boyfriend at the moment.

Yes, Bucky has some bad days, but Darcy has grown used to the sparkling blue eyes and the sometimes mischievous smirk. And right now, all that's left of her boyfriend is the shell of him.

"Bucky," she shakily calls out. His gaze snaps to her, and Clint and Natasha subtly shift in front of her. "It's okay, Bucky. The fight's over. I'm fine. I'm safe."

"Of course she's safe," Justin nearly squeaks. "I never really planned on hurting her. I just wanted-"

"You," Darcy glares and strides forward. "Shutup." She snarls as she forms a fist where the Widow Bites are situated and jams her fist where Justin's neck and shoulder meet. He convulses beneath her and three long seconds later, Darcy removes her fist and steps back. "You know what you did," she tells him as he crumbles into an unconscious heap.

"Atta girl!" Tony crows, cackling a moment later while the others- sans Bucky- grin at Darcy's little display.

She's quick to power down the Widow's Bite before walking up to Bucky, her palms out to show she's harmless which then quiets everyone down.

"Darce," Clint warns.

"Shutup," she mumbles. Then catching Bucky's gaze, she offers him a shaky smile. "Hey, Buck, you good?" His dead gaze catches onto Darcy's pleading one and her breath hitches. Now that she's up close, she can see the faint splatter of blood along his cheek and in his five o'clock shadow as well as the blood on his knuckles. And the longer he stares at her, his head tilts to the side and recognition starts to slowly seep in. When his shoulders finally slump and his breath stutters, Darcy throws herself at him and wraps her arms around his neck. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay," she repeats over and over.

Bucky's arms clamp around the back of her waist as he shoves his face in her hair, and then he's reaching up with his flesh hand to grip the hair at the nape of her neck. Gently pulling so her face is angled upward, Bucky captures her lips in a kiss and pours all the relieved emotion into it.

"Aww, Barnes, gross," Clint whines.

"Goddammit, Lewis," a new voice barks. "What did I tell you about keeping secrets?"

Everyone whirls around in the direction of Fury's voice, eyeing the man carefully in his familiar black coat and eye patch as Bucky jumps back from Darcy and practically growls in warning.

"Whatever do you mean, Nicky," Darcy says, amusement lacing her tone. She reaches for Bucky's metal hand, squeezing him around the wrist to make him loosen up so she can tangle her fingers with his.

"I'm talking about that," Fury gestures to their joined hands. "-and the fact that you had your tongue shoved down the Winter Soldier's throat."

"That? That's still new," she beams. "Didn't want to jinx it, you know? Now what's shakin', grumpy pants? Did my brief kidnapping scare you enough to bring you of hiding? I gotta admit, I'm flattered."

Nick Fury stares at Darcy as Clint and Tony snicker, and he heaves a small sigh when the Winter Soldier continues to glare at him from behind Darcy's shoulder. "Heard through the grapevine you got yourself into some trouble. Figured if someone already targeted you, they're starting to piece together the puzzle. I'm here for him," he then points to Justin's form on the ground. "Talked to Coulson and he has a holding cell available for Mr. Hammer. I'm sure your family and friends wouldn't mind SHIELD keeping him quiet."

"Not at all," Clint smirks. "He's all yours, Fury."

"Mhm," he grumbles. "A clean-up crew is also on the way to take care of the others and distribute the living ones to various police stations. Next time, keep an eye on your niece, Barton." Darcy giggles and mimes zipping her lips closed when Fury turns his one eye on her. "I'm glad Barnes is doing well, but we don't need another incident where it's going to trigger the Soldier."

"Aye, aye," both Clint and Darcy salute him. "I'll make sure to not attract anymore attention," Darcy then grins.

Steve snorts and as Fury heads over to Justin Hammer's unconscious form, Steve decides to take the initiative and help. Holstering his shield on his back, Steve steps forward and picks up Justin before throwing him over his shoulder. "Lead the way, Fury. I've got nothing better to do."

Fury doesn't refuse the help and after they're gone from the warehouse, Clint turns toward the remainder of his team and niece. "Well, that was fast. Who's staying back and waiting for SHIELD's clean-up? I call not it!"

Natasha repeats not it before Tony, Thor looks confused, and Darcy laughs at Iron Man's very creative swears. "Sucks to be you, Stark. Bucky and I will be heading out with Nat and Clint, so that leaves you and the Big Guy on SHIELD duty."

"I helped saved your life. Don't be mean."

"I bring you food everyday. Stop complaining."

Tony's mouth opens and then snaps shut. Shrugging, he agrees and gestures for Thor to follow.

Clint and Natasha tell Darcy it's time to head out to the quinjet, but Darcy merely motions them ahead. "I'll join you in a minute. Go get the engine hot." Clint leaves without a word, but Natasha hesitates and her gaze settles on the too quiet Soldier behind Darcy. "Go," she assures the redhead. "We're fine. I promise."

Assessing the Soldier once more, Natasha gives Darcy a subtle nod and takes her leave. Then left alone, Darcy lets go of Bucky's hand and turns to fully face him. Her palms plant themselves on either side of his jaw, her left thumb brushing along his cheek.

"Hey. We are okay, right?" Darcy murmurs.

Gaze catching onto Darcy's, Bucky gulps and hesitantly nods. "Yeah," he rasps. "We're good. You gave me one hell of a scare, doll."

"I know and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Her hands fall from his face and her arms wrap around Bucky's waist. Pressing herself as close as possible, Darcy presses the side of her face over Bucky's heart as his own arms wrap around her back. "I mean, I didn't plan on being taken in broad daylight, but shit happens."

Bucky snorts, more of the tension draining from his form. "You do know what this mean, right?"

"No..?"

"We're upping your training. Hand-to-hand, weapons, everything."

"Ugh. Whatever," she groans. "I promise to keep my whining down to the minimum if you promise to train me without your shirt on."

Chest rumbling with laughter, Bucky lays his cheek atop Darcy's head. "You got yourself a deal, sweetheart."

So for the next installment, I'm thinking Darcy and the Hulk need to meet...