This is a work of fan fiction. No profit is being made.

Darcy set a stack of stack of napkins and silverware next the plates on the counter. The casserole dishes were in the oven, the salad prepped and waiting in the fridge. She just needed to finish the rolls. She pulled the dough she had made earlier that day out of the fridge and started forming rolls and lining them on a baking sheet. She was about halfway through when the doorbell rang. She rinsed her hands and went to answer the door. She pulled it open and jerked back when she got a face full of leaves.

"Sorry about that," Steve said.

"That's okay," she chuckled. His cheeks were an adorable shade of pink. "What's this?"

"Jarvis informed me that it's customary to bring a gift to a housewarming party. It's a Philodendron. I thought you might like it. The florist said it's real easy to take care of."

"Thanks," she said as she took the plant. She stroked one of the heart-shaped leaves as she looked around, trying to decided where best to put it. The dining table would be good. "You want a drink?"

He trailed behind her as she dropped off the plant and went back to the kitchen. "Do you have root beer?"

She smiled and pulled one from the fridge. "Got it just for you."

He smiled back. "Thanks. You need any help? That's why I'm early."

"Nope, just have to get these in the oven and it's all done. You can keep me company, though." She went back to forming rolls. "Anything happen while I've been getting reacquainted with my stuff?"

There was a short pause before he answered. "Oh, nothing really important. Natasha got back from her mission last night."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Clint asked if she could come tonight." And wasn't that going to be a barrel of laughs? Clint swore she was fun to be around but Darcy had her doubts.

"Oh?" There was another pause, something was up.

"Should I have said no?" She grabbed a knife and swiftly cut a cross into each roll.

"No, nothing like that. It's just... SHIELD and I had a bit of a falling out. I'm not sure how they're going to take it. You're really good at that." Ooh, deflection! Must have been some falling out.

"Lots of practice. I worked in my brother's diner while I was in high school. That's where I learned everything I know about cooking."

"You said you had four, right? What do they do?" Steve asked.

"Joseph is the oldest. He married his high school sweetheart and they took over her family diner. She's the one that taught me how to cook. They have three-year old twin boys. Orneriest brats ever. Jeff is the second, he's a motocross rider."

"Motocross?"

"Motorcycle racing. It's awesome. I've got some races saved that I haven't watched yet. I'll put it on when these are done. He does freestyle and standard racing." She took the pan of garlic butter that had been warming on the stove and brushed it over the rolls. "Aaron is third. He's doing the following-in-dad's-footsteps thing. He's got two more years in the army then he wants to work with dad at the ranch."

"You're a farm girl?"

"Not at all. When Dad retired from the army he bought a ranch and put in a gun range and a couple of paintball arenas. When Jeff got into motocross he put in a course for him. We get a lot of BMXers too. Its turned into a sort of X-games B&B. " She set aside the remaining butter and put the pan into the oven under the casseroles. She checked the casseroles while she had the oven open. Perfectly timed. They would be done at the same time as the rolls. She closed the door and set a timer.

"And the last one?"

"That's Robbie. He's actually a year younger than me, he's a model. It's disgusting how pretty he is. Come on, I've got one of my brother's freestyle completions recorded."

They took their drinks into the living room and she pulled up the video. She explained the guidelines and told him the names of the various tricks. About fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang again.

"What is that one called?" Steve asked as she got up to answer the door.

"Superman seat grab." She said. She barely had the door half-open before Clint hustled in. Agent Romanov trailed in behind him holding a bright purple sack.

"Tell me the food is ready," he begged. "I could smell it if from the fucking elevators."

"Sorry, ten to fifteen minutes left." she told him. "Drink?"

"Beer if you got it, soda if you don't. Ooh, motocross!" Clint went over to the couch and perched on the back. "Hey, Cap."

Darcy turned to the other woman. "What would you like, Agent Romanov?"

"Call me Natasha, please." She held up the sack. "We brought wine."

"Thanks. Make yourself comfortable." Darcy took the sack and went to the kitchen. She set the bag on the counter and opened one of the bottles of wine. She poured a glass and grabbed a beer to take to the living room.

"Boxing and motocross," Clint said as she handed out the drinks. "Are you sure you're a girl?"

She rolled her eyes and sat next to him. "I don't have to feed you, you know."

"Just try to keep me from it," he dared.

"Her brother races," Steve told him.

Clint leaned forward to examine the screen. "Which one is he? Is he the one you were telling me about the other day?"

"He's on the purple and yellow bike and no, talking about Robbie. My younger brother." She ignored Clint's glare in favor of watching the TV.

"I'll help you with that," Clint said after the timer went off and followed her into the kitchen. "Younger brother, really? I'm not a pedophile."

"Get the salad out of the fridge," She ordered as she opened the oven and pulled out the casseroles. She set them on the waiting trivets and put the pan of rolls on the stove top. "And zip it about my brother; he's old enough to drink."

Clint tsked at her. "I didn't realize you were such an old maid."

"You're feeling sassy today."

"It's a good day. My best friend is home and someone's feeding me real food, doesn't get any better."

She smiled and bumped shoulders with him. After she made sure everything had a serving utensil she handed him a plate and told him to dig in. Then she leaned out the tell the others "Alright, it's soup. We can eat at the table if you want to be civilized but I'd rather sit out here and watch the race."

"Yes!" Clint exclaimed. The next several minutes were a jumble as everyone filled the kitchen, passing each other items and squeezing around to find a clear spot on the counter. It reminded her so much of home she couldn't help but smile. The guys headed back out first and she followed them out with Natasha. Once everyone settled on the couches, the others single mindedly focused on eating.

"You know, I have a theory that superheroes don't know how to feed themselves," she said.

"We know how to feed ourselves, it's just mostly takeout," Clint replied.

"Sometimes we get called out unexpectedly. We can be out for weeks, even months. It's just easier to not keep much on hand," Natasha told her.

"Cleaning out the fridge after a mission is not fun," Clint said with a shudder before taking a big bite out of a roll. "Bit of advice, Cap. Don't buy Tupperware you don't mind throwing away."

Steve winced and flicked a glance up at Natasha before looking back down at his plate. She saw Clint's eyes narrow as he looked between the other two. "What happened?"

Steve sighed. "I had a meeting with Agent Hill a few days ago. I thought it was to discuss mission options but Agent Neumann was there."

"Seriously?" Clint asked.

"What did they want?" Darcy asked.

"They want me to be the public face of the Avengers. They're afraid the public will get scared and turn on us once the shock has worn off." Unfortunately that didn't sound too far off base to her. Tony was the only one out to the public and he was not the most reassuring person. One of the things that her professors constantly told her was that it's always better to control the message. "Apparently I owe the agency for six months of sitting around. So, I should just do whatever they want. I disagreed, so I quit"

"You quit!?" Clint asked.

"Yeah," Steve replied.

"The Agent Hill overstepped her bounds," Natasha said. "If it helps, Director Fury reprimanded her."

"It doesn't matter now," Steve muttered.

"If you come back, you'll have a choice. You were always supposed to have a choice."

"I have a job. I'm going to be Tony's bodyguard." That stunned everyone. Darcy debated on sharing her thoughts with Steve. She felt like she should warn him but she didn't want to shake his confidence in his decisions. He must have read something in her face though, because he looked at her questioningly. "What is it."

She bit her lip and ducked her head as she organized her thoughts. "I don't think they're wrong about how people are going to react."

"You think I should have done what they wanted?" he asked, gravely.

"No!" She rushed to reassure him. "They're total jackasses. I bet you were nicer than they deserved. But they're right about somebody needing to do something before it gets ugly."

"I don't see why it has to be me."

"You're Captain America," Clint said. "You're a national symbol, people will trust you just because of that."

"I've done all that before and I hated it. I want to defend this country but I want to do it in private."

"Steve, there is no way you're going to keep your identity secret," she said.

"Why not? Do you think someone from SHIELD would leak it?" He asked, concerned.

"No one loyal to SHIELD will risk pissing off Fury," Clint said.

"You made movies," She reminded him. "There's posters and trading cards and newsreels from the war. I'd bet everything I own that there's dozens of enterprising journalists out there putting together Captain America documentaries. I'm honestly surprised they haven't played any yet. If you're going to work for Tony, you'll be in the public eye. People are going to figure it out. It's not a matter of if, it's when and how."

Steve looked stunned, "What do I do?"

"You should talk to Tony," Natasha said. "He has a lot of experience with the media. If you're going to work for him, it will affect SI. He'll probably assign you a PR representative to help."

"He's already... I don't want to bother him."

"I bet having Captain America working for him will improve his stocks. I don't think he'll mind. You don't have to make any decisions now. Talk to him first," Darcy said. He nodded and went back to eating, deep in thought. She felt like a jerk, bring something like this up when the evening was supposed to be fun. As she turned back to her plate she thought she saw Natasha staring at her, but when she looked up the other woman was focused on her own meal.

"So, he quit but he's still going to do exactly what they wanted him to do," Fury said.

"It's probable," Natasha replied.

"Keep an eye on the situation. Good job convincing him, even if you couldn't get him back."

"Actually... I wasn't the one that convinced him."

"Barton?"

"No, Darcy Lewis."

"Who?"

"Foster's assistant. She was very insightful and presented a logical argument in a friendly manner. The Captain easily accepted it, if not happily."

"Hmm, interesting."