Pre-Avengers.

Had to take a break from fighting with Chapter 15 of Will You Go Out With My Big, Green Alter Ego. It's not going to be written without a fight, so I just wanted to write something easy. Sorry it's a little late for V-day.

Darcy did not flinch at the intense glare Jane sent her way. "What? You told me that I shouldn't be afraid to say what I think because we've been working together long enough for that."

The diminutive astrophysicist put her hands on her hips. "Happy Sour Grapes, Bitter Single Person Day? Really?"

Darcy shrugged. "I'm not a fan of V-day, okay? I have my reasons."

A noise at the door had them both looking up. Dr. Selvig had arrived, and he was walking with the creepy smile S.H.I.E.L.D agent…Coulson?

"Ladies," Selvig greeted. "Agent Coulson is here to check on our progress."

Darcy really wasn't in the mood for creepy secret agent guy. "Well, I don't know about Jane or Erik, but I've recently upgraded to the Intensity vibrator, and whoa! Totally worth the money!" She adopted her best wide-eyed, vapid expression, and blinked her eyes innocently at Coulson.

He blinked back at her, and then looked to one side with a tiny, tiny smile. "That's helpful to know, Miss Lewis. I'll be sure to provide it as a recommendation for female S.H.I.E.L.D agents." He turned back to face her, eyes slightly crinkled in mirth. It wasn't much of an expression, but it was more than Darcy was used to seeing and she counted it as a win.

Jane was mortified, of course. "Darcy! Don't say things like that!"

She shrugged. "Why not? It's totally true. You should try it, Jane. Well…get your own. I don't share."

With both Erik and Jane looking like they swallowed their tongues, Darcy decided it was safer to leave, and she swept out, dropping a saucy wink at Agent Coulson. She didn't want to stick around and listen to Jane's bitter diatribe about how she needed more resources, so she retreated to Jane's trailer to play games on her phone.

She had reasons for being bitter about V-day. Three out of four previous relationships had ended on or just before Valentine's Day. Which just proved to her that the quality of guy she had dated was severely lacking, and that was probably due to her deep seated lack of self confidence. It didn't make her feel any better about the day, though.

But whatever. Darcy had a vibrator and wasn't afraid to use it. She was all about taking care of herself. From her taser to her vibrator, she had all the good toys.

She had a crappy little apartment in the tiny town of Puente Antiguo that she retreated to at the end of the work day. It wasn't much, but it was hers and she didn't have to share it with anyone, so it kept the illusion alive of maybe one day having someone to bring home to it. Working for Jane hadn't been a great prospect after graduating, but her options had been a little limited, due to S.H.I.E.L.D wanting to keep an eye on her. Apparently, they were worried about her blabbing about Thor.

It didn't really register in Darcy's head that there were food smells coming from inside her apartment when she pushed the door open. She inhaled deeply, appreciating the mouthwatering scent, and dropped her keys on the little table by the door. Then it finally hit her that there shouldn't be food smells in her apartment, and Darcy whipped her taser out of her bag, eyes darting around frantically.

"Relax, Miss Lewis."

Creepy smile agent was in her kitchen, making food. Darcy's eyes narrowed when she noticed the table. It was draped with a nice tablecloth, and there were lit candles and a vase of flowers on it.

"What the hell is this? What are you doing in my apartment?"

Coulson managed to look a little sheepish. "I overheard your comment to Dr. Foster, about Valentine's Day, so I looked at your file. It seems you could use a reason to believe that Valentine's Day isn't all bad."

Darcy hesitantly lowered her taser. "So you thought breaking into my apartment could help give me a different impression of the day?"

He raised one eyebrow. "No. I thought that being surprised with a nice home cooked semi-romantic dinner might help."

Semi-romantic? Um…Darcy tilted her head to one side. "Why semi-romantic?"

Coulson's expression didn't alter, much. "Since you're not dating anyone at the moment, the dinner would not be a romantic one, where you gaze across the table into the eyes of your beloved, and barely taste the food."

He sounded wistful, and it suddenly had Darcy thinking that the life of a secret agent man couldn't be an easy one. "No one else to make dinner for?" she asked softly, tucking her taser back in her bag.

Coulson turned away, back to the food. "No," he answered shortly.

Darcy slung her bag over the back of the sofa, and took the three steps necessary to reach her kitchen. She studied him from behind, never having really looked before. He looked pretty sharp in his Men-in-Black suit. The jack-booted thug thing had always made him kind of invisible to her before, but she saw him now. "I'd be delighted to have a semi-romantic dinner with you, Agent Coulson."

He glanced at her over his shoulder, appearing much younger suddenly. "Call me Phil."

That's it. Just a little short fluff.

Don't own it.