Darcy/Bucky/Steve 2
Liasing for the new Avengers was a pretty sweet deal. Not that Darcy hadn’t been having fun following Jane all over the planet, but she figured it was time to make her own life instead of being the hashtag on her friend’s life.
One of the best things was that, with a few notable exceptions, she got to make her own hours. So the insomnia that she’d dealt with for most of her adult life wasn’t such a big deal.
Less awesome was the fact that other than an acrobatic ninja person and someone with telekinetic powers, the people she worked and shared living space with were over six feet tall.
This made late-night snack missions to the kitchen an exercise in… Well… Exercise. Darcy was fairly certain she’d done the equivalent of scaling that big-ass rock face that was in the training center at least twice.
Like tonight. She pulled one of the stools from the bar counter over next to the fridge. It wobbled a little as she climbed onto it, but it stayed up. Which was awesome. Only when she climbed from it onto the counter, it met the floor with a bang.
Darcy stood on the counter, hands on her hips, staring at it. “Well, this is awkward.” Fuck you very much, falling stool. It wasn’t like she was stuck up there forever, but now the stool was blocking the immediate floor area, and she’d have to traverse the counter. At best, it would be awkward with the wall cabinets in the way- because the only reason there was really room for her where she was, was because she was holding on to the top of the fridge.
Whatever. She was up there, might as well get her drink. And why were her bottles of Cherry-Vanilla Dr Pepper up there, anyway? She was the only one who drank them, this wasn’t exactly convenient.
She pulled the bottle out of the cupboard, resting it on top of the fridge. Sighing, she looked around the room. “Fucking hell!” Startled by the sudden appearance of the dark-haired ex-assassin in the doorway, she almost fell off the counter. In a second, he’d moved across the kitchen and was steadying her with his hand around her outstretched arm.
“Careful, now,” he admonished, a trace of amusement in his voice.
“Thanks.” It could have been a little less begrudging, but whatever. She didn’t ask for one of the guys she was interested in to find her in a less-than-optimal position. “Why’s your boy insist on putting my shit on top of the fridge, anyway? I am the least likely to be able to reach it.” That was a guess, but it made the most sense.
“Sorry,” came Steve’s voice from the hall, a combination of apology and restrained laughter. She she wasn’t expecting him, either, and she squeaked, grabbing Bucky’s wrist with her free hand.
“Let’s get you down from there before you fall and get a concussion,” Bucky suggested, not bothering to hide his grin.
That would be just her luck, too. Living with superheros and getting concussed from falling off a fucking counter. “Yeah.” She grabbed her drink and looked down at Bucky, wondering how this would work.
Kicking the stool out of the way, his hands went to either side of her waist. She sort of rested her free hand on his shoulder and bent over, and he easily plucked her down off the counter, using his body to steady her as he set her lightly on the floor.
“Thanks.” Darcy looked up into those clear blue eyes. She should have moved away, but he was awfully warm, and he smelled really nice. Besides, his hands were still on her waist, and it would have been rude. Well, okay, that was a stretch. But… Still. Any excuse.
“Sorry, Darce, I’ll move those for you.” She turned her head to see Steve moving across the kitchen. He reached up and took the remaining soda out of the cupboard, then bent down and slid them onto the bottom shelf of the cupboard on the other side of the fridge, just a few inches off the floor. Yeah, there was no way she wouldn’t be able to reach it there.
“Smart ass.” But she was smiling as she said it. And who knew that Captain America was a fucking sass-master?
He straightened up and turned towards them. Blue eyes flicked over them, and Darcy became very aware that Bucky was still holding her waist. Before she could slip away, though, Steve stepped up behind her so that she had to twist her head around so she could keep looking at him. He was close, very close. “Can you stay for a minute?” he asked. “Bucky has something he wants to ask you.”