Chapter 13

          A week later, about the time of the first snowfall of the year, Darcy and Tony were running deliveries together. Thor and Loki had taken some time off to visit family. Thor had been giddy with excitement when Steve had driven them to the airport. Loki, on the other hand, had looked like he was contemplating throwing himself out of the moving vehicle on the highway.

          Tony pulled up in front of the administration building of the university. “Are we almost done? I think I actually miss my desk.”

          “Uh…” Darcy scrolled through the list of deliveries on her phone. “We have two deliveries left, not including this one. Both of them are on campus, though, so we should be done pretty soon.”

          Tony made a noise of triumph and jumped down from the driver’s seat. Darcy, having forgotten to bring a coat this morning, pulled her sweatshirt sleeves down over her hands and followed him to the back. Tony, thankfully, was lazier than Thor was and loaded the boxes onto a cart, rather than relying on brute strength. He was closing up the back when they heard a familiar voice call their names.

          “Hey Wade!” Darcy called through chattering teeth.

          His scarred cheeks were flushed from the cold. “Hey, Darce, Mr. Stark.”

          Tony nodded in his direction. “Wade. Who’s your friend?”

          Darcy swiveled to look, her field of vision limited by the hood of her sweatshirt.

          “This is Matt Murdock. He was my roommate before I moved off campus, and he’s Peter’s lab partner for biology,” Wade explained.

          “Biochemistry,” Matt corrected, his eyes obscured by a pair of dark glasses. “Which is markedly more difficult than biology, particularly when you can’t actually see what you’re analyzing.”

          Only then did Darcy and Tony notice the slim cane Matt held, the tip brushing against the snowy sidewalk. Tony clicked his tongue.      

            “I could improve that. I’m ashamed that you’re stuck with a simple strip of metal when I’ve designed and created literally dozens of more efficient aids,” Tony blurted, not unkindly.

          Matt grinned. “I manage just fine, Mr. Stark, but thank you.”

          “Tell you what,” Tony clapped his gloved hands together. “When you get a chance, come by the bakery and I’ll set you up with one of the models. If you’re comfortable with that, I mean.”

          “Oh, I trust your tech, Mr. Stark. Peter’s told us all about it,” Matt laughed.

          Wade chuckled. “You’ve gotta love that little nerd. Listen, we’ll catch up with you guys later. We have a class across campus in fifteen minutes.”

          They waved the boys off, then turned back to their task. Tony pushed the cart briskly, Darcy walking closely enough to use him as a windshield. In the warm lobby of the building, they paused to soak up the heat. A passing secretary spotted them and took the boxes. They were in and out in less than five minutes, all but sprinting back to the truck. Once warm inside the cab, Darcy took out her phone and spouted off directions for Tony.

          “Hey, how are things going with Jack?” Tony asked.

          Darcy flinched reflexively.

          “That good, eh?” Tony said, catching her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

          She made a face. “I don’t know. Things are going well, I guess. I just…I don’t know. He makes me feel weird.”

          Tony looked concerned. “What? Like serial killer weird?”

          “No! Nothing like that. It’s like I’m…perky,” Darcy spat.

          Tony about severed his tongue trying to bite back his laughter. “Okay, well how about inviting Mr. Perky over for dinner this weekend?”

          Darcy was immediately suspicious. “Why?”

          “Because we want to interrogate the boy about his intentions with you and question every life choice he’s ever made,” Tony shot back without missing a beat.

          “I’ll see. I’m not making any promises,” Darcy grumbled, sinking lower in her seat.

          “You did what?!?” Steve shouted.

          Tony lunged to shut his office door. “Whoa, there Rogers, relax. I just invited the guy over for dinner, I didn’t sign the marriage license and toss him a condom. What’s the problem? Wade’s been invited over for dinner more than once, and you’ve never freaked out like this.”

          Steve hesitated, obviously picking his words carefully. “I…I just think this is a bad idea.”

          “Please,” Tony pleaded. “I’ve always wanted to scare the shit out of my daughter’s boyfriend.”

          Steve shot Tony a look that told him he’d won his way, but there would be a price to pay.

          “Fine, but you get to be the one to tell Clint,” Steve muttered under his breath as Tony’s hands slid around his hips.

          “Hmm?” Tony cocked an eyebrow.

          “Oh, nothing,” Steve brushed it off. “Just mumbling to myself.”

          Tony gave a wicked grin. “C’mere, I’ll make you mumble.”

          “Tony! The door isn’t even locked!”

          “He did what?!” Clint yelled, ripping his toothbrush out of his mouth.

          Natasha stared at him, her back to the bathroom mirror.

          He cleared his throat. “Uh, I mean, I don’t really care. Why would I? She can bring whoever the hell she wants to dinner.”

          “What would you say if I told you she had a reaction on par with yours when I mentioned you were bringing your girlfriend?” Natasha prodded.

          Clint furrowed his brow. “Natasha, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

          “Good thing, because Darcy wants to be yours,” Natasha announced bluntly.

          Clint froze.

          After a full minute without so much as a blink, Natasha smirked. “That’s what I thought. Are you going to tell her, or do I have to do that, too?”

          “She…” Clint swallowed loudly. “She told you that? That she wanted to be my…”

          “Girlfriend,” Natasha supplied. “Not with her words.”

          Clint put his hands on his hips. “What, did she do it through fucking water colors, because I’m not following you!”

          Natasha smiled fondly. “You’re adorable.”

          “Fuck you,” Clint pointed at her. “You are the Russian Lucifer.”

          Fast-forward two days, back in the bathroom. Peter sat cross-legged on the bathroom counter as Darcy danced around, trying to adjust her cleavage in her navy sweater.

          “I don’t get it. Why are you so against this dinner?” Peter asked.

          Darcy grunted as she tugged on her underwire. “Because Jack is…It just feels weird, okay?”

          Peter gasped. “This is the first time you’ve brought a boy home to meet the family, isn’t it?”

          Darcy scowled. “I can’t believe there’s an aspect of dating that you’re more experienced in.”

          “Darcy, I hate to tell you this, but that is not an appropriate amount of boob to show at a family dinner,” Peter told her.

          She flashed him in response.

          Peter rifled through the stack of tops she’d brought. “What about this one?”

          It was dark red, with a scoop neck that showed just enough skin and set off the deep brown of her hair. She slipped it on and fluffed out her hair.

          “Good call, Parker. Pass me that mascara?” Darcy gestured to her make up bag.

          There was a whistle from the doorway. “You clean up nice, Darcy.”

          Darcy saw Wade’s wink in the mirror and grinned. “Ah, damn! You missed the peep show by a matter of seconds!”

          “Just my luck!” Wade mock groaned, leaning against the counter next to Peter so that their shoulders brushed. “So, when’s the boy supposed to be here?”

          “Soon. He should be here-oh!” Her phone rang loudly and she grabbed for it. “Jack?”

          “Hey, Darcy. I’m sorry, but I’m running a little late. I should be there in about five minutes, though,” Jack promised.

          The warm feeling she always got in her chest at the sound of his voice flared and her face melted into a smile. “That’s fine. Dinner isn’t until six thirty. Just drive carefully, okay? The roads are getting icy.”

          He assured her he would and disconnected.

          She looked up to find Peter and Wade staring at her, horrified. “What?”

          Peter looked dazed. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”

          “I think she cooed,” Wade whispered fearfully.    

          “Oh, fuck off,” Darcy snarled, pushing past them.

          Wade glanced at Peter. “She’s got it even worse than you do.”

          Peter scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

          “Ouch,” Wade covered his chest with his hands. “That hurt me. Right here.”

          Peter bent and brushed a kiss over the back of Wade’s hand. “There. All better.”

          “Hmm, you know on second thought, I think it was more of a face shot,” Wade winked, leaning down to kiss Peter.

          “Don’t fuck in the bathroom!” Darcy called, passing by the open door.

          “No promises,” Peter shot back, his hands pulling Wade closer.

          Downstairs, the doorbell rang. Peter shot off the counter and down the steps, Wade hot on his heels. They reached the first floor in time to see Darcy racing to the door, hipchecking Tony away from the knob. She ran a hand over her hair before opening the door and pulling Jack inside, lacing her fingers in his.

          She gestured to the tall brunette beside her. “This is Jack. Jack, the guy with the goatee is Tony. The blonde guy behind him is Steve, and the redhead is Natasha. The two by the stairs are Peter and Wade. And…wait. Where are Clint and Bruce?”

          “One of Bruce’s lab friends called with some emergency. He left about an hour ago,” Steve explained. “But Clint…”

          “I’ll get him,” Natasha volunteered, starting toward the stairs.

          “Come in, Jack. Sit down. Tell us about your life,” Tony said, staring intently at the man.

          “What are you doing?” Natasha demanded, nearly kicking down Clint’s door.

          He glanced up from the book propped up on his knee. “Uh. Reading. Is that okay with you, Comrade?”

          “You’re hiding,” Natasha accused.

          Clint smiled innocently. “I’m just reading, Natasha. That’s all.”  

          “Get up,” she ordered. “Go downstairs.”

          “Why should I?” he sighed, dropping his book.

           Natasha glared at him, her eyes glinting with fury. “Because you aren’t a coward. And because you know that if you stay up here, you’ll disappoint her, and that would be worse for you than suffering through a couple of hours of watching her with this guy. She is so close to accepting the way she feels about you. Don’t give her a reason to ignore that.”

          “Why do you care, Nat?” Clint asked.

          Natasha was quiet for a moment. “I care because she makes you happy. After all you’ve been through, after surviving the shitstorm that is your life, you deserve that. You deserve someone who makes you happy, and as your best friend, I will do my goddamnedest to make sure it happens.” She smiled wryly. “Besides, I owe you. Not only did you save my ass multiple times in Budapest, but you also introduced me to Bucky.”

          “That,” Clint hissed. “Is not something I want to take credit for. And I thought we agreed to never discuss Budapest.”

          Natasha grinned and put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, big guy.”

          Clint stood slowly. “I’m going to need alcohol after this.”

          “I think we all will,” Natasha muttered, following him out of the room.

          “So. An artist. Must be…messy,” Tony narrowed his eyes.

          Jack shifted uncomfortably next to Darcy at the dining room table. “Yeah. It does get messy sometimes. Especially when you get wrapped up in what you’re creating and you forget to rinse your brushes or forget that you knocked over a container of blue paint.”

          “What you’re saying is that you’re a slob and easily distracted,” Wade clarified.

          Jack paled. “No, just dedicated to my work.”

          “You got any family, Jack?” Tony asked.

          “Uh. No, actually, I don’t. I was orphaned when I was sixteen. My parents were only children, and their parents passed when I was a baby,” Jack explained reluctantly.

          “They didn’t die in a mysterious fire, did they?” Peter tipped his head to the side in thought.

          “Peter!” Darcy gasped.

          Jack cleared his throat. “They, uh, they did. I was at a friend’s house when it happened.”

          Peter nodded. “I remember reading something about it. Your hometown was a few miles east of mine. I’m sorry, man. That must have been terrible.”

          Jack looked away. “Yeah.”

          Peter shot Wade a look.

          “Just ‘yeah’?” Wade mouthed back.

          Peter shrugged.

          “Could you pass the potatoes, please?” Darcy asked loudly, glaring at Peter.

          He looked suitably chastised for her benefit and handed her the bowl of mashed potatoes.

          Tony spoke up from the head of the table. “Clint, you’re awfully quiet tonight. The hell happened today?”

          Clint glanced up from his plate and grunted. “Just…thinking.”

          Tony opened his mouth to push the subject, but Steve kicked him under the table. The front door opened and closed and loud footsteps echoed in the hall.

          “Who…” Peter turned.

          “Ah! You must be Miss Darcy’s gentleman!” Thor bellowed from the dining room entry.

          Jack’s jaw dropped.

          Darcy leaned to whisper in his ear. “That’s Thor and his brother, Loki. They’re harmless. It’s okay.”

          Jack didn’t look like he really believed her. Thor took the seat on his other side, Loki disappearing into the kitchen. He returned a minute later, in the middle of Thor’s greeting to Jack, with a bottle of vodka. He sat next to Clint, took off the cap, and drank straight from the bottle for a solid minute and a half.

 Clint glanced at him. “Rough week, man?”

Loki clutched the bottle, his eyes glazing over. “I’m almost glad I’m adopted.” He looked up to make sure Darcy was distracted and spoke quietly to Clint. “I can’t imagine this is much fun for you. Why haven’t you escaped yet?”

Clint took the bottle from Loki and drank greedily. “Oh, god, that’s so much better.”

“Hey,” Natasha hissed.

They looked up at her, like scolded children.

Natasha held up a warning finger. “No.”

Loki capped the bottle and set it on the floor between their chairs. They managed to tune back into the conversation just in time to hear Thor ask if Jack was planning on bedding Darcy. Loki and Clint reached for the bottle at the same time, both of them coming up empty. Clint turned and caught Natasha filling her water glass from the bottle. She passed the bottle back and threw back the vodka, licking her lips. Clint couldn’t bring himself to look at Darcy, but the burning red flush on Jack’s face was satisfying. His gaze drifted involuntarily to the girl beside Jack, and his smirk fell. Darcy looked absolutely miserable. Clint swallowed back his feeling for a minute and held up a hand.

“All right, all right. That’s enough, guys. Leave the poor kid alone,” Clint sighed. “Jack, do you watch baseball?”  

He managed to successfully launch a conversation that embarrassed no one at the table, and actually had Jack smiling. Tony stopped ragging on him for long enough to commend his taste in sports teams, and Thor looked like he wanted to hug the kid. Clint felt someone nudge his foot under the table and looked up. Darcy caught his eye.

“Thank you,” Darcy mouthed.

Clint nodded, his chest tightening. Great. Just fucking great.

“Thank you for having me over. It was nice to meet all of you,” Jack smiled, waving at the room in general.

          “I’ll walk you out,” Darcy said, squeezing his hand.

          On the porch, Jack turned to her.

          “Thank you for coming tonight,” Darcy gave a small smile. “I know it was awkward and uncomfortable and completely terrible but it meant a lot-“

          “Darcy,” Jack interrupted, dropping her hands. “I can’t do this anymore. You’re a sweet girl and all, but you aren’t anything like what Trey told me.”

          “Trey…” Darcy thought. “T-the guy I made out with at the homecoming party?”

          “When he heard you weren’t with anybody, he gave me your number. I mean, I thought it was worth it. You sounded cool, and he said you were great in bed. But, Jesus. He never told me you came with a crazy Russian lady, an overgrown body builder, and two sets of fags,” Jack huffed.

          Darcy recoiled like she’d been slapped. “What? Those are my friends, you asshole!”

          Jack smirked. “Kinda tells you something, huh?”

          Before she realized what she was doing, Darcy’s fist made contact with his jaw. She put a surprising amount of force behind it, and Jack stumbled, tripping over his own feet and smacking against the porch rail.

          “Fuck!” he spat. “Crazy bitch.”

          “Get the fuck out of here,” she ordered, her voice scary. “Or so help me god, I will find a baseball bat.”

          Jack stumbled to his car, shooting glares at Darcy. He threw himself behind the wheel and tore out of the driveway, laying on his horn. When his taillights disappeared, Darcy’s went back inside, closing the door carefully. She could hear the voices drifting in from the dining room, and she felt a surge of rage for the way Jack had talked about them. She slid down the door to sit on the wood floor, burying her face against her knees. She bit her lip to hold back the sobs, but the tears stung at her eyes.

          “Darcy! What happened?” Steve’s voice was panicked.

          Darcy shot to her feet. “What happened? What always happens, Steve? I got screwed. This time, it happened to be a lot less enjoyable.”

          Steve’s face fell. “Honey-“

          “I’m fine,” Darcy squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m just going to go to sleep. Thanks for dinner. After everyone stopped interrogating my date, it was actually kind of nice.”

          Darcy started for the stairs just as everyone else wandered into the living room.

          “Back so soon?” Tony asked. “I thought you’d be making out on the porch for at least ten minutes.”

          The look on Darcy’s face shut him up in an instant.

          “Oh my god, what happened?” Tony demanded. “Is he still out there?”

          “I’ll kick his ass,” Wade threatened.

          Darcy sighed, looking exhausted. “I’m going to bed.”

          Peter reached out as she passed. “Darce…”

          She shrugged his hand off and continued up the stairs, her steps heavy.

          Clint rolled over, his comforter rustling. His eyes roamed the dark room, restless. He sat up in bed. This was ridiculous. There was no way in hell he was going to fall asleep anytime soon. He grabbed blindly for a sweatshirt and pulled on a pair of tennis shoes. A short run would clear his head, then he could sleep. He snagged his house keys off of his dresser and dropped them in his pocket. Clint crept out of his room and down the hall quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible as he made his way downstairs and out the front door. Once outside, he paused to lock the door. Around the corner of the porch, he heard a sniffle. He rounded the corner slowly, spotting Darcy curled up on the porch swing, wearing one of Steve’s old sweatshirts and a pair of pajama pants. Even in the moonlight, with half her face obscured by her hair, Clint could tell she’d been crying for a long time, her eyes swollen and red.

          “Darce?” Clint asked quietly.

          She looked up slowly, wiping her eyes. “Hey.”

          “Do you want to talk about it?” Clint offered.

          Darcy hesitated before making room for him on the swing.

          Clint noticed her bare feet and clicked his tongue, pulling them in his lap. “It’s freezing out here. Where are your shoes? Or socks?”

          Darcy shrugged. “I forgot.”

          “What happened?” Clint prodded gently.

          Darcy smiled sadly. “I got played, Barton. A guy from my…illustrious past got ahold of him and told him just how much fun I could be. Apparently, I wasn’t worth waiting for.”

          Darcy’s voice cracked and Clint’s heart clenched. “He had the balls to say that?”

          Darcy nodded. “And then he insulted everyone. Actually, I think you and Loki were the only ones he didn’t insult.”

          “I really hope you ripped him a new one,” Clint admitted.

          Darcy glanced up at him. “I decked him.”

          Clint gave a surprised laugh. “Nice one. Remind me not to get on your bad side. You can be vicious when you need to be.”

          Darcy bit her lip, the tears welling up in her eyes again. Clint didn’t even hesitate before pulling her into his lap and hugging her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the tears broke like floodwaters. Clint murmured soothingly into her hair, his hand rubbing circles on her back. It wasn’t how he imagined being with Darcy, but Clint would give his right arm to see her smile right now.