In the 3 years since Bucky had lived in the tower, he had experienced a lot of night terrors. Steve was there since the beginning and had helped him through the worst of it. When they met Darcy almost 1 year ago, they weren’t expecting her to be their connection and hope for complete happiness in this new world they sometimes still felt lost in. They weren’t expecting her presence in their bed at night to be what brought peace to their dreams and rest to their bodies. Darcy Lewis was an assistant to all residential scientists but when all the other assistants and admins saw how well her technique worked, Pepper happily created a position for Darcy to oversee all assistants to all scientists working in the tower. She came into their lives and suddenly they didn’t know how or what they did before she was in it. They looked for Darcy at any free time they had and used any opportunity to touch her. The team first thought it was because her looks reminded them of the pinups and fantasy’s of their time but although she was more than beautiful, it was her carefree manner and easygoing attitude that drew them in. She was an escape from everything bad in the world and the more they got to know her the more they fell in love with her. For more than 3 months they flirted constantly, losing hope when she flirted back playfully and laughed but never took a step outside of their friendship. Finally one day Steve was the one who broke down and asked what they were missing, making them realize that their playful flirting was a tad bit too light and was taken as funny jokes.
Darcy knew they were together and though she was attracted to them, she never let herself hope or see more than lusty feelings for their looks. She never imagined that they actually wanted to add a third person to their relationship. It took a lot of talking and clearing things out to get everyone on the same page but they had met her at the end of March, cleared the air on time for Steve’s birthday in July, and now it was mid February so they had been together 7 months and they were the best months any of them could ever remember having.
That being said, Bucky and Steve still had small nightmares sometimes, not often anymore and Darcy was always a comfort to both of them when they got to wake up and hold on to her tightly but never in the 7 months that they had been together, had she been the one to have a bad dream. Both soldiers woke up at any slight noise, always aware of their surroundings even in sleep. They could ignore the sounds that were usual, like their breathing, slight humming that Darcy sometimes made when in deep sleep, sounds of appliances in the kitchen, and even being able to ignore when one of them got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. A sound that was not usual, not in the slightest, was whimpering coming from the body that lay between them. Both Steve and Bucky woke quickly and looked at each other in concern and worry, slightly at a loss of what to do when it wasn’t one of them having a bad dream. When Darcy curled into herself, hands going into fists, and her breaths hitched with shuddering gasps in between sobs, they jumped up to a sitting position and lifted her so she leaned against Steve’s chest while Bucky ran his hands up and down her arms to try and wake her. Their worry only increased with the large tears constantly running down her cheeks even after her eyes slid half open. She was stuck somewhere between awake and asleep but the tears and the shuddering wouldn’t stop. They had never seen her cry before, she was a never ending source of happiness to them, seeing her lips turn down and a line form between her brows made her face a picture of anguish that made both of them grip her tighter, they themselves could feel a heaviness set on their shoulders and their eyes fill with moisture from desperation, not knowing how to handle her feeling any type of distress, not liking her feeling like this. Bucky had enough and stopped trying to be soft, choosing instead to shake her shoulders urgently. It worked instantly, Darcy’s eyes shot completely open and her frame sat up instead of leaning against Steve. The crying went from sobs to sniffling but the constant flow of tears continued silently.
“Doll? Tell us what’s wrong.”
“Come on sweetheart, we’re right here, we’ve got you, you’re safe here.”
She nodded and wiped at her face, moving away from them to sit at the end of the bed while hugging her knees to her chest.
“I know, I’m sorry. It was just a dream. It was just a dream.”
She whispered the last part to herself but it seemed to make her face scrunch up in sorrow. Steve leaned forward and put his hand to her ankle, not liking her scooting away from them in bed but not wanting to crowd her either. She seemed to understand the sentiment and gave them both a soft smile.
“What’s wrong doll? You’ve never had a nightmare around us. Something happen yesterday that scared you?”
She shook her head and looked at them both for a full minute, they could tell she was debating on shrugging this off but they hoped she wouldn’t. Darcy took a deep breath and nodded, letting go of her knees and scooting forward so her legs touched theirs, seeming to get enough comfort from their skin touching to continue.
“It was about my dad.”
They both went still, not wanting to react in case she decided not to keep going. She was never one to talk about her family, they only knew she was an only child, her father had died from cancer when she was in high school, and her mother had married soon after to some rich guy that didn’t care for Darcy and so she wasn’t in touch with her mother anymore. The rest of her uncles and cousins lived far from her hometown so she never bonded with them and her grandparents on her father’s side had moved to Florida. She looked down and kept talking but she wasn’t looking at them, just fiddling with her fingers in her lap.
“You guys know he died when I was in high school. He had cancer and he went through the treatments the first time, it hurt him and weakened him but he made it through. He was getting better when it came back less than a year later. The second time we knew what to expect, he was getting very weak, everything hurt, he was dizzy all the time… he was really good one day but then at night he couldn’t even move out of his bed on his own. We called an ambulance to take him to the hospital but they could only keep him comfortable at that point. I-”
She stopped and shut her eyes tightly before taking a deep breath.
“We all said our goodbyes. He was asleep but we hoped maybe he could hear us. The night he passed away, there was like a calm that filled all of us in the waiting room, I don’t know how to explain it. When we got home though.. it really hurt to see all his things. My grandparents stayed with us and I spent my days watching my grandma, I had lost a dad but she lost her son. She went into a state of shock, she was always smelling his clothes, and I didn’t want her to be alone. I didn’t really grieve properly.. years later I can recognize it, admit it. Everyone talks about him casually now and jokes about the funny things he did but I still can’t. Months after he died, his sisters and my grandparents would sometimes talk about dreams they had of him, how it helped them move on. I have never been very religious but I prayed for so long to dream him, to be able to see him again and one night I did, so many months later but I did and it wasn’t like the dreams everyone else had, he wasn’t happy or smiling, it was him when he was finishing a treatment. I- I knew he was dead in my dream but I didn’t care, I was just so happy to see him and then he was walking to his room and he fell. He was too weak and he fell and hurt himself and I- I was so.. mad-”
Both of them leaned forward, wanting to comfort her as her breath hitched and big tears streamed down her eyes.
“I hated it, I started praying that I would never dream him again, not if I was going to see him like that.”
She wiped at her face again but finally looked up at them.
“Before he got sick- When I was growing up he was a janitor at a good school district. He got paid well after being there for years and that was enough to pay bills and keep food on the table because my mom had a good job too. 3 months out of the year though he did income tax in a small office he built at home. He started when I was born and he got a long list of clients over the years. He sat at that desk all day everyday for those months and every customer brought him at least 60 dollars so he saved up more than enough to use it for whatever we wanted until next year. At the end of every income tax season, he would take me to Disneyland. I grew up going every single year and I loved it. One time we sat on a random bench, eating ice cream near the entrance of the park. It wasn’t a tradition, it only happened once but it stuck with me and now every time I go I make a point of sitting there while eating ice cream. I hadn’t gotten a chance to go in almost 3 years and I have been thinking about it all week. I dreamed him there tonight, just-”
She gasped and once more, tears streamed down her face as she hugged her knees to her chest again.
“-Just sitting next to me, like everything was fine. He looked really calm, happy. I’m planning on going next month, March is the month that is the slowest usually. I wanted to tell you guys but, well I know you’re not really fans of crowds, and there’s kids all over, I would be gone over 2 weeks, maybe 3, and you guys have duties here and are easily recognizable to p-”
Bucky shook his head and pulled her to sit between his spread legs before taking her hands and making her look up at him.
“Sweetheart, we would walk through hell with a smile for you. Going to an amusement park, going on rides? That’s not a problem, of course we’d go with you. I’m a spy, if I don’t want people to recognize me, they won’t. If they don’t let this punk have time off then it’ll just be you and me but doll, you ain’t going alone. We love you, we’re here for you. Thank you for sharing so much about yourself, I know how hard it must be but I’m really proud of you.”
She smiled shyly and leaned forward to kiss him gently.
“I love you too. I love both of you. I’m sorry for crying so much, I was just shocked to dream him after so many years, and happy to see him. This trip isn’t for grieving though. The first time I went after he died, I’ll admit was not fun but I fully commit myself to the happiest place on earth. I want to go and have fun and I’d love it if you both could go but only if you really want to.”
Steve smiled at her and hugged her to him the best he could from her position between Bucky’s legs.
“There’s no reason why I can’t get time off unless the world is ending. Not sure who I’d even ask for time off since Avenger work isn’t an official military branch. We’ll just call a team meeting and let them know which day’s we’ll be out of the tower.”
She looked at both of them and her eyes lit up.
“Really? That easy?”
They nodded and smiled when she jumped into their arms, thanking them and kissing them everywhere she could reach.
“Alright, I’ll make the preparations then, and we can watch the Disney movies you guys need to see before going to the park.”
“Darce you’ve made us sit through every Disney movie, there can’t be more.”
“Yes there are. I made you guys watch the animated classics but you have to watch The Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean-”
“I thought Disneyland was a kids park. Those movies don’t sound kid friendly.”
“Oh they are, trust me. It’s like the Tim Burton and all the Disney and ABC Halloween movies I made you guys watch in October and December.”
The guys just shrugged, they didn’t mind watching movies and that Nightmare Before Christmas movie was really good, including how Darcy basically mouthed all the words and sang along quietly to all the songs.
“We trust you doll.”
“Good, I swear it’ll be fun. Oh! You guys liked all the Harry Potter movies and books right? Clint made you guys sit through them?”
“Yeah doll they’re great. Disney make em into rides too?”
“No, no but we can go to Universal Studios, it’s nearby and they have a section of the park with rides and food inspired by the movies. We only really need one day there, we can go through it fast. Oh this is gonna be so much fun!”
She smacked a kiss on their lips and jumped off the bed.
“Sweetheart? Where do you think you’re going?”
“To plan?”
“It’s still 3 am doll.”
Her eyes widened as she looked at the nightstand clock before shrugging.
“Sorry fellas, no way I’m going back to sleep any time soon. Go back to sleep, I’ll go bug Tony, assuming he is awake. Jarvis?”
The three of them chuckled as the AI came on through the room, sounded exasperated talking about Tony.
“You assume correctly Ms. Lewis. Sir has not slept in over 24 hours. You ‘bugging’ would be highly acceptable. I can also inform you that Dr. Banner is awake as well though he seems to be pacing his lab and his stress levels are climbing.”
In an instant Darcy was out the door, slamming it loudly behind her. Steve made to get out of bed but Bucky gripped his arm.
“I don’t like it either punk but remember last time we tried to keep her away when he was upset. I don’t want to go through that lecture again.”
Steve sighed and slumped back against the headboard.
“Jarvis? Can you inform us immediately if Bruce’s stress keeps climbing after Darcy arrives?”
“Of course Captain.”
They were able to fall back to sleep after Jarvis had assured them that Bruce and Darcy were both in the common floor drinking tea and after they had a long chat about how much it meant to them that Darcy had opened up to them. It was random but that was their girl, she didn’t make things more difficult than needed, she woke up and decided she wanted to talk to them so she did and she told them everything she wanted to quickly, ‘ripping the band aid off’ like she would say.
They woke again at 7 am to get ready and go on their run, dragging a complaining Thor along.
“I need not jog! It is the lowest form of activity. Only the wicked run when no one chases them!”
They rolled their eyes at his rant, not being the first time they heard it but eventually he shut up and just ran, focused on not letting Steve or Bucky outrun him.
Once they reached the common floor Darcy was there with the rest of the team making breakfast. Thor threw himself in the seat next to her and she fussed over him like a baby.
“Aww did the mean super soldiers make you go running with them again?”
Thor nodded and pouted while she cooed over him and fixed him up a large plate filled with food. It was always entertaining to the team how much Thor loved to be put under the care of Darcy. They could admit that at first it was strange to see and they were jealous because of how attracted they were to her and how much they wanted to get to know her but Darcy and Thor had known each other before Thor even agreed to join the Avengers after New York happened, he and Darcy were like siblings or best friends. They sought each other out when Jane was too involved in science to remember anyone else exists.
Aside from cooing at Thor she also paid attention to them, greeting them with a kiss each before serving them a plate as loaded as Thor’s. Tony pouted and leaned forward.
“Hey! How come you don’t serve me any food? I’m letting you use my jet to go on vacation.”
Darcy smiled and rolled her eyes at him but she did get a plate and filled it with his favorites.
“I only made the food! But you’re right, thank you for high jacking my planning session and making the travel arrangements easier.”
She got a wicked look in her eyes as she set his plate down in front of him.
“You deserve a hug as a thank you for everything you are doing to help Tony.”
The whole table rolled in laughter as his eyes widened in panic, leaning as far back in the table as he could. Darcy opened her arms, jumping for him before he could bolt from his chair. She grabbed him and hugged him to her tight for 5 seconds before letting go and purposely smacking loud kisses on each cheek and forehead.
Tony huffed in annoyance as everyone laughed but smirked and raised his voice so the soldiers at the end of the table could hear.
“Well, I’m not one for hugging but anytime you wanna hold my head between your bountiful, soft, plush breasts again I’m al-”
Just as Tony had expected, both Steve and Bucky stopped laughing abruptly, glaring at Tony in fury before reaching out and pulling Darcy onto Bucky’s lap while Steve buttoned up her blouse 2 buttons more, hands hovering over her breasts longer than appropriate. Darcy laughed and swatted his hands away, undoing one of the buttons, much to their annoyance if their grunts were anything to go on.
“Both of you eat! And Tony stop being an ass.”
“Speaking of asses, yours looks particularly great in those jeans!”
He cackled before grabbing his plate and jumping up, making a run towards the elevator as Steve and Bucky gave chase.
“Jarvis!”
The elevator doors closed just in time before Bucky reached them. Darcy rolled her eyes at Thor and Jane but really she felt her heart skip a beat every time they got a little jealous or possessive over her. She liked her cavemen and loved that if any behavior actually bothered her, she could just say so and they would respect it. They would respect her.
Back in their seats they all had a pleasant breakfast with Thor asking questions about the difference in Disney world and Disneyland.
“The one we went to is in Florida Thor and you remember the 4 parks were all separate? We had to drive to each one? Well the one in California is only 2 parks and they only have a large plaza that you walk through to enter the other park, it’s very convenient.”
“I see, so it would be like the other park, the universal one?”
“Yes exactly! Universal studios in Florida is 2 parks right next to each other and you can buy a 2 park pass to visit both on the same day. Disneyland in California is the same. The universal studios in California though is just one park and it’s much smaller than Florida.”
Clint nodded, knowing what Darcy was talking about.
“So why not just go to Florida if we are closer anyway and it’s better?”
“Well I wouldn’t say better. I grew up visiting Disneyland every year so it has familiar, sentimental value. Plus, being that it is only 2 parks, they still have all the classic rides that are so spaced out in the 4 parks of Florida, it’s all the fun packed into less walking so I’m all for it! I also have friends from high school that work there now so I get discounts.”
“Ah, the discounts.”
“Hey it’s not cheap to be at the happiest place on earth, and their food isn’t cheap either.”
Bucky smacked a kiss on her neck playfully and ran his hands over her hips.
“I’ll buy you anything you want doll, just name it.”
Everyone laughed when Darcy pouted pathetically up at him.
“But Bucky, what if what I want can’t be bought?”
“I’m a spy and I was called a ghost for many years baby doll, if I can’t buy it, I can make it happen.”
Darcy gasped in wonder and looked up at him in awe. Steve raised a brow, wondering what she could possibly want that would make her look like that. Jane though, knew instantly and pointed a reprimanding finger at her.
“Darcy! No!”
“But- but Janeeee”
“No Darcy! That is not only illegal and probably not possible anyway but the magical part is that you can’t buy your way in, you have to win a stay in the castle.”
Darcy pouted again but got a wicked gleam in her eye as she shifted carefully in Bucky’s lap, pressing her breasts firmly to his chest and looking up at him through her lashes as she bit her lip. Steve sat back amused to see both his partners, one playing the other and looking down at Bucky’s pants, he could see it working easily. She topped it off with a breathy low voice that had his body sagging against hers.
“It’s just, Bucky, There’s a secret in the sleeping beauty castle in Disneyland. There’s a hotel room in there, one with a big bed and a tub! I’ve always wanted to soak in it naked but… well you can’t reserve it. There’s a random raffle that they do using cameras or something. It’s impossible, Jane’s right. I mean I know you are just so amazing at everything but...-”
She had ran her hands lower and lower on his waist at that point and Steve knew between the stimulation and her stroking his ego while questioning his ability to do something meant Bucky would just take it as the ultimate challenge.
“Darcy doll you better watch what you say. I can make that happen easily but when I get you in there I’m not letting you out for a good 2 hours. One for the bed and one in the bath.”
Steve smirked but knew he would have to get Natasha to check just how illegal this could be and if there were any cameras in that room. He had no doubt that Bucky could take care of it but he had also been hinting at wanting to keep a picture or a sketch of Darcy stretched out beneath them so he wasn’t sure how much he trusted Bucky to delete all footage there could be. He had to say though, he was really looking forward to Disneyland.