Day 2: Tuesday, June 23rd

"You're my next door neighbor and you walk your dog for like two hours everyday in our adjoining backyards, and at first I was annoyed because trespass much? But you're really cute and you dance and sing badly to music the whole time so I sit on the back porch and watch you for a little bit." Neighbors!AU

Crossover: What's Your Number?

Pairing: Darcy/Colin

Rating: T

Warning: Contents Might Be Cliché

Darcy wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. If there was one thing she hated, it was moving. Ok, so maybe it was better than say… school work, but it still sucked huge, hairy monkey balls. Even more so in the middle of summer. She still didn't know what possessed her to move in ninety degree weather. Oh wait, no she did, and the idiot's name was Ian. Now there was something, she thought, that she truly hated more than moving and school work combined.

Taking a moment to look around, Darcy figured maybe it had all been worth it. She was starting a new chapter in her life, and with the purchase of her own house she had written the first few words. After a few moments she realized if she didn't start unpacking soon she wouldn't get it done for a while yet.

She spent the next few hours dividing the boxes amongst the rooms, placing each where they belonged. By the time she had finished it was already six in the evening. Considering she hadn't eaten anything more than a couple of donuts that morning, she figured food was probably a good idea.

The kitchen, with its door leading back to an attacked porch, had been one of the selling points of the house. The room had a very country feel, all hardwood and whitewashed panels, but with the convenience of a suburb home. Darcy didn't have much food around yet, but a package of ramen didn't require anything but water.

With a bowl of steaming noodles in one hand and a bottle of cheep beer in the other, Darcy made her way out onto her back porch. She stood just outside the door stunned as she watched some guy dance around in her backyard, playing with a large dog.

She felt a moment of annoyance, she had left the city to get away from people, and here she was confronted on her first night there with some jerk walking his dog in her yard. Alright, so she had a pretty good idea that the guy lived right next door, and she had been told that both of their backyards joined. It still didn't mean she had to like the guy allowing his dog to tear up her grass and leave crap everywhere.

Not wanting to start off on a bad foot with her neighbor, she remained quiet and just sat down on an old chair that had been left by the last owners. He was kind of cute actually, even if he did have that Dude-Bro look. She was pretty sure he thought his "Free Licks" shirt was funny and clever. He also was kind of funny, as he was dancing around the yard singing loudly to Starship's "We Built This City," while he played with his dog.

She figured it was best to leave things be for the time being. She didn't have her tv hooked up or the internet connected yet, and he was kind of entertaining. At this point it was better than a book, as she decided she was too tired to even read. She could always call him out on it later on.

Darcy shut the door behind her, tossing her shoes and keys away as she made her way into the house. She had been living there for just over two months, and everything was just started to come together. She had finished unpacking everything just that past weekend, and the house finally screamed Darcy.

She went straight into the kitchen, wanting nothing more than to make her something to eat and start her evening routine. Alright, so her routine was actually just nuking whatever she had in her freezer and then sitting on her back porch to watch her cute neighbor play with his dog. But who could blame her, he was cute and she didn't have much her life as of yet.

Today Cute Neighbor danced around the adjoining yard, playing catch with the dog, singing and dancing to "Morning Train." He was really getting into it, doing little hip shimmies and everything. Darcy really couldn't help laughing when he made a few exaggerated moves. He just turned around and gave her a wink, which of course made her blush.

Once the song was over, he whistled to the dog and the both of them ran up to her porch. Darcy felt her whole face turn bright red, she hadn't thought he had noticed her. Though by the cheeky grin on his face it was obvious he had.

"Enjoying the show?" Cute Neighbor leaned against the railing of the porch, both arms and legs crossed.

"Eh, seen better." Darcy swallowed back her embarrassment, she could do this. She could flirt with the cute guy, she was no longer with Ian, this was her life to do with what she wanted.

"I'll just have to work harder then." Cute Neighbor pushed off the railing and extended a hand. "Colin Shea, by the way, your adorable and very single neighbor."

"You know, normally people are 'very' single for a reason. You probably shouldn't lead with that." Darcy took his hand and gave it a short shake. "Anyway, I'm Darcy Lewis, your snarky, newly single and not looking neighbor."

"Such a shame." Colin smirked and just set himself down on the chair beside Darcy, kicking his legs to rest on the railing. "So, Not Looking, were you ever planning on actually talking to me?"

"You looked busy, and I was eating. Didn't seem like the right time." Darcy shrugged and sat back to take a bite of her dinner. She yelled a bit when Colin reached forward and grabbed a piece of pasta off her plate.

"Always the right time. Anyway, Baskerville and I should probably be getting back. I've got a gig tomorrow." Colin set his feet back down on the floor, and quickly stole another bit of pasta.

"Baskerville?" Darcy slapped Colin's hand when he went in for another bite of her dinner, but he just gave her a cheeky smile.

"The ex named him. I wanted spot." Colin stood and made his way down two of the three steps of the porch.

"He's a golden lab." Darcy looked the dog over, wondering if the man was actually serious.

"I know. Anyway, I wasn't lying. I have a gig tomorrow, and I need to get some shut-eye." Colin hopped down the last step and was several yards away before he turned back to holler at her. "Same time tomorrow?!"

Darcy's after work routine quickly changed after that first evening. She still came home to quickly nuke something, but once she went out to her porch Colin and Baskerville were always waiting for her.

Over the past six months the two of them, well three of them, had become good friends. She had told him how her relationship with Ian had turned controlling and how she had to get out before she completely lost herself. He told her all about his romance with Ally, how their friendship began and how it ended up causing him to fall for her. He had confided in her how wonderful things had been at first, they were happy and on their way to getting married. But since they both had too many issues it eventually just fell apart. They talked about childhood and future dreams, and Darcy would be lying if she said she hadn't fallen in love with him.

It was a cool April day, wet and cloudy, and she knew that Colin and Baskerville would be waiting for her. She hurried up the front steps of her house, not wanting to make them wait too long. Though once she opened her door she had a feeling they had already made themselves at home. It wasn't like it had been the first time, over the winter Colin regularly made his way into her house when she worked late. Normally he would have a bag of her favorite take out ready for her.

She kicked off her shoes and followed the sounds of music into her front room and found herself rooted to the spot. Colin stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a pair of dress pants and a white button up. He smiled when she entered the room and held out a single rose.

"It's kind of cliché, I know. But I think sometimes we deserve cliché." Colin continued to smile nervously, unsure if he had made the right choice.

Darcy felt tears build up, and pushed them away as she took another step into the room. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"It is completely up to you, but I want you to know something." Colin took a few steps forward, edging closer to Darcy. "Not every relationship is the same, not every guy is like Ian. I don't want to control you, I just want to be with you."

"This could end up just like all the others." Darcy took a couple of more steps forward until she stood practically in front of him.

"Maybe, but I think it might just be worth trying." He held out the rose again, his eyes focused on hers. "Please."

Without a word, Darcy took the rose from him and brought it up to her nose. She leaned in, her forehead pressed against his chest. For a long time they both just stood there in each other's arms. Eventually Colin pulled back and took her hands.

"Come, dance with me." Colin pulled Darcy into the middle of the room, holding onto one hand while he reached over to switch on some music.

Darcy laughed as "Fernando" started playing and Colin led her around the room wildly and just a bit awkwardly. Maybe things wouldn't end well, but she thought he might be right; it was worth trying for.

Author's Note: Day Two. It's a bit rushed, I know, but I actually wrote this in the middle of the night. This is something I think would be best as a chaptered story, but here we are. Think of this more as a snippet, or trailer, of something that should be larger.

Also, the Avengers don't exist in this 'verse, this is a no powers AU. And yeah, there was a bit of Ian bashing I guess. It's not that I hate the character, but I wanted to go with a canon character for this.

The songs of course are "We Built This City" by Starship, "Morning Train" by Sheena Easton, and "Fernando" by ABBA. Basicly I wrote this while listening to my Saturday Morning playlist, which is all the music I used to wake up on Saturday mornings to my father blasting downstairs when I was a kid. I had to put the songs in just for fun.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.