AN: This was posted on AO3 as separate story & as tag to chapter from 'Greek Tragicomedy of Stark'. But I've finally decided that I'm definitely going to write more side stories.

The next one will probably be after the chapter on Thor in 'GTS'.

Chapter 1: And Where Did You Come From?

July 2003...

Jim hates having meetings with Tony.

No matter what his intention, everything with Tony devolves into Jim clucking over Tony's behavior and Tony pulling Jim into the same reckless misfortune that made them infamous on the MIT campus. It didn't help that Jim found his job as liaison to SI incredibly boring when he wasn't dealing directly with Tony.

It was in fact probably very telling. Jim hates thinking about this, but Tony can be pervasive to the point that it's difficult to compartmentalize his presence in your life.

Jim shakes his head as he exits the hanger. The tech this time was a sophisticated UAV. Cool, but Jim would always advocate against them. As much as he loved Jay, he had grown up reading all the science-fiction he could and found arming autonomous machines downright terrifying.

And speaking of terrifying, outside of the hanger there was a young girl listening to an mp3 player. And was security bad enough here that a kid could sneak onto Tony Stark's air-field? Because he would have words about allowing unauthorized kids access into space with potentially dangerous military tech.

But here was this little brunette with huge headphones, dark shades, and a high pony-tail snapping gum and sitting against the hanger wall, reading from a book thick enough to kill a man if launched at his head.

He nudges her with a booted toe. She sighs and removes her headphones. "Took you long enough, was Rhodey as long-winded as I said he would be? You know he hates UAVs. I don't -" She interrupts herself as she looks up. "Oh." She scowls and dog-ears her page before closing her book and extending an imperious hand up. "Well, that was awkward. But still I was mid-rant and well, whatever, right?" Her tone is forcibly breezy as she stands and waves a dismissive hand. "Salient point, though. I have no clue why he keeps showing you the UAVs. He knows you find them cool but creepy. I think he's trying outcool the creepy enough for you to admit that they're awesome." She gives him a glance over her shades. "And really you can admit it to me if you want. I totally won't tell. Because he's really starting to outdo himself because seriously the last few have been seriously fucking awesome."

With that she just stops talking and gazes up expectantly, bouncing slightly.

"Um, I guess?" Jim just doesn't even know. This kid obviously knows Tony, but he can't think of how. "Are you supposed to be here?"

"Yep, I'm with Tony for the day. He said he forgot that Pepper scheduled this for today. Was really apologetic, but still needed not to blow you off. He said he'd been doing that too often lately." She gives him a sad, apologetic look. "He's been a bit busy lately. He hasn't been able to get down to San Diego lately." She brightens almost as fast as her face had fallen a moment before. "But then I asked Dave and Maddy if I could come up her and they agreed. It's been great." She wrinkles her nose good-naturedly. "Even if Tony makes me do extra homework."

Right. And her chattering isn't helping him pin down where he's seen her before. Except... But, no. She can't be...

"Hey, Echo." The note in Tony's voice is cautious. "You're early. I said I'd come get you when I was finished here."

Echo shoots past Jim to wrap herself around Tony in the hanger door. And, oh dear Lord, Tony fucking Stark is gazing down at her with something like fondness in his eyes.

"Tony."

And his friend's gaze shoots up to meet his glare over the girl's diminutive shoulder. "Rhodey! Hey, what're you still doing here?"

"Tony, you didn't."

"Stop it. She's standing right here." Tony's glaring now. And patting the head of Echo.

Jim sighs. "What kind of name is Echo?"

Now the girl is grinning at him. And wow, that's an impending-danger-should-not-come-from-this-small-a-package grin. "It's Greek, but my name is Darcy. Darcy Lewis." She shoves her hand at him.

He shakes it automatically. "That your mom's name? Lewis?"

She yanks her hand back and stares at the ground. "Um, yeah. But it's also my adoptive parents' name. Dave is my mom's brother. He and Maddy adopted me."

Jim winces. That was a touchy subject if he ever saw one. "Dave and Maddy, huh? Are they nice?"

"Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "Marie Lewis died in a car accident when I was three months. That's when I was adopted. I found out three years ago but," She shrugs, "I never got a chance to know her or mourn her."

"Marie Lewis? Why does that sound familiar?"

Darcy shoots Tony a wicked smile. "She was his PA. All very scandalous. Obie sent her away." Her tone is joking but something about her posture when she mentions Stane is off. A little too hunched.

"Huh, okay." Jim's never really liked Stane either, but Tony always acts like the man is his second father. "So, Tony's known about you since your adoption? And he's been in contact with you?"

They both hear the odd note in his voice, and it's a little scary how similar their reactions are. They both tense and wince and cast glances at each other. It's just really, really weird.

Tony breaks the silence first. He rubs the back of his neck and says, "Yeah, Dave caught me watching her one day in the park and commandeered me as an uncle. She met Obie a while ago, but no one else knows."

"So as your best friend I don't rate as godfather?" And Jim's joking. This is totally the way he words things when he's messing with Tony except it really does hurt. He doesn't know how to feel about the fact that he's considered Tony a brother for years, but Tony hasn't seen fit to trust him with this.

"Rhodey." Darcy's up close and personal in the same way that Tony always is, and Jim can't help but wonder how much is imitation and how much is natural inclination, wonder what this girl would be like without Tony. But that's not important because Darcy's talking again. "It wasn't a matter of trust or that whole loose lips sink ships, or crash planes, whatever." She dismisses the tangent with a hand-wave, but just keeps rolling on. "It was just that he was trying to limit how much of this world I get exposed to. He wants to make sure that I get a normal childhood." She grins at Tony. "Well, normal as a childhood could possibly be around him."

Jim smiles at her because, yeah, he could get used to her. "So, what's on the agenda for the weekend?"

AN2: And then they ride off into the sunset where Rhodey tells horrible, horrible lies about their time at MIT that are completely and utterly true. Because this is Tony's life, and for reasons beyond his understanding he surrounds himself with people that are crazy and just mock him for all time.

~S