Title: Why Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Pairing: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers (Captain America)
Genre: Hurt-Comfort/Romance
Rating: PG-13/ Teen
Chapter(s): 1/2
Word Count: 1,762
Summary: Darcy was really just thirsty, but when she found Steve in the kitchen with all the lights on hyperventilating, well thirst took a back seat for a bit.

.

Generally Darcy was a pretty deep sleeper. Nothing really woke up her up, and for the most part she was proud of that. Really the only thing that has ever managed to rouse her from her slumber was that stupid alarm clock that Jane got for her when she always woke up late and therefore was late to work, and being thirsty. Thirst never failed to wake her up. Most of the time she would drink some water before bed and she would wake up (rather reluctantly) at six-thirty to make some toast for herself and Jane.

However tonight, Darcy had so much trouble getting Jane to go back to her room and sleep, that she actually ended up finding Thor and convinced him to pick her up and carry her off. Darcy spent another hour after that entering data into the computer for Jane to read when she woke up in the morning. When she finally managed to get back to her room, all she did was throw on a Captain America t-shirt Tony got her for a gag gift and some leggings.

When Darcy woke up, she knew something was off. It took her a minute to realize that she was thirsty. Groaning, she glanced at the clock and found that it was two-thirty in the morning. She hadn't even been asleep for two hours. Walking numbly out of her room, she managed to get to the kitchen without causing so much trouble that she was cornered by superheroes. She didn't need that déjà vu.

Even with her foggy, sleep addled brain; she was able to tell something was wrong when she walked into the kitchen. All the lights were on. Normally she would have assumed that Tony or Bruce had come in sometime and forgot to turn off the lights. They did that sometimes during their science comas (when all they could think about it science). Since that began happening rather frequently, Pepper had installed automatic lighting. It only stayed on if someone was in the room. Curiously, Darcy surveyed the kitchen and found Steve with his hand pressing down on the island in the middle of the room. He was breathing heavily and shaking.

She stood there frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do. Sure, she and Steve were friends. Even though she had introduced him to The Princess Bride (he told her he was eternally grateful for that, too), Johnny Cash, and jeans, she wasn't sure if comforting him was something he would've liked. She heard somewhere that pretending that someone isn't hurting is just as kind as comfort. As she looked at the broken soldier in front of her, she doubted that applied to him. Before she could second guess herself, she walked up to him and hugged him.

He was frozen for a few seconds, and she wondered if she had done something wrong. However, before she pulled away, Steve wrapped his arms around her short, little frame. His cheek rested on her head and he sighed sadly. Slowly, she moved her hands up and down his back. This seemed to relive some of the tension that was so evident in his stiff form. His large hands were wrapped around her waist and he held her tighter, trying to keep himself from going into a full on panic attack that was coming. He had seen some of Tony's freak outs and although they were now few and far between, he didn't want to go through that.

Darcy seemed to sedate those feelings in him. She seemed to calm his racing heart and ease his aching heart. He felt her breathing through his thin night shirt he wore and how her small hands ran up and down his back. Warmth followed wherever she touched him. He felt her pulling away, and although he wanted to keep her little frame between his arms, he allowed her to move backwards. She didn't leave his grasp completely (which he was thankful for), but she moved back enough to reach her hands up and cup his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked softly.

It was so soft he almost didn't hear it. This was a side of Darcy he had only seen once or twice. Once when Thor had to return to Asgard and Jane was spazzing out (her words, not his), and twice when Tony disappeared for three days and no one knew what happened to him. Pepper was almost in tears when no one could find him. However when Darcy talked to her, she calmed down considerably. Now here she was, trying to make him feel better. A warm feeling rose in his chest he closed his eyes, leaning into Darcy's hand.

"I really don't know."

Did he want to tell her that every time he turned off his lamp to go to sleep, he saw people trying to kill him in every corner? Did he want to tell her that every night each nightmare was worse than the last? Did he want to tell her that he was afraid of the dark? Of all people, he, Steve Rogers was afraid of the dark! It was childish at best. Part of him wanted to tell someone…her everything. Part of him wanted to be miserable in silence. Frankly, he wasn't sure which was worse.

"Okay, let me know when you are," she replied kindly. She kissed his cheek and left from his grasp.

He found himself wanted to feel the fabric of her shirt beneath his fingers again. He wanted to hear the slow thumping of her heart again. Although instead of leaving the kitchen as he thought she would, she walked around the island to the refrigerator. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, she poured herself a glass of water. Walking back around towards him, she jumped on the island sipping her water. Her knee was touching his waist and he was acutely aware of how his skin tingled where she was touching him. He let his shoulders droop before taking a slowly breath.

"I'm scared." She waited for him to continue, but when he didn't she said,

"Okay, we all are at one point or another."

"Yeah, but I'm scared of something stupid," he amended.

"Like rushing water or kittens?" She asked nudging him slightly.

"The dark," he told her. "Or really what the dark brings."

"What does it bring for you?" She asked.

"Nightmares and blindness," he replied. She had scooted behind him by this point and was massaging his shoulders, trying to erase some of the tension.

"Well, I'm afraid that nightmares, as much as they suck, are just something we have to live with. Heck, it's been two years since New Mexico and I still have dreams about it. The blindness however, I can fix. Follow me," she told him.

She jumped off the counter and grabbed his hand. He followed her into her room and although he felt slightly uncomfortable, he went in. She walked over to one of the walls and pulled something out of the outlet. She handed it to him. It looked like a blue light bulb. It was a blue light bulb.

"What's this?" He asked confused.

"My mature alternative to a night light. Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, I am so tired I forget to turn on my lamp. It helps a lot," she told me.

"Don't children use these?" He asked.

"Sure, but this is my mature night light. It has a blue bulb and isn't very bright. It is just bright enough to keep the blindness away," she told him. That warm feeling in his chest was back.

"Uh…where do I put it?" He asked her, embarrassed.

"Here, I'll help you," she told him. Grabbing his hand again, she walked with him to his room.

He led her inside and she walked over to his bed. Crouching beside it, she gestured for the "mature night light." He handed it to her and watched as she plugged it in. He couldn't help but notice her rear and her legs. They were gorgeous and he would be lying if he said he didn't notice that this girl in front of him was absolutely stunning. When she turned around he finally realized what shirt she was wearing. He couldn't help but laugh a little. She gave him a confused expression, but then realized what he was looking at she blushed.

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled. "There is a small switch under the bulb that you flip before you go to sleep."

"Thank you," he told her. When she seemed to shrug it off he grabbed her wrists and looked her in the eye. "I'm serious. I haven't slept in almost three days."

"Well, make sure it works tonight, and then you can thank me, okay?"

"Fair enough," he replied. Letting her go, reluctantly, he went to turn on the blue night light. She was right, the room wasn't as dark. He sat on the edge of his bed.

"You know you're supposed to lie down," she told him smiling.

"Yeah," he replied yawning. She pushed him back onto the bed and kissed his forehead. Although surprised by the contact, he smiled. "I feel like I'm being tucked in by my mother."

"I think I just got mom-zoned," she mumbled.

"What?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Never mind, I'll explain it later," she told him. "Goodnight."

Before she could walk off, Steve grabbed her hand. "Will you…uh…stay tonight, I mean…"

She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. Walking around the foot of the bed, she tucked herself into Steve's bed. Never in a million years did she think that she would end up here. Although she would never admit this, she was touched that he wanted her to stay. She blushed just thinking about it. Looking over at him, she was able to see the profile of his face with the blue glow of the light. He suddenly turned towards her. Doing something that surprised both of them; Steve grabbed her and held her against his chest.

She had her head resting in the crook of his arm in a position where he wouldn't wake up with a numb arm. His arm circled around her and ended around her forearm. He found himself mindless stroking her skin with his thumb. She had one arm wrapped around his stomach and he smiled to himself in his sleep. He wouldn't mind doing this every night. Little did he know Darcy was thinking the same exact thing.

...

I posted this awhile ago, but I ended up taking it down. However, I love these two one-shots too much to not let people read them.
~songweareplayingforyou