Steve didn't know Darcy Lewis that well. He knew she worked with Jane and sometimes helped out Bruce as well, but since his own missions took him away from the compound so often, it wasn't unusual that he didn't have a chance to meet her until the 4th of July weekend at Tony's lake house.
Steve noticed her before that weekend – she kind of stuck out without meaning to. She laughed loudly, was always running around somewhere in the distance. He'd work out at the gym and see her drinking margaritas with Jane on their balcony on his way back.
He didn't have the guts to say hello. He'd just nod and keep walking.
He hadn't expected her to come along to Lake George. He had no idea whether she had family, or whether she was like Jane and married to her job. He had no idea because he hadn't bothered to find out.
So he felt like an ass when he walked into one of the kitchens at the lake house and found Darcy Lewis sat on the marble counter top with her headphones on, her legs dangling and a packet of Twizzlers in her lap.
She had a Twizzler hanging out her mouth, and she jumped at the sight of him.
"Oh, hey!"
She shoved the headphones down so they clung to her neck, and she pulled the Twizzler from her mouth, swallowing.
"Hi. Sorry," Steve said.
He forgot why he came there. It took a second for him to remember, but then he realized he should probably act like a human person and reached out his hand to shake Darcy's.
"I'm Steve," he said, he smiled.
He was nervous. She smiled back at him, her little hand shaking his.
Her nails were painted bright red and she wasn't wearing any kind of ring on her fingers.
"Darcy," she said. "Wow. You're even bigger up close."
"Excuse me?" Steve returned, feeling his cheeks start to burn, which hadn't happened in a long time.
At least not because on account of any dame.
Girl. Woman. Lady. Whatever, she was all of those things.
"I hope that doesn't sound weird. I've never seen you up close. Just on TV or running around the field back on the compound. That sounded weird, huh? Do girls usually say that kind of thing to you?"
She cringed a little.
"I tend to babble. I can also shut up when it's important."
"That's fine. Babble away."
Everything about her made him want to smile. Her eyes were big and inviting. Her voice was on the edge of ironic but undeniably cute.
She was especially cute when she smiled again, less concerned by her tactlessness.
"When did you get here?" Steve asked, wanting to change the subject.
His size was a weird territory. He'd had some weird encounters with women who had been interested in him in the past –
But he wasn't ever sure how to take that kind of attention. It made him feel awkward. Interacting with women wasn't something he'd ever done often enough to master, even when he was hanging out with Natasha for days at a time on missions.
Nat wasn't the same. She never looked at him like he was something to devour or climb on top of.
And even whenever they flirted, he sensed Nat wasn't ever that serious.
Flirting with a co-worker and being propositioned by a complete stranger were two very different things.
Darcy sitting on the countertop was a whole other scenario entirely, because Steve had made a mistake.
He hadn't realized he would be so drawn to a person so suddenly.
All he wanted to do was make her like him.
He hadn't felt like this in so long because he was usually so preoccupied.
"This afternoon," Darcy replied. "You?"
"Yesterday."
Her face suddenly lit up. "Oh! I have to show you something."
Steve looked her over wondering if it meant he was a creepy old man because of where his mind automatically went.
She hopped off the counter and dove for a cupboard behind her and brought out a box, shaking it.
"I saw these at the store and got them."
He read the box she handed to him, his voice flat:
"Star Spangled Ding Dongs."
"Icebreaker," she said, and he looked back at her with one eyebrow lowered.
The cakes on the box were fat and white, speckled with red and blue stars. They looked appealing. Steve knew he could inhale all of them in two minutes if he was given half a chance.
But around Darcy, he should try and be less of a slob.
So he opened the box and slowly took one out, which was wrapped in plastic.
"Whoa. Those are baby-sized," Darcy gasped, tutting. "Stingy bastards."
He snorted. By just looking at it through the plastic he could also see there were only four tiny stars on the cake.
"It looks so different compared to the box."
That kind of hit home. He wore a costume and had a different name when he was working. But now, with his sweatpants and t-shirt and worn sneakers he must be kind of disappointing for anyone who didn't know him.
Didn't know the real him.
"Huh." She blinked at him, shrugging. "I bet it still tastes good."
He opened it, and split in half, handing one part to Darcy.
"Cheers," she said, tapping his piece with hers before taking a bite as Steve did the same.
It was about as sweet as he expected, and he loved it.
"Oh, my God," Darcy moaned, and she broke into a smile. "Dude, I was waiting for you to get here so we could try these! It was so worth the wait."
Steve felt his stomach flip flop.
She anticipated meeting him, wanting to give him a present.
"They're pretty damn good," he agreed, smiling, too.
He looked at her headphones around her neck.
"What were you listening to when I came in?"
"The Beatles," she said immediately.
Thankfully Steve had covered that major aspect of 20th century music he'd missed out on.
She shrugged again, shoving the rest of her piece in her mouth and chewing.
"I get all sentimental in the summertime and want to listen to old music."
"Everything's new to me, still," Steve admitted, and Darcy broke out into another smile.
God, she was pretty. He was dumb to not have met her earlier than that weekend.
"Right. I sound like a jerk."
"No, you don't," he murmured. "What song were you on?"
"Oh!"
She spun around, picking up her iPod and looking down. "I'll put it back to the start. Then you can listen to it."
He got a glimpse of her body every time she moved. He felt like a creep again, assessing her curves. She wore a long shirt with her leggings underneath, her feet bare.
Her toenails matched her fingers with the same flaming red.
He imagined her raking her nails through his hair and shook the thought away just as fast, when she pressed one side of her headphone to his ear.
The music started up, just strings. Then a drumbeat.
"I know this one!" Steve couldn't help exclaiming.
It was Mother Nature's Son.
Darcy put the headphones on his head properly, and he swallowed, aware of the sudden lack of distance between them, and the way she looked him over, her big eyes pulling him in.
He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up and he shivered, hoping she didn't notice.
To Darcy's credit, she didn't indicate that she had, and instead looked into his eyes as the music played, nodding and smiling.
The song wasn't especially long, which Steve supposed was for the best, because he wondered how he might act if she kept staring at him like that.
She ripped off the headphones suddenly and Tony stood at the refrigerator, giving Steve a sideways glance.
"Hey, Cap. See you've finally met Lewis."
"Took him long enough," Darcy quipped, and she winked at Steve. She got back up on the counter and crossed her legs.
Steve felt his heart sink. Having the two of them ganging up on him –
"I was listening to music," he retorted to Tony, who was getting a fruit platter out.
"I figured."
Tony set the platter on the counter beside Darcy and picked up a piece of watermelon, biting into it.
All of a sudden, she was off the counter again and Steve stared at her, wondering if he'd done something wrong.
"Later, boss," she called behind her, as she was walking out.
She turned her head slightly, smiling at Steve.
"Later, big guy."
She left, and the moment would have been perfect if Tony hadn't been there as well, gulping his watermelon audibly and giving Steve a pointed look.
"Don't," Steve said, the second Tony decided to open his mouth again.
He finally went to the sink, which was why he'd originally came. He filled a tumbler and drank it in three gulps.
"She technically doesn't work for me, but I'd highly recommend having a girl who looks like that call you 'boss'. It does wonders for the ego," Tony drawled, before Steve could stop him.
"Like your ego needs any help," Steve muttered.
"True."
Steve waited.
"But you're talking to a real-life human woman, good for you," Tony added, making it hard for Steve to not slam the glass onto the counter.
Doing so would result in glass flying everywhere, and maybe he wasn't that tightly wound. At least, not yet.
He hadn't realized he was actually sexually frustrated until Tony came into the room. Not that he worried too much about Pepper being betrayed, he just didn't like the way Tony looked at Darcy.
He didn't like it one bit.
"She gave me a Ding Dong."
"What?" Tony outright squawked, and then he saw the box Steve was indicating. "Oh. I thought you meant something really explicit I hadn't heard of before."
Steve's jaw ticked. "I really sucked at talking to her just then."
"I seriously doubt you'd have to talk her into anything," Tony replied. "She called you 'big guy', for Christ's sake."
He gave Steve another once-over.
"I froze."
"I've never seen you like this over a girl," Tony said.
He looked toward the hallway exit Darcy went down.
"Maybe I should go get her."
"Don't. Please, Tony," Steve hissed.
Steve felt his cheeks burn. He rubbed his face, self conscious. Tony didn't seem to mind.
"Oh, no. Chicks love that. At least, on pretty boys like you. Trust me."
He gave Steve a clap on his shoulder and then picked up the platter again, walking out to the dining area outside.
"Dinner's in twenty!"
Steve winced at Tony's sharp yell, knowing he only had so long to pull himself together before seeing Darcy again.