So this was just a fun little short I came up with off the top of my head. Thank you to HeroInTraining for betaing this. Any mistakes are my fault.

Enjoy!

Illusinia

"Hey, Steve, do you have a minute?"

Steve glanced down the hallway behind him, surprised to hear anyone up at this hour. Well, perhaps, in a house owned by Tony Stark, he should have been more surprised if he hadn't seen someone else up. It was a Stark residence after all, and he had never met a Stark who actually slept. Or wasn't crazy in some way, shape, or form.

Darcy was leaning on the doorway that Steve knew led to Clint Barton's room. Her hair was mused and sticking up in all directions, looking as if she had run her fingers through it multiple times. Or someone else had. Grease was smeared on one cheek though and her fingers looked like there was something stained on them. The tank top she had on was about as wrecked as her appearance and Steve guessed it probably originally belonged to Tony. Her jeans were her own though, and as tattered as the tank. The over-all appearance made her look incredibly young despite the serious look in her eyes.

"Of course, Miss Stark. What do you need?" asked Steve uncertainly. He was used to hearing stories about a bubbly girl with crazy ideas, not this serious woman with a determined look in her eyes.

Darcy moved away from the door, coming to stand before Steve with her hands tucked into the front pockets of her jeans. "It's Darcy, Steve. Just Darcy. None of that Miss Stark or Miss Potts bull." Steve nodded his understanding. "And I just wanted to say, it really is an honor to meet you. I know I didn't say that when we first met, what with the explosions and head injuries, but it's true. It really is an honor to meet someone my dad has always told these amazing stories about."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Tony knows stories about me?"

"Stuff he heard from Grandpa," confirmed Darcy with a shrug. "Not personal stories of course. Well, none that haven't happened in the last year."

"That sounds more accurate," agreed Steve with a smile. "Well, thank you for saying that Darcy."

Darcy nodded, paused, then pushed onward. He could tell when she was getting to whatever point she wanted to make because her eyes hardened a little. "Alright, so, this is awkward and all, but I have a favor to ask."

Ah, that explained the determined look. "What sort of favor?"

"It's about my dad," explained Darcy, one hand sliding out of her pocket to move as she talked even though her eyes darted everywhere else. The action was so Tony it was almost scary. "Look, he may be a genius but he does a lot of stupid things and, well..."

"You worry about him," supplied Steve with a soft smile, noting the way that she glanced away at one of the walls. "It shows."

Darcy snorted and looked back at him, shoulders relaxing back a little. "Yeah, well, the thing is...look, can you try to keep him safe? Not at risk to yourself, of course, but if you see him doing something stupid, well, stop him? If you can that is. I know how hard it is to stop a Stark from doing something once their mind is set and all."

Steve nodded, his smile falling a little as he considered her request. And a very recent rant from Tony about a similar topic but focusing on the girl in front of him. "I can do that, but I need you to do something for me in return."

For a moment, she looked taken aback, mind scrambling to figure out what he could want. Obviously, she wasn't expecting him to ask for something in return. Normally he wouldn't have, but this was too important to pass up.

Apparently unable to figure out what he was thinking, she shrugged and looked at him expectantly."What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to keep yourself safe," replied Steve, arms crossing over his chest in his best 'father' imitation. He'd seen Tony in that same pose a few days ago when he was lecturing Darcy. That Tony could even take on a serious pose had been more of a surprise than finding out he had a daughter.

A furrow formed between her eyebrows. "I don't understand."

Sighing, Steve carefully chose his next words. "I need you to follow safety protocols when a situation calls for them, to keep yourself out of harms way and alive. Darcy, there are two men on my team who would die to keep you safe and I don't want to loose them because you don't feel like following the rules. Understand?"

"Two guys?" muttered Darcy. "Who? I mean, I know Dad's one of them, but who's the other?"

Steve motioned behind her with his chin. "The man who's room you just came out of."

Darcy glanced back towards Clint's door and let out a quiet 'ooooh'. Surprise hung in her voice and when she turned back to him, the furrow was deeper. "Clint would die for me?"

"He loves you, Darcy," explained Steve, drawing on all his patience and pretending that he was talking to Tony. "For most of the time I've known him, he's been trying to find you again."

She shook her head a little, beyond confused. "I don't understand, we just slept together once..." Her eyes slid to Clint's door again. "How can he say he loves me when he barely knows me?"

Steve let a small smile dance across his features. "Sometimes it doesn't take long to realize you love someone, Darcy. He might not know you well, but he wants to learn more about you and there's a lot he would do to keep you safe." Her eyes shot back to Steve, wide and a little scared. "Give him a chance, I think you'll be surprised by what you see."

"I'm giving him a chance," replied Darcy with a shrug. "I'm still sleeping with him, aren't I? I'm not a man-whore like my dad. If I sleep with someone more than once, with me its as good as dating."

"I think you might want to tell him that," advised Steve gently. He'd figured something like that was going on. Darcy just hadn't struck him as the kind to randomly sleep around. Then again, she was a Stark so he supposed anything could happen. Especially with Tony as a role model, never mind that Pepper had been there too. "Clint thinks you guys are just physically involved right now."

Darcy nodded slowly, apparently surprised. "Huh. Yeah, guess I'll do that. Wow. He really thinks I'm just hanging around for the sex?"

"Yes," confirmed Steve as he cleared his throat a little. This conversation was quickly becoming awkward.

Apparently Darcy didn't notice or care though, because she kept right on going. As if nothing was wrong with having a conversation about bed partners with your bed partner's team leader. "I always forget that other people don't go around sleeping with random people."

Steve nodded. "And that other people aren't Tony?"

"Yeah," chucked Darcy. "That too. He's such a man whore, and he knows it. Anyway, thanks Steve, for all the help."

"Anytime, Darcy," assured Steve as she turned and headed back to the room she'd just come out of, waving to him as she went. When the door at shut behind her, Steve started back towards his own room with a shake of his head. Starks. They might be genius', but they could be really clueless sometimes...