Chapter 1: The Introduction

"Hey…" The face that peeks through the doorway has a smile that manages to be both cheerful and tentative at the same time. "Are you Mr R… I mean, Captain, right? Captain Rogers?" The words come out in an excited almost-jumble.

He can't help smiling back as he stands, brushing his hands off on his trousers before extending a hand to the young woman in a rather impressive bobble hat. "Steve is fine, but yes. What can I do for you?"

She takes his hand and shakes it enthusiastically. "Oh! Right. Me. I'm Darcy. Darcy Lewis." She lets out a little laugh, rolling her eyes a bit. "Like I'm a super-spy or something. Not really. Double-oh nothing…" Her eyes suddenly widen and she freezes, as though she's realized a sudden mistake.

A quiet chuckle ripples through him, and he shakes his head. "It's fine. I know who James Bond is."

Darcy lets out a shaky sigh and grins again. "Whew! I just - I'm still getting used to this whole being-around-superheroes thing. Which is kind of why I wanted to ask you something, because I had this idea, but then I thought maybe it wasn't a good idea, so I figured I'd run it by you and you could let me know what you think?"

"I'll certainly do my best." He squeezes her hand a little, and her eyes widen again and she abruptly lets go of his hand and clasps hers in front of her. He smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring manner and lifts his shoulders. "What's the idea?"

"Christmas." She rubs her hands together, as though she's getting warmed up, and then takes a breath. "So every year my family gets together at my uncle's farm, and there's a lot of us, and last year I invited Jane because she was just going to stay at the university and work and I mean, sure, dedication is good but like… it's Christmas, you know, and it just seems wrong to me to have somebody just by themselves at Christmas. So then this year she kind of hesitated and she asked if it'd be okay if Thor came too, because of course he doesn't have anyone to spend Christmas with, and … well… that's when I got my idea." She finally pauses to take another breath, and she's got one hand folded around the other, her thumb rubbing nervously at her knuckles. "What about the rest of you?"

Steve blinks. "The rest of us? You mean the Avengers?" She nods quickly, and this time he's the one to take a slow breath. "Well… that's more than just one or two people. You're certain your family would be okay with it?"

She nods again, brows pulling together, and lifts one hand for a short, dismissive wave. "Oh he… of course. But the thing is, I mean, I love my family and all, but I don't know, because I mean, we're not YOUR family or anything, so it might feel weird for you guys, bunking with a huge group of strangers. Plus, I mean, it's totally not, but some people might think that it was some kind of charity, like I was offering out of pity, and… um… well those people might not like that."

He chuckles as he thinks it over. "You mean Natasha?"

Her gulp is noticeable, and her smile is even more nervous this time. "Um. Maybe. Well… well, actually yes." She laughs again, and it's more genuine. Makes her eyes sparkle. "And Director Fury. And Professor Banner…" Darcy winces and lets out a sigh. "Maybe I just… maybe it's not such a good idea after all."

Steve looks over his shoulder for a moment, then back to Darcy. "No… I think it's a great idea. And you know what, I think we should make invitations. I know I've got some pens and scissors, but I think I can also get my hands on some different colors of paper, probably some glue and… well, I'll see what else I can find?" Her enthusiasm is infectious, and as he puts a hand on her shoulder and leads her over to his desk, he finds that he's getting excited by the idea of all of them having a noisy, bustling Christmas together. "Pens are in that top drawer in the middle, and paper is over by the printer. Figure out what you think the invitation should say, and I'll be back in a few minutes?"

She looks up at him with a soft smile. "Okay. And… thanks."

He shrugs a little awkwardly. "Hey, you came up with the idea. I'm just getting the glue." With another grin, he heads out the door and down the hall.

The next hour was a blur of flashing scissors, paper snowflakes, cut-out Christmas trees, fingers sticky with smears of glue, and glitter. Steve had gotten the supplies from Pepper, who shook her head, smiling wryly, and said, "Don't ask."

By the time they get all the invitations written, the office is quite a mess. Pens are strewn across the desk, snibbles of paper are scattered everywhere, and Steve will be finding glitter in the most unexpected places for the next month. Darcy looks around after stacking up the invitations into a neat little pile. "Woah," she murmurs. "Kind of looks like Tinkerbell exploded in here." She hands the invitations to Steve. "Why don't I see about cleaning up while you deliver these?"

He frowns at that. "You shouldn't need to-"

"Let me rephrase," she interrupts. "Why don't I hide in here while you deliver these, in case anyone takes it the wrong way?"

That earns a laugh. "Well, when you put it that way, how can a fellow refuse?" He waves the invitations at her. "I'll be back before you miss me."

But he's still got three invitations left when he passes Jane in the hall and she says goodbye. When he gets back to his office, the desk is cleaned off, the trash can is full, and Darcy is gone.