The third time Darcy came face to face with her metal armed man was a mere two days later. Not that she had stopped thinking about him. In all honesty he was becoming less of her adrenaline fix and more of a genuine mystery. She found herself wanting to know his story.

But at this moment all she was trying to find was some damn pants.

"No, seriously. I'm fine. You know I prefer the colder weather." Darcy grunted into her phone while blindly digging through her dresser. It was near midnight and Jane had called to invite Darcy all the way to Egypt where she and Erik Selvig were trying to piece together some ancient portal mystery involving the tesseract.

Now, two weeks ago, Darcy would have packed her bags and been out the door before the phone call had ended, but… Well…

She was looking forward to the next meeting with her own mystery man, which she knew would be very soon. It was a feeling in her gut as strong as the one that told her she could trust him.

Jane, as always, was very observant. Even over the phone.

"Darcy Lewis, what are you not telling me?" Her boss turned bestie insisted, assuming something was up. She wasn't wrong, but Darcy wasn't ready to divulge the details just yet. But she also didn't want to lie.

"It's just… there's this guy." She sighed dramatically, foregoing the pants in favor for the king sized comforter. She wrapped the large blanket around her naked torso and sashayed into her darkened living area. Her apartment seemed a little more cold than usual but she didn't mind. The silky purple bed spread covered her like a Texas wedding dress.

Jane took the bait and laughed into the phone. Erik, of course was curious and could be heard jabbering in the background. In the last few years, that man had taken it into his crazy Nordic head that he would be her surrogate father. Darcy thought it was kinda nice.

"Let's hope this one fares better than poor Ian." Her friend teased. Darcy blushed a bit, remembering all of the awkward moments with the intern. The kid was sweet, but… He was just sweet. Not mysterious. Not dark. And definitely not… it.

Not that these were the only things she looked for in a guy, but Ian was just too normal for a girl who had experienced all of the mayhem and adventure she had.

"Yea well, I've only met this guy twice but I'm hoping to run into him again soon." Darcy bemoaned. She was only partially playing it up since she really was looking forward to their next rendezvous. Questions she hadn't thought about before came rushing into her mind.

Why had he been so hungry? Where did he go to sleep? In the woods? Was he alone? And the one she might not want answered, why was he checking out the supposedly secret base?

"Hey Jane, Imma let you go. It's midnight over here and I'm hella tired." She yawned for effect while her friend apologized and shooed Selvig away from the phone before he could ask her questions.

Darcy chuckled as she put her phone down on the coffee table and rubbed her face. She might as well get a snack in while she's up, wondering if the ice cream she had ordered had been delivered.

The fridge yielded a great many snack and it took all of her sleepy effort to pick just one.

One bag of cold M&m's ought to do it, she thought as she grabbed the brightly colored candies. Her mom always kept the chocolates in the fridge and for some reason, Darcy had picked up the habit. They lasted longer while you ate them, her mom would say.

Before she could toss a handful into her mouth, she heard a tiny noise that seemed out of place. Her apartment was not very large but at this time of night in the darkness, she could hear a pin drop. She tilted her head and concentrated.

There was another small clink but this time she was sure it was not coming from inside the living room. Still clutching the comforter to her breast, she slowly approached the window. The loud thrum of her heart beat wildly in her ears and she worried about not hearing anything else. Trying to calm herself, she took one large breath and looked out into the semidarkness.

The very man she had only moments ago wished to see was crouching outside the glass. His outline in the night was unmistakable but she still jumped and paced back into the shadows of her apartment. Had he been watching for her?

Clearly he had been. But throwing rocks at her window?

How cheesy! Darcy thought as a giggle escaped her. I love it!

She nearly danced back to the window and put her free hand on the glass, hoping he'd come closer. It was bullet proof, crazy thick, and all sorts of alarmed. But her man must have already done something. The lights didn't flare to life like they had when that bear had gotten too close. There were no sirens or any such system going off.

She bit her lip and stared right at him not knowing what to do next. Something reckless, probably.

He stared back, though his face was hidden by the shadows of nighttime. Her fingers traced the edges of the glass hoping to find a switch but after several moments of feeling nothing but smooth edges, she doubted it could be opened at all.

Again, he knew more than her. He motioned to the wall beside her head. There was a curious little box, no bigger than a tin of mints, but when she flipped it open she could see a tiny handle.

It read, "For Emergencies. Pull To Open."

She looked back to the window, heart pounding hard enough to make her chest feel tight. Should she really be doing this? He could be using her to get inside!

But when she finally caught a glimpse of those curious blue eyes, all she could see was a strange sort of hope. It was one mixed with fear and panic.

And the fire that had burned inside her from excitement, now blazed bright from anger. Odin help whomever put that look in that man's eyes. Maybe he thought himself the bad guy, but Darcy knew evil didn't walk around with that look. No, evil made that look.

She'd have to recharge her Taser later.

Right now, however, there was a metal armed man who needed her. And didn't that just sound like the strangest thing she'd said to herself all day…

Pulling the handle was the easy part, it turns out. The window swung open, detaching from the bottom and rising up. She expected the man to climb right in, but he was still crouching about five feet away.

"Come on!" She whispered as the wind wafted in, cold and bitter. She wasn't sure if it was the temperature that gave her goose bumps, or the way the man tried to stand but stumbled instead.

She rushed forward but he held up a hand to stop her from climbing through. Darcy tucked the comforter into her breast like she did with towels, and reached both arms out to him, completely aware of how dangerous and reckless this was. But somehow it all felt so right.

He managed to climb through with her help and somehow, by the grace of Odin, they made it to her couch before both falling into the warm brown cushions.

"Sooooo." She whispered, afraid if her voice was too loud he'd vanish. Instead he looked to the window and back to her.

"We have to close that." He stated numbly. His voice may have sounded deadpan to a normal person, but she read the urgency there. "And the Agents will be coming."

"What?" She croaked, midway to the window.

He simply nodded and for the first time she could see clearly how terribly exhausted he was. Darcy fought the urge to panic as she pulled the window shut, grunting happily when it snapped into place.

The room had gotten so cold but she couldn't stop to put on anything more than the comforter. If what he said was true, she'd have to hide him.

But where?

Right when she was about to make him jump in the closet, she heard it. It sounded like three or four pairs of boots, making their way quickly down the hall. She and three other employees lived in this wing of the facility and she just had to be the first apartment in.

Again, the urge to panic made her mouth twist. But she was Darcy Lewis! She'd think of something.

And when the doors lock was being fiddled with from the outside, she made a plan. It took only a second to convince the man crawl underneath the huge comforter she was wearing. But he saw the brilliance of it, even if her face was bright red.

He snaked his way around her bare legs and she had to resist the urge to squeak. And then she had to stop the groan from escaping when he accidently rubbed his scruffy face against her thigh as he readjusted. Darcy wasn't sure she was going to smack him or kiss him if they survived this. Probably both.

She was standing beside the couch with the bag of candies in her hand when the Agents crept in. It was clear that they were trying to be quiet but someone was clearly out of shape. Their wheezing was heavy and pained, and she almost felt sorry for them until the lights flared to life and she realized it was Agent Darren. That twat.

"Um… What's going on guys?"

AN:

Hey guys. I know it's not finished yet, but could you do me a solid and review it? I really do like getting your input.

Thanks!

-Moonandwinter