Exposed

By angellwings

Before Darcy Moved In (Completely)

"Stark!"

Steve looked up as Darcy came storming into the lab and rounded on Stark. He watched in amusement as she stepped into Tony's personal space and shoved a transparent square with a pair of earbuds wrapped around it into his face.

"What the Odin is this shit?"

Tony craned his neck back to get a better look at the object that was clutched in her hand.

"A StarkPlayer. For those ungodly playlists you like to make," Tony said plainly before he turned back to his work. "Gramps," Tony said as he looked up at Steve. "Your shield's gonna take another hour or so. JARVIS is putting a fresh coat of paint on it."

"What about the word 'iPod' is unclear to you?" Darcy asked as she leaned against the table Stark was standing in front of. "Do I need to write it down for you?" She shook the StarkPlayer at him. "I don't know what the hell to do with this damn thing. This screen is ridiculous. I can't even read it. I keep getting distracted by the fact that I can see my frakin' hand through it."

"I'm sorry that advanced technology is such a struggle for you," Stark said in an unsympathetic tone. "Now shoo. You're chattering is distracting."

"I want an iPod. Not this piece of crap. iPod's are familiar, iPod's are comfort, iPod's are miraculous. I cannot deal right now," Darcy said as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

Steve watched the two of them curiously. Tony had all the power in this situation but Darcy didn't appear to care about that. She was tenacious and passionate and not at all shy about. It intimidated him and attracted him all at once. His eyes instinctually raked over her as she stood there with her arms crossed and hip cocked out to the side.

Darcy finally noticed his presence and stared at him expectantly.

"What?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes on him.

Steve blushed and stood a little straighter. "N—nothing. What's this thing you're complaining about?" He asked as he changed the subject.

"Stark's poor man's MP3 player. It didn't work for Zune and it's not going to work for you, Tony. Buy. Me. An. iPod. You're a freakin' billionaire. It's not like you can't afford it," Darcy said as she smacked Tony's shoulder and tossed the StarkPlayer to Steve. Steve studied it and turned it over in his hand, but he had no idea what to do with it. He didn't even see a way to turn it on.

"Apple products are not allowed in my building. If you plan on moving in tomorrow you should learn the rules. No iPads, no MacBooks, and especially nothing with that ridiculous click wheel. Whoever came up with a device that inconvenient deserves to be dropped from a Chitauri wormhole a million times over. Who thought that was even a remotely intelligent idea?" Tony muttered as he moved screens around himself and viewed schematics neither Steve nor Darcy could make any sense of.

"I don't give a damn about your views on the click wheel. Deal with it, Stark. It's a part of reality. Are you gonna get me an iPod or not?" Darcy demanded as she put herself between Tony and the screen he was currently working on.

Tony opened his mouth to say no but Steve cleared his throat purposefully and caught Tony's attention. Steve gave him a stern look.

"You said, anything she wanted, Stark. You still owe her for cleaning up your mess in case you've forgotten," Steve said as he moved to stand with Darcy. He took a firm stance behind her and waited for Tony's reply.

Tony groaned as if he were in pain and slammed a fist against the table in front of him. "Fine," he said through his teeth. "I'll buy you an iPod."

"Yes!" Darcy exclaimed as she pumped her fist into the air. "Victory is mine!"

She turned suddenly, hopped up on the tips of her toes, and placed a quick and excited kiss on Steve's cheek. Afterwards she backed away from him with a wink. "You are beautiful and I will be forever grateful for the back up." She saluted him before she turned on her heel and left the room. Practically gone as quickly as she appeared.

Steve was rooted to his spot. He was too shocked to move. What had just happened?

"Hey, Old Timer, you gonna stand there looking mooney-eyed all day? Because if you are I'm going to put you to work. If not get the hell out of my lab," Tony said as he motioned for Steve to step away from his monitor.

"Your hospitality is touching," Steve said dryly.

"If you want hospitality you'll have to move a lot further south than New York City," Tony said simply as he pointed to the open door of his lab. "Out, and lock the door behind you."

Steve rolled his eyes and left the lab. He was surprised to find Darcy still waiting by the elevators. She noticed Steve's surprised look and smirked.

"Clint and Natasha were in the last elevator. I thought it best if I let them have their weird secret-agent-assassin alone time," She explained.

He chuckled. "Of course. So, you're moving in tomorrow? Officially, I mean."

She nodded. "Yes, and I have a shit ton of crap to move in. You wouldn't think so judging by the size of my apartment, but apparently I've crammed more in there than should be realistically possible."

"Do you need any help?" Steve offered immediately.

"Are you serious?" Darcy asked with a smile.

"I would never expect you to move all of your stuff in by yourself," Steve told her with a modest shrug.

"You are way too much of a gentleman and I am more than willing to take advantage of it. Normally I wouldn't, but I have a ton of books. We're talking boxes and boxes of books. Boxes that would be best lifted by you and your all American good looks and too good to be true muscles."

He grinned sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair as he blushed. "So what time do you want me?"

Darcy's eyes widened and the tips of her ears flushed pink ever so slightly but she continued to smirk at him. And suddenly he realized exactly what he'd asked her.

"Here. What time do you want me here. To help?" He clarified as his cheeks went from pink to bright red in a span of seconds.

Darcy laughed loud and hard until it slowly dissolved into giggles. Her laughter wasn't malicious at all. It was actually nice. She wasn't laughing at him. He was certain of that. Before long he was smiling and lightly chuckling along with her.

"Oh Holy Thor, you are adorable. I'm sorry, but your face was just too cute," Darcy said as she took slow breaths and calmed herself down.

Steve cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "So, time?"

"Right sorry. Um, is nine okay? There's a moving truck bringing over furniture and things at eight, but in New York traffic with a huge ass truck I'm thinking it won't be here until nine," Darcy said as she closed one eye and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

He smiled at her in amusement and then nodded. "Nine is great."

"Okay then. It's a date!" Darcy said brightly as the elevator doors opened. "Or, well, no it's not, it's more like indentured slavery. But I promise I'll pay you with take out, and considering the rumors I've heard about your metabolism that's probably more than fair."

Steve laughed and nodded. "You would be right." He motioned for her to step into the elevator first and she smiled thankfully at him.

"Always the gentleman," She said with a chuckle. "So I'll see you tomorrow at nine?"

He smirked playfully at her as he nodded again before he answered. "It's a date."