I am so sorry that some of these aren't happening daily. My children decided to bring home the plague. I wont go into details but its been making it hard to write and post. They are all sick and I fear I am next so I am writing as much as I can so that all I have to do is update but with sick kids, its not easy. Please forgive me.

Day 10 Animal Ears

Tony lay on the couch, the T.V was set to a talk show, The View he was pretty sure. Darcy sat next to him sipping coffee and arguing with the blond co-host. Tony was far too sick to care. Steve was training new recruits at S.H.I.E.L.D and Fury wouldn't let him have the day off to fuss over Tony so Darcy had been wrangled into it.

He had tried like hell to pretend he was fine, but Steve finding him passed out on the floor of his lab with a fever had not been part of his plan. Tony hated showing weakness, he hated being sick and he hated having people fuss over him.

He had been thankful that Fury wouldn't allow Steve to stay behind, but of course the traitor had enlisted his new best friend to keep an eye on him. Steve and Darcy had a weird friendship. She had taken to him almost instantly and Steve was always one that fell for strong willed women. Many people would be worried about the relationship he and Darcy had, but Tony saw it for what it was. The way they interacted, the way they played off each other, it was like a brother and sister. Darcy had been in the tower for a little over two weeks and had pretty much taken over Steve's personal level. Which pretty much meant Steve had moved into Tony's personal level. Not that Tony minded. It was just sudden.

Tony Shivered and turned over on the couch. The motion was not lost on Darcy and she got up, setting her cup on the table and grabbed a handful of blankets. Before Tony could protest he was smothered by a few throws and a rather large down blanket that smelled strongly of Steve.

"Where did you get this blanket?" Tony asked pressing his nose to the comforter. He loved the smell of Steve's cologne. It was spicy and warm and embodied masculinity. Darcy had been right her first day in the tower. Steve smelled good.

"I took it off of Steve's bed. I haven't been sleeping in it so it still smells like him." She stuck a hat on his head and smiled down at him.

"Wait, if you aren't sleeping in his bed, where are you sleeping?" The whole reason Steve had started spending the nights with Tony was because Darcy was in his room. Steve hadn't had the heart to move her to a guest room, no matter how many Tony had. They were less personal and Darcy was a girl, she needed her space according to Mr. 1940s.

"The couch. Don't tell him. I make sure to put all the blankets and pillows away every morning so he doesn't know." Darcy worried her lip and looked down her wide brown eyes at Tony.

"I'm not going to tell him. But why are you using the couch? You know he doesn't mind. It's practically your floor now anyway."

Darcy shrugged but didn't meet Tony's eyes.

"What is it pint size?" Tony moved to sit up, Darcy landed on the seat beside him and Tony covered her in the blanket to.

"Just kind of waiting for you guys to get sick of me and send me back to New Mexico." She said, not looking at Tony.

"Not going to happen, kido. Everyone in the tower loves you. Even Nat. Besides, Steve would never allow you to be kicked out. Pretty sure I'd have to deal with super soldier level anger if I tried to kick his adopted little sister out."

Darcy laughed.

"Have you ever seen him mad? No joke, its scary." Tony thought back to the first time he had met Steve. The fight on the helicarrier had not been either of their best moments. They had both said some things that hurt the other. They had also somehow moved passed it. He never wanted to see Steve that angry again. He was downright lethal when that angry.

"I'm being stupid, I know. I just kind of feel misplaced right now. With Jane's death, I lost something I didn't realize I had, ya know? It was like I lost my family." Darcy looked down at a bracelet on her wrist and twisted it. Tony had noticed her habit of playing with it and hadn't thought anything of it. Tony recognized it though, Jane had worn it. He had caught sight of it the day she had been brought into the cave. The glow of the cage had illuminated the tiny silver band. It wasn't anything special, Tony hadn't given it a second thought, until he looked at Darcy's wrist.

"Well, you're kind of stuck with us kid, might as well get used to it. You can even have you own level if sharing with Steve isn't what you want. Not that he's ever actually down there."

"If I had a boyfriend like you, I'd probably never been in my own apartment either," Darcy laughed. "Sharing with Steve is fine. I just feel weird sleeping in his bed."

Tony understood that. He didn't much care for sleeping in someone else's bed either. The medicine Darcy had forced down his throat had started kicking in halfway through their conversation and he could feel himself losing the battle for sleep. The yawn he let slip had Darcy forcing him back down on the sofa, a pillow placed behind his head. Darcy told him him to sleep and went back to the chair she had been sitting on to watch the rest of the show.

Steve was antsy when he got back to the tower, he had been at work most of the day and hadn't heard from Darcy once. A typical day at work had him hearing from Tony and Darcy at least once a day each. He hadn't expected to hear from Tony, considering how sick he was. Darcy had been put in charge of taking care of him, he had expected to hear from her. By the time he had gotten off work, Fury was cursing making him come it.

Steve wasn't the nicest person when he was worried. He had no way of knowing what was going on with Tony and he had snapped at pretty much everyone that was within shouting distance. His poor recruits had run for cover when he dismissed them for the day. He knew Tony could take care of himself (most days) and he trusted Darcy, but since Morrigan it had become difficult to let Tony out of his sights.

The ride up to the top floor had felt like it took forever but when he got off, he was met with the most amazing sight. Tony was passed out on the couch, a panda hat with ears donned his head. Steve recognized the hat at once. He had bought it for Darcy on one of their outings around New York, it was March, but it had still been really cold and he had wanted to keep her from getting sick. She had loved the hat instantly. He had laughed himself silly seeing her wear it. But it was even cuter on Tony.

Darcy was asleep on the loveseat, a small throw blanket wrapped tightly around her. Steve went to wake her and his skin burned touching her. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that she had caught what Tony had.

Opting not to wake her, Steve decided to get a few blankets from Tony's room. The small throw was not enough to keep her warm. Jarvis quarantined the top floor and Steve stayed up all night watching over his boyfriend and his little sister.

If you haven't figured it out, Darcy is an important character to me and she is making this story easier to write. You will see a lot more of Darcy. I had planned on only having her in the hanging out with friends chap but nope. She's in the next two at least. Shes kind of the catalyst and gets them into a lot of the prompts. Plus I really really love her.