They'd spent the first day after the dark elves left mostly sleeping. They'd all been exhausted. They'd called the team to let them know they were all okay. The rest of them had wanted to come and help with the invasion, but somehow, Steve had convinced them not to. Darcy knew he'd felt guilty for it, but by the time they would have gotten to London to assist, it was over.

If things had gone differently, she knew they could have really used the rest of the team's help. For several minutes, they hadn't known what to do, but they'd figured it out.

In the end, Darcy couldn't say how exactly everything had managed to work itself out. She supposed it was just good luck.

The group left London a few days after the invasion.

They were all looking forward to getting back to the tower, especially Steve. He hadn't mentioned it, but he'd seemed to miss everyone else. Darcy had, too, and she suspected Jane was feeling the same way.

Jane was melancholy over Thor's departure. Darcy didn't blame her, she understood how the other woman was feeling, at least theoretically.

She didn't plan on telling Jane that everything would be okay, that she'd see Thor soon. For all they knew, it could be months - or years - until he was back on Earth.

"We'll get back to doing research when we're back at the tower." She said to the other woman, trying to be reassuring.

Jane only nodded, frowning.

The flight back to New York was uneventful. The four of them ended up getting some more sleep.

Darcy had tried to start a card game, but both Jane and Erik were quiet and disinterested, so she and Steve played a quiet game. If Jane and Erik wanted to be left alone for a while, she wouldn't bother them. They had all been in close quarters lately, so having some space wasn't that strange of a concept.

She and Steve played several different card games to pass the time. When they got tired of cards, they read silently.

They were all getting somewhat antsy, looking forward to being at the tower again.

When the jet touched down on top of Avengers tower, everyone breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Things would go back to normal now, Darcy was sure of it.

Once the four of them were back in the tower, everyone met up in the common area to talk.

Darcy had missed the rest of the team, and she knew Steve had, too. Jane wasn't as close with everyone, but she was polite. Erik tended to still keep to himself. He talked to Clint,but that didn't happen as frequently as Clint would have liked. Both astrophysicists stuck to the labs more than anywhere else, despite Darcy trying to get them to interact more often with people.

"So, I see you're all in one piece." Tony quipped, his eyes taking them in. "No bruises?"

"Not really." Steve replied, giving Tony a look that Darcy could only describe as fondly exasperated.

"That's good, that's good…"

"We could have helped, Steve." Natasha entered the conversation, giving Steve a glare. "You know it would have been easier with all of us there."

Steve rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. "I… I know. There wasn't time. I made the wrong call and I know it." He glanced at Jane. "Darcy and I were a bit caught up in trying to figure out what had happened to Jane. Then, after hours of worrying and waiting, she and Thor reappeared, and everything went to hell."

Bruce was frowning. "What happened in London, Steve? There's only so much we can piece together from the news."

Steve let out a long breath, forcing himself to relax. Darcy reached over and placed her hand over his.

"It's a long and confusing story." He told the group.

"Try to tell it." Clint replied. His lips were compressed into a tight line of irritation. "We had no clue what was happening."

Steve nodded. "I'll do my best at explaining."

After explanations, everyone was calmer about things. There were smiles and jokes.

Tony teased Darcy and Steve, but they both knew he didn't mean anything by it.

They'd all missed each other, that much was obvious.

After an hour or so of conversation and relaxing, people started to head back to their apartments for some sleep. It had been a long day for all of them.

They quickly fell back into their old routines after returning. Darcy was back assisting Jane, Tony and Bruce, and Steve was helping where he could.

Darcy Knew he still had a lot of free time, which he spent working on pieces of art. He was thinking about selling them.

She liked what he did, how he drew or painted things so you could see what he was seeing when he was working on it.

She would support him in whatever he decided to do.

A few days later found the two of them at Steve's apartment.

"I think you should go for it." She told him, glancing to the pictures he'd hung up. "People would like them, Steve, I know they would."

"I can't decide what to sell and what to keep."

Darcy frowned, considering the question seriously.

"Are there any you feel like you just can't sell?"

He nodded, but didn't elaborate.

"Well, sell the ones you don't feel the need to keep. I know you like all of them, but just keep the ones you know you can't let go of."

He nodded again, but was still silent.

"Which ones do you know for sure you want to keep?"

"I was going to ask you today, anyway, but this is as good a time as any."He changed the subject. "Darcy, would you - Could I draw you?"

Darcy blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, you." Steve reached over and took her hand. "In all honesty, I've wanted to draw you since we met."

Darcy felt her face flush. "You're not going to draw me naked, are you?" She teased.

Steve's face flushed as red as hers. "No."

"It was a joke. You've seen Titanic."

His face was still flushed with embarrassment. "I have."

"You can draw me if you want. It might be fun. I can sit still for it, I promise." Her lips quirked up into a smirk. "Can you make it worth it, though?"

Steve stood, then moved so he was in front of her. "I can definitely make it worth it for you." He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers.

Before the kiss could go far, he'd pulled away and crossed the room to grab supplies.

"I'm holding you to that, Rogers." Darcy smiled.

As he drew her, her mind wandered. She was still amazed at everything that had happened since she'd moved into the tower. Steve was the best thing to happen to her in a long time. He was her best friend, and he loved her, and she loved him in return. Their relationship wasn't perfect. She knew they would have arguments over things, but they could make it work if they tried hard enough.

Whatever came their way, they could survive it, as long as they had each other.

It was summer again.

This was his favorite season. He didn't have to deal with the cold, which he disliked on a visceral level ever since he'd been found in the ice last year.

He'd gotten sick during winter in the past, before he'd gotten the serum, and since he'd lost it, he'd gotten sick this past winter. He hadn't gotten as ill as he had in the past, but it had been unpleasant.

His relationship with Darcy was still going strong. He knew she was the girl for him. The way they'd instantly connected, back when they had first met… Their friendship had naturally evolved into romance, and he couldn't have been happier about it.

He'd come to terms with no longer having the serum, too. It had been hard, at first, the adjustment taking months. He'd still held out hope, in the beginning, that there would be some miracle. He would have his new-old body back, and everything would go back to normal. He would be an Avenger again.

It had taken a lot of soul searching, but he had come to terms with the fact that he may never get the serum back.

Then, Thor had returned, and had promised that he'd look into reversing what had been done to Steve.

His hope had returned, but so far, there had been no other word from the alien god.

If it happened, then it happened.

For now, he would just keep doing what he'd been doing before they'd gone to London. Being the tactical analyst for the Avengers was rewarding in its own right. He also had his artistic talent, which was selling well.

He still had Darcy and his friends.

For now, he was content enough with his life.