Author's Note: Look at me being a lying liar who lies! Well, not really.

I said I was going to focus on "The Huntress" and while I did re-read it to try and get back into the groove, this damn idea popped into my head. Hopefully this is short and sweet and fluffy, so I can get back to my other fic.

What you need to know for this particular one-shot is that everything in the "Sleepy Hollow" 'verse is A-OKAY!

Joe Corbin is sitting on the porch swing outside of Abbie's home, grinning at Ichabod as the man hands over a mug of warm tea, the both of them waiting for Abbie to return from work.

"Thanks for this, Crane," Joe says as he sips the liquid.

"My pleasure, Mr. Corbin." Smiling, Ichabod takes a seat on one of the wooden chairs near the swing. "How fares your day, my friend?"

"Good. Real good," Joe answers. "Jenny's been caught up in a new relic she's found, so she'll be out of town for the next few days."

"And you chose not to accompany her?"

Joe shrugs. "I would have, but something's come up and she understood."

Ichabod quickly sets down his own cup of tea, he then leaning forward in his seat. "Are you well? Is yet another monster lurking about that we do not know of?"

"No! Nothing like that," Joe chuckles. "Just some family stuff. It's actually why I'm here," he clarifies. "I have a favor to ask of you and Abs."

"Family? I was unaware you had any left." Joe lightly grimaces and Ichabod's quick to apologize. "I'm sorry. I meant no offense."

"It's fine," Joe assures him. "It's my fault, really. I've never really talked about my cousin and I only just brought her up recently to Jenny when my cousin reached out to me."

Ichabod's brow furrows. "Is your cousin well then?"

Joe laughs. "Yeah, Crane, she's fine. Not everything I have to talk about to you or Abbie deals with monsters, man. Darcy, my cousin, just needs a place to crash for two days. Three days tops."

"Crash?" Ichabod frowns, but then comes to a realization on his own. "Oh! To stay. Spend the night, you mean."

"Yes. And since you and Abs have quite a nice little spare room.."

"Of course, of course," Ichabod quickly agrees. "I'm sure Miss Mills will say the same."

Smiling in response, Joe raises the mug up to his lips and drinks some more of his tea.

xXx

Twenty minutes later, Abbie's pulling up to her home and parking in the driveway. She calls out a greeting to Joe and Crane, and tiredly stomps up the stairs to her porch only to plomp down in the available seat next to Joe on the swing. "Long day?" He muses.

She nods. "Long and boring. Where's my sister?" She then asks as she glances around and tries to peer through a window into her home.

"Out of town," he tells her. Ichabod suddenly gathers up his cup and Joe's mug, mumbling about making a fresh pot tea. Abbie and Joe watch him flee as if this conversation really needs any privacy, and the both of them huff a short laugh when Crane disappears inside. "Now that that's out of the way," Joe grins. "I have a favor to ask."

"Sure. Shoot."

"I, uh, I have a cousin." Abbie's eyebrows raise in surprise, but Joe plows right on. "I'll explain in a bit, I will, but I just wanna get this out of the way," he assures her. "My cousin is coming to stay a weekend with me, but the RV is too small and the nearest motel is too far, and given our town's history I want her near one of us."

"Joe," Abbie says, amusement lacing her tone and making him look her in the eye. "You're practically family now and if what you're hinting at what I think you're hinting at, then yes. She can stay the weekend here with Crane and I as long as you vouch for her."

"Yeah, of course!" He gulps and then sighs in relief. "Thanks, Abs. And yeah, Darcy's good. She's good people."

"Told you," Ichabod suddenly says, leaning his head out of the door frame and tossing Abbie a bottled water since she didn't really favor tea. "Now you two continue talking while I'll go prepare the room."

Abbie and Joe are still laughing when Crane disappears, Abbie then kicking off her boots and rearranging herself on the swing so one leg is tucked beneath her and her other foot is planted on the floor beneath them to help push the swing. "So tell me about this cousin of yours. Your dad never mentioned having any other family except for you."

Heaving a sigh, Joe leans back. "Yeah, well Dad was pretty ashamed," he frowns. "He had a sister who apparently wasn't right in the head. She got pregnant with my cousin Darcy and the pregnancy just seemed to make her even more odd than she already was."

"Odd how?"

"She talked a bunch of nonsense," Joe says. "Spoke a lot about aliens, according to my Dad, and then said her daughter was going to be best friends with not only an alien but a spider as well."

Abbie's lips twitch. "What?"

Joe chuckles. "Yeah. Dad said it was weird. Not our brand of weird, but weird weird."

"Mhm. What happened to her then? Your aunt."

"Dad had her committed after one of her more unusual outbursts and she died during childbirth."

"Oh, Joe, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I was too young to remember her, anyway," he shrugs. "My cousin was placed into the system when Dad realized he couldn't take her in and we never knew who her father was, but the family she went to gladly kept Dad up to date with Darcy's life. Then when she was old enough, she took over correspondence herself."

"And you never brought her up before because..?"

"Because we lost touch for a little while," he says. "We got back in touch with one another before Dad passed, but she was in London when all that crazy stuff with that spaceship and Thor happened, and couldn't catch a flight back in time."

"This is totally bad timing, but wow. Lucky girl," Abbie smirks. "Did she at least get to meet Thor?"

Laughing, Joe shakes his head in amusement. "She says no, but she says that she did see him flying around. She gushes about the size of his arms. Says they're huge."

Abbie snorts. "I'll bet." A comfortable silence falls between them, but she's quick to squash it as she yawns. "But yeah, your cousin is welcome to stay the weekend."

"Thanks, Abs. I owe you one."

Darcy pulls up to a rather gorgeous, nearly pastel blue two-story home late one early Friday evening. She hadn't minded pitching a tent outside her cousin's RV, but he was adamant that she stay with his girlfriend's sister since she had the space to spare. And well, once she realized that there was an actual bed and not an air mattress waiting for her, she took him up on the offer and followed the directions that he had texted her.

Parking the metallic silver Audi R8 Coupe behind a small black SUV- because yes, Tony actually lent her the car when he realized she was just driving up to Sleepy Hollow- Darcy climbs out at the same time the front door of the house opens up.

Two people exit the home, a short black woman and a tall lean male. The woman has a beautiful dimpled smile as she waves and the man has a face full of scruff that has Darcy mentally scolding herself to not ogle the man.

"Hey, you must Darcy. Joe's cousin," the woman calls out. "I'm Abbie."

Darcy grins and sighs a little in relief at her friendly demeanor, she leaving her bags in the car in favor of walking up to the house and up the porch steps. "That's me. Thanks for having me. I hope I'm not intruding on anything," she says as she shakes Abbie's hand, her gaze then darting to the man at Abbie's back.

"You're not," Abbie assures her. "Crane's just my roommate, so you're good."

"Crane?" Darcy's eyebrow raises in question.

He steps forward then, smiling gently. "Ichabod Crane, ma'am. We're happy to have you at our home." He reaches forward as if to shake her hand, but when Darcy goes to grasp his hand, Ichabod grasps it gently and bends at the waist slightly to press a kiss to her knuckles.

"..oh."

Laughing, Abbie smacks Crane on the shoulder. "Crane's a real gentleman. I keep forgetting to warn him that not everyone is accustomed to such manners in this day and age."

"Yeah, no, he's good. You're good," Darcy then tells him. "Just caught me off guard is all. I have a friend with such.. manners, so it's not really that big of a shock," she laughs, thinking of Thor.

"Right, well, we have yet to have our evening meal, so while I go phone your cousin to inform him of your arrival, Lieutenant shall show you our collection of take-out menus to figure out what we shall feast on tonight."

As Crane takes his leave, Darcy turns to Abbie. "Lieutenant?"

"When I first met Crane, I was ranked Lieutenant with Westchester County. And even now that I'm with the FBI, he won't call me anything other than Lieutenant."

Darcy grins. "Cute."

Abbie rolls her eyes in good humor, chuckling while gesturing Darcy inside. "Come on. Lets go find something to eat that will feed all four of us."

xXx

Joe ends up showing just after their food from Sushi Thai Asian Fusion has been delivered, a six pack of beer in hand and a smile lighting up his features as he watches Darcy curiously watch Crane divvy out their food. Darcy actually squeals when she sees him, and Abbie and Ichabod can't hide their smiles at the little reunion.

The two cousins catch up with one another while including Abbie and Ichabod into the conversation, both cousins sharing tales from their lives (though unbeknownst to both parties, said tales are heavily edited to keep out the monsters and superheroes). Joe tells Darcy how he's somewhat of a treasure hunter now and she tells him that she's the assistant to a scientist, but it's really more like she's the assistant to three with how she takes care of that one particular floor her main scientist works on.

Abbie then leads Darcy into telling her anything she remembers of Joe from when she was little and luckily for everyone but Joe, Uncle August had mentioned a few stories of teenager Joe that had Abbie in stitches and Crane hiding his smile behind a mug of tea to show some form of solidarity with his fellow male.

Full, happy and sleepy, Joe bids farewell to his cousin and friends, and takes a cab back home. Abbie and Crane help Darcy lug her bags into the house and upstairs to the guest room, and then Abbie's helping her settle in and showing her where the bathroom is and where her own room is should Darcy need anything.

Then after thanking Abbie once more for hosting her, Darcy gets ready for bed.

The following morning, Darcy dresses in a white tank top with Cap's shield on the front and slim fit jeans with a couple holes along the front of her thighs. She remains in socks because she finds it disrespectful to walk around in shoes around one's living space, and finds Abbie and Ichabod moving about the kitchen and preparing breakfast.

Joe joins them for the meal and afterwards, he takes Darcy to explore the sleepy little town and to catch up even more, specifically about August and the months that led up to his death. She also learns about Jenny and about her cousin's relationship with the woman, and wonders just what Ichabod and Abbie actually are because they seem more than just roommates. Joe laughs, but assures her they're just friends. For now.

Darcy treats her cousin to lunch, including her two hosts back at the house when she learns they're having a relaxing day at home. They arrive with sub sandwiches, chips, drinks and a vegetable platter with ranch dressing for dipping, and they enjoy their lunch inside before moving outside to enjoy the cold chill on the front porch.

xXx

"..and I swear, to this day, I've never seen Crane fly out of a seat faster than he did that day," Abbie laughs.

Darcy's giggling next to the woman on the porch swing, her boots kicked off and knees as close to her chest as possible with her arms wrapped around her legs. Crane's sitting on one of the available wooden chairs and Joe's opted for the ground with his back against the porch railing.

"Well excuse me for not being accustomed to the bold and brash women of the twenty first century," Crane huffs. "In my day-" He cuts off with a kick to his shin, he frowning down at Joe who's eyes are widened and keep darting to his cousin. Realizing his words, Crane gulps and chances a look at the woman he's impishly grinning at him.

"In your day, huh? Something tells me you're older than you look, Ichabod."

"Well, you see-"

"I mean, I was willing to overlook your speech pattern because manners. Duh. I know some people have them, but-"

"But?" Abbie muses.

"The clothes," Darcy says. "The tunic, the wool pants tucked into the boots. It's all so.. strange. I've seen stranger, mind you, but something is just nagging me about this whole situation." Ichabod, Joe and Abbie remain silent, and only Abbie is the one who has a thoughtful little grin tilting the corner of her lips upward. "Seriously, guys, what's going on? You could've fought harder and just told me I was crazy, but you gave up pretty quickly. What am I missing?"

Joe glances at Abbie and then at Ichabod, eyes pleading, and it's Ichabod who clears his throat and faces Darcy head on. "I'm only telling you because you're Mr. Corbin's only family." He pauses for a moment, just long enough for Darcy to recognize the seriousness of the situation and she sits up straighter while planting her feet on the porch floor. "My name is Ichabod Crane.. and I died in 1781. My wife, at the time and unbeknownst to me, was a practicing witch who cursed myself into limbo until I would be needed. I was then resurrected in 2013 and since then, the Lieutenant and I have been battling forces of evil that threaten to take over this world."

Silence lingers after Ichabod's little speech, Darcy's eyes having widened, but not so much as to show just how shocked she is. But Darcy quickly recovers, even as Joe groans and curses Crane for being so blunt, and then Darcy is turning to Abbie and gently elbowing her. "Ha. You have a man out of time and I have a man out time. Such a weird coincidence, right?"

Abbie snorts, but it's Joe who says, "Wait, what?"

"You heard me," Darcy smirks. Then glancing down, she opens up her jacket even more and flashes them the shield on the front of her shirt. "Steve Rogers is a troll. Don't let the history books fool you."

"WHAT?!"

"What?" Darcy snorts, feigning innocence. "I thought it was secret time? I mean, Ichabod spilled a pretty heavy secret, so I spilled mine. I have a pretty good bullshit detector and he," she continues to say while gesturing at Crane. "-seemed sincere, not to mention the fact you looked terrified for a split second when I looked at you," she then says to her cousin. "And also, you're family.

"I can't exactly go around telling everyone I know the Avengers on a pretty intimate level, but you're my family, Joe, and these people are your family as well. I won't lie to you, and in the case Ichabod really was just playing me.. well then whoops! Yes, I know the Avengers. Please don't spread it around."

Again silence, and again Joe breaks it. "You're lying."

"I am not!" As quick as she can, Darcy digs into the pockets of her jacket for her phone. She quickly pulls it out and unlocks it, and then unlocks her photo vault- thank you, Tony, for being such a paranoid bastard- and hands the phone over to Abbie who's leaning a lot closer than she was previously. "Slide through the album. You'll see." Joe scrambles up from his seat and leans as close as possible while Abbie angles the phone so he can see, too. And Crane, Crane just sits in his seat peacefully with a content smile in place as he waits his turn.

"Are you- are you arm wrestling the Winter Soldier!"

Cheeks tinting pink, Darcy stammers. "I-I was drunk! He always makes it look so light," she frowns. "-and too much mead led me down a rather embarrassing path of drunken antics that night."

"Like fire dancing with- is that Tony Stark?" Abbie laughs.

"Like fire dancing with Tony Stark," Darcy grimaces. "I think I singed Thor's hair that night. Jane, his lady love, was not happy with me." Joe snorts and after flicking through the pictures, Darcy accepts her phone before passing it to Ichabod who accepts it with a grateful nod. "Don't let their world-saving antics fool you. They're all a bunch of children at heart when the suits come off and boredom sets in."

"This is so cool," Joe muses, disbelief clear in the expression of his face. "My cousin knows the Avengers."

"Yeah, well, you know the oldest human man alive," she retorts. "What's the whole story with that, by the way?"

Back in possession of her phone, Darcy pockets it and then listens to the tale that Ichabod, Abbie and Joe tell her of monsters and witnesses. Darcy's obviously gobsmacked that true evil- evil that doesn't come from outer space actually exists- and is even more shocked when she learns her cousin turned into a Wendigo, but that he wasn't so far gone and they had managed to turn him back. And although that darkness still lurks deep within him, Joe's okay.

"So.. wow," Darcy breathes. "That's really.. awful."

"Understatement," Abbie mutters. Cracking a grin, Darcy finally chuckles. "And in your words, please don't spread it around."

"Yeah, no," she's quick to nod. "Secret's safe with me. But you guys know you don't have to do this alone, right? The Avengers deal with weird on a monthly basis. If you ever find yourself needing assistance, we're just a call away."

"We thank you for your kindness," Ichabod says. "But this is our fight."

The man looks so guilt-ridden, yet determined, and Darcy can only smile in response. Silence falls upon them, a rather comfortable one now that secrets are out in the open, and everyone soaks it in as they listen to the neighborhood sounds.

Then finally, Abbie speaks. "I don't- I don't mean to bring the mood down or anything, but something's been on my mind ever since I started looking through your pictures on your phone."

"Yeah? Shoot." Darcy angles her body towards Abbie, grinning so that woman knows it's okay to say what's on her mind.

"It's just- I don't know what you know of your mother, but was it possible she was a seer?"

Darcy's grin falters. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm sorry for bringing this up, but Joe mentioned something your mother said to her brother after she found out she was pregnant- something that actually makes a whole lot of sense now."

"Joe?" Darcy gulps and glances at her cousin.

"It's, uh, she said- she said that one day you'd be best friends with an alien and with a spider. And well, given who your friends are-"

"..a Norse God of Thunder and the Black Widow," Darcy murmurs. "Thor and Natasha." She blinks rapidly to clear the sudden blurriness of her eyes, and clears her throat of the sudden lump of emotion lodged there. "Well, isn't today just full of surprises."

xXx

After many apologies on Abbie's behalf and assurances that everything was truly fine on Darcy's, the foursome head on inside for a fruit snack before dinner time. Darcy's phone pings in the middle of her telling what she gets up to when she's not babysitting scientists, and she excuses herself when she sees the name lighting up her screen.

The text message is from Steve and Darcy can't help smiling when she sees what he's asking. Then turning towards her cousin and hosts, she sighs and sheepishly smiles at them while re-joining them from where they were gathered around the kitchen table. "So I know it's impolite to ask you guys of anything since I'm a guest here and all, but would it be okay if my friend stopped by for like.. a half hour or so? It's just that the city is grating on his last nerve and he needs an escape, and he'd like to meet my family."

"Of course," Abbie happily agrees.

As Darcy shoots a text back, she says, "Thank you. Normally I wouldn't have asked, but the poor guy never seemed to catch a break the past several years and now that he finally has, the boredom makes him.. twitchy. But he's a good guy, I swear it!"

"Darcy," Joe huffs a laugh. "Abbie said yes. You don't have butter her up or anything."

Cheeks turning pink, Darcy sheepishly grins. "Sorry. But, uh, yeah. Should we head outside? He's actually about to drive into town. The punk apparently had good faith that you'd say yes."

"He knew to come here?" Joe frowns. "How?"

"Tracker is my guess." As she says this, Darcy holds up her right wrist and jingles the charm bracelet tied there. "Tony got paranoid after my second kidnapping."

"K-kidnapping?!" Joe splutters. "Did you just say- did she just say-" He splutters again, glancing at Abbie and Ichabod to confirm what his cousin's just said.

"She did." Ichabod smothers a grin. "Care to explain, Miss Lewis?"

Mouth agape and staring, Darcy's quick to gather her wits and snorts. "Why is it that all the old men in my life are trolls?" Abbie laughs as Crane squawks, but Joe is still dead serious. Sighing, she explains. "Knowing the Avengers like I do, it paints a target on one's back. The first kidnapping was because they wanted information on Jane's work, and the second was because some low-profile HYDRA assholes wanted their asset back, but I was not about to give up Bucky to them."

"HYDRA?" Abbie perks up. "Did they-"

"A few bumps and bruises," Darcy nods. "But I healed, got a fancy little tracker, and am taking defense lessons from both the Winter Soldier and the Black Widow."

"Jesus." Joe steps up to his cousin and wraps her up in a hug, breathing deeply and pressing a surprisingly firm kiss to her temple. "If Dad were still alive, you'd be giving him a heart attack."

Darcy returns the embrace and chuckles, but any words that might have slipped from her mouth are stalled by a rumbling engine that sounds like it's out front. "M'friend's here."

"That was fast. Shall we go greet him?" Ichabod then leads the group outside, holding the front door open for everyone as they gather on the porch.

Steve sits on his bike down by the sidewalk, unzipping his jacket and pushing down the kickstand to his bike as he stands.

"Is that- did I just invite Captain America over to my house?!" Abbie hisses, staring at Darcy in shock and going speechless after.

"He prefers Steve when he's not suited up, but yeah," Darcy laughs. "You did."