"Ah, glad to finally see the love birds up," Tony Stark said enthusiastically the next day, between mouthfuls of pizza.
Bruce flushed slightly, causing Darcia to grin for more than one reason. "Save any for me?" she asked, sitting across from the billionaire.
"Would have, but you took too long, being horny rabbits and all. So it's all gone. Thor has an entire box to himself though, maybe if you pow around with him, you'll get whatever's left over." Darcia rolled her eyes, grabbing a piece from his plate. "Hey- Hey! That's mine!"
"S'all yours, Bruce," Darcia said, handing him the piece, sticking her tongue out at the protesting Tony. The startled scientist, who had taken a seat next to her, accepted the piece without protest. Pepper walked through the door now, another box of pizza in hand.
"Barton managed to sneak a whole box into the archery room. Him and Thor are pigging out like they've never eaten before. I managed to get ahold of the rest of this, though," she said, setting the box on the island counter. "Good morning, Dr. Banner, Darcia. Or, should I say afternoon." With a wink, the strawberry-blonde pushed the box towards them, telling them to 'eat up before Tony manages to become obese.'
"Uh, thanks, Miss Potts," Bruce said, accepting the three pieces she piled on a plate for him. He still had a half-eaten piece in his hand.
"Don't worry about it," she replied, getting a plate for Darcia.
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Pepper. You're not a maid. Plus, I think Dr. Banner over here has too much on his plate for himself. I can just mooch off him," Darcia said cheekily.
"Ah, sorry!" Pepper groaned, taking a seat. "I forget how differently every one eats here. You, Dr. Banner, Steve and Natasha hardly eat while the others gorge themselves on everything in sight." Darcia thought about protesting, but realized that the other girl was right, and shrugged, stuffing her mouth with pepperoni pizza.
Tony swallowed the last of what he was chewing before getting another slice, winking at Pepper when she glared at him. "Now that you're up," he said, directing his attention to the heiress and the doctor. "We can discuss the plans for your birthday party. It's going to be this Saturday. Only day I could arrange for because of this one." He jerked his thumb to Pepper, who rolled her eyes.
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't want a birthday party, Tony?" Darcia deadpanned.
He blinked. "No, not in the slightest." She dropped her shoulders, signaling her defeat. "Anyway, it'll be just us and a couple other friends. The food and booze have already been selected, as well."
"When you say a 'couple other friends,' how many do you mean?" Bruce asked, wary.
"Just a few," Tony said. "Don't worry about it. You worry too much. It'll be fun!"
"So basically, I've got two days to prepare for my birthday party. This includes a new outfit, my hair and nails done, and a wax. Where do you think I should go?" Darcia babbled on the phone, flipping through a techie magazine with mild curiosity.
"Oh, I don't know. Have you been to that new salon on thirteenth?" the other person said.
"I don't think I have. What's it called? Dyed and Gone to Heaven?"
"No, you're thinking of the one from New Year's. It's called the Hair Shack. Not a very fancy name, but I heard it was good."
"Oh, right. Okay. I'll have to make an appointment. I'm sure that won't be so much of a problem. You're coming Saturday, right?" the heiress replied, dog-earring a page with a new (and improved) carbon diffuser she thought Bruce might get a laugh at. Her friend paused before answering.
"Yeah, I can. Am I the only one that knows you're not abroad? We both know Tony Stark isn't one to throw small parties, so the whole world will know you don't have an Indian lover."
"I think the rumor is Italian. Or was it Indian? I don't remember. One of the guys here mentioned it earlier," Darcia laughed. "But yeah, you're the only one."
"Oh, I feel special," the girl replied.
"You should be. Nowadays the truth comes at high costs, Hayley."
"Whatever," Hayley replied, teasing. "Okay, I've got to go. Casting call in an hour. I'll see you Saturday."
"Good luck! Though we both know you'll get it. Whedon loves you. See you Saturday."
"See you," the actress said, her British accent light and airy. She blew a kiss through the phone, which Darcia returned before hanging up.
"Who was that?" Clint asked, coming up behind her as she sat on the couch.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Why do you care?"
He shook his head, sitting down across from her and taking her magazine. "Just curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat," she replied, snatching the magazine back when he handled the pages too roughly.
"The cat has nine lives," he said back, a grin on his face.
"Touché," she said, shrugging. "It was just a friend. Some one I can actually call that." She laughed before sighing. "It's so hard being friends with actresses. You never find out they've been acting until they stab you in the back."
"Did I sit down to listen to a sad back story? Because I can leave," he replied, moving to stand up. She rolled her eyes.
"Sit down, I'm not going to go all depressing on you."
Clint breathed out air. "Good, that was a close one."
Darcia punched his arm but with a smirk on her face. "What are you doing anyway? Shouldn't you be like...training or something you S.H.E.I.L.D. agents do?"
"You should know, you've been through it," he said, leaning back in the chair.
She shrugged. "Eh, I wasn't too apart of all that."
He shrugged too. "Either way. You don't have any more training now?"
"Nope," she replied, shaking her head. "Just working with Tony in his lab. Once we finalize everything and stuff, I'm on the down low until anything happens. An attack, a war, whatever."
"Hopefully we won't be needing your services."
"Sadly, I think you will."
They looked at each other with a grave understanding. "At least there hasn't been anything going on so far. Loki hasn't returned and there have been no other threats. So you get to have your birthday party." Clint winked.
Darcia's mind flicked back to her dream of Loki murdering her father. She winced but quickly covered it up with a smile. "I guess so. Do you know any details that I don't, by the way? No strippers, I hope. I don't need any of those right now."
Clint laughed. "No, no strippers. But that's all I've really been privy too. Steve asked a little while ago, looking like he was going to faint."
Darcia laughed. "I love that man. He's so funny living in the modern world."
"He is. We like to tease him about it."
"Yes, let's all pick on the old man," a voice said, coming up to sit beside the heiress on the couch.
"You know we were just joking around, Steve," Darcia replied, a pleasant enough smile on her face. Steve's frown left and he smiled back. It seemed no one could be mad at her. "Are you excited for Saturday, though?"
He put on a smile that was easily used to conceal his displeasure and nodded. "Sure, it's your birthday. It should be entertaining, to say the least."
Darcia jumped in her seat a little bit, causing the other two to stare at her. "Oh! You guys haven't been to a Stark party before have you?" Seeing their consensus of agreement, she grinned. "You're in for a treat. He throws them better than I do, I hate to admit."
"Another fault!" The Captain teased, catching her off guard for a split second. She grinned.
"You got me," she said, shaking her head.
Clint watched the interaction with mild interest, having recaptured the magazine from Darcia. He flipped through it again, ignoring the heiress' glare. "Why are all these pages marked?"
"For future reference," she said, frowning when he looked intently at one thing she marked. "Why do you insist on asking questions?"
He threw a wolfish grin at her. "I like annoying you. Do you plan on buying this? Or making it or whatever?" he asked, showing her the carbon diffuser. "Because I'm sure Stark has something like this in much better condition somewhere."
She closed her eyes, her fingers on the bridge of her nose. "You're spending too much time with Tony. Can I have that back?" she asked, holding her hand out for the magazine, eyes still closed.
"I bet you're going to buy it for Banner," he concluded, handing her the magazine. Steve, who was quietly judging them, looked to Darcia.
"I'm not buying a carbon diffuser. I have no need for one and I doubt Stark and Bruce do too. I just figured they could use some humor."
"Whatever you say," Clint said, getting more comfortable in his chair.
"So...uh, you and Dr. Banner are in a relationship now?" Steve asked after a minute, looking from the magazine to the girl holding it.
She smiled, happiness radiating out of her. "Yes, I believe so."
"Um, congratulations then," he said, quieter, looking away.
"Thank you," she replied. "Though it's not like we're getting married, so I don't think official congratulations are in order, but the sentiment is very much appreciated."
"Do your friends know about you two?" Clint asked.
Darcia was silent for a minute, thinking about his question. "No one but you guys know. My friend, who I was just on the phone with, will find out Saturday. I don't have any other friends that would really care to know right now," she paused, "But I've tweeted a vague message to my followers about it so we'll see if people can figure out that I'm in a relationship. If not, they'll know soon enough, when I officially announce it."
"When are you going to do that?" Steve piped in, looking confused.
She looked at him, grey eyes solemn. "I haven't decided. Whenever Bruce is ready. We've only just started going out so it's probably bad luck to say anything now."
"Good thinking," Clint said, messing with the arm rest. "It'd be best to let him have some time to wrap his head around the concept of you two going public. He's used to being alone and away from...well, everyone. It's going to be a huge change for him once he's thrown into your world."
"Wow," Darcia said, shocked. "That was so insightful. You do have a soul after all. I thought all government agents had those taken out of them at one point or another."
"Ha-ha," the archer replied, rolling his eyes. Steve laughed. "Just note that I'm being serious. He's pretty damaged...he doesn't need anything to set him off." Their conversation ended gravely, his last statement hanging in the air like a thick fog. Darcia didn't want to think about all of the bad things that could happen when she exposed him to her world. She just wanted to think and dream about all of the good ones. Her mouth set itself into a permanent frown, her eyes drifting to the crinkled magazine, a thousand scenarios running through her mind. No one seemed to realize that a figure was standing in the doorway of the stairs, hidden in the dark, listening to their conversation. He dipped his head, glasses sliding a little down his nose, his too-long curls dangling in front of his eyes.
(A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope you all like it. Don't worry, BIG stuff is happening soon. Wink, wink. I just can't make every chapter super exciting and awesome. Then the story wouldn't be realistic. (; Thanks for the awesome support and reviews and everything guys, it means a lot to me. Now, for the next like week, I'm going to be super super super busy. I've got work and I'm leaving Wednesday to go on vacation, and the first few days there will be so hectic that I doubt I'll be able to even sign on to my computer, much less write another chapter or two. But I'll try as much as I can. For you guys. Thanks for your understanding and everything! I love you allllllll.)