One night, Clint gets the frantic phone call that Darcy's dad had died.
When he opens the door, Darcy is in a daze, pacing and confused and babbling incoherently.
"We knew he was sick, but he now he's just gone. He's just gone, Clint!"
He watches her walk back and forth silently, opening his arms when she finally starts to process what had happened. Once again, he holds her together as she starts to fall apart.
He'd called Pepper over as soon as Darcy had hung up, and she had shown up with Tony in tow.
Pepper and Darcy took turns crying and hugging, and Tony and Clint spent the night letting the two women grieve, offering comfort however they needed.
Pepper finally collapsed on top of Tony, and Darcy once more fell asleep in Clint's arms.
Clint makes her laugh the first time after her father dies and reassures her she's allowed to smile again without it being a betrayal to his memory.
Steve and Peggy come to the funeral, as do Bucky and… a beautiful blonde holding his hand, their fingers interwoven.
Clint keeps close to her as she greets all the guests, squeezing her arm in support when Bucky comes up.
Darcy can't even open her mouth, her feelings overwhelming.
"Thank you so much for coming, Bucky," Pepper, who has also been beside her through everything, offers.
"Bucky." Clint nods at his friend. "Sharon," he continues, a slight furrow to his brow before he schools his expression and looks at his friend again, weaving an arm around Darcy's waist in support.
"You- you look good, Darcy," Bucky continues, focus on Clint's arm, before shaking his head and offering his sympathies. "I- I'm really sorry about your dad," he finally gets out, and he looks so mournful it loosens something inside her.
"Thank you. He always really liked you, Bucky," Darcy rasps.
"Yeah. He was a good man. A really, really good man." He stares at Darcy, then gives her a nod and moves on down the line.
Darcy can't help but look fixedly after him and his beautiful… Sharon, but she manages to tamp down any rising emotion the sight brings and focuses on her dad.
Later, she sees Clint pull Bucky aside, the two of them in what seems like a heated conversation. Then, she sees Clint's shoulders slump, and he meets her eyes briefly before turning back to Bucky and shaking his head mournfully. At first, Darcy thinks that even despite their surroundings they're going to cause a scene, but then she sees Bucky put a sympathetic hand on Clint's shoulder, and Clint school his face once more, reaching out to return the gesture. Both men smile at one another, but before Darcy can even begin to try and figure out what just happened, Steve has come up to her.
"Darcy," he says, reaching up to hug her tightly, "I know- I remember how it felt when Ma- I'm here, if you need to talk," he finally settles on. She gives him a watery smile and thanks him. Peggy holds her for a long moment, giving Darcy one of her famous comforting hugs, then reaches for the blonde- for Bucky's date.
"This is my sister, Sharon. She moved back to town a few months ago."
Sharon's smile is small and appropriate, and her kind eyes do nothing to alleviate the jealousy that threatens to overwhelm Darcy.
"Nice to meet you, Sharon," she grits out, before Pepper comes over suddenly, asking Darcy a question in an obvious ploy to save her.
Darcy gets called to her father's lawyer's office a few weeks later. When she leaves, she drives straight to Clint's apartment, where she knocks frantically.
Kate opens the door, takes one look at Darcy's face, and yells for Clint.
Darcy is in her freak-out mode once more, pushing past Clint and going straight for his kitchen. She vaguely hears Clint tell Kate she can go home for the day. Clint offers her a water, which she takes absently, and he watches as she paces back and forth. He sits in a chair nursing his own water and just waits her out.
"So, you know how Dad had been doing renovations on Nick's all year?" Darcy asks him, trying to order her thoughts.
Clint nods. "Yeah. New pool tables, updated kitchen. Updated bar. What about it?"
"Well, apparently, he never finished paying off the contracting company, and they've put a lien on the restaurant." She gulps, then chatters on quickly, making Clint's head spin as he tried to keep up. "And now, because there's an exorbitant amount owed on the business, Jennifer- she's my dad's lawyer, Jennifer Walters,- says I'll likely have to sell it to pay back all debts."
Clint's eyes go wide, and he crosses his arms, thinking, and angry on her behalf.
"Well, is there anything you can do?"
"No. I asked if there was any way to fight this. She said she'd tried to negotiate with the contractors, but since I'm now the sole owner of the business and I've never run the business on my own and have no knowledge of how to run one, they couldn't be sure they'd get their money back if they gave me an extension." She shrugs, on the verge of tears. "I don't think I have a choice, Clint. I can't believe I'm going to lose Nicks."
Clint stares at her, his mind racing a million miles a minute as he tries to think of ways to fix this. Nick's- it meant so much to all their friends. To their neighbourhood. To Darcy. And to think it might be sold because of a technicality- Clint couldn't let that happen. He refused.
"I don't mind the my own job," Darcy sighs out, finally taking a seat across from him. "I really don't. I only started helping out there because Dad got sick, but I made my own way for so long, I know I'll be all right. But the employees. If I can't figure out a way- If I can't fix this, somehow, they all lose their jobs. Natasha and Thor are having another baby. Peter's uncle has taken a turn for the worse and he's trying to keep up their family bills on his own. Sam and Maria just moved into their first house. I- these people are my family. And because Dad decided to start pointless renovations, I'm going to lose them. I can't- the thought of it- it's too much."
Suddenly, Clint's face lit up, and his eyes widened as he realised the perfect solution..
"Marry me."
"What?" Darcy chokes out, utterly thrown off at the words that had just left his mouth.
"Marry me," he repeats, his voice more confident now.
"Clint-"
"I'm serious, Darcy. This is a real proposal. You're my best friend and I love you, and I'm asking you to marry me." He gets down on one knee and grabs her hand.
"I don't understand," she argues, staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. To be fair, he probably had, but he couldn't see her this distraught and do nothing.
"If we get married, we what we have becomes marital property, right?"
She nods her head slowly, still confused.
"So, I, a fairly successful business owner who will also be on hand to teach you, will be co-owner of Nick's. Surely Jennifer could renegotiate if you can prove you can keep up the payments, right?"
Darcy's mouth is unattractively hung open, still in disbelief over Clint's proposal. She hadn't pulled her hand away from his, but she could do nothing but stare at this ridiculous best friend of hers. Still. Doing this would destroy any future he had ever dreamt for himself with a woman.
"Clint, you're really going to spend the rest of your life with me, just to save my business?"
Clint looked up at her and took a deep breath, staring into her eyes with a seriousness he rarely possessed.
"I'm sincerely, confidently asking you to marry me. Unless that's not something you can- if you really don't want to, I'm sure we can figure something else out."
"No- no, just Clint. I… you're sure?" she stared at him with eager, hopeful eyes. She couldn't see any doubt in his, but she had to know.
"I've never been more sure about anything else," he promises.
She smiles, throwing herself into his arms.
"Thank you, Clint. You don't know how much this means to me, that you're willing to- yes. Yes, I'll marry you. And you-anything you want, anything you need from me, just name it and it's yours. Oh, I love you for this."
She squeezed him tightly around the neck, so utterly charmed and grateful for him in her life.
"Good," she loosened her arms, which seemed to be strangling him, if the catch in his throat is anything to go by. "That's… that's good."