"Hey, so I feel bad about Peggy and all the awkward questions that one night," Sharon tells her a couple of months later. "But I come with a peace offering." She smiles, holding out two cards to Darcy.
"What's this?" she asks.
"Well, you said you'd stopped setting Clint up because the date went wrong. Now, I'm not saying you have to use these, but this top one is the phone number of a girlfriend of mine. She's gorgeous, she's sassy, she's determined and funny, and scary smart, and honestly, I kinda want to be her. Anyway, if you think Clint's still looking for "the one," I think she'd be perfect. That other one is… well, for you. Peter Quill. Sweet. Handsome. Hilarious. You can't always tell if he's an idiot or a genius, but he's a nice guy. I think you two would really hit it off, if you wanted."
Darcy looks at the cards, confusion wrinkling her brow.
"But- we're not in love, but Clint and I are married." Darcy explains earnestly.
"Oh, didn't Pepper find you yet? Jennifer phoned while you were out and she took the call. She said that given how faithful we've been with the payments and the fact we've been paying extra each month, and that Clint has backed consistently backed leadership and shown you are the true owner of this restaurant and not just the face, they've made a deal to withdraw their lien, provided we keep the payments up."
She finally found the notepad Pepper had left and handed it to Darcy, who read it over in disbelief.
"So, you can date whoever you want without worrying. You and Clint don't have to stay married anymore!" Sharon's smiling widely, and shakes her head with a soft chuckle when Darcy nods absently, walking to the back trying to understand what's just happened.
She calls Jennifer to work out the details.
Then, she calls Pepper to celebrate the lien being removed.
Then she calls Clint, but the phone goes to voicemail. He'd had a meeting with a very important client today, so that's not unexpected.
She has nervous energy running through her, so she closes her eyes and tries to take deep breaths. Now she can repay Clint and give him the chance to find someone he really wants to spend the rest of his life with. She has the chance to fall in love, not that'd she'd given something like that any thought after Bucky. Suddenly, she remembers the cards Sharon had given her.
She pulls them out, then dials.
"Peter? Hey, my name's Darcy Bart- Darcy Lewis. Sharon Carter gave me your number…"
"Guess what?" she asks Clint the second he walks into the apartment late that night.
She explains about the lein, and how she'd spent half the day at Jennifer's office, working out details and contracts. He's radiant, smiling so brightly for her. Finally, he grabs her and gives her a big, tight hug.
"Ha! I knew you could do it!" he tells her, squeezing only a little too hard.
"Couldn't have done it without you," she confesses sincerely. "Which is why… I have a surprise for you.,"
"What?" he asks with a wide smile, accepting the envelope she hands him.
"Annulment papers!" she cheers. Clint drops the envelope to the floor at though it had burnt him, his eyes wide and panicked.
"What?!" he bites out quietly.
"Well, we don't have to be married anymore. You can find someone you love. Not stay stuck with me."
"Darcy, I'm not stuck- You're my best friend. I love you."
"I know, Clint. And I'll always be your best friend. But now, you can be my friend who gets to date whoever he wants! Which brings me to my next surprise."
"No," he pleads, his eyes wide as he shakes his head, hand out.
"Yes!" she squeals, offering him a card with a name and a phone number on it. "Her name is Bobbi Morse, and she's charming and witty and hot. Seriously, Clint, if you don't date her, I might be tempted to give her a call. You're going out with her on Friday."
"Darcy, I don't want-"
"Don't want what Clint? I want you to have someone to spend the rest of you life with. She could potentially be that person. And don't worry, this one's on me. To say thank you for everything you've done. Truly Clint. I… don't know what I would do without you. I can't really repay you except to say, sign these papers, and it'll be just like we were never married at all," she claps her hands proudly, her smile wide as she offers Clint his freedom.
Which is why she can't understand the unbelievably sad look on his face.
"Clint?"
He stares at her, speechless, for a long moment. Then he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, looking down at the envelope as he picks it up off the floor, staring at it like it's a coiled snake.
"That's- that's great Darcy. Thanks. If you don't mind, I'm gonna take these to my lawyer to have a look at them," he explains in a dejected tone.
"Sure, sure. No rush. Take your time. Not like either of us has to go anywhere, unless you plan on getting your old place back. But I don't mind being roomies with you. Although, I will miss calling ya husband when I come home."
"Yeah," Clint mutters, still in a daze. "Yeah. Me too. Listen, Darce. I'm really, really proud of you. But it's been a very long day and all I want to do is pass out."
"Oh." she exhales, her celebration plans cut short. "Right. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."
Clint doesn't face her as he announces, "Actually, I have late clients all this week. Maybe I can cancel that date and we can hang out then."
"No, you are not cancelling that date, Clint. You haven't gone out with anyone in almost a year." She rolls her eyes. "Besides, I have a date that night, too."
Clint must be more tired than he's let on, because he walks into his doorframe, hard.
"Oh, that's- Okay. I guess I'll catch you later then, Darce. Have fun on your date," he murmurs, and for the first time since she can remember, he closes a door between them.