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5 – Erik

"It's beautiful," Darcy gave Clint a thumbs-up as she admired the silver necklace with a delicate arrow charm that he had just looped around Natasha's neck.

Natasha smiled softly, the way she usually only did around Clint. She didn't say anything, but she shifted closer to Clint, her legs draped over his lap, and Darcy knew she loved her newest piece of jewellery.

It was the perfect choice really – subtle enough for a pair of spies but still extremely elegant and appropriate.

Darcy's eyes widened with surprise when Clint handed a box to her as well.

"I got it at the same time I bought Nat's," he admitted, "I was going to give it to you on your next birthday, but I maybe put a tracking device in it and I thought it might be best for you to start wearing it as soon as possible."

"You know I have a tracker already," she reminded her uncle, "you were the one who had a bit too much fun stabbing me with a needle to implant it when I was ten."

Clint shrugged casually but the slight stiffening of his stance betrayed how serious he felt the situation was, "the Avengers are in the public eye a lot now. Eventually someone is going to notice your proximity to the team, Darce, and even if they don't know that we're related, they'll still see that you're important to us. I just want you to be as safe as possible."

Darcy couldn't be annoyed with Clint when he said things like that, so she opened the box and grinned at him, "well, if I do warrant multiple trackers then at least you've given me a stylish one."

Darcy's new jewellery was a bracelet rather than a necklace, but it featured a similar arrow to Natasha's necklace. Darcy's arrow, though, was a dark purple colour rather than silver, a tribute to the favourite colour she and her uncle shared.

As Darcy admired the bracelet, Natasha and Clint began to talk about the store where he'd purchased the jewellery.

"So, did you get it from –"

"Yeah, that place on –"

"Right … the bakery down that street does the best Baklava in New York."

"Mmm … hey, do you remember that time we –"

"What I remember is you fell right on your face and broke your nose."

"Hey! You swore we'd never talk about that … fine, shall I tell Darcy all about our trip to Nantes four years ago and how you reacted when –"

Clint grunted in pain as Natasha's foot shot out and connected with his stomach, "alright, alright, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"I love you two, you know," Darcy laughed at the pair, "never change."

Clint and Natasha exchanged grins and promptly began arguing about the best place to get waffles in the city.

Darcy only shrugged and started searching for recipes on her phone. She knew exactly what she was going to try out for the next team breakfast.

"This might be the best thing I've ever eaten. Have I told you recently that I love you, Darce," Barton's words were slightly muffled by the large piece of Belgian waffle topped with dark chocolate sauce and whipped cream that he had shoved into his mouth, but still quite clear to Erik.

Darcy laughed, "I'm sure you've had far better food than this, Clint, but it's sweet of you to say that."

Erik watched carefully as the pair of them talked, passing each other different dishes from the breakfast spread that Darcy had put together, Barton pouring syrup so it only covered Darcy's pancakes and not her waffles, while she rooted around for the crispiest pieces of bacon and put them on his plate.

It all spoke of a familiarity that made him understand why Jane had referred to Barton as Darcy's boyfriend.

Erik wasn't entirely sure what to think about this new development.

Logically, he knew that Barton hadn't been responsible for his actions under Loki's control, the same way that Erik himself hadn't been responsible. Still, he worried about the after-effects that the archer might be suffering from in the wake of the battle.

Erik had been in therapy since the battle. He still got nervous in crowds, preferring solitude to work. There was a reason his trip to the Tower was simply a three-day visit and not a permanent move, despite Stark's numerous offers – Erik knew he wouldn't do well in this fast-paced, busy environment, at least not for a while yet.

He didn't know if Barton had gone to any kind of therapy other than his SHIELD-mandated evaluation. While he was aware that the archer had been involved in plenty of difficult missions, Erik couldn't believe that he wouldn't have been severely affected by his experience with Loki. What had happened to the two of them … it wasn't the sort of thing a person easily got over.

Erik couldn't help but be a little concerned about Darcy getting involved with a man who had so much baggage.

He knew the young woman could handle herself. She was sensible and smart and very quick with her taser. That couldn't protect her from everything, though, and there were certainly dangers in an intimate connection with a world-class spy and assassin.

If it was just a bit of flirting, he might not think anything of it. However, he'd seen the new bracelet she was wearing, clearly expensive, and had noticed just how much time she spent in Barton's apartment, or he in hers.

Clearly, whatever was going on between them was serious, not something that could be brushed off as one of the fads that Darcy occasionally got into (the time she'd become obsessed with origami – and they all had to live with finding paper animals all over their workspace for a month – came to mind).

Still, was it his place to ask her about her relationship with the archer?

Jane was the nearest thing he had to a daughter. Darcy, though … they had gotten along well enough in Puente Antiguo, but they weren't really close enough for deep, personal conversations.

And, truth be told, Erik didn't really want to revisit his time under Loki's control. He went to therapy and tried to deal with his demons in his own way, but he just wasn't emotionally prepared to try and talk with Darcy about the possible pitfalls she might encounter with Barton. He knew it would just bring the whole ordeal to the forefront of his mind when he was trying so hard to work past it.

He would have a word with Jane, Erik decided. She knew Darcy better than he did, and she would figure out how best to broach the topic with the younger woman.

Erik looked at Barton again, his arm thrown around Darcy's chair as he summarised the latest episode of Dog Cops, the bizarre show that so many Americans seemed to love. He blinked and, for a brief moment, remembered the man casually shooting someone without even hesitating. Erik blinked again and saw the archer as he was now, relaxed and laughing.

No, he didn't think he could spend much more time in the Tower. He needed quiet again, and to be away from the constant reminders of Loki's destructive time on earth.

Maybe it was time to visit England, relax in the countryside and get some much-needed rest.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.