Formerly titled Brooklyn's Bridges.
I've gone through and made a few edits here and there, just to clean up some stuff that I had been too lazy to catch before. Enjoy :)
Guys and Dolls
Steve didn't bother to do a double-take at the feet that stuck out of the wall vent by the fridge. He just opened the door and poured himself a glass of juice. Leaning back against the counter, he took a moment to do nothing but blissfully stare off into space. The moments were few and far between that Captain America could just be, just sit in silence after a morning of being bombarded by everyone and everything.
The girl in the vent sneezed and shuffled some papers before settling again. He watched her sock-clad feet fidget restlessly before they took turns scratching at her shins. She heaved out an echoing grunt before rising slightly and flipping, her toes now pointing down to rest on the floor.
He caught a movement in the corner of his eye and turned to nod at Bucky who had a towel draped over his shoulder, tape still on the knuckles of his flesh hand. Steve took down a glass and handed it to his friend who filled it to the brim with water out of the tap.
He flicked his eyes from Steve to the vent questioning, but the blonde just huffed out an amused breath and shrugged. They busted out lunch meats and sandwich fixings from the fridge and settled themselves in for a bite, taking their time while they wordlessly waited for Darcy to emerge.
It was another ten minutes or so before they saw another life sign. A yawn and a stretch, then Darcy slithered out of the vent landing on her hands and knees. She faced away from the super soldiers, oblivious to their presence.
"Whatcha doin, doll?"
"FUCK!" Darcy scrambled away, hurling her book behind her to distract her would-be attacker while she made her escape.
Steve doubled over in laughter, clutching at his chest. Bucky snatched the book out of the air, chuckling along with his friend.
"What the fuck, Barnes? Christ! How long have you two been there? You couldn't make a noise or something?"
She hauled herself off her ass, swatted at the hair that had fallen in her face, and made her way over to where they sat. Bucky was turning her book over in his hands curiously, ignoring her reach.
"Can I have my book back please?"
"You throw your weapon you lose it, Lewis."
"That's not true," she argued. "I've seen you throw your knife at Clint and he gave it back to you."
"That's because Barton knows who the superior fighter is."
"How modest." Her voice was wry as the two men traded shit-eating grins.
"I want my book, Barnes."
"Why are you reading 'The Idiot's Guide to New York City' anyway, Darce?" Steve interjected, leaning forward onto the counter.
Darcy stuttered and blushed.
"It's an interesting book!"
"It's a tourism guide," Steve said. "You've lived here for almost a year."
"Got family in town or something?" Bucky asked. "Not sure where to take 'em?"
"No."
"Boyfriend?"
"No. I just—"
They waited.
"I just—" She huffed before muttering quickly. "I've never really been out of the tower."
Four eyebrows shot into two hairlines.
"Pardon?"
"Oh, you heard me Steven!" She snapped at the incredulous duo.
"You've never been outta the—"
"How in the Sam Hill is that even possible?"
Their accents got thicker when they were exasperated.
"Dollface, how can ya even call yourself a damn New Yorker?"
"Hey Dickface, I'm not a damn New Yorker. I am a goddam New Mexican who was forced to come here for work."
"New Mexican? Darcy…"
"It's a thing, Steven." She snapped, snatching her book from Bucky in the process. "And it's not my fault that it's impossible to escape this place. It's like a fortress of needy super babies and stunted geniuses. Every time I got a chance to leave, it was to go to a meeting in another building or it was to get on a plane and go somewhere else. But then Tony started allowing Jane to fly straight out of the Tower so bye-bye airport. I can't even go to the airport anymore."
Steve opened his mouth to say something, but Darcy cut him off.
"When SHIELD told me to come here, I didn't put up a fight because I didn't want them to like make me disappear or some shit. If Jane hadn't put me in her contract, I wouldn't even live here. I'd be in some shitty walk-up with no A/C and a rat for a neighbor. I wouldn't even be getting paid! And Jane never leaves because she's making love to Science!"
She waved the book in his face.
"If I didn't feed her, the bitch would starve. But then Stark needed an assistant and he liked me, and Pepper liked that he listened to me so then I worked for Jane and Tony. Fine. That's fine. It's a great opportunity. But Tony never sleeps, and Jane never eats and they both always manage to keep different shitty hours. When Jane gets a break, Tony works. Tony takes a break; Jane has a breakthrough. And then there's Bruce! At least the bastard has some structure, but Christ if that man needs a Snickers when he's feeling all pissy and green. And when all three of them are somehow miraculously taken care of, some asshat in spandex decides to try and take over the city."
She was panting now – a crazy look in her eyes that Bucky had only seen once when he was a kid, and his Ma was at the end of her rope.
"And then it's me and some sweaty lab monkey from level three locked in a panic room. And he's gassy Steve! And sometimes I think he wants to ask me to repopulate with him if shit goes sideways on the outside and I don't want to repopulate with him, Steve! I don't want to repopulate!"
He slowly pushed her book down out of his face, forcing her to set it on the counter, and gave her a calculating look.
"Let's go then," He said.
"Go? Go where?"
"Let's go explore the city. Show you around. Who better than a couple of Brooklyn boys to give you a tour?"
His smile was boyish, and she could suddenly see him as he was decades ago – a foot or so shorter, clothed in an old trench coat and a confidence that only served to get him into trouble.
"I can't just go…"
"Why not?" Bucky interjected, his hand tossed up in the air.
"Well because. Tony's been up for like twenty hours at this point and Jane hasn't—"
"Jarvis," Steve said suddenly.
"Yes, Captain?"
"In forty minutes, cut off Tony's power supply and lock his fridge. Inform him that he needs at least eight hours of sleep or I'm grounding him."
"Yes, Captain." If an AI could sound gleeful, Darcy thought.
"You were saying?" He looked to Darcy.
"I don't. I can't just leave…"
"Yeah Darcy, you can," Bucky said.
"I mean…but where would we go? Like what would we even do?"
"What are we gonna do? Stevie, is this dame serious right now?" Bucky stood and walked around the bar coming to a stop in front of her. He reached out and gently held her shoulders, leaning her back a bit so she could look him in the eyes.
"Darcy. Doll. As much as I love the hulk pajamas, go change. Put on your best dress. Meet us back here when you're ready. Let us old boys take their best girl out on the town, will ya?"
The look he gave her was as thick and sweet as molasses, and even though she only thought of him as a friend, Darcy's heart stuttered a little at the sight of it. By his Cheshire grin, that troll knew it too.
She blushed and avoided his gaze, looking instead to Steve who appeared far too amused for his own good.
"Fine." She grumbled before trudging away, trying to suppress the nervous excitement she felt at finally being able to experience the city she lived in. She paused at the door, turning back to the guys.
"When you said best dress…you meant jeans right?"
Bucky scoffed, but Steve smacked him upside the head.
"Just wear what you're comfortable in, Darcy."
She smiled back and before hopping up and down on the balls of her feet and disappearing through the door.
"Back in ten!" They heard her shout as she ran down the hall to the elevator.
"Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes…if I may," Jarvis spoke up.
"Go ahead, Jarvis."
"By my calculations, when Miss Lewis says she will be ready in ten minutes she takes between 40 and 43.72 minutes before she is, in fact, ready. Might I suggest that Sergeant Barnes take the time to clean up while he waits?"
Steve snorted into his glass of water.
"Thank you, Jarvis. I think that is a fantastic idea."
Bucky flipped him the bird on his way to his quarters.
"Captain," Jarvis continued. "I have also taken the liberty of compiling a list of the places Darcy has expressed interest in seeing since she has come to live here in the tower. I would be happy to download her top five places to your phone if you would like..."
"I'd appreciate that Jarvis," He nodded. "Why don't you make it her top ten?"
"Very good sir."
"Darcy. No"
"Stevie. Yes."
"Darcy you cannot wear that in public. I can't be seen with you wearing that on your shirt." Steve insisted.
Darcy put her hands on her hips and glared up at him with the most obstinate expression she could muster.
Bucky was sniggering under his breath from where he stood by the elevator doors.
"Darcy I would never say that. And it's bad P.R. for the team. I can't be present while you wear that shirt."
"Wear anything you want Darcy. Be comfortable Darcy. This day is about you Darcy." She parroted his earlier words. "Does your word mean nothing, Steve Rogers? Are you a man without honor? Are you?"
She waved her finger in his face.
"I told you to be comfortable. I did not – cannot – condone this." His voice was dry and somewhere underneath his all-American tone of justice Darcy detected a hint of amusement.
"I think it's patriotic!"
"It's vulgar."
"Inspirational, I say!"
"Wearing a picture of me in my uniform saying 'We want YOU to go fuck yourself' is not inspirational Darcy. It's going to start a media firestorm."
"Come on Steve-o. No one is even gonna notice that you're you without your spangly suit anyway. And besides…you said be comfortable. This is what I was comfortable wearing," She said simply. "Now come on, I want to go to ground zero."
"No. Absolutely not. We are not going to ground zero while you wear that shirt. I will take you anywhere in that shirt as long as it is not a memorial site. Is that clear?"
She backed off and smiled, content that she got her way. She had a different shirt for ground zero, anyway.
They hit up a coffee shop first. Darcy ordered a twenty-ounce chai latte with extra chai and a shot of espresso. Steve and Bucky spent an inordinate amount of time looking up at the menu, their expressions stuck somewhere between bewilderment and disgust before ordering two twelve-ounce black coffees, extra hot. Darcy rolled her eyes at that and offered them a sip of her drink. Bucky choked and went to spit out his sip, but Darcy screeched and slapped her hand over his mouth.
"Don't you dare, Barnes. That is caffeinated gold right there and you better not waste a god damned drop."
Steve, on the other hand, tried to drink the rest of her latte while she was scolding Bucky. He did not succeed.
They went to Central Park – took her to Bow Bridge where she threw herself dramatically against the side and reenacted some famous scene from a movie neither of them had ever heard of or seen. They got a kick out of it anyway and agreed with her when Darcy declared movie nights until they died.
They strolled through the Shakespeare Garden and went by Belvedere Castle. Darcy insisted on taking a selfie next to the Alice in Wonderland statue. They walked for hours, but it didn't feel like it to her.
They stopped into the Met an hour before closing and cooled off in the A/C. And when they left, the sky had just begun to dim. They grabbed some street tacos to eat while they wandered the about city. Steve mentally ticked off the items on Darcy's list and decided to ask her later if they could make outings like this a regular thing.
"You ain't been to Brooklyn yet," Bucky said with a fond expression on his face.
"Uh. No dude. Until today I hadn't been anywhere except university lecture halls and the airport."
"Well, uh. It's not like it was. But it's home ya know? Even if it's uh…what's the word, Stevie? What was Sam callin it now?"
"Basic," Steve responded, his voice grim.
Darcy snorted and choked on a piece of cilantro. Bucky absently patted her back, still trying to figure out the new meaning of the word.
They passed a sign that indicated the Brooklyn Bridge was in the opposite direction.
"Umm, guys?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going?"
"Heading out to the old neighborhood…"
"Right…but the Brooklyn Bridge is that way.." She jerked her thumb behind them. "At least that's what the sign says."
Steve nodded in confirmation, while Bucky huffed.
"The Brooklyn Bridge? At quarter to six on a Monday? Forget it, Lewis, I wouldn't condemn my worst enemy to that fate."
Darcy looked between them, obviously missing a step. Steve took pity on her.
"We'll catch the B train over the Manhattan Bridge. After we cross, we'll get off at the first stop and you can see the skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge before we show you around," he said.
"So… there's more than one Brooklyn bridge?"
"No," Bucky said. "Only one Brooklyn Bridge. We're taking the Manhattan."
"Yeah, but since when is there more than one bridge to Brooklyn?" She rolled her eyes at him.
"Since before I was born, Darce."
"Oh," She huffed. "Well someone needs to send out a memo."
When they got back to the tower, the sun had long been set. Darcy was dead on her feet and had a small sunburn on her face. But it was the first personal day she'd taken since she'd moved, and she was beyond relieved that she didn't have to spend it getting lost in a still unfamiliar city.
She tried to say goodnight in the elevator, but they wouldn't hear it. Insisted on walking her to her door and waiting until she was inside.
Before she closed the door, Darcy surged back out and grabbed the two hulking superheroes into a group hug. Doing her damnedest to squeeze the life of out them.
"Thank you," she said with her face pressed into Steve's shoulder. "You guys really are the most amazing friends anyone could ask for."
When she pulled away, Steve was blushing, and Bucky was doing his best not to meet her eyes.
And it all made a little more sense to Darcy then.
In between all the brainwashing and super-soldiering and trying to get over the piling of trauma in their lives, Steve and Bucky were just like her. Desperately trying to figure out how to be normal again too.
