New Year's had always been something of a curse for Darcy. When she was a kid, her Dad (totally against Mom's orders) had let her light off a bottle rocket. She had quickly rethought how cool it would be once the fuse was burning and it seemed way too close to her, so she had grabbed the thing out of the ground and tossed it as far as she could. Unfortunately, "as far as she could," even with her 11 year old arms, had been into the hay stack under the eaves of the barn. The fire department was called out, Darcy was grounded for a solid month, and her Dad had never disobeyed a Mom directive again.

When she was 16, her very first I-will-love-you-forever-lets-hold-hands boyfriend had broken up with her just before midnight because he decided he would prefer to kiss Mandy George who was a little skinnier and a lot blonder than her.

When she was 20, she had broken up with James Killam across the bars of a holding cell. It turned out that she was not exactly into the bad boy type.

And in between, there had been a lot of high hopes and disappointing nights. Not the least of which was last year, when marauding robotic knights had ruined her almost-first-kiss with Bruce.

This year, things were going to be different. While the past year hadn't exactly started off on the best note, what with a kidnapping and some serious emotional trauma and all, the past eight months had been good. Great even. And a huge part of that was the way things were going with Bruce.

It said something to her, something important, that it wasn't as though she was deliriously happy all the time. It wasn't a blind and impossible passion, the sort that flamed out and left ash in its wake. It wasn't that honeymoon period where everything that was real still waited somewhere under the surface. She and Bruce fought sometimes, but not often, and only about the important stuff. And he didn't fix everything for her, they were both complicated people. But they did make each other better and stronger. And sometimes, she would wake up in the morning and see him sleeping next to her, a relatively new development, and she felt like her heart would explode out of her chest for the pure, simple, normal beauty of it.

So this year, no fancy dresses, no big party, just close friends at home in the tower, starting a new year with this strange and wonderful new family she had found. How Pepper had talked Tony into it, she had no idea.

So far, she had a lot going for her. Her simple wrap dress was far more comfortable than her dress last year had been, bare feet against the carpet promising happier feet by the end of the night. The champagne was expensive and plentiful, the company was excellent.

The one, rather important, missing element was her wonderful, caring, giant piece of shit boyfriend Bruce.

At first, it was a little bit funny. Bruce could be…absentminded at the best of times, and she knew he was working on something important in the lab. She let Tony's teasing roll off of her with a tolerant grin. Besides, she was currently far more interested in watching Steve and June totally try to pretend they were capable of keeping their hands off of each other. New Year's Eve was their official one year anniversary, and it was unbearably sweet of them to spend it with the rest of the crowd when they so clearly couldn't wait to be alone.

As the clock ticked past 11, Darcy's patience, not exactly legendary at the best of times, started to wane.

"Jarvis," she said quietly in the kitchen, escaping the group for a moment, "could you remind Bruce that there's a bit of an event going on tonight, and I'd really like him to be here?"

"I must apologise Ms. Lewis, but Dr. Banner's current experiment is running and it is incredibly sensitive to any auditory interference. Were I to interrupt, it would set him back a full day. I am, of course, willing to do so if you wish?"

She sighed "No, thank you Jarvis. Just…remind him as soon as you can."

As the half hour ticked by, Jane started giving her concerned glances as she sat on the edge of a conversation between Tony and Thor, not really paying attention or participating.

At 11:45, an incredibly nervous Steve got down on one knee in front of the closest thing he had to family and told June he couldn't imagine starting the next year or any other for that matter without tying himself to her. When he pulled out his mother's wedding ring to present to his new fiancé and as all the couples in the room moved closer to each other as midnight neared, Darcy had to leave.

She ran lightly up the stairs to Tony and Pepper's suite above them. Jarvis let her in without question.

She heard the crowd below yell "Happy New Year," she saw the fireworks burst above the New York skyline, and she rang in the New Year alone.

It was only five minutes later that Clint came bounding up the stairs. "Darcy?" he called out in a worried tone, before spotting her curled up on a chair near the balcony. "You okay?" he came over and flopped loosely onto the couch beside her.

"Not really," she said, "But it's not a big deal. I just had this stupid image in my head that I would finally get this one totally perfect New Year's moment this year, you know?"

"It's not stupid Darce," said Clint firmly. "You're supposed to spend New Year's with the people you love."

"And I did," she said, with a sad sort of half smile, "most of them."

"Bruce is an idiot and you are way too good for him," said Clint. He could always be counted on to play the supportive friend role when it came to the ups and down of building a relationship with Bruce. Far more reliably than Jane, really. She would probably spout something about the importance of Science.

"Oh hush," she said, smiling more broadly in spite of herself, "I know that what he does is important, and the fact that he cares so much about his work is part of what makes him Bruce."

"Yeah, he and Tony both, totally whipped by Science." Clint agreed.

"Pepper and I should start a club." Darcy quipped.

"I thought you already had one?" Clint grinned broadly at her, "or are your Wednesday girls nights something a bit racier than wine and gossip?"

"Like Tasha doesn't tell you everything," she responded with a snort.

"Not a word. Although she did promise me that she would downplay how good I am in the sack. She wouldn't want you girls to get jealous." Clint waggled his eyebrows and Darcy laughed out loud.

"Okay," she said, "mission accomplished Hawkeye, I'm feeling better."

"Good," he said, reaching over and giving her elbow a compassionate squeeze. "Now tell me what's going on with Bruce's no show act?"

She sighed, "Nothing unusual. He's running an experiment, he probably lost track of time. It doesn't mean he doesn't love me or want to spend New Year's with me. He's just…" she paused, trying to sort out for herself as well as Clint what Bruce was. "Look, Steve and June have been together for a year and now they're getting married. Bruce and I have been together for almost that long and were flirting around it for a long time before that."

Clint snorted in amusement. "Flirting? You guys were a god damn three act play full of eye fucking and melodrama."

"Yes, fine Clint. But my point is that I only recently talked him into staying overnight. I don't question that Bruce is giving everything he has to give, but I guess…sometimes his limits and the things that normal people in a relationship do that he just doesn't understand… sometimes it gets to me a bit. Like tonight for example. There's no one like Bruce, and in so many ways he is so far beyond what I ever could have hoped for but…I mean, a normal guy wouldn't ditch his girlfriend on New Year's for Science."

Her volume rose a bit as she vented her frustration at Clint. Which was somewhat unfortunate, as it meant that Bruce, who had just appeared at the top of the staircase, probably heard the whole thing. Bruce, master of feeling guilty about his issues even when she wasn't saying a word.

"Darcy…" he sounded a bit strangled, his face white, eyes wide.

Clint blew out a breath. "Well," he got to his feet, "I'll just…uh…" he gestured vaguely towards the stairs and then beat a hasty retreat after bending over to give Darcy a quick kiss on the forehead and raising a challenging eyebrow at Bruce as he passed.

There was a long moment of silence. Finally, Bruce ran a hand through his hair and, looking everywhere but at her, said "I don't suppose I'm sorry is really going to cut it this time?" the words were almost flippant, but his tone rang with the gallows humor.

"It's a start," Darcy was pretty pleased with how even her voice was. She tried to remember that yelling probably wouldn't help.

"There was…I was running an experiment and…the clock was on the other side of the…I just. I'm sorry. There's, there's no excuse really." He was just standing there, looking so lost. Although, he did that a lot, and it didn't make her anger melt away as easily as it used to.

"Just…just come over here for a minute. I would like to pretend that the absentminded asshole whose priorities are so skewed that he remembers the entire periodic table but not a really important night with his girlfriend is someone else and I really need some comfort, okay?" Her voice was a little wobbly on that one.

Always better at following instructions than knowing what to do with her, Bruce hurried over and gathered her into his arms as he squeezed into the chair underneath her. She curled up there for a long while, listening to him whisper into her hair over and over. "I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry."

Finally, as she felt her calm restoring itself, she said softly "You're not an asshole, I'm sorry I said that. I just…Steve proposed to June tonight, and you stood me up. And…and I just really wanted to start the year with you."

"Darcy," he seemed at a loss for words. It wasn't all that uncommon for him. "I'm not…I didn't…" he blew out a breath, "I need to say something to you." He said finally, "But I'm going to make a mess of it, so can you just…can you wait until I'm done?"

Darcy nodded, feeling a bit worried. He looked awfully scared, which was never a good sign. Bruce was usually pretty level unless he was going to go off the edge.

"You were right, what you said to Clint. I do have limits. And you really do deserve someone normal, someone who can give you what you deserve."

"Bruce," she interrupted giving his arm a squeeze. Regardless of promising not to interrupt, it was her own personal and hopefully lifelong mission to get him to understand that she wanted him, not some abstract notion of what he thought she deserved.

"I know," he said, "I know that this is more my thing than it is yours. I know you were venting to Clint. But I'm not normal, I'm never going to be normal. We're never going to be normal. I'm not Steve, it isn't uncomplicated for me to find a girl I want to spend the rest of my life with. He gets to move in with her without worrying that she might become collateral damage, he gets to plan for kids, he gets to grow old with June and I don't even know if I'm going to age normally or…" his voice broke and he cut himself off. Darcy waited, feeling like she was having an out of body experience. As a rule, Bruce didn't exactly volunteer this sort of emotion.

He sighed, tucking a hand around her hip, his fingers tracing soothing patterns on her skin. "I knew. I knew when I started the experiment this afternoon that I wouldn't be done in time for midnight." He must have felt her tense, because he paused before going on nervously. "I also knew that Steve was going to propose. He showed me the ring." He swallowed heavily. "I know…I know that things between us are moving slowly. And I wish… I want so badly to be able to just follow my heart when it come to you, without being careful. And every time I disappoint you by not being as uncomplicated as other men, every time you're sad and it's my fault. God, it eats at me. I just, I couldn't stand to watch Steve and June be so uncomplicatedly happy without being able to give that to you."

After a long pause, Darcy figured he was finished, so she twisted in his lap, reached a hand up to his cheek, and pulled him down so she could kiss him, slow and sweet.

"Oh Bruce," she said with a smile, "You are such an idiot."

"I know," said Bruce easily, clearly pleasantly surprised by her reaction, "But, uh, why exactly this time?"

"You really…you want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Well, yeah." Said Bruce with a bare simplicity and the smallest hint of "what, are you an idiot" that brought tears to her eyes.

"Do you really think I care that our happily ever after might look different than Steve's? Or take a little longer? I won't lie to you, sometimes I wish it was simpler, but if it was simpler, it wouldn't be us. It's just, when you miss things like this…I thought I just wasn't a priority to you tonight. That's what made me sad, that I might not be as important to you as you are to me."

"I am such an idiot," said Bruce, with feeling.

"Yeah," said Darcy fondly, shifting so she could straddle his lap and kiss him properly. He clung to her in a way that was both familiar and always surprising to her. In her mind, she was still just this kid who got caught up in a world that was way bigger than her. But Bruce held onto her like something solid and real, something that belonged here. And she did. She belonged here with this man, who was amazing and necessary to her, even when he was being an idiot. A man who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Her logical train of thought was short circuited as he tugged at her hips, pulling her closer, imprinting her skin with his fingerprints. So it wasn't until they pulled their mouths apart, short of breath and flushed with passion, that she thought to say it. "You know that I want to start all of my years with you don't you?"

He leaned in to press a quick kiss against the side of her mouth with a lopsided grin, "Yeah" he said, "I know. I just find it hard to believe a lot of the time." He paused, "I really screwed this up didn't I?" he said, "This was supposed to be the first year we would get to start together, and I missed it."

Darcy just nodded, smoothing back the hair at his temples. "It's okay," she said softly, "We'll have a lot more chances to get it right."

He looked past her, the wheels in his head clearly turning, "Damned if I am going to wait a whole year for that." He exclaimed suddenly, pulling himself of the chair and dropping her against the cushion. "Tony," he hollered down the stairs. "Tony get up here!" Darcy looked at him, mouth open in an O of surprise. She had never heard Bruce raise his voice in public before. Well, this wasn't exactly public she supposed, but still.

"What's going on, is everyone ok?" Tony burst through the floor at the top of the stairs, Clint and Natasha hot on his heels.

"We're fine," said Darcy her tone incredulously, "Bruce has just gone crazy, but we're fine."

"Not crazy," he turned back to her with a grin, "Tony what time is it?"

"12:14" Tony answers immediately, looking at Bruce warily.

"And how fast can the helicopter on your roof get to Chicago?"

Now Tony grins manically, clearly getting something that Darcy has missed "the chopper won't do it, but the new Quinjet prototype I just happen to have can do it in 29 minutes. Jarvis, start it up would you?"

"At once sir," said Jarvis, and a high pitch wine exploded somewhere above their heads.

"And why exactly are we going to Chicago?" Darcy asked carefully.

"Because I'm going to start this year right, for once." Said Bruce, taking her hand and tugging her to her feet.

Realisation dawned on Darcy that they had about 45 minutes until New Years in Chicago and she threw her arms around Bruce.

"No time for that you crazy kids," said Clint, dragging them apart and pushing them to the elevator, "Wheels up in 5!"

Natasha walked over with a chilled bottle of champagne, clearly just pulled from the fridge. She handed it to Bruce with a terse nod. Tasha could be such a sap about romance sometimes. But just this once, Darcy was going to pass on teasing her about it.

They made it with two minutes to spare, and Darcy got her perfect New Year's moment sitting near the open back hatch of the jet amidst the fireworks as Tony hovered over downtown Chicago.

"Happy New Year's Bruce," she murmured happily, tucked against his side, still flushed from the way he had kissed her as the crowds below them burst into cheers.

"The very best one I've ever had," he said, totally oblivious to the spectacle outside. "Almost makes up for how badly I wanted to kiss you last year."

Darcy chuckled, "Yeah, this is definitely a one up on that whole robo-knight you almost dying thing." She spread her hand flat across his ribs, the memory of how he, or rather the Hulk, had jumped in front of a missile for her making her feel protective, like so long as she could hold onto him, nothing bad could happen.

And really, you could forgive a guy for missing a party when he was willing to die for you, couldn't you? She tilted her head up and placed a kiss against his jaw. "You are totally off the hook for missing New Years, just so you know." She said.

"Oh, am I?" said Bruce with a bit of wicked grin, "well that's too bad, I had this whole plan involving you, me, a bottle of wine, and that little noise at the back of your throat that you make right before you…"

"Okay, you are totally not off the hook yet." Darcy interrupted him hastily, "Also, you realise that Tony is totally listening to us, right?"

A crackle of static burst through the hold of the jet "right before you what, Lewis?" came Tony's voice over the com."

"Point taken," said Bruce wryly, "but my plans haven't changed."

"Good," said Darcy, pushing him back against a metal supply bin and kissing him breathless.

As Bruce's hands worked their way up her thighs under her dress and she pressed her hips into his, drawing out a low gasp, they heard Tony again. "Guys? Right after what? Guys?" But he was probably joking and they were much too busy to respond.