N is for Negotiated

Darcy learned on the balcony railing, staring into the night, and considered her team, particularly her trio of spies. Complicated – it was the best word she could think of to them. Each of them possessed their own individual triggers while their relationships created a Celtic knot of messy layers. Separately they could drive a handler to drink…and probably had. Together they created a potential minefield of mayhem. It was a minefield deliberately created to drive people away. Darcy and Coulson were the two people the spies trusted most because the two of them negotiated that minefield without fear.

When she first arrived at the mansion, Natasha scared the hell out of her. The woman's uncanny ability to pop up out of nowhere coupled with her blank expression and cold eyes almost stopped any attempt from Darcy to make friends. Only one thing kept her from giving up; Coulson asked her to try. For the stoic agent, it was practically a plea. Something about his expression convinced her to agree. As the days turned into weeks and then months, she began to wonder if she was making any headway with the distant red-head. Then one day Darcy went to SHIELD to deliver some reports and an over-amorous agent would not back off despite her warnings. Just as she was deciding it would be worth the extra paperwork to tase him, Natasha appeared at her side. The agent took one look at the master spy's cold green eyes and beat a hasty retreat.

"Thanks," Darcy said quietly.

Natasha lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I will walk with you."

From that day on, Darcy could count on a red-headed shadow anytime she set foot anywhere near SHIELD. It might have bothered her except Natasha made it clear she was there to protect Darcy, not keep an eye on her. Darcy belonged to the Avengers, not SHIELD, and Natasha intended to let everyone know she was off-limits. It was apparently her cue that Natasha had accepted her as a friend.

Clint had been an entirely different story. If it hadn't been for proof to the contrary, Darcy would have thought him a figment of everyone's imagination. He never joined them when Darcy and Jane were present, apparently preferring to stay out of sight instead of meeting the new girls. Six weeks or so after she moved into the mansion, she walked into the kitchen for some ice cream. It was empty for once, so she started singing softly under her breath as she dug through the freezer for the Rocky Road she knew was in there. Finding it, she turned only to gasp with surprise at the figure standing just a couple of feet away. She dropped the carton, but he caught it midair and placed it on the countertop.

"You have a good voice," he told her, eyes carefully examining her face.

"Um, thank you?" she replied, still caught in her surprise.

A crooked smile flickered over his lips for a moment. "Your ice cream is going to melt," he said before moving around her to grab a beer and then disappeared out of the room.

That first meeting seemed to set the tone for their early relationship. He appeared and disappeared just as easily as Natasha, but where she remained stoic and distant until abruptly turning bodyguard, Clint would talk briefly, even tease, and then vanish. Clint's acceptance of her became apparent the day she got caught up in one of Doom's attempts to destroy the city. The elusive Hawkeye came down from his high perch in order to pull her, specifically, out of trouble and up with him.

She had to smile remembering that day. When they came down from the roof of the building, Natasha smiled at them while Coulson's face seemed trapped between his stoic disapproval face and his equally stoic approval face. He told her later that while he favored Clint forming a new friendship, he'd prefer the agent not being quite so obvious about it.

Darcy found herself with two shadows quite often. She wasn't quite sure why the two of them trailed her the way they did, but she accepted it. The only reason she even knew they were present was because of their tendency to appear whenever she hit any kind of snag. Whether it involved troublesome people or situations, one or both of them showed up and helped her past the problem before disappearing again. Winning over the two most secretive Avengers was the final checkmark leading to Coulson recruiting her as a handler for the heroes.

Finally she came to the most recent of her trio.

Bucky…he was a different kettle of fish altogether. Natasha and Clint had each other and Coulson before Darcy ever entered the picture, so they simply expanded their network to include her. Bucky didn't have that. He had shattered memories and troubled dreams. Part of him, 'Bucky', remembered Steve while another part, 'Soldier', remembered Natasha, and neither part wanted to mesh well with the other. Neither side trusted SHIELD which made it difficult for Coulson, but both sides seemed to listen to Darcy, so she became his chief handler despite her lack of formal training or position.

Somehow it worked. As Bucky became more integrated with the team and Steve began to realize he wouldn't leave anytime soon, Bucky could be found in Natasha and Clint's company more and more often. It probably would have panicked almost anyone else, but Darcy just breathed a sigh of relief.

Those two would notice anything off while reinforcing the claims of the team on his future.

The biggest issue they faced with Bucky was the memory flashbacks. One particular night saw him holding her hostage as he tried to remember his mission objectives. As JARVIS summoned the rest of the team, Darcy simply faced him, trying to ignore the gun he held so casually.

"Bucky." She did nothing more than speak his name, quietly, but directly. He flinched, but remained silent, watching her. Again she said his name. "Bucky." The flinch was more obvious and his gaze flickered from a cool detachment to a mercurial confusion. "Bucky."

The gun lowered, and then dropped to the ground. "Darcy?" He hesitated over her name.

She smiled. "Welcome back."

That night almost sent him running off or turning himself over to SHIELD to protect everyone, but one thing he finally came to learn about the Avengers. They never gave up on one of their own. Everyone worked with him in their own way, working to still his fears and to lessen the dangers of flashbacks. Darcy's immediate forgiveness shook him almost as much as the incident itself, but it was also what sealed her firmly under his protection.

A soft step brought her out of the memories.

Coulson stepped up beside her. "You are missing the party, Miss Lewis."

"I'll be in soon," she assured him.

A slight shadow crossed his face. "They are not due to return until tomorrow."

"I know," she sighed. "It's just-"

"Like we'd miss this party," Clint's teasing voice interrupted her as he jumped down from one of the trees.

Bucky flipped over the side of the balcony railing. "The guest of honor should not be missing her own birthday party."

"It does rather defeat the purpose," agreed Natasha as she glided out of the shadows.

Darcy's smile grew brilliant. "I guess I've had enough air," she waved a hand airily.

"Good," Clint grinned as he gestured her forward. "I want some cake."

"You had two helpings of crème brulee on the plane," Natasha scolded.

Bucky just shook his head as Coulson gave an almost imperceptible sigh. "Miss Lewis?" he nodded towards the door.

Surrounded by her spies, Darcy headed back towards the noise of a party with a light step and peaceful heart.