O is for Options

It's not like her options were limited, Darcy mused. She received two or three invites or offers every other week. Her entire weekend could be booked if she felt even the slightest bit of interest in any of them. So why was she standing in this line to go tour an art show…alone?

"Because I'm an idiot, that's why," she muttered.

Annoyed, Darcy forced her mind away from the whole idea of dating or romance or anything of the sort. She paid for her ticket and began to make her way through the museum. People always wrinkled their nose at her educational choices, especially when they discovered her love of art and art history. She could argue for hours on Picasso or Matisse, but would resolutely defend the work of the Italian Renaissance all night. They could not understand how someone with such passion for the subject would decide not to make it a career. That was the whole point…to her anyway.

Given the option, she would pick an art museum over an amusement park every time. While her favorites might be back in history, she would go see well-reviewed new artists as well. She loved seeing works by lesser artists just as much as seeing world famous masterpieces. Art gave her a feeling of history she could not get from a textbook. All the fancies and realities of mankind spread before her in marble, stone, oil, and pen. To pursue a career in art sounded well and good, but then it became a job, not a love. She did not want to lose the love of art by turning it into a daily job.

It did, however, run off some of the 'Mr. Right Now' guys though…art took too much effort for them.

A painting caught her eye. She moved forward to examine it, but before she could get halfway across the room, someone began screaming. A gun went off. Ducking down and behind a column, Darcy tried to see what was happening even as she reached for the panic button cleverly hidden in her watch. Masked thugs of some sort were pushing people through the door. There were three of them. She began to look around and weigh her options. Staying put would leave her trapped with the bad guys, but she would merely be one of the crowd. Trying to run for it…she might make the opposite door, but it would center their attention on her.

She decided to wait. The thugs kept everyone contained, ignoring the crying and whispering unless it became too loud. They only spoke when necessary to quiet the crowd. Considering the crying and noises coming from beyond the room, there must have been more men outside. Each of the three men inside the room made a circuit, examining each person carefully before shaking their heads. Whoever they wanted was not here. The wait seemed to last for hours.

Suddenly she heard thunder. A smile began to curve her lips. The sound of an irritated roar caused her to duck her head in order to hide her face as the smile shifted towards a grin. Oh, she recognized that combo. Now these goons were in serious trouble. Let the heroics begin.

The sound of renewed gunfire caused Darcy to scrunch down, staying as close to the column and the ground as she could She watched as one of the men lifted his hand to his ear and realized that he had some kind of communication device. He listened for a moment before biting out a curse. "Damn it," he hissed. Turning to his men, he made a couple of signs before speaking. "Abort…the target has been evacuated and the Avengers are here." She watched as they ran for the back door.

None of them made it.

An arrow took out the first guy just moments before a slim figure in black swung into the room, using the trim around the door as a handhold. While still in the air, she lashed out with both of her feet to hit a second man directly in the chest. She used the momentum of her swing to vault over him and rolled, coming to her feet in order to face the final thug. He growled and began to bring his gun up. Suddenly he froze, his eyes widening and his arm dropping. Darcy frowned in confusion until she heard a familiar voice.

"Good idea," came the angry growl. "Now, drop the weapon and get on the ground."

Darcy shifted so she could lean on the column as she watched Black Widow and Winter Soldier secure the thugs…including the one downed by the arrow. Her eyebrows rose at that. If he was still breathing then Hawkeye must have received orders to incapacitate, not kill.

"We preferred them alive."

The unexpected voice caused her to start. Her head came up and around as Coulson crouched down beside her. She frowned at him. "I am buying you a bell for Christmas."

His eyebrow twitched in that stoic Coulson-is-amused-but-on-the-job way. "That would defeat the purpose, Miss Lewis."

"Coulson," she sighed, "the bad guys are contained and the kids seem to be having a good time. Giving me a heart attack doesn't seem necessary."

"Are you all right?" he asked, eyes scanning her for injuries.

She nodded. "I'm fine, not so much as a scratch. I don't know who they were after, but it wasn't me."

"This time," he stated blandly.

"No," she commanded, pointing a finger at him. "You are not putting me back on house arrest or extra security protocols. These guys had nothing to do with me and it was just a case of bad timing."

He gave one slow blink before rising to his feet and reaching out a hand to help her up. "It would merely be a precaution-"

"I said no," Darcy interrupted seriously. She huffed as she straightened her shirt. "I didn't even make it back to the Renaissance area."

A slight frown seemed to hover over his expression, but it smoothed out as he turned to the approaching team members. "Widow, Soldier," he greeted.

"Cap reports the remainder of the building has been secured," Widow informed him, her eyes doing a quick diagnosis of Darcy. A faint smile touched her lips as the brunette rolled her eyes.

"Good," Darcy declared. "I want either ice cream or liquor. These guys really screwed up my day and I'm down to those two options."

"You'll be able to come back to see the artwork," Coulson reminded her, but she shook her head.

"I wish," she told him, "but the show closes in a couple of days and I don't have another day off until the end of the week."

"Take tomorrow off." He guided her out of the room as the other two fell into step behind them.

She glared at him. "I've got three meetings, including one where I will be attempting to keep Tony and Fury from dissecting each other verbally. That does not even begin to count making sure all of the reports get turned in from today's little set-to, including my own. How the heck am I supposed to take tomorrow off?" Coulson just stared at her for a moment.

Soldier gave a small snort of amusement. He just shrugged when Darcy glanced back at him and gestured towards his earpiece. "Hawkeye wants to know if he can have the ice cream while Mom and Dad bicker."