Her body ached in the best ways but it was her happy heart that made Darcy smile. She stretched lazily, her toes rubbing against a roughened shin. Now this… This was really relaxing. They had zero interruptions, no spying, no awkward meetings on rooftops.

This was just the two of them.

Now what?

"Mornin'." Steve mumbled as he pulled himself up on his forearms slowly. His usually prim hair was a little tussled and she loved the rebellious blond locks. Even his stubble, the days' worth of not shaving made him look just as rugged as the first day she met him.

"Hey there, sleepy-head." She grinned, nuzzling her head against his arm much like a cat. Darcy didn't think she was one for morning after cuddles but she felt like every second they had was too precious to waste.

He smiled and bent to kiss her cheek. It was simple, non-lusty move, but it made her face glow a bit. His usual tense demeanor wasn't there and she was amazed at how at ease he was here, far away from Earth and junk.

"Hey, how did you get here anyways?" She asked, realizing that in-between their night of primal hanky-panky, not once did they manage to actually talk.

He grinned lopsidedly with pink ears. This, Darcy knew from experience, was going to be a good story.

"As soon as we landed back at the Towers, I hightailed it back to the cabin. No one had time to tell me anything and since I wanted privacy, I sort of turned off my communicator."

Darcy gasped in the fakest way, covering her forehead with the back of her hand. She was trying to make this easier on him, sense he was starting to look mightily uncomfortable. "Miss me that much, huh?" She winked at him, making sure he knew she was ok with whatever he was going to say.

"But when I got there… I-um. Well, I thought you'd been taken by the enemy." He started, all the while playing with a loose strand of her hair. He wasn't looking at her now, and she thought he might be really uncomfortable.

"I panicked. For the first time since I can remember, I actually lost my mind a little. No plan, no strategy. Nothing but panic and fear and anger." He whispered now and she reached her hand up to cup his face, though she didn't force him to look at her. Whatever he was going through was because she'd up and vanished and while it wasn't totally her fault, she felt a measure of guilt all the same.

"By then, the team knew. Sam and Nat had followed me, but at first I thought they had betrayed me too." He said, but stopped short. His eyes shot to hers.

"Not that you had-," He started, a small amount of that panic darkened his blue eyes. She smiled sadly, taking his face in both her hands.

"I get it." And she did. She had promised him she'd be there when he got back. And she wasn't.

"No. No Darcy, you don't. After SHIELD fell and the group of people I had supposedly died for were the ones in power, it was really hard to trust. I thought you'd been kidnapped. And when Sam showed up I automatically thought he was involved. I couldn't think, remember. And I hurt him."

He was looking away again and while she was slightly relieved that he wasn't talking about her, she was also alarmed at the shame in his voice.

"Steve?" She whispered, rubbing circles on his cheeks. Still he didn't look. "All right, Cap. I don't pull out my mommy voice often but when I do I mean business." His face reared back and she sat up, letting the silk sheets fall from her body.

Crossing her arms, sitting half naked in an Asgaurdian bed wasn't exactly how she wanted their first argument to go but damn it, the time was now.

"I don't give a shit what you did. Sam's alive and so am I. You might be feeling ashamed because of your behavior, whatever it may have been, but I've got a little secret for you, Captain America." He was sitting up as well, but the look of shock and slack-jawed confusion was a thing of beauty.

"Listen close here, sugar. You. Are. Human." Darcy punctuated the words by standing up and flouncing off the bed like some naked siren. "And while you feel all guilty that you experienced these emotions, I'm over here freaking out because I feel guilty that I somehow got myself tossed up into Thor's land."

She was pacing but if there was one thing Darcy Lewis hated, it was unnecessary guilt. It's a useless emotion if you aint done shit wrong. It'll keep you from feeling happy, Her grandma used to say and while the Lewis women might be a crazy bunch, they were a happy one.

"So how about we cut this pity party short. I don't even care how you got here. I'm just so freaking happy that you are and that you are safe. And damn it, you cant be guilty! Sam is getting his game on with the Robin Hood of the Gods so I'm pretty sure he's calling it good."

She was now red in the face, not even sure why she was getting so worked up. Strong arms circled her waist and she leaned into him.

"It scares me." He admitted, his chest pressed against her shoulders. Darcy felt the moment become still. Like, something totally big and strange was happening.

"What does?" She whispered, not sure she wanted to know.

"Feeling so strongly for someone." He paused squeezing her slightly. She smiled but still felt the bundle of unease knot her stomach. "It scares me that I go mad at the thought of you getting hurt. Especially because of me."

She waited, listening to their hearts. The beats were nearly the same except his was just a moment faster. Always half a beat ahead.

Darcy Lewis was the girl who tazered Thor, who followed her half-crazy boss turned b.f.f. to London to fight Aliens, and THEN to New York to be a part of a super-hero team, the woman who fell in love with the quietest, loneliest man she'd known. She lived her life by a few well established rules. Never turn down an adventure. Never fall before looking. Respect yourself but have fun while you are young.

And most importantly, don't go down without a fight.

"And will this fear keep us from being together?" She asked, tensing for his answer. If he said yes, she was prepared to fight. She was ready to use any means necessary to make sure he was doing what his heart really wanted. And after a good long fight, if he still really didn't want to be with her, fine, she'd go. She'd hurt like hell, but she would live. Sort of.

There were no clocks in Asgaurd but she could swear she heard ticking. Slow. Painful. Until she heard his intake of air.

"It's sad that for all of my fear there is nothing in this world that will make me let you go. I said it before, Darcy. I spent 70 years in ice to find you and now that I have, I cant let you go." He mumbled into her ear and she nearly melted with relief. "Call me stupid. Call me hypocritical."

"Nope." She hummed, turning in his arms. His face was so close to hers that his breath tickled her nose. She looked up with nothing but honesty showing on her face. "Will you settle for mine?"

He rested his forehead against hers, large hands grasping her hips for dear life. "Deal."

"Good." Darcy sighed, relaxing into him completely. "How long are we staying anyways?" She asked, kissing a little trail down his jaw.

"However long you want. Tony can call now, apparently. Some science thing." He half mumbled, his thoughts distracted by Darcy and her roaming lips. But then she paused.

"He can call? And No one told me you were back? I would have come home!" She pouted angrily.

"Home?" Steve asked, his face strangely void of emotion.

"Well, yea." She said, suddenly feeling awkward. "The Towers… My place. Your place.. The Cabin. Wherever you were." Oh no oh no. Now she just sounded creepy and possessive and…

"God, I love you." He said before kissing her so passionately she forgot all of her awkward.

Later that night, Darcy made a little mental note. Make-up sex was intense and she may or may not start a few arguments along the way if this was how they were going to settle it…