"Hey Legalos, have you seen Darcy?" called Tony as he wondered into the gym.

Clint paused where he was hanging upside down in the rafters doing curls and glanced at the mad genius. "What do you mean 'have I seen her'? Isn't she at work?"

"She was earlier," confirmed Tony. "But her supervisor said she asked to leave around 2:30. Pep figured she was coming home to shrink your head, but she never came back to tower according to the logs."

Clint felt his blood freeze. Darcy was missing? That couldn't be good. "Have you tried calling her?"

Tony gave him a 'no shit' look and shrugged. "She didn't pick up."

"Shit," muttered Clint. Without much thought, he grabbing the bar he was hanging off of and flipped his legs over his head. Dropping easily to the ground, he darted to where his cellphone was lying on a chair and snatching the device up. A quick scroll through his contracts revealed a problem though. "Tony, what's Darcy's number?"

"Seriously?" asked Tony, both eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. "You've spent hours with that girl and you don't have her phone number?"

"I've never needed to call her," snapped Clint. "She always just shows up. What is it?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "JARVIS, download Darcy Lewis' phone number into the phone assigned to Clint Barton."

"Right away, Sir," assured Jarvis. On Clint's phone, the message 'new contact added' flashed across the display followed by the name 'Darcy Lewis'. Thank god for Tony's technophilic tendencies.

"Thanks Tony," muttered Clint, immediately hitting 'call'. As he pressed the phone to his ear though, he noted the way Tony was looking at him. "What?"

"I already tried calling," stated Tony. "Why would she-" The click of the phone being answered drew Clint's full attention, prompting him to hold up a hand to Tony.

"Hello?" Darcy's voice was calm, even, and a touch curious. No panic what so ever. No signs of danger. In the background, Clint could faintly hear what sounded like shouting children.

"Hey," greeted Clint. "It's Clint."

"Yeah, I kinda recognized your voice," replied Darcy. "You still have a bit of a drawl."

"Oh..." muttered Clint, not really sure what to say and feeling a little embarrassed.

Darcy chuckled a little. "Relax, it's not a bad thing. It's actually kinda reassuring. Phil had it too."

Clint could feel his cheeks heating a little. He'd sworn any trace of his accent had disappeared years ago; apparently he was wrong. "Uh, I vaguely remember that." Behind him, Tony started snickering. Clint flipped him off, regaining his footing in the conversation. "Tony said he tried to call you earlier but that you didn't pick up."

Tony looked a little hurt. "Really? She answers for you and not me?"

"Hey Clint, put the phone on speaker," requested Darcy.

Wondering what the hell she needed the phone on speaker for, Clint lowered the device from his ear (he didn't need any more hearing damage than he'd already sustained) and hit the 'speaker' button on the screen. "Done."

"I'm trying to help Clint with his psychological issues, Tony," informed Darcy through the phone. How she'd even heard Tony's response, Clint wasn't sure. But apparently, she had. "Of course I'm going to answer the phone when he calls."

"Well, what if I was having a mental breakdown?" asked Tony curiously and with a touch of a pout. "What if I needed psychological assistance of my own?"

"I'm sure Pepper has several house shrinks on speed dial that are qualified to deal with your brand of insanity," countered Darcy easily. "Because I'm definitely not qualified to deal with what goes on in the twisted mental hospital that is your brain." Pausing, Clint could hear her cover the mouth piece of the phone and say something to someone else in the room before she spoke to them again. "Look Tony, is there something you needed?"

Clint could see from the look on Tony's face there wasn't though. It was pretty obvious the mad genius had just been worried. "No Darce, nothing important." Taking the phone off speaker, he returned it to his ear. "We were just worried, that's all."

For a moment, silence echoed through the line before Darcy spoke again. "Sorry. I told Nick where I was going, but I guess it just didn't occur to me that I should tell anyone else."

"You told Fury?" asked Clint. That was a surprise. Then again, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had helped rescue Darcy from her old home and presumably helped Phil adopt her. It would make sense that she'd tell him where she was going.

"Yeah," confirmed Darcy. "I always do, now. One time I didn't and between him and Phil, there must have been a hundred people looking for me." Which probably meant something along the lines of hundreds of S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Clint could see it happening. "Next time, I'll make sure to tell JARVIS, too."

"Thanks," replied Clint. "It'll help keep our blood pressure down."

There was another pause and Clint could hear the sound of Darcy's footsteps echoing around some kind of confined space. It sounded like a hallway. Her voice was lower when she spoke again, like she was worried about being over-heard. "You guy's don't have to worry about me so much. I promise, I can take care of myself."

"We know," assured Clint. "Well, I know. I've sparred with you. And the others probably figure you can, with Phil having raised you and all, but we're still gonna worry if you just disappear."

"I'll make sure to check in next time, Mom," teased Darcy. "Seriously though, I'm gonna go if you don't need anything. I'll be back at the tower tonight."

"Alright, sounds good," agreed Clint. "I guess we'll see you then."

"Call if you need anything," ordered Darcy gently. "I'll call when I'm on my way back."

"Thanks," muttered Clint. "See you later."

"Later."

Clint listened as her phone disconnected, just to make sure, then flipped his own phone shut. "Alright Tony, there. She's not in danger, she's visiting a friend."

"Wonder where she is," muttered Tony. "Hey JARVIS, where's Darcy's phone currently located?"

"I'm uncertain the exact location, Sir," informed JARVIS. "It appears Miss Lewis is using a device that scrambles the GPS locator in her phone. All I can say is that she is currently in a town an hour east of the city."

"What town?" asked Clint curiously.

"Amityville," replied JARIVS. "Should I look up a listing for either Philip Coulson or Darcy Lewis in the area?"

"Read my mind, JARIS," confirmed Tony.

Clint just shook his head. "Really Tony? Do you really need to do that?"

"Hey, I'm inquisitive," defended Tony with a shrug. "Pep says it's enduring."

"Yeah, when you aren't using it to spy on people," muttered Clint with a shake of his head. Grabbing his towel, he headed for the door of the gym. "Have fun violating her privacy. I'm gonna go shower and pretend like I didn't just witness you acting like a crazy stalker."

Tony just waved at him distractedly. "I'll let you know what the results are, Legalos."

The ding of the elevator drew Clint's attention from the living room, prompting him to sit up and look over the edge of the couch in an attempt to see who was coming in. Pepper, Natasha, and Steve were all gathered in the kitchen discussing something or another while Tony, Jane, and Bruce were debating something science-y in the corner of the living room. For his part, Clint was sacked out on the couch with Thor watching football and attempting to explain the sport to the alien god. For his part, Thor seemed more interested in watching the players ram each other than the actual game. Clint was considering introducing him to Rugby next.

Darcy stepped into the living room a moment after the elevator doors opened, still in her work clothes and looking a little tired. Then again, to Clint's knowledge she hadn't got back to bed after he apparently scared her off last night. Plus, Amityville wasn't exactly down the block.

"Hey Darce," greeted Clint, waving at her over the edge of the couch.

"Hey Clint," returned Darcy, changing directions from the kitchen to the couch. Stopping behind it, she offered him a tired smile. "What's up?"

"Just introducing Thor to the glory that is football," replied Clint, offering her a grin. Whatever had spooked her last night wasn't apparently enough to make her stop talking to him, but there was a nervousness around her that made him a bit worried. "How was your friend's place?"

"Good," muttered Darcy, her eyes shifting to Thor, who was completely absorbed in the game on the screen. "So, does he like it?"

"He seems to." Clint glanced over at Thor for a moment, just to make sure there was no furniture flying, before refocusing on Darcy. That was when he caught a whiff of something that smelled absolutely amazing. Hoisting himself up completely, he glanced over the edge of the couch. Darcy had a bag in her hand, which Clint could only assume was the source of the smell. "What's that?"

"Hm?" asked Darcy. She held up the bag. "You mean this?"

"Yeah," confirmed Clint. "What is that? It smells amazing."

Darcy chuckled a little and drew a Tupperware container out of the bag. "They're cookies, secret family recipe. I made them with my friend earlier." Crumpling the bag, she popped the lid off the container and offered it to Clint. "Want one?"

"Definitely," replied Clint, grabbing one of the balls out of the container. Without much thought, he popped it into his mouth. The flavors of chocolate, rum, and caramel struck him immediately, almost making him moan. Seriously, those were good. "Wow Darce, what are those?"

"They're kinda like rum balls, but in cookie form," explained Darcy, putting the lid back on the container. "Phil taught me to make them."

"They're amazing," stated Clint. Offering her a grin, he leaned up over the back of the couch. "Any way you'd share the recipe?"

Shaking her head, Darcy headed towards the kitchen with a chuckle. "Not a chance. We'd have a fat, useless archer on our hands if I did."

"Hey!" objected Clint, hopping over the back of the couch and following her. "I work hard to keep myself in shape. Besides, Phil was in good shape and he knew how to make those."

"Yeah, and he had good self control," argued Darcy, setting the container on the counter and popping off the lid again. "Let everyone else have one."

Clint pouted a little, leaning on the island. "Fine..."

"Welcome back, Darcy," greeted Pepper, offering the intern a smile. "Did yo have a good trip?"

"Yeah, I did," confirmed Darcy, heading for the fridge and grabbing a beer. Snapping open the tab, she sipped at it as she walked back over to where Clint was leaning on the counter and hopped up onto the stool beside him. "I was actually thinking about spending the weekend up there, away from the city." Looking at Clint directly, she added: "And, I was thinking all of you might want to come along."

"All of us?" repeated Pepper in surprise.

Darcy shrugged slightly. "Yeah, everyone. Avengers, you, Jane, everyone. It's nice to get away from the city every once in a while."

"That's nice of you, Darce, but where would we stay? We can't exactly crash at your friend's place," pointed out Clint.

The look Darcy gave him clearly said she thought he was crazy. "Phil owned a house out there. It's where we lived when I was in high school. When he-" her voice caught a little on 'he', forcing her to pause for a second and clear her throat. "After everything went down, the house reverted to me. I just thought it might be nice to stay there again. It's three bedrooms plus a pullout sofa. We have air mattresses too that Phil and I would sleep on when we went camping." She shrugged a little again, picking at some fleck of invisible dirt on the counter. "It's not much, but I figured I'd make the offer if anyone wanted to join me."

Clint didn't hesitate before answering. "Definitely. It sounds like fun."

"Getting out of the city does sound relaxing," admitted Steve. "No matter how long I'm around all this noise, I never get used to it and I don't mind sleeping on the ground."

"Well, I mean, someone could-" again, her voice caught a little and forced her to halt her words. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried again. "Someone could sleep in Phil's room, too."

Silently, Pepper reached out and lay a hand on Darcy's shoulder. Clint saw her flinch slightly at the touch, but not shy away. "I don't think anyone would do that, Darcy, but it's kind of you to offer. Tony and I can sleep on a camping mattress though, I promise."

"I'm sure no one would argue if you wanted to take the guest room," objected Darcy. "And I- I know Phil wouldn't want his room to become some kind of shrine. He wouldn't mind if you used his bed."

"I know he wouldn't," agreed Pepper, squeezing Darcy's shoulder gently before releasing it. "That's just the kind of person Phil was. But it will bother you, and I know Phil would never want that."

"Thank you," thanked Darcy. "But, really, it's alright. Promise."

"You know, this would be a good chance for us to spend some quality time together as a team," pointed out Steve. "I mean, not that we should make this about the team or anything. It's supposed to be a weekend to relax, but I mean, it could be a good opportunity."

"Yeah," agreed Darcy, offering Steve a small smile. "It would be good to see how you guys interact."

"For Clint's sake?" wondered Natasha aloud. "I'm relatively certain you can observe that here, though Clint does have the tendency to disappear here."

"Yeah," confirmed Darcy, running one hand through her hair and looking back up at the rest of the room. "Kind of. Honestly thoughm, I just- I need to get out of the city and I figured everyone could probably use a break. If you want to turn it into a team building weekend or something like that, you can. It would be good for all of you. I just know I need to go home for a bit though, regardless of what the rest of you do."

"Darce?" asked Clint worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," assured Darcy quickly. Too quickly for Clint's liking. He could tell she was lying, he just didn't know why. "I just, like I said, I need to get away."

Natasha nodded, folding her arms across her torso. "Then that's what will happen. I'm sure Jane and Bruce will agree."

"And I'll handle Tony," stated Pepper. "When did you want to leave?"

Darcy shrugged a bit. "I'll probably throw a bag in the trunk of my car and leave tomorrow after work. I can give you guys the address and a key, that way you can go up whenever you want."

"No, we wouldn't intrude like that," assured Clint. "Pepper, is there any way Darcy could leave at noon?"

"No," stated Darcy firmly. "I already feel bad enough that I left early today, I don't want to cut my workday short tomorrow. That's no fair to anyone and that's not what you expect of me."

Pepper nodded slowly, mind clearly working. "How about this: what if I gave the entire department half a day off? You're in the PR division, it's a Friday tomorrow, I don't see why we can't give everyone there a half day. Nothing that division is working on is due until well into next week. That way, you can leave at noon without any guilt and all of us can ride up together. Or at least in a caravan."

"That could work," admitted Darcy quietly. "If you're sure about giving everyone time off, that is."

"It's always good to do something nice every once in a while," stated Pepper with a shrug. "So, we'll all get lunch tomorrow and leave after that for Amityville. Does that sound good?"

"That sounds good," confirmed Darcy with a yawn. Rubbing her eyes, she stood up straight and grabbed her beer. "I'm sorry to bolt like this, but I'm really tired."

"That's fine, Darcy," assured Pepper with a smile. "Have a good night and we'll see you tomorrow."

Yawning again, Darcy nodded and waved to the others as she left the kitchen. "Night."

Silently, Clint watched her leave the room. The idea of spending the weekend in her good childhood home was both appealing and scary. He wanted to know more about her, not just because he felt like he could connect with her but because she truly interested him. But he could admit that he was afraid too: afraid that he'd scare her away with his many scars; afraid that he'd say or do the wrong thing. Being in a confined space with her for an entire weekend, even with the others around, worried him a little. He just hoped that at the end of the weekend, everything would still be alright.


Amityville was a random selection like Bellevue was. And yes, I know about the toaster (for those who don't get it, see the Foamy rants). The toaster will make an appearance.