As promised, something much lighter than the past couple of angst-ridden chapters. Chapter 5 should be fully written by the end of the day, hopefully. Maybe even Chapter 6, too, so I'm not falling too far behind. As I mentioned earlier, I will be unable to post on the 6th and 7th; this is due to spending Thanksgiving (we celebrate it on the first Sunday of October here in Canada) in a place with no wi-fi. Chapter 7 should be up on Friday (the 5th) morning before we leave, and hopefully I'll have Chapter 8 ready for when we get home Monday (the 8th) afternoon.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Marvel Cinematic Universe or any of the characters contained therein. They are the property of Marvel Studios and Disney (I think).

WORD COUNT: 611

"NO, STOP!"

He was just passing by her room when he heard it. He recognised Darcy's voice, shrill and stressed, even through the walls of her apartment and despite the video game music playing inside. Wondering how the hell anyone could have gotten past Stark Tower's security, let alone into the apartment, he didn't think twice about busting the door down, drawing two of the knives he always kept on him.

"FUCKING MONKEYBALLS!"

The first thing he saw was Darcy, standing on the couch and then toppling over the back and out of sight.

The second was a big, blonde man coming at him with a large hammer.

"Okay, could someone please explain to me what happened?" Steve asked for a third time (Howard's son had already asked twice; they seemed to be taking turns with that question).

In the end, it was Jane Foster from whom they got a straight answer. The big blonde man (Thor, who was apparently back for his first visit to Earth since Bucky moved in) was too busy glaring at Bucky, Darcy had spent most of the incident on the floor, and Bucky himself honestly wasn't sure what the hell had happened. As it stood, the four people who were actually present for the incident were sitting in the infirmary, both Darcy and Bucky holding ice packs to their heads, although Bucky figured he'd be all healed up pretty soon. Thor was already good to leave the infirmary (stupid Asgardian toughness).

"We were in Darcy's apartment – me, Darcy, and Thor – and Darcy was showing Thor how to play Mario Kart. And Darcy really gets into her Mario Kart, so she was jumping up and down on the couch while she was playing, and she started screaming and begging when Thor was about to shove her off the Rainbow Road-"

"Wait," Bucky interrupted, taking a break from glaring suspiciously at Thor to stare at Darcy incredulously, "You were yelling about a video game?! I thought you were being attacked, or something!"

"Yeah, I figured that was it," Jane commented, nodding, "So in comes Bucky, clearly thinking he was coming to the rescue, and Darcy was so startled that she fell off the back of the couch and whacked her head on the floor. And Thor went on the attack, and the two of them started fighting and trashing the place – and ignoring me and Darcy when we told you to stop – until you guys showed up and dragged them apart."

Stark the younger shook his head in disappointment. "Seriously, Point Break, why is it that you always make a mess every time you come to Earth?"

Steve glared over at him. "I seem to recall you helping him make one of those messes."

"Details, details."

"So, can we just clear the air, here?" Darcy snapped, "Thor, this is Bucky, my BF, an Avenger, and a guy with a metal arm who's ready to jump to the defense of anyone in this Tower. Bucky, this is Thor, Jane's BF, an Avenger, and a guy with a magic hammer who's ready to jump to the defense of anyone in this Tower. Both of you are allowed to be in here, and you've got a lot in common. So quit fucking glaring at each other, dammit!"

Both men ducked their heads at her chastisement.

"My apologies, Lady Darcy," Thor grumbled.

"Sorry, Darce," Bucky apologised.

"Thanks, guys," she answered sweetly, "Now, shake hands and make nice."

Both men exchanged disgruntled looks, glanced warily at the young woman who meant so much to the both of them, and shook hands.

There were so many ways I could think of going with this. Admittedly, the first concept that popped into my head was a 'being raped in an alley' kind of idea, but I'm not particularly comfortable with reading those, let alone writing them. So I went with humour, instead. Who said whump couldn't be funny? In case it wasn't clear, the whump in this chapter would be Darcy's bump on the noggin and anything Thor and Bucky got in their fight.

Next up: Poisoned.