Chapter Text
Darcy wasn’t certain what to expect, but she knew that being called to the Director’s office for a meeting, and arriving to see an agitated Captain America sitting there across from Coulson probably wasn’t a great thing. Thoughts of being interrogated SHIELD-style or banished to a far corner of the earth flitted through her head. She gave Steve a small nod and turned her attention to the man sitting across the desk, “Son of Coul. How’s it going?”
Phil just gave her his unimpressed Agent stare and motioned for her to sit in the chair beside Steve. While not officially a SHIELD agent, which, totally fine with her, by the way, Darcy did get a paycheck from the mysterious agency. After Phil and his little group of misfits had recreated SHIELD, she’d sort of fallen into the role of liaison between the group and the Avengers.
It was mostly because she’d gotten pretty good at it when Jane was still under SHIELD’s thumb. That, and she was pretty sure Coulson liked her. Well, liked may have been too strong of a word, she was a serious pain in his ass. But he knew her and knew that she was reliable. After awhile of playing middle man, Coulson had come to her with the proposal of making it permanent with a paycheck and everything.
Darcy was not one to throw away a paycheck for something she was already doing for free. So, while Darcy was now SHIELD’s (paid) bitch, getting called in by the big guy wasn’t an everyday thing. It wasn’t long, however, that the reason that Darcy was called into Coulson’s office became clear.
“You want me to go back to my hometown? Oh, please no.”
Coulson had on his reasonable voice, “It’s a ready made story. You returning home won’t raise any red flags.”
“Oh, yes it will. I hate that place. Ugh, I’m gonna see everyone I went to high school with. And you know who else is in my hometown? My mother,” Darcy groaned, “Torture, Phil. That’s what this is.”
“That is a bit dramatic, Miss Lewis.”
“Maybe, but it’s still true. My mother is a living hell-beast. And my father’s not much better. And those assholes I went to high school with? The worst!”
Phil just arched an eyebrow and waited until Darcy finished her rant. After she collapsed against the side of her chair, the very picture of defeat, he cleared his throat and spoke again, “As I was saying. We would certainly appreciate your cooperation.”
Darcy cocked her head, “Is this like a New Mexico hey-we’re-here-to-steal-all-your-stuff kind of cooperation, or do I actually have a choice this time?”
Phil looked her in the eyes, and she saw the sincerity there, “You have a choice. But I’m hoping you’ll make the right one.”
Darcy sighed, her resolve disappearing. A guilt trip was bad, but it was better than being forced to do something she hated. She knew that if Phil really needed her for this, she would do it. Kicking and screaming and complaining, probably, but she’d do it. She was about to make her demands for agreeing to Phil’s plan when Steve spoke up, “This is a bad idea.”
Phil just took a deep breath and once again outlined his list of reasons why, yes, it was a good idea. Steve listened patiently, his face stern and unmoving. When Phil concluded his reasoning, he clasped his hands together and sat them on the desk, waiting patiently for the inevitable argument Steve was going to make.
Steve leaned forward and spoke as if Darcy weren’t even in the room, “She could ruin the whole mission, she isn’t trained to be a field agent.”
Kinda true, but also very rude, Steve.
“While she may not be trained for a situation such as this, I myself do not doubt that Miss Lewis is perfectly capable of handling herself. I would not have suggested bringing her into this if I thought it was a bad idea. Not to mention, her tech skills will be an asset in the field.”
Darcy shot him a small grin- praise from Phil was a rare thing and she was actually kinda touched. Steve took a deep breath but didn’t respond. He still didn’t look very happy. Darcy cleared her throat and spoke up, “Umm, while I’m so not thrilled at the prospect of being in my hometown again, if you need my help I’m in.”
Phil nodded and launched into an explanation of what the mission would involve. The op itself wasn’t too complicated. The suspected Hydra facility was a sort of hub for various members passing through. A place for secret meetings and all manner of evil plan-making. The rub was that the building looked like any old office building, namely because that’s what it was.
The second floor was rented out as office space to legitimate businesses, meaning that there was a constant flow of people in and out. Hydra had the bottom floor with extensive security. It was part of the reason this Hydra base had flown under the radar for so long. SHIELD was used to the big dramatic Hydra bases, carved into mountains or on sprawling estates. Hidden away in a plain, nondescript office building was not the usual Hydra move and it had served them well for quite a while.
Having civilians involved not only helped the facility blend in, but also all but prevented an outright attack. SHIELD already had a man on the inside who had secured jobs for both Darcy and Steve within the company fronting for Hydra. Darcy would be a secretary, and it gave her the perfect opportunity to gain access to Hydra’s files. Tony had given her this little flash drive that she could sneak onto one of the servers to get JARVIS in.
Steve would be working security, a job that would give him access to the facility at large. He would get to see the layout, as well as get a good read on who was Hydra and who was innocent. They would report back to Coulson and there would be a team on standby for when the time came to make a move. Everything was planned down to the smallest detail, their cover stories, the jobs, everything.
Darcy was to pack a small bag of clothes and other belongings, SHIELD had furniture and household stuff already that they would use. She and Steve would be a newly married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Steven Buchanan, a name chosen because someone at SHIELD had very low confidence that Darcy could get through the mission without calling Steve the wrong name. Darcy had met her dear husband at Culver, and after reuniting a few years later, they had fallen madly in love and gotten married. Yeah, ok.
Who is in charge of these backstories?, Darcy wondered. Luckily, Darcy was playing herself, so her undercover look involved simply adding a wedding ring. Of course, she did hassle a couple of new outfits out of Coulson for her trouble.
Steve on the other hand, couldn’t simply waltz into a suspected Hydra compound looking like the poster boy for truth, justice, and the American way. He got the unique joy of getting to wear one of SHIELD’s high-tech photostatic veil masks, so he would look totally different.
The day before she left for the mission, Tony called her into his lab to say goodbye and wish her well, “Please make it back in one piece, Lewis. No one else enjoys my wit like you.”
“Oh, yes. I adore it,” Darcy rolled her eyes, “You are just going to miss having me around to harass.”
“Very true.”
“Well, just don’t replace me with a newer, fresher lab assistant or I’ll have to defect and become a supervillain.”
Tony considered this, “You’d make an excellent super villain.”
“I would, wouldn’t I?”
Tony grinned, before turning serious, “I just want you to be careful, kid.”
“I will, Tony. Steve will be there. He may not like me very much, but he’ll make sure I’m safe.”
“I know. I trust him. But I’m still worried about you. Don’t let him boss you around, and make sure that he is nice to you. I can’t have anyone being mean to my daughter, even if she is a pain in the ass.”
Darcy chuckled, “Shut up, Tony. You only wish I were your daughter because I’m so awesome.”
“True. If I’d known my spawn would be as cool as you, I may have actually had a few. But I didn’t, so now I can take out all of my paternal feelings on you.”
“Lucky me.”
Tony grinned, “Lucky you.”
“Well, seeing as I’m about to be in the same town as my real parents, maybe not so lucky,” Darcy grimaced.
“I know. Don’t let them get to you, you’re better than that. Just finish the mission and when you get back, we’ll consult a bottle of scotch about our respective familial horror stories.”
Darcy felt a lump in her throat, this man felt more like family than her own flesh and blood did, and suddenly she felt an overwhelming rush of gratitude that she’d forced Jane to take up Stark on his job offer.
Tony clapped his hands, “Alright, well I sense tears, and we all know that I don’t do tears, so be good, kid. Text me and if Steve tries to get handsy, let me know. I’ve been practicing my shovel talk.”
Darcy snorted, “Yeah, that’ll definitely happen. Keep practicing. Bye, dad.” She kissed Tony on the cheek and bounced out of the lab.
When she got to her apartment, she stopped and grinned at the redhead standing at her door, “Hey, Nat.”
“Hello,” she responded, following Darcy inside, “Are you all packed and ready?”
Darcy dropped her purse at the door and went to grab some waters for herself and Natasha. She slid the bottle across the counter to the woman who’d slid onto a barstool, “Not quite. I’ll finish later.”
“Are you ready?”
Darcy rolled her eyes, “As I’ll ever be.”
“I can tell that you are nervous.”
“A little. But I need to do this. I’ll be fine.”
Natasha nodded, “I know you will, kotenok, I just want you to be very careful. I have trained you well, but these people are professionals. If you ever sense you are in trouble, there is no shame in running. I would rather you be safe than die a hero.”
“Thanks, Natasha. Your faith in me is inspiring,” Darcy said, dryly.
“Shh. You know that I believe in you, I just want you to return in one piece.”
“Me too, Nat.”
Natasha studied her, “The other thing I wanted to speak to you about is Steve.” She ignored the face Darcy made and continued, “I have already spoken to him about how he is to treat you. If you feel that Steve is being reckless or if he is simply mistreating you, I want to hear about it. Steve is not good at dealing with people sometimes. He sees those around him as soldiers, and I fear his vision is even more clouded when you are involved.”
“‘Cause he hates me, right?”
Natasha frowned, “Steve doesn’t hate you. He simply hasn’t given you a chance yet. This may be the thing that changes the tide between you two. Be patient with him, but firm. Don’t let him act badly.”
“Oh, you know I won’t. My ability to put up with bullshit has all but disappeared these days.”
Natasha grinned at Darcy and gave her a hug. “One more thing,”
Natasha produced a box and handed it to Darcy, watching as she oohed and ahhed over her gift. It was a delicate silver bracelet with three round stones on the top. “Nat! It’s so pretty.”
“It is functional, as well. These stones are actually modified Widow’s bites. Pull them off and throw them at an enemy and soon they will be writhing on the ground in agony. They are actually quite painful,” Natasha said with a faraway sigh that spoke from an unpleasant experience, “I had Tony make it for you.”
Darcy wrapped her arms around Natasha, murmuring her thanks and promises to text constantly.
The rest of Darcy’s day was riddled with visits from the rest of her friends. They all seemed excited for her to be going on her first mission, as well as worried for her. They were all deeply concerned, and Darcy thought to herself that it was a good feeling to have so many care for her when she was going to a place where she had felt so uncared for in the past.
Clint showed up with a goodie bag of all of her favorite treats and promises to record all of their favorite shows so they could watch them together. Jane and Thor showed up with takeout and enough love to tide her over from whatever might be waiting for her in her hometown. Bruce even stopped by to wish her luck and give her a brief hug.
Her last visitor before she went to bed that night was Bucky. He just walked into her apartment and flopped down onto her couch as she finished packing. When she was done, she flopped beside him and grinned, “Hey, you.”
“Hey back.”
“Did you come by with a rousing speech for me? Or a pep talk? Or a gift? Please tell me it’s a gift.”
Bucky chuckled, “Didn’t bring you nothing but my company.”
“Ehh,” Darcy grinned.
He gave her a playful shove, but he was grinning, too. “Do you feel like you need a pep talk?”
Darcy shrugged, “I don’t think so. I’m not really even worried about the mission, which sounds crazy, I know. But it’s like, there are procedures and stuff and I know who the bad guys are, and what they’re doing. It’s not as scary if you know what’s happening.”
“But you are worried.”
“I’m not looking forward to going back there. It’s not my favorite place. I’d much rather stay here and watch cheesy sci-fi with you.”
“You’re worried about being alone with Stevie, too.” What a perceptive little shit.
Darcy gave small nod, “Well, sure. Maybe a little. I’m not exactly his favorite person, am I? He barely acknowledges my presence, and we’re supposed to be convincing as husband and wife? Yeah, ok.”
“Give the punk a chance. I’m his best friend and I know just how infuriating the guy can be. But I also know that he’s a good guy. One of the best.”
“Maybe you should go along and pretend to be his wife.”
Bucky gave her one of his trademark glares, but she could see his mouth twitch, “Maybe. I would be a wonderful wife.”
Darcy giggled, “You would be the loveliest bride in all the land. Plus, Steve would definitely prefer you over me as his betrothed.”
“Like I said, give him a chance. The guy’s an idiot, but he’ll take care of you.”
“If he doesn’t, will you beat him up for me?”
“Sure, doll.”
Darcy considered this, “Shirtless?”
Bucky just tossed one of the throw pillows at her and chuckled, “You are a mess, Darcy Lewis.”