Chapter Text
Darcy frowned, stopped in her steps, and then backed up, staring through the window anyways. She studied what she saw quizzically, and then ducked her head, pulled her hat down over her brow, and hurried back to the Avengers Tower as fast as she could.
“Are you sure?” asked Pepper, frowning as she helped Darcy unpack her groceries into the team’s fridge on the main shared floor. “That doesn’t seem like Clint at all.”
Darcy shook her head. “I know what I saw, Pep. He was definitely out for drinks with another woman. This woman did not have red hair and was young.”
“Maybe it’s a friend of his?” asked Pepper but even she was shaking her head. “No, he doesn’t do many friends does he, not like that.”
Darcy sat down heavily on a bar stool. “Why aren’t he and Natasha a thing again? Remind me why Clint was off limits for me but someone else got to get him?”
Pepper raised an eyebrow at her, shutting the fridge. She took out wine, two glasses, and poured one for each of them while saying, “Darcy. She might let him go meet up with people and go home with them, but what were the chances she’d let that happen under her own roof?”
Darcy pouted. Clint was pretty though maybe not as pretty as Steve, but at least Clint noticed her, teased her, talked to her, and was genuinely interested in what she had to say instead of commenting about her language (okay, she did curse a little more than was strictly necessary but she couldn’t help it. Her grandmother always said she had a salty mouth). And besides, dating older men were in. But even Darcy had to admit that Clint’s attention to her was no more than the quiet attention he paid to Pepper and Jane in that it faded the moment Natasha was around. Initially, Darcy thought that the poor guy was chasing after someone who couldn’t care at all about him, but after a couple of weeks, she began to see the way Natasha lit up around Clint, the way her eyes looked for him to appear during group gatherings, if only to save her from her own anti-social behavior. He was the only one who had the right to touch her, from what Darcy could tell. Still, they never appeared more than very good friends. It was confusing as hell.
But Clint had been at a bar with someone young and pretty with long dark hair in a single braid, and maybe that meant he was on the market?
Just then, Natasha swung into the kitchen. She gave them both a small smile and opened the fridge, rummaging until she emerged with a pudding cup. She was on her way out of the kitchen when Darcy said to her, “Who’s Clint’s hot date tonight?”
Natasha’s footsteps faltered just enough to tell Darcy that she had had no idea. The redhaired former assassin-spy turned slowly on her heel, frowning slightly. “Hot date?”
“Yeah,” Darcy said, trying not to smile at Natasha’s expression which switched rapidly between confusion and hurt before switching onto blank. “I saw him out at The Eagle around the corner. That’s awesome that he’s getting out more.”
Natasha shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him yourself. He didn’t say anything to me.”
And she disappeared again. Darcy looked at Pepper and said, “It was definitely a date. He tells her when he is going out to buy bagels.”
Pepper nodded slightly. “Definitely.”
So a few hours later, when they were tipsy, and Jane’s joined them, and they’ve brought her up to speed, they were a little more than surprised to see Clint stride up the stairs and into the kitchen, whistling a merry tune. Darcy stared at him with her mouth open until Jane carefully pinched her in the side. Darcy yelped and Clint gave her an amused look over his shoulder when he grabbed a beer, popped it open on the counter, and walked over.
“Ladies night?” he asked curiously.
Pepper pointed at the TV. “The Voice.”
“Blake,” pointed Jane.
“Adam Levine,” argued Pepper and Darcy at the same time.
Clint shrugged. “I think this is the point where I’m supposed to say something about Christina Aguilera but blondes really aren’t my type.”
“Prefer brunettes?” asked Darcy silkily. She realized that described herself so she quickly added, “Tall and willowy?”
Pepper elbowed her, hard, and Clint gave her a puzzled look. He took a sip of his beer. “You know something I don’t?”
Darcy was tipsy and she couldn’t be blamed. “I was surprised you didn’t tell us about your date at the Eagle. Seemed like one of those things we could have helped you dress up for.”
She gave a pointed look to the black tshirt he wore under his jacket. He wore a black tshirt almost constantly.
To her surprise, Clint’s eyebrows shot up and he laughed. “Seriously, Darcy?”
She had a sinking feeling. “Uh. Yes?”
“That was my daughter,” he said after a moment, staring into his beer. “I was twenty and stupid. She just turned twenty one last week. I took her out for a beer. She goes to NYU. Her name is Emily.”
“Oh shit,” said Darcy weakly.
Clint shrugged and said, “I don’t talk about her a lot because I don’t want her to be a target by some psychopath I’ve pissed off in the world. SHIELD doesn’t know about her. I’ve worked hard to keep her a secret from everyone.” He paused and amended. “Almost everyone.”
Darcy looked at Pepper who shook her head. Darcy was on her own. Darcy said carefully, “Now, I only said this because I thought you were on a date and was excited for you. But I may have said something to Natasha about you having a hot date.”
Clint’s face closed off and he sighed. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Darcy added hopefully.
Clint gave her a small smile. “I know. Thanks, ladies. I hope the kid who sang Hallelujah wins.”
He left the room.
Darcy moaned into her hand. Pepper consolingly refilled her wine glass.