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awritinglilypeaTitle: Thin Pink Line
Fandom: The Avengers
Pairing: Clint Barton/Darcy Lewis
Rating: PG
Complete: No
Genre: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort
Summary: Steve puts his foot into it, and then takes his foot out of it. Marriage is discussed, and Darcy Lewis really isn't sure how she's going to handle these hormones when they make her want to do things like hurt an American Icon.
There is discussion of politics, and resolution but both Clint and Darcy are beginning to realize this road is going to be a lot harder than originally expected.
Warnings: Contains talk of assault in later chapters, as well as child abuse.
Notes:Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reccing this fic, it means a hell of a lot to me, seriously.
To my bff, I still love you and adore you.
To ibonekoen, the Clint to my Darcy. You're the best.
Previous Chapters
Darcy hadn’t really intended on letting anyone aside from Coulson know that she was pregnant quite yet, or at least not with Clint around because she felt that it was news, good or bad to some, that they should share together.
However, when the elevator jostled slightly right before it hit the floor of the gym Darcy found herself shoving the protein shake into Steve’s hands and bolting past him for the bathroom, making it just in time to lose her breakfast she knew the master strategist would know something was up.
It was due though, she figured even as unintentional tears made their way down her cheeks.
“Uhm...Miss Lewis?” Steve sounded about as embarrassed as she felt.
“I’m fine, Cap,” Darcy replied, swallowing down another bout of nausea she flushed the toilet and rose to her feet, gripping the side of the stall a little.
“I’m certain you are, I brought you some water and uhm...mouth wash,” Steve offered. “I’ll leave it next to the sink,” the door closed behind him.
Sometimes, even before she got pregnant Steve’s kindness was almost enough to move her to tears. Apparently that had gotten worse now that she was pregnant, as a lump grew in her throat.
She sipped the water, swishing it around in her mouth she spit it out and drank the rest before using the mouthwash.
When she was finally ready and had fixed her messed up eyeliner she stepped out of the bathroom, not at all surprised to find Steve lingering in the hallway, concern all over his face.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be hitting a punching bag right now?” Darcy asked him, resisting the urge to nibble at her bottom lip, anxiety hitting her.
“Not when one of my friends is apparently unwell,” Steve answered her, dragging his hand through his hair, mussing it up in a way Darcy couldn’t help but find adorable.
“I’m fine, Steve,” Darcy smiled at him, squeezing his shoulder. “Now let’s talk about your schedule,” she turned on the tablet.
“You’re...” Steve clammed up a minute later, clearly uncomfortable.
“What?” Darcy asked him, “Is something wrong?”
“You’re hiding something, a reason why you were sick. Did something happen with Clint? Did you get into a fight?” Steve looked even more concerned. “Do I need to speak with him?”
“No, no not at all,” Darcy smiled at him, gesturing for him to follow her. “We’re actually doing really well, thank you for your concern though. He treats me better than anyone I’ve ever dated actually,” she smiled as she remembered the way Clint had reacted to her announcement.
“Okay,” Steve nodded his head. “So, you’re happy?”
“Very happy,” Darcy confirmed, flipping through his schedules. “You have an appearance at the children’s hospital, there’s a little boy and his last wish is to meet Captain America.”
And here it came again, the thought of a little boy who didn’t have long to live and a man like Steve who would move heaven and earth to fulfill any last wishes. She swallowed and sniffed a bit.
“Darcy,” And concerned Steve was back once again. “You’re not...sick sick are you?”
“Oh god no, nothing like that, I promise, I would tell you all if I were,” Darcy replied, sighing softly she knew then she had to tell him. He would worry himself into a horrible state if she didn’t. “I am pregnant.”
Steve’s stunned look was enough to make her want to laugh, and the next words out of his mouth were enough to make her seethe in rage, as her hormones seemed to kick into overdrive and were enough to make her feel sick to her stomach again. “When are you two getting married?”
“Excuse me?” Darcy asked him, and for the first time his old school charm was not going to work on her. It was like listening to her grandparents talk about her mother and father all over again, about how much of a disgrace it had been that the two of them had split up and ruined their family’s image.
“I mean...uh...” Steve stammered, holding his hands up. “I mean...”
“Oh please, Steve, do tell me what you mean,” Darcy crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him, tapping one foot, tablet still in hand and long forgotten. She wanted to believe it was not coming out of his mouth the way it was sounding when it reached her ears.
“In my time...I mean, when I was...in the forties...it was the...the right thing to do,” Steve explained, swallowing he seemed quite aware that those were not the right words to say, even as heat rose in his cheeks.
“Right? The right thing to do?” Darcy was stunned, and if she was honest a little bit hurt. She’d known she would have to deal with this, and the thought of how her mother would react had been hard enough to swallow but she hadn’t expected this from Steve.
She took a deep breath, breathing out slowly. “Captain Rogers,” she tried to put some sort of difference between them, stepping back. “Sometimes, the worst thing two people can do is get married just because one of them is pregnant. Maybe you should talk to Coulson about it or something, but right now I just need to...not be around you, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Steve’s reply was quiet as she turned and walked back to the elevator quickly.
Once she was inside Darcy stabbed at the button for the shooting range with one finger, hugging herself protectively she studiously avoided looking at Steve, unsure what her reaction would be if she did.
The doors opened and she was surprised to find Clint standing there. “What? You shouldn’t be done training yet.”
“Why thank you, Miss Lewis,” Clint replied cheekily, grinning he reached out and wrapped his arm around her, tugging her close he held his bow case in the other. “JARVIS told me you were distressed, and sick, is everything okay?”
“I told Captain Rogers,” Darcy said, leaning into him she swiped at her cheeks, having not realized she’d even begun crying.
Clint sighed softly, stroking his hand up and down her back he kissed her cheek. “I am guessing by the way you just called Cap ‘Captain Rogers’ that it did not go well.”
“He asked me if we were getting married, and said it’s the right thing to do,” Darcy replied, practically choking on the words.
“Married?” Clint moved to push the button for the gym floor but was stopped by her grabbing him. “Darcy, he shouldn’t have said that to you. It’s none of his business what we do, or how our child is being raised as long as we’re not dangling it off a damn balcony.”
“I know, Clint, but you can’t fight with him, you can’t beat up everyone who makes me cry because my hormones decided to have a fucking party,” Darcy told him, rubbing her eyes lightly and surely smearing her make up all over her face.
Clint pulled her in close, gently pushing her hands away from her face he procured a handkerchief from seemingly nowhere and folded it over, very gently cleaning her face for her.
“Do you want to get married?” His words were soft, almost lost in the breath between the two of them and she was suddenly quite glad she’d used mouthwash after visiting the porcelain Gods.
“Clint,” Darcy shook her head, shoving at his chest lightly and smiling just a bit when he faux stumbled back a few paces. “We’re not getting married just because I’m having your baby.”
Clint nodded and walked back to her, pressing the button for the communal kitchen he wrapped his arm around her. “I just wanted to make sure, wanted to know what your...expectations were.”
“My parents got married because they got pregnant with me,” Darcy told him, shaking her head. “They resented each other for the rest of their lives, my mom badmouthed my dad until the day he died, even though she knew how much I loved him. It didn’t even seem to matter for the longest time that they were only married for four years, she just couldn’t help but tear into him.”
Clint led her out of the elevator and to a stool in the kitchen, lifting her onto it he ignored the way she raised both eyebrows at him as he turned to make tea.
“I would never resent you, you’re one of the best things to happen to me, but you’re right, we shouldn’t get married just because we’re having a baby, we should get married when and if we’re ready. We love each other, that’s enough, right?” He asked over his shoulder as he began preparing some tea.
Darcy watched him, her heart swelling with love that she wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t refuse if he were to ask her to marry him right then.
“We don’t need paper,” She told him, leaning against the counter she swallowed as she watched him. “Our child is going to have your last name anyway.”
Clint dropped the cup on the counter, and turned to look at her, his brows furrowed and then a moment later a brilliant smile appeared on his face and before she knew it she was being drawn into kisses that were almost frantic albeit still tender.
“Clint,” Darcy laughed a bit into his lips, returning the kisses she cupped the back of his neck, her fingers playing in the hair there, soft and buzzed. “Clint, what?” She asked him.
“My name,” Clint told her, dropping kisses on her cheeks now, down to her jawline, one hand pressed into her hip and the other just hovering above her abdomen, palm nearly touching her.
Darcy took his hand and pressed it to her stomach. “Your son or daughter, your name, because I will always know that he or she is mine, but we need people to know he or she is yours as well.”
“I love you,” Clint told her, his eyes open and honest which was enough to make her stomach flutter. It wasn’t often that he was this...unguarded and she felt flattered that it was happening with her. “I love you so much,” he sounded wrecked.
Darcy drew him into a hug and held him tight, enjoying the splay of his hands on her back now she closed her eyes tightly. “I love you too, and that is why no one is going to tell us how we feel about each other or what we should be doing.”
“Except for Coulson,” Clint murmured. “Seriously, because...he’s Coulson.”
Darcy hesitated, swallowing heavily she swiped at her cheeks. “Do you think people will still...treat our kid differently if we’re not married?”
Clint seemed to pause, ducking his head a little bit he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. “When I was a kid, yeah, people would. But what about you? You’re the younger of the two of us.”
Darcy ran her fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp lightly she enjoyed the way he seemed to relax into her. “My family treated me differently,” she admitted softly. “They’ll treat our child differently, but kids growing up? No, not really. They were more interested in if I had the latest Pog set, or had watched the latest episode Sailor Moon.”
“Sailor Moon huh? I could get behind that,” Clint joked, “Will you dress up in the costume?”
“You’re an idiot,” Darcy murmured affectionately, leaning into kiss him.
“Oh, uhm...sorry to interrupt,” Steve’s embarrassed voice came from the entrance to the kitchen area and Darcy slowly pulled away from Clint and turned to look at him.
“It’s fine, Steve, we needed to talk anyway,” Darcy told him, gripping Clint’s wrist to keep him from moving she enjoyed the way his muscles flexed just a moment before he settled.
“I spoke with Agent Coulson,” Steve explained, seeming to study the two of them together intently. “I was wrong to say what I did, especially in that moment,” he looked at Darcy, so earnest that it only took her a few mere seconds to forgive him.
“You see, Miss Lewis,” Steve began, then seemed to hesitate, looking like something was choking him. “My mother married my father when she was pregnant with me, before...and when he left. She was treated horrible, like a pariah, until she passed on. And when the war began...well there were a lot of women, with a lot of babies with no fathers,” he twisted his hands together.
“I always felt, maybe if the marriages had been stronger, or something that these kids would’ve been treated better, I mean being an orphan was bad enough but a bas-I mean...an illegitimate child was almost worse. I won’t say I don’t think you should get married, because I do, if only because you two seem to...seem to be rather in love and I’m a bit of a romantic that way. But I think a child deserves to have two parents, and I know yours will, it’s just...a tough pill to swallow for me, that everything has changed so much. I don’t think any less of you, but please, respect my position,” Steve requested, glancing from Clint to Darcy.
“It’s Darcy, Steve, it’s never anything but Darcy with you, and I’m sorry to hear that about your parents. It’s a bitch huh?” Darcy laughed softly at his baffled look.
“Yes, it is,” Steve beamed at her, but still seemed to look a little unsure about things.
“I respect your position, even if I don’t agree with it, some day I think I’ll tell you about my parents, and you’ll be able to respect my position,” Darcy told him, smiling back.
“Absolutely, any time you need to talk about it, Darcy, I would be more than happy to listen. You know I like to learn,” Steve said earnestly before he turned to Clint. “Congratulations, Clint, I hope I didn’t insult you or anything. You’re going to be a great father, just like you’re a great man, just don’t let Darcy get away. She’s a good woman, one of the best I know.”
Clint extended his hand and shook Steve’s but kept close to Darcy, crowding against her. “Thanks, Cap, I know that and appreciate it.”
Steve nodded his head. “If you need any help, decorating a nursery or anything, I am pretty good with painting. Or uh lifting heavy things, not that you can’t Clint, I just...”
“Clint’s not always around, Steve, I’m sure there will be plenty of heavy things that need lifting when Clint isn’t here and you will be the first man I call,” Darcy told him, enjoying the way he flushed a little bit and smiled.
Steve nodded again, and darted in, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before he stepped away, “Congratulations you two, I think you’re going to do a great job. You’ll be some of the best parents ever, I think. I’ll uh...leave you alone, I’ve got to get ready to go to the hospital,” he explained, leaving almost as quickly as he’d arrived.
“I just got kissed on the cheek by Captain America,” Darcy told Clint in a faux dazed voice, batting her eyelashes. “He kissed me.”
“Hey now,” Clint growled playfully, kissing the exact spot Steve had. “I’m the only Avenger whose allowed to kiss you.”
“Oh really, cause Bruce has been making eyes at me,” Darcy laughed loudly as Clint’s fingers dug lightly into her sides, hitting their mark.
Two down, only seven to go.
Eight if Darcy counted her mother.
She didn’t.
Fandom: The Avengers
Pairing: Clint Barton/Darcy Lewis
Rating: PG
Complete: No
Genre: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort
Summary: Steve puts his foot into it, and then takes his foot out of it. Marriage is discussed, and Darcy Lewis really isn't sure how she's going to handle these hormones when they make her want to do things like hurt an American Icon.
There is discussion of politics, and resolution but both Clint and Darcy are beginning to realize this road is going to be a lot harder than originally expected.
Warnings: Contains talk of assault in later chapters, as well as child abuse.
Notes:Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reccing this fic, it means a hell of a lot to me, seriously.
To my bff, I still love you and adore you.
To ibonekoen, the Clint to my Darcy. You're the best.
Previous Chapters
Darcy hadn’t really intended on letting anyone aside from Coulson know that she was pregnant quite yet, or at least not with Clint around because she felt that it was news, good or bad to some, that they should share together.
However, when the elevator jostled slightly right before it hit the floor of the gym Darcy found herself shoving the protein shake into Steve’s hands and bolting past him for the bathroom, making it just in time to lose her breakfast she knew the master strategist would know something was up.
It was due though, she figured even as unintentional tears made their way down her cheeks.
“Uhm...Miss Lewis?” Steve sounded about as embarrassed as she felt.
“I’m fine, Cap,” Darcy replied, swallowing down another bout of nausea she flushed the toilet and rose to her feet, gripping the side of the stall a little.
“I’m certain you are, I brought you some water and uhm...mouth wash,” Steve offered. “I’ll leave it next to the sink,” the door closed behind him.
Sometimes, even before she got pregnant Steve’s kindness was almost enough to move her to tears. Apparently that had gotten worse now that she was pregnant, as a lump grew in her throat.
She sipped the water, swishing it around in her mouth she spit it out and drank the rest before using the mouthwash.
When she was finally ready and had fixed her messed up eyeliner she stepped out of the bathroom, not at all surprised to find Steve lingering in the hallway, concern all over his face.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be hitting a punching bag right now?” Darcy asked him, resisting the urge to nibble at her bottom lip, anxiety hitting her.
“Not when one of my friends is apparently unwell,” Steve answered her, dragging his hand through his hair, mussing it up in a way Darcy couldn’t help but find adorable.
“I’m fine, Steve,” Darcy smiled at him, squeezing his shoulder. “Now let’s talk about your schedule,” she turned on the tablet.
“You’re...” Steve clammed up a minute later, clearly uncomfortable.
“What?” Darcy asked him, “Is something wrong?”
“You’re hiding something, a reason why you were sick. Did something happen with Clint? Did you get into a fight?” Steve looked even more concerned. “Do I need to speak with him?”
“No, no not at all,” Darcy smiled at him, gesturing for him to follow her. “We’re actually doing really well, thank you for your concern though. He treats me better than anyone I’ve ever dated actually,” she smiled as she remembered the way Clint had reacted to her announcement.
“Okay,” Steve nodded his head. “So, you’re happy?”
“Very happy,” Darcy confirmed, flipping through his schedules. “You have an appearance at the children’s hospital, there’s a little boy and his last wish is to meet Captain America.”
And here it came again, the thought of a little boy who didn’t have long to live and a man like Steve who would move heaven and earth to fulfill any last wishes. She swallowed and sniffed a bit.
“Darcy,” And concerned Steve was back once again. “You’re not...sick sick are you?”
“Oh god no, nothing like that, I promise, I would tell you all if I were,” Darcy replied, sighing softly she knew then she had to tell him. He would worry himself into a horrible state if she didn’t. “I am pregnant.”
Steve’s stunned look was enough to make her want to laugh, and the next words out of his mouth were enough to make her seethe in rage, as her hormones seemed to kick into overdrive and were enough to make her feel sick to her stomach again. “When are you two getting married?”
“Excuse me?” Darcy asked him, and for the first time his old school charm was not going to work on her. It was like listening to her grandparents talk about her mother and father all over again, about how much of a disgrace it had been that the two of them had split up and ruined their family’s image.
“I mean...uh...” Steve stammered, holding his hands up. “I mean...”
“Oh please, Steve, do tell me what you mean,” Darcy crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him, tapping one foot, tablet still in hand and long forgotten. She wanted to believe it was not coming out of his mouth the way it was sounding when it reached her ears.
“In my time...I mean, when I was...in the forties...it was the...the right thing to do,” Steve explained, swallowing he seemed quite aware that those were not the right words to say, even as heat rose in his cheeks.
“Right? The right thing to do?” Darcy was stunned, and if she was honest a little bit hurt. She’d known she would have to deal with this, and the thought of how her mother would react had been hard enough to swallow but she hadn’t expected this from Steve.
She took a deep breath, breathing out slowly. “Captain Rogers,” she tried to put some sort of difference between them, stepping back. “Sometimes, the worst thing two people can do is get married just because one of them is pregnant. Maybe you should talk to Coulson about it or something, but right now I just need to...not be around you, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Steve’s reply was quiet as she turned and walked back to the elevator quickly.
Once she was inside Darcy stabbed at the button for the shooting range with one finger, hugging herself protectively she studiously avoided looking at Steve, unsure what her reaction would be if she did.
The doors opened and she was surprised to find Clint standing there. “What? You shouldn’t be done training yet.”
“Why thank you, Miss Lewis,” Clint replied cheekily, grinning he reached out and wrapped his arm around her, tugging her close he held his bow case in the other. “JARVIS told me you were distressed, and sick, is everything okay?”
“I told Captain Rogers,” Darcy said, leaning into him she swiped at her cheeks, having not realized she’d even begun crying.
Clint sighed softly, stroking his hand up and down her back he kissed her cheek. “I am guessing by the way you just called Cap ‘Captain Rogers’ that it did not go well.”
“He asked me if we were getting married, and said it’s the right thing to do,” Darcy replied, practically choking on the words.
“Married?” Clint moved to push the button for the gym floor but was stopped by her grabbing him. “Darcy, he shouldn’t have said that to you. It’s none of his business what we do, or how our child is being raised as long as we’re not dangling it off a damn balcony.”
“I know, Clint, but you can’t fight with him, you can’t beat up everyone who makes me cry because my hormones decided to have a fucking party,” Darcy told him, rubbing her eyes lightly and surely smearing her make up all over her face.
Clint pulled her in close, gently pushing her hands away from her face he procured a handkerchief from seemingly nowhere and folded it over, very gently cleaning her face for her.
“Do you want to get married?” His words were soft, almost lost in the breath between the two of them and she was suddenly quite glad she’d used mouthwash after visiting the porcelain Gods.
“Clint,” Darcy shook her head, shoving at his chest lightly and smiling just a bit when he faux stumbled back a few paces. “We’re not getting married just because I’m having your baby.”
Clint nodded and walked back to her, pressing the button for the communal kitchen he wrapped his arm around her. “I just wanted to make sure, wanted to know what your...expectations were.”
“My parents got married because they got pregnant with me,” Darcy told him, shaking her head. “They resented each other for the rest of their lives, my mom badmouthed my dad until the day he died, even though she knew how much I loved him. It didn’t even seem to matter for the longest time that they were only married for four years, she just couldn’t help but tear into him.”
Clint led her out of the elevator and to a stool in the kitchen, lifting her onto it he ignored the way she raised both eyebrows at him as he turned to make tea.
“I would never resent you, you’re one of the best things to happen to me, but you’re right, we shouldn’t get married just because we’re having a baby, we should get married when and if we’re ready. We love each other, that’s enough, right?” He asked over his shoulder as he began preparing some tea.
Darcy watched him, her heart swelling with love that she wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t refuse if he were to ask her to marry him right then.
“We don’t need paper,” She told him, leaning against the counter she swallowed as she watched him. “Our child is going to have your last name anyway.”
Clint dropped the cup on the counter, and turned to look at her, his brows furrowed and then a moment later a brilliant smile appeared on his face and before she knew it she was being drawn into kisses that were almost frantic albeit still tender.
“Clint,” Darcy laughed a bit into his lips, returning the kisses she cupped the back of his neck, her fingers playing in the hair there, soft and buzzed. “Clint, what?” She asked him.
“My name,” Clint told her, dropping kisses on her cheeks now, down to her jawline, one hand pressed into her hip and the other just hovering above her abdomen, palm nearly touching her.
Darcy took his hand and pressed it to her stomach. “Your son or daughter, your name, because I will always know that he or she is mine, but we need people to know he or she is yours as well.”
“I love you,” Clint told her, his eyes open and honest which was enough to make her stomach flutter. It wasn’t often that he was this...unguarded and she felt flattered that it was happening with her. “I love you so much,” he sounded wrecked.
Darcy drew him into a hug and held him tight, enjoying the splay of his hands on her back now she closed her eyes tightly. “I love you too, and that is why no one is going to tell us how we feel about each other or what we should be doing.”
“Except for Coulson,” Clint murmured. “Seriously, because...he’s Coulson.”
Darcy hesitated, swallowing heavily she swiped at her cheeks. “Do you think people will still...treat our kid differently if we’re not married?”
Clint seemed to pause, ducking his head a little bit he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. “When I was a kid, yeah, people would. But what about you? You’re the younger of the two of us.”
Darcy ran her fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp lightly she enjoyed the way he seemed to relax into her. “My family treated me differently,” she admitted softly. “They’ll treat our child differently, but kids growing up? No, not really. They were more interested in if I had the latest Pog set, or had watched the latest episode Sailor Moon.”
“Sailor Moon huh? I could get behind that,” Clint joked, “Will you dress up in the costume?”
“You’re an idiot,” Darcy murmured affectionately, leaning into kiss him.
“Oh, uhm...sorry to interrupt,” Steve’s embarrassed voice came from the entrance to the kitchen area and Darcy slowly pulled away from Clint and turned to look at him.
“It’s fine, Steve, we needed to talk anyway,” Darcy told him, gripping Clint’s wrist to keep him from moving she enjoyed the way his muscles flexed just a moment before he settled.
“I spoke with Agent Coulson,” Steve explained, seeming to study the two of them together intently. “I was wrong to say what I did, especially in that moment,” he looked at Darcy, so earnest that it only took her a few mere seconds to forgive him.
“You see, Miss Lewis,” Steve began, then seemed to hesitate, looking like something was choking him. “My mother married my father when she was pregnant with me, before...and when he left. She was treated horrible, like a pariah, until she passed on. And when the war began...well there were a lot of women, with a lot of babies with no fathers,” he twisted his hands together.
“I always felt, maybe if the marriages had been stronger, or something that these kids would’ve been treated better, I mean being an orphan was bad enough but a bas-I mean...an illegitimate child was almost worse. I won’t say I don’t think you should get married, because I do, if only because you two seem to...seem to be rather in love and I’m a bit of a romantic that way. But I think a child deserves to have two parents, and I know yours will, it’s just...a tough pill to swallow for me, that everything has changed so much. I don’t think any less of you, but please, respect my position,” Steve requested, glancing from Clint to Darcy.
“It’s Darcy, Steve, it’s never anything but Darcy with you, and I’m sorry to hear that about your parents. It’s a bitch huh?” Darcy laughed softly at his baffled look.
“Yes, it is,” Steve beamed at her, but still seemed to look a little unsure about things.
“I respect your position, even if I don’t agree with it, some day I think I’ll tell you about my parents, and you’ll be able to respect my position,” Darcy told him, smiling back.
“Absolutely, any time you need to talk about it, Darcy, I would be more than happy to listen. You know I like to learn,” Steve said earnestly before he turned to Clint. “Congratulations, Clint, I hope I didn’t insult you or anything. You’re going to be a great father, just like you’re a great man, just don’t let Darcy get away. She’s a good woman, one of the best I know.”
Clint extended his hand and shook Steve’s but kept close to Darcy, crowding against her. “Thanks, Cap, I know that and appreciate it.”
Steve nodded his head. “If you need any help, decorating a nursery or anything, I am pretty good with painting. Or uh lifting heavy things, not that you can’t Clint, I just...”
“Clint’s not always around, Steve, I’m sure there will be plenty of heavy things that need lifting when Clint isn’t here and you will be the first man I call,” Darcy told him, enjoying the way he flushed a little bit and smiled.
Steve nodded again, and darted in, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before he stepped away, “Congratulations you two, I think you’re going to do a great job. You’ll be some of the best parents ever, I think. I’ll uh...leave you alone, I’ve got to get ready to go to the hospital,” he explained, leaving almost as quickly as he’d arrived.
“I just got kissed on the cheek by Captain America,” Darcy told Clint in a faux dazed voice, batting her eyelashes. “He kissed me.”
“Hey now,” Clint growled playfully, kissing the exact spot Steve had. “I’m the only Avenger whose allowed to kiss you.”
“Oh really, cause Bruce has been making eyes at me,” Darcy laughed loudly as Clint’s fingers dug lightly into her sides, hitting their mark.
Two down, only seven to go.
Eight if Darcy counted her mother.
She didn’t.
