This takes place the day after '3am Deals'.

Clint sighed as he stared at the doors to Darcy's workshop. Things had been a little rough for him since she moved into the mansion. Well, technically she was moving back in, but that's a different story entirely. She'd moved into their semi-dangerous super-hero asylum (he couldn't decide if it resembled a sanctuary or a mental institution) and for him things had been weird, which any normal human could understand. How often do you find out you're sleeping with the daughter of one of your teammates who also happens to be rich and the owner of the house you're all currently living in? Not to mention that you may or may not be considering attempting to pursue a more stable relationship with said daughter because, like he'd suspected, she kicks proverbial and literal ass. Not many women are willing to taze a god.

The coffee cup in his hand burned a little, reminding him of his reasons for coming down here. She'd told him just a week ago that she wanted something physical with him. He would be damned if he didn't at least try for something more though. It wasn't that he had an issue with no-strings sex partners; he'd coveted that exact arrangement many times before. His issue with it here had more to do with apparently not knowing much of anything about his partner and finding that he wanted to know more. Had wanted to know more since they slept together in New Mexico.

She's sarcastic, intelligent, obstinate, and yet somehow still cheery in a way that he almost needed. He needed someone in his life who could chase away the shadows. And maybe it had only been a fluke before, but he is really hoping it isn't because he wants to keep having snark-filled conversations at the crack of dawn over cups of coffee when he's just getting up while she's considering going to bed. Plus he's pretty sure they could literally light the sheets on fire if they wanted to. And not in the 'oh crap the bed's on fire from the candles I lit to set the mood for our romantic evening' way.

He also knows that Stark's are notorious for their 'cut-and-run' tendencies and, well Darcy hasn't manifested any of these to his knowledge, he'd rather make sure she's not going to turn tail on him any time soon. At least if he can avoid it. With someone like Tony as a father, it's a safe bet the issue will come up eventually.

Taking a deep breath, he steps up to the doors which immediately admit him.

"Howdy sir, you must be Clint," a south-western sounding voice whispers through the room, strangely Jarvis like in quality but somehow wholly different. For one, Jarvis doesn't have a woman's voice. For another, he can't imagine the British-sounding AI ever using the word 'howdy'.

"Uh, hello?" returns Clint uneasily. He really should be used to hearing disembodied voices by now. Then his brain replays his conversation with Darcy from two night's ago and he's suddenly pretty sure he knows who this voice is. "Josie?"

"Yep," chirps Josie quietly. "I'm gonna assume Darcy told ya about me."

Clint nods, assuming that Darcy has the same set-up in her lab that Tony has everywhere else in the house. He hadn't gotten a chance to meet Josie yet, what with trying to continue to give Darcy space in her own workshop. Well, that and Stark workshops made him a little nervous. You never knew when something would spontaneously explode. "I wasn't expecting you to sound quite like..."

"A girl who grew up on a ranch in the south-west?" supplied Josie. He can practically hear the grin in the AI's tone. "She did it to annoy Tony back when she was 12."

"That's...less surprising than it should be." Somehow, he can see a twelve year old Darcy programming an AI with a voice that would tick off Tony but wouldn't annoy her. "Is Darcy here?"

"Sleepin' over on her workbench again. She conked out about twelve hours ago."

Clint winced a little. "When did she last sleep before that?"

"Close ta 56 hours."

He sighed heavily. "Why am I not surprised. Thought she'd at least slept a little the night before, though."

"She at least stayed with ya for a few hours, I'm guessin'. Didn't get back down here 'til almost dawn that mornin'."

"Good to know. Thanks Josie." Clint pauses for a moment before pushing forward with his next question. "Should I wake her or just leave the coffee on the table?"

For a second, he suspects the AI is weighing its options. Leave it to Darcy to build an AI with more freedom than Jarvis. "Ya probably should wake 'er."

Clint nods and moves further into the workshop, weaving around the debris littering the ground as he head's towards where he can see Darcy snoozing on her work bench. For a second, he pauses to look at her, noting how peaceful she looks asleep. It's a look he's pretty sure he could keep seeing for a while and not grow bored of.

"That coffee better be for me," grumbles Darcy without opening her eyes. "'Specially since you're the one who woke me."

A smile curls across his face as he sets the cup beside her. "I came down to give that to you. Didn't see you upstairs this morning."

Darcy groans and grabs blindly for the mug. He quickly grabs her hand and wraps it around the ceramic so she doesn't knock it to the ground with her flailing. She hums happily in response, lifting her head to take a sip and look up at him. Her glasses are resting on the workbench next to her, so he has an unobstructed view of her blue, blue eyes.

"What time is it?" murmurs Darcy sleepily.

"Four," replies Clint with a bit of a smirk as he leans his lower back against her work bench.

Her brow furrows in an adorable way that makes him just want to kiss her. "Why are you up at 4 am? You sleep until at least 6 unless you have a nightmare or mission."

The fact that she knows his sleeping schedule is both a touch scary and soothing. It means she's been keeping track of when she sees him up and why. He doesn't know if this is Josie's work or not, but just the fact she remembers means something. Stark's don't tend to remember things that aren't important to them.

"It's 4 pm, Darce," corrects Clint, his smirk widening. This feels more natural, this lighthearted teasing. "You've been asleep the whole damn day pretty much."

"When did I go to sleep?" asks Darcy, her eyes squinting at the cup in her hands.

Clint doesn't think twice as he picks up her glasses and holds them out to her. "Twelve hours ago according to Josie."

Darcy groans unhappily as she pushes her glasses on, but nods none the less. "Sounds right." She takes another sip of coffee. "So what brings you down here, oh bringer of caffeine?"

"I wanted to see if you were free tonight," explains Clint. He's happy that his voice comes out casual rather than any of the other numerous ways it could have come out.

A touch of a smirk crosses Darcy's lips. "And if I am?"

"Then I want to know if you want to have dinner."

The smirk pulls into a full-blown grin. "Like a date?"

Clint returns her grin with his own smirk. "Just like a date."

"I'm in," accepts Darcy as she pushes herself off the stool to stretch. Clint's eyes may or may not have been drawn to certain prominent parts of her anatomy. "Where were you thinking of going for this date?"

"Figured I'd get an opinion from the lady before I made plans," replies Clint as his eyes rise to meet her own knowing eyes. He knew he'd been caught, but her look said she didn't mind.

She's silent for a moment, her own eyes doing an assessment of him. "I know an Italian place a few blocks over. Hole-in-the-wall family owned place, but they make amazing calzones. It's not fancy but it's still good."

"I like Italian." Clint can feel his shoulders relaxing as they better solidify their plans. "Does six sound good?"

"I was thinking now," replies Darcy with a shrug. "We can go later if you need to do something though."

Clint quickly shakes his head. "Just want to grab a shower first."

The almost-dirty smirk that crosses Darcy's lips makes Clint reconsider their dinner plans. They can order in, right? "I need a shower too. We could always save time and take one together."

"I'm not sure that'll save time," corrects Clint with a cocky smirk of his own, "but it sounds like an excellent idea."

Darcy stands, gulps down the remainder of her coffee, and starts to pull Clint towards the front of her workshop. "Let's test that theory, shall we?"