Chapter Text
Like so very many things, it was all Darcy's fault.
It took her all of a week after getting back to New York to become bored. London was nice, and, well, there was boy-nookie, but Darcy loved New York. The problem was, she lived with a bunch of fuddy-duddies.
"Jaaaaaannnnnnne, come onnnnnnnn. I want to go oooouuuut!"
Jane blew a lock of hair out of her eyes as she hunched over the machinery; Stark's funding had gone a long way to improving the quality of her instrumentation, but she still tended to patch things together with duct tape and wire.
"I can't, I really... ow!" Jane flinched as she shocked herself, then kicked the whatever-it-is in retribution. Surprisingly, it started up and the previously-dead monitor came online. "Hm." She shrugged. "Should have tried that sooner, I guess. Now what were you whining about this time?"
Darcy draped melodramatically over the worktable she was sitting on. Pressing a wrist to her forehead she moaned, "We never do anything fun. It's always science-science-science!"
"Ah. Right. The 'I'm bored' whine," Jane teased fondly.
Darcy took the fact that Jane was actually paying attention as a good sign; the astrophysicist tended to go into manic-science mode when Thor was away for too long, but apparently his last visit was still recent enough.
Darcy sat up abruptly. "Let's go to a club! We can dress up and have fruity drinks and wiggle our booties on the dance floor!"
Jane looked skeptical at best. "You know, I'm not a big club person. Dancing in the lab is fun, but..."
"Aww, come on! Hey, I bet we can get Natasha to go!" Jane seemed to be considering it. "Maybe we can get Tony to lend us the limo- Happy can drive us!"
"Uh...," but it was too late, Darcy was already out the door.
"I'll ask her!" she called over her shoulder.
Jane stood in the middle of the lab, wondering what just happened. "But, I didn't say yes?"
***
Natasha and Maria were in the communal kitchen, sipping coffee and talking quietly when Darcy burst in and threw herself around Nat's shoulders.
"Natasha! Jane and I want to go clubbing will you come with us? Pleasepleaseplease!" She turned to Maria. "You, too! It's a girl-bonding-thing. You have to come!"
Maria looked surprised; she was pleased to be invited, but her first instinct was to say 'no.' Natasha knew exactly what she was thinking and decided to mix things up a bit.
"We could use a night out- do some dancing," Natasha said casually over the rim of her mug.
Maria gave her a sharp look and wasn't the least bit fooled by the look of bland innocence she received, but of course it was too late.
"Yay! Let me ask Alex!" Darcy darted back toward the elevator.
"Oh no, poor Alex," Natasha chuckled.
"Why 'poor Alex'?"
"She's not a club person."
Maria considered that a moment. "JARVIS, would you please inform Agent Harrow that as her direct supervisor I will be personally offended if she doesn't accept?"
"Of course, Director Hill."
Natasha gave her an admiring look. "Ooh, that's evil," and chuckled wickedly.
"Isn't that why you like me?"
***
It didn't take long for word to get out about the excursion. Alex tried to back out by claiming she had no club clothes; Darcy offered to share something from her closet, but their proportions were too different. In the end, Maria was the one to lend her an outfit. They met in the common room at 10 pm for pre-club libations, and everyone else just happened to be hanging out to see them off.
Darcy and Jane were the first to arrive. Jane wore a shimmery peach top and white pants. Darcy had a red blouse that hung in folds, letting her show off 'the girls' without giving away too much, and a pair of black pants she'd had to lie flat on the bed to get zipped. There were appreciative whistles and Pepper made a point of taking a picture for Thor. Tony played host, handing out drinks.
"I wish you could come with us, Pepper," Darcy pouted.
Pepper laughed, "I'm flattered but no- I have an early meeting."
Natasha, Maria, and Alex came up together. Natasha stepped off the elevator and there was a respectful silence. Sam let out a "daaaaaaang" under his breath. She wore a pair of black leather pants that must have been painted on, and a top that was basically a scrap of black satin gathered at the neck and a string tied around her back. With her red curls and a pair of three-inch stilettos Natasha looked ready to kill, as usual. Tony sighed dramatically, "Those poor club kids don't stand a chance."
Natasha batted her eyelashes. "Why thank you Tony."
"Insincere wench."
She laughed and stepped aside so Maria could show off. The usually formal Director wore her hair down is loose curls with a pair of red leather pants and a sequined silver top; it made her look completely different and somehow no less intimidating. Steve's eyebrows hit his hairline and he cleared his throat. The room applauded and Clint belted out a wolf-whistle; Maria might have blushed, just a little.
"And here's Alex," announced Natasha, grabbing her by the arm. She wore a black halter top that left her shoulders bare and black skintight pants with her usual crown of braids. She was obviously embarrassed and kept trying to pull down the hem of the top, which stopped an inch above her waistline, but did a little bow for the audience anyway.
Tony gestured grandly to the bar, "Help yourselves! Your chariot awaits. I expect many compromising pictures in return for my generous services."
Pepper gave him a light push. "Send the pictures to me, ladies, I need some vicarious living and I'll make sure they don't end up plastered all over the Internet."
"Would I do that?" Tony asked with a mournful look. "I am wounded, wounded I tell you." There was general laughter.
Alex stalked purposefully to the bar and rummaged through the bottles. "Ah- here we go." She proceeded to unscrew the cap and take a generous swig straight from the bottle.
"Is that Jagermeister? " Tony commented to no one in particular. "I didn't even know I had any."
Alex considered a moment, then took a second swig and put the bottle back. She sighed and nodded. "Okay, I can do this now." Darcy laughed and gave her a hug. The girls finished their drinks and crowded onto the elevator, waving goodnight as the doors closed.
There was a thoughtful silence after they left.
"So how hard would it be to find out..." Sam started, and Clint waggled his eyebrows with an evil grin.
"I'm to inform the gentlemen that any attempt to interfere with tonight's festivities will be met by retribution from Agent Romanov, per her orders."
Clint paused and considered JARVIS' message a moment, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it- he was still recovering from being the target of Tash's wrath after the laundry incident and even he had some rudimentary sense of self-preservation. He sighed, "Oh well."
***
As the evening progressed a number of cell phone pics circulated around Avengers Tower. Someone just happened to leave a complimentary bottle of champagne in the limo, as photo evidence attested. There was an adorable selfie of Darcy and Jane with cheeks pressed together to fit in the shot. There was a solo picture of Natasha sprawled artlessly across a seat gazing out the window, looking for all the world like a model in an ad. Another one caught Maria and Natasha leaning towards each other, their fingers laced together and Natasha with a sly smile.
In fact, it quickly becomes clear that Alex took most of the photos, but she didn't entirely escape documentation. One shot shows her and Darcy laughing uproariously, falling against each other in the limo. In the club, mixed in with pictures of Darcy showing off an enormous drink with paper umbrellas and Maria and Natasha sandwiching a dudebro on the dance floor (who looked like he was about to faint) is a single shot of Alex in a less-crowded corner, dancing as if no one else is in the room.
At some point the party moved to another club and there is a pic of Natasha escorting the group through the front door, a long line staring and whispering and the bouncer holding the door open looking extremely respectful. There are more selfies with drinks, and another picture taken by Alex of the girls domineering the center of the dance floor. By 3 am Jane (who was by far the lightweight of the group) was stumbling around hilariously so they headed back home. There is a picture of Jane, red-faced and laughing, slung over Alex's shoulder as they cross of the lobby.
***
Bruce decided to take a break from the current tests; it was nearly 4 am so he didn't expect to find anyone in the kitchen. To his surprise, Alex was leaning against the counter, waiting for the kettle to boil.
"Hi! So, everyone's back? How was it?"
Alex smiled tiredly. "It was fun but I'm beat. Trying to get Jane and Darcy to drink water before going to bed- that was more of a struggle than I expected."
Bruce laughed. "How about Natasha and Maria?"
Alex smirked. "They're big girls, they'll take of of each other. I'm making chamomile- would you like some?"
"Yes please." Bruce fished a mug out of the cabinet and sat at the kitchen table.
Alex had already kicked off her shoes, and as she placed the steaming mugs on the table she groaned in delight, sinking into a chair.
"That bad, huh?" Bruce chuckled.
Alex gave a rueful grin. "Not my usual scene. Too loud, too crowded to really dance, and the music was all 'untz untz untz untz'."
Bruce laughed, "Doesn't sound like my sort of thing, either."
"Don't get me wrong, I like to dance, but I also like actual lyrics."
"What kind of music do you like?"
Alex thought for a moment. "Honestly, I have really eclectic musical tastes. Although after tonight I need something soothing, good 80's maybe."
"There was good 80's music?"
Alex gave him a hurt look. "Of course, good New Wave, for example. I could use something mellow, though."
Quiet music started playing and Alex laughed with delight. "How did you know, JARVIS?"
"I do have access to your playlists, Agent Harrow," JARVIS admitted.
Bruce cocked his head a moment, "This sounds familiar."
"'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' is pretty much a staple- I still love it," Alex admitted.
Bruce hummed to himself for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Tears for Fears!"
Alex laughed and nodded, clearly much more relaxed now. "Got it in one."
They sat in companionable silence, listening to the music. By the end Alex sighed, then stood to rinse out her mug. "Okay, I think I've wound down enough, I'm going to go sleep until noon."
"I think you earned it. Have a good night!"
Alex smiled, "You, too."
***
The next day, Tony was working with Bruce on their newest project.
"What. What is that?" Tony asked.
"Hm?"
"Are you humming?"
"What?"
"You're humming. You never hum. Why are you doing that?"
"I didn't realize that I was."
"You didn't answer my question."
"It was stuck in my head when I woke up this morning."
"Well, it's weird. Stop that."
Bruce chuckled.