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Who: Clint Barton and Phil Coulson
What: Clint's coming home for a little bit after the earthquake and other stuff.
Where: House 20.
When: Day 15 -- Midday.
Warnings: Language? Other than that...nada.

Leaving the lighthouse wasn't a big worry for him. If Loki would leave than he would have to deal with the others. Clint didn't think it was in the god's best interests yet to go toe-to-toe with Hulk if Sharon or Phil allowed their voices to be heard about the matter. The archer wasn't sneaking around this time. He left because of hunger and possibly the promise of laying in bed for an hour or two to allow sleep on a mattress to come slowly. Then heading back out to make sure Loki hadn't left yet. The earthquake in the morning had him glaring accusingly at the trickster as if he had anything to do with it. He was almost ready to pull out his gun but decided against it for investigation's sake. Nothing seemed too damaged, the diner was lost and there went another place for everyone to seek whatever...bonding moments with the other's who lived in town. He was sure they would move on. No one was impressively attached to anything here.

Clint included.

He sauntered back into the house through the back door as if he had just gone off on some jog during the morning and nothing even happened. What did he have to do? He owed apologies, yes. But it didn't mean he liked giving them as he made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and getting some water. If he looked like he hadn't slept in a day or so; it was because he hadn't. He downed the water quickly, setting the glass down before peeking his head out the kitchen and glancing around. He still hadn't seen Phil or Kenzi. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect if he had. Maybe just being locked in a closet this time. "Kenz?" He called out curiously, waiting for a reply. "Coulson?" He really didn't want to open his mouth and call out for him, but he suspected he didn't really have a choice. Phil might get the wrong idea if he just skulked around the house before he started for the stairs. Having every intention of crawling back into the attic and hiding there for the rest of the afternoon before heading down for clean up in the wake of the quake. He was at the top of the stairs when he heard the door close shut behind one of his housemates before making the final step and cautiously pulling down the stairs at the end of the hall that led up to the attic.

He was okay with just avoiding them both like the plague.

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Clint had been missing and Phil was worried. He was praying that he was right and that Clint would come slinking in with his tail between his legs after a few days. He knew that Clint would need space and he seemed fine in the brief moment they'd spoken after Loki got out, but there was a needling part of his that always worried.

"Clint?" He opened his door again as soon as he heard the footsteps. "You alright?"

He stepped fully out of his room and onto the landing. Clint certainly looked fine, but that didn't necessarily mean anything and he had tied Clint to a chair. He wasn't sure if that had been the right choice or not.

He knew the worry would be there. It wasn't unlike him to disappear for a bit after something particularly difficult that he didn't know how to deal with without heading down to the range for a couple hours. He missed the familiarity of it. The familiarity was only a benefit when it came to Phil. When it came to Natasha when she was around. Other than that he felt as lost as anyone could be. He stopped in his movements to just slink up into the attic and hide out for a couple hours while he recharged himself. He turned towards Phil, offering the other man a smile. Tired, sure. But it was a smile and more real than what he could manage to conjure up lately.

"Sir, yes, sir." He gave his handler a mock salute with a light of amusement in his eyes. It was really all he could manage at this point before fully settling the retractable stairs to the attic on the ground and taking a seat. Even if he wasn't sleeping (yet) it felt more like rest than what he had gotten the last couple of days. "You're not gonna tie me to a chair now that 've come sneakin' back into the house are you, boss? Cos...'ll fight you this time. Gun or not." He was joking. He knew Phil would get that was his way of saying it was okay and there were no hard feelings.

He got it, but that didn't make him feel any less guilty about it. He stood there for a moment, stiff in a way that was a little more awkward than his usual stiffness. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it was something more than this. Something louder.

"Not as long as you're being you." He forced a smile. "Are you staying out of trouble? He should know. He shouldn't have to guess when they live in a house together and they're god damned friends.

Clint could tell by the awkward way that Phil was standing, the forced smile. Things right now weren't as the way things were back home and they were just being as they always once was. "You will be happy to know that I broke up with the box, Coulson." He laughed a little before sighing a bit, with an annoyed tone added in. Or the most annoyed tone he could manage right at the moment. "You shouldn't have to ask that..." He trailed off quietly before looking up at Phil before slowly pushing himself up to his feet. Now that he was at their house, his body was finally realizing he was ready to knock the hell out.

He wasn't going to tell Phil that he had found Loki. He didn't want the extra worry over Coulson's head. But what was Coulson other than the only individual in the universe(s) that Clint trusted more than he trusted Natasha. More than he trusted himself. Clint moved a bit closer before patting Phil's shoulder, trying to get him to chin up a bit as a smile tugged a little at his lips. "Where you expectin' me yellin' at you for tyin' me up? Cos I already got that shit out when I hit Loki in the shoulder with an arrow." Not what he was aiming for. But it was better than nothing in his mind. Clint folded his arms in front of his chest for a moment, looking like a kid who had just been sent to the principal's office for doing something stupid.

"'ve been keepin' an eye on Loki, boss. Makin' sure he doesn't wreak anymore havoc than he already has." They all needed a break from the animals. Loki was just another added stress to that.

Phil's lip quirked. "I was a little jealous of that box. I'm used to you shooting people on my word--not some box's." There was some unsettling truth to that, but he ignored it.

He sighed and pulled Clint into a loose hug. "I was worried, Barton. Too many concussions and you're brain's going to start to go." He would be lying if he said he wasn't concerned about the fact that Clint seemed to fall under Loki's control so easily. The idea that someone could make his friend do things with such ease made him feel sick. Hell, Clint didn't even follow orders he didn't like.

He pulled back with a start. "You found him?" His hands clenched. "I think I know how to kill him, Clint."

He snorted a bit at that, shaking his head. "Don't worry, boss. I only have eyes for you. Or...ears." He seemed far too amused at it to look deeper into it. Clint was a lot of things. Someone who dwelt too much on the fact that he would rather stalk after his boss than any other person in this place was something he ignored.

Clint didn't pull away from the hug, he just patted Phil's back. In quiet gratitude for knowing he was at least there and that this didn't ruin their friendship. It was all he had right now that reminded him of home. Even if home wasn't any better than this place. Knowing Phil was physically there...was always a good way to calm his mind. "Well, I've got you to thank for some of that, sir. But I bounce right back, jus' remember to knock me around a little next time." Clint didn't like the situation that he was in. He didn't like being unable to control himself. He had relied so much on the ability to pull himself out of certain situations. He relied on Phil to have the ability to pull him out of certain situations.

He had. But it didn't work out so well, it seemed. He tried again and Clint denied him. Clint kicked himself for that part as he jumped a little when Phil pulled back suddenly. After he was getting so comfortable. It was really...no surprise but to everyone else but Natasha that Clint denied himself little things. Like Phil. Even if Phil was a pretty big thing in his mind. Having the ability to be close to him like that was all he was ever going to get. He was good with that. He wasn't okay with Phil getting angry like this.

But it was understandable, considering that it was Loki and Loki was destined to kill him.

"On the beach, after...the box opened and he disappeared." He ran his hand down his face. "That's why I haven't been here. I was makin' sure he stayed out of trouble. Tied him up with big chains...poked him with a stick...then a kn--" His brain finally registered what else Phil had said. "...what? How?"

Phil looked away. He knew Clint was joking about having eyes for him, but it hit a little close to home. He swallowed. Honestly, though, he was still worried. Just because Clint was back to normal now didn't mean that Loki couldn't take him again. If there was anything Phil could do to prevent that, he would do it.

He pulled back with a smile. Of course nothing could ruin their friendship. It was built on trusting each other with their lives. That wasn't easily shaken. If Clint wasn't in control, it simply wasn't Clint. That didn't shake his trust at all.

"The other Loki told me that a stake with one of his victim's blood on it should be able to kill him." His lips thin. "I've got a stake already carved with his name on it."

If only Phil knew. Clint really did only have eyes for him. It was a little bit of a damn shame, but at the same time Clint never really applied logic to what he was feeling. He just sort of ignored it and hoped it would go away in this case. The fear that Loki could just regain control over him in a split second and put an arrow through Phil's eye was there. It was almost terrifying for him to even think of it. It was half the reason why he didn't want to be alone in a room with Phil. Too many variables. He didn't honestly think Phil trusted him as much as he typically did. He didn't trust himself anymore.

But he wasn't going to open his mouth and say that. The fear of it all was overwhelming but Clint never really allowed fear to overtake him and cloud his emotions. He just pushed it back, dwelt on it when he was alone.

His brow quirked up, tilting his head to the side. "The...oh right, that guy." He reminded himself as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "Victim's blood...so are you talking yourself? Cos...I gotta say from where 'm standin', boss, you don't look very victim-y to me." Not yet. Thank God.

Phil nodded. His blood. Who else's?

"It's worth a try, if it comes down to it. Do you think he'll attack us?" Honestly, Phil was hoping it wouldn't come down to it, because he wasn't so sure it would work and he'd rather not piss off a god who already apparently killed him once.

"I'd rather avoid any extra bloodshed, but after what he did to that other guy, we need to be as prepared as we can be." He still trusted Clint's opinion. He still trusted Clint. That wasn't going to change.

Clint sighed a little, running his hand down his face for a brief moment.

"I don't know what to think about 'im, Coulson." He didn't want to pass judgement on him because of the state he had shown up in, but at the same time there was a lot of things at work. He didn't trust Loki and now that he knew what it was like to try and lift him up. He knew the saying 'any further than he could throw him' applied greatly to the god as he leaned against the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest with a puzzled expression on his face. "I don't think we should trust 'im. The likelihood of 'im jus' wakin' up one day 'n offering to help us out is minimal."

He looked over to him with a tired look in his eyes. "If it comes down to it, sir, 'n it's a big fuckin' if. You give me to the stake...'ll get close enough to drive it into his big honkin' head. 'm quicker, it makes more sense." Loki would be faster, he knew that. But at the very least, if something wrong was to happen then the only person who got hurt was the person who deserved it most in Clint's mind. He knew there was a big possibility Phil would see right through that. Phil did...know Clint better than he knew himself sometimes.

"Alright." He knew it was true. Clint was a lot more likely to come out of that alive than he was. He knew that. Of course, he'd died trying to stop Loki once already, right? What was another go?

"If anything happens to me, I want you to save my blood. If it does work, it could save all of you." Because Phil agreed that they shouldn't trust Loki. Honestly, he was feeling a lot less safe with the god around.

Clint inwardly winced at the implication of something happening to Phil. The archer flexed his hands instinctively but what was he supposed to say? He hadn't been there to rescue Phil back on their world. He was too busy helping the problem as he gave a quick nod. "'ll make sure that it gets done, boss." He forced a smirk to his face, something that felt like it hurt his freaking face to even pretend at this point. He was trying...he was a professional so his 'trying' face worked pretty well with a lot of things.

"Jus' stop talkin' like you're already dead...or gonna die. It sounds like I wasn't there the last time boss, 'm here now." He gritted out after a moment before his smirk widened into a smile. "That's what I get for leaving Tasha to watch you, right? Couldn't even trust her to feed my fish...what was I thinkin'?"

"You know I've put my life in both of your hands more times than I can count and I've never regretted it once." Though he wouldn't trust Natasha with a pet, either. Only his own life. He smiled at that thought.

"I've got your back, too. You know that, right? I'm not going anywhere if I can help it. We're together in this." He wanted to tell Clint to stop pulling away, but he knew that that was just how Clint was.

Clint smirked a little, folding his arms in front of his chest as he shrugged. "Aw, boss, you sure know how to sweet talk a fella." There were still things Clint wanted to do right now. Most of that was trying to find his stable ground again especially since arriving to this place. It seemed...stable enough. The cameras were easily forgotten, even if the threat of men in white labcoats roaming into the house was ever-present, there was much more greater things that could possibly be out there.

There wasn't room for error if things got dicey. Clint stepped a bit closer, bumping his shoulder against Phil's with a smile growing on his face. "I know...I trust you. Chair incident...thing of the past. You try it again, however..." The threat was empty. He knew that.

Phil scoffed. "Don't act weird and I won't have to try it again." He knew Clint and he knew when something was off. He really wouldn't hesitate to act the same way again, even if he'd feel a little bad afterwards. This was his job. He made decisions on the fly and he sometimes had to make decisions that would hurt, but they had to be right. There wasn't room for error, as far as he was concerned. That went double for anything that involved Clint or Natasha or his sister's family.

He slung an arm around Clint's shoulders. "I mean that. You act weird, I'm knocking you out." He was smiling, of course, but his threat wasn't even remotely empty.

He knew that if anyone would be able to read him when something was off -- it would be Phil. They had been through enough already throughout their lives working together. They had been partners (in Clint's mind) much longer than he and Nat had been. If they had been one person in the universe that knew him better than he knew himself. It was Phil Coulson. "I know you will, boss. That's why I keep you around." He shook his head for a moment. "Jus' don't tie me to a chair and get Kenzi for guard duty again. That was jus' embarrassin'."

Or at least he thought it was pretty embarrassing by his standards. But he was used to SHIELD agents who didn't take his shit. "'m gonna...climb back into my hide-out for a couple hours before I head out 'gain. If you need me...jus' give a shout."

"Oh, sorry. Next time, I'll just stay up for several days in a row to watch you myself." He rolled his eyes. There wasn't exactly a wide variety of backup around here.

He dropped his arm, stepping back. "I'll just tie you more securely next time, okay?" He smiled. "You'll tell me if you need backup, right?"

"Hey now...there's always coffee, boss." He flashed Phil a cheeky grin, running his hand through his hair. The tired sigh that escaped his lips didn't offer any optimism for the "Avenger" he guessed. Between Nat going missing and Loki arriving. It didn't leave room for him to actually settle down and think long and hard on any way to get home. Or anything else for that matter.

"Please don't. Those last knots were tricky." He laughed a bit. "C'mon, Philliam. Of course."

Phil scoffed. "Speaking of coffee, you are going to start making it for me every morning after all the trouble you put me through. Indefinitely." He bumped Clint's shoulder with his own.

He was joking. Mostly. He really wouldn't mind waking up to coffee for a few days, at least. He missed waking up to the smell. His last girlfriend used to wake up just a little earlier to shower first and she'd always have coffee brewing by the time he was out of the shower himself. It had been comfortable and pleasant. It had at least somewhat balanced out the fact that he didn't sleep all that well with another person in the room.

Clint's mouth dropped open a little bit in an exaggerated display of shock (and potentially being offended). "But I don't make coffee as good as say...you do, sir." He chuckled, nudging him in return. He wasn't the bumpee after all. "Want breakfast to go with that...since you're makin' me into your kitchen boy?"

He honestly could say that he did not mind in the least bit. Clint was always more of an early riser (or rather a no-sleeper). There was nothing going to change out of the routine except for Phil had coffee and he had juice. Breakfast typically came with the juice since Clint did try to make sure he ate at least in the morning. Any other meal after that was a miracle if he remembered. Or if he just reminded himself to make sure he checked to see if Nat or Phil had eaten yet.

"I wouldn't say no to eggs. Maybe some bacon every once in a while." He laughed. "I deserve morning bacon, don't you think? I work hard."

Not that he would complain, but he was joking. He really was just relieved every morning he woke up and Clint and Sharon were still here. Hell, after the way Sam had stumbled back from his abduction, he was thankful that he was still here.

"Work hard? I haven't seen you do that here in a while." He smiled a bit, stretching out his arms behind him. "Everyone deserves morning bacon once 'n a while. Let's jus' not get used to it. 'm not your slave. Jus' repaying a debt."

Clint wanted to say 'thank you'. But he doubted it'd make much sense to Phil. 'Thank you for not allowing me to hurt anyone' or 'thank you for keeping me on track'. Either way it went. It all sounded stupid so he figured coffee in the morning was going to be just as much as a thank you than anything else.

Phil smiled, making a mental note to make Clint some bacon. He was right. Everyone deserved bacon sometimes and he knew Clint had had a hard time recently. He probably wouldn't light the place on fire making bacon, right? Starting a small grease fire didn't constitute burning the house down, either. He's had enough of them to know.

"I'll keep that in mind, Agent."

Clint would undoubtedly appreciate bacon in the morning. There was no argument to that as he laughed a little and patted Phil on the shoulder. He didn't think reaching in for a hug would have been appropriate at this point. But really, anything was better than nothing at all.

"I'll talk to you later, boss." Clint quickly saluted Phil with a smirk before starting back up his ascent to the attic. "Try to get some sleep, Coulson."

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