A Brief Encounter (but not of the third kind!)
Week One - Monday 6.15am.
Phil Coulson sits down like he does every weekday morning and more than a few weekends as well than is strictly healthy for him. He has a forty minute trip into work when everything is running to schedule on the line, he gets on at one of the early stops so getting a seat is not a problem. He sits in the same seat every day, he doesn't know why, it's just part of who he is, he likes precision and continuity, he places his brief case between his legs, gripping it with his toes. If you looked inside it was orderly and contains more or less the same day in day out, different papers of course, everyday brought new clauses and contacts for him to peruse.
His lunch which unerringly contains a cheese sandwich, an apple and a granola bar, is packed neatly in a plastic Tupperware box that is just the right size to fit into the leather briefcase. Phil likes to think it was merely a lack of imagination and time pressure in changing his grocery order rather than an obsessiveness which means it never differs in content but he can't really be sure.
To be truthful, he's not really sure about himself most of the time, it usually runs along the lines of being just slightly disappointed in what he has become. His life hasn't exactly been action packed, he is about as safe and insular as a person can get, people, frankly, scare him. He isn't socially inept, he gets on fine with his work colleagues, he has friends, even if he rarely sees them, he just has a tendency to run a mile in panic when anyone gets too close. After all why would someone be interested in someone so boring as him?
...
Clint waits patiently.
It was going to be his first morning travelling on the train, he had moved into his new apartment over the weekend and now, he had it on good authority, namely a nosy neighbour that nipped over to welcome him to the area, on his moving day when the last thing he wanted was to be stopping and making coffee, but there always seemed to be one busy body that found it necessary. Nevertheless, the said neighbour had given Clint details for the train service and assured him it was better than taking the bus.
...
Phil reads the daily paper on the way to work every morning, he gets on the train at the same time even at the weekend, he tries to get on the same one home but more often than not he gets delayed by work and it's not that unusual for him to get in and go straight to bed with a piece of toast! He lives on his own, of course he does.
He has no one to tell him it's not a good way to live his life.
This morning is no different, the time, seat, lunch, suit, paper and brief case are all identical. He starts on the front page, he works through the paper one page at a time, front to back. He likes this part of his journey, the car is almost empty, no one opposite him staring him down, the seats either side empty. In general he isn't keen on the train, too many people, and they are sure to be looking at him, Mr. Bland in his three piece suit trying to pretend he is something he's not, watching him, as all his weaknesses ooze out of the stitching.
...
Clint has to say as the train pulls into the station it's a good start as it's right on time and not too crowded, which he hates! It's early of course but it will be his regular time from now on, he had managed to pick up work from a influential business woman in the city about a year ago who in turn had recommended Clint to a number of really good regular customers, all of which had a fairly close proximity to each other making Clint's work easier and meaning he could fit in more sessions throughout the day. So if Miss Potts needed an early workout everyday at her offices in the centre of the financial district then that's what she would get, it's no skin off Clint's nose.
It's a warm spring morning, and Clint steps onto the train for the first time in a black t-shirt and matching cargo pants, he will pick up his equipment and gym clothes from their base of operations while he is going over his and his business partners schedule for the week. All he has with him right now is his bow, along with it's case, he has a competition later in the week. He is going to leave it at Nat's which doubles for their office, she complains but in all honesty it is the only way she can afford to be in the centre of the city. She loves the pace of city life whereas Clint after years of noise is now craving a little quiet in his, he had told her, he was growing up, she replied he was growing old. Either way Clint thinks he might just enjoy his new peace. After all it isn't difficult to step back into the hustle and bustle anytime with the train less than a five minute walk away from his place, add to that he can now afford somewhere bigger than a shoe box and it's a win win, because seriously, leaving his little bow at the office is going to compromise Nat's space enough for her to no doubt gripe about him leaving all his shit there, even if it's their official business head quarters.
...
The emptiness lasts for approximately two stops before a guy sits next to him, Phil looks suspiciously round the car, there are plenty of free seats and this guy, casually dressed in black finds it necessary to sit right next to him, when he could clearly sit on his own with a empty seat either side of him (why wouldn't you do that if there was a choice?)
...
Clint looks round the car there is an abundance of free seats.
...
The man that has settled next to him has large flattish case with him that looks worryingly like rifle case, and by the look of his muscled arms he could be army or ex army, or maybe just a gym instructor (that sounds safer), Phil tells himself nervously trying to calm his irrational self. He flaps his paper out and sighs to himself; to himself of course because it was important not to show any outward signs of tension, in the face of the enemy, Captain America comic book wisdom! Phil can't help the little half grin that appears on his face just thinking about it, if it's achingly similar to Steve Roger's smile nobody would make the connection and Phil has long tried to forget the hours he spent perfecting it in the mirror as a kid. A kid with no friends, desperately trying to find something cool about himself only to steal somebody else's in an attempt to fit into a harsh world. He's been told many a time as an adult that it just comes across as sarcastic which isn't fair because Cap's smile was sweet and cute, and that's what Phil was going for, so he's fucked that up too, but it's apart of him now, another flaw he has to live with, he tries not to look too closely in the mirror these days anyway.
...
A guy in a grey three piece suit catches Clint's eye. He can't explain it, but he is drawn to the seat next to him, honestly it isn't that the guy looks am-az-ing in the suit.
...
It isn't long before the car is filling up anyway and oddly this morning that makes Phil feel slightly relieved, the guy next to him has done nothing to warrant Phil's mistrust, apart from glance a time or two at the back page of his paper, but Coulson's wariness pretty much spreads to the whole universe, so the guy could probably twitch a finger and Coulson would imagine he could break someone's neck with it.
...
Nat keeps telling him needs to start being more proactive in finding someone, that they are unlikely just to fall in his lap without effort. So sitting next to guy on a train that he finds attractive is one step up from waiting for fate, he feels proud of himself, even if the guy is pretty much obscured from view throughout the journey by a newspaper, still, Clint does manage to take a peek at the weekend sports scores on the back, all of which he missed over his busy weekend.
...
The train arrives on time and Coulson waits patiently for everyone to depart, it's a toss up for Phil whether to jump up and get out first or wait it out till the end, which ultimately wins because he doesn't want to be crowded in by the throng of busy commuters, the guy next to him doesn't seem in much of a hurry either so perhaps Coulson should have gone for the dart up before the train has even stopped choice! Dark clothes eventually stands though and Coulson makes the mistake of taking a peek at him as he does, the guy looks back at him, a friendly enough grin filling his relaxed face before turning and exiting the car without a backward glance, or a returned smile from Phil.
He grabs his brief case and is away to another day, relieved this bit is over.
...
Clint picks up his bow case, he had hoped to follow the guy in the suit off so he could watch his ass, because yes he is that shallow, but he seems to be lingering in his seat, so Clint gives him the advantage of being able to watch his tight clad ass as he leaves instead, Monday morning treat for the guy, Clint smiles at him as he leaves, but resists, barely, from waggling his brows or bum as he departs.