Day 25 of Write Every Day in November: I saw a prompt that was for a paring in which the character tries to pickpocket their soul mate. I thought of Clint and Phil right away. I know the ages/age different might be wrong, but I suck at judging ages and I think a decade is decent enough.
I tried to Steal More Than Their Heart
Summary: After almost being killed by his brother Clint starts living on the street and one day tries to pickpocket a man only to find out he's his soul mate.
Clint Barton was aware he had a soul mate. His wrist had a signature just like everyone else. Clint didn't want to find his soul mate though because with the way his life has gone he'd end up with some abusive bastard. Clint use to dream of being happy with his soul mate. Of finding them and running away from his abusive home. Then his father wrapped the family car around a tree and he and Barney had become orphans.
Clint thought he was free until he and Barney had been bounced around from one place to another. They were always treated like a nuisance and Clint learned that the world outside his abusive home was just as bad. So he figured his soul mate would be bad too and while he still had some hope of finding true happiness, he'd never admit it. Besides he had Barney and he'd always have him.
Joining the circus hadn't been so bad at first, but things took a turn for the worst quickly. Clint was talented and he was chosen to learn how to be the next coming attraction while Barney was stuck doing manual labor. It had forced the brothers apart despite Clint trying to keep them a family and then everything went to hell.
Clint found out his brother was robbing banks and to keep him quiet Barney had tried to kill him. He had failed and Clint had ended up on the streets. The circus had left town and even if Clint wanted to go back he didn't know if Barney and the swordsman were still there. Clint had always been a survivor so he'd adapted just like he always did.
Clint had gotten good at stealing and he knew how to pick a good target. He spotted and older man with a balding head and an expensive suite. Clint grinned with a predatory smile and casually made his way towards the man. He saw the man's wallet sticking out of his pocket and he quickly grabbed it. Before he could even blink his arm was being grabbed. Clint cried out in pain, but at the same time felt a tingling sensation.
The man held his arm and as Clint looked at his face he saw the man was frowning. "What's your name?" He demanded. Clint just glared at him. "Tell me your name or I'll drag you to the police."
Clint frowned. "Clint, Clint Barton."
The man's eyes widened and softened slightly. "Well Clint Barton I'm Phil Coulson and I believe you're my soul mate."
Clint was shocked so shocked that as the man began to walk Clint just followed.
"Where are we going?" Clint asked suddenly worried that the man was still taking him to the police.
"To my place so we can talk." Clint just followed because despite knowing that his soul mate could never be a good person he wanted to hope that he could be wrong."
They came to a nice apartment that had a doorman who even greeted Phil by name. They took an elevator to the fourth floor and Phil opened the door to his apartment. It was nice, but kind of bland... well except for the Captain America memorabilia in a collector's cabinet.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Phil asked and Clint shook his head. "How old are you anyway?" Phil asked.
"25," Clint answered which made the man frowned slightly.
"How old are you?" Clint asked guessing that the source of the frown was due to a large age gap.
Phil gave a small smile "35."
So his soul mate was a decade older than him. He sighed and Phil frowned. "I'm sorry I'm not what you expected."
Clint shook his head. "I never really thought about my soul mate."
Phil's face seemed to say he didn't buy it and Clint was sort of lying, but he didn't want to talk about it.
"Do you have a place to go?" Phil asked and Clint shook his head. "Then you can stay with me. I've got a separate bedroom with a lock on the door."
Clint must have looked surprised and Phil gave a gentle smile and took Clint's hand in his. "Clint I've been waiting for you for a very long time, but I will wait for you to trust me."
He let go of Clint's hand and the archer almost missed the feeling. "So what do you like on your pizza?" Clint was surprised, but he stated that he liked supreme the best. Phil nodded and before Clint even knew what to do the food was on the way.
Clint hesitated before sitting on the couch and Phil joined him. He asked questions that Clint did his best to answer. Why was he on the street? How long had he been living like that? Did he have anyone else he could stay with? Clint found him answering pretty honestly which surprised him. He'd never given anyone the full truth.
He asked Phil questions as well and Phil answered. What did he do for a living? He was an assistant to a CEO of shield, a company that made medical supplies that could revolutionize the world. Phil said he had a personal experience with one of the products they were trying to patent and it had made him even more loyal to his boss who had become a good friend. "What was with the Cap memorabilia? His father had been in the army and Captain America had been his father's favorite comic book so when he was away it brought comfort. What did his parents do and was he and did he have siblings? His father as mentioned had been a soldier his mother a homemaker and he an old child."
When the pizza arrived they kept talking and Clint was surprised how amazing Phil seemed. How in the world had Clint ended up with Phil as a soul mate? He was waiting for the other shoe to drop and it kept him from getting too comfortable.
When the night ended Clint went to the guest room and locked the door before stripping to his boxers and falling asleep father than he probably should have. He woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee. He got up and went out to see Phil making a pot.
"Good morning Clint I called work and got my soul mate leave. I'm off of work for three weeks." Soul mate leave was given so people could spend time bonding with their soul mate. Clint was surprised that Phil even wanted to spend time with him at all, let alone take leave from work.
"I thought today we could get you some new clothes and necessities."
Clint nodded and took a cup of coffee that Phil handed to him.
They had breakfast before leaving, and shopping was harder than Clint thought it would be. Phil had chosen Macy's which while not the most expensive place it might as well be Gucci to Clint. They shopped and it took a while as Clint kept trying to pick the cheapest things even if he didn't really like them and Phil would demand he pick something he actually wanted until he did. It was a lot of work, but Clint now had more than one set of clothe as well as a tooth brush, comb and even his own soap.
They had lunch at a dinner and returned to Phil's apartment to relax. Phil cooked meatloaf for diner and it was great. That night Clint hesitated before deciding to keep his door unlock. It took him longer to sleep, but he felt good the next morning.
The rest of the week was spent talking and going out. To movies, the park. and even the zoo. Clint liked going places, but he felt bad that Phil was paying.
One day after Clint insisted on stay in and watching netflix. "Clint did you ever graduate high school?" Clint blushed and shook his head.
"Would you like to?" Clint looked up in surprise. "You could get your GED or take night classes. I'd help you with supplies and anything else."
Clint wanted to say he was too stupid to graduate, but he knew Phil would argue with him. In truth he never liked school. It hadn't been easy and Phil must have seen that worry on his face. "I can help you study too. You're smart Clint and if you don't want to than I won't force you, but what about getting a job. I can only imagine that once I leave to go back to work you're going to hate being cooped up with nothing to do. You're like a hawk. You need space and freedom."
Clint looked at Phil with awe because they'd only spent a week together and Phil already knew Clint so well. Clint didn't know why but he leaned forward and captured Phil's lips in his. Phil kissed back and when they parted for air Clint smiled. "I think I'll start looking for a job." Phil nodded and hesitated before kissing Clint again and Clint kissed back.
That was all they did for the rest of the two weeks Phil had… well not all they did, but it was the most intimate they got. After searching for a job for two week Clint was already getting frustrated and worried he'd never be qualified for any job until the last day of Phil's leave. They stopped by a coffee shop with a help wanted sign. Clint asked about the job and found himself talking with Steve Rogers the owner for a little bit. Steve asked for Clint to stay until his break so they could talk more. Twenty minutes later a man with long hair and what looked like a prosthetic arm came out of the back and took over for Steve. Steve, Phil, and Clint talked for a long time and at the end of it all Steve hired Clint. Clint made sure Steve understood he didn't have a high school diploma, but Steve said that didn't matter. Clint could come in the next day for training.
Two months passed and Clint and Phil got into a routine. Whoever got up first would made breakfast and coffee and they'd eat it together. Than they'd leave the house to head to their respective jobs. At the end of the day they'd come home have dinner and talk, read or watch TV together (sometimes a combination of all three) They kissed first thing in the morning and every night before going to bed.
Clint had stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop when he and Phil had their first argument. Clint couldn't even remember what it was about, but Phil never once raised a hand of called Clint names and at the end of it when they managed to work things out Phil had hugged Clint and apologized. Phil's reactions both during and after the argument were so different than anything Clint had seen and with everything else that had happened he realized that by some magic he'd ended up with an amazing soul mate.
A week later Clint had kissed Phil harder and deeper as they were saying good night. Phil got the message and they made their way to Phil's room.
When it was all over Clint had snuggled close to Phil and spent the night in his Soul mates bed. From that night on he and Phil slept together. They talked about getting officially bounded, but deiced to wait a little bit. Clint didn't care if they ever got bonded. For the first time in his life he had a job that he loved without fear and a person he loved without worry of being hurt. It was amazing and with Phil by his side Clint could only see a bright and happy future.