Specialist

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD, but honestly...the writers are doing an awesome job with it. However, if they ever fall down on the job I will be so there...

Author's Note: This is an older story that I never got posted here. This one I'd thought to make into a series but after this story the bunnies just sort of gave up. This is an AU, where Coulson is actually Clint Barton's husband, and knows that Phil is still alive.

"I already have a specialist on my team."

"C'mon, Coulson," Assistant Director Maria Hill cajoled, holding out a folder while meeting Phil's pace nearly stride for stride. "Just take a look at Ward. He's one of the best I've seen."

Phil didn't even slow down. "I don't need Ward. As I said, I already have a specialist on my team. One I trust implicitly."

"You know Fury isn't going to let you tell Barton you're alive," Hill pointed out.

He couldn't help the smirk that quirked his lips. "Clint and Natasha both have always known I was alive. As have the rest of the Avengers." He glanced over at her. "It's hardly my fault that you and Fury completely underestimated them."

The surprise on Hill's face was priceless. "How did they find out?"

Phil shrugged. "My 'death' wasn't exactly handled in a competent manner. After all, you don't tell a man's husband he can't have the body of his spouse in order to bury him. From there it all cascaded downhill until Stark found some relevant records. I've actually been communicating with them all since I got back from Tahiti. Which you should try sometime…it's a magical place."

And there was that internal twitch he'd been getting lately. Phil knew enough about brainwashing and triggers to guess it had something with his treatment after Loki, and was perfectly willing to let Tony Stark and JARVIS pick at that mystery for a while.

Hill grimaced. "No, thank you. I'd be bored within hours."

"Exactly."

"You're still not going to be able to have Barton," Hill pointed out. "He's too well known as an Avenger now. There's no way your team could remain covert if he's on it."

Phil rolled his eyes. "I've watched all of the footage of the battle – because, despite the wall-to-wall Mai Tais and the distraction of the more-attractive-than-usual therapists I had to have something to do while I recuperated. There isn't actually any footage of Barton in the battle. He could easily go back into the specialist pool if he hadn't already levelled out of it years ago. There's nothing stopping me transferring him onto my team."

He was determined to have Clint with him. They'd already lost so much time, with his injury and recovery…Phil wasn't about to accept another specialist on his team. If he couldn't have Clint Barton, then Fury could stick his new team up his ass so far Melinda May would be doing her katas on his kidneys…from the inside.

"Ward would be a better fit," Hill tried again, pushing the folder toward Phil.

Just to humor her, Phil stopped in the middle of the hallway, letting the bustling agents pass around them. Personally, if either Fury or Hill were letting him be seen in the main corridors of the Hub then his death would soon be the worst-kept secret in SHIELD, and quite honestly he was getting a bit tired of it all. What did it really matter who knew he'd survived? Phil really wanted to know simply because Fury and Hill were being so damned secretive about it.

He flipped open the binder, his eyes skimming the information being given him about a certain Agent Grant Ward. He scoffed when he read the comments about his espionage scores, and decided to let Natasha know about them the next time he spoke to her.

He rolled his eyes the small illustration under Interpersonal Skills. "Is that some poop with knives sticking out of it?"

Phil had the pleasure of seeing Hill flustered. "No. It's a porcupine."

"Nope, looks like poop to me…"

"So his interpersonal skills are bad," Hill covered herself, "but we both know how good you are at getting people to become team players. Just look at Barton and Romanoff."

"Yes, look at Barton and Romanoff." He handed the folder back. "I know you're showing this to me so I'd want to take on Ward as a project, and I normally would be willing to do just that. However, I already have two such 'projects' on this team and I really need someone willing to watch my back. Yes," he held his hand up to stop Hill from speaking, because he knew what she was going to say, "I know you're thinking that May would do a fine job, but we both know she's not yet dealt completely with Bahrain and that she'll want to stay out of the field. I won't put her back out there without her explicit permission. Hell, I don't know if she'll want to even fly the Bus. If she chooses not to, then Clint is perfectly capable of acting as pilot as well." Now that he thought about it, maybe asking May would be a bad idea…

"And what about Romanoff?" Hill challenged. "You don't want her on your team as well?"

"I already asked her. She said she'd rather be Captain Rogers's unofficial SO." Phil smiled slightly. "You might want to keep an eye out there; she's determined to play matchmaker for him, and when she's that determined…well, let's just say the betting pool is getting rather rich." He was actually glad that Natasha was willing to look out for the Captain, even though Phil knew the man was quite capable on his own. All those stories about him not coping with the 21st century were just so much hot air.

"You really think you're going to get your way with this, don't you?" Hill asked, raising an eyebrow imperiously.

Phil gave her a satisfied smile. "I already have. Clint's transfer has already been put through. He said he'd be discussing it with the Director today. I just need to get the team physicals completed, and approach May about the pilot position, and then we'll be all set."

He didn't let Hill know just how excited he was about having his husband on his team once more. There was nothing that was going to keep them apart, not after the weeks that Clint had actually thought he'd been killed by Loki. He'd given Clint his word on that, and if Fury did somehow hold things up then Phil would turn in his badge. His loyalty might have been with SHIELD, but his heart and soul belonged to a certain archer he'd married the very day gay marriage had become legal in New York.

Besides, Stark had already tried to hire him on as a security consultant. So it wasn't as if Phil didn't have options…even if Stark did drive him up the wall after a while of being around him. He'd been good to Clint when they'd all thought Phil was dead, and for that he would always be grateful to the genius.

"Let Garrett keep Ward," Phil replied. "I already have the best there is, and that is Clint Barton."

Hill shook her head. "I think you're going to regret this," she warned.

"No. I'll only regret it if he isn't on that plane." With those parting words, Phil made his way toward Administration, where he knew he'd find May. He wasn't under so much pressure to find a pilot now, although May's logistical knowledge would be useful. Personally, he thought it would be good for her to get out from behind that desk…

Hill watched as Coulson walked down the hall, his back straight and his head held high.

This was a complication. Barton being on the Bus would mean May wouldn't have a chance if something happened to Coulson; he wouldn't countenance putting his own husband down if Coulson started losing his mind because of the TAHITI treatment.

But they didn't dare lose him. Fury had made that perfectly clear. And so, Hill knew they'd have to accept the fact that Clint Barton would be on the Bus, or else they both knew that Coulson would walk, and the last thing they'd need was Phil Coulson working for Tony Stark.

Hill sighed, tucking Ward's folder under her arm. Yes, this was a complication, but it wasn't really anything they couldn't handle. They would have May on the plane, and hopefully she'd be able to warn them if anything changed in Coulson's condition. She couldn't help but feel bad for him, not knowing what he'd been through, but he could never know the truth.

Neither could Barton, and she wondered what hell on Earth would be unleashed if he ever found out.

She sighed again, making her way toward her office. She'd just let Fury deal with it. It was out of her hands now.