When The Hawk Leaves The Nest

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avenger….just enjoy messing around with the characters.

Author's Notes: This is my sequel to The Beginning Of The Hawk, you can still read this as a stand alone, but my other story tells the back story of how Phil and Clint first met.

Clint is going through the training to become an agent of SHIELD, but shockingly, Phil find himself in trouble for a change, can Clint save him?

Rated T for some torture and language.

Enjoy!

Phil sat at his desk doing the boring side of his job, paperwork. There was a huge pile set on the edge of the desk from the last few weeks, he hated to admit he'd fallen behind.

But then some things were more important than work.

Clint had been training with another agent and after coming to the end of a rigorous workout had unintentionally left his side open and the agent had taken advantage, got a well placed kick to Clint's side knocking the archer back a step and then swiped the teens legs from under him. Clint had landed heavily on his shoulder with a grunt. He'd managed to dislocate it, and Clint getting told he had to take things easy was a very stressful job for the agent.

So Phil had taken a few days to look after his boy, he knew the teen would moan and argue that he wasn't a little kid any more but Phil also knew Clint missed getting to spend time with his dad. Especially with all the training he was going through.

Phil still tried to make time but it was hard, they just had to make do.

Someone cleared their throat at Phil's doorway, he looked up to see agent John Taylor fidgeting, he motioned for the man to enter. John was the trainer for most of the recruits, he was one of the best and Phil was glad Clint was learning from him.

"What's he done now?" Phil sighed.

But John was shaking his head. "Your boy is amazing, Phil." Coulson arched an eyebrow. "He not only wiped the floor with the other recruits, he even got me on my back." Phil pushed his chair back and stared at the trainer in shock. Almost no one had ever got the upper hand with John.

The man continued. "If I didn't already know he'd injured his shoulder a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have guessed. Your boy has a talent I haven't seen in a long time Phil. It's refreshing, and some of the moves he pulls, I'm hoping to get him to show some of the other recruit's the easier ones."

Phil smiled. "That's my boy." John handed over a file. "Have a glance through that Phil. It will make your head spin." And with that he disappeared back out the door.

Phil flipped through the first few pages and smiled. It was Clint's results so far. He was top of his class for hand to hand, top for weapons training and Phil already knew he would be miles ahead in his score with the bow. No one had the skills to beat the teen at that, his scores for the rest of the training sessions were high, not top of the class, but everyday the kid improved and worked on his weaknesses.

Phil couldn't be more proud.

Clint had only been in training for four months, it usually took twelve to pass, Phil was sure he'd pass well before then.

Phil smiled for the rest of the day, while filling out paperwork.

4 Months Later

Clint smiled in poorly disguised pleasure as he ran his fingertips over the smooth curves, he couldn't believe how beautiful she was, and terrifyingly deadly.

Phil had banned him from her until his shoulder was healed. He had been injured in one of the training sessions after trying to manoeuvre out of a particularly difficult hold, and winded up with a dislocated shoulder, again.

He been told that since the first time it happened it just made it easier for the joint to pop out-of-place. He had frowned at that, but maybe that could help him in certain situations. He always looked on the bright side.

He was still admiring her when Phil appeared next to him and slapped his hands away.

"I told you Clint, you're not allowed to play with your new bow till your shoulder heals." Phil guided Clint away from the new Black Hawk recurve bow the techs had just finished a few days ago for him. This one was a new design that folded in on itself and made it easier for storing.

"But da-ad…." He whined, knowing Phil hated the tone because it made him sound like a three-year old.

Phil playfully slapped the back of his head. "Come on kid, don't make me have to ground you." He smirked.

Clint laughed. "Ha, ha…..like you could old man."

Phil gripped the back of Clint's neck and squeezed causing the younger man to jump away from him. "Hey…..that's sneaky."

Phil simply shrugged and walked past him heading to the briefing rooms, "go grab a cold shower Clint, your new bow was getting you a little excited."

Clint glared at the smirk Phil sent his way, then headed back to his room. He passed a few agents on his way, some nodded in greeting while others walked right by without so much as a glance. Clint didn't feel bad though, some people were just extremely focused and didn't bother trying to make friendships or any kind of bonds with other agents.

Then there were the agents that new of his and Phil's relationship and didn't really know what to make of it, Clint honestly didn't care what they thought. Phil was his dad, and that was that.

He walked into his room and pulled his shirt off with only a little difficulty, his shoulder was still a bit stiff and he knew it would probably be least a few more days before he'd be able to fire his bow.

Clint stripped down to his boxers and walked through to his bathroom, turning the shower on and letting it heat up before he got in. He stopped in front of the mirror, and stared at the bruising still surrounding his shoulder, Phil had freaked when he found out what happened, but that was just the norm with Phil lately.

The young archer was still finding his way and trying new things, sometimes though they didn't work out to well and he ended up in the medical bay. Then Phil turned into a regular mother hen, between fussing over his son or scolding him for trying something so stupid.

Clint would just smile and shrug, he loved that Phil cared so much for him and he still found himself thinking how lucky he was to have the older agent in his life.

The teenager had started the training to become an agent a few months after his eighteenth birthday, it was now coming up to his nineteenth in a few weeks. Phil had told him how proud he was, and how far he'd come through all the training. Clint broke quite a few of their records, the top one being weapons training, the instructor had walked up to Phil and shook his hand telling him he'd never seen anyone with the skills the kid seemed to have honed inside him. Between his accuracy and speed at reloading any weapon, was found to be astounding. The most amazing of all was his skill with the bow, no one in the new recruits or even some of the more experienced agents, could come anywhere close to Clint's proficiency with his weapon of choice.

In three weeks he would become one of the youngest recruits to become an agent, there were others who had joined younger than he did, but they were to become the tech whiz kids, they surpassed some of the smartest minds at SHIELD. And the agency always went after the best.

Clint stared at his reflection in the mirror, he couldn't believe it had been four years since he and Phil met, he'd changed a lot, not just his appearance. He'd filled out more, the training bringing out the muscles he now had in his arms and his toned abdomen. He hadn't grown much taller though, just a few inches, but that didn't make him any less deadly. He was fast as lightning and he usually tired any other agent out before even having to strike out at them. He also found that being in the circus for those few years gave him an advantage in a fight, he used his acrobatic skills to dodge or to bring down his opponent, not many of the agents had that skill. They had to train and practice doing the sort of moves Clint already was a master of. Now the teenager was practicing new ones, hence the injuries, but it was the only way you learned, right?

He turned his attention back to the shower, checking the temperature and stepping under the powerful spray. It helped his sore muscles relax, he stayed in for only five minutes before switching off the shower and grabbing a towel.

Wrapping it around his waist, he walked into his room and stopped when he saw Phil sitting on the bed.

"What's up dad?" He asked the older man.

Phil smiled. "Why does anything have to be up?"

Clint glared and pulled a fresh grey t-shirt over his head. "Because you have your serious face on. What's up?"

Phil shook his head at the kids observation skills. "I'm going on a mission, and it might take a week or two, I just wanted to let you know I will make sure I'm back before you are made a fully fledged field agent."

Clint gave him a half shrug. "It's cool dad, you have a job to do. I will be here when you get back."

Phil knew his boy would be upset if he wasn't here, but they would still celebrate when he got back. He waited till Clint pulled on his combat trousers and walked over, pulling his son into a warm embrace. He squeezed the back of his neck. "I'm so proud of you Clint, you have no idea how much. I will be back before you know it, and remember no touching the bow until your arm doesn't hurt when you pull your t-shirt on." He gave Clint a knowing look, he'd seen the slight flinch as he had put the top on.

Clint just nodded. "I promise. And be careful okay, I don't wanna have to come save your ass on my first mission." He joked.

Phil laughed. "Yeah sure, I've been doing this a lot longer than you son."

Clint snorted. "Decades longer….that's why they needed me, fresh blood with new skills."

Phil chuckled as he headed for the door. "See you soon, okay?"

"Yeah dad, see you when you get back. Kick some ass and take some names." He gave Phil his usual farewell.

"Always kid."