Title: Operation Seaside Retreat
Fandom: MCU
Pairing: Clint/Coulson
Word Count: 1129
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I own nothing. No profit was made, just fun.
Summary: In which, Phil is devious and Clint loves the beach, but not as much as he loves Phil.
Written for my Day at the Beach Square on Trope Bingo. Also because sometimes fictional characters need holidays too! Beta'd by the amazing Lexy, (Tigertaoiseach) who helped un-Australian-ise my vocabulary and fix my grammar. All remaining errors are mine.
Clint looked wistfully out the window of the safe house at the beach. It'd take him all of two minutes to strip down to a pair of shorts and hit the waves. The temptation was overwhelming. The summer circus route along the west coast had always been Clint's favourite time of year and he'd spent every moment outside of chores and rehearsals swimming, surfing or just lying on the sand. Being indoors was making him a little bit twitchier than normal, but he wasn't here on holidays; he doubted he'd be given any time to enjoy himself.
"Clint?" Phil called from downstairs and Clint pulled himself away from the window with a sigh. He should try to think of Phil as Agent Coulson while they were working, a distinction that was normally easy when Phil was using his suits as an implacable wall against the world. But suits were a little out of place in a seaside holiday home, so once they were off the plane he'd changed into a pair of cargo shorts and an unbuttoned polo shirt. It wasn't entirely Clint's fault that he wasn't 100% focused on the mystery mission that Phil had shipped them out here for.
Heading down the stairs, he was expecting to find a fully set up mission control, with info on everything from background on the target to the weather conditions and plans A through G for all potential scenarios. What he found instead was his boyfriend, stripped down to a pair of swim trunks, making pina coladas.
"What?" Clint felt like his brain was just refusing to compute the scene in front of him. "Have you been compromised, sir?"
"No." Phil looked slightly put out for a moment before he made a gesture towards a pile on the edge of the kitchen bench. Right on top were Clint's own purple trunks that Phil must have packed before leaving for the mission. "You might want to get changed."
"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think we should be blowing off the pre-mission recon just because it's a nice day outside." A large part of Clint's brain wanted to slap the sensible part and just take what Phil was offering, but he knew he wouldn't be able to relax with the mission hanging over him.
"Well if you insist, you can check to see if the grill on the deck works. I've got plans for dinner this evening." Phil said. Clint couldn't tell if he was serious and it was starting to make him feel a little unnerved. Were they undercover? Was the mark coming here?
"I don't understand, sir. What about the mission?" Clint asked.
"We're trial running a rehabilitation program and exploring the benefits of increased vitamin D intake on stress levels in SHIELD agents. Also maintaining the cover for this building as a time share holiday home," Phil said with a perfectly straight face, but there was amusement in his eyes as well. Clint blinked. Then he cracked up laughing.
"You're serious, aren't you? I bet you've got the forms already on your desk back at base and a mental draft all ready to be typed the minute we land," Clint teased even as he grabbed the purple swim trunks from off the bench. Clint was definitely all for Phil's sudden urge to frolic on the company dime, but he couldn't resist asking: "Are you allergic to holidays, sir?"
"The junior agents seem to believe so." Phil smiled at him, that warm, happy smile that was reserved solely for off-duty moments between the two of them. Clint grinned and stripped off his shirt, tossing it over the back of an armchair. Phil raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Clint's pants followed and he changed into his trunks.
"You're the best, Phil," Clint said as he ducked around the bench and pressed a chaste kiss to Phil's cheek, letting all thoughts of work fall away. "Can I go for a swim?"
Phil just nodded indulgently, and Clint let out a whoop of joy, already bolting through the door towards the waves. The water was cold, but Clint found it more refreshing than unbearable and he ducked his head under. Clint kicked out a bit further, past the break in the ocean, until he could float on his back and just enjoy the rolling motion of the waves beneath him and the warm sun above him.
Clint wasn't sure if it was five minutes or sixty before he let the waves push him back towards the shore. It was long enough that Phil had set himself up on the beach, complete with deck chair and umbrella and looking perfectly content to watch Clint from behind dark sunglasses. Clint beamed at him, wondering how he'd gotten lucky enough to catch Phil's attention.
Clint flopped down onto the sand besides Phil's chair and threw an arm over his eyes to block out the sun. "Water's great."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I think we've both earned the time off."
"About that. Why the elaborate ruse? Why not just say, I deserve a holiday and I'm taking my incredibly sexy boyfriend with me?" Clint wondered curiously.
"I tried that. You kept telling me about how you loved the beach as a kid and I thought it would be a nice surprise. I've been trying for the past two years." Phil sighed, and his voice held all the stress and frustration that must have built up at each refusal, but sounded completely out of place relaxing on the beach. "Every time, something would come up. There'd be a mission, or a problem with HR, or you'd wind up in medical again."
"So, you planned a fake mission? Not that I don't appreciate the results, but it seems a bit extreme."
"They can't send us anywhere or recall us when we're already on an assignment listed as a level 1 priority. Not unless the world's ending at least." Phil said with a small shrug and Clint forced himself to sit up and look at him properly.
"You are devious, Phil Coulson." Clint slowly and deliberately ran his eyes over Phil's wiry frame and licked his lips in appreciation. "It's a good look."
Phil looked at Clint with one eyebrow raised, but Clint just let his lips quirk into an overly cocky smirk and stared back. Phil glanced at his book briefly and then back at Clint before putting the book down to one side.
"Perhaps we should head back to the house? I'd prefer not to have an audience now that I've finally got you here." Phil said, quickly gathering up his possessions again and passing half of it to Clint who smiled and leant over for a quick kiss.
"Right behind you, sir."
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