Coulson died thinking his husband was brainwashed, compromised. Clint carries the knowledge that he was the one that led Loki right to him. ...Fix it, please?
. ?thread=2572497#t2572497
Thor hadn't been happy when he had asked, had told him it was dangerous and mostly like doomed to fail.
Clint had told him that it didn't matter to him. He had to try. The ring on the chain around his neck seemed to weigh a ton more with each passing hour.
He looked up to find Natasha standing in the door to his room, arms crossed over her chest.
"Are you here to stop me?" He asked.
"I could", she said but he knew she could. She had done it before.
"I know", he kept packing his bag.
"Do you think this is what he would have wanted?" She asked quietly.
"I don't know. We never exactly discussed what I should do after getting him killed."
"You didn't, that was Loki." Her voice wavered, as if she wanted to cry but wouldn't let herself.
"I should have done something. Anything. If I hadn't come down from the perch, if I had-"He had to stop before his voice broke. "Did Fury send you to stop me or not? Because I will do this, Tasha, I will bring him back with or without your help."
"Clint, he's dead. There's nothing we can do"; she said softly.
Clint couldn't meet her eyes. "He died thinking I was compromised, that I led the attack that let Loki escape and kill him. I can't…Tasha, I just can't…"
"She's right", Fury had come in as well. "You're not the only one grieving for him."
"But I seem to be the only one who wants to do something about it", Clint snapped. Fury pushed him against the wall, looking far angrier than Clint had ever seen him before.
"I knew Phil Coulson years before you, I knew him before Shield even existed", Fury bellowed. "But he loved you and I won't let you go on a suicide run just because you can't handle your feelings."
"Bite me", Clint told him, pushing away from the wall. He looked from Fury to Natasha. "If you are his friend then-"
"Don't you dare", Natasha yelled suddenly, angry tears at the corners of her eyes. "Don't ever imply that I don't miss him. That I didn't love him as well."
"Ah, so this is where the party is", Tony Stark was probably one of the last persons Clint wanted to see right now.
"Fuck off, Stark."
Stark ignored him. "Now, are we going to go the Underworld to get Coulson back or are we not?"
Clint, Natasha and Fury all stared at him for a moment.
"What's it to you?" Natasha asked.
Tony looked faintly uncomfortable for a moment. "I don't like it when people die. Makes for a lot of bad press."
Clint looked at Natasha, challenging her to come with him or stay behind.
"I'll meet you all in ten at the hangar", Fury's voice didn't leave any room for argument. "We'll get Phil Coulson back from the dead."
"So how did you find this place?" Tony asked as they approached Cape Tainaron at the southern coast of the Greek mainland.
"I asked Thor and he told me that there are many ways to enter the underworld but the closest would be Hades."
"The evil guy with the flaming hair, lovely", Tony sighed. "I knew it was a good thing I brought my armour."
"We're trying to negotiate with him, not pissing of the God of Death", Fury reminded him from the cockpit.
"Last time I checked the Underworld was full of monsters you needed to pass before you could actually talk with the big boss"; Tony replied.
"If the only way to do it is to break out Phil by force I'm all for it", Clint said.
"So, I just wondering and of course you don't have to answer but what exactly is going on between you and Coulson?" Tony asked shamelessly curious.
Clint thought about telling him to fuck off for a moment but then Tony was here, with them, in his suit, ready to blast Phil out of the underworld if necessary. And despite complaining about him all the time, Clint always got the impression that Phil liked Tony. Phil had a special way of complaining that was reserved for people he liked. Clint should know. Phil complained about him all the time, too.
"We're married", he said eventually. In any other situation the look on Tony's face would be funny but Clint didn't feel like laughing right now.
Once they were inside the cave Fury took the lead, followed by Natasha who stubbornly ignored the gruesome images and messages scrawled on the walls. The clanking sound Tony's boots made on the floor echoed through the cave, giving the impression of an army marching through it.
But the worst thing were the whispers that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
No monsters, no spooky creatures just whispers like echoes of people long gone.
Clint shivered. The cave was cool and misty and a soft wind brought the mist towards them, wrapping them in it.
"Stop!" Fury's arm hit his chest hard but otherwise Clint would have stepped right over the edge into the river. The water was grey and unmoving.
"Do you think-?" Natasha trailed off. Her whispers sounded loud in sudden silence.
"So this is the place where we have to pay the golden coins?" Tony tried to say lightly but it came out more strained that he had intended to.
"We wait", Fury decided.
Clint squinted out into the mist that hid the other side from view. Someone tapped his shoulder but he brushed it off. "Not now, Tony."
"I'm not doing anything", Tony complained. Only then Clint realised that Tony was standing on Natasha's side, as far from him as possible.
Someone touched his shoulder again.
He turned around and came face to face with a rough, unkempt seaman dressed in reddish-brown, his ferryman's pole in his right hand and holding out his left hand towards Clint.
"One coin for each of you", Charon said.
"Did anyone actually bring a coin?" Tony asked.
"I did", Natasha stepped forward and pressed four coins into Charon's waiting hand. "Now you take us to Hades." She climbed into the boat first, followed by Clint, Fury and Tony.
"So, how much is the return fee?" Tony asked casually.
Charon grinned. "All the dead pass him. No one returns. You have chosen an early death."
"Some people returned", Clint said, glaring at Charon.
"Old times", Charon said dismissively.
"Do you ever wonder what happens to all those people who aren't buried?" Tony asked Fury.
"They walk the shores for a hundred years", Charon told him. "You heard them. Whispers in the dark, walking until they don't exist anymore. Lost souls between the living and the dead."
Tony wanted to say something else but Charon held up his hand. "Quiet now. The dead do not talk."
The mist parted around them, revealing a giant hound with three heads which leaned down to sniff at them. Clint ignored it, fixing his eyes to the back of Charon's head. He had come this far and he would not fail.
The boat finally stopped after passing Cerberus and Charon gestured for them to get out.
"Where's your boss?" Clint asked, "You said we would meet him."
"I said you would pass him. My Lord had no use of mortals."
Natasha's hand was on her gun but Tony already held up his repulsor blasts. "Not so fast. We've got business here."
"What is it to you, mortal?" A voice echoed through the mist.
Charon looked faintly impressed and gestured for Clint to leave the boat. The mist had parted at one point and revealed a short stair that led up to two thrones. One of them was empty and on the other sat a man not young, not old but strangely timeless.
"I want to bring back the man I love", Clint said, looking fearlessly up at Hades.
"Do you now?" Hades' mouth didn't move and the voice still seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Why should I grant you our request?"
"Because he was stolen from me. His name is Phil Coulson and I want him back."
"It's been a long time since the living crossed my river to plead for their loved ones", Hades tilted his head as if he was intrigued. "Come closer, mortal."
Clint walked up the stairs until he stood in front of Hades.
"Are you sure that love is the reason you came? Not guilt or loss or an unpaid debt?"
"Love", Clint repeated without hesitation.
"I know something of love" and Hades' eyes glanced sadly at the empty throne beside him.
"Then you know how I feel."
"If your heart is untrue, I will keep you and your companions."
"And if it is true?" His heart beat so hard he could feel it in his throat.
"Then you are free to go. You and whom your heart belongs to." He rose from his throne and raised a hand. For a moment Clint wanted to flinch, remembering Loki but in the end he didn't move when Hades laid his hand over Clint's heart.
"You are free to go. The one you love will follow you but neither you nor your companions are allowed to lay eyes on him until you stand in the sunlight once more."
Clint's throat was too tight to speak so he only nodded. Hades sat down again and waved his hand.
"Go now, mortal."
Charon held his hand out again. "I stand corrected, mortal."
"Pretty old fashioned though", Tony commented as Natasha dropped five coins into his hand.
"Shut up, Stark", Fury said, grabbing him by the shoulders to turn him away from Charon. "If you ruin this I will feed you to that three headed dog over there, piece by piece."
Behind them someone chuckled. Clint wanted to believe that it had been Phil but it could have been Charon as well.
Every moment seemed to last a lifetime. They didn't stop to look behind them until they were one or two miles away from the entrance of the cave.
"Not that I'm complaining but I'm sure you didn't rescue you me from the Underworld for a walk along the beach", Coulson said behind them.
"Was he always this sarcastic?" Tony asked, "Did we get the right Coulson back?"
"You have no idea, Stark", Fury answered, a slow grin spreading over his face.
"On three?" Tony asked.
"I like one", Natasha replied, turning around with the rest of them following suit.
Phil Coulson stood three meters behind them, looking as unimpressed as if he walked in and out of Hades on a regular basis.
Tony of all people was the first one to react by grabbing Phil's arm and pulling him into a bear hug, ironman suit and all. "You absolute magnificent bastard son of a bitch" he said happily squeezing Phil.
"Did you get a personality transplant while I wasn't looking, Stark?" Coulson asked dryly.
As soon as Tony had let go Natasha pounced him, muttering something in Russian that made Phil laugh before she kissed him.
"If you disobey orders again, I will deploy you to the BPRD on Antarctica", Fury threatened.
"Orders, sir?"
"I ordered you not to die. Don't do it again."
"I'm not planning to", Coulson replied.
"It's good to have you back", Fury pulled him into a hug that was not any less epic than Tony's.
"Me, too sir."
Finally Phil diverted his attention to Clint.
"Barton."
"Sir."
"Looks like you're out of Loki's control."
"All it took was Natasha hitting me over the head a couple times."
"Does anyone else feel disappointed?" Tony asked, followed by a sound of pain when Natasha and Fury hit him over the head.
They just looked at each other for a few moments until Clint stepped up to Phil and caressed his cheek. "Ready to go home?"
Phil caught Clint's hand with his own and kissed the inside of Clint's wrist. "What do you think?"
"I think I wouldn't mind a layover at the nearest hotel". Clint replied, leaning his forehead against Phil's. He could hear Phil's smile more than see it when he asked, "permission to take a few days off, sir?"
"Permission granted. I'll see that Agent Romanov brings you back in a week. See that you manage to pry off Barton by then long enough to be able to work."
"You people are ridiculous", Tony muttered under his breath.
Clint ignored him in favour of tangling his hand with Phil's as they walked down the beach back to the Quinjet.