It was a long day for one Agent Phil Coulson. He never was particularly fund of visiting Mr. Stark, but there was a silver lining to the cloud of pain that was convincing Ironman to come to SHIELD's HQ. Tomorrow morning, he'd be the one to accompany Steven Rogers to HQ and while it didn't show in his face, he was internally jumping for joy like a kid bouncing on their bed.
He made his way off the jet and quickly headed inside the Helicarrier. He needed some food. His path was leading towards the food court when he bumped into Agent Romanoff, who was just coming back from India.
"Natasha." He greeted with a pleasent nod, though it hurt to see one of his assets, and not the other. The three of them were a team. They shouldn't be seperated like this. He blamed himself a little, he was the handler, he was supposed to look after his assets, and he failed Barton.
"Coulson" she nodded back with a weak smile, normally her smile would be more genuine and she would of been more enthusiastic however since they lost they're third she hadnt really been in the spirit. By the looks of things neither was Coulson.
"Any news of Barton's whereabouts?" she asked, unable to contain the desperation in her voice. If it had been any other agent she wouldnt of dared give away any emotion however she had known Phil almost as long as she had Barton and she trusted them both more than anyone else. Even more than Fury truth be told.
"None yet. SHIELD is trying to track down Loki's location, and hopefully in turn, Barton's." He said stiffly, keeping eye contact. He hoped that by doing this he was conveying to Natasha that while he hated the situation as much as she did, he was there, and wiling to be supportive should she need him to be.
"Come with me. I'm going to get some food." He said, gesturing to his path to the kitchen.
She nodded looking down at the floor "How did things go with Stark?" she asked looking up to meet his gaze. She decided it was best to avoid the Barton conversation for now as they were clearly both feeling down. She knew that they'd do everything possible to get him back, in the meantime they'd just have to be there for each other and work on they're response team.
"As well as things can go with Stark. He pretended he wasn't home, I had to hack his systems and high-jack an elevator up to his penthouse. I may have interrupted a moment between him and Miss Potts." He said, glad for the distraction. "I congratulate you again for putting up with him for so long." He said with a soft chuckle.
She chuckled and nodded "I'll admit, it was tough." she chuckled as they reached the canteen "Banner's in. With any luck we'll have the tesseract soon. Fury got Steve, and Thor's to far to trace" she informed him, although she knew he would of been the first to know about Steve. After all he was his biggest fan.
"I heard. I'm the one whose escorting him here tomorrow morning." Phil said with a small smile, knowing his could let his guard down around Natasha at least to the point where he knew he was excited for meeting his childhood hero. He picked up a try and slide it down the line, picking up a few odds and ends of food, not really having a craving for anything in particular. "I wonder if he would sign my cards..."
She smiled at the excitement in Phil's eyes "Excited huh?" she chuckled and picked up a tray. She selected a bottle of water and salad. "Im sure he will, I heard he is one of the nicest guys anyones met" she told him and handed a handful of money to the woman behind the till.
Coulson nodded a little. He wasn't going to deny it. "I know he is, but...I don't know, I'm sure he has a lot more important things to worry about the appeasing a fan. He's still adjusting." He said, as he paid for his own food, and lead the way over to a table in the corner. "I wouldn't want to annoy him."
Natasha shook her head softly as they sat down at the table "You wouldnt annoy him. You'd be helping him in a way. After all he needs to know that he was remembered and I'm pretty sure he feels a little lonely." she took a drink from her bottle of water before continuing "You could be his friend, maybe teach him a few things."
"That would be nice, Except you and I both know how dangerous it is to have friends outside of SHIELD." HE said, taking a bite of his pasta. He should really eat a little healthier, but it just tasted so good, he couldn't help himself sometimes. "I haven't spoken, and I mean really spoken with, not just exchanged words with, anyone in over 5 years. You, Fury, Hill, and Barton. You 4 are my social circle."
She nodded in agreement, that was true the last friend she had outside sheild nearly ended up dead. She began taking small bites of her salad, she pushed it aside once she had eaten half of it, she could be called in at anytime and she didnt want to be to full. "My social circle is really you and Barton. Fury maybe" she shrugged.
"It will take some time to warm up to Hill...if you want to that is." Coulson shrugged. "She's like you in someways. Lots of hard edges." He meant that in a kind way of course. They were both women who could take care of themselves. Strong women who could do anything they wanted, and no one could stop them. "And Fury is a hard one to be close to. I've worked with him for almost Ten years now, and I think I know maybe Five things about him that I didn't know from our first week together." He took another bite of his food.
She thought for a moment "I dont mind Hill, i think its a personality clash. maybe a bit of rivalry." she admitted. She took a big drink from her water bottle and sighed "Furys too secretive, im always careful around him. You never really know what he has planned." she said quietly.
"What ever he does have planned, in the end it's always for the best." Coulson said. He truly believed in Fury and his actions. The man was the sole reason he was an Agent of SHIELD. "Fury looks after his people." He smiled.
She nodded in agreement "Thats true, he is a good guy" Natasha replied. She had known Fury for many years and had plenty of respect for him. "Yeah, he does.. he helped me out a lot when he should of had me killed."she sqid quietly frowning at the memory.
"He saw potential in you...that and you seemed to calm Barton down, and god knows we needed more of that around." Coulson joked softly, finishing up his lunch and washing it down with a cup of coffee.
She chuckled "Glad to be of service." looking across the canteen she smiled as she saw Fury. "Time to get back to work."
"See you on the bridge." Coulson said, standing up and ready to leave.
She nodded "Have fun with Captain" she chuckled and headed towards Fury. Coulson gave a soft smile before he headed to his office. He had some paper work to do, and then he'd be done for the day.