"Hey Clint" Tony approached him "I heard you pissed your boss off and he's punishing you"
"Yeah, well that's what I do best" he faked a smile.
"What are you doing?" Tony frowned.
"I get my stuff and leave" he said simply.
"You don't have to move out just because you're not an Avenger for a while" Tony put his hands on his hips.
"I think he's really pissed this time" Clint said honest.
"It's my house, SHIELD doesn't have authority in here" he spread his arms "and I ask you to stay"
Clint seemed surprised "I don't know if…" Tony cut him off "You're a friend and you're one of us, doesn't matter what he says"
"Thank you" Clint smiled, for real this time.
"You're welcome" Tony patted his shoulder "Come on, Steve has a sparring session with Natasha. I don't wanna miss that"
"I'm on my way" Clint looked back into the room before he closed the door; he had friends it was almost unbelievable.
"Hey Clint" Steve waved "long time not seen"
"I was on a mission and I took two days off afterwards" the truth was he hid. He travelled from motel to motel to get his roaring emotions under control.
"We thought you fled the country" Natasha smiled but it seemed faked to him. He wondered what she knew.
"Without you guys? Never" he grinned "but we're here to see a fight"
"Come on" Tony whined impatiently "I'm not getting any younger"
Steve rolled his eyes and started the sparring session. Clint sat down in a corner of the room and wrapped his arms around his drawn up knees "Widow your getting old" he mocked, feeling cold inside. It was a habit he developed during his childhood to sit in a corner and hug himself when he felt lonely. He felt safer there.
"Old? I show you who's old" she pulled him up only to wrestle him down.
He laughed in delight, enjoying the pain in his side. Pain, it was the only feeling strong enough to put his emotion in the rear, for a while. She sat on top of him, pressing her knees into his side "Old huh?" she smirked.
"I surrender and apologize. I'm terribly sorry I hurt your pride oh young princess" Clint suppressed a groan, it hurt.
"No wonder Phil blew up" she sighed "you should work on your manners" amusement in her eyes.
His smile wavered "I like the way I am" he lied.
"I bet you do" she got up. The other Avengers laughed at their banter.
Their laughter died "Natasha you got some blood on your leg" Tony informed her.
Steve panicked "Have I hurt you? You could have said something"
"I'm not hurt" she looked down at her pants before she turned around to look at Clint.
He didn't move from the spot he occupied on the ground, breathing heavily through the pain.
"Clint?" she approached him "I'm fine" he smiled at her.
"You're hurt" she stated.
"Just a scratch, my fall reopened it" he got up, swaying slightly.
"Show it to us my friend" Thor ordered.
Clint pulled up his black shirt; it was useless to put up resistance.
"Scratch huh?" Tony examined the wound "It's not too deep but it seems infected"
Steve got the first aid kit "Hold still" he warned as Clint jerked from his touch.
"I don't like that" it was Phil's job to fuss over him. He loved it when the older man got annoyed and held him with a firm hand in place.
"I know you don't but it's necessary" Steve continued to clean the wound.
"Am I right in assuming that you did not report your injuries?" Thor eyed him.
Clint sighed deeply "It isn't life-threatening. The doctors would clean the wound and put a band-aid on it, that's something I can do on my own"
"Yeah I can see that, that's why it's infected" Tony glared. Clint remained silent.
"Clint we need to talk" Natasha said leaving him no choice.
"I know" he smiled sadly. Steve frowned at them, putting puzzle pieces together.
::::::::::::::
"I ask again what happened?" she settled down on his bed.
He took the chair in a corner on the other side of the room "He ended our relationship"
"What?" she seemed surprised "Why?"
Clint looked at her, of course she knew "He said he wanted something serious and I'm not uhm, the ideal partner for a serious relationship because of my track record"
"He likes you very much"
"Obviously not" Clint put up his knees, wrapping his arms around them "He thinks we were just fuck buddies. I tried so hard to show that I care but everything he saw was the sex. He thinks I'm a whore"
"Clint you must have misunderstood" she couldn't believe what she heard.
"You're right" he said finally "I got it wrong and yelled at him for nothing"
"I'm sorry" she said "I know you understood. I just can't believe he throws away all you had"
"It wasn't enough" Clint closed his eyes "I tried but he didn't get it. I thought I did it right"
"It is obvious" she said "we all know you love him, aside from Phil"
"He doesn't trust me. I thought I'd earned his trust by now" it hurt.
"He was just pissed" she tried to sooth.
"Maybe" he tilted his head back and hit the wall with a thud.
"Clint" she warned not liking the sickening sound his head made while it connected with the wall.
"Hmm?" he hummed absentmindedly.
She didn't answer and watched him instead.
"I know that look. You made up your mind about something" Clint came back to reality.
"I'll leave the Avengers and join Hill" she said.
"No" he shook his head "You have to keep him safe"
She was torn between Phil and Clint "I'll keep you safe"
"Don't leave him too"
"He brought misery upon himself" she said firm, he gave in to her.
:::::::::::::
"Agent Romanoff, what can I do for you?" Coulson's mood was dark.
"Don't vent your frustration on me" she looked serious "Don't push me away too"
"You know?!" he rubbed his face, of course she did.
"He lied to me the first time and I believed him. He said he made you angry and therefore you punish him" she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"He took the blame?"
"Not really" she said "We put the blame on him out of habit and he played along"
Phil snorted "I talked with Fury and he assigns me to Hill" his face fell "You what?"
"I'm joining Hill's team" she repeated.
"I didn't give my consent" he reasoned.
"I don't need it" she glared at him "I made up my mind, sir"
"I need you here" his tone softened.
"I'm needed elsewhere" she turned around and left.
Phil picked up his phone and made a call.
::::::::::::::
Natasha was fuming, Phil blocked her transfer she was sure. Hill denied the transfer; Clint was enough of a handful she'd said.
"Doesn't work?" Clint settled down next to her, he got a glare in return.
"Hey Clint" Steve called out "Tony is giving a party this evening, okay it's more a little get together between friends. He won't accept a no"
Clint nodded and Steve strolled away with a happy smile.
"I have a bad feeling" Natasha said.
"Me too" Clint groaned "I'm sure they want to squeeze information out of me"
They didn't, they planned something much worse.
"Agent Coulson nice of you to join us" Steve greeted.
Clint wanted to run, as fast and far he could but he had to stay. He promised to attend and he kept his promises besides they would haunt him down and grill him for information.
"Sir" Clint greeted as he sat down on the table, Natasha took the chair next to him to offer protection and comfort.
Tony and Steve tried to engage Phil in a conversation but the older man seemed absentminded. The first thirty minutes were absolutely awkward and filled with insecure glances and small talk.
"When ends the punishment?" Tony asked after a while, the gloomy atmosphere was too much for him to bear.
"Why do you ask?" Phil's expression hardened.
"He's one of us and we need him in the field" Tony stated the obvious.
"I'm still searching for a suitable replacement" Clint's gut twisted at Phil's words.
The older agent didn't intend to let him come home. He was out on the streets again, without shelter and without warmth. Sure he had his friends but he needed more than they could offer.
He needed to hear Phil's voice over his earpiece, he needed his care, he needed everything that defined Phil Coulson.
"Come on" Clint dropped his fork "I pissed you off and I'm sorry, oaky. Don't be so resentful. I do it for years"
"Yeah you do and that's one of the reasons I'm fed up. I tolerated your behavior long enough. Most people don't even understand why I kept you that long, and honestly I do not either" Phil talked but the words that left his mouth didn't fit his thoughts.
"You kept me because we are friends" Clint said defensive.
"I'm your superior not your friend. It's my job to keep my team alive, no matter what"
"So, you want me to believe that you don't like us and your behavior towards us is just for show?" Clint's heart beat wildly.
"Not exactly. My behavior towards you" he pointed at Clint "was just to keep you happy and out of my hair"
Clint felt sick.
"Don't lie" Natasha interfered "You do like him and you have no right to let your anger out on him just to cause him pain"
"I don't vent my anger on him" Phil stated.
"Oh, you do. You're too proud to confess that you made a mistake" she hissed "This time it's your fault, sir" Natasha stood up and dragged Clint away from the table and out of the room.
She needed to cool down and grant Phil some time to think but her first priority was to cheer Clint up.
"Drink" she poured him a drink, he downed it in one go.
"He's a proud man" she started "He's too stubborn to confess his mistake and it's not helpful either to blow up every time he opens his mouth"
"He makes me angry"
"I know he does" she said empathically.
"I want to be alone" he demanded.
"Will you be alright?, on your own I mean" she eyed him, he nodded.
"You know where to find me" she placed a kiss on his forehead.
He locked the door after she left. Thanks to Tony's paranoia their rooms were soundproof and Clint made use of it.
He let out his frustration while he threw his glass against the wall with a loud scream. He grabbed his hair and bent forward, mouth open to scream but he couldn't make a sound. His face was red from the tension in his body, his muscles cramped; that was something he couldn't handle on his own. It was all too much; he straightened his posture and looked at the ceiling, hoping for an answer. His muscles twitched from the strain. He walked around in the room "Damn it, damn it, damn it" Clint mumbled. After an hour he was tired enough to turn off his raging emotions. His legs gave out and he landed hard on his knees right on top of a few shards. He couldn't think and he couldn't feel it was like his body and mind had decided to lay down their work. After endless minutes he got up and walked to the bathroom like on autopilot, taking care of his cuts before he got rid of evidences.
::::::::::::::::::::
While Clint had his mental breakdown his friends had cornered Phil and demanded answers. He didn't say much.
After a while Natasha had stormed into the living room "Why Phil, why?"
He just shrugged.
"Don't give me the silent treatment" she warned "Swallow your damn pride and say you're sorry"
"There's nothing to say sorry for" he knew it was a huge lie.
"He can't cope with your dispute" she took deep calming breaths.
Phil snorted "He'll get over it"
"No" she demanded "Not this time"
"What's different from the last time" he looked at her for the first time "Except I suspended him only for days?"
"You have no clue" she realized "you really don't know"
"Know what?" he raised his brow.
She huffed and put up her hands "You Phil Coulson, are an idiot"
He seemed shocked "Care to explain?"
"No" she shook her head "If you can't see it than you're not worth my breath" Natasha left. The other members of the team remained silent; they had a slight idea of what was going on.