The Wizard and the Void - Chapter Twenty-Five
Author: Milady Dragon
Clint swore he was going to put an arrow in Maria Hill's eye if she didn't stop with the bullshit. He didn't care if she was some sort of high and mighty Wizard. She just needed to shut the fuck up.
He really wished Nick hadn't called her in. Okay, maybe it was because Nick was sleeping with her – he didn't really think that, but it made about as much sense as anything – but that didn't give him the right to out Phil to her.
At least it seemed that everyone else was on Phil's side. Two of the most powerful Wizards in the world were vouching for his…lover? No, not yet, but it wasn't going to be long if Clint had anything to say about it. Even Tony Stark was in this, which was a bit of a shock, but he seemed equally as accepting.
Still, anyone came after Phil, they were gonna have to go through Clint first. And he had the distinct impression that Daisy would be right beside him in protecting her father.
Not that the Wizard needed them to protect him. Phil was perfectly able to kick ass himself. Hells, if what Grand Masters Ianto and Stephen were saying, they wanted Phil to be the new Grand Master of Voids. Now, wasn't that a kick in the head? Because Phil would be absolutely fantastic at it.
Although he thought that Nick was right about Phil accepting the position, Clint could actually see him doing that on a temporary basis, until the Void order could be cleaned up. Because no one felt that those five they'd met were the only members of Hydra. The leaders, yes… Clint recognized that. But the grunts, the actual boots on the ground…no, that had to be someone – or someones – else. Sure, they had their Novices, but none of them were powerful enough on their own to make a difference.
Well, there was that bitch, Raina. Whatever the hells power she had, it was damned scary the way she'd managed to talk Phil out of fighting on. If she could control Phil, the Elf seriously doubted anyone would be able to stand up to her. If he ever saw her again, he'd take her out, no questions asked. They couldn't take the risk of ger controlling anyone else.
And he didn't want to even start with that Winter Knight mess. What was up with that guy, anyway? Sure, there'd been rumors and innuendo about him, whispers in the mercenary community, but from what Clint had heard the Winter Knight had been around for centuries, disappearing for years before being credited with another assassination and then vanishing like a ghost once more. It would mean that the bastard was immortal, but that wasn't possible…well, about as impossible as anything else, and there were two immortals in the Keep at the moment…three, if he counted Phil. Which he did. Because Clint had been certain that Phil had been dead.
He really wanted in on the hunt for those Void assholes, but he also didn't want to leave Phil. That kiss had been amazing, and he wanted more. Besides, Natasha was perfectly capable of hunting them down, and she never gave up. He could be in on the 'kill' later.
The thing was, it really was finally hitting Clint that Phil was immortal. That the Void wasn't about to let him die anytime soon. But Clint…he, himself, was mortal, with a finite lifespan, and some day Phil was going to lose him.
Maybe starting something would be a mistake. Clint didn't want to hurt Phil, not if he could avoid it, and would him hanging around do that when it was time for the Elf to die? Phil was going to have enough on his plate with his daughter's own mortality. Did he really want to put him through that loss twice?
"I know what you're thinking," a softly accented voice kicked him violently out of his reverie, "so stop it."
Clint spun on his heel, staring at Grand Master Ianto Jones as he stood in the doorway, the expression on his face one of sympathetic bemusement. "How did you find me?" The archer thought he'd done a good job at hiding at the very top of the Keep, in a room that Phil had obviously meant to be some sort of observatory, judging from the large open space and the wall-to-wall windows that didn't have glass in them. The only thing missing was the telescope, and he was pretty certain Tony Stark could supply one that would have every stargazing bell and whistle on it, even ones Phil might not be aware he'd want, and have it there by tomorrow.
It was also the highest and most private place in Shield Keep, now that the place seemed to be vaguely overrun by a bunch of powerful – both magical and political – people in the Western Lands…and a bit beyond, since both the Grand Master and Captain Harkness were citizens of the United Kingdom.
Clint also loved being up high, so this place was perfect for his woolgathering needs.
The man smirked. "You've just been exposed to a great deal of Void energy. To a Cardinal, you were easy to track."
Alright, he could understand that. "You some sort of mind reader, then?"
The smirk got bigger. "Not at all, although I had a friend who was quite proficient with mind magic. He once saved nearly the entire population of Cardiff Town with his ability."
"Then how…"
"It was written all over your face." The Grand Master stepped further into the room, glancing around. "I wish I had something like this in Gateway. I think I'll have a word with Jack about building a tower addition to our home. He'd quite like it himself…Jack has a thing for heights."
"And why were you looking for me?" Clint was confused, because he couldn't understand why Ianto Jones would be doing that.
"Because I thought I might catch you considering just what you were considering."
The Elf laughed, and then laughed again as the Wizard's dragon, a red and gold beauty with happily shining green eyes, bounced up to him to demand attention. Clint couldn't help himself; he knelt down and proceeded to scratch the dragon around her single horn. For dragons with horns, that was practically an erogenous zone. The dragon's eyes closed in pleasure, and she hummed in encouragement of the attention.
"Her name is Myfanwy," the Grand Master volunteered, amused. "You know, if we could figure out what makes Elves so irresistible to dragons, we could come up with a spell to counteract it. I think we're all just glad there aren't many Elves outside their Enclaves, or else our familiars would be all over the place and there would chaos whenever a group of Elves showed up."
Clint had to laugh at that, because the man had a point. No one understood why dragons adored Elves so much; it most likely had to do with the Elvish closeness to nature and, by extension, magic, but it didn't matter that the Elf didn't have a magical bone in their bodies. Clint adored dragons. He sometimes wished he could have one of his own.
"It doesn't help that Myfanwy just loves the attention of anyone she considers quality people, and she's an excellent judge of character. It's certainly telling that she'd never gotten along with Alexander and his dragon, Insight."
"Lola didn't exactly get along with Insight, either." She'd taken a chunk out of his hide, which had been awesome.
"Master Phil's dragon also shows discerning tastes, as well." Any humor in Grand Master Ianto's face faded a little. "I know what you're thinking, Hawk…or do you prefer Clint? Or something more formal?"
"Clint is fine."
"Then, please call me Ianto. I get the feeling we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other, in the days to come."
Clint nodded, because the Grand Master – Ianto – was right. With the threat of Hydra still out there, and the fact that he really didn't want to let Phil out of his sight, chances were they'd be getting sick of each other's company at some point.
"I know what you're thinking," Ianto repeated, "because I once thought the same thing."
"But you're…" he made a waving motion that Ianto, apparently interpreted correctly as, you're immortal.
"I didn't know it at the time, though. For a short while, before we figured out that the Deep Ways loved me too much to let me go, I had the same questions you have now, being the lover of someone who could potentially live forever."
"But, we're not…"
"But you want to be." This smile was knowing, and yet comforting at the same time. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes to see, just from your telling of events at Hydra's compound."
Alright, so maybe he hadn't been exactly subtle in his description of Phil's exploits.
"I have a friend," Ianto continued, "an Elven friend, Toshiko Sato. She's from one of the Far Eastern Enclaves, and she's as close to me as my own sister was. She was actually the first one to befriend me back when the rest of Jack's former team thought I was a liability." He began to circle the room, eyes peering outside at the mountains around them. "Tosh was quite young for an Elf when I met her; she was barely seventy years old." He stopped and looked at Clint. "May I ask…how old are you?"
Clint's eyebrows rose. "I'm…not really sure. When I was growing up I never really celebrated my Naming Day." There had been too much pain in his life for it to really matter to him and, by the time he was stabbed and left for dead by his only brother the archer had completely forgotten. "But I'm thinking I'm around forty."
"You're still a child in Elven years."
It was true, but then not a lot of Elves had been through what he had, and those events had done a lot to force him into growing up.
"Which is why I'm assuming you're not considering that you possibly have about two thousand years of life left, barring doing anything silly and getting yourself killed."
He really wanted to rebut that, but Clint couldn't because Ianto was right. Elves had a disgustingly long lifespan, and if he and Phil worked out a relationship they could conceivably have thousands of years together.
But…how would that affect Phil? After having Clint around for so long, would it be worse than if he'd only had a human length life?
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Just stop. You are seriously overthinking this." He crossed his arms, his blue and gold eyes narrowed. "My very good friend, Toshiko, met a young human soldier named Tommy Brockless. Despite knowing she would only have a human lifetime with him, she decided to take the chance and marry him. They were happy for nearly eighty years before Tommy died, and had had three children together. Yes, Tosh mourned him, but she told me it was worth it to have had that short a time with someone she loved than to have never taken the chance. I'm willing to bet that Master Phil will feel the exact same way."
That…yeah.
"The two of you need to talk, but I realize this might not be the time for it. However, after this is all done…Clint, promise me you'll make the attempt. Believe when I say that, if given the chance, you can work it out, because if Master Phil loves you as much as you do him, he will take those years with you and be all the happier for it." His expression softened. "He's going to need you when it's Daisy's time. She doesn't have the benefit of being an Elf or having that connection to the Deep Ways that I do. Her magic might help her live longer than a normal human being, but that won't be more than one hundred fifty years at the most."
It was the encouragement he'd needed. Yes, Clint still had some doubts, but he'd try to put them aside if it meant he could spend his life with the man he'd loved from the moment he'd watched him take on his first Void Point.
Alright, it might have been earlier than that, but that had certainly tipped him over the edge.
"I'll talk to him."
"Good."
"But I'd like you to promise me something."
Ianto nodded. "Anything within my power."
"If Phil and I do…this, then I'd like to ask you to be there for him to support him when I'm gone."
"That's an easy promise to make, Clint." He stepped forward, resting a hand on the Elf's shoulder. "Both Jack and I know what it's like to lose those we care about. Besides," his rather impish grim made his young face appear even younger, "I have the distinct impression we're all about to become good friends."
A thought came to Clint. "If that's so, then I have something else to ask you about…"
Ianto looked intrigued.