Rise of the Champions - Chapter Thirty-Three
Author: Milady Dragon
Clint stumbled down into the kitchen the next morning, rubbing his eyes and in serious need of coffee.
Last night was strange. He knew he'd slept, and slept well. But, at the same time, it almost was like he'd slept too long, more than the hours that he actually had. It must have been a deep sleep because he'd been certain when he'd gone to bed last night that there would be nightmares involved; there usually were, when Phil was down after using too much of his magic. The night before had been that way, and the Elf figured he'd only gotten about two-thirds the rest he usually did.
It should have been the same last night. Instead, if he'd dreamed he didn't remember it, which was really unusual for him.
Phil, however, was still out. He hadn't even awakened when Clint had crawled out from under the blanket, and he hadn't exactly been quiet getting up that morning, getting his foot caught in the sheet and practically dragging everything off the bed in his attempt to get himself untangled. He just hadn't been his usual, graceful, self.
And yet, that hadn't been enough to rouse Phil out of the deep sleep he was in. Even Lola was down, and Clint had carried her from the couch in the sitting room into the bed so she would wake up next to her Wizard and not be alone, since Lucky had decided to come with him instead of lazing around. But then, breakfast would be waiting, and Lucky didn't skip meals for any reason whatsoever.
That dragon was going to get fat if Clint wasn't careful.
Both Daisy and Crystal were eating when he eventually dragged himself downstairs. Both girls looked up at him when he entered the kitchen; Daisy's question was a silent one, but the archer thought he was getting good enough to interpret the silent, 'How's Dad?' in the rise of her single eyebrow and the questioning look in her eyes.
Crystal, however, was anything but silent. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, climbing down from her chair and throwing herself at his legs, nearly sending him backward onto his ass. She wrapped her arms around his thighs, squeezing almost too hard for comfort. "How's Dad? Is he coming down too?"
Clint gently disentangled himself from her clumsy hug, kneeling to look her in the eye. "Your Dad's still asleep, sweetheart. He'll probably be out for a while yet."
The little girl's mouth turned down, lower lip trembling. "Dad's gonna be okay, right?"
"Oh yes. He'd just really tired." Clint hugged her, wanting nothing more than to reassure her. "Now, finish your breakfast and we'll see what we can do around here until he wakes up."
He took her back to the table, lifting her and sitting her back in her chair in front of her unfinished oatmeal. When Clint straightened back up, it was to greet Andrew, who had a cup of coffee ready for him. "You are a god among men," he moaned, taking his first sip and scalding his tongue. "Aw, coffee, no."
Andrew was vastly amused. "That'll teach you not to drink it until it's cooled down a little."
It probably wouldn't, but Clint did allow him the point.
After collecting his own bowl of oatmeal and fixing it the way he liked it, then getting Lucky his breakfast, the Elf joined his girls at the table. "Are you going back to school today, Daisy?" he asked, taking his first spoonful and savoring it. He hadn't really had oatmeal until he'd had Andrew's. He had no idea what the man did to it to make it taste so good, even without the fruit and cream Clint always added.
"Actually," she answered, "I'll be at Castle Ferrous. It's a one-on-one day and Pepper has me working on some control issues I still seem to be having. It's just easier that I use her casting chamber instead of potentially destroying a lab at the school." She looked a little chagrined, but honestly Clint thought she didn't have anything to be that way about. Daisy was woefully overpowered, and needed the help, which she was getting. He trusted Pepper to do the best she could for his daughter.
It was good, though, that she'd be away from the Keep, and busy enough so she wouldn't worry overly much about Phil…not that it would necessarily stop her. Also, Castle Ferrous was not only heavily warded, but Baron Tony had also added some of his own science tricks to castle defense. Daisy would be safe there.
Oh, it wasn't as if she wouldn't be safe at the Wizard School. The Headmaster had had a lot of extra ward work done after Daisy got kidnapped the first time, so the place was as safe as if possibly could be. Still, Clint felt better that Daisy was going to be at Ferrous.
"Have Dad call me when he wakes up?" she asked.
Clint gave her a smile. "You have to ask?" He made it sound teasing, and knew he'd succeeded when she grinned at him.
"Yeah, I suppose not. Oh, and please don't forget to let Dad know about that call from Stephen yesterday. I don't know what he'll want to do about it."
Clint nodded. She'd told him about Prince Thor wanting to see Phil last night, after his lover had fallen asleep. He didn't know what the Prince of Asgard wanted with Phil, but he could make some guesses. Just from the request, he figured that Thor knew just who Phil was to Loki, and wanted to talk about that, and he was with Daisy about not being sure if Phil would even want to speak to the Prince.
Personally, the idea that Prince Thor knew who Phil actually was, was worrying. He didn't like the fact that there were people out there not bound by the rules of the Quorum and not members of the family being aware that Grand Master Phil Coulson had been the Dark One in another life. Clint didn't trust anyone with his lover's safety, especially a total stranger who had no real reason to keep the knowledge secret.
Still, he'd mention it. It would be up to Phil if he wanted to arrange a meeting.
"Crystal and I can hang around here," Clint said. He turned toward his youngest daughter. "I can read some more of that book you liked."
Crystal bounced in her seat. "I'd like that, Daddy. I wanna find out what happens to Harry and his friends at the Wizard School!"
Daisy rolled her eyes. "You're reading her that, Clint?" She was distinctly unimpressed.
"It's not that bad," he defended, although it kinda was. The author got so many things wrong about magic and the school that he was surprised no one had complained about it instead of each of the books in the series becoming best sellers. Still, he supposed that the stories did bring a certain cachet to the school itself. And, at least the writer hadn't bought into the 'Voids are Evil' aesthetic. After all, she'd made Hermione Void, which was awesome. And all three of the kids were each a different sort of Wizard, and that was a message that made Clint smile, that all three Orders could be friends like that.
That lesson alone had been worth some of the more cringeworthy errors in the books.
Not much later, Daisy left for Castle Ferrous, so Clint finished his breakfast and had another cup of coffee. He figured reading to Crystal would distract her from the fact that Phil was upstairs, still deeply asleep, and hopefully she wouldn't worry so much about him if he kept her occupied. To be honest, Clint himself really wasn't all that concerned – alright, that was a lie – although he absolutely hated that his lover was so willing to do that to himself. Still, it had been to help someone who'd needed it, so the Elf couldn't say too much about it. Phil was always going to be a self-sacrificing idiot, which was one of the many reasons Clint loved him so much.
It was so very different from his Dark One days that the archer couldn't help but be pleased as well as horrified.
Not horrified that Phil had changed that much, but that all of that had been within him all that time and yet he'd never let it out, because it wasn't how a dark Wizard acted per his lover's own parents.
And there it was, the almost unreasoning need to track down Phil's folks and to show them the pointy ends of a couple of arrows.
Crystal finished eating before Clint did, and sat across from him, giving him the pleading eyes that she was so very good at until he was done. Laughing, he scooped her up out of her chair and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, making Andrew grin even as he stood out of the way as Clint carried his daughter out of the kitchen and toward the library. Lockjaw and Lucky followed in their wake, the smaller Lockjaw cackling in draconic laughter as Lucky shepherded him along.
Crystal giggled. "Put me down, Daddy!" she demanded, even though he could tell she really didn't want him to.
"Nope," he told her, tickling one of her flailing bare feet. "I've got you, and you're stuck with me now."
"That's good to hear."
The Elf turned, smiling as he saw Phil standing on the stairs. He looked so much better than he had last night; the shadows under his eyes were gone, and his skin was back to its normal color. He was still obviously tired, but not that horrible exhaustion from yesterday. He was also smiling at their antics, Lola giving her own dragon-y chuckles.
"Dad!" Crystal exclaimed happily. She wriggled just enough to give Clint the message that she wanted down, so he set her on her feet. The moment they touched the stone, she was off, and the archer was about to warn her not to greet Phil as she usually did by slamming into him when the little girl slowed down and wrapped her arms carefully around Phil's legs.
"I didn't expect you to be up so soon," Clint commented.
Phil put his arm around Crystal, hugging her gently. "I thought I would still be sleeping as well, but I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd come down and find everyone else as well as hopefully get a bite to eat."
Both Lucky and Lockjaw greeted Lola effusively, pinning her to the steps and licking her happily. She preened under the attention of the two younger dragons, returning their cuddles and kisses just as happily as they were being given.
"I was going to take Crystal into the library to read to her." He turned toward their daughter. "Sweetheart, why don't you go and get the book for us? I have to speak to your Dad about something."
Crystal looked as if she wanted to argue, but Phil said, "Go on, Crystal. Your Daddy will be in shortly, and I'll join you as soon as I get something to eat."
Clint didn't want to say that it might not happen that way, but he kept quiet. He didn't want to disappoint Crystal by correcting Phil, once he heard what Clint had to say.
"Okay, Dad." She let go, then headed toward the library. Clint had left their book on the table by the chair they'd started using when they were reading, so she would have no problem finding it. With a silent prompting, Lucky followed, as did Lockjaw.
Phil came down the stairs the rest of the way, Clint meeting him at the bottom. Without even thinking about it, he had his arm around his Wizard, tugging Phil against him. "I was worried about you," he whispered.
The smile he got from that confession brought a sweet smile to Phil's face. "I was always going to be fine."
That was probably true, but that didn't stop him from being concerned. "When do you think you'll be able to expel the bad Void?" He was hoping it would be soon. The idea of Phil carrying that around for any longer than absolutely necessary, made Clint's heart ache.
"I've done it already."
That was a surprise, but then Clint figured that Phil had done it immediately after waking up. He would have wanted to get rid of is as much, if not more, than Clint had. "That is excellent." As a reward, he leaned in, brushing his lips across Phil's lightly, lovingly, a part of him afraid that if he did anything too hard his lover would break.
Phil pulled away with what seemed like a great deal of reluctance. "I see our youngest daughter, but where's our oldest?"
Clint explained about Daisy's plans at Castle Ferrous, warmth flowing through his chest at his lover calling Daisy 'ours'. Yes, he'd signed the papers and everything, but it was all still so new to him, being a father when he'd never even considered that for himself. "And she's passed along the letters, so we should most likely be expecting answers shortly."
"Good. I want to get them protected as soon as possible."
"There's something else you need to know."
Phil listened as Clint explained about the request for a meeting from Prince Thor. "It has to be about Loki," he observed.
The Wizard nodded. "Somehow, the Prince knows who I am." Phil sighed. "I guess this shouldn't surprise me, that it would get out and beyond the Guild. And all he would have needed were certain pieces in order to put the truth together."
"Are you going to meet with him?" Clint wanted to know.
"I think I should. From what I'd heard about events after my near-death, Prince Thor was the one who'd taken Loki back into custody for the trip back to Asgard. And he's supposed to be a good man. I don't believe I have anything to worry about from him."
Clint certainly hoped that was true. "You're not going alone."
Phil smiled. "I didn't even consider it."
"Good." There was no way in any of the hells was he going to let Phil speak to this Prince of Asgard without him. He might have been one of the most powerful Wizards in the world, but he would need someone to watch his back. Clint had already vowed to be the one to do that.
"I'll contact Master Richard in New Andrade later. For now, I'm starving and really want to eat something, and I can hear Lola's stomach growling."
The dragon started chattering in denial, making Clint laugh. He hadn't needed to hear Lola's belly to know that the dragon was most likely as hungry as her Wizard. "Andrew made a pot of oatmeal, and he was saving some for you in case you managed to drag your magnificent ass out of bed sometime today."
Phil smirked. "It's nice to know you appreciate my ass like that."
Clint reached around and grabbed that magnificent ass. It really was quite spectacular. "I'll be sure to show you later just how much I appreciate it." He grinned lasciviously. There would never be a time when he wasn't attracted to Phil, and he was eager to prove it.
"Then I should gather my strength for later," Phil laughed, "and that means breakfast. I'll eat then join you and Crystal in the library. Afterward, I'll contact this Master Richard and set up a time to meet with the Prince."
Clint wasn't so sure how he felt about that, but he would go along with whatever Phil wanted to do. And, maybe Prince Thor didn't mean any harm. However, the notion that this guy knew Phil's secret, the archer didn't like that at all. It was bad enough that there were others who knew, but the more that did, the chances were greater that it would slip out and become common knowledge. The last thing Clint wanted was for Phil to be arrested or something for his past mistakes. Even though Phil would be the first to admit that he'd understand why it happened. At times there was a huge difference in mundane and Wizard law, after all.
There was one more thing he wanted to talk to Phil about, but he hesitated, because he wasn't sure exactly what sort of response he would get.
It was about this bond thing that Stephen had talked about.
Clint couldn't help but be amazed by it but, at the same time, would Phil feel the same way? Would he want that sort of thing between them? All Clint could think of was when he eventually died, what would having a soul bond do to Phil? He'd known that his death would destroy Phil, but this…this would be so much worse. How would Phil react to the knowledge that something like that had sprung up, connecting them in ways that everyone else weren't? They weren't like Jack and Ianto, who would have their own version of eternity. He and Phil would have about another two thousand years, unless Clint got himself killed in a fight or some silly accident…which, knowing him, it would be a really stupid death before his time.
Could he really do that to the man he loved?
Phil must have noticed something off. "What's wrong?"
Clint plastered a smile on his face, hoping his lover wouldn't push. "Nothing, really."
He got a disbelieving side-eye at that response.
"Look, we'll talk about it…but not right now, alright? Let me be a coward and keep it to myself for now."
"You are not a coward." Phil leaned in and kissed him again. "Just let me know when you feel comfortable discussing what's bothering you."
He didn't seem upset, which was a good thing. "I will. I just…need a little time to process something and, when I'm ready…"
"You know I'll wait for as long as it takes."
Clint just wasn't sure how long that would be, himself.
