Rise of the Champions - Chapter Ninety-Four

Author: Milady Dragon


Phil smiled as the walls of his casting chamber surrounded him, glad that he and Crystal were finally back home.

Being in that other world, with people who looked like himself and his loved ones, had been jarring. Add to that the near-lack of magic…yes, being back at the Keep, with Clint and Daisy, and knowing that Melinda and Andrew were just up above his head, in the main areas of Shield Keep, it was something he had, a couple of times, despaired of ever seeing again.

Clint had his arm around his waist, even though Phil really didn't need the support. Still, he wasn't about to pull away, knowing that he might not have had this ever again. He was never going to take Clint's love for granted, or dismiss the intimacy of touch, ever again. In fact, he was going to suggest they get married sooner rather than later; the idea of him losing Clint before they had this sort of vow between them was heartbreaking. It was going to happen at some point anyway, and Phil simply didn't want to wait any longer.

Daisy's presence at his other side was also wonderful, a much-loved and familiar buzzing of Cardinal magic. Gods, how close had he come to almost losing this as well? He and Crystal could have died, if not for Ianto and Stephen and the support of their friends. They'd done an amazing thing, searching through every single reality, looking for him and Crystal, and he would never be able to thank them for not giving up.

He'd been happy to see Trip and Wanda as well but, as soon as he was home, they'd excused themselves, and Phil had told them that lessons would start up again in two days. They were both remarkable young people, and he'd been gratified that they'd cared enough to be there when he and Crystal were brought back. They'd hugged him again, then Crystal, and went home, Wanda quietly chastising him about getting into trouble without them.

"I think someone needs a nap," Daisy murmured.

Phil turned his head to look at her; she was carrying Crystal, who was resting her head against her elder sister's shoulder, her little face still pale with the strain of the last days. Her eyes were blinking slowly in that manner that said she was trying very hard to keep them open. She'd crashed pretty quickly, having had a short burst of energy as they'd left that other world, but now it was obvious that she'd had just as restless a night as he'd had, and the strain of being cut off from the Void had added to that exhaustion.

"I don't wanna take a nap," she whined softly, pouting.

"Well, I do," Phil told her. "Let's you and I take one and, when we wake up, maybe Andrew can find us something to eat."

He really wasn't all that tired; the moment he'd stepped foot back onto their world, the Void had come back to him in full force, energizing him almost to full strength. Oh, he wasn't recovered, not by a long chalk, but it was close enough that he could wait to sleep tonight. Being in the same bed with Clint would make that sleep a better one.

"Okay, Dad," Crystal capitulated.

"Why don't I take her up to her room?" Daisy suggested. "And Ata can take care of you, Dad."

"That sounds like an excellent plan." To be honest, he really didn't want to be separated from his eldest daughter any more than he wanted to be separated from Clint…

Wait…

"Ata?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah. It was Clint's idea. I was trying to figure out what to call him that wasn't his name, and he suggested it. It means Dad in Elvish."

Phil was aware of that, even though he didn't speak a lot of Elvish. He couldn't help the smile that widened his mouth. "That is perfect."

Clint was blushing a little, just at the tips of his ears, which Phil thought was absolutely adorable.

"Let's get that nap." Daisy hoisted Crystal up a little more on her hip.

Crystal didn't answer; she was already mostly asleep.

Lockjaw, yawning, followed Daisy through the door. The little dragon would be out soon as well and, while he hadn't suffered nearly as badly as Crystal had, he would have been feeling her distress through their link and it would have affected him just as badly. He had to have been just as exhausted.

"I can tell you're not really that tired," Clint commented once they were alone, except for Lola and Lucky.

"If I sleep now, I won't tonight," Phil confirmed. He set the bag he'd gotten from the Director onto the nearest workbench; he hadn't looked inside, but he thought there were at least several books within it. The bag itself was made of a fabric, much like the shopping bags that Andrew would take with him to the market. He'd have to pass it along to him to put with the rest of the others, to reuse when needed.

"Then, I think we need to talk."

Clint's tone was so absolutely flat it made the Wizard shiver…and his lover would have felt that though the grip had had on Phil's hip. Oh, this wasn't going to be good, but then he suspected that the Elf had a perfect right to be angry.

Phil had made a promise. Not to cut Clint out of any decision that would affect him and the family, and yet Phil had gone off alone after Daisy and had gotten himself and Crystal in so much trouble they could have died if they hadn't had fast-thinking friends. The Elf might have been glad to know they were safe and home, but that wasn't going to stop Clint from giving Phil all sorts of the hells for doing what he'd done.

Melinda and Andrew were waiting upstairs for them, but they each got a look at Clint's face, made their greetings short and sweet – well, Melinda had slapped Phil upside the head for doing something so utterly stupid as to walk into a fight without back-up – and then practically pushed the two of them toward the stairs. Melinda must have been really angry, because she barely pulled her punch, making Phil's ears ring instead of knocking him flat on his ass.

Honestly, what else had he expected?

Clint got them up to their bedroom before he finally let loose.

"How dare you!" he hissed as he slammed the door behind them. "You promised me, Phil. No more of this lone wolf shit. And what do you do? You go off alone, and you take our youngest daughter along for the ride! And the two of you could have died because you decided you had to teleport in, magic blazing, and take on Loki and the Hales and you had no idea if they had help! What were you thinking?"

Phil slumped down onto the bed, because he really had no rationalization for what he'd done. Clint was absolutely correct; Phil had charged in, without even paying attention to what Crystal was doing and letting her grab onto him, and it had led to both of them being lost in an alternate reality that could have meant their deaths if they'd been trapped there much longer.

"I know it's no excuse, but Crystal jumped on me as I was leaving –"

"No, it's no excuse. You know Crystal…she has trouble letting us out of her sight at the best of times. And this was about Daisy, who was in danger. The only reason she left Daisy in the first place was because our oldest daughter showed sense and ordered Lockjaw to teleport Crystal home! And Lockjaw obeyed because it's his job to look after his companion! Crystal should never have been close enough to jump on you, and you know it."

The thing was, Clint was right. Phil had been fully aware of Crystal's separation issues. Daisy had been taken from her once already, by John Garrett, and she'd been a witness to that attempted kidnapping. She'd wanted to go with him, and she'd given up too easily. Gods only knew if she'd actually planned it or just jumped in when she saw the chance – he really didn't want to think she was that conniving, but then she'd had to do whatever she'd needed to survive long enough for Phil to find her. And, honestly, she could be pretty damned manipulative, although he was more willing to believe that was just because she was a child…Daisy had been the same way at that age. Which made it worse, that he hadn't expected it to happen when he really should have.

"You're right," he admitted, shoulders slumping. "About all of it. I should have called you immediately, but I knew how important it was that you be where you were. And…all I could think of, was that Hydra had done it again, taking Daisy to get to me, and I just had to go." He looked up at his lover, letting everything he'd been feeling show in his eyes…the terror, and the sheer fury, of knowing that Daisy was in danger because of him. Because Hydra wanted the Dark One.

Because his past kept coming back to haunt him, and it was hurting the ones he loved.

Clint sat down next to him, the bed dipping a little under his weight and making Phil slide toward him. "You're not alone anymore, Phil, and I'm gonna remind you as many times as it takes. I get what you're saying, about being angry and scared, because that was me, too. Hells, even Nick was… he called in his Avengers to go to your rescue, although I'm sure if you asked him he would deny it and say it was because we had actionable intel about Hydra and Loki."

The Wizard snorted. He would never say a thing to Marcus about the rescue, just for that reason. His oldest friend would deny it and take the truth to the grave.

"Clint." He turned his body a little, so he could meet his lover's eyes. "I can't promise that I won't do it again…after all, you saw what happened when I did promise. But, I can promise to try to let you know if and when I decide to rush headlong into something dangerous, and give you the chance to try and stop me."

One side of Clint's mouth crooked upward in a fond smile. "I suppose that will have to be good enough." He reached over, taking Phil's hand in his. "Damnit, I almost lost you both, just when I'd found you again."

"How did you find us?" Phil suspected he knew; he could feel it now, the soul bond, a starry thread running between them, black as Void but with pinpricks of light dancing within it. It seemed stronger than ever before, connecting them forever.

"It was the soul bond." Clint went on to explain, and the Wizard found himself nodding along. He'd guessed that the strange rock was the Reality Stone, just from his original glance at it. Phil had recognized it from its aura…or its lack of aura, really. It had been so obviously created by the same Wizard who'd made the other stones, and the reality-warping magic around the valley had made that obvious.

The longer he knew Ianto Jones, the more the Cardinal Wizard impressed him. His ability to read magical Artifacts and get them to work for him was truly magnificent.

"I'm glad it was you who came for us," he admitted, once Clint was done with all the explaining.

"I'll always come for you." Clint nudged him with his shoulder. "Just don't make it a habit."

"I'll do my best." It was all Phil could say. There were still going to be times when he would have to do things that Clint couldn't follow, but he would, from now on, explain things as much as he possibly could. The idea of keeping secrets from his fiancé…it simply didn't appeal to him. He'd already kept his being alive from him for eleven years. That had been the worst secret he had.

"Lay down." Clint pushed and tugged at Phil – dislodging both Lola and Lucky in the process, the dragons having curled up on the bed while the two had their discussion – until he had his back against the headboard, the archer curled up next to him, doing his best to touch every single part of the Wizard. It wasn't sensual in any way; Phil recognized the need for Clint to be reassured by his physical presence, and he relaxed back into the embrace, just enjoying the contact.

Phil had no idea how long they lay there, the silence stretching out between them. It was a comfortable one, and it was nice to simply exist for a little while, and not have to worry about anything. Lola let her own contentment flow through their link; she had gotten Lucky down onto the hearth, where they'd curled up together as well. She hadn't defended him to Clint, but then Phil had known exactly how she'd felt about him haring off on his own, so he hadn't expected it.

Finally, though, Clint shifted a little. "While you were off facing Hydra on your own," and there was still a bit of sarcasm in his words, which Phil thought was entirely justified, "a couple of other things happened that you might want to know about."

"Oh?" The Wizard hoped it wasn't anything too serious. He didn't really want to make any important decisions right now.

"First of all, we found Crystal's older sister."

"What?" That news had Phil sitting up, in order to look at Clint in surprise. They'd been searching, of course, hoping that there would be some news of the missing elder child; Sir Napoleon hadn't found a single trace, once it was confirmed that there had, indeed, been a firstborn daughter in Crystal's birth family. "Where was she?"

As soon as he asked, he knew…she'd been in Jiaying's little enclave. How she'd gotten there was a mystery for now, but just from what he'd heard, the woman who'd claimed to be Daisy's mother had been collecting magical children that had been abused and had brought them into that valley.

"Where is she now?" he qualified, needing to find that little girl and bring her home. He and Clint had talked about that very thing, if Crystal's biological sister was still living, but Phil had honestly given up any hope of discovering her fate.

"She's here. Did you think I'd just let her go, once I found out who she was?" Clint rolled his eyes, but it was fondly, as if he was a little put out by Phil's doubt but willing to accept it under the circumstances.

Phil sighed. Thank the Gods. There was no way he was going to let her get away, not now. Crystal might have been too young to have recognized her, but she was a part of the family, and always will be. "We'll have to contact Baron Alexander and have him draw up more adoption paperwork."

"We'll do that tomorrow. Later on you can meet Medusa officially. For now, we still have some talking to do."

Clint's face was as serious as he'd ever seen it. Something was wrong, and he was a little afraid to find out what that was. So, he decided to stick to subjects that couldn't have put that expression on his lover's features.

"And what about that woman professing to be Daisy's mother?" To be honest, Phil really didn't want to know about her, but he needed to ask. After all, she'd abandoned her own daughter, and had returned to cause havoc after so long.

"Oh, she's in Wizard jail at the moment." Clint's tone was flippant. "Apparently, she's a lich."

"Shit. And how's Daisy with that?" Phil was worried about his eldest daughter; not only discovering her birth mother would have been bad enough, but to discover she was some sort of undead creature…

"Furious, but fine. I wouldn't leave her alone with Jiaying, she's liable to punch her."

That was his girl. His amazing, strong, wonderful Daisy.

"Phil," Clint went serious once more, "there's something else you need to know."

"You can tell me anything." The Wizard nestled back down, for some reason not really wanting to hear what his lover had to say but knowing it was important.

And so, Clint explained.

He talked about the UnEarthly Child, and how she was actually an immortal Elven illusionist named Ashildr. How she'd claimed to be the placeholder for the Void Deathless, until he could come and take her position as Jack's opposite.

How Clint was that opposite.

Phil couldn't make up his mind whether he was appalled or unbelievably happy.

From the moment he'd discovered that he'd been 'cursed' by the Void to be immortal, he'd considered it a punishment. He would lose everyone he'd ever loved, and continue on himself, neither aging nor changing, remaining the same as he always was, throughout all eternity. He'd have friends to help him, to keep him from despairing too much, but Phil knew himself, knew that that support wouldn't be enough. He would have learned to live in the present, and not worry about the future, but that wouldn't be enough when the time came.

When the first of the losses occurred.

But now…

"Do you…" he swallowed hard. He couldn't get the words out.

"Phil." The chest under his head sighed. "I want to be with you. Forever. If this is what it takes, then…yes. I want to do this. We're connected, you and I, and there's a reason for that. Oh, I'm not saying we can't choose our own destinies, that Ashildr could've whistled it out of her ass if I decided it wasn't for me, but…honestly…it is for me. This is the life I want. It's always been the life I've wanted, from the moment I was introduced to you. Back then, I had no idea what that introduction would lead to, but it had always been leading to this." His arms tightened around Phil. "I love you, Phil Coulson, and I want to spend eternity with you."

"Even though you'll lose everyone you love?" The Wizard's heart wanted to break at his lover's admission.

"But I won't…because I won't lose you. We'll always have each other, no matter how many centuries we're together. Sure, we're going to lose our girls, I know that…but we have so many years with them ahead, and we'll have each other to support when that day does come. Phil, living forever isn't as much of a punishment if you have someone you love walking beside you."

He was absolutely stunned. That Clint wanted this, wanted to live forever with him, become the Void version of the Deathless…Phil couldn't believe he was so lucky to have someone like that in his life. There was only one thing he could say.

"Marry me."

Clint started, then laughed. "I thought you already asked me that. I am wearing your token, after all."

Phil's fingers stroked along the bracer he'd given Clint, just before all this began. He would have to get on with all those enchantments he'd intended to put on it. "I think it bears asking again, especially after that speech you just gave."

"I'm not much for speeches, but when I make one…"

"It makes me want to propose."

The laughter that Clint let out came straight from the belly, shaking Phil along with his lover. "If you do that when I say my vows –"

"You won't have to say yes. I'll already have you where I'll want you."

"Oh, I'd say yes anyway."

The light teasing went a long way to easing Phil's conscience about the entire situation. There was a part of him that believed Clint was only involved in all this because of his presence in the Elf's life… which was true, really. But it was the way Clint was reacting to the very notion of immortality that was giving Phil pause. He wasn't doing it for power, or prestige, or any of the Hydra rigamarole… it was out of love.

Love for Phil, and the need to make his own immortal life easier by being able to stay by his side throughout eternity.

Clint wasn't being pressured into it, although from his description of events Ashildr had fully expected him to agree immediately. No, he'd given it thought, and had decided that being with Phil was worth the pain.

It was humbling. That someone could love him, past and all, that much.

"I think," he said, sitting up, "I'm going to take a bath, then go and talk to our girls. Well, Daisy and Medusa, since I'm sure Crystal is still asleep. Although she could surprise me." He never had gotten a bath back in that alternate reality, and he could almost still smell the scent of that odd air on his skin.

Clint pouted, and Phil smirked. "Of course, I wouldn't object to some company."

The pout vanished, and Clint was off the bed and heading into the privy. Phil laughed as his lover began peeling his clothes off as he went, hopping on one foot as he tried to take off his trousers without removing his boots first.

Phil followed, taking off his clothes in a more traditional manner…boots first. He couldn't believe how lucky he was, having Clint back in his life.

His very long life.