2.5 years after

Phil closed the large wooden door behind him, and headed off along the winding corridor that supposedly led to conference room 616.

It was the first time he'd done something like this in a long while - since before Lola was born to be honest - but the training course had been non-optional, and if he wanted to continue teaching on a part-time basis - or at all really - then he had to attend.

Lola was spending a couple of days with her grandmother, no doubt getting spoiled half to death by her during the process, and Phil had taken the trip across state to attend the session, paint-splattered laptop - courtesy of Lola's handiwork - in tow.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be there - far from it - but more that he couldn't shake the slightly apprehensive feeling he had about the day, like something was going to go wrong, or something would change.

But what did he know.

As he rounded the corner at the end of the straight, and found himself walking into a large lounge-style area, complete with brown leather armchairs, and a soft classical soundtrack humming from the speakers above. Taking a few more steps into the room, he observed the shining wooden floor, and the apparently artistic paintings lining the walls.

But it was the figure at a table just to the right of him that really caught his eye, and for the first time that day, Phil grinned.

"Barton?"

The guy looked up, eyes widening as he spotted who had called his name, and he rose from his seat, beaming, as he walked over.

"Phil Coulson, no way!" He shook his hand vigorously, before patting him on the back. "How are you? It's been too long!"

"I'm…" Phil paused, wondering how much he needed to hide right now to prevent it getting awkward, but realising with slight surprise that he didn't have to lie quite as much as he'd thought he would. "I'm okay, thanks" he told him honestly, smiling back in response. "How about you?"

"Not bad, not bad." Clint glanced over to the clock hanging over his table, and shook his head, before turning back to Phil. "I have to get back inside in about two minutes, but how do you fancy getting a drink later to catch up? After this is all done?"

Phil nodded, but tightened the hand he had holding his bag - talking about how life was right now, possibly may not have been the best plan, but as Sam Wilson had told him the previous year, he couldn't hide from it forever.

"Sounds good."

"I heard about the accident," Clint told him in a low voice, swirling the contents of his beer glass around and shaking his head. "I'm so sorry Phil."

Phil nodded, not too sure how to react. He hadn't known how he was going to bring up what had happened, if Clint had asked about married life, but as it turned out, he already knew.

The pair of them had finished their training courses for the day, and had found themselves meeting up in a bar just out of town from the centre. A couple of burgers and piles of chips later, and they were discussing life over a few pints of beer, just like they used to as twenty-year-olds.

"I heard about it from Fury," he explained, obviously sensing that Phil was unsure how he'd heard. "He mentioned it last year. Apparently read about it in the paper, recognised her name from when the two of you were dating at the academy, and put two and two together. Car accident, right?"

Phil nodded, taking a gulp of his drink.

"Yeah."

"Man that's rough."

The two sat in silence for a while, no more words needing to be said. Phil was glad, in a way, that Clint had said no more, hadn't given him long trailing sentences of sympathy and sorrow and how things would get better. He knew him well, and Clint had seen him grieve once before, after he lost his father whilst the two of them were studying at teacher-training college together.

Clint understood that over the top sympathy wasn't the way to go, and Phil appreciated that more than anything. A lot of people didn't get it.

Everytime he walked down the street, or took Lola out for the day to somewhere within the local vicinity, Phil was met by stares of sympathy, side glances from those watching the two of them, from people who shook their heads in sorrow when they watched him raising Lola alone.

He was sick of the stares, sick of people treating them like he was made of glass, and would shatter at any second, even two years later. For the first year or so, he hadn't noticed it much, being in more of a daze as he drifted through life. But now he was getting things back together, and the constant onslaught of sympathy in the town was something he honestly wanted to escape.

"But you're doing okay now?"

Phil thought about it honestly. He was doing okay. Things were never going to be perfect again, never going to be the same, but two and a half years had gone by, and life was ticking along once more, just in a different way.

"Things are okay" he replied, looking up and indicating to the barman that they wanted another round in. "I mean, I've got Lola, and she's growing up so fast it's crazy."

Clint nodded, draining the last of his current glass.

"How old is she now?"

"Just over two and a half."

"Wow."

Phil nodded with a grin. "I know, crazy right?"

Two new pints were set down in front of them, and they waited patiently whilst the old glasses were cleared away from the table before continuing.

"She's walking, talking, running riot really" he continued, shaking his head at how much she tired him out. "And she seems to have got a creative streak from her mother… she never stops playing with paint or trying to make things… Maria got her this set of finger paints the other year, and she's never looked back."

There were also spots of paint all over his kitchen floor, glitter in his shoes, and glue dabbed across the lounge wall, where she'd tried sticking her art-work up herself, but all of it just made him love her more.

"And Maria?" Clint asked, remembering all too well Phil's crazy younger sister. "How's she doing these days?"

"She's doing great" Phil replied honestly, smiling a little at how much his sister had got her life together since her younger days of partying all night. "She's been promoted to supervisor at the fitness centre she works at… Providence?"

Clint nodded over his drink. "Yeah I know of it."

"She's been there a couple of years now, loves it… I think she'll want to be manager one day."

"She was always bossy enough" Clint muttered, and Phil had to laugh. That she was.

"But the bigger news" he continued, setting his pint down on the table and absently wiping away at the condensation on the glass. "Is that she got engaged over summer."

Clint widened his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, to a guy called Steve, they've been together almost three years now."

"Wow," he replied, nodding with a small smile. "Well congratulations to them."

They mock "cheers-ed" their glasses together, and both took a gulp of the cold liquid.

It was crazy to him, that his younger sister was getting married. Especially as it only felt like yesterday she had introduced Steve to him. But, Phil had to admit, he had never seen Maria so happy, and he honestly couldn't wait for the wedding.

They continued chatting about life for a little while longer, sharing a bowl of roasted potato snacks as they finished their second drinks.

Clint was working at a large high school out of state, near to where Phil's mother lived, and suggested that if at any time Phil wanted a change, he'd be happy to let him know of any vacancies coming up for a history teacher, both part time or full.

Phil thanked him gratefully, adding the information to the small part of his mind that was telling him a fresh start might be exactly what he and Lola needed.

"So how about you Phil?" Clint continued in a quieter voice, some time later. "Have you been seeing anyone else? Ventured back out there?"

Phil froze, watching the bubbles slowly rising in his third golden drink, whilst he thought through the idea in his head. It had been over two years since he'd lost Audrey, and whilst he had accepted she was gone, and no longer spent each day pining for her, he did honestly miss the companionship he'd had whilst they had been together.

"I've not really thought about it," he admitted, swirling a spare coaster around on the wet surface of the table. "I've been so busy with Lola, I've just… I don't know."

Clint nodded in understanding, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's just an idea, but maybe give something like online dating a shot? You know, even if it's just to get to chat to other people your own age."

Phil mulled the idea around in his mind.

The thought of seeing another woman, in a romantic fashion, was not something he'd really considered over the last few years, having been focused solely on bringing up Lola to the absolute best of his ability, and in a way Audrey would be proud of. He couldn't work out if seeing somebody else would feel like he was betraying his wife, or if it was about time he began to explore the possibility of making a future with somebody else.

It couldn't hurt to try… could it?