Phil wished he hadn't told Clint to meet him for drills this morning because he could have used the extra hour to sleep in. He had stayed up until two-thirty typing up a report, it shouldn't have taken that long, but his thoughts kept back to Darcy. At one point, he had thought about taking a break from his work and to see if she was still up, but when he saw that it was after midnight he decided that she was probably fast asleep. He wasn't sure what he would have even said to her if he did go to her. Instead, he continued to muddle on through typing his report, pushing all other thoughts to the back of his mind. When he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore, he crashed on the couch still dressed in his suit. At five a.m, his watch beeped, and he pulled himself up off the couch and crept into his room carefully not to wake Darcy up.

Quietly he grabbed one of his suits from the closet and started to head back out of the room. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at Darcy, he contemplated whether or not to wake her up to let her know he was leaving. She looked so comfortable wrapped up in the blankets, that he decided that he just leave her be. He took a quick shower and was out the door by 5:30 a.m.

He stopped at the cafeteria and got a coffee when he arrived at work, he was certainly going to need it this morning. Functioning on two and a half hours of sleep was not going to be enough to get him through the day. He walked down to the gym and switched from his suit into a t-shirt, track pants, and sneakers. Since he didn't get to go for his usual morning run, so he decided that he'd get some exercise with Barton today. Phil reached up with his hand and tried to massage his neck, it ached like a bitch from sleeping on the couch in such an odd position. Darcy had offered to sleep there so he could have the bed, but there was no way that he make her sleep on the couch. He was a gentleman after all.

"Morning! So are you shocked to see that I actually showed up?" Clint called out as he entered the gym. He was wearing his standard uniform and had his gear bag slung over his shoulder. He walked over to Coulson and smirked. "So what's my punishment?"

"I had thought about firing projectiles at you to dodge, but how about a little one-on-one basketball, instead?" Phil asked.

"I wondered why you weren't in a suit. Sounds good," Clint said as he tossed his gear over to the side. "You look like hell, if you don't mind me saying, sir."

"I ended up going to bed around 2:30. I had to finish up a few reports to hand into Fury, stayed up way later than I intended." Phil walked over to bench and grabbed the basketball. He dribbled it and then passed it to Barton.

"It's going to be a helluva long day for you," Clint dribbled the ball a couple of times and then shot it. It swished through the hoop, and he grinned. "You sure you wanna do this? My aim is pretty good. You know ... 'cause I'm Hawkeye."

"Just play the game, Barton," Phil shook his head and grabbed the ball. "Before I change my mind about the projectiles."

"Got it. Game on, then!"

Clint had won the game in the end but only by a few points. Surprisingly, Phil had given him a run for his money. "Okay, you almost kicked my ass, Coulson," Clint said wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I didn't know that you were that good at basketball."

"I'm good at a lot of things you don't know about." Phil said nonchalantly. They both walked over to the benches and sat down. He reached over and grabbed a water bottle and tossed it to Barton, before taking a sip of his own.

"Thanks," Clint said, catching the water and then taking the cap off to take a drink. There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Clint liked Coulson a lot, but he always had a hard time talking about anything other than work related stuff. He wasn't sure if they really had anything else in common. Coulson was so by the book, the perfect SHIELD agent. "We still haven't found that AIM goon yet. No leads, nothing. It could be a good thing though, maybe he just gave up on trying to get to Miss Lewis. How is she holding up?" He asked looking over at Phil.

"She's good. Doesn't seem to be too scared or worried. She's getting a bit stir crazy though, so the sooner she can get out of my apartment the better." Phil reached over grabbing a towel and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"She's hot," Clint said without really thinking. He quickly took a sip of water. "I mean, from the picture I saw of her. She looked pretty hot. I certainly wouldn't mind sharing my place with her for a few days, if you know what I mean. A total cutie." He chuckled.

Phil put the towel down and arched his eyebrow. "Really?"

Clint laughed. "Seriously? You don't think so? You can admit it, Coulson."

He nodded. "She's... easy on the eyes." He wasn't sure if he liked where this conversation was heading. Barton was getting nosey again.

Clint smirked. "See that wasn't hard. Admitting a girl is attractive isn't a sin. SHIELD isn't going to punish you for that. It's not like you slept with her."

Phil felt his heart pound rapidly in his chest and he glanced away quickly from Clint, looking down at the floor. His cheeks were growing warm but at least he could blame it on the basketball game. It was complete silence between the two of them for a moment until Clint choked on his water.

"Ho-ly. Shit! You slept with her! Oh, I know that guilty look all too well, Coulson." Clint's eyes were wide and he was grinning, shaking his head slightly. "I have to say, I'm impressed. Maybe you and I are more alike than I thought!"

"I'm not you, Barton."

"Well, that is true," Clint agreed. "You did slept with her, right? You didn't deny it. You got guilty written all over you. I thought, I smelled girl on you!" he teased.

Phil just looked at Barton not saying anything, but his eyes held the truth.

"Wow ... So how did that exactly happen?" Clint asked.

"I'm not going into details," Phil said, and shook his head.

Damn it.

"It's bad enough that you know that much already." Phil said as he twisted the cap of his water bottle on and off nervously.

"Oh, I'm not going to tell anyone, not even Tasha. This knowledge is too good to go sharing with everyone. I wanna keep it to myself," Clint promised. He could always use it as blackmail if he needed to. Nah, he wouldn't do that to Phil. Or would he? "So was this why you were so pissy with me yesterday? Of course it was ... Oh, and I called her a teenager. Yeah ... Sorry about that." Clint knew the age difference between Phil and Darcy was significant, so making reference to her as an underaged girl probably made him feel like a creep.

"It's fine," Phil said with a soft sigh. "We just got caught up in a moment. It was a mistake, and it won't happen again."

"Damn, I hope I can still bag girls like that when I'm-"

"Don't push it, Barton."

"It was going to be a compliment," Clint said shrugging his shoulders. "So you like her right? She likes you?" He watched as Phil nodded his head slightly. He looked really uncomfortable talking about this. "Sooo, I guess I'm not seeing what the big problem is? If it's the age gap, then that's a dumb reason. She obviously has no problem with it, so why should you? You know how many middle-aged guys dream of having a younger girlfriend?"

"Middle-aged?" Barton was really pushing it now.

"Hey, I could have called you an old man," Clint said as he bounced the basketball a couple of times. "Now, I know it's against policy to bang ... Err, I mean 'get involved' with her while you're on assignment. So, wait until we catch the son of bitch who's after her, then you'll be in the clear. Then you can go public and show her off. Sitwell will shit himself with jealousy."

"I don't know," Phil said quietly. Never in a million years did he ever think he'd be sitting here, chatting with Clint Barton about girl troubles. It made him feel like he was in middle school, and not a high ranking SHIELD agent. "I don't know why this conversation is happening between us," he said looking over at Clint.

"Well, it is. Not my fault that you gave your dirty little secret away," He grinned. "Look, it's hard to find love in our line of work, so when you get a chance at it, take it."

"I took a chance before and it didn't work out so well."

"Oh, are you talking about her? She was a bitch. Nobody around here knew why you were with that woman. Tasha said it was because her name was Sheila and it sounded a lot like SHIELD. I said it was because you must have been getting some real good bedroom action because why else would you be with that ... Woman. Choosing your job over her was probably the best decision you've ever made."

Phil chuckled slightly. "She was kind of a ... bitch, wasn't she?" He glanced down at his watch, it was almost time for him to start work. He had a feeling it was going to be another crappy day. It had already started off awkwardly chatting with Barton.

"Listen, I know I'm not the best at relationship advice," Clint said as he stood up and stretched. "But if you really want to be with Darcy, go for it. Don't let your age or your work stop you from bringing a little happiness to your life."

Clint's words really struck a chord with Phil. He had felt happy and content when he had been with her the other night. That could be a feeling he could have all the time. He knew that they wouldn't have a normal relationship, it would take a lot of work from both of them, but he was willing to give it a try. Assuming that Darcy still wanted anything to do with him.

"You've liked her for a long time, haven't you?" Clint said as he looked at the other agent. "You volunteered for mission. Why would a Level 7 agent even bother with taking on such a small inferior case that any Level 2 agent could do?"

Phil could feel his heart beating quickly in his chest. People had a lot of opinions about Clint Barton; most of them being that he was a jokester that had authority issues, which was true. However, being his former handler, he got to know Clint more on a personal level. He had a kind heart, he was strong willed, and very perceptive. There was very little that got past Barton without him taking notice to it. "It was when we were in Puente Antiguo. She came to me a couple of times trying to get her iPod back, and I started to kind of fall for her there. So when this mission came about I volunteered so I could have an excuse to be close to her. I really think the only reason Fury let me take it was because I was already familiar with her dossier. I'm sure he would have given it to a lower level agent otherwise."

"Aw that's cute! All the more reason not to pass this chance up. When you get home tonight, let her know how you feel. At least take her out on a few dates and see if that attraction to her is still strong." Clint said and then he walked over to Phil and patted him on the shoulder. "Good talk today, Coulson. Really felt like we bonded."

Phil rolled his eyes and shook his head as he picked up his bag off the floor. "Next time it won't be basketball. Watch your mouth, Agent Barton." He said as he started to walk away.

"Hey, Phil! Find out if Darcy has any older sisters," Clint called out before Phil walked into the locker room. "I'd say younger, but I don't want to date a ten year old," he teased.

Barton.

Phil stopped just before he walked into the locker room and turned around to face Clint. He gave a disapproving shake of the head and stuck up his middle finger, but he did it with a smirk on his face. Clint chuckled to himself as he watched Phil disappear through the doorway. He stooped down and picked up the basketball, dribbling it a few times, Phil Coulson just got a whole lot cooler in his book. So he wasn't just a one dimensional stuffy agent after all. Clint tossed the ball in the air and watched it fall through the hoop. He might not be the best at advice when it came to the opposite sex but he hoped he said something today that helped Coulson out.

It had been another long and boring day for Darcy, but at least she got her clothes washed. Most of the day she spent in front of the television, watching stupid morning talk shows and old reruns of 'Supernatural'. She didn't text Phil at all, she wasn't sure that would be the best idea, especially since things had gotten a little weird between them yesterday. Who knew how he was going to act when he came home tonight. "I fucked everything up," she muttered to herself, and buried her face in one of the couch pillows. It smelled like his cologne. She sighed deeply, imagining herself nuzzling close his neck, and sucking on his sweet skin.

"Darcy?"

She jumped up when she heard her name. "Phil! God, I didn't even hear you come in! Sorry..." Darcy said, her heart pounding deep in her chest. He looked really tired.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quiet," he smiled.

"That's because you're a super sneaky agent," Darcy smiled back.

He walked over to the table and set his car keys down, took his jacket off, and placed it on the chair. He spent the entire drive home planning out what he was going to say to her, but now that he was here; he had forgotten everything. "Darcy-"

"Phil-"

They both spoke at the same time.

"You go first," Phil said making a gesture to Darcy. He walked over to the arm chair across from her and sat down.

Darcy took a deep breath. This had to be the truth. "Look, I know it can't happen again. I'd be lying though if I said that I didn't want to happen again. I do... I mean, ...I wouldn't mind it." She looked down and chewed on her lip for a moment before she met his gaze again. "And while I'm confessing that, I might as well also confess that I've had a bit of a crush on you. All the way back from when you and thugs raided Jane's lab. That was a shitty thing to do, and the fact that you took my iPod was not cool either. Especially when that was the only thing that wasn't returned with all her equipment. I'm getting off track here, aren't I?"

Phil's lip twitched with a tiny smile, and he nodded.

"The point is, I have a crush on you. I've had one for a long time. I know there is a big age difference between us, but honestly, I think it's hot. I've always had a thing for older men. I know, I'm young and you might not be into that. You probably want some closer to your age, but I'm not a little immature girl. I just think you're damn sexy, and you're sweet. I'm not asking for us to jump into some kind of relationship or have another wild sex fest. I just want you to know that I like you and I would like to get to know you more, even if it's just on that friend level." Darcy took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She had no idea what his response would be now that she poured her heart out to him, but she hoped that he'd at least say something because this just staring at her thing that he was doing was starting to creep her out a little bit. "Okay confession over. Please say something."

Phil studied Darcy's face for a short moment. She was definitely being sincere in all that she confessed; he could tell by the way voice quivered, and the faint pinkness that crept along her cheeks. She had told him everything and was waiting a response, good or bad, from him. He nodded as he searched for the right words. "Darcy, you're a very pretty girl. You're extremely smart," Phil smirked. "You're a bit impetuous..." Darcy opened her mouth to argue, but Phil put his hand up before she could speak. "But I like that about you."

"You do?"

"I do. Darcy, I haven't been in a relationship in a while. A very long while. It's not something that generally works with job," he started to say, "it just doesn't seem to work out."

"Okay," Darcy said softly and tried to give him a faint smile. She figured that would be his answer. "Well, at least we know where we stand now. Thanks for-"

Phil held up his hand again to stop her. "Even with all that said, I would like to get to know you better. See where things go. Warning though, I could potentially be a really bad boyfriend. I disappear a lot for work and I can't tell you where I'm going or how long I'll be. I'm in a very dangerous field, and there may be a time where I don't return. Ever." He knew he was being a bit morbid, but he needed to be upfront with Darcy. She needed to understand that it was a possibility before he would even consider getting into any kind of relationship with her.

"I understand," she said. Her heart was beating a million miles an hour inside her chest. Did he really just say that he wanted to get to know her better? Or was she dreaming all this?

He exhaled a deep breath. "And, while we're confessing things..." Phil smiled nervously at Darcy. "I've had a bit of a crush on you since New Mexico as well."

"For real?" Darcy was shocked. BAMF Phil Coulson had a crush on her also?

"How could I not develop feelings for the beautiful girl that came to me everyday demanding to get her iPod back? Darcy, I took this assignment so that I could be close to you again. Also ... I certainly didn't trust your safety with any other agents. I needed to be the one protecting you," he said as he got up and moved next to her. He reached up and played with a strand of her hair, twisting in his fingers playfully. "I'll protect you forever."

"Can I kiss you?" She asked, placing her hand on his knee. "I really, really need to kiss you."

"Oh, yes, sweetheart," he whispered, pulling her close to him. Their lips met and they kissed slowly and passionately for several moments before Phil pulled away slightly. There was something he thought of on the drive into work this morning, and it was kind of bothering him. "Darcy, the other night when we ... were together, we didn't use-"

"I'm on birth control," she said quickly, before placing a couple of chaste kisses on his jaw.

"Oh, Really?"

"Have been for a while," Darcy replied.

"Mmm ... Good," he smirked, and then placed a kiss on her lips. Phil reached over and switched the lamp on the end table off, surrounding them in complete darkness.