Clint bought a small table for the dining area of the apartment, mostly to sit at with Loki when they had to do paperwork for SHIELD and didn't want to spend their whole day at headquarters. They sat there this morning, the archer in his boxers and wife-beater and drinking a coke; Loki sat across from him with a bowl of oatmeal, already dressed for the day. Clint sniffed at the breakfast with a smile before looking back down at the sheaf of papers- banana flavored oatmeal. Loki loved it.
"What's on the agenda today?" Loki asked between mouthfuls.
Clint hummed and searched through the papers, but still went back to the first one and grabbed a pen, ticking off boxes and signing at the bottom, flipping to the next sheet.
"Stark's gonna transfer the money," he replied, leading his pen down the page. "But we have to see his CEO and get it all set up with her first so we don't set off any red flags."
"The account is open then?"
"No-" Clint flipped another page and scribbled an address on a line. "We have to have a certain amount of cash to open an account with them- that's why Stark's woman is going to set it all up."
Loki hummed and finished his oatmeal, getting up to rinse his bowl in the sink. He looked out the open window, watching nothing in Imelda's darkened kitchen. She wasn't awake yet.
"Did we decide whether or not the house will be in our name?"
"It would be in my name," Clint corrected. "But it's going to stay in Tony's possession- it'll set off suspicions and we'll get our own place eventually anyway."
The god sat at the table again, this time with a glass of water in hand.
"Why in your name?"
"Because you don't have one yet."
Loki was confused and Clint chuckled at his expression as he went on signing his papers.
"I don't understand. I don't... have a name?"
"Well, legally- on paper- you don't even exist." Clint set his pen down and got up, grabbing his wallet off the counter and flipping it open, pulling a plastic card out and passing it to the god.
"On Earth, you need physical documentation that identifies who you are and proves you're real and who you belong to and all that."
"Belong to?"
Clint ignored the question with a dismissive wave of his hand and continued. "That's my driver's license- tells you my name, where I live, when I was born. And then there are passports that are like traveling ownership papers. They show what country you're from and other important crap. It's considered proof of who you are. And you don't have any of those. You need them to travel."
Loki pursed his lips. "How would I go about getting these things?"
"Don't worry about it- I'm getting it taken care of."
Loki slouched in his chair and sighed. "These transactions and preparations have no part for me to play. It feels strange."
"Yeah, can you imagine trying to do all this shit on your own?" Clint flipped his signed papers right side up and tossed the pen on the stack, groaning and rubbing his eyes.
"Yes, well that is why I had the Tesseract. If I didn't have you I'd surely miss it."
Clint watched the god blankly, thinking about the lab in Nevada where he kept watch over the cube and the scientists bustling around it. He hadn't thought shit about it then, just doing his job.
He got up and walked by Loki to get dressed, flipping the edge of the gods hair as he went. He didn't say that he missed the Tesseract too- it would be too much to explain, and he wasn't sure he understood it himself. He dressed and the two headed out with the stack of papers in hand.
The secretary in the Stark Industries building had her gum tucked between her cheek and her teeth, creating a small bulge under her lip as she composed her face to look pleasant and professional when Clint and Loki walked in the door. She asked what help she could be to the men.
"We're here to see Potts." Clint informed her and his flippant tone set the girls brow down a twitch.
"The CEO is a very busy woman- she only entertains by appointment."
"Yeah, we're in there. Look under 'Barton'."
The secretary dug under her desk for a black book and flipped through the pages for the day. It occurred to Clint that she should've had the appointment book at the ready if there were so many. Maybe she was new.
She shook her head and hummed. "No, I have no Bartons for today. Tomorrow though. Trowa Barton?"
Clint grunted. "No that ain't me..." He looked askance at Loki, who shrugged. "He wouldn't put it under your name," he mused and pursed his lips, thinking that he should've made the appointment himself rather than letting Tony do it. When he repeated the phone call to the billionaire in his head, he was suddenly unamused and leveled the secretary a blank stare.
"Birdbrain."
She didn't even have the decency to look into the names again before nodding gravely.
"Fucking Stark."
The girl got up and led the two away into the depths of the company building. She took them to the top floors and down long halls until she stopped at a door and knocked, waiting patiently for a response to enter. She opened the door enough to fit her head and shoulders in.
"Miss Potts, your nine o'clock appointment is here."
"Great," came the CEO's soft voice. "Send him in."
And the secretary opened the door fully and stepped aside to allow Clint and Loki in.
Clint went to shake the CEOs outstretched hand as she came out from behind her desk, all bright smiles in her well tailored dress suit, but her smile faltered and fell when Loki came in behind him. She wavered in place, hand frozen in its welcome and she looked between the god and the archer warily. For a moment Clint was confused; it had been so long since someone recognized the god that Clint figured maybe no one in the general public actually knew what Loki looked like.
"What is he-" she breathed and Clint had to intervene.
"Wait: it's not what you think."
She looked frightened but trying to hide it, her pale green eyes widening and flitting between the two.
"It's different now- he's different now."
She had her eyes locked on Loki's then and Clint was glad he was keeping his mouth shut. He could only make the situation worse and he was terribly good at it. Clint stepped into her view, blocking the god from sight and it worked to get her out of her daze.
"Miss Potts. Tony knows about him. He wouldn't have made this appointment for us if he wasn't okay with it."
"Us," she said plainly.
"Yeah."
The CEO looked deep into Clint's grey eyes with worry, but she puffed once through her nose and shook her head slightly.
"You're right," she said softly and swiped her hands on her suit jacket to straighten it. "You're right, you're right." She cleared her throat and held out her hand again, all business once more. "Pepper Potts," she said.
Clint shook her hand and introduced himself, and vaguely introduced Loki to her with a 'you already know him'. Pepper motioned for them to sit in the chairs at the front of her desk, plush and comfortable, while she took her own seat.
"So you're Hawkeye," she said almost dreamily.
"Yes, ma'am."
She smiled loftily at him. "Tony talks about you all a lot- the Avengers. He smiles a lot when he talks about you too. I think he's starting to think of you all as family. He needs one."
"We like him too," Clint responded simply.
Pepper hummed serenely and then moved right into business. She pulled a folder out from behind her desk and opened it, grabbing a thick, fancy pen. There was an opal gem at the top. Just then Clint remembered the stack of papers he'd had to sign that morning- he'd given them to Loki to hold during the ride over. He tapped the gods elbow and signaled him to hand over the papers just as Pepper began to ask for them. She kept her eyes locked with Loki's as he handed the stack directly to her. She was hesitant. But she took the papers and sifted through them quickly to make sure everything was in order. She compared the, to her own few forms in her folder.
"So the account will be under the names... Kyle and Elijah Kelly? Who's who?"
"I'm Kyle," Clint confirmed.
She tightened her eyes and searched through more of the stack and then she glanced up at him in surprise. "You're married?"
Even Loki snapped to attention, the information being news to him as well. Clint wasn't fazed by their surprise.
"On paper we are."
"Huh. And his passport, birth certificate? Yours- well, Kyle's?"
"Got mine already. His'll be ready by the time UBS asks for them. Pepper nodded slowly, realizing that this discussion involved documents being forged. Talking about people who didn't really exist. Only on paper. She took a breath and delved back into the paperwork again, outlining the agreement of a twice yearly transfer plan for the next few years from Stark Industries to the account of Kyle Kelly. Then another quick sheet about payments in the home that would be lent to them by Tony Stark himself, not through S.I. It was a private agreement with only physical paper and word of mouth to officialize it. The CEO signed a few of the papers herself, used a stamp and seal and then she gently set her pen down beside the folder, looking up at Clint with concern on her face.
"May I ask you a personal question?" she inquired hesitantly, folding her hands on the desk.
Clint looked over at Loki, who seemed just as professional and stone-faced as Pepper had, and the god lifted his chin minutely. He did it to look down his nose and feel like he was above others. But it also meant he was wary.
"You may," the god agreed, and Pepper glanced between them before speaking again.
"What- uh... Why are you doing this?"
"This is your personal question?"
Clint tapped the gods knee with the back of his hand, keeping Loki's attitude in check. "She's trying to ask nicely about us," he explained quietly.
"I know she is."
"Then don't be a dick about it- she's doing us a huge favor. This wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for her and Stark.
Pepper's eyes darted back and forth between Clint and Loki, feeling like she was witnessing a lovers spat even though this was far from a fight. She had no idea about their fights.
Loki sighed, giving in to Clint's point and calming himself, looking up at the lady pointedly.
"We are in a relationship, madam."
"Uh... huh."
"We kiss, we sleep together, we fuck-"
Clint smacked his knee again, harder this time. "She gets it," he rasped as Pepper pursed her lips uncomfortably.
"She asked a personal question. I was merely giving personal answers."
Pepper seemed concerned for them, furrowing her brows with a slight frown on her lips. "I thought-" she tried and stopped to think. "Well, I guess you have your reasons."
Clint could see she was trying hard to be diplomatic about them, but she still wanted to know. He thought that Tony was surprisingly attached to Phil Coulson and maybe Pepper was too. It was the most likely reason she was afraid or upset by Loki. He knew that Phil was the agent who personally established and maintained contact with Tony. To get to Stark he would have had to go through Pepper.
She opened her mouth to speak again, but she closed it a second later and shook her head. "Well, the account will be opened soon- I'll send off the paperwork tonight. When your identifications come in you can bring them to me or contact the UBS yourself, whichever you prefer. But the villa is ready whenever you get there."
"Great!" Clint cheered with a smile. It worked to disarm the lady of her caution and she suddenly smiled widely at him. Business is done and business went well.
"We'll get out of your hair then," he said as he lifted himself out of his chair. Loki did not rise. Pepper got up as well and shook Clint's hand once more over her desk as he thanked her for her help. She told him to think nothing of it. When Clint turned away, Loki took his cue to stand, drawing Pepper's gaze, and he tilted his head to her and followed the archer out of the office.