On the drive to headquarters, Clint felt a little spur-of-the-moment and stopped at a small coffee house. It was quiet and nondescript; Clint considered it plain-jane and liked it, though he liked the hipster atmosphere that a regular Starbucks had too. He had told Loki that he felt like making Fury wait on them. The Director hated it when he called an immediate meeting and someone showed up with coffee. Loki opted for tea, perusing the selection and being intrigued by the names. He picked one and loaded it with sugar, getting the barista to put a little whipped cream on top.

Sure enough when the two entered Fury's spacious office, the Director zeroed in on their take-out cups, his one eye telling them he wasn't amused. Clint tried to hold in his snicker but still made a little noise. It was the serious look on Natasha's face, who was sitting on the couch along the windows, that warned Clint this meeting was serious and he sobered up, glancing between the two curiously.

"Something happen since four hours ago?"

Natasha rose and stood beside Fury's large L-shaped desk, touching her fingertips on one hand to it and giving the Director a quick look. Fury cleared his throat and nodded his head to her, allowing her to deliver the news:

"You have to leave New York."

"Oh!" Clint sighed theatrically, though he was actually relieved and even wiped his brow of non-existent sweat. "I thought it was gonna be something serious like- my mom died or something. But you know, this is perfect timing, we've already packed up most of our shit."

Natasha's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. "Why?"

"Moving apartments, man. Had another break-in last night-"

"This morning," Loki corrected gently.

"Right- this morning. Had to jimmy my damn door shut with a freaking steering wheel lock bar!"

Loki rolled his eyes and huffed about the inconvenience, taking the moment to sit on the couch with his sweet tea. Clint joined him, sitting far enough away that only their knees touched as they spread their legs and got comfortable. Clint rubbed his face with one and and groaned, tired and frustrated.

"Fucking Thor," he grunted.

"Well, good." Black Widow agreed, moving on. "You need to leave the area quickly, by tomorrow if possible."

"Why so soon? What happened?"

"Someone is after you, like we thought, and they are in SHIELD like I thought. But it's bigger than we expected." Natasha's face was grave, and Fury's didn't look that much better. Concerned is actually an extreme expression for the Director, Clint noticed over the years. When he looked worried, it meant shit got real.

"You finger someone already?" While the situation was a serious one, Clint still remained calm, sipping his coffee. If Natasha and Fury were on top of it, he had nothing to worry about.

"A few people, actually, but we're waiting to make the move- we haven't found the leader yet."

Clint nodded his head in understanding and hummed. He clicked his tongue and tried to sound as casual and non-accusatory as he could. "You check out Sitwell?"

Fury sighed and leaned back in his rolling chair. "Agent Sitwell has nothing to do with it, most likely."

"Most likely- meaning Nat hasn't cleared him. He's a suspicious little punk! You know, I've actually got a question for you, sir." Clint sat forward angrily, the paper coffee cup dangling from one hand by the lid. "Did my neighbor ever say Prophet's name during interviews or debriefs?"

Fury didn't look away from Clint's gaze. "No."

"Did I tell you, or Loki?"

"No."

"Well, Sitwell came to Stark Tower after that meeting Tony walked out on, and he asked about Prophet- saying you sent him to question me. Used his name and all. Did you send him?"

That look of worry cropped up on Fury's face again and Natasha looked back at him, awaiting an answer. Clint spoke again before he could; the exchange of expressions already telling the archer what the answer was.

"I don't think he's shady just because I'm paranoid. The dude is weird."

"Then the request still stands that you need to get out of New York before we start taking people in."

Clint sighed and got up, tapping Loki's knee as he did. "Any particular place you want us?"

"Far away," Fury chimed in. "Stay in the country but let's keep it between us; don't tell anyone where you've chosen to go. For all intents and purposes you're grounded, on vacation, I don't care. Hopefully by you up and leaving, the culprits will be in a panic and we can weed them out easier."

"You hear that, Lo- stay in the country."

The god hummed and withheld a smirk. "For now."

Clint snickered at him, wearing his own smirk.

Natasha began to chastise him, "Clint-" and the archer raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm taking it seriously- really, I am. We'll get gone." He started to lead Loki to the door when he stopped short and turned around. "You know, every time you call a meeting it's to tell me one thing. You could just call me. Now we gotta go all the way home just to keep packing."

Fury glared at the archer and told him to get lost, which Clint responded to with a lazy salute as they walked out. He elbowed Loki for silent attention and started away for him to follow, leading him to an empty conference room. Inside, he leaned against the wall just by the door. Loki preferred to stand nearby.

"Where will we go? This puts our plans on hold for an indeterminate amount of time."

"Fury said to stay in country, so we stay in country. We can't leave yet anyway- we still don't have your papers." Clint scratched the stubble along his jaw and groaned. "Dunno how long we need to be gone- camping would be a bad plan. We'd be off the grid, but we need to be able to contact Nat or Fury if shit hits the fan. And I don't think you want to be spending the next- month in a tent with me, Mr. Are-these-your-only-rooms."

They both chuckled at the memory of Loki wandering Clint's tiny apartment.

"So, we'll go on vacation… Somewhere fancy… Ever been to the beach?"

"On Earth? No."

Clint fished his phone out of his pocket and searched through his contacts with a smile on his face. He put the phone to his ear and waited, Loki watching him curiously. When the other end was answered, Clint's face brightened up a bit.

"Hey man, I have a problem. Fury's telling Loki and I to skip town and get out of sight… Yeah. Well, I'm calling because- Dude would you shut up and let me talk? Are you using your Malibu house? Why do you think? Couple weeks… No, we're not gonna fuck on your couch- well wait, Loki's shaking his head- don't think we can promise anything." He covered the microphone with his thumb and laughed with the god, shaking his head. "He's losing his shit!" He uncovered the mic again. "Yeah, you'll have to have Jarvis filter the feed he sends you, but we'll keep the place clean… Okay… Right… Yeah, yeah, but here's the thing: no one can know we're there. None of the team except you and Jar- no. No, not even Fury knows. Alright. Thanks, man." He terminated the call and sighed. "So we know where we're going, now we gotta decide how to get there."

"And where is this 'Malibu house'?"

"California. Other side of the country."

Clint pushed off the wall to sit at the conference table, setting his coffee down with a light tap and he pulled up a map of the United States to show the god as he joined him. He pointed to the Nevada base where Loki first appeared on Earth, to the makeshift lab in the northwest, and where they were in New York. He laid out the distance from Tony Stark's mansion in California from New York and shrugged.

"We could fly there, but a last minute flight to Cali will be crazy expensive and we'd leave a trail from here to there. And then what about my bike? I'm not gonna leave it here."

The door to the room swished open and both Clint and Loki turned to see the intruder. A skinny girl with her wavy locks framing her face carried a stack of papers and she nearly dropped them all at the grumpy looks the two gave her. She went red in the face and bowed out of the room, stammering apologies until the door automatically shut her out. Without missing a beat they looked away and continued their conversation as though the interruption hadn't occurred.

"I mean, we could drive there on the bike, like a road trip. Take about a week… We could sight-see and stuff. Just take all our cash." Clint hummed and considered it further in his own head. "Would you wanna do that? Ride across the country; learn stuff?"

"Where else do I have to be?"

They packed up the rest of the apartment, leaving out a few things they would need for the trip, and then Clint called a service to pick up the boxes that night. They sat on the couch limply, tired from the long night and day. Clint still cursed at Thor for waking them up so early.

He had a laminated map unfolded over their legs, a marker ready to plot their course from New York to California. Loki had insisted on using a physical map- one that he could easily use and understand, but Clint ended up agreeing on the thought that they could lose service on his phone or the charge would be too low and then they'd have to stop for a map anyway. He wasn't sure if LUCIA would be able to chart the roads they wanted to take without reading them all to her and telling her at what sights they needed to stop. With one red marker, Clint circled points of interest along the southern half of the country and then a black marker traced the paths of secondary roads and scenic routes along the sights.

Loki got up to look through the pouches of the saddlebags they bought for the bike, judging what was going to go where in the allotted spaces. There was a small duffel bag too, firm leather and cylindrical which would strap onto the bike or to Loki himself for more supplies as they traveled. Clint had pulled out half of his bank accounts worth of cash and would withdraw the rest the next day before they left.

The kitchen window was open, and Imelda was back: jazz tinkled through the apartment with a slow and melancholy saxophone, sounding inexplicably far away. Something to listen to in a space-shuttle as you watched Earth from a far orbit. Clint let his head fall back and his eyes close, sighing quietly while he listened. Loki looked up at him from the floor and smiled, turning back to his packing. The archer was going to miss that. He knew for sure.

When he moved into the apartment, the first thing he did was open the window, letting out the dusty air that just never seemed to leave. There was no music then, just another open window across the way with the curtains wafting in the slightest breeze. That first night, just as dusk was setting in, came the jazz. It was never too jaunty or happy, never swing or big band, just something calming and somehow introspective in itself. Clint was still unpacking his meager belongings and picking a location for the couch when he heard it, and it made him stop everything for a moment, long enough for him to follow the music to the window and simply listen. He never understood how it had that effect on him- he hadn't listened to much jazz in any form, R&B being the closest he came to it. But this... He could love this.

Some nights the jazz wouldn't play, but his window stayed open just in case. Other times the tunes would start sometime during the day and play until nightfall, and Clint ended up by the window to hear it all. One evening found him with a folder of papers and pen, marking up a report for SHIELD while he sat on the kitchen counter, legs over the sink to brace his boots on the edge. He leaned his shoulder against the windowsill and jotted away, not noticing the woman coming to the window across the alley and smiling at him.

"Getting sentimental, darling?"

Clint smiled and lifted his head to continue on the map. "Just gonna miss this. Never liked any of the apartments. I just felt... Alone all the time. Here I knew I had someone keeping an eye out for me, even if it was a civie. Then I met you. Couldn't be alone if I tried now." He chuckled at his last remark, letting Loki know that he didn't want to be alone, he was just pointing out the joke.

There was a knock at the door, which was hanging open, lopsided. Clint assumed that he would tell the landlord and have him bill SHIELD for the repairs. It would be sure to give Hill a stroke. Clint peeked over the back of the couch as a man eyed the door and busted frame warily while he entered. Clint was instantly pleased to see the man in his baggy khakis and button up shirt, open except for the top button. He greeted him warmly.

"Hey! Welcome to mi casa."

"You always got a fucked up house, esé," the guy said, finally looking away from the door.

"Yeah, I get into a lot of fights. You got something for me?"

The cholo held out a folder to Clint and made eye contact with Loki as the offering was taken from him. He nodded at the god. "You that new guy la Diosa is talkin' about?"

Clint opened the packet and checked the contents while Loki hummed at the question.

"If you mean 'god' then yes, but I am far from new. I dare say Madam Rosario is the 'new guy' in this instance."

"She said you'd be pinchazo quisquilloso."

Loki had started to stiffen at the insult, ready to get ugly with him, but Clint reeled him in with a simple low call of his name. Loki huffed and turned away, and the guy looked back at Clint with a small smirk.

"Everything there?"

"Yeah, it looks good. Tell Rosa thanks for me. She won't be hearing from us again. Couple beers in the fridge if you want 'em."

The visitor hummed with interest and disappeared into the kitchen, rattling around in the refrigerator and snapping the cap off of one of the drinks. He headed out the door carefully with three beers in hand.

"Gracias, homes," he said as he left.

"De nada." And then they were alone again. Clint held out a crisp passport to Loki with a grin. "Check it out- you're now Elijah Bryce Kelly- the six-foot-eight, black haired, green eyed hottie from America. Make sure you memorize all the specs in there about you."

The god opened the front cover and was met with a picture of his own face with his new name beside it. "Will you be calling me by this name now? Will I have to call you..."

"Kyle? Nah. Only if we're talking to people who only know us by those names. Officials and shit. You're still Loki to me. Let's see-" he sifted through the files in the folder and pulled them out as he named them, handing them to the god. "Here's your social security card- also memorize that number. And your birth certificate... driver's license..."

Loki inspected it all carefully, learning every bit of info on this new life that was assigned to him. "Seattle, Washington. Why was I born there?"

"Why is anyone born anywhere? I was born in Niger because my parents were on a safari vacation. Doesn't really have anything to do with who you are. I'm still an American, raised the American way. Nat was born and raised in Russia, now she's an American citizen. I think. You know, I knew this kid in school who was born in Germany- military parents stationed there. Don't know how many times that girl was asked if she was a Nazi."

Loki had read enough history books to know what that was. "Was she?"

"No. Not at all. That question just shows how ignorant people can be. It insinuates that all Germans are Nazis, which isn't true. And not all Nazis are German."

Loki hummed at the thought. "Did you pick a birthplace at random then?"

Clint's face reddened and he looked away, back into the empty folder with which he fidgeted. Loki squinted at him suspiciously.

"You didn't." And he sat there on the floor and thought about the significance of the location, staring at the words on his driver's license before he realized. "The base. Our base, where I kept the Tesseract."

Clint pursed his lips sheepishly. "Our marriage license is from Seattle too."

"You are a shameless romantic."

"Oh come on! It was where we were together most of the time. And... I loved you there. I hated you at the same time, but it's different now. I can say it now."

Loki had a small smile on his lips, one that said he was trying not to smile, trying not to show Clint how happy he was.

"I know you didn't love me back then," Clint continued solemnly, looking down at the map so he wouldn't have to see Loki's face. "You were running an invasion, trying to take over the world. There's no time to think about shit like that."

"You're right- I didn't. I trusted you to do your job as my commander. I trusted your need to work and to kill. I lorded over you and the others as gently as I could though, because the Tesseract made you trust me too. It wouldn't do ti break your trust or make you resent me while we worked- you could still hate me even under the Tesseract's draw. You could eventually work against me. Look at Dr. Selvig.

"I did think of you often though. Especially after my interaction with the Widow in the flying fortress. I thought of you in my cell in Asgard. I feared almost, what you would do to me when I was placed in your care."

This made Clint look up at him in surprise. "Really?"

Loki nodded and packed things away in the saddlebags. "I had no idea what happened to you after Thor and I left Midgard. You seemed alright when you and the Avengers saw us off- that cocky smirk on your face... I imagined that you would take your revenge on me with chains and humiliation, arrow-tips and pain."

"You weren't all wrong."

"No, I wasn't." Loki looked at the scar on the back of his left hand, dead center, and he didn't have to look to know there was a matching scar on his palm.

Clint sighed hard and capped his marker, letting it roll down the map and into his lap. "I wasn't in a bad place after the Tesseract; I wasn't all straight though either. I was a little lost, a little angry... kinda confused because I couldn't sort out my feelings, not with the environment SHIELD had me in. I couldn't say I missed the Tesseract because I'd be a liability. Couldn't say I liked you because I'd be a traitor. But I also wanted to just hate-fuck you all night long, heh. I think my problem was that I did the same kind of work for you and SHIELD, but SHIELD makes me write reports, justify my actions; makes me take psych. evals. and if I don't pass then, for some reason, I'm not allowed to kill people anymore. Doesn't make any sense. With you, I just tell you what I want, or you tell me, and we make it happen. We're a partnership, not a business transaction."

"Indeed," Loki agreed with a smile.

The movers came to collect the boxes, and they gave the broken door the same slightly-frightened look the Mexican gangster had; sidestepping into the apartment cautiously. Clint and Loki packed up the rest of the extra stuff and handed it off to the movers. The coordinator verified the address the packages were to sent, a little wowed that they were moving to Europe. Clint played it off like it was no big deal and didn't give him any details. The movers emptied out the apartment but for the couch and the bed and then left Clint and Loki standing in the echoing living room with the saddlebags. The bed was just a mattress on a frame, no pillows, and Loki stared at it sadly.

"Where will we sleep tonight?"

Clint groaned and clapped a hand onto his cheek tiredly. "Fuck. I forgot. Ready to leave I guess. Uh... They have a room for me at headquarters. We can go there if you want."

"Under SHIELD's roof? Where will I sleep?"

"With me, fuck it. It's our last day dicking around with them, who gives a fuck if someone notices."

"Don't get careless just because we're so close," Loki warned.

"I'm not, it's just- if they haven't figured it out by now then they're blind. Even Steve picked up on us."

Loki debated this in his head, but eventually relented, albeit reluctantly. He was wary of the outcomes but he would trust Clint to get them out of any trouble. They went to headquarters later in the day, and the sun hadn't even begun to set before they made their way to Clint's room.

Down quiet, empty halls which numbered the dorms like a hotel they stumbled, exhausted. Clint typed in his code on the keypad beside his door ad the green light and click of the lock let them know it worked. They stepped in and Loki closed the door behind them, listening to the automatic lock click back into place. Clint had flicked the light on and let Loki see the room, and the god felt even more restrained by the tiny size. No windows and the walls painted dark grey, Loki felt like this would be a worse cell to live in than his cell in Asgard. It was barren of any personal touches, just a simple bed with grey and white sheets and pillows; a small bed table and lamp; a recliner in the corner, still grey. Loki grimaced at it all disdainfully while Clint started pulling off his clothes.

"This is considered SHIELD hospitality? A plain, windowless box with not even a bathroom?"

"Yep, gotta get everything else yourself. Bathroom's down the hall. I haven't stayed here much."

"I can see why."

"Yeah, well, I had my own place anyway." Clint climbed under the covers, groaning gratefully. "Coming to bed, babe?"

Loki undressed and flicked the light off before crawling into the bed as well, feeling cramped in the regular size versus the queen Clint had in the apartment. He lie flat on his back and let Clint fling an arm over his chest, moaning happily as he rubbed his face against Loki's shoulder. Loki sighed.

"What's wrong, Lo? You getting cold feet?"

The god chuckled gently at that, having read and watched enough to know what it meant.

"Traveling made Phil nervous. Had to stop every sixty miles so he could get out of the car. Had to shit a lot too- IBS. You can imagine how he was on planes. You nervous?"

"No, I'm just ready to be gone."

"I know. Faster we get to sleep, faster morning will come. Few weeks driving around and chilling at the beach, get Fury off our backs about Prophet and shit, then we're golden."

Loki grunted and nodded, though Clint wouldn't see it in the dark.

"It'll be over faster than you think." Clint nuzzled closer and wrapped his leg around one of Loki's. "Love you," he murmured.

"I love you too."

Not sure if I've said anything during this entire time posting, so... hey. Story's almost finished, if you were wondering. Few more chapters and that'll be it. Nanowrimo is coming and I want to be done with this by the starting day so I can focus on my own book.

Questions from me: Are you guys liking this at all? Is it very slow with all the plot moving and action crap I had to do? I've never written action stuff before, I just kinda winged it. I usually just read Fanfics for the sex, and I know I've been skimping or writing strange moody sex scenes. Next chapter starts with sex so... I just ruined the surprise, I'm sorry. Well now at least you'll be looking forward to it.