The One Where Clint and Phil Take a Break

September 4, 2013

Steve thought he should try and get to know Natasha better. Maybe lunch would be a good idea. However, it meant navigating SHIELD and without the help of Phil who was at his principal duty or Clint who had the day off.

"Steve!" yelled someone behind him. He turned to see Jane and waved. She walked over to him.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked. It probably had been that obvious.

"Natasha," he answered.

"I heard she was working out with Bobbi," Jane told him. "Do you..."

"I do know where the gym is," Steve said with a nod. He walked through the corridors and passed people hard at work until reaching the large gym. He spotted them in the boxing ring. Unfamiliar music came from an electronic device to the side. They stopped at his entrance and Bobbi turned it off. They hadn't actually fought together but she had been made an official Avenger.

"Rogers, what are you doing here?" Natasha asked. Her suspicious tone made him realize how much they needed this.

"I thought we could go to lunch as friends," Steve suggested. Natasha seemed to think about this and nodded.

"Let me shower and change first," she said and he nodded. She picked up a towel and headed for the side door.

"Want a go?" Bobbi asked. It was tempting. He had learned how to restrain himself against other people but then, Natasha would have to wait while he showered. He shook his head. The young woman went to the punching bag. He watched her for a moment; enthralled both by her blonde ponytail bouncing around and the way her bottoms were clingy. He wondered if his bottoms fit that way. However, her technique was a bit off.

"Bobbi, excuse me. You should..." Steve started and tried to demonstrate. She attempted what he said but her fists still didn't hit where they should.

"You should mix it up like this," Steve said and helped guide her arms to different levels. They were very close. She smelled like vanilla.

"Thanks," Bobbi said but didn't try to take her arms back.

"I could come back," Natasha suggested behind them. Steve and Bobbi both seemed to jump apart.

"Wanda's having a party tonight. You should come. Natasha knows the address," Bobbi told him with a smile.

"Maybe I will," Steve agreed.

"We'll work with you, I promise," Coulson said to the girl. She blew her nose again and nodded. He hated seeing a girl cry. "Do you want me to call your parents?"

"No," she said and shook her head. He sighed inwardly. Maybe they didn't even know yet. He couldn't imagine.

"You can always talk to me," Coulson told her. "Do you want a minute?"

She nodded and he let her have a moment to herself. He waited outside, wondering if it was one of the boys at the school that did it. Pregnant girls were not mentioned by Fury when he gave him this assignment.

"Hello, honey," Clint spoke, walking up to him. Normally, Clint would be a welcome sight. However, he was carrying a picnic basket. "I thought we could eat in your office."

"That's really not a good idea right now," Phil told him. Carrie still hadn't left. "I'm dealing with a couple of crises, plus the budget as usual and finding enough teachers."

"You don't have half an hour?" Clint asked.

"I don't even have ten minutes but tonight, maybe I can make it up to you," he whispered and looked into his light brown eyes.

"If nothing else comes up, you've said that before," Clint pointed out. He was right but Phil was very conscious of the students who were starting to watch.

"I can't do this now. We'll talk later," he said and the door opened. As Carrie left, Phil went inside.

Thor opened the door. Then, he closed it. After that, he opened it really, really slowly before starting the process again.

"Is there a point to this?" Tony asked with his arms crossed.

"I don't believe the light stays on when I close it but I cannot watch it come on," Thor complained. Tony had that expression he often directed at himself. Thor didn't like it very much.

"There's a button. It pushes in when you close the door and the light goes off. When you open the door, it pushes out and the light comes on. It's a circuit thing," Tony explained.

"I have learned about circuits," Thor corrected him.

"Then, you can have Jane go into it more," Tony spoke, took out a bottle of water and started to walk out of the room. "Steve, what's this I hear about a party?"

Phil wasn't surprised when Clint was waiting for him at home.

"I'm sorry but the school year just started and this is a rough time of the year," Phil apologized.

"If it's too much, quit. It's not like Fury would fire you. Have someone else be principal for a while, like Hill," Clint suggested.

"No, I can't do that to them. Those kids are depending on me, just like you and the Avengers," Phil told him.

"But I'm your boyfriend," Clint complained.

"Which you made abundantly clear today in front of everyone. I don't like having our business in public like that," Phil grumbled. "I'm tired. Maybe we should take a break."

"I could fix dinner. Loki's still off wherever so we have the whole place to ourselves," Clint suggested.

Phil hated what he was about to say next.

"No. A break from us."

Clint gave him the saddest expression and left, shutting the door behind him. For once, the apartment felt too large and too quiet.

Steve was dancing with Bobbi. He was pleased to find out she knew how to swing and didn't care that they were the only ones dancing that way. Most were dancing in that odd modern way or holding each other close like Jean and Scott.

"Isn't that Barton?" Bobbi asked. Clint was supposed to be spending the night with Phil so he found that hard to believe. However, when he looked in the direction she motioned to, there he was.

"You mind?" he asked and she shook her head. They walked over. However, Wanda, the hostess of the party, came to them first. Steve had just met her that night.

"Who's this?" Wanda asked.

"Clint Barton," Clint answered after some hesitation.

"Oh, I've heard all about you but didn't recognize you out of uniform. I'm Wanda Frank," she said and stuck out her hand. He shook it.

"I thought you'd be with Phil right now," Steve commented.

"Me, too," Clint agreed. "Yeah, little change in plans. Ahh, we're going to break-up instead."

Steve couldn't believe his ears. He thought they were a perfect couple. A cat wound between his legs.

Phil heard his phone rang and hoped it was Clint despite what he had said. It had been hasty. It had been stupid. He was driving Clint away.

The number was Peter instead.

"Mr. Parker, what is it?" Coulson asked.

"I need to talk to someone," Peter explained in his own way. For being able to explain complicated scientific processes, he wasn't very good at the social skills.

"What about your aunt?" Coulson asked.

"I can't. It's about Mary Jane," said Peter. "And everyone else was going to sneak into that party."

"What about Mary Jane?" Coulson asked.

"I want to tell her. She's been really annoyed with me lately because she doesn't get it," Peter complained.

There's a lot of that going on, thought Coulson. He thought about his options: trying to have a heart to heart with a teenager boy over the phone, make him come to an empty school or an empty mansion?

"I suppose I could try calling Tony..."

Coulson cringed at that thought.

"He's at the party, too, anyway," Coulson told him and realized there was only one real option although he hated it. "I'm going to give you my address, you can come over and we can talk."

"So, what are you going to do?" Tony asked Clint.

"What can I do? He said it," Clint spoke with a drink in his hand.

"But it's Phil, you're not supposed to actually do what he says," Tony argued.

"That may be part of why he's in this mess," Steve retorted.

"But no, if Pepper was giving her opinion, she'd say something like you should fight for him," Tony told him.

"Yes, that is what I feel," Pepper agreed with her new drink. Shock was giving way to a smile.

"You should call him," Bobbi agreed. When even the new person was pressuring him, perhaps Clint should give it a try. He took out his cellphone.

"But you're putting her in a lot of danger if you do this," Coulson warned. "No matter how capable, she is still a civilian."

"You don't have any superpowers either," Peter pointed out.

"No, but I've had a lot of training and I've had to make a lot of sacrifices to get where I am," Coulson spoke. "I've tried to impress on you time and time again that this is not an easy calling."

"But what if there was some way of knowing if she was ready or not? Pepper isn't a SHIELD agent either," Peter argued.

Then, his phone rang. It couldn't be Peter since he was sitting across from him. He smiled at the caller ID.

"Hi," he answered.

"Hi," Clint spoke.

"I was hoping you'd call," Phil admitted.

"This is so stupid. Can I come over and we'll talk again?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, I just have to take care of something first..."

"Did I come over at a bad time?" Peter asked.

"Who's that?"

"Nobody," Coulson replied.

"I shouldn't have bothered you," Peter spoke and stood up.

"Barton, I-"

The phone went dead. Coulson gritted his teeth.

"I heard a rumor that Hawkeye was at school today and you guys were arguing but I didn't believe them," Peter spoke in a soft voice.

"Are you going to be okay with getting home?" Coulson asked. He hated being so naked in front of him. First, there was the tightie-whities incident and the science fair incident. Now, all his feelings were laid out there. To think, he was trying to give the teenager advice and it felt like he had barely a clue himself.

"Yeah," Peter agreed and headed toward the door. He was almost there when he turned back to face him. "Coulson?"

"Yeah?" he asked. Peter glanced down at his Converse before looking at him again.

"I know we make fun and all but...it means a lot that you're always there," Peter spoke and hurried out the door. Coulson didn't know to feel. It hurt to think. He sat in his chair. He also knew what Clint tended to do when he was upset, but wasn't sure how he would take it if he did...

"What's my cousin doing here?" Bruce asked. Natasha thought someone would have told him so she played dumb.

"What are you talking about?" Natasha asked.

"My cousin, Jennifer Walters, is right over there," he said and pointed to the brunette. "I haven't seen her since she nearly died in a car accident. I gave her a blood transfusion."

"I think you two should catch up. Go over and say hello," Natasha suggested and motioned for him to go. She knew she was a coward. The blood transfusion was a way for her to explain why Jennifer was there but Bruce was going to get upset from it and she still had some problems being around the Other Guy. She shot back the glass of Vodka she'd been holding and straightened her dress.

"Clint, no matter what has happened, I can't allow such a face at my party," Wanda complained. He didn't care. However, she took him by the arm and pulled him up from the chair. She started dancing. The name escaped him. He never learned the names and he was drunk. Still, she was dancing and very close and there was something about her. Scarlet Witch wasn't just a name, it seemed. Her red dress was skintight. The lights and the alcohol and the situation were giving him a headache and the person that he'd run to was Phil who didn't want him. He wasn't even sure where Tasha was.

"Can we be still a moment? Or the room could stop spinning?" Clint asked and she stopped. Techno music still pounded in his ears.

"Come on, I'll show you somewhere more private," Wanda suggested. Clint knew he should refuse but he didn't.

When Loki arrived at the apartment, Coulson was moping. It would be easiest to possess him to find out what the problem was but he reminded himself that he shouldn't care about the mortals and their problems. It was bad enough that Barton's child had reminded him of his past; of what he had left behind. For a moment, he had clenched his hand into a fist. He let go. Someday, they would understand what they had done to him. Then, he disappeared into his bedroom.

"You realize he's not the only one out there?" Wanda asked, pouring them drinks from a decanter.

"To me, he was," Clint spoke. He sat down on the plush couch in front of her fireplace and she sat down beside him. They sat in silence and drank their scotch.

"It's still unacceptable to be unhappy at one of my parties," Wanda complained.

"Yeah? And how do you intend to fix that?" Clint asked.

"Like this," Wanda said and kissed him. He pulled away. It was wrong except it wasn't, not technically.

Technically, Phil had broken up with him and she was a really good kisser. It felt so nice, like old habits do.

He kissed back.