Timeline. Beginning of 2nd week of June 2013
Author's Notes.
In which Clint has a cunning plan but is a bit of a douche and Ainsley finds out what SHIELD wants from him.
Slight homo-eroticism
Going forward the chapters will resume the original story arc from A Britisher in New York with some editing to maintain consistent timeline and characterisation. Additional material will be included so there should still be something new in each one.
Reviews and comments are welcome, as are any suggestions for one-shots aside from the main story.
Like everything in Tony Stark's penthouse, the gym was state of the art, although merely calling it a gym was an understatement. The fully equipped spa complex occupied half of the level below the apartments, including weights room, sparring arena, exercise machines and a steam room from which you could dive directly into a heated swimming pool. Efficient, stylish and over-the-top extravagant like the man it was designed for.
Even when the battle frenzy wasn't upon him, Thor's strength and endurance were greater than that of any other man of Midgard. The heaviest of the weights barely exercised his muscles but he enjoyed the pool. He had risen early this morning to accompany Ainsley to the airport and had been swimming lengths since, his body cutting through the water swift and sure. He had swum for several hours and was lying back in the steam room, eyes closed and letting the heat soak into him as he tried to release his anger and frustration.
Ainsley had been treated with great disrespect when he went to the Hub. The woman agent Victoria Hand had behaved to his lover, a man of profound learning, generous spirit and noble lineage, with a manner that Thor would be ashamed to use towards a menial. It was an insult to them both and Thor was unhappy about him travelling to the SHIELD Academy so soon after, even though Ainsley assured him that Anne Weaver was not like this Agent Hand. True, Director Fury had invited Ainsley to visit the Triskelion as his personal guest, to show his regard for the doctor, but the Asgardian would have preferred a simple apology from the offending agent.
He heard Clint's tentative greeting as the archer entered the steam room and raised his hand in acknowledgement.
Clint sat himself down on the opposite bench. It had been a good long run this morning and the steam room was a great place to relax in afterwards. His calf was hurting a bit, though, he hadn't stretched properly and the muscle kept spasming. He was a bit un-nerved to find Thor there. The Big Blond had been sullen and broody since getting back from Field Ops. Hopefully he was just pissed at the way Vicki Hand had treated Doc but there was always the chance he'd found out about him making that dumb pass, although Clint reckoned he'd know about it by now if that was the case.
He didn't seem too chatty at the moment so Clint settled back to relax against the steam-warmed marble and enjoy the view. Thor's interpretation of the 'Pants on in the Penthouse' rule was pretty liberal when it came to the pool and the steam room. If Natasha wasn't around he saw no reason to bother with trunks, considering them a foolish and uncomfortable encumbrance. Clint was in agreement with him on that, although he still wanted to see what the Big Blond looked like in a pair of black speedos.
He let his eye travel along the drowsing Asgardian's form, the muscles were powerful and functional rather than the useless bulk of a bodybuilder; skin surprisingly pale and clear like that of an adolescent, except for the tan of his face and arms. Almost hairless apart from the blond bush between his legs and the wisps under his arms, now spitlocked with moisture.
There was a growing bulge under Clint's towel as he watched a bead of sweat roll down Thor's massive bicep, then he flinched as he realised Thor was awake and watching him with amusement through half open eyes.
He hurriedly folded his hands in his lap, wanting to avoid a repeat of the mistake he'd made with Ainsley.
"Did you have an enjoyable run this morning?" Thor asked, sitting up and swinging his feet down to the tiled floor, sweeping his hair back with both hands to lie in a single damp rope down the nape of his neck.
"Pretty good, BB! Trying out a new route through the park and found a coupla new challenges. You should come with me and give it a go."
Thor laughed
"Would I not be too big to be any good at this Free Running?"
Clint shook his head
"Nah, you're fast and agile. I reckon you'd be damn good, damn quick and it'd be a different kinda workout for you."
He had an idea, a surprisingly good one.
"Look, Steve's interested in trying it and I know 'Tash's up for it. What say the four of us go out some morning and put in a few hours?"
Thor grinned, that sounded like a very good idea. They could be Lady Natasha and the Warriors Three.
"As long as you have had your coffee first, it is a deal." He said, shaking Clint's hand
There was a growing list of, mainly light hearted, Penthouse rules appearing on the refrigerator door. Number One being
'Except in case of imminent world-ending event, do NOT attempt any form of communication with Barton until he's had his first coffee of the day.'
"Yeah" laughed Clint "That's kinda taken as read."
He gave a sharp intake of breath as his calf spasmed again and reached down to rub it with both hands.
"What is the matter?" enquired Thor with an expression of concern "are you injured?"
"Nah" said Clint, still rubbing the twitching muscle "Just didn't stretch properly this morning, too much of a hurry to get going."
Thor patted his knee
"Put your foot up here. I know something that will help."
Clint rested his heel on Thor's knee. The Asgardian cracked his knuckles and began to feel around the muscle looking for knots and tension before going to work with strong supple fingers. The archer groaned aloud
"Hell, BB! That feels incredible! Whered'ya learn to do that?"
Thor smiled as he continued the massage, easing and stretching the tendons from knee to ankle
"A warrior of Asgard must have many skills; the care of sore or strained muscles is one of them. I may not be a man of learning but I am not stupid, despite what some like to suggest."
"The hell you ain't" gasped Clint "Next time Tony treats you like a jerk he's getting a bag of itching powder in his underwear drawer."
He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes as Thor carefully focussed on the larger muscle groups, increasing the pressure slightly to undo the remaining knots. They opened again as he felt fingertips lightly brush the underside of his balls. Thor was leaning forward, grinning at him, his own arousal obvious as he caressed the archer between his thighs
Okay Karma, way to turn the tables! I'm gonna kick myself later but…
He took hold of Thor's wrist and carefully moved his hand away. The warrior's face fell
"Thor, buddy, I…"
Thor blushed red with shame and confusion
"Hawkeye, forgive me! I thought that you desired me. That you wished to…"
He pulled his towel over his lap, staring down at the floor in humiliation.
"I should not have assumed such a thing. Please forgive me…"
"Hey, BB! It's not that, honest…" he leaned forward and took Thor's hand in both of his "I kinda do want you, but I thought you and Ainsley…"
Thor looked up at him, still flushed with embarrassment, words spilling out of his mouth in an ashamed torrent.
"On Asgard it is not uncommon for a warrior to have many bed-mates, even if his heart belongs only to one. The appetites of our bodies are great and not easily sated…"
Thor stared down at Clint's hands. He had taken more than one companion to bed before, sometimes several. His own appetite was immense and there had been many maidens of Asgard happy to help him satisfy it. Osa would often bring friends with her, there had been one with copper-gold hair whose taste was like new honey. But Osa had only delighted his body. Ainsley was the compass-star of his soul…
"…I thought it would be the same here, it was not a thing I thought to ask about. From your words, I understand it is not. Please forgive me and do not tell Ainsley of my foolishness."
A devious plan began to form in Clint's mind. It wouldn't break his promise to Doc and it might get the Big Blond off the hook of misery he was currently twisting on.
"It's not quite the same here" Clint began carefully "But a lot of male couples have what're called open relationships; where they sometimes invite a friend, or someone they like, to join with one or both of them now and again."
Thor looked back up at Clint, pondering this new information. There were many complexities to this World of Midgard that he still had to understand.
"Would you wish to share a bed with me and Ainsley?" He asked "I know that you desire him also, I have seen the way you look at him when you think no-one is watching."
He lowered his head again
"I cannot pretend that does not displease me, but you have always treated him with the greatest of respect. More respect than I have just shown you…"
Clint took the gamble and leaned over, kissing Thor on the forehead
"I forgive you, BB. Let's forget it happened…."
Hey Hawkeye! Can you spell hypocrite?
"…but if you and Ainsley both want me to I'm not going to say no if you ask me."
Thor smiled in relief
"Thank you, I will find an opportunity to speak to Ainsley about this; but do not fear, I will make it seem as if it is my own idea. I would not like him to think that I have embarrassed myself in this way."
He raised the archer's hand to his lips
"You are a true friend, Hawkeye. Thank you for this."
"Just glad I could be here for you, man!" he said with a grin "Let's go shower and dress then I'll take you out for coffee."
You're going to Hell for this, Barton!
###
Ainsley sat in Anne Weaver's office drinking tea and feeling pleasantly relaxed after a late lunch in the Faculty Dining Room. So far, his experience at the Science and Technology Division Academy had been the opposite of his dismal ordeal at the Hub. For a start, his new SHIELD clearance allowed him to know where the place was and arrange a more civilised mode of transport. Tony had kindly loaned him the use of one of his private jets to travel to the nearest civilian airport. Dr Weaver had picked him up from there in one of the Academy cars and given him the VIP tour of the campus while explaining the nature of his position.
In general, it was more advisory than tutorial; providing analysis and evaluation to assist the teaching staff in their assessments. On the teaching side, he would primarily be training cadets from Field Ops in the recognition and management of abnormal or dangerous psychological states in the field. The duties felt remarkably light in view of the salary being offered, routine evaluation and training that wouldn't require his presence at the Academy more than two or three days a week, and he had the sense that something out of the ordinary was going to be offered.
Anne handed him a slim file
"This is the main reason we wanted you, Dr Kerr, and why Director Fury was insistent on you receiving such a high clearance level for a civilian."
He put down his tea and looked at the label on the file
"Index Asset and Evaluation Training Protocols" Ainsley peered at Dr Weaver over his glasses with an expression of amusement "Were all the good acronyms taken?"
"It's a clumsy name" she agreed, laughing "but a vitally important and highly sensitive part of SHIELD's work. The number of people manifesting unusual abilities had been increasing slowly but exponentially over the last few years, we still don't know why, and we urgently need to revise our protocols for identifying, assessing and handling them so they don't become a threat to themselves or others."
Ainsley closed the file and looked up at her
"That sounds rather… ominous." He said carefully "I may not approve of everything I find in here, and I'm not noted for being shy in making my disapproval clear."
"I don't want you to be" replied Anne with a serious expression "Neither does Director Fury. We believe that your talents as a psychologist and your emphatically humanitarian values uniquely qualify you to revise and apply these protocols to minimise the need for more extreme measures of containment and control. We'll also need you to review and re-evaluate the cases of those individuals currently under containment to determine if there are less restrictive methods of management"
"It suggests you want me to do a bit more than just consult" observed Ainsley as he accepted another cup of tea, comprehending why he was being offered such an extensive remuneration.
Dr Weaver nodded
"It's one of the reasons why Agent Hand was… less constructive… than she might have been. Your work will require you to have a degree of back office interaction with some of the field agents working these cases. Normally this type of oversight would only be undertaken by a SHIELD Agent but we simply don't have anyone with your combination of abilities and you have been engaged in a not dissimilar project in the recent past."
The young psychologist smiled quietly. Of course, they would know about the work he'd done for MI6. Anne folded her hands on the desk and looked down at them
"There was an incident in Bahrain a few years ago, a routine asset evaluation that went tragically wrong and resulted in a number of civilians and agents losing their lives. We would like to ensure nothing like that ever happens again."
Ainsley sat back in his chair
"I would need to have access to all the relevant records of past and present cases, and talk to some of the agents involved; particularly the Bahrain case. I'll require a full understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current protocols in practise before I can begin to make my own recommendations. Will that be a problem?"
Agent Weaver considered for a moment.
"The files won't be an issue. With the agents, we'll need to work around their field schedules but that shouldn't be a problem, you'll be working in one capacity or another with most of them at some point anyway. Unfortunately, it's possible there are some you won't be able to speak to because of the nature of their current assignments but again we can find ways around that so you have the fullest possible picture of events."
Her verbal and body language was carefully neutral, conveying little beyond the bare facts; suggesting to Ainsley that something was being held back but without providing any tell as to what it might be. Not surprising, an organisation like SHIELD was full of layered secrets like a giant puzzle box. He couldn't help thinking of the Hellraiser movies and wondering what demons this particular box might conceal.
"Well" he said cheerfully "I think I'm going to enjoy working here."
The conversation turned to practicalities and finally to general pleasantries. Ainsley genuinely liked Anne Weaver, they shared similar enthusiasms and her dedication to the wellbeing of her students was obvious. He gracefully declined the offer to stay overnight. Experience taught him that campus guest accommodation was best left as a last resort; besides, Thor had been having his nightmare again and he didn't like the idea of his lover waking from those horrors and not having a comforting presence beside him.
Tony's jet would have him back in New York just after dinner so that would give them a few hours to relax together before sleep.
###
They'd stopped in at a nearby games store after having coffee and Clint picked up the new "Avengers of New York" game. Predictably, Steve thought the idea was crass and commercial until he was persuaded to have a go and got hooked instantly. Clint and Thor were making popcorn while Tony and Steve took a turn on the console. Digital Iron Man seemed to spend more time beating up Digital Captain America than attacking the bad guys.
Thor felt his phone vibrate and checked it, a message from Ainsley
All good here at the Academy. Anne lovely. Back around 10. Fresh Moussaka in the fridge. DO NOT GET JUNK FOOD AGAIN. xxx A
"What's Sherlock saying?" asked Tony as Iron Man got Cap's shield in his CGI face "Hey, cheating! I was distracted!"
Thor grinned and winked at Clint
"He says he has had a very good time, he will be back after dinner, and we are just to get pizza."