The Previous Summer
Coulson was back. Clint was informed of this not by Coulson himself but by one of the junior agents who had been sent to fetch him from one of the S.H.I.E.L.D campers that had been set up as a base of operations. Why Coulson hadn’t called him and let him know he was back from New York City he didn’t know, but those were the breaks. Clint skipped his shower and headed out to meet Coulson. It would be bad form to be late because he had skipped his shower the night before. Which was his own fault because he had been roped into doing a Johnny Depp movie marathon with Darcy and Dr. Foster.
At first it was just going to be one movie. He really should have known better. Crybaby turned into What’s Eating Gilbert Grape which led to Blow. He never should have mentioned how much he liked Johnny Depp movies. Between Darcy and Jane they had the whole damn collection. Thank God they avoided any of the Tim Burton movies. Nothing against the guy but those movies just freaked him out.
As a result it was had been well after midnight by the time he officially ended his shift and went to bed. Now it was seven in the morning and he was up after seven hours of sleep. Which might seem to be a lot until you took into account he had been up at 5 AM the morning before. His only hope was that Coulson didn’t jump his ass for not being more alert. Sure he could go days without sleep when it called for it, but missing sleep on a plum assignment like this was just stupid.
Coulson was waiting for him outside the lab, looking alert and fresh in his black suit. There was no sign of Darcy, Foster, or Selvig, who escaped the movie night by claiming a migraine. Fucking liar. Clint knew Selvig had been lying and should have called him on it so he wasn’t the only one who suffered.
Coulson looked at Clint and then did something that made Clint stop mid-stride. He smiled. Never once had Coulson smiled like that and it be directed towards Clint. This was ‘Ha I know what happened to you last night you poor bastard’ smile. Narrowing his eyes Clint walked over until he was just in front of Coulson. His first words were, “You are a bad man, sir.”
Coulson just grinned bigger. “She roped you into a Johnny Depp marathon, didn’t she?”
“How the hell did you know that, sir?” Clint asked.
Coulson merely arched an eyebrow. “I know everything.”
“It’s scarier when you do it than when Director Fury does,” Clint said plaintively.
“I shall strive to never do it again in your presence,” Coulson replied deadpan.
“Thank you sir,” Clint said blandly. “News from New York?”
Coulson thought about what to say and ended up saying, “Under control.”
“Good to hear. Am I being reassigned?” Clint had been wondering this. He had been in New Mexico for three weeks now. It was a longer period of time than he was used to when it came to these baby sitting jobs. He was starting to chomp at the bit. The only action he had seen was a week ago when word trickled down that an extremist group had gotten wind of Dr. Foster’s research and decided to have a go at her. Luckily they had gotten word in time of their whereabouts and he had spent a night in the desert tracking them down and removing the threat. Both Darcy and Dr. Foster had looked at him a little bit differently for a couple days before coming to terms with what he had done. Not that they knew the exact details.
“No, not yet. Director Fury has another assignment for you but it won’t be ready to go for at least two more weeks. Maybe three,” Coulson answered. “Until then I want you here.”
“To be frank sir, I don’t understand why I’m here. I can surely be doing good somewhere else, where I’m needed. Anyone in the agency can handle this detail,” Clint said bluntly.
Coulson looked over his shoulder inside the lab where Darcy had started to stir from where she had passed out on the couch. He looked at her, the hint of a smile curving the sides of his mouth, before turning back to Clint and said, “That may be true, but there are few who I’d trust more than you with this assignment.”
He held Clint’s gaze long enough that Clint understood what he meant. The list of people that Coulson trusted implicitly within S.H.I.E.L.D was a very short list. The only other person who Coulson could get to handle this assignment was his partner and she was undercover elsewhere at the moment. It wasn’t the first time that Coulson had praised him, but it was the first time that Clint really understood what it meant to have Coulson’s trust. After he had ignored orders and saved his current partner, it was something he thought he’d never have again. The rush of emotion he felt was foreign but not un-welcomed.
Clint cleared his throat, not wanting to embarrass them both by getting emotional. “Understood, sir. What will happen when I’m reassigned?”
“That will be a bridge I’ll cross when I get to it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see what I can find for breakfast.” Coulson turned to go inside as Darcy rose and smiled at him.
Clint stood there watching them for several minutes. They didn’t do anything overt but there was a warmth flowing between them that indicated years of familiarity. It was the way Darcy fixed Coulson’s coffee without asking how he liked it. How Coulson knew that Darcy liked the Smores pop tarts over the cherry ones. The way Darcy angled her face to listen to whatever Coulson was saying. The twinkle and faint crinkling of Coulson’s eyes as he listened to Darcy say something and add wild hand gestures to emphasize a point.
It spoke greatly of the connection between them, especially since by Darcy’s own admission they hadn’t spent a lot of time together until recent years. The only thing he had been able to find out about the two of them was that Coulson hadn’t been a real part of Darcy’s life until she was nineteen. Then something had happened that drew Coulson a little deeper in her life. He had yet to find out just how he was her uncle. Darcy either ignored him or baited him when he asked.
Still, standing on the outside and looking in, Clint had to wonder how everyone else missed what he was seeing. It was so obvious when you watched them. At least it was to him. For whatever reason it was that others missed it, he was glad he knew. Coulson had been his handler for so many years professionally and his friend for just as many that it was refreshing to see this side of the man. Darcy was good for him. And knowing that, Clint also knew that he’d do his part in keeping her safe. For Coulson.
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