Clint could see them work well without him there. Not as well, but he was sure Stark or SHIELD could find somewhere to accommodate the position of sniper in some way. But it truly wasn't something Clint was going to say anything against regardless. He had become part of the team without truly realizing it. After the Manhattan incident, when the Avengers were called to deal with something else entirely. He was more than surprised to see that they sent someone to bring him into the briefing room to go over a game plan. He honestly wanted to tell Phil there was no other feeling in the world then having Captain America look dead in your eyes and tell you to suit up. Because it was a little embarrassing to admit to the fact that he was sort of looking up to him in some way. Clint respected Rogers. But he respected Phil more. Sure, Steve was an American hero. Nationally acclaimed and looked on upon as someone who would always come to save the day when it needed to be done. Clint always looked towards Phil as the true hero of the story.
The flirting was more of a front. Dates didn't last longer then two before he stopped answering text messages (he hated texts) or phone calls. Most of the time just going out right to break their hearts by saying he just wasn't interested in a relationship. He had done himself a disservice by dating someone who was working to become one of the base's shrinks who psycho-analyzed him as he was breaking up with her. 'We need to see other people' meant 'You need to see other people while I continue serial-dating because I'm too afraid to commit'. 'I just don't feel that way about you' apparently had meant 'I'm in love with someone else'. She was right about the second one. Dead on. When she'd asked him about it later on, he didn't really known what to say other than 'You're right.' But he didn't exactly say who. She assumed by how he and Nat were -- it was the other lone assassin. The one most men in SHIELD feared because they didn't know if she took "Black Widow" to heart or not when it came to relationships.
He only knew that Tasha was the suspected person the shrink thought he was in love with because Nat walked up to him the next day with a knowing look on her face. Clint was pretty sure she knew who he meant. Separated between Phil and Nat, Clint had no secrets. If they ever decided to get together one day and talk about him -- nothing would be sacred anymore. But luckily, they didn't. Clint was sure their conversations were more like morse code via blinking. Or Tasha's side of the conversation anyway. "Mmm...that sounds good." He sounded content at the thought of just listening to Coulson's voice echo throughout his room. "You pick the subject, Phil. I'll just listen."
Clint was almost always glad Coulson wasn't truly aware of the effect he had on him. If he was, he did a fine job in making sure Clint didn't know he knew. The SHIELD agent kept on allowing his handler to lead him to the apartments assigned to the agents of SHIELD. He was almost glad that it had been Phil and Phil's paranoia that had caught him trying to escaped headquarters. If it had been Fury or Hill, they wouldn't have tried to knock some sense into him. Probably even use him to try to find Loki and lock him in a cell. The sudden idea of him being locked in a cell after this event was slightly very real to him. He almost wanted to ask Coulson not to inform Fury of what had happened. But after making his way in the way he had. Security feeds, the injured security guards. There was absolutely no way Fury wouldn't know unless he would think Barton had switched sides finally.
He blinked as Phil's final words registered with him, turning his head towards his handler. "I do not snore. Nat never told me I snored. I wheeze." If Clint had known the option of moving in with Phil was acceptable. They'd be going over to his place. By morning, his things would already be over there. "Sometimes talk in my sleep. But never snore."
no subject
The flirting was more of a front. Dates didn't last longer then two before he stopped answering text messages (he hated texts) or phone calls. Most of the time just going out right to break their hearts by saying he just wasn't interested in a relationship. He had done himself a disservice by dating someone who was working to become one of the base's shrinks who psycho-analyzed him as he was breaking up with her. 'We need to see other people' meant 'You need to see other people while I continue serial-dating because I'm too afraid to commit'. 'I just don't feel that way about you' apparently had meant 'I'm in love with someone else'. She was right about the second one. Dead on. When she'd asked him about it later on, he didn't really known what to say other than 'You're right.' But he didn't exactly say who. She assumed by how he and Nat were -- it was the other lone assassin. The one most men in SHIELD feared because they didn't know if she took "Black Widow" to heart or not when it came to relationships.
He only knew that Tasha was the suspected person the shrink thought he was in love with because Nat walked up to him the next day with a knowing look on her face. Clint was pretty sure she knew who he meant. Separated between Phil and Nat, Clint had no secrets. If they ever decided to get together one day and talk about him -- nothing would be sacred anymore. But luckily, they didn't. Clint was sure their conversations were more like morse code via blinking. Or Tasha's side of the conversation anyway. "Mmm...that sounds good." He sounded content at the thought of just listening to Coulson's voice echo throughout his room. "You pick the subject, Phil. I'll just listen."
Clint was almost always glad Coulson wasn't truly aware of the effect he had on him. If he was, he did a fine job in making sure Clint didn't know he knew. The SHIELD agent kept on allowing his handler to lead him to the apartments assigned to the agents of SHIELD. He was almost glad that it had been Phil and Phil's paranoia that had caught him trying to escaped headquarters. If it had been Fury or Hill, they wouldn't have tried to knock some sense into him. Probably even use him to try to find Loki and lock him in a cell. The sudden idea of him being locked in a cell after this event was slightly very real to him. He almost wanted to ask Coulson not to inform Fury of what had happened. But after making his way in the way he had. Security feeds, the injured security guards. There was absolutely no way Fury wouldn't know unless he would think Barton had switched sides finally.
He blinked as Phil's final words registered with him, turning his head towards his handler. "I do not snore. Nat never told me I snored. I wheeze." If Clint had known the option of moving in with Phil was acceptable. They'd be going over to his place. By morning, his things would already be over there. "Sometimes talk in my sleep. But never snore."