Fic: Good Things in Life are Hard to Find
Title: Good Things in Life are Hard to Find
Fandom: The Avengers (movie verse)/S.W.A.T. crossover
Characters/Pairings: The Avengers: Tony Stark, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson. S.W.A.T. Jim Street, Sanchez
Rating: PG
Summary: Clint hated L.A. He especially hated it when he was in LAPD’s jail for no other reason besides the fact that cops are stupid.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine!
Notes: Firstly this is for this prompt at norsekink which would not leave me alone! Secondly, this is the first time I've written anything for months! And the thing that gets me writing is a prompt that's related to a film that's not even out yet! And finally the title is from the song It's Not Over by Daughtry.
Date Written: 23.10.2011
~*~
“Stark, the building does actually need walls to keep standing,” Coulson said as he watched Tony Stark “renovate” the new Avengers base for the West Coast.
“I am an engineer Coulson,” Tony muttered as he changed his grip on his sledge hammer. “This wall is in the way of the living space. The four other walls can take the weight until the steel girders go in place.”
“Just try not to bring it all down on our heads.”
Tony’s reply was lost on Coulson as his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket as he made his way into the hallway, where the sound of Tony shouting at one of his “useless robots” wasn’t quite as loud.
“Coulson here.”
“Coulson, I need you to get me out of jail,” came Clint’s voice from the other end of the phone, sounding resigned.
“Excuse me? We have only been in L.A. for less than 48 hours Barton, how-”
“It’s not my fault the members of the L.A. S.W.A.T. team are idiots who can’t tell the difference between someone who is dead and someone who is very much alive. I’m sick of this place already. The only thing that’ll make this whole thing worthwhile is if I give Street a heart attack…”
Clint’s usual snarky tone was clear but there was something else in his voice that Coulson didn’t like at all. “Barton! What is going on? Answer me!”
“Stupid excuse for an ex-Navy Seal,” Clint muttered before the sound of the dial tone filled Coulson’s ear.
Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose as he pocketed his phone and made his way back to Tony. “Stark, I need to go get Hawkeye. Are you capable of not destroying the building whilst I’m gone or do I have to taze you?”
“What, the kid got lost on a coffee run?” Tony’s grin faltered at the look Coulson was giving him, “Yep sure, no destroyed buildings.”
~*~
Coulson was striding through the police station less than fifteen minutes later.
He looked at the man behind the reception desk, automatically cataloguing everything he could, late forties, no longer see’s much action, family man. “I believe you have a Clint Barton in custody. I am here to see him and have him released in the next ten minutes.”
“Have you got his bail money then?” He asked, flicking through some papers.
“No.”
“What?” He looked up at Coulson in confusion.
“I said, no.”
“Well I can’t release him without bail sir. You see-”
“No, I don’t think you understand me. I do not have bail money as he has done nothing wrong and so should not even be in jail to start with. May I speak with a superior officer?”
“Well…”
“What’s the problem Jack?” A young man in uniform asked as he walked up to the desk.
Coulson looked him up and down. “You’re more superior than this gentleman here?” It was phrased like a question but both officers could not deny that it was anything but.
“I suppose, the name’s Jim Street.” He held out a hand.
Coulson gave him a sharper look at that and took his hand, if he had a tighter grip than normal, Street wasn’t to know, something about this man had set something off in Clint and Coulson didn’t like it at all. “I am Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, otherwise known as SHIELD. You have one of my men in custody and I not only want him released but I want to see him now.”
Street nodded, “Yeah, well I can take you to see him. I can’t guarantee he will be realeased though, depends what he’s done.” He missed the withering look Coulson shot him as he took a set of keys from Jack. “Follow me.”
Street led the way and Coulson took the time to study him. He was handsome but had an arrogance about him. Clearly loved his job but wasn’t one to take extreme risks.
“What’s the name?” Jim asked as he unlocked the first set of doors.
~*~
Clint was lying on the bench looking up at the ceiling. He turned his head at the sound of the door opening.
He couldn’t help but grin as he saw Street visibly pale. Maybe it wasn’t a heart attack but it still left him feeling satisfied. He rolled off the bench and walked towards Street, noticing that Phil was looking at him with a very un-Phil-like expression.
Clint got right into Jim’s face, “Boo!”
Street jumped, “You can’t. You’re not-”
“Oh please, I’m not him. You’re idiot team mates already thought that and that’s why I’m here. I’m not him. You killed him.” Clint made to walk round Street when he reached out for him. Clint reacted instinctively, he grabbed the hand that was reaching for his shoulder and twisted it behind Street’s back.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” Clint snarled as he shoved Street up against the wall of his cell. “Murderer! You could have saved him.”
“He went rogue! I-”
Clint spun Street around and slammed his back against the wall, his hand closed around his throat. “Before that! I know he’s stubborn - we’re the same in that respect - but you should have talked to him instead of letting him walk out on everything he loved.” Clint could vaguely hear voices behind him; a small part of him that wasn’t absorbed by this red haze wondered what Coulson was doing and what he thought of him now.
Street was spluttering and turning red, fingers clawing at Clint’s hand. Clint couldn’t bring himself to care. This man had killed his brother, after he’d just lost his family to have his brother taken away from him as well.
“Hawkeye! Stand down!” Coulson’s voice was like a knife cutting through the red haze in his brain, Clint blinked and stepped back. Street slumped to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. Clint watched distractedly as two other members of SWAT rushed in and gathered around Street, he noted that they were the ones who arrested him.
Clint let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding before turning to face Phil. He didn’t want to see it the anger, the disappointment, any of it, but when he finally looked at him Coulson’s face was a mask.
“Let’s get back before Stark destroys the place.”
“Wait, you can’t just leave! You’re under arrest, you nearly killed him! You’re just like -”
“Sanchez, leave it,” Jim laid a hand on her arm, he looked up at Clint. “I am sorry you know. I… I miss him too.” His eyes said so much more than his words.
Clint let our a bitter laugh, “You should have figured that out before, shouldn’t you?” He and Coulson walked out together, perfectly in step.
~*~
Clint was silent during the drive back to base. Coulson wasn’t used to feeling out of the loop; he didn’t like it at all. He kept considering different conversation starters but his tongue didn’t seem to want to work. He glanced at Clint, he was curled up in his seat, shoulders hunched and staring unseeing out of the window. Maybe if the rest of the Avengers were here instead of just the three of them, Clint could spar with Natasha or Steve to release the anger or whatever it is he was feeling, Thor would laden him with pop tarts and alcohol, even Banner would probably prove a good distraction. Anyone except Stark, he was the worst person to have around when someone’s emotionally unstable.
As they were pulling into garage of the base Clint spoke up.
“My brother… he wasn’t a bad guy.”
Coulson stopped the car and turned to look at Clint, he was still staring out the window. “You don’t have to tell me anything Clint.”
“No, no I do! I need you to understand that that person in that cell isn’t me.”
Coulson snorted, “I’ve known you for the last six years Clint. I think I have a good idea of who you are and how you act when something is affecting you.”
Clint finally looked at him, “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Coulson smiled.
Clint blinked and gave him a hesitant smile. He twisted in his seat to face Coulson, unclipping his seatbelt to get more comfortable, if he was going to do this he was going to be damn comfortable, “Brain was my identical twin brother. He was my big brother really, OK he was only older than me by a few minutes but he was always the one that did everything first. But it was OK ‘cos he always helped me if I needed it.” It was like the flood gates were opened and there was nothing stopping him now. “He changed his last name to Gamble when we were eighteen, said he wanted a name that fitted his outlook on life, that’s why he’s not on my file.” Clint grinned, “I know it’s been bugging you that you didn’t know about him.”
Coulson nodded but let Clint continue.
“We kept out of each others lives really when we got careers, for him he didn’t want people in the police service to find out he had a circus freak for a brother, and I didn’t want him to get hurt by the people I mixed with. We still talked but we weren’t as close as when we were kids.” Clint rubbed the back of his neck, whilst others might not have noticed; Coulson could see the nerves radiating off of him. He took Clint’s free hand gently.
“The last time I heard from him, I didn’t get to talk to him. I was on a two month long mission with Natasha and when we got back I found a message on my answer phone. It was from Brian, he was drunk and angry talking about Street and some girl and that he’d show him.” Clint shook his head. “It’s ridiculous how much he loved him and Street never realised.” The words until it was too late didn’t need to be said.
“So I tried calling him but there was no answer. I eventually found out what that he was dead. He had tried to bust a guy out of jail and damn near succeeded too. Street was there when he died, it was an accident but I…”
“You can’t help but blame him.” Coulson finished for him.
Clint squeezed his hand, “I miss him and I hate this city because every time I see a cop car I catch myself looking inside to see if he’s the one driving or I’ll see him getting coffee or-”
Coulson pulled him close and wrapped his arms around the younger man. “It’s OK, it’s alright. We’ll be heading back to New York soon.” Coulson found himself running his hands through Clint’s hair, “Until then, I’ll let you get away with using Starks machines as target practice.”
Coulson could feel rather than hear the small chuckle from where Clint’s face was tucked against his neck.
Clint was quiet for a while before lifting his head, looking Coulson in the eye. “You know, I love you Phil?” he asked hesitantly.
“I know. I love you too.” He said before capturing Clint’s lips in a kiss.
Fandom: The Avengers (movie verse)/S.W.A.T. crossover
Characters/Pairings: The Avengers: Tony Stark, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson. S.W.A.T. Jim Street, Sanchez
Rating: PG
Summary: Clint hated L.A. He especially hated it when he was in LAPD’s jail for no other reason besides the fact that cops are stupid.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine!
Notes: Firstly this is for this prompt at norsekink which would not leave me alone! Secondly, this is the first time I've written anything for months! And the thing that gets me writing is a prompt that's related to a film that's not even out yet! And finally the title is from the song It's Not Over by Daughtry.
Date Written: 23.10.2011
~*~
“Stark, the building does actually need walls to keep standing,” Coulson said as he watched Tony Stark “renovate” the new Avengers base for the West Coast.
“I am an engineer Coulson,” Tony muttered as he changed his grip on his sledge hammer. “This wall is in the way of the living space. The four other walls can take the weight until the steel girders go in place.”
“Just try not to bring it all down on our heads.”
Tony’s reply was lost on Coulson as his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket as he made his way into the hallway, where the sound of Tony shouting at one of his “useless robots” wasn’t quite as loud.
“Coulson here.”
“Coulson, I need you to get me out of jail,” came Clint’s voice from the other end of the phone, sounding resigned.
“Excuse me? We have only been in L.A. for less than 48 hours Barton, how-”
“It’s not my fault the members of the L.A. S.W.A.T. team are idiots who can’t tell the difference between someone who is dead and someone who is very much alive. I’m sick of this place already. The only thing that’ll make this whole thing worthwhile is if I give Street a heart attack…”
Clint’s usual snarky tone was clear but there was something else in his voice that Coulson didn’t like at all. “Barton! What is going on? Answer me!”
“Stupid excuse for an ex-Navy Seal,” Clint muttered before the sound of the dial tone filled Coulson’s ear.
Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose as he pocketed his phone and made his way back to Tony. “Stark, I need to go get Hawkeye. Are you capable of not destroying the building whilst I’m gone or do I have to taze you?”
“What, the kid got lost on a coffee run?” Tony’s grin faltered at the look Coulson was giving him, “Yep sure, no destroyed buildings.”
~*~
Coulson was striding through the police station less than fifteen minutes later.
He looked at the man behind the reception desk, automatically cataloguing everything he could, late forties, no longer see’s much action, family man. “I believe you have a Clint Barton in custody. I am here to see him and have him released in the next ten minutes.”
“Have you got his bail money then?” He asked, flicking through some papers.
“No.”
“What?” He looked up at Coulson in confusion.
“I said, no.”
“Well I can’t release him without bail sir. You see-”
“No, I don’t think you understand me. I do not have bail money as he has done nothing wrong and so should not even be in jail to start with. May I speak with a superior officer?”
“Well…”
“What’s the problem Jack?” A young man in uniform asked as he walked up to the desk.
Coulson looked him up and down. “You’re more superior than this gentleman here?” It was phrased like a question but both officers could not deny that it was anything but.
“I suppose, the name’s Jim Street.” He held out a hand.
Coulson gave him a sharper look at that and took his hand, if he had a tighter grip than normal, Street wasn’t to know, something about this man had set something off in Clint and Coulson didn’t like it at all. “I am Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, otherwise known as SHIELD. You have one of my men in custody and I not only want him released but I want to see him now.”
Street nodded, “Yeah, well I can take you to see him. I can’t guarantee he will be realeased though, depends what he’s done.” He missed the withering look Coulson shot him as he took a set of keys from Jack. “Follow me.”
Street led the way and Coulson took the time to study him. He was handsome but had an arrogance about him. Clearly loved his job but wasn’t one to take extreme risks.
“What’s the name?” Jim asked as he unlocked the first set of doors.
~*~
Clint was lying on the bench looking up at the ceiling. He turned his head at the sound of the door opening.
He couldn’t help but grin as he saw Street visibly pale. Maybe it wasn’t a heart attack but it still left him feeling satisfied. He rolled off the bench and walked towards Street, noticing that Phil was looking at him with a very un-Phil-like expression.
Clint got right into Jim’s face, “Boo!”
Street jumped, “You can’t. You’re not-”
“Oh please, I’m not him. You’re idiot team mates already thought that and that’s why I’m here. I’m not him. You killed him.” Clint made to walk round Street when he reached out for him. Clint reacted instinctively, he grabbed the hand that was reaching for his shoulder and twisted it behind Street’s back.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” Clint snarled as he shoved Street up against the wall of his cell. “Murderer! You could have saved him.”
“He went rogue! I-”
Clint spun Street around and slammed his back against the wall, his hand closed around his throat. “Before that! I know he’s stubborn - we’re the same in that respect - but you should have talked to him instead of letting him walk out on everything he loved.” Clint could vaguely hear voices behind him; a small part of him that wasn’t absorbed by this red haze wondered what Coulson was doing and what he thought of him now.
Street was spluttering and turning red, fingers clawing at Clint’s hand. Clint couldn’t bring himself to care. This man had killed his brother, after he’d just lost his family to have his brother taken away from him as well.
“Hawkeye! Stand down!” Coulson’s voice was like a knife cutting through the red haze in his brain, Clint blinked and stepped back. Street slumped to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. Clint watched distractedly as two other members of SWAT rushed in and gathered around Street, he noted that they were the ones who arrested him.
Clint let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding before turning to face Phil. He didn’t want to see it the anger, the disappointment, any of it, but when he finally looked at him Coulson’s face was a mask.
“Let’s get back before Stark destroys the place.”
“Wait, you can’t just leave! You’re under arrest, you nearly killed him! You’re just like -”
“Sanchez, leave it,” Jim laid a hand on her arm, he looked up at Clint. “I am sorry you know. I… I miss him too.” His eyes said so much more than his words.
Clint let our a bitter laugh, “You should have figured that out before, shouldn’t you?” He and Coulson walked out together, perfectly in step.
~*~
Clint was silent during the drive back to base. Coulson wasn’t used to feeling out of the loop; he didn’t like it at all. He kept considering different conversation starters but his tongue didn’t seem to want to work. He glanced at Clint, he was curled up in his seat, shoulders hunched and staring unseeing out of the window. Maybe if the rest of the Avengers were here instead of just the three of them, Clint could spar with Natasha or Steve to release the anger or whatever it is he was feeling, Thor would laden him with pop tarts and alcohol, even Banner would probably prove a good distraction. Anyone except Stark, he was the worst person to have around when someone’s emotionally unstable.
As they were pulling into garage of the base Clint spoke up.
“My brother… he wasn’t a bad guy.”
Coulson stopped the car and turned to look at Clint, he was still staring out the window. “You don’t have to tell me anything Clint.”
“No, no I do! I need you to understand that that person in that cell isn’t me.”
Coulson snorted, “I’ve known you for the last six years Clint. I think I have a good idea of who you are and how you act when something is affecting you.”
Clint finally looked at him, “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Coulson smiled.
Clint blinked and gave him a hesitant smile. He twisted in his seat to face Coulson, unclipping his seatbelt to get more comfortable, if he was going to do this he was going to be damn comfortable, “Brain was my identical twin brother. He was my big brother really, OK he was only older than me by a few minutes but he was always the one that did everything first. But it was OK ‘cos he always helped me if I needed it.” It was like the flood gates were opened and there was nothing stopping him now. “He changed his last name to Gamble when we were eighteen, said he wanted a name that fitted his outlook on life, that’s why he’s not on my file.” Clint grinned, “I know it’s been bugging you that you didn’t know about him.”
Coulson nodded but let Clint continue.
“We kept out of each others lives really when we got careers, for him he didn’t want people in the police service to find out he had a circus freak for a brother, and I didn’t want him to get hurt by the people I mixed with. We still talked but we weren’t as close as when we were kids.” Clint rubbed the back of his neck, whilst others might not have noticed; Coulson could see the nerves radiating off of him. He took Clint’s free hand gently.
“The last time I heard from him, I didn’t get to talk to him. I was on a two month long mission with Natasha and when we got back I found a message on my answer phone. It was from Brian, he was drunk and angry talking about Street and some girl and that he’d show him.” Clint shook his head. “It’s ridiculous how much he loved him and Street never realised.” The words until it was too late didn’t need to be said.
“So I tried calling him but there was no answer. I eventually found out what that he was dead. He had tried to bust a guy out of jail and damn near succeeded too. Street was there when he died, it was an accident but I…”
“You can’t help but blame him.” Coulson finished for him.
Clint squeezed his hand, “I miss him and I hate this city because every time I see a cop car I catch myself looking inside to see if he’s the one driving or I’ll see him getting coffee or-”
Coulson pulled him close and wrapped his arms around the younger man. “It’s OK, it’s alright. We’ll be heading back to New York soon.” Coulson found himself running his hands through Clint’s hair, “Until then, I’ll let you get away with using Starks machines as target practice.”
Coulson could feel rather than hear the small chuckle from where Clint’s face was tucked against his neck.
Clint was quiet for a while before lifting his head, looking Coulson in the eye. “You know, I love you Phil?” he asked hesitantly.
“I know. I love you too.” He said before capturing Clint’s lips in a kiss.