STORY: Front Row Seat (#6 The Archer & The Con Man Series)
Summary: Phil invites Peter to S.H.I.E.L.D. Command when Neal and Clint are on a mission.
Notes: #6 in my “The Archer & The Con Man” series. Set about six months after “Meltdown (Of My Life)”. Written for Challenge #2 “Break The Ice” over at gameofcards, using the prompts “break the ice”, “right as rain”, “calm before the storm”, “on cloud nine”, “take a raincheck”, “under the weather”, “fair-weather friend”, “head in the clouds”, and “lightning fast”. The handset that is used towards the end is based on the one Tony uses in “Civil War”. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever since he found Neal in cahoots with two of the most notorious assassins, who turned out to be members of the new vigilante group called “Avengers” as well, Peter felt kind of under the weather. On top of that, Neal also dropped the bomb that he was working with them for another agency. Though, as Peter found out after placing some calls, nobody really knew anything about whatever stood behind the ominous S.H.I.E.L.D. acronym (which Peter only knew because he saw Natasha’s discarded armor jacket in Neal’s apartment that day)
The weekend following that day was spent in separation. Peter needed time to think, and Neal joined the numerous volunteers to clean up the streets around Grand Central Station from the remnants of the big “Battle of New York”, as the media called it.
Somehow, Peter was glad that Neal went to help his fellow New Yorkers. Otherwise, he would have had to take a raincheck on whatever activities the other man would have planned for them.
Days went by, turned into weeks, into months. New cases and old ones were tackled (and mostly solved as well), and pretty soon, Neal’s other job was pushed to the back of Peter’s mind, with normalcy finding its way back into their daily lives and the city around them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Six months later, he and Neal were fully back on cloud nine (or as close as you could get while simultaneously dating and working with a trouble magnet like Neal), their short dispute and the tension about Neal’s house guests long forgotten. Sure, Neal tended to vanish from time to time, with no real explanation, and on some days, Peter was sure that someone tampered with Neal’s anklet’s tracking data, but overall, it wasn’t anything to really worry about.
By now, Peter should have realized already that this was just the proverbial calm before the storm. From what he knew about Neal, such a long period of time without a major slip-up could only result in a disaster, one of that kind that happened lightning fast and most likely left others hurt and to pick up the pieces of the carnage.
Clue #1 that a change was on the horizon was, in hindsight, the late night phone call that Neal got the evening before - and which he left the room for. Usually, Neal had no problem at all to talk to his more lawless friends and contacts in front of Peter, fully aware that his lover only would ask when he himself sounded somewhat distressed or worried during the call.
Clue #2 was delivered to Peter’s desk the next day in the person of one Phil Coulson, who was, as it should turn out, (a) a long-time friend of Reese Hughes, and (b) not quite as dead as everyone thought. Peter knew about his “death” thanks to Neal, who not only brought this up for it being the real reason for Clint and Natasha being in his apartment the morning after the battle, but also attended the funeral.
“You’ve got a minute, Peter?”
Looking up from the file he was reading, Peter saw his boss and mentor standing in the doorway, with a smaller man waiting a few steps behind him.
“Sure, Reese. Is there a problem?”
“You tell me, Peter.” Hughes beckoned his guest into the office before coming to a stop in front of Peter’s desk.
“Agent Burke, my name is Phil Coulson, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistic Division”.
Peter took the offered hand and was about to say something when Coulson continued.
“I know, it’s a mouthful.” The corners of his mouth went up for a small smile. “That’s why we’re called S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Peter’s eyes went wide for a second. Would he finally get some answers? He motioned for them to sit down, did the same and waited with growing curiosity for Coulson to reveal the reason for his visit, though he already had a hunch.
“So, Agent Coulson, what can the FBI White Collar division here in New York do for you?”
“You could borrow us your CI.” Phil saw Peter opening his mouth, ready to voice his protest. “And before you say that’s not negotiable, Neal already has agreed to assist us, the same goes for your bosses,” he said with a nod to Hughes. “So I’m merely here to break the ice, to make this all as smooth as possible. You know, Neal and I go way back to a small police station in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest.” Phil locked gazes with Peter. “And I know that he told you about his second job with us, if only just the cliff notes, but believe me when I say that I won’t let any harm come to Neal during this mission, just like you would try to do whenever he’s undercover.”
“You can’t guarantee that…”
“I know, Agent Burke, but I can make sure that the best bodyguard, and the most efficient one, as I might add, accompanies him - my husband.” Peter’s face was indifferent, so Phil continued. “You already have met him, though we weren’t married back then. I think it was the morning after what everyone affectionally calls ʻThe Battle of New Yorkʼ.” He pulled out his mobile phone, brought a pic of Clint to the screen and turned it over for Peter to see. “Clinton Francis Barton, master archer, and one of the most versatile fighters, no matter if with knives, sticks, or in hand-to-hand combat. If anyone can keep Neal safe, it’s him. And not just for his talents, but also since these two became friends the same day as Neal and I. Clint would give his life for Neal, just like he would on any other mission.”
Watching the scene unfold in front of him, Reese Hughes had to suppress a grin. There weren’t many people in the world who could render Peter speechless to start with, but his old friend Phil here managed it without even breaking a sweat. Good thing that the man was back in action.
Sensing that he wouldn’t be able to change anything about it. Peter finally dropped his protests.
“Alright, Agent Coulson, what kind of mission are we talking about?”
With a smug smile spreading on his face, Phil Coulson pulled a file from his briefcase and started to brief Peter and Reese on the mission.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another two days later, Peter found himself in front of what must have been the largest wall of screens this side of the Mississippi. Large screens from top to the floor, all of them focusing on yet another angle of the same part of New York. So far, so good, so familiar. Sure, it was a far cry from the handful of screens they had in the van, but it was something that Peter could easily grasp. What took longer to get into his mind was the fact that this all was located on one of the many floors of Stark Tower, or as Phil called it in the elevator, “Avenger Tower”. At first, Peter thought that Tony Stark had ulterior motives for helping the group (Neal was apparently a part of this group, so blame Peter for being worried), that the billionaire was a fair-weather friend only, who would sell them all to one enemy or the other sooner or later, but both Phil and Bruce Banner were quick to reassure their guest of the contrary.
At last, the mission, or better Neal’s part of the mission, was about to start. Against his gut feeling, Peter declined Phil’s offer to say some words of encouragement to Neal. He knew that his lover would play a vital part in apprehending one of the biggest arms dealers in the world, and Peter didn’t want to be responsible for Neal having his head in the clouds and lose his focus.
“Where’s Neal’s bodyguard?” Peter suddenly asked after seeing “his” CI exiting the black limousine alone.
“He’s exactly in the place where he’s the most effective,” Phil answered without turning away from the screens before gesturing to one of them, where Peter could see a young man in a black-purple outfit sitting on the edge of a rooftop, his bow lying across his lap.
“How could a guy with a bow and arrows be a back-up and protector for Neal?” Peter got to his feet, the worry for Neal’s safety getting the better of him. “First of all….”
“Sit down, Peter!” Phil’s voice didn’t get louder, but there was enough force behind the command that Peter couldn’t help but comply. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Phil took a deep breath before turning around to face Peter.
“I get it, Peter, I really do. And if the tables were turned, I would worry about Clint’s safety as well, especially when it’s in the hands of people I don’t really know. But, and that’s a big but, you (a) don’t know what Clint’s capable of with his bow and arrows, and (b) don’t know that since he became an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. all those years ago, Neal has received a nearly full range of combat training, from guns and knives to Clint’s bows and arrows and hand-to-hand combat.”
“But he asked me to permit some sessions after the Larssen case.” Peter tried hard, but he couldn’t help a little whine lacing his voice.
“I know. He told me afterwards, he apparently had suppressed all his training so much that it more or less slipped his mind.” Phil finally sat down at the conference table next to Peter, the wall of screens in his peripheral vision. “But since then, both Clint and Natasha, with the help of others, have intensified the sessions. Did you really never ask him why he often had to leave so early in the morning?” Peter’s silence was answer enough for Phil to continue. “And to bring us back to the mission at hand: who says that Neal is all by his own in there?”
As if on cue, a second car appeared on the screens, pulled up to the curb, and to Peter’s surprise, Tony Stark and the hot redhead from Neal’s apartment, Natasha Romanov, exited it. They met with Neal (Tony and Neal’s character were doing a joint-venture, with Tony being Neal’s silent partner) and finally entered the building where the deal was going to happen.
“So Stark is really one of them? Of the Avengers?”
“Yep, though I wouldn’t have put it past the ʻoldʼ Tony, before Afghanistan, to stage an announcement like that one, just because he can,” Bruce added as he finally joined them at the table.
What Peter surprised the most during the meeting was probably the fact that Neal apparently was fluent in Russia and its sister languages. If he was to place a bet, Peter’s money would be on Miss Romanov to be the one responsible for that. Speaking of the redhead: one of the goons kept gazing at her, apparently racking his brain for any possible earlier encounter with the woman known as the “Black Widow”.
Finally, the meeting was coming to an end, (fake) contracts were being signed, the extraction team waiting right outside for the code word, when all of a sudden, the same goon yelled “Black Widow” while simultaneously drawing his gun - only to drop it a heartbeat later when an arrow pierced his hand.
“Oh, now it’s getting funny,” Bruce quipped next to Peter, his gaze also drawn to the events on the screens.
Peter released a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw Tony and Neal taking cover behind one of the large wooden craters near the wall, while Natasha and Clint, who joined the fray through the window, took care of some of the goons. But only heartbeats later, both Tony and Neal reemerged from their hiding place, both of them wielding a handheld device similar to the ones in the Iron Man suit. To Peter’s growing astonishment, Neal not only knew how to handle the device, he also managed to take out some of the goons. But most of all, this Neal was a far cry from the soft-spoken, non-violent con man they all had come to know over the last three years. And boy, Peter thought, these new sides of his lover were definitely some hot ones!
Shortly after it began, the whole “tussle” (as Tony called it) was already over. The mark was apprehended and whisked away, his goons either dead or wounded.
“Good work, agents!” Phil spoke into his headset. “Come back to Command without any detour, and I might be convinced to allow a little celebration, of course after debriefing.”
“Tash,” came the soft drawl of Clint Barton over the speakers, heavily laced with amusement, “have we ever taken a detour after a mission?”
“Not that I can remember”, Natasha answered quite matter-of-factly, though Peter could detect a hint of humor in her words as well.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll keep these kids in line for you,” Tony finally quipped.
“I’m not sure if that’s so comforting, knowing you’re in charge, Stark,” Phil gave back good-naturedly before closing the channels.
“Dad?” Peter echoed, a soft smile on his face.
“Yeah, Tony thinks it’s funny. But hey, even though I know of their talents and what each of them is capable of, I can’t help but worry about them. Especially after my own close call with the Angel of Death not so long ago.” He gave the technician the sign to leave the room before turning back to Peter. “When I came back to S.H.I.E.L.D., Clint and Neal had learned about my survival only a few hours ago. Yet, both of them welcomed me back into their lives with no bad feelings at all. I had feelings for Clint ever since I met him in that police station, but only now, I felt ready to act on them properly. So here’s a free advice, Peter, from one government agent to the other. Don’t take Neal and all that he is for granted. And most of all, forget that he kept us a secret, he did it for the right reason. Life's too short for any kind of resentiments.”
With that, Phil was out of the room, leaving a slightly stunned Peter in his wake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
True to his word, Tony brought the “kids” safely back to the tower no 15 minutes later (though Phil would win any bet that J.A.R.V.I.S. had something to do with that as well). Exiting the elevator, Clint and Tony made a beeline for their respective lovers, while Natasha headed the other way to change out of the clothes she wore to the meeting. Neal on the other hand came to an abrupt stop right outside the elevator doors upon seeing Peter in the conference room.
“Hey”, he said while entering, “what are you doing here?”
Opting out of a verbal answer, Peter just closed the distance between them, grabbed Neal’s face with both hands and kissed the younger man with all his might.
“Wow,” Neal said when they had to part at last, “now that’s exactly the kind of welcome I could get used to.” He finally sat down, the adrenaline rush from the mission coming to an end. “But what brought that on?”
“You,” was all Peter gave as answer. “I’ve seen more new sides on you in this post few hours than in all the time you’re working with us at the FBI, and I gotta say, some of them are quite hot.”
“Peter you gotta understand…. What? Really?” Neal asked with a smug smile.
“Yep. And I understand why you didn’t say anything about it before. You did it to protect me, and I can’t deny that I wouldn’t have done the same if it would have been the other way around.”
Neal scooted closer with his chair, grabbed both of Peter’s hands with his and locked gazes with his lover.
“So, we’re good? I don’t have to expect to sleep on the couch for the near future?”
“No, not at all. Sure, I don’t like it that you all but lied to me, and I still have to come to terms with all your new abilities, but yeah, we’re good. Even more, we’re right as rain.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notes: #6 in my “The Archer & The Con Man” series. Set about six months after “Meltdown (Of My Life)”. Written for Challenge #2 “Break The Ice” over at gameofcards, using the prompts “break the ice”, “right as rain”, “calm before the storm”, “on cloud nine”, “take a raincheck”, “under the weather”, “fair-weather friend”, “head in the clouds”, and “lightning fast”. The handset that is used towards the end is based on the one Tony uses in “Civil War”. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever since he found Neal in cahoots with two of the most notorious assassins, who turned out to be members of the new vigilante group called “Avengers” as well, Peter felt kind of under the weather. On top of that, Neal also dropped the bomb that he was working with them for another agency. Though, as Peter found out after placing some calls, nobody really knew anything about whatever stood behind the ominous S.H.I.E.L.D. acronym (which Peter only knew because he saw Natasha’s discarded armor jacket in Neal’s apartment that day)
The weekend following that day was spent in separation. Peter needed time to think, and Neal joined the numerous volunteers to clean up the streets around Grand Central Station from the remnants of the big “Battle of New York”, as the media called it.
Somehow, Peter was glad that Neal went to help his fellow New Yorkers. Otherwise, he would have had to take a raincheck on whatever activities the other man would have planned for them.
Days went by, turned into weeks, into months. New cases and old ones were tackled (and mostly solved as well), and pretty soon, Neal’s other job was pushed to the back of Peter’s mind, with normalcy finding its way back into their daily lives and the city around them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Six months later, he and Neal were fully back on cloud nine (or as close as you could get while simultaneously dating and working with a trouble magnet like Neal), their short dispute and the tension about Neal’s house guests long forgotten. Sure, Neal tended to vanish from time to time, with no real explanation, and on some days, Peter was sure that someone tampered with Neal’s anklet’s tracking data, but overall, it wasn’t anything to really worry about.
By now, Peter should have realized already that this was just the proverbial calm before the storm. From what he knew about Neal, such a long period of time without a major slip-up could only result in a disaster, one of that kind that happened lightning fast and most likely left others hurt and to pick up the pieces of the carnage.
Clue #1 that a change was on the horizon was, in hindsight, the late night phone call that Neal got the evening before - and which he left the room for. Usually, Neal had no problem at all to talk to his more lawless friends and contacts in front of Peter, fully aware that his lover only would ask when he himself sounded somewhat distressed or worried during the call.
Clue #2 was delivered to Peter’s desk the next day in the person of one Phil Coulson, who was, as it should turn out, (a) a long-time friend of Reese Hughes, and (b) not quite as dead as everyone thought. Peter knew about his “death” thanks to Neal, who not only brought this up for it being the real reason for Clint and Natasha being in his apartment the morning after the battle, but also attended the funeral.
“You’ve got a minute, Peter?”
Looking up from the file he was reading, Peter saw his boss and mentor standing in the doorway, with a smaller man waiting a few steps behind him.
“Sure, Reese. Is there a problem?”
“You tell me, Peter.” Hughes beckoned his guest into the office before coming to a stop in front of Peter’s desk.
“Agent Burke, my name is Phil Coulson, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistic Division”.
Peter took the offered hand and was about to say something when Coulson continued.
“I know, it’s a mouthful.” The corners of his mouth went up for a small smile. “That’s why we’re called S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Peter’s eyes went wide for a second. Would he finally get some answers? He motioned for them to sit down, did the same and waited with growing curiosity for Coulson to reveal the reason for his visit, though he already had a hunch.
“So, Agent Coulson, what can the FBI White Collar division here in New York do for you?”
“You could borrow us your CI.” Phil saw Peter opening his mouth, ready to voice his protest. “And before you say that’s not negotiable, Neal already has agreed to assist us, the same goes for your bosses,” he said with a nod to Hughes. “So I’m merely here to break the ice, to make this all as smooth as possible. You know, Neal and I go way back to a small police station in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest.” Phil locked gazes with Peter. “And I know that he told you about his second job with us, if only just the cliff notes, but believe me when I say that I won’t let any harm come to Neal during this mission, just like you would try to do whenever he’s undercover.”
“You can’t guarantee that…”
“I know, Agent Burke, but I can make sure that the best bodyguard, and the most efficient one, as I might add, accompanies him - my husband.” Peter’s face was indifferent, so Phil continued. “You already have met him, though we weren’t married back then. I think it was the morning after what everyone affectionally calls ʻThe Battle of New Yorkʼ.” He pulled out his mobile phone, brought a pic of Clint to the screen and turned it over for Peter to see. “Clinton Francis Barton, master archer, and one of the most versatile fighters, no matter if with knives, sticks, or in hand-to-hand combat. If anyone can keep Neal safe, it’s him. And not just for his talents, but also since these two became friends the same day as Neal and I. Clint would give his life for Neal, just like he would on any other mission.”
Watching the scene unfold in front of him, Reese Hughes had to suppress a grin. There weren’t many people in the world who could render Peter speechless to start with, but his old friend Phil here managed it without even breaking a sweat. Good thing that the man was back in action.
Sensing that he wouldn’t be able to change anything about it. Peter finally dropped his protests.
“Alright, Agent Coulson, what kind of mission are we talking about?”
With a smug smile spreading on his face, Phil Coulson pulled a file from his briefcase and started to brief Peter and Reese on the mission.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another two days later, Peter found himself in front of what must have been the largest wall of screens this side of the Mississippi. Large screens from top to the floor, all of them focusing on yet another angle of the same part of New York. So far, so good, so familiar. Sure, it was a far cry from the handful of screens they had in the van, but it was something that Peter could easily grasp. What took longer to get into his mind was the fact that this all was located on one of the many floors of Stark Tower, or as Phil called it in the elevator, “Avenger Tower”. At first, Peter thought that Tony Stark had ulterior motives for helping the group (Neal was apparently a part of this group, so blame Peter for being worried), that the billionaire was a fair-weather friend only, who would sell them all to one enemy or the other sooner or later, but both Phil and Bruce Banner were quick to reassure their guest of the contrary.
At last, the mission, or better Neal’s part of the mission, was about to start. Against his gut feeling, Peter declined Phil’s offer to say some words of encouragement to Neal. He knew that his lover would play a vital part in apprehending one of the biggest arms dealers in the world, and Peter didn’t want to be responsible for Neal having his head in the clouds and lose his focus.
“Where’s Neal’s bodyguard?” Peter suddenly asked after seeing “his” CI exiting the black limousine alone.
“He’s exactly in the place where he’s the most effective,” Phil answered without turning away from the screens before gesturing to one of them, where Peter could see a young man in a black-purple outfit sitting on the edge of a rooftop, his bow lying across his lap.
“How could a guy with a bow and arrows be a back-up and protector for Neal?” Peter got to his feet, the worry for Neal’s safety getting the better of him. “First of all….”
“Sit down, Peter!” Phil’s voice didn’t get louder, but there was enough force behind the command that Peter couldn’t help but comply. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Phil took a deep breath before turning around to face Peter.
“I get it, Peter, I really do. And if the tables were turned, I would worry about Clint’s safety as well, especially when it’s in the hands of people I don’t really know. But, and that’s a big but, you (a) don’t know what Clint’s capable of with his bow and arrows, and (b) don’t know that since he became an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. all those years ago, Neal has received a nearly full range of combat training, from guns and knives to Clint’s bows and arrows and hand-to-hand combat.”
“But he asked me to permit some sessions after the Larssen case.” Peter tried hard, but he couldn’t help a little whine lacing his voice.
“I know. He told me afterwards, he apparently had suppressed all his training so much that it more or less slipped his mind.” Phil finally sat down at the conference table next to Peter, the wall of screens in his peripheral vision. “But since then, both Clint and Natasha, with the help of others, have intensified the sessions. Did you really never ask him why he often had to leave so early in the morning?” Peter’s silence was answer enough for Phil to continue. “And to bring us back to the mission at hand: who says that Neal is all by his own in there?”
As if on cue, a second car appeared on the screens, pulled up to the curb, and to Peter’s surprise, Tony Stark and the hot redhead from Neal’s apartment, Natasha Romanov, exited it. They met with Neal (Tony and Neal’s character were doing a joint-venture, with Tony being Neal’s silent partner) and finally entered the building where the deal was going to happen.
“So Stark is really one of them? Of the Avengers?”
“Yep, though I wouldn’t have put it past the ʻoldʼ Tony, before Afghanistan, to stage an announcement like that one, just because he can,” Bruce added as he finally joined them at the table.
What Peter surprised the most during the meeting was probably the fact that Neal apparently was fluent in Russia and its sister languages. If he was to place a bet, Peter’s money would be on Miss Romanov to be the one responsible for that. Speaking of the redhead: one of the goons kept gazing at her, apparently racking his brain for any possible earlier encounter with the woman known as the “Black Widow”.
Finally, the meeting was coming to an end, (fake) contracts were being signed, the extraction team waiting right outside for the code word, when all of a sudden, the same goon yelled “Black Widow” while simultaneously drawing his gun - only to drop it a heartbeat later when an arrow pierced his hand.
“Oh, now it’s getting funny,” Bruce quipped next to Peter, his gaze also drawn to the events on the screens.
Peter released a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw Tony and Neal taking cover behind one of the large wooden craters near the wall, while Natasha and Clint, who joined the fray through the window, took care of some of the goons. But only heartbeats later, both Tony and Neal reemerged from their hiding place, both of them wielding a handheld device similar to the ones in the Iron Man suit. To Peter’s growing astonishment, Neal not only knew how to handle the device, he also managed to take out some of the goons. But most of all, this Neal was a far cry from the soft-spoken, non-violent con man they all had come to know over the last three years. And boy, Peter thought, these new sides of his lover were definitely some hot ones!
Shortly after it began, the whole “tussle” (as Tony called it) was already over. The mark was apprehended and whisked away, his goons either dead or wounded.
“Good work, agents!” Phil spoke into his headset. “Come back to Command without any detour, and I might be convinced to allow a little celebration, of course after debriefing.”
“Tash,” came the soft drawl of Clint Barton over the speakers, heavily laced with amusement, “have we ever taken a detour after a mission?”
“Not that I can remember”, Natasha answered quite matter-of-factly, though Peter could detect a hint of humor in her words as well.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll keep these kids in line for you,” Tony finally quipped.
“I’m not sure if that’s so comforting, knowing you’re in charge, Stark,” Phil gave back good-naturedly before closing the channels.
“Dad?” Peter echoed, a soft smile on his face.
“Yeah, Tony thinks it’s funny. But hey, even though I know of their talents and what each of them is capable of, I can’t help but worry about them. Especially after my own close call with the Angel of Death not so long ago.” He gave the technician the sign to leave the room before turning back to Peter. “When I came back to S.H.I.E.L.D., Clint and Neal had learned about my survival only a few hours ago. Yet, both of them welcomed me back into their lives with no bad feelings at all. I had feelings for Clint ever since I met him in that police station, but only now, I felt ready to act on them properly. So here’s a free advice, Peter, from one government agent to the other. Don’t take Neal and all that he is for granted. And most of all, forget that he kept us a secret, he did it for the right reason. Life's too short for any kind of resentiments.”
With that, Phil was out of the room, leaving a slightly stunned Peter in his wake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
True to his word, Tony brought the “kids” safely back to the tower no 15 minutes later (though Phil would win any bet that J.A.R.V.I.S. had something to do with that as well). Exiting the elevator, Clint and Tony made a beeline for their respective lovers, while Natasha headed the other way to change out of the clothes she wore to the meeting. Neal on the other hand came to an abrupt stop right outside the elevator doors upon seeing Peter in the conference room.
“Hey”, he said while entering, “what are you doing here?”
Opting out of a verbal answer, Peter just closed the distance between them, grabbed Neal’s face with both hands and kissed the younger man with all his might.
“Wow,” Neal said when they had to part at last, “now that’s exactly the kind of welcome I could get used to.” He finally sat down, the adrenaline rush from the mission coming to an end. “But what brought that on?”
“You,” was all Peter gave as answer. “I’ve seen more new sides on you in this post few hours than in all the time you’re working with us at the FBI, and I gotta say, some of them are quite hot.”
“Peter you gotta understand…. What? Really?” Neal asked with a smug smile.
“Yep. And I understand why you didn’t say anything about it before. You did it to protect me, and I can’t deny that I wouldn’t have done the same if it would have been the other way around.”
Neal scooted closer with his chair, grabbed both of Peter’s hands with his and locked gazes with his lover.
“So, we’re good? I don’t have to expect to sleep on the couch for the near future?”
“No, not at all. Sure, I don’t like it that you all but lied to me, and I still have to come to terms with all your new abilities, but yeah, we’re good. Even more, we’re right as rain.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~