Closest Thing

Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with The Avengers or Marvel in any way (but a girl can dream)

"Sir, sir! Agent Coulson!"

Coulson woke with a start. Where was he?

"Agent Coulson, sir."

"JARVIS?"

Right, he was at Avengers Tower. He had been working on some paperwork with Clint and Natasha and he must have fallen asleep. But where were they?

"Agent Coulson?"

"Sorry JARVIS, what was that?" Coulson called.

"Agent Barton is on the roof sir. He seems to be in some sort of distress."

"Where's Natasha?" Coulson asked.

"Asleep on her floor sir," JARVIS replied, "Should I wake her?"

"No it's fine, thanks JARVIS," Coulson said, getting to his feet and hurrying over tot he elevator. What kind of distress could Clint be in? Was this some late effect of Loki's mind control?

He made it to the roof and got out, looking around. He spotted Clint perched on the edge, a precarious place for anyone else. Coulson took a few steps forward.

"Clint?" The younger man made no move to acknowledge that he'd heard him. "Clint?" Still nothing. Coulson walked over and sat next to Clint, a little farther from the edge than Hawkeye.

They sat in silence for a long time. Coulson wasn't sure how long, he just waited for the younger agent to speak. Finally, he did.

"I killed you," he murmured, "I was under Loki's control and I killed you. I tried to stop myself, but..."

"Clint, it was just a dream," Coulson said gently.

"It wasn't though, was it?" Clint snapped, "I helped Loki get on the helicarrier and then you died."

"Well, I didn't really..." Coulson said, but Clint just glared at him.

"Clint, buddy, you've got to stop blaming yourself for what happened," Coulson said, resting a hand on Clint's shoulder. "You were under Loki's control, it wasn't your fault, okay? And I'm still here. Didn't die, not really! It was just a nightmare."

"But what if it does happen?" Clint whispered, "Maybe not with Loki, but someone else... I couldn't live with myself if..."

"Stop," Coulson said gently, but firmly. "I'm not going anywhere, understand? If Loki, a God of Asgard, couldn't kill me, I doubt much else can." Clint chuckled slightly at that and looked at Coulson.

"I'm not going anywhere bud," Coulson said, "You're stuck with me for a while longer so you better get used to it."

Clint laughed again and nodded.

"I think I can live with that," he said.

"Besides," Coulson added, "You know if you were compromised again, Tasha would have no issue hitting you in the head a second time."

Clint laughed loudly at that, knowing it was true.

"What do you say we head back inside?" Coulson asked.

"Is it alright if we stay out here for a bit?" Clint asked, "Easier to breathe out here."

Coulson smiled at him and nodded.

"Whatever you need bud," Coulson said and Clint flashed him a small smile before turning to look out at the city again.

Coulson stared at the young man in front of him. He had been Clint's handler ever since the kid started at SHIELD when he was just a teenager. Since then they had grown a connection, learned to trust and rely on each other. They were the closest thing the other had to family and Coulson was glad he hadn't died if only so he could have many more moments like these with his family.

The ending was a little cheesy, but I'm still pretty happy with how this turned out. I love the relationship between Coulson and Clint and I've read a few stories like this and wanted to try writing my own.

Also, I wanted to ask you amazing readers a question! I'm working on a multi-chapter, de-aged fanfiction for The Avengers. The gist of it is that Clint gets de-aged and Coulson looks after him.

I've got part of the story written, but I want to know what you would like to see. I want to finish writing the fic before I post it, but I'm hitting a bit of a roadblock. I know where the story is going to end up and a couple of ideas, but what sort of stuff would you like to see happen in a fic where Coulson takes care of a child-Clint.

Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!