If you didn't know...I own nothing : ( Just the computer i wrote this on.

About ten months later during the holidays Clint was forced to pack a bag for a four day trip to New Hampshire.

"Do you think that's a good idea…I mean to spring me on your mom and sister? I can stay here like I usually do—"

Phil opened up the drawer that held Clint's under ware and started throwing some on the bed near his bag. "You aren't staying here, and we aren't springing anything on them. They know about you and they have been bugging me to meet you for a long time…before we even started dating," he turned to Clint and raised a brow. "Now will you finish packing?"

Natasha had smiled at the two of them as they left the house while the rest of the household fought over what colors the tree should be decorated in.

The holidays had been a success. Clint knew exactly where Phil got his personality from when he met Mrs. Coulson, who insisted on being called Estelle. It was not something Clint was used to, to be in a home like that around a family that just…worked. Phil must have sensed it so he didn't push Clint into anything, and by the end of the four days he found himself comfortable. Clint couldn't contain the smile on his face watching Phil help his mother make homemade caramel dipped apples…people actually make those apparently. Clint sat at the kitchen table just in view of the two figures dipping the apples near the kitchen's island.

"So…," Phil's sister Katy sat down next to Clint smiling. "How do you like New Hampshire?"

Clint chuckled softly. "Well from what I've seen of it I like. It's…nice."

"Not as loud as New York I take it?"

"In the best way."

Clint liked Katy. She was sweet, witty, and pretty damn smart.

"Well we are all glad Phil finally brought you out here. We heard about you through the years, and it's good to finally meet the man."

Clint raised his brows. "Years?"

Katy smirked. "Yeah years," she chuckled. "In the beginning it was about his new Agent he was in charge of who had a complete disregard for authority…then it was Barton the agent who only takes orders serious when actually threatened into them…then Barton who has taken to loitering on my office couch…then Clint who was compromised…"

Clint's mind went back to that first Avengers mission with Loki. He still blamed himself for the lives of so many of the SHEILD agents and for almost letting Phil die. Phil still hated what Loki did, not for the God stabbing him, but for what he did to Clint. Clint and the rest of the Avengers had thought Phil dead until hours after the battle when Fury had told them he lied and the medics had made it. Clint still didn't trust Fury, and Phil knew it. They promised each other never to bring it all back up so they didn't.

"…he always managed to mention you, and I know my brother. He loves you…So," she straightened her back out making herself as tall in her seat as she could. "This is my question," she set her eyes directly on Clint's. "What is this to you? I know what I've learned from Phil, but as much as I've heard about you from him that doesn't tell me how you feel. I may not be a SHEILD trained agent but I can still get some hits in…"

Clint wanted to hug her for being so protective of Phil. "I don't have this," Clint gestures to the house and people in it. "I never did. I grew up in a different place every other month and with different people around me. When I fell for your brother I panicked and pushed away because I didn't want to hurt him because…he's amazing. He was the smart one of us and made me push past that fear and I've never been happier," he looks directly in Katy's eyes. "I love your brother. I can't picture my life without him in it and I don't want to try. I'm going to be with him for as long as he'll have me…and I'll be happy to do the hitting for you if someone tries to hurt him."

Katy just smiles and leans in to give Clint a kiss on the cheek. "Then we're golden which is good because I like you and I really didn't want to ruin my nails hitting you."

Clint can't help but laugh.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Clint sat down at the small desk he had in SHEILD HQ. He brought all his paper work that needed done to Phil's office to work on, but they still delivered it to his assigned desk anyway. Clint sifted through the papers that had arrived new and groaned. How did he get so much? He wasn't a suit…why can't the junior agents—

Agent Barton,

Request to change marital status may be granted after

Forms PI-23 and MS-12 are filed and approved

Through Human Resources. Any more questions may be

Addressed to the above department.

Clint stood there a few more seconds before gathering his work along with the memo and heading to Phil's office. He was confused to say the least. He never requested any information on the topic and had no idea he would have to fill any forms out even if there was a case of changing his marital status. He really hated bureaucracy.

"Oh Hawk," Darcy nearly ran into him. "Uh I see you went to your desk and picked up your stuff to work on," she sighed.

"Yeah," Clint raised a brow. "I'm gonna work on it in the office…"

"Right," she stepped to the side and gestured for him to go ahead. "I'll just uh," she bite her lip and picked up her cell phone typing away on it.

Clint shook his head and quietly opened the office door and let himself in. He knew there was always a strong possibility of Phil being on the phone or busy so he usually snuck in and assessed the situation from there. When he went inside Phil was pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing.

"Wow…do I even want to know," Clint smiled.

The other man snapped his attention to Clint. "Probably not no," he gave small smile.

Clint put his work on the corner of the desk and circled around. He leaned down and kissed Phil smiling when he felt the other man sigh in relief into the kiss. "Hope that helped a little," he kissed him once more before circling back around the desk and flopping into the chair on the other side.

"Yeah that did actually."

Clint and Phil worked in comfortable silence for a while with Clint listening to the keyboard tick away with Phil's typing noticing the man using the backspace button a lot more than usual. Finally after about a half hour Clint looked up.

"Something bothering you?"

Phil sat back in his chair and looked to Clint for a few minutes before speaking. "Did you get anything delivered to your desk that was…unusual?"

Clint nodded. "Perhaps."

Phil tapped his fingers together. "Was it from Human Resources?"

"Yeah."

Phil sighed. "You were not supposed to get that."

Clint swallowed. "Okay…why not," he was a bit confused. He wasn't supposed to get the memo because Phil wasn't attempting to change their status? Or he wasn't supposed to get it because—

"Well," Phil actually looked nervous which was a thing Clint didn't see a lot…not even when Phil had to stare down the barrel of a gun. "…for one I'm not actually sure how you feel about marriage, and two because it's not the most romantic way to ask your boyfriend to marry you."

Clint was pretty sure he looked like a dying fish. "You…you were the one that asked for the forms?"

"Well out of the two of us who would actually have put in any forms to SHEILD on the matter," he was looking right at Clint.

"I didn't even know people needed to," Clint said absently.

"You do when they are two agents..."

"Right," Clint snapped back to the present. "Wait…you're asking me to marry you," it wasn't really voiced as a question.

"Essentially yes."

"Essentially?"

Phil rolled his eyes. "Yes well the memo that Darcy was supposed to get before you saw it kind of ruined it all, but yes," he opened his drawer and pulled out box and opened it facing Clint. Inside sat two platinum bands matching with small arrowheads etched into the inside of each one. One of them had a chain around it than looked aged. "The chain is for you since wearing a ring would interfere with the bow," his voice was soft but his eyes never left Clint's. "The chain is where my dog tags used to be. They're in a box at home now."

Clint felt his heart clench inside his chest. Phil thought of everything…Clint didn't know what to say to the man so he shot out of his seat, circled the desk again and straddled the other man's lap. He kissed Phil with everything he could muster clawing at the other man's hair and shoulders. Phil seemed to melt into the kiss pulling Clint as close to him as possible. They finally pulled apart when they had to breath.

"That wasn't exactly an answer," Phil breathed into Clint's mouth.

Clint pulled the ring with the chain from the box and put it around his neck and then put the other on Phil's finger. "I'll marry you whenever you want…you say the time and place and I'll be there...that good enough of an answer," he kissed Phil, his now fiancé and future husband again.