Three days into his vigil of Tony Stark's comatose form from Steve's one foray into the white-walled rooms, Clint flinched in surprise as Natasha strode into the room, shoving a pair of gunmetal grey headphones into his face, "Don't ask, just put them on."

"Miss me, Barton?" The sound of Tony's voice after watching his lifeless form for so long was like a punch to the gut. Clint had to restrain himself from looking at the limp body on the bed, "I know, I know, it's a little freaky, but according to Natasha, you get used to it." Clint glanced up at Natasha, and she shook her head without looking away from Tony's prone body. "How do you not find that creepy?"

"That you get used to."

Tony laughed, and Clint had to look at the body on the bed now, because this wasn't right, damnit.

"So, do you want me to shoot the spangled one?"

"No. No, you can't mangle or maim the spangled one in any way."

"Suit yourself. I'd totally be asking for an arrow in his ass if I were you."

"That...that is too dirty for me to even comment-no, I will not. Besides, I have a present for you and Tasha. Your mission, should you choose to accept it-"

"Will the headphones self-destruct, or the house, or you…?"

"Shut up, bird brain, and listen: I found something none of us are going to like in Fury's files." Natasha handed him a tablet smoothly, and, yeah, Clint did have to agree-a little bit-that it was kind of creepy when she did shit like that. Clint watched the screen start to blossom a chaos of information. One phrase stood proud, though: "Phil Coulson must die to force the Avengers Initiative into action."

"Who did this?" Clint's voice shook slightly, rage making his very bones tense.

"It's an excerpt from an email from Fury to Hill. They sent Phil to Loki's cage to force him into becoming the lynchpin on the entire Initiative. Now, the thing is, Phil Coulson is a miraculous motherfucker who didn't die."

"Get me the coordinates and tell me I can kill Nick fucking Fury."

"We don't want him dead, Clint."

"Tony, I let you call the shot on Steve-"

"Clint, we kill him, and the Council comes down on our heads. First we get Coulson, then we go off-grid, then we make a plan. We protect ourselves."

Clint sat silently for a moment, getting himself under control. "You're right. But if it comes to it-"

"By all means, you get to shoot Fury eventually. I'll even design some new arrows for you."

"Deal, tin man, now let's get my Toto back."

Tony snorted, "You're Dorothy?"

"Steve's Scarecrow, he needs all the brain he can get." Clint growled, his hand reaching over, touching Tony's hand softly, curling his fingers under and around it. "Tell me where I need to be, Stark. Natasha and I will have Coulson by the end of the day."

"Aw, but it's so sweet of you to hold my hand!" Tony made a sound like a manic giggle.

"Don't get used to it, Stark, Coulson will make you disappear in the night if you flirt with me." Clint chuckled.

"Yes! I knew it!"

"Where is he?" Clint re-railed the conversation back to where it mattered, his heart crashing in his chest.

"He's safe. Pepper's taking care of it with War Machine. Either the helicarrier goes down, or Pepper wheels Coulson out of there. I've hacked into every system on that bird, I will get us all back together again." Clint took a more firm grip on Tony's hand, and Natasha, though she couldn't have heard it, lifted his other hand caught in the clasp of hers, holding their hands to her forehead in a way that almost looked like she was praying. Clint knew better: Natasha didn't beg, she threatened.

"Why include me in your little gang?" Clint asked, having seen Natasha slip Bruce the pack with the headphones. He hadn't thought for a minute that Tony would make him his own; Tony seemed inclined to build them for the closest bonds he'd had, and while Clint had been fond of the sarcastic ass, he had suffered no illusions that he wasn't a part of Tony's inner circle.

"Why sit vigil over an empty shell?" Tony asked in reply, his voice even.

"Maybe I'm hoping the shell isn't so empty." Clint replied, "You gave me a home, after all. Gave us a home. And now you're finding Phil, and we may not have been thick as thieves, Stark, but-"

"I'd like to think we could be." Tony cut in before Clint could start talking like the body in that bed really was dead already. "Just to give Natasha a little more of a headache." Clint huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "Anyway, I need you and Tasha to stick Phil in the penthouse of the tower and not let anything near him while I clean house. Think you can watch Supernanny and distract the super-agent while I dismantle his agency?"

"You get Coulson back to me, Stark, and I'll sit on him if I have to." Clint promised easily, and Nat, who wasn't even paying attention, would've been the only one able to read the wish in Clint's eyes that the same could have been said for Tony, too.