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Phil Coulson stopped in his tracks as he entered his office at Avengers Tower. In the middle of his immaculate desk was a package wrapped in tasteful yet masculine gift paper. It was about the size of a shirt box and Phil immediately hoped that there wasn’t a shirt or a tie in it since he had more than enough of either one to last for several years courtesy of a certain archer.
“Aren’t you going to open it, Agent?” was the softly worded question that came from behind Phil causing him to turn his head and glare at a smirking Tony Stark.
“Are you responsible for it?” Phil didn’t care for surprises, so he couldn’t be bothered if he sounded less like a mild manner government drone than a Spanish grand inquisitor.
“Will you accept it if I am?” Tony countered not upset or surprised by Phil’s reaction to the gift. Their relationship was a rocky one at best especially since he and Clint had become a couple and Tony tried not antagonize Phil more than he thought was strictly necessary.
“No,” Phil answered in a firm tone. Tony had given him more than enough by providing him with an office and an apartment in the Avengers Tower. He didn’t need or want anymore than that.
“Then I’m partly responsible for it. Have a good birthday, Phil. You’ve more than earned one,” Tony replied with a warm smile before giving Phil a pat on the shoulder and walking away.
Phil sighed. He walked the rest of the way over to his desk and warily eyed the package before picking it up and shoving it in a drawer. He would deal with it later. He had incident reports to go over along with equipment requests and other forms of paperwork the Avengers generated after a battle.
*&*
He headed for the penthouse balcony instinctively seeking out his lover. He had seen Clint go out earlier and found him leaning against the newly installed Plexiglas wall lost in thought with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Tony walked over and took the cigarette finishing it off in a few drags before crushing it out and flicking the butt toward the potted plant in the corner.
“Nice shot,” Clint murmured.
Tony shrugged. He had always had the ability to hit what he aimed at, but he wasn’t on par with Clint. Few were, and Tony was okay with that. “What happened to you going cold turkey?”
“That could have been my last cigarette,” Clint countered.
“So I should ignore that half a pack and lighter I see in your shirt pocket?”
Clint shook his head. Tony wasn’t as oblivious as the media made him out to be. He was just careful of what social cues he chose to acknowledge, and if that made him appear to be an absent-minded professor in the public’s eye then that was fine with Clint. He pulled the half pack and lighter from his pocket. He shook a cigarette from the pack and held it along with the lighter out to Tony giving the billionaire the option to take them or not.
Tony smiled. He appreciated how Clint worked his way around his phobia of being handed things. He took the cigarette and lighter. “Are you as nervous as I feel?” he softly inquired before lighting up and handing the lighter back.
“Yes.”
“Then we’re fucked,” Tony murmured around his cigarette.
“Have patience, padawn,” Clint gently teased.
Tony snorted deciding not to rise to the bait. He quietly finished his cigarette adding the butt to the growing pile in the planter.
Clint watched Tony trying to figure out what was going on inside his lover’s head.
“His reaction wasn’t unexpected, but it makes me wonder if we shouldn’t rethink how we go about inviting him,” Tony said after several minutes of mutual silence.
“It’ll be fine. He’ll come around.”
“And you know this how?”
“He just needs a nudge in the right direction.”
“What are you going to do? Point an arrow at him?”
“Just because you call me Cupid doesn’t mean I’m the God of Love,” Clint grumbled before pulling Tony into a loose embrace.
Tony quietly sighed, but didn’t deny Clint’s comment. He just pulled the archer closer and buried his nose in the hollow of Clint’s neck inhaling his scent.
Clint tightened his hold around Tony’s waist knowing his lover would see it as a gesture of reassurance since Clint could tell Tony’s insecurity was on full display. “I know you fear rejection, but Phil isn’t going to reject us. He just needs to be shown what’s under his nose, and he’ll take it from there.”
“You’ve got a plan?”
“I do.”
Tony snuggled closer and breathed, “Okay,” which caused Clint to chuckle.
“What?” Tony asked as he pulled back to look into Clint’s eyes.
“I’m ticklish there.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, now behave,” Clint admonished when he felt Tony’s hands start to wander down his back toward his ass.
“Later?”
“Later,” Clint promised.
*&*
Clint wandered into Phil’s office after learning from Jarvis that Phil had gone up to the communal kitchen to make himself another pot of coffee. He opened the drawer he knew Phil had probably dropped his and Tony’s gift in and removed it. He placed it on top of the paperwork Phil was in the process of reviewing.
He walked over to the battered couch and settled in for a long wait. He knew from personal experience that Phil was capable of finding things to distract himself when he had to deal with endless piles of paperwork, plus it was Steve and Bruce’s turn to make lunch.
*&*
"Don't you have anything better to do than slouch on my couch?" Phil asked walking into his office after having a very nice lunch with both Bruce and Steve.
"Nope,” Clint replied popping the “p”.
Phil settled into his desk chair wincing a bit when the old chair squeaked. He had refused to let Tony buy him new office furniture because he had fond memories attached to his old furniture that couldn’t be replaced.
He set his coffee cup down on the desk before removing the package from his stack of unfinished paperwork. “So what can I do for you then?”
"Open your damn birthday present,” Clint said as he sat up and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.
"I will later," Phil hedged as he realized that he was still holding the gift. He set aside to be dealt with when Clint wasn’t breathing down his neck.
"Is that why I found it in the drawer where you put stuff you don't know what to do with?"
"Hanging out in the vents again?" Phil countered.
"Don't need to," Clint said with his all-knowing smirk firmly in place. "You barely like to acknowledge your birthday. When people do, you get uncomfortable and start acting shifty."
"Shifty?"
“Yeah, shifty.”
“I see,” Phil murmured not certain he cared for that particular descriptor.
"Plus, Tony may have mentioned your reaction to our gift."
“Hmmm.” Phil was still coming to terms with his feelings when it came to Clint and Tony being a couple. He knew his initial reaction to the news hadn’t been pleasant, but then he was more than a little overprotective of Clint. "So you got me a Captain America tie with remote access to Jarvis," he dryly retorted.
"No," Clint huffed slightly amused by the idea. "But, we can if you really want one."
"Thank you, but no."
"Just open it."
"Is it that important to you?"
"Yes."
Phil bit back an annoyed sigh. He picked up the package and ripped into it mildly surprised to discover it was a picture set in a very nice yet understated wooden frame.
He figured the frame was Tony’s contribution and that the picture was all Clint’s idea since it was a photo of him and Tony in provocative poses with a single sheet being the only thing keeping them decent.
He studied the picture taking in the details that another person would have casually glanced over.
Seeing the arc reactor and the accompanying scars on full display was a bit of a surprise and he wondered how Clint had talked Tony into it when he caught sight of their entwined hands.
His grandmother had always told him that love could perform miracles, and Tony and Clint had certainly proven her correct.
His eyes drifted down to the sign Clint held and he let out a quiet gasp. The sign simply read, “Join us?”
*&*
“Did we break his brain?” Tony quietly asked having slipped into the office and settled on the couch next to Clint while Phil was busy studying his birthday present.
“We may have,” Clint softly drawled.
Phil looked up and pinned them both with a hard stare. “You both are assholes.”
“Yeah, we are,” Tony agreed with a quiet snort of amusement. “So?”
“So?” Phil countered as he shifted in his chair putting more distance between him and them. He knew what Tony wasn’t asking, but for some strange reason he needed to hear that question. He needed to know that this wasn’t some whim they were chasing because he had never been fond of one night stands.
“We’ve been thinking about this for awhile,” Clint answered picking up from Phil’s posture that he needed to be reassured with the truth. “We aren’t interested in a one time thing or a wild fling. We want you for the long haul, so will you have us?”
“Yes,” Phil replied not having to think about it. He knew deep in his heart that it was the right decision. “The answer is yes. Not that I’ll make it easy on you.”
“We wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Phil,” Tony said with a warm smile. He stood up and walked around the desk. He pulled Phil to his feet and gently kissed him before stepping aside to let Clint have his turn.
“Happy Birthday, Phil,” Clint said once he ended the kiss.
Phil softly laughed and pulled both of them in for another kiss.
Fin?