The Perk, Monday Evening

[so_hawkward]

Look, it wasn't like Clint was avoiding being in his and Natasha's house. He had perfectly valid reasons for taking his laptop to the Perk to work. The coffee was good, the barista was attractive, and no one here would choke him for not mentioning a certain teenage billionaire's presence on the island quickly enough.

Really, it was better for everyone if he just stayed here for a while.

[Open!]

Comments

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

Uh-huh, Clint. Sure.

April, on the other hand, was actually not avoiding her place, and was actually just a garden-variety weirdo who liked to drink coffee at night. There was a difference.

"Cookout guy," she greeted him.

[so_hawkward]

"Bar girl," Clint replied, smiling up at her because he was not yet doubly traumatized omg. "How's it going?"

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

NO ONE TOLD ME THIS WAS GOING TO BE A DOUBLE-TRAUMA NIGHT, GOD.

"Eh," April said. Expressively. "You?"

[so_hawkward]

"Slightly better than eh." Clint shrugged. "I can't complain. Island life not being exciting enough for you?"

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"It was more fun when there were talking ponies to mock," April admitted. "But I heard the students are stuck living in tents this week, so there's always that."

April was a big fan of schadenfreude.

[so_hawkward]

"I heard that too. What's the point of that?" Clint asked. "Are they trying to make them enjoy their dorm rooms more? Teach them how to survive without running water?" That was a good skill, but still kind of mean.

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

...

"Sounds like a setup for a fight to the death to me," April commented.

The outdoors was decidedly Not Her Scene.

[so_hawkward]

"Depends on how they put the kids into the tents, I guess. I'll keep my electricity though. And my booze. Well, not that last one at the moment," Clint said.

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"I'm just disappointed that none of the kids showed up to my bar shift the other day to beg for sustenance," April deadpanned. "Their self-control is disappointing."

[firstnameagent.livejournal.com]

If there was one thing Coulson liked about Fandom, it was the variety of places to get a good cup of coffee whenever he wanted one. And for the second day in a row, he wanted one in the evening. Sue him.

Of course, going out for coffee meant the odds of seeing people he hadn't really intended to check in with increased.

And now he had to wait for the barista to bring him his coffee. Which would have the name 'Phil' on it. Curses. He was just going to act casual and hope that maybe, MAYBE Barton wouldn't spot him.

He suppressed the urge to whistle non-chalantly.

[so_hawkward]

Coulson's hope might have been warranted if pretty much anyone else but Clint had been sitting at the table. Clint glanced up every time he heard the door open, but for the most part, he looked back down once he'd registered who'd come in. This time, watching was really the only option, searching for any sign that this wasn't who he thought it was. The island was weird, he'd figured that out, but Coulson being here - being alive and here - well, that might be too much.

[firstnameagent.livejournal.com]

Once Coulson realized that his hopes were in vain, he figured the best way to address the situation was to, well, address it. Since his coffee hadn't arrived yet, he walked over. "Agent Barton. What are you doing in town?"

[so_hawkward]

That answered the question of whether he was dealing with an evil twin or not, but it also opened up a hundred more questions Clint wasn't sure he wanted answered. "I could ask you the same thing, sir," he said, somehow managing a neutral tone. "It's a little complicated."

[firstnameagent.livejournal.com]

"That's a good answer. I think I'll use it, too," Coulson said.

That would seem to suggest that Fury didn't send Barton to check up on him. Or at least if he did, he didn't tell Barton that was what was happening.

[so_hawkward]

No, of course he didn't, because that would involve Fury being upfront about something, and lo, how the end would be nigh after that.

"I guess that's only fair, considering how many good answers I've stolen from you," he said. There were so many things Clint had imagined he'd say to Coulson if he had the chance, when Natasha wasn't looking and couldn't smack him for letting his mind wander in that direction, and now that the chance was here, all that came out was, "It's good to see you, sir."

If this wasn't the same Coulson--yeah, he wasn't ready to think about that just yet.

[firstnameagent.livejournal.com]

"Same here, Barton. But do me a favor and don't mention that you saw me to any of the people back in New York. Because of complications," Coulson said. "Agent Romanoff excluded, of course."

Since he'd heard about a Clint and Natasha living together on the radio, and it wasn't hard to figure that one out.

[so_hawkward]

"Of course." Of course he'd know she was here, and that wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to. He managed to make it two whole beats before adding, "Complications like the fact that you're supposed to be dead?"

Was there some bitterness in there? There might have been a little bitterness in there.

[abitlowkey]

Teenage billionaires, eh? How about Norse gods? You're a fan of Norse gods, right Clint?

Right?

"Good morrorow!" Loki announced cheerfully, not at all looking up from his cellphone.

[so_hawkward]

Oh yes, Clint was such a fan of the Norse, really.

If he snickered at the weird teenager, it wasn't meant to be mean. Also really.

[abitlowkey]

THEY SHALL BE BESTIES. BRACELETS WILL BE WOVEN TO COMMEMORATE THEIR BOND.

Loki looked up at the snickering, giving him something that was between a glare and 'ew, a bug'. "Who are you?"

He was also the most polite person around.

[so_hawkward]

"Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you from your texting," Clint said, smirking at the look he was getting. This was definitely more the kind of teenager he'd been expecting to find around here. "Please, carry on."

[abitlowkey]

Loki gave him another look. "I was not texting. I was informing those who follow my Twitter of my journey from the tents they force us to stay in to attain coffee and baked goods."

A beat.

"I mislike the limit of characters I may use. It prevents me from sharing the full tale."

[so_hawkward]

Okay, so maybe this wasn't exactly the kind of teenager he'd expected, with the formal speaking and all. "Twitter isn't for people with long enough attention spans for full tales. Did you have an adventure on your way over here?"

In his defense, he was only being partially sarcastic.

[abitlowkey]

"My attention span is perfectly apt for such tales," Loki replied. "And I may. Should the island decide to force its whimsy upon us."

[so_hawkward]

"Yeah, I've heard this place is full of whimsy sometimes. I don't suppose that extends to making people live in tents? Or is that some kind of school bonding thing?" Clint asked.