Welcome to New York

[agent_cupid]

Clint guided the Quinjet down onto the landing pad with careful hands and an alert eye. The aircraft prototype handled like nothing else, a joint project with tech from Wakanda and Stark Industries and Clint was still a little overly cautious when he was flying it. When anything with Stark was involved, he was half tempted to expect it to turn into a giant robot or worse, drop out of the sky with warning. Still, he pulled the landing off without a hitch, coming to rest smoothly outside SHIELD HQ as he flipped off the controls and cleared the last of the landing procedures with the pleasant female voice over his headset, who had laughingly returned his flirting and had him grinning as he moved back into the main body of the jet.

It was a strange sight, the two gods and two young women in the back of the jet. Thor was sitting on one of the benches – the place he’d been most comfortable for the flight – while Sif sat across from him, having watched the entire flight from the window with avid interest. Both Asgardians had been understandably wary about being transported in the jet – or metal wingless beast, as it had been originally dubbed - and Clint had had his hands full with talking Thor out of flying the entire way. Lucky Doctor Foster had backed him on that, but it had taken a taunting jibe from Sif to finally get the scowling thunder god on board. Clint was pretty sure he was the only one who’d seen the female warrior flash him a sly wink before following him inside. Clint was fairly certain she was his favorite person at the moment. He had not been looking forward to Fury’s lectures if they’d gotten back to New York just in time to field all the reported sightings across the country of a flying man.

“Welcome to HQ, kids,” Clint retorted with a cheerful grin, his hands propped easily on his hips as he came back. “Safe and sound and all in one piece. I’m sure the welcome party’s out there for you, but I need to get you up to the Director’s office before we wander off for more sightseeing.”

Since that was Clint’s favorite part, no matter how many glowers he got from Fury for stealing SHIELD assets out into the city at large. It wasn’t like he was going to lose them. Although, granted, he suspected keeping a leash on the Asgardians, Doctor Foster, and Darcy was going to be considerably more of a challenge than showing Bucky the sights had been.

Still, the thought had him grinning in anticipation as he hit the hatch that opened the hatch and let the landing ramp lower into the secured courtyard he’d landed them in.

Comments

[taze_me_bro]

"Well, I'm mostly here to just... I don't even know. Make Jane's coffee, I guess." Since she probably wasn't going to be useful doing even the minimal stuff she'd done before. Jane had a whole team of nerds now, which meant Darcy wasn't exactly useful. She glanced at Agent Coulson. "Hey dad, what am I supposed to be doing here anyway? My BA is political science, not like... science with numbers and stuff."

With a shrug, she gave Clint a grin. "Never. Unless you're trying to find a graceful way to back out of the deal, grandpa."

[phil_coulson]

He sent Dr. Foster off with Sitwell, and from the look on her face while she went she was genuinely pleased with her new toys. Which left him with only three more agents to coral.

"I'm contractually obligated." He informed Barton, which in a way wasn't entirely untrue. "I think they just do it for fun."

Barnes shrugged an agreement, because he absolutely did.

All joking aside however, he wouldn't tell Darcy she'd been brought along because of the sheer dumb luck of being acquainted with Jane, a pair of demi-gods, and SHIELD's more stringent search-and-seizure policies. As with every eventuality, they were prepared. He clasped his hands in front of him.

"SHIELD has some very exciting co-op opportunities. You'll find an information packet in your on-site apartment, if you're interested, but otherwise we thought you might like to finish your credit with Dr. Foster. Fetching coffee is a much rarer talent than Agent Barnes might have led you to believe."

[soldier_on]

Bucky shot Coulson a look, but he grinned at Darcy anyway. "That's why they keep me around; good looks, charm, coffee. It's not a bad deal."

He was really enjoying the novelty of someone not knowing he was the oldest guy in the room. Being called 'grandpa' got old pretty fast, though it was funny that Clint got it instead of Coulson.

"And I'm always up for a night on the town. Do I get to bring a date too?"

[agent_cupid]

"I'm pretty sure Darcy thinks she can take up both," Clint smirked, stealing his coffee back once more after she had the audacity to call him 'grandpa'. Bucky would never let him live that one down and he wasn't sure Coulson would either. Why did he like these people again?

"Actually, considering it's Darcy, I'm not so sure she can't," he added a moment later, snorting with a laugh as he cast her a sideways look. She'd held her own with Asgardian gods, despite the fact that she seemed tiny even beside him. "But sure, if you've got a hot date. Should I be jealous?"

[taze_me_bro]

Darcy nodded, listening to Coulson first. As much as she'd rather flirt with the boys, she still did have to think about life after college, if nothing else. And this was definitely a possible career boost, if it didn't mean fetching coffee for the rest of her life. "Okay, I'll look it over when I get there," she said. "I kind of have to finish out the credit with Jane no matter what, though. I want to graduate on time."

She turned her attention back to the boys, which... were they being flirty with each other? It was adorable, and she wanted in on it, though it also opened the possibility that she wasn't going to get laid any time soon.

Or maybe? If Bucky had a date... hell, who knew. She could roll with the punches like a big girl and just have a good time, since that was kind of the point of the whole thing. "The more the merrier, right?" she said, grinning. "But I'm a bad influence. You've been warned."

[soldier_on]

"Absolutely," He grinned at Clint before shooting Darcy a sidelong glance. "Fair's fair."

Steve needed to get out some anyway. He'd been trying to give him some space, and some time to adjust, but he'd have met Clint by then, and Darcy seemed like an easygoing kinda girl. If Steve still wasn't up for it, though, he supposed he could bring Agent Mysterious from R&D.

"Anyone in this hallway strike you as a paragon of virtue?" He teased. "I think we can handle you."

[phil_coulson]

Coulson nodded at Darcy. "That shouldn't be a problem. It was good seeing you again, Ms. Lewis. Agent Barnes."

"Sir." Barnes responded promptly, and winked at Barton before turning back to Darcy. "So, need any help finding coffee for your scientist..?"

Coulson turned and headed off down a different hallway, expecting Barton to follow. SHIELD didn't have strict fraternization rules in general, so on an entirely personal level he really didn't want to be a part of this conversation much longer, especially with Barton gesturing beside him. He waited until Barton fell into step before he spoke again. "So, how was New Mexico?"

[agent_cupid]

Clint let off motioning at Coulson in reply to Bucky's 'paragon of virtue' sentiment, giving his handler an innocent grin when fixed a familiar Look. He lifted his hands in a shrug before grinning at Bucky. "Stay out of trouble, man. Catch you later," he bid him before winking at Darcy. "Goes for you, too. Try not to taze anyone without justifiable cause."

He gave them both a playful salute before falling obediently into step behind Coulson, hands tucked into his pockets in a cheerful manner despite the long hours of debrief ahead.

[Jumping down a thread]