Quill, Parchment, & Ink

Title: Search and Retrieval
Characters: Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov
Fandom: Avengers
Series:
Written For: The Fans
Prompt: Movie Fix-It
Summary: You’re Ours and we don’t leave behind people who are ours. (Also known as none of the Avengers share well with others.)
Rating: R
Spoilers: Avengers Movie (really if you haven’t seen it, why are you reading this), also Battle Scars comic for a person
Warnings: language, Avengers being possessive, Fury being an Ass, Tony being well Tony, everyone has FEEEEEELINGS
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me (cause if they did well we wouldn’t NEED fix-it fics). Not making any money off this.
Author's Note: So I saw Avengers. And I totally did not intend to write anything specifically for the movie…I mean I have a ton of Avenger fics in the works already…but then that happened. So this happened. And yeah. And that was after I read Battle Scars and fell in love with CHEESE. So yeah. To BAMF to die as I am being told as I write this. So pretty much, don’t read this until you’ve seen the movie. Cause SPOILERS people. (And if you need me to explain Cheese, I will.)


Colonel Fury stared down at the man in the bed. “Alert me the moment he starts to wake up,” he ordered.

“Of course, sir,” the doctor replied. “Do you want me to tell…”

“No.” Fury whirled around. “No one but me. No one can know he’s still alive.”

The doctor shrank back from his vehemence. “Yes, yes, sir. Of of course,” he stuttered.

“Good.” Fury strode from the room, leaving the doctor alone with the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

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The man in the bed gasped as he came fully awake for the first time in weeks. “What the fuck?” he tried to demand, but it came out in a gasp.

Fury’s eye glittered. Whenever he was injured, his old friend’s vocabulary reverted to their Ranger days. It was a source of unending amusement for the Colonel to see the unflappable suit in this state. “You got stabbed, Cheese,” he responded as he offered an ice chip.

“What the everloving fuck? With what?” the man demanded. “And stop calling me that.”

“With a staff. I’m sorry to tell you that you’re dead,” Fury informed him.

Coulson cracked his eyes open farther and regarded Fury blandly. “Why does it hurt so much then?”

“We didn’t let you stay dead.”

“I’m sure it hurt less. Why couldn’t you just let me stay that way for a little longer?” Coulson replied.

“Because you did as much as you could dead. And now I need you alive. So rest up because I’ve an assignment for you in another week.” Fury got to his feet. “Oh. And I owe you a new set of Captain America cards. I needed those, too.”

“Why did you… Nick?” Coulson tried to follow his friend’s movement out of the room, but rolling to his side hurt too much. “Damn it,” he groaned. “I don’t think I want to know.” Before he had time to even think about it, a nurse appeared and injected something into his IV. Within moments a soothing lassitude spread through his body and he realized he’d been drugged back into unconsciousness.

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“JARVIS, how’s Doctor Banner this morning?” Tony asked as he strode into the main room. “Still nice and pink? Or did we have a twinge of green with our morning coffee?”

“Doctor Banner has requested that I not give you morning reports,” JARVIS responded.

“Can he do that?” Tony asked. “Never mind. Ask him if he would come up here. I have a question for him.”

When Bruce appeared a few minutes later, his hair was disarrayed and his glasses were tucked into a pocket, but unlike how Tony appeared after hours in the lab, that was the only sign he’d been working. “What, Stark? I was actually attempting to accomplish something.”

Tony waved a hand. “Yeah. Yeah. Great strides in bio-slap-dash whatever. This is more important.”

“Stark,” Bruce started warningly.

“It’s about Phil, okay?” Tony snapped. “That important enough for you?”

Bruce immediately backed down. “You could have just said that, Tony. Did Colonel Fury send you information about the memorial? Or did Natasha or Barton contact you?”

“No. And don’t you find that a bit odd? I mean, I can’t be the only one who finds it a bit off that it’s been weeks. None of us were allowed to say good-bye. We haven’t had a memorial. And I realize we’ve been a bit busy rebuilding, but this wasn’t some schmo on the street. This is Coulson.”

“Things have been a bit…scattered,” Bruce pointed out. “Maybe he just hasn’t had time to arrange it yet.”

“And maybe we need to push the issue,” Tony replied. “If Fury doesn’t want to have a memorial for the man, I’ll do something about it.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Bruce asked.

“It’s a perfect idea.” Tony spun around. “JARVIS, call Fury. Let’s get this ball rolling.”

Bruce shook his head. “Oh, this is not going to end well.”

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Natasha grabbed the bar above her head, pulling herself into a chin-up, before flipping over and landing on the catwalk. She smiled as the man perched up there didn’t react. “It’s only hiding if no one knows where you are,” she commented softly.

“I’m just thinking,” he responded.

“You think too hard, you might injure something.”

“You can just recalibrate it for me again.” When Natasha just glared at him, he asked, “Too soon?”

“Why are you up here? Again.”

“I was thinking of building a nest. Just staying up here until we need to go take care of someone. No need to deal with anyone. I can do my training when the range is empty.”

“Don’t.” Her eyes followed his line of sight, even though she couldn’t see what he was seeing. “Don’t go there. Not again. Not now. Don’t do this to yourself. Even if you had been here to fight against Loki’s men. Even if. You couldn’t have prevented it.”

“I... There had to have been something,” Clint insisted.

Natasha grabbed his face, forcefully turning him to look at her. “No. Enough. Do you understand me?” He nodded after a minute and she released him. “Now. Stark is pissing Fury off… Want to go see the fireworks?”

“Maybe we should just stay here,” he replied. “I’m not quite ready to go down.”

She swung her feet around so she was sitting beside him again. They both continued to look out across the hanger, listing towards each other until their sides were pressed together; holding each other up. They would continue to strengthen each other until they were ready to stand on their own again.

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Steve had wanted nothing more than some time to rest after everything. When Tony had offered him the use of a ‘small house, just a trifle really’, he’d accepted. And then arrived to find it occupied its own private island. It was too much really, but the days he’d spent helping clean up the City after the aborted invasion had proven there was no way for him to walk the streets right now. Apparently Coulson wasn’t the only Captain America fanboy. And that thought brought a fresh wave of grief.

So he’d stayed at the house, despite his misgivings, trying to work through his feelings and his emotions.

His days quickly fell into a routine where he ran around the island or spent time in the suspiciously well-appropriated gym in the mornings before sitting out on the deck in nice weather for the afternoon. A bridge connected the island to the mainland and it was easy enough to go into the small town for supplies. After a few days, he was easily able to find a place where he could purchase drawing pads and pencils. After that he used his time in the afternoon to sit and sketch. Soon he had books filled not just with the people he remembered from seventy years ago, but the sights and people that populated his life now.

The disembodied voice in the kitchen had startled him the first time, but he’d adjusted quickly and spent time quizzing JARVIS once he realized he wasn’t just a computer. When Steve had drawings he was satisfied with, JARVIS assisted him in mailing them to the proper people.

Steve was cooking dinner one evening when a chime sounded breaking into the music that had been playing softly. Looking towards the speaker he was in the habit of addressing when speaking to JARVIS, he asked, “Yes, JARVIS, what is it?”

“Pardon me for interrupting, Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark is calling. Would you like to take the call?”

“Yes. Please. Tony? Hi. Is something wrong?” Steve asked.

“Hey. Steve,” Tony’s voice came over the lines crystal clear. “No. Nothing’s wrong. Or well. Not exactly.”

“What’s going on?” Steve quickly turned the burner off and turned his attention fully towards the conversation. “Is everyone okay? Or. Did they finally set a date for Phil’s memorial?” he asked in a quieter voice.

“No,” Tony answered. “And that’s why I’m calling. Steve, you need to come home. We found something out.”

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“So we’re all here, Stark,” Clint said. “Was there a point to this?”

“We’re not all here,” Steve pointed out. “Has anyone been able to contact Thor?”

Bruce shook his head. “Not since he went back to Asgard. I’m sure we’re being watched, but we’ve got no way to contact him at the moment.”

“Cause that’s not creepy,” Clint muttered.

“You would know, eagle eye,” Tony shot back.

Before Clint could retort, Natasha snapped something in Russian. He subsided, but not without some grumbling. Tony leaned forward to attempt to bait him again, but Steve laid down the law. “This isn’t helping.”

“What will help then?” Tony replied. “Obviously we need to get Heimdall’s attention, but how are we supposed to do that? Should we wave our arms at the sky? Maybe the birdman over there could shoot a few arrows into the air? Or we should throw something? Yelling really loud? Would that work? Maybe if we spell out ‘Hey, Heimdall’ on the sand?”

“That is not necessary, my friends,” a voice said from the balcony.

Clint and Natasha both rolled away from the table, splitting up as they pulled handguns from holsters and aimed them towards the voice. Steve tipped the table, using it as cover and pulling the two scientists behind the protection. Tony yelped as Bruce curled himself tightly, obviously waiting for a sign that he should take action. After a minute, Clint and Natasha straightened up from their crouches. “Hey, Thor,” Clint called.

“Jesus fuck!” Tony snapped as he got to his feet. “Don’t do that! Are you trying to kill me? I have a heart condition!” He motioned for Bruce to help him tip the table back into an upright position and the other scientist did it without complaint as the billionaire continued to complain, “Why does no one ever remember that?”

“Oh, we remember, Stark, we just choose to ignore it,” Clint commented as he helped pick up the chairs that had been scattered. Natasha smacked him on the back of the head as she passed him and he gave her a wounded look in response. “Hey! I don’t need to be recalibrated!” Steve and Bruce winced as Clint took his seat. He frowned at their reactions. “Oh.” Glancing over his shoulder at Natasha, he asked, “Still too soon?”

“Say it again and I will recalibrate you,” she threatened.

“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” Tony asked.

Everyone ignored Tony as Thor joined them. “Heimdall said you were gathered together, my friends. Why has a proper burial for the Son of Coul not taken place? I do not wish to see him return as a revenant.”

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about, Thor,” Steve replied. “Something fishy is going on.”

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Coulson looked up from the tablet as Fury entered his room. Habitually he logged off the server before setting it aside. For a long moment the two old friends stared at each other, then Coulson finally spoke, "I've been cleared for light duty. And I'm up to speed on what the Avengers did. When do we tell them the truth?"

"We don't," Fury answered.

"There's no reason for me to stay dead," Coulson argued.

"There is every reason for you to stay dead. Starting with we don't need a bunch of hot-tempered super powered blowhards going ballistic because they were lied to. And that's before your two 'kids' get involved."

Coulson's lips twitched. "Only you would refer to two master assassins as my kids."

"I notice you didn't deny it. And you aren't denying they'll be pissed."

Coulson motioned to the tablet where it was clear he'd been reading the reports on the attack and the invasion. "You know. You have to know this is ripping Barton and Tasha apart. And having the others there is not the same."

"You weren't supposed to get attached," Fury reminded him.

"And I was the one that made the call to let them think I was dead," Coulson replied. "And now I want the courtesy of deciding to come in."

"You. Are going on vacation," Fury informed him.

"I'm what?"

"Vacation. A break. Some place warm and sunny so you can relax and finish getting better. Then we'll discuss your resurrection."

"And if I refuse to go?"

"I have some very nice doctors who listen to me. And they'd be happy to sedate you for the trip." Fury paused. "Cheese, you need this."

“I need to get back to my ‘kids’ as you refer to them,” Coulson said.

“Soon,” Fury promised. “But first you’re going to the Bahamas.”

“The Bahamas? You really think that’s the best place for me to blend in?”

“You’ll have a great time.” Fury clapped him on his uninjured shoulder. “I promise.”

“The last time you promised I’d have a great time, I got shot,” Coulson replied dryly.

“Look at it this way, Cheese. I’m not going with you this time.”

“I’m not sure that’s a comfort,” Coulson grumbled.

Fury pushed himself to his feet, allowing a little bit of weakness to show in front of his oldest friend. “You’re going on vacation, Cheese. That’s an order.”

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“I don’t see why I can’t just suit up and take a look around. Or send Thor up,” Tony argued as the team disembarked from the Stark jet.

“Because we’re going for low-key and subtle, Stark,” Clint replied as he slipped on a pair of wrap-around shades. “I realize it’s a concept you’re unfamiliar with…what with the whole ‘I am Iron Man’ thing, but sometimes the shadows are better.”

“Hey, I can be subtle. I can be the king of subtle,” Tony protested as Steve steered him towards a car.

“’I am Iron Man’,” Clint repeated. “Stark Expo.”

“Monaco,” Natasha chimed in.

“Monaco was not my fault,” Tony muttered as they maneuvered him into the car. “Besides I thought I was dying.”

“I’ve thought I was dying plenty of times. I didn’t blow up a race track,” Clint responded. “And the point is you don’t know how to be subtle.”

“Tony, we need you down here anyway. You’re the one that found Coulson,” Steve pointed out. “Now where are we going?”

Clint had gotten behind the wheel automatically; Natasha taking the seat beside him and pulling out a map to navigate. Tony dug his tablet (so much better than the ones SHIELD had) out of his bag, logging on and activating the holographs. “He’s at the Hilton,” Tony informed them.

“Copy that,” Clint responded as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Left. Left!” Natasha and Tony both yelled as Clint pulled into traffic. On the wrong side of the road. “They drive on the left!”

Clint jerked the wheel, crossing to the correct side of the road. “I knew that!” he yelled back.

The car was almost silent as they sped along towards the hotel, except for Tony’s muttering as he continued to monitor the programs he was running on the tablet and Natasha’s soft directions to Clint. The archer’s hands, covered in his fingerless gloves, tensed and relaxed; gripping the steering wheel as if that would get them there sooner.

"Who's going in?" Clint asked as he pulled to a stop just out of view of the main entrance. Normally someone would call him on his paranoia, but considering the situation they were all feeling a little paranoid.

"I don't see why we can't all go," Tony responded still tapping away at his tablet.

Natasha turned enough in the seat so she could see him. "When we get back home, I am getting you a dictionary with the definition of subtle highlighted," she told him. "Clint and I will go. The rest of you will wait here. If that is acceptable, Captain?"

Tony snorted. "Because Legolas defines subtle sooo much better than I do. What with the bow and the arrows and the muscles."

"I should be disturbed that you noticed my muscles, shouldn't I?" Clint retorted.

"Who could miss them? Your shirts lack sleeves!"

"Boys!" Natasha snapped, followed by something uncomplimentary in Russian that had Clint wincing and shifting away from her. "Clint and I will go," she repeated.

"Do I want to know what she said?" Tony asked Clint in a low voice. The archer rapidly shook his head.

"Please see what you can find out," Steve requested, hoping to cut off anymore bickering. They were so close to the end of their search, he didn't want to draw undue attention to them now.

"We will," Natasha assured him. Touching a hand to Clint's arm, the two slid out almost in unison. When they met at the front of the car, Clint slung an arm around her shoulders and they strolled off, looking like any other young couple on vacation. However Steve had no doubt they could separate in an instant and spin to cover each other's backs lethally if the need arose.

“How are we playing this?” Clint murmured as they strolled towards the main entrance.

“Follow my lead?” she replied.

Just about anyone else and Clint would have balked immediately, but he’d learned to trust Natasha over the years. So when she sauntered up to the desk and batted her eyes at the clerk, working up a sob about her poor husband and herself looking for her uncle who was on vacation; he slipped his arm back around her and tried not to look intimidating. The clerk stammered at first, explaining they weren’t allowed to give information about guests, but Natasha gasped as if fighting back a sob and turned to bury her face in Clint’s shoulder.

Clint’s hand tightened as if comforting her as he explained to the clerk, “We’ve been calling for days, trying to get ahold of Uncle Michael. Normally we wouldn’t ask you to break the rules, but Nat’s mother’s in the hospital and they aren’t sure how much longer…” he trailed off, trying not to wince as Natasha’s nails dug into his side.

The clerk’s brown eyes softened. “Normally I wouldn’t, but…since it is for family. You could try the private beach. I can’t tell you anything other than that though.”

Natasha picked her head up, wiping at her eyes before gushing, “Thank you. Oh, thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am,” the clerk replied. “Now you’ll have to go back out the front door and around the building, but then just follow the signs.”

Clint edged away from her as soon as he judged they were far enough outside, rubbing his side. “You are an evil, evil woman, Natasha Romanov.”

“Worked didn’t?” she asked as she tossed her hair with a smile that didn’t nothing to take away from his accusation.

Clint chose to ignore her by leaning in the window of the car to address the Avengers they’d left behind. “Anyone want go to the beach?”

“You found him?” Steve questioned, even as Bruce opened the door, allowing the others to start spilling out.

“We have a lead,” Natasha responded. “The clerk was most helpful.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “You didn’t threaten him, did you?”

“Subtle, Tony, remember? We’re going for subtle,” Clint reminded him.

The Avengers had proved during the invasion that when the chips were down, they could follow orders and work together. Unfortunately, when they weren’t in the adrenaline fueled rush of battle, they tended to all go their own ways and attempting to get them to all go in the same direction was like herding cats. SHIELD had quickly discovered this when Clint and Natasha disappeared the first time they were required to be somewhere they were not specifically ordered to be. Apparently whatever compliance Coulson had trained into them had been destroyed when Fury had lied to them. Bruce and Tony were even worse; alternating between arguing with the people sent to try to rein them in and ‘inadvertently’ blowing things up around them. Steve didn’t know if he should be horrified or amused.

Steve fully expected the group to fall to arguing or scatter as soon as they hit the sand, but to his surprise, they stayed close together. Clint ranged out ahead of the group, obviously scanning the crowd even from behind his sunglasses while Natasha orbited around, watching not only their group but the crowd as she looked for Coulson and threats. Tony and Bruce both had their heads bent over Tony’s tablet, but since they seemed capable of walking and watching it at the same time; Steve let them be. Thor strode along beside them, his head swiveling as he tried to take in everything. Every so often he poked Steve in the arm to call attention to something. Steve was glad he seemed more bemused than offended or worried by what he was seeing. He wasn’t sure he could say the same.

They’d made it about halfway down the beach when Clint suddenly let out a yelp and took off running. It caught all of them flat-footed and the archer had made it to his target, dropping to his knees beside the man, before most of them even reacted. He was reaching out hesitantly, his hand hovering over Coulson’s arm, murmuring, “I’m sorry. All my fault,” over and over when they reached the two men.

Coulson struggled into a sitting position, his eyes going from one to the other as he tried to take it all in. “What are you all doing here? How did you find me?”

Natasha crouched down on the other side of him, her hand brushing across his shoulder before she gave way to Bruce. “Did you think we wouldn’t come after you?” she asked.

Steve and Thor sat down in the sand, bracketing Coulson so he could relax. “I’m well aware of what you will and won’t do, Agent Romanov,” Coulson replied. “Barton, stop hovering. I’m not going to disappear. And it was not your fault.”

Clint ducked his head, tucking himself as small as he could manage by Coulson’s side. “I led the strike team. I gave Loki the means to attack the helicarrier.”

Coulson reached out, gently touching the archer’s wrist. “And you joined the Avengers when they took out the Chitauri and more than redeemed yourself. Stop abusing yourself.” He turned to the others. “Will someone tell me how you all found me? Fury had me buried pretty deep.”

“Well first we got suspicious…” Tony started. “Because Fury wouldn’t let us have a memorial service. Or even see the body. So Bruce-y and I started digging. And digging. And then digging a little more. And JARVIS helped. And we found this guy named Cheese. You wouldn’t happen to know who Cheese is, would you?”

“You. Hacked into SHIELD?” Coulson asked aghast.

“What? It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve done it. And I’d do it again.” Tony waved a hand at Clint and Natasha. “Those two won’t listen to anyone. And All-American over there actually started glaring at everyone. Bruce and I don’t trust anyone at SHIELD and the one person we do trust? Did a Houdini on us!”

Coulson’s face twitched causing Clint and Natasha to grin in response. “I did not Houdini as you’re accusing,” he replied. “I was ordered to take a vacation.”

“And you’re doing a fine job of it, Coulson. Very…” Tony waved a hand at the agent who was wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts with a grey t-shirt. His nose was painted white with sunscreen. “Blendy.”

“Fine. You’ve found me. Now what are you going to do?” Coulson asked.

“We’re going to take you home,” Steve replied. “You’re one of us, Agent. And we’re not gonna let you go again.”

“You’re not allowed to ever do that again,” Clint told him, lifting his head from where he was curled by Coulson’s side.

“Or we’ll kill you ourselves,” Natasha added from where she sat next to her partner. Coulson almost smiled at the threat, knowing it was how the two assassins showed their affection.

“We’re going to take you back to New York with us,” Steve explained.

“And not to SHIELD,” Bruce explained.

“To Stark Tower. Well, I guess it’s Avengers’ Tower now,” Tony weighed in.

“Because who else is going to keep us all in line?” Clint finished.

Coulson looked around at them. “Oh, god. The group of you are actually co-operating. For something other than mayhem and battle? Wait. Avengers’ Tower?” He twisted to look at Tony. “You’re all living together?”

“Sorta?” Tony answered.

“You mean I have six kids now instead of two?”

“I don’t want to know what he’s talking about do I?” Bruce asked the group at large.

Steve helped haul Coulson to his feet. “Come on, Coulson, you’ll feel better when you’re back in New York.”

“Who’s explaining it to Fury?” Coulson asked as Clint and Natasha bounced to their feet and began gathering Coulson’s things.

Tony clapped him on the shoulder. “Fury doesn’t feel he needs to explain things to us, why should we explain things to him? You’re ours, Coulson. And we’re not giving you back.”