[Action] Arrival post

[kore_mods]

[Threads in this post take place at (or at least start at) the center of town around the fountain. If you would like to address the network or have your character wake up somewhere else, feel free to make your own post in the appropriate community.

In this post, please feel free to have characters jump around. If your character moves threads and it's relatively continuous, please link the earlier thread to the later one and try to follow a tag order/try not to cram too many people into one thread. Please refer to the information post in the OOC comm for anything you might need and feel free to ask questions!]

Comments

[theshield_agent]

[Okay. Ouch? It wasn't the physical pain. It was that she slapped him. Also, when he'd spoken to her not an hour ago, she'd be completely crazy, but he wasn't going to even question that.]

Nat... what? [He stared at her a little blankly.] I was about to take him on before I woke up here. Someone had to. I had that prototype with me. It was fine.

[He was lying through his teeth, of course. He'd known the risks. He always knew the risks and they were acceptible to him.]

And anyway, he had Barton. [He indicated the knocked out agent.] What else was I supposed to do?

[beencompromised.livejournal.com]

( He honestly didn't seem to know anything that had happened after his confrontation with Loki, which pointed more to death than cover-up. She wouldn't have believed it if it weren't for Clint lying there when she'd already fixed that problem once. )

Sir, we defeated Loki and the Chitauri. Fury used your death to get Stark and Rogers to pull their heads out of their asses. Thor saw it happen, and I imagine that helped him to move past his lingering illusions regarding his brother's character. It really galvanized everyone. You should be very proud. I performed cognitive recalibration on Agent Barton. Banner had a controlled episode. We were a team, Coulson. And we won. All of this was already done. So I'm at a loss as to how Barton was in that state again and how you're standing here when I know for a fact you're dead.

( She fixed him with an intense stare ) Not get yourself killed for one thing. Do you have any idea...do you... ( Her hands were practically shaking ) You know I understand. Barton means just as much to me as he does to you. But how do you think he'd feel, knowing you died in a situation we both know he'll blame himself for? How do you think we all felt, knowing you were killed? There aren't many people... ( She paused and took a breath ) I do not have many people in my life that it would pain me to lose. So...you aren't allowed to do that again. Are we clear, sir?

[theshield_agent]

[He moved in to hug her, arms out. He'd back off if she moved away, but he had a feeling she would let him. There was so much he wanted to say to her. So much he wanted to respond to. He'd known that they could do it. He'd believed in every last one of them, even Stark. Knowing that he'd died and all of them had come through and the world was safe... he was okay with that.]

Nat, I need you to understand... [He paused, trying to find the best way to word this.] It wasn't just anything. It was Barton and I'm not just going to sit back and let someone just... take one of you like that--not when I have a shot at them.

[Clint and Natasha were family. End of discussion.]

[beencompromised.livejournal.com]

( Normally Tasha would have fought him on this. She preferred to keep herself closed off. It was safer than making herself vulnerable and allowing people to see her emotions. But between losing Clint to Loki, however temporarily, and Phil dying, however temporarily, she felt emotionally wrung out. Coming so close to losing what amounted to her touchstone had shaken her. In a move that would have surprised most people, she gave in to the hug with no protest, resting her head on Coulson's shoulder. She needed it, the physical reassurance that he was really alive and okay. )

Getting yourself killed didn't help Clint. It just...removed you from the equation, and that is not acceptable. I just need to you understand that. ( She pulled away, uncomfortable with the display of emotion. ) I need to...go. ( She spared a glance down at Clint. ) Keep an eye on him. I'll be back. I just...can't do this right now. ( Frowning to herself, she walked off. )

[theshield_agent]

((ooc: Continued here))