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om_mainOn Christmas Day, Philip, Natasha, and Clint exchange presents.
Natasha hadn't been expecting a stocking with her name on it, let alone one that had her name written in her homeland's cyrillic lettering. (It was weird to see her assumed name in her mother tongue, though.) Still, the gesture was sweet, if a bit unnecessary and a touch unnerving.
It was something of a relief to retreat back up to Philip and Clint's room, and Natasha curled up on a corner of the bed the moment they had returned. Not for sleep, but to relax as she watched the boys pull out their gifts. She'd already hidden hers beneath the bed.
Philip had also made sure they were provisioned besides, bringing up food and drinks from the ridiculous amount downstairs. "So, now that it's quiet...who's first?"
Clint rifled through his duffel bag for a moment, wrestling with something large and stiff and covered in packing paper. "So we're doing this?"
Natasha shrugged. "Sure, if you boys want."
Philip did his own rifling and came up with a large, squishy package and one wrapped box, a bit smaller than a shoebox. "We look prepared?"
"Coulson goes first!" Clint announced with a grin, sitting back on the floor, crosslegged.
She sat up, too, and looked at Philip expectantly, smirking.
Philip just rolled his eyes and handed the squishy package over to Natasha. It'd taken him a long time to find the ugliest Christmas sweater that he could, one that while incredibly warm and cozy was about the unsexiest piece of clothing he'd ever seen. The box was passed over to Clint. It'd taken just as long to find the wide leather bracelet cuffs inside. They were decorative, no one would give him a second look wearing them in public but the lacing was stronger than it seemed and there was another hidden surprise or two. It was just as symbolic as Natasha's gift, the hawk's jesses.
Clint got into the box first, mostly because he'd gotten a taste for presents at this point and had decided they were amazing, especially coming from Coulson. He definitely didn't pick up on the symbolism of the cuffs, but his lips spread in a wide grin when he saw them, sliding one on his right wrist immediately. The leather felt good on his skin - soft and flexible, but well-made. He wouldn't be able to wear both when shooting, but he was pretty sure his shooting tab wouldn't interfere with the one on the right. It might even help. "Shit, Coulson, these are awesome."
Natasha was more deliberate with her unwrapping. She wasn't really used to receiving gifts. She was even less used to someone suggesting she slip into something more comfortable but less attractive. It was....weirdly nice. The sweater was soft, and hideous, and not at all subtle. Receiving was like getting assurance that Philip valued her for more than her looks, or even her skills. "Thank you," she murmured, turning it over in her hands.
The reactions from both of them got a rare, almost wide smile from Philip. "I'm glad you like them, they took a while to find. There are a lot of horrible sweaters out there but it took some doing to find one that was both horrendous and comfortable. It should be very warm?" He glanced over at Clint and the smile going just a little wider. "I'll have something to show you later with those."
Clint blinked for a moment, then shook his head, holding out the bulky package to Coulson. "Uh. Mine aren't that well thought out, and this is kind of from both me and your grandparents? It's supposed to be lightweight and easy to move in, and it's the latest design. It's uh. Well."
While at first the package looked like it might be a sweater or jacket, when unveiled it actually turned out to be a state-of-the-art bullet-proof vest - the kind that was slim enough to be worn under most shirts without raising eyebrows.
He also handed Natasha a small, neat box that was a little heavier than it looked, inside holding a thigh-holster and six perfectly balanced throwing knives. "Yours is just kind of. You know, I thought you might want something to keep you company."
And apparently, he wanted to protect them both, when he wasn't around.
Natasha was still smirking - how could Clint not catch the meaning behind Coulson's gift to him or the hints the gift-giver was dropping - but looked down at the box Clint had handed her. Wow. This was...extremely thoughtful. She reached over with a leg and nudged Clint as she slowly went through the bounty he'd given her. "These are high quality."
"This is incredible, Clint, thank you," Philip said as he ran a finger over the stiff material. Not that he wanted it to be necessary, of course not, but it could save him some significant discomfort.
"Like I said, not as personal, but..." Clint shrugged. At least he'd never have to see Natasha helpless, or Coulson bleeding out.
Natasha thought it was fairly personal. It said something, really, about Clint's priorities, and both gifts were...sweet. Yes. Very sweet. She forced herself to set aside her shiny new toys from Clint, and took a second to pull on her new, hideous sweater.
Wow. It was incredibly comfortable.
She bent down, and hooked a finger on a cardboard box that she'd stashed beneath the bed. The box contained both gifts and wasn't wrapped at all, and she felt mildly embarassed for not being overly practiced at gift-giving. Still, Natasha finished pulling it out so the boys could see what was inside.
Leo had really come through for her, giving her a compound bow within mere weeks of her idle request that he try to build one. She actually wasn't sure what all the various components of it did, though Natasha knew that it was a little unusual looking, even by compound bow standards. That, of course, was for Clint. For Philip she'd found a World War II M3 knife and scabbard. It was still usable, of course, though she doubted he'd use it as a weapon. She just thought he might like it for the history.
It was obvious which was which and Philip pulled the knife out of the box with the care that an artifact deserved. "Thank you, Natasha," he said, glancing up at her before going back to examining the gift in minute detail. "I know exactly where this is going to go, the collection is still small but this will be front and center."
Meanwhile, Clint hadn't moved, staring at the inside of the box with a mixture of awe, shock, and disbelief.
They really did seem to like what she had brought, and slight nerves she hadn't realized she had vanished. Though Natasha's smile of pleasure at their reactions was small, it was genuine. "You can touch it you know, Clint. I'm sure Philip can show you how to take things out of the box."
"Busy," Philip said, just a little tease in his voice. "You can try it out tomorrow, I would bet, when you go shooting."
Clint just continued staring for a moment, then looked up at Natasha, a little shell-shocked. "You got me a bow."
She thought she'd refrain from telling him precisely how she'd gotten him a boy, at least for the moment. "Well, you're an archer," Natasha said, sounding amused.
He couldn't really catch his breath, unable to look away. It was like nothing he'd ever seen. Some kind of hybrid compound bow, with a laser sight and an attached quiver. He couldn't quite comprehend that it was for him. He'd been blown away when Tony had made him the recurve - but then he'd asked for that one, no matter how much it had really been a gift. This...it couldn't replace his recurve, but it had other uses altogether. And it was...it was one of a kind. "H...how?"
She winked, and just said, "I know a guy."
"It looks amazing," Philip said quietly. "You should definitely try it tomorrow."
Clint finally got up the courage to reach in and take it out, turning the bow over carefully in his hands. He'd never in his life had anything like it just...given to him. Without asking. He was pretty new to presents in general, and was starting to get used to Phil giving him awesome shit without asking anything in return, but from Natasha...he hadn't expected anything like it. Looking up, he met her gaze. No words. Just a look of gratitude. "Yeah, I think I will."
Natasha smiled at him, extremely glad he liked it. She knew what it was like, to feel forgotten, and she knew Clint knew how it felt too; he knew he was remembered now.
"Maybe I'll sleep late instead," Philip said, teasing. "Let you go out in the cold while I stay here with the dog."
Clint snorted, but grinned as he ran his fingers over the fine metal. "Keep Nat warm, would ya?"
"I'm sure that will keep his grandparents from poking more fun at him," Natasha suggested dryly, relaxing back on the boys' bed. She was already pretty warm regardless, thanks to the unfortunate-looking sweater Philip had given her.
Philip just tipped an eyebrow up at Clint. "Just how warm were you thinking?" he teased. He didn't mean anything by it and he had to hope Natasha knew that.
Clint just grinned at that, then hugged his new bow to his chest. "As warm as you want," he sighed, clearly in love...with the weapon.
She looked Philip up and down, eyes sweeping over each and every inch of his body, before she finally smirked. "I'm sure we'll be...toasty," Natasha teased.
She was teasing, Philip knew, because if nothing else there wasn't that much interesting about him. "You're both going to get me in so much trouble, aren't you?"
"You love it," Clint grinned at him, finally seeming to come out of his bow-love stupor.
"I think you were probably in trouble to begin with," Natasha added helpfully.
"Probably," Philip admitted, to both of them really. "I'm going to have to work harder at staying boring. Looking," he amended a moment later.
Smirking, Clint pointed at Philip and smiled slyly at Natasha. "He learns."
Natasha hadn't been expecting a stocking with her name on it, let alone one that had her name written in her homeland's cyrillic lettering. (It was weird to see her assumed name in her mother tongue, though.) Still, the gesture was sweet, if a bit unnecessary and a touch unnerving.
It was something of a relief to retreat back up to Philip and Clint's room, and Natasha curled up on a corner of the bed the moment they had returned. Not for sleep, but to relax as she watched the boys pull out their gifts. She'd already hidden hers beneath the bed.
Philip had also made sure they were provisioned besides, bringing up food and drinks from the ridiculous amount downstairs. "So, now that it's quiet...who's first?"
Clint rifled through his duffel bag for a moment, wrestling with something large and stiff and covered in packing paper. "So we're doing this?"
Natasha shrugged. "Sure, if you boys want."
Philip did his own rifling and came up with a large, squishy package and one wrapped box, a bit smaller than a shoebox. "We look prepared?"
"Coulson goes first!" Clint announced with a grin, sitting back on the floor, crosslegged.
She sat up, too, and looked at Philip expectantly, smirking.
Philip just rolled his eyes and handed the squishy package over to Natasha. It'd taken him a long time to find the ugliest Christmas sweater that he could, one that while incredibly warm and cozy was about the unsexiest piece of clothing he'd ever seen. The box was passed over to Clint. It'd taken just as long to find the wide leather bracelet cuffs inside. They were decorative, no one would give him a second look wearing them in public but the lacing was stronger than it seemed and there was another hidden surprise or two. It was just as symbolic as Natasha's gift, the hawk's jesses.
Clint got into the box first, mostly because he'd gotten a taste for presents at this point and had decided they were amazing, especially coming from Coulson. He definitely didn't pick up on the symbolism of the cuffs, but his lips spread in a wide grin when he saw them, sliding one on his right wrist immediately. The leather felt good on his skin - soft and flexible, but well-made. He wouldn't be able to wear both when shooting, but he was pretty sure his shooting tab wouldn't interfere with the one on the right. It might even help. "Shit, Coulson, these are awesome."
Natasha was more deliberate with her unwrapping. She wasn't really used to receiving gifts. She was even less used to someone suggesting she slip into something more comfortable but less attractive. It was....weirdly nice. The sweater was soft, and hideous, and not at all subtle. Receiving was like getting assurance that Philip valued her for more than her looks, or even her skills. "Thank you," she murmured, turning it over in her hands.
The reactions from both of them got a rare, almost wide smile from Philip. "I'm glad you like them, they took a while to find. There are a lot of horrible sweaters out there but it took some doing to find one that was both horrendous and comfortable. It should be very warm?" He glanced over at Clint and the smile going just a little wider. "I'll have something to show you later with those."
Clint blinked for a moment, then shook his head, holding out the bulky package to Coulson. "Uh. Mine aren't that well thought out, and this is kind of from both me and your grandparents? It's supposed to be lightweight and easy to move in, and it's the latest design. It's uh. Well."
While at first the package looked like it might be a sweater or jacket, when unveiled it actually turned out to be a state-of-the-art bullet-proof vest - the kind that was slim enough to be worn under most shirts without raising eyebrows.
He also handed Natasha a small, neat box that was a little heavier than it looked, inside holding a thigh-holster and six perfectly balanced throwing knives. "Yours is just kind of. You know, I thought you might want something to keep you company."
And apparently, he wanted to protect them both, when he wasn't around.
Natasha was still smirking - how could Clint not catch the meaning behind Coulson's gift to him or the hints the gift-giver was dropping - but looked down at the box Clint had handed her. Wow. This was...extremely thoughtful. She reached over with a leg and nudged Clint as she slowly went through the bounty he'd given her. "These are high quality."
"This is incredible, Clint, thank you," Philip said as he ran a finger over the stiff material. Not that he wanted it to be necessary, of course not, but it could save him some significant discomfort.
"Like I said, not as personal, but..." Clint shrugged. At least he'd never have to see Natasha helpless, or Coulson bleeding out.
Natasha thought it was fairly personal. It said something, really, about Clint's priorities, and both gifts were...sweet. Yes. Very sweet. She forced herself to set aside her shiny new toys from Clint, and took a second to pull on her new, hideous sweater.
Wow. It was incredibly comfortable.
She bent down, and hooked a finger on a cardboard box that she'd stashed beneath the bed. The box contained both gifts and wasn't wrapped at all, and she felt mildly embarassed for not being overly practiced at gift-giving. Still, Natasha finished pulling it out so the boys could see what was inside.
Leo had really come through for her, giving her a compound bow within mere weeks of her idle request that he try to build one. She actually wasn't sure what all the various components of it did, though Natasha knew that it was a little unusual looking, even by compound bow standards. That, of course, was for Clint. For Philip she'd found a World War II M3 knife and scabbard. It was still usable, of course, though she doubted he'd use it as a weapon. She just thought he might like it for the history.
It was obvious which was which and Philip pulled the knife out of the box with the care that an artifact deserved. "Thank you, Natasha," he said, glancing up at her before going back to examining the gift in minute detail. "I know exactly where this is going to go, the collection is still small but this will be front and center."
Meanwhile, Clint hadn't moved, staring at the inside of the box with a mixture of awe, shock, and disbelief.
They really did seem to like what she had brought, and slight nerves she hadn't realized she had vanished. Though Natasha's smile of pleasure at their reactions was small, it was genuine. "You can touch it you know, Clint. I'm sure Philip can show you how to take things out of the box."
"Busy," Philip said, just a little tease in his voice. "You can try it out tomorrow, I would bet, when you go shooting."
Clint just continued staring for a moment, then looked up at Natasha, a little shell-shocked. "You got me a bow."
She thought she'd refrain from telling him precisely how she'd gotten him a boy, at least for the moment. "Well, you're an archer," Natasha said, sounding amused.
He couldn't really catch his breath, unable to look away. It was like nothing he'd ever seen. Some kind of hybrid compound bow, with a laser sight and an attached quiver. He couldn't quite comprehend that it was for him. He'd been blown away when Tony had made him the recurve - but then he'd asked for that one, no matter how much it had really been a gift. This...it couldn't replace his recurve, but it had other uses altogether. And it was...it was one of a kind. "H...how?"
She winked, and just said, "I know a guy."
"It looks amazing," Philip said quietly. "You should definitely try it tomorrow."
Clint finally got up the courage to reach in and take it out, turning the bow over carefully in his hands. He'd never in his life had anything like it just...given to him. Without asking. He was pretty new to presents in general, and was starting to get used to Phil giving him awesome shit without asking anything in return, but from Natasha...he hadn't expected anything like it. Looking up, he met her gaze. No words. Just a look of gratitude. "Yeah, I think I will."
Natasha smiled at him, extremely glad he liked it. She knew what it was like, to feel forgotten, and she knew Clint knew how it felt too; he knew he was remembered now.
"Maybe I'll sleep late instead," Philip said, teasing. "Let you go out in the cold while I stay here with the dog."
Clint snorted, but grinned as he ran his fingers over the fine metal. "Keep Nat warm, would ya?"
"I'm sure that will keep his grandparents from poking more fun at him," Natasha suggested dryly, relaxing back on the boys' bed. She was already pretty warm regardless, thanks to the unfortunate-looking sweater Philip had given her.
Philip just tipped an eyebrow up at Clint. "Just how warm were you thinking?" he teased. He didn't mean anything by it and he had to hope Natasha knew that.
Clint just grinned at that, then hugged his new bow to his chest. "As warm as you want," he sighed, clearly in love...with the weapon.
She looked Philip up and down, eyes sweeping over each and every inch of his body, before she finally smirked. "I'm sure we'll be...toasty," Natasha teased.
She was teasing, Philip knew, because if nothing else there wasn't that much interesting about him. "You're both going to get me in so much trouble, aren't you?"
"You love it," Clint grinned at him, finally seeming to come out of his bow-love stupor.
"I think you were probably in trouble to begin with," Natasha added helpfully.
"Probably," Philip admitted, to both of them really. "I'm going to have to work harder at staying boring. Looking," he amended a moment later.
Smirking, Clint pointed at Philip and smiled slyly at Natasha. "He learns."
