Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tony stretched his arms over his head as he staggered from the lab to the kitchen on the common floor. He really hoped that Clint had the coffee ready because the self-proclaimed genius billionaire literally felt brain dead at the moment. He knew that if Clint was awake there would be coffee. The team's resident archer was a notoriously early riser or maybe it was just that he didn't sleep. Tony really wasn't in a position to judge either way. But he was in a position to be grateful to the man for his bizarre sleeping patterns and the coffee that resulted.

Sure enough, as he got closer, he could already smell the percolating coffee, and were those cinnamon buns? That definitely meant that Clint didn't sleep but Tony couldn't help but be ridiculously happy. He let the combined aromas sink into his nose and help wake his sleep-addled mind. As his thoughts started to clear, there was one that was clamoring for his attention. There was something off about Clint making coffee that morning. But Tony had no idea why. It was his thing. When he was awake, he made coffee. And occasionally when the demons of his past came for a visit, Clint would go down to The Stand and bring back the cinnamon buns that Tony was convinced contained crack. But there was a problem with that….

"Clint is missing."

Of course, that's when the week's events came crashing back to him with sudden HD quality clarity. Their resident archer was no longer in residence. He disappeared after being loaded in an ambulance following one of their latest saving the world (or at least the immediately local part of the world) missions. Ordinarily one of them would've gone with him but they were all busy in some capacity. Thor and the Hulk were on cleanup duty due to the fact that they once again got into a punching match which caused major property damage to several different structures. Steve was busy arguing with Tony about getting his head checked out. Tony was busy ignoring him in favor of trying to get JARVIS back online. And Natasha was forced to debrief their handler and Nick. They put the far more banged up and bruised Clint (he really needed to stop falling off buildings, like seriously) into an ambulance with the promise to be back at Headquarters in time to aid and abet his escape from medical. At least, that was the plan.

When they showed up a little less than three hours later, they found the two agents that were in charge of escorting Clint back to the helicarrier were confined to beds in the infirmary. They both claimed they had no idea what happened. One minute, they were driving, and then the next minute there was a flash of light and they were waking up in the wrecked ambulance with their patient inexplicably missing. Things went predictably downhill after that. Every avenue was explored with little to no leads appearing. But by the end of the second day, it was clear that this was an inside job. Someone within SHIELD had taken Clint. Not surprisingly, but volunteers for information were scarce.

So that's still all they had two days later. They knew it was an inside job. They knew it was someone who had a grudge against Clint, most likely stemming from the whole Loki thing. the god's assault on the SHIELD left its scars and since very few were stupid enough to challenge the thousand something-year-old alien who inspired Norse mythology, most chose to take their wrath out on Clint. And as Clint carried his own scars (and an unhealthy amount of guilt) he swallowed the comments and negativity as if he actually deserved their vitriolic hatred. The team (all of the team even Janet!) was working on getting him to acknowledge that he didn't deserve it or at least tell them who it was but Clint never told. So they too were forced to swallow it. But someone just took it past that point. There would be no more sitting back. Now they were going to feel the full wrath of the Avengers. They knew that they couldn't trust anyone other than themselves, Phil, strangely Jasper Sitwell (despite the fact that he and Clint were almost always trying to murder each other) and possibly Director Fury. While Tony had reservations about trusting the man that constantly lied to them and then tried to justify his lies, Nick did seem genuinely and, and most importantly, visibly upset about Clint's vanishing act. And he wasn't the only one.

Tony knew that Phil and Clint were close but it wasn't until they received official word that Clint was missing that Tony started getting a hint at how deep the bond was between handler and asset. Phil had yet to stop looking like his world was slowly crumbling around him. Though it was a terribly depressing sight to behold, Tony would happily take that over Natasha's 'one wrong word and I'm going to cut you' mindset. The two assassins were involved in this strange dating/not dating ritual that was strangely adorable until something came along to shake it up (i.e. brainwashing, kidnapping, and/or the brainwashed super-soldier formula infused BFF of Captain America aka Natasha's ex-lover) and then it just turned violent and ugly. Things were actually beyond the point of violent and ugly as Natasha was even more on edge than usual without her partner by her side. So that begged the question of who was in the kitchen if it wasn't Clint? None of the residential members of the team got up this early on a regular basis. And Tony is pretty certain that Bruce is the only other one who even knows how the coffeemaker works. And he was currently stumbling down the hall from the opposite direction.

Tony found his feet carrying him faster towards the kitchen. He ran into Bruce and Steve outside the door. Both men were equally confused and concerned with who was in their kitchen. After a quick and silent conversation, they burst through the door to find Natasha sitting at the kitchen island, tearing half of a cinnamon bun in pieces with her fingers with a thoughtful expression on her face. Phil was next to her with the same reports detailing the day Clint disappeared again. Then there was the third person that was leaning against the island opposite Natasha and Phil. The coffeemaker busily working behind him. A pair of familiar blue-gray eyes flickered up to meet the incredulous stares of the three newcomers. He nodded in their direction and gave a hint of a smile. Tony blinked because really? Clint wasn't missing anymore and no one felt that was enough to wake them all up?

"Barton, where the hell have you been?" Tony snapped, stepping into the kitchen. Clint's eyes widened minutely before he laughed. In the year and a half that the Avengers had been living together as a team and a somewhat functional family, Tony got familiar with most of their archer's quirks and right now he wasn't showing any of them. He looked the same, well slightly different but there was something else not quite right. The laugh was totally wrong. There was a slight edge to it that Clint's laugh lacked. Or maybe Clint was just better at hiding it than his doppelganger.

"Really, dad? This is the crack team you and Fury put together?" Clint snorted in Phil's direction. "No wonder you had to call for backup. Seriously, Clint's a dead man."

Phil sighed but didn't get an opportunity to reply as the elevators to the common floor opened. Another man that looked exactly like Clint stepped off the elevator. He clearly wasn't Clint either because he was wearing a suit. Clint claimed that he was actually allergic to suits. Given that any time he was forced into a suit, the item of clothing never made to the end of the day was a pretty good indication that Clint Barton and suits were not meant to be. So this guy in his crisp suit and tie was clearly not Clint. The latest Clint look-alike frowned at the original man in the kitchen before looking at Phil with a raised eyebrow.

"Why is Aaron signing Clint's death certificate? Also, I could feel your laughter like from downstairs. Did I miss something funny? And on that note… why is Clint's team looking at us like that?"

"There are two of you," Bruce said, sitting down heavily at the kitchen table. Tony and Steve joined him. The two versions of their friend rolled their eyes in unison. That was freaky.

"Actually, I think you'll find that there are three of us."

"Okay, Agent," Tony shook his head, tearing his eyes away from the duplicates to their amused handler. "What the hell is going on here? Why are there two people that look like Clint but are clearly not Clint in the Tower and why did Not!Clint #1 just call you dad?!"

Both men blinked while the more identical-looking one shook his head. "His trust issues are ridiculous. You would think he would've said something by now. It's been over a year."

"He was working on it," Phil finally spoke up, looking at the second Clint look-alike. "You know it's not easy for your brother to trust anyone outside of family."

"Ah, it's been all of five minutes that we're under the same roof, and dad is already making excuses for Clint being a total weirdo… again."

Natasha cleared her throat. The second look-alike shrugged unrepentantly. "You know it's true, Nat. I get that Clint has trust issues. Honestly, I know he came about them the good old-fashioned childhood scarring kind of way but as much as he talks up these guys, you would think that he would let a little information about his family slip by now. It's been a year. I would think by now he would've at least mentioned that he has brothers. You know of the non-murdering, betraying variety at least. Because you know he's mentioned that waste of human flesh, completely adopted Barney."

"One, you know Barney is part of his medical record and that's pretty much the only reason why anyone knows about him. And second, I think you know better than anyone that Clint just doesn't know when it's ok to trust. Don't you ever wonder how long it would've taken me to find out about you guys if I hadn't tried to kill him?"

"Try?" the first look-alike repeated with a raised eyebrow and a too familiar smile. Natasha gave a ghost of a smirk, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Fine, I did actually kill him. But that was not the point I was trying to make. Will, cut Clint some slack. Or at least let's find him first and then you can rag on him all you want." The second one, or Will, pursed his lips together before giving a one-armed shrug that was completely identical to Clint's. It was odd. Even though both men looked alike, it was the second one that was a perfect match for their missing archer. And the mystery deepened. Tony knew he wasn't the only one practically boring holes into Phil's head.

Phil rose to stand between the two men. "Tony, Steve, Bruce, I want you to meet Aaron Kenneth Cross and William Brandt. Will, Aaron, this is…."

"This the so-called narcissistic, volatile, secretly really nice guy, genius billionaire, the technology-challenged boy scout with the heart of gold and the best friend with a cybernetic arm and the reclusive, genius secret badass scientist with an alter ego that Clint calls Jade Jaws. All we're missing is the warrior alien god who's currently back home in Asgard with his would-be Earth conqueror bratty little brother," Aaron interrupted with a smile. "He talks about you guys all the time."

"Wish we could say the same," Tony mumbled.

"The thing is…." Aaron trailed off. "Clint is an incredibly complicated individual. Hell, we share DNA with him and we don't always understand him. But just know that he really does trust you all with his life. He just doesn't necessarily trust you with our lives." Will gave him a look out the corner of his eye. "Bro, we're a secret for a reason. It's beyond obvious at this point that we can't even trust SHIELD and our favorite uncle/godfather runs that place. I don't think that this is a reflection of Clint's albeit very prominent and severe trust issues. It's a valid concern and you know it. That's why he uses Barton instead of Coulson at the office. It's why we all use our original last names instead of Coulson."

Will rolled his eyes again but didn't reply. He chose instead to focus on the coffeemaker. Tony watched as Will poured two cups of coffee, placing equal amounts of sugar and milk in each cup. He then watched as Will poured the cinnamon they kept in stock because of Clint's obsession with the spice into each cup. Once he was done, Will pushed the mug into the empty space beside him. It was only because he was still watching that Tony caught the look of absolute devastation that crossed the man's face when he realized what he did.

"Will," Aaron started, watching him warily. The other look-alike stood frozen before he flung the mug still in his hand against the furthest wall with a growl. Aaron didn't bother with words after that. He instead grabbed his double and dragged him out of the kitchen and in the general direction of Clint's room. Phil watched them go with a heavy sigh.

"Agent Coulson… Phil," Bruce said, breaking the heavy silence. "What's going on? Who are they beside Aaron and Will? Why do they look so much like Clint? And why did they say that they share DNA? Are they clones?"

"No, they're not clones," Phil answered, with a tone that implied if he were a lesser man, he would totally be rolling his eyes. Tony was impressed.

"We think they're not clones," Natasha countered. Phil glared. "They could be."

Phil paused for a moment. "We're reasonably sure that they're not clones. The three of them are the byproducts of a HYDRA experiment with the super-soldier serum," Phil replied, looking in the place where the two men disappeared. "The experiment involved six genetically altered eggs that were implanted in a surrogate mother. Of those six eggs, two survived. Then one of the eggs split into two."

"Clint and Will, right? They're identical twins," Tony mumbled aloud. It was a statement and not a question but Phil nodded anyway. "That would mean that Aaron is the other?"

"Yes, Aaron is their older nonidentical triplet. Though the jury is still out on that one," Natasha answered with a smile. "The three of them are quite the act when they're all together."

"On that note, why is that we've never even heard of them much less seen any pictures of them together. It seems like they're close."

"They are," Phil replied. "They're extremely close but as I said they were the byproduct of a genetic experiment. For the most part, what Clint has told you about his childhood is true. He didn't grow up with either Will or Aaron. He did live with the Barton family and they did raise him like he was their son. He didn't know any different until he was sixteen. That's when they all met up again. That's also the same year they were taken in by SHIELD."

"Is that also the year they started calling you dad? Because what's up with that?"

"We call him dad because he's our dad," Will retorted as he and Aaron returned. Phil pulled him over, putting an arm around his shoulders and holding tight. Will took a deep breath, leaning against their handler. "I'm fine. Really… I just… this is such bullshit! He got kidnapped because some bratty god with freaking daddy issues decided to mind rape him? And the ignorant mouth breathers that you hired at SHIELD can't tell the difference between willingly joining someone and being forcefully coerced into it? I swear when I find the asshole that did this, I'm going to murder them in ways that even Natasha would strongly object to."

Tony shuddered and was glad to know he wasn't the only one. He never let himself be fooled by Clint's easy-going nature and quick smiles. He knew that there was darkness behind that façade. But thankfully, Tony never had to actually experience that side of Clint. But here it was in living breathing pretty much identical color. It was actually really scary. And that's really saying something as he lives with Natasha's threats on a daily basis.

"Will, we're going to get him back. But I need you to get your head in the game. I called you both in because you have a connection with your brother. We're not finding him through our usual methods. So now we need to rely on methods outside of the box."

"The three of you have a connection?"

Aaron nodded. "It's a physical bond between me and Clint and a mental one with Will. Clint and Will pretty much are the same person so there's no real difference in their connection. But when we're all together, the connection is stronger. Then again, we really haven't all been together in a few months now."

"Five months, one week and four days," Will answered. Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Um, eidetic memory? I remember everything, bro, everything."

"Do you remember how to use a mop?" Aaron retorted, pointing to the dripping coffee on the wall opposite them. Will winced before turning to face Tony.

"Really, sorry about that," Will apologized. "I sometimes don't think before I act. I'm told that's a genetic trait."

"Oh sure, drag me and Clint into your poor impulse control issues."

"That's funny coming from the dude that listened to some shady recruiter guy and joined the freaking army because he felt like he was being left out of stuff."

"That's hilarious seeing as you're the guy that joined IMF because he wanted to be difficult, I mean different," Aaron retorted. "And I seem to recall that the Army worked out really well for me, didn't it? I think you're capable of remembering that you're not the only one with eidetic memory around here."

"Yeah, but Clint and I got ours naturally."

"You both got your brains the same way I did," Aaron rolled his eyes. "In a test tube."

"Boys," Phil called out a warning. "Remember…"

"We know," they growled in unison. "Try and pretend to act our ages and not our shoe sizes." Phil smirked. The two brothers scowled. It was strangely adorable.

Tony always thought that Phil treated Clint differently than the rest of the team. There was a more paternal interaction between the archer and their assigned nanny/handler. Tony never really minded the relationship and instead was intrigued by it. Now that he knew what he knew, it made perfect sense. As Phil directed the older pair out of the triplets, Tony could see the same traces of paternal exasperation and pride in his actions and words.

Tony knew at that moment that they really needed to get Clint back. Aside from Bruce, the archer was the closest thing to a best friend he had on the team. So yeah, he wanted Clint back. But now he knew that they had to get Clint back so he could raise some hell (and their father's blood pressure) with his brothers.

1999

Will winced as more yells and gunfire sounded from the console room at the front of the compound he called home these days. He was growing more and more concerned with every passing minute. Actually, concerned probably wasn't the most accurate of terms. More like panicking and losing his damn mind. The boy in the cell next to his was taken hours ago. They were never gone this long. They usually never lasted more than an hour, less with Clint because he had a tendency to irritate the scientists in charge. So the fact that they dragged Clint out so long ago and hadn't returned meant that something was wrong. Then the gunfire started. He knew something wasn't quite right.

He felt a pang in his heart. Even though he didn't know Clint, didn't even know what he looked like, Will still felt hurt and worried about his prolonged absence. He felt like he needed to protect the strange boy with the mouth that never stopped. He felt similarly towards their other cellmate, who was being held in the room on Will's right. Will lost track of how long they were there. According to Clint, they'd been there for at least a month. Will was just going to take his word for it because he was starting to forget what life was like outside of the walls of the underground lab. He hadn't seen anyone other than the lab scientists. And even though he found comfort in the two boys that were sharing his laboratory nightmare, Will didn't have the faintest idea of what they actually even looked like or even what they did to wind up in this place. He didn't care either. Either way, they were still the only thing keeping him sane.

"Will?" a voice to his right called out hesitantly. Kenneth, also sixteen, was different than both Clint and Will. He was shyer and more gentle-natured. Though they hadn't ever been allowed to interact with one another outside of whispered conversations from their individual cells, it didn't stop the three teenagers from forming a connection. And that meant that Will could hear the fear in Kenneth's voice and he didn't like it.

"It's okay, Kenny," Will finally replied. "Everything is going to be fine, I promise."

"Where's Clint?"

"He's…." Will trailed off because he really didn't know. He didn't want to lie but he also didn't want to acknowledge the horrible truth that Clint was probably dead. Will didn't know why anyone was shooting but he doubted the other teen was okay. He was supposed to be back from his tests hours ago. And now there was gunfire and yelling and badness. Clint didn't have any weapons. He probably didn't even know how to use any weapons even if he did have them. He was unarmed and sixteen! No, Clint was probably dead and he and Kenneth were next.

Suddenly the gunfire stopped an eerie silence settled over the compound. In the quiet, Will could clearly hear Kenneth's panicked breaths beside him. He wanted to say something that would help calm the other teen but the words died in his throat. He felt his heart beat faster when they both heard footsteps echoing in the hallway just outside their cells. They didn't sound like the steps of the guards. These were different. They were lighter than the normal heavy tread of the standard-issue military boots the guards wore. Maybe these were the guys that the guards were shooting at. Will swallowed as the door to his cell swung open and he found himself face to face with… himself?

"Well, that's different," Clint's voice came out of his mouth. The boy standing in front of him was a perfect copy of himself. Will blinked a few times, hoping that the action would help clear his vision. It did not.

"Clint?"

"Will?"

"Guys?" Kenneth's voice snapped them out of their staring contest. The two teens exchanged quick glances before quickly moving over to the third and final cell. Both jaws dropped as a matching set of eyes widened at the sight of them. "There are three of us."

"Yes, so there is. Definitely not what I was expecting," Clint muttered. He leaned against the wall taking in the two other teens warily.

"Why are there three of us?" Kenneth asked. He tilted his head to the side. "Why are you covered in blood?"

Will's head snapped towards Clint. Now that the initial surprise of their pretty much identical faces had worn off, he was able to see that Clint was in fact covered in blood. Without even thinking about it, he reached out and held Clint's chin determined to see where the blood was coming from. Clint rolled his eyes.

"It's not all mine. Most of it isn't mine, actually," Clint replied, yanking his head away. "I, uh, I might have …. No, I definitely killed a lot of people. Actually make that everyone. I just killed pretty much everyone. Yeah, no, that was definitely, everyone… whatever."

Will's hand stilled in its journey back to Clint. Did he kill people? So then earlier… all the gunfire and yelling… it was because Clint was trying (and succeeding) to kill everyone in the compound. this scrawny and underfed sixteen year old successfully managed to murder the hell out of a lot of big, grown men…. unarmed. Or, not exactly because now Will could see that there was a makeshift quiver of scrapped together bows and arrows. He now knew what Clint was working on in his cell night after night.

"Say something," Clint pleaded, a hint of desperation in his voice. Will realized belatedly that they were both staring at him now. "I didn't have a choice."

"It's fine," Kenneth shrugged. "They kidnapped us, held us hostage, and experimented on us for a month. Death was probably too good for them."

"Awesome," Will muttered under his breath. "So I'm the only one that has a problem with Clint going all vigilante-style and murdering everyone." Clint met his eyes and Will felt a tiny part of his heart break at the sight of the hurt reflected in the identical eyes. Will smiled softly. "My only problem is that you didn't save any for us." Clint took a shaky breath before giving him a matching smile. "So where do we go from here?"

"You guys ever thought about joining the circus?"

There was so much wrong in that sentence and Will really did want to address it but at that moment the door flung open once again. Will shoved Kenneth and Clint behind him. He wasn't even mildly surprised when Clint moved to stand beside him. He was a little surprised when Clint handed him a gun he clearly lifted off one of the dead guards. He checked that it was still fully loaded and aimed for the people who were now pouring into the room with guns at the ready.

"Really, agents? You're going to shoot a bunch of kids?"

Will tensed as the men stood down at the sound of that voice. Soon two men were walking through the separated crowd and approaching the three teens. Kenneth had a hand on each of the other two and they were both all too aware of his vulnerability.

"Sir, we have reason to believe that the one covered in blood is the one that destroyed this campus," one of the agents chimed in.

"Seeing as that was our objective, shouldn't we be thanking them instead of pointing guns at them?" the taller of the two men asked, raising an eyebrow. He turned a one-eyed glare on the remaining agents, who took that as their cue to leave. Will swallowed. So this guy was the boss. The one in charge… that probably wasn't a good thing.

"Hi," the other man said, waving a little. He had a warm smile and everything in Will just wanted to trust this man to be the adult in this situation because he was feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment.

One month ago he was just a normal kid (well not exactly because normal kids don't remember everything or move the way he did) and then his mom signed up over to these people who poked and prodded him every chance they got. He was stuck in a cell between two people who apparently share his face. And the one he was the most protective of just straight-up murdered everyone with weapons he made out of god only knows what. Now there were more men asking questions and Will was done…. but he wasn't because he still had Clint and Kenneth to think about.

"Sorry about my team," the man continued. "They're a little trigger happy. They don't always consider facts around them."

"Who are you?" Kenneth asked softly.

"My name is Phil Coulson. This is my boss, Nick Fury. We work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division." Will knew his face was blank and imagined that the other two reacted similarly because Phil was laughing quietly. "I know its mouthful. We pretty much use SHIELD."

"SHIELD," Will whispered as if trying the name out. He eyed the two men. "Why are you here? You said you were trying to shut down the compound?"

"Yes," Nick said, entering the conversation again. "This compound was one of the last command bases for a splinter group of HYRDA scientist known as CADMUS. I was part of a team that raided the CADMUS facility eleven years ago. They were working on an experiment there and it seemed that the scientists here were trying to replicate the findings."

"What was the name of the project?"

"Rebirth."

Will tensed and he could tell Kenneth did as well. That was a name that was being thrown around a lot during their enforced captivity. But neither of them knew what it meant. What did they have to do with this project? Why were they being experimented on? Also, why was Clint not reacting as well? Will turned slightly to face his bloody duplicate.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I can't hear them," Clint replied, quietly.

"What do you mean you can't hear them? You hear us."

Clint huffed and pointed to his ears. "I'm deaf. They took my hearing aids away this afternoon. I think I killed the guy that hid them. Not my best decision."

"Focus," Will said. "If you're deaf, why can you hear me but you can't hear them?"

"I don't know," Clint shrugged. "But I hear Kenny too."

"It's because we're all connected," Kenneth replied, pushing his way to stand by the two of them. "That's why they wanted us for this. Because we're Project Rebirth."

"If that's true then I don't think they're going to be very happy that you killed all their men," Phil said, gently. "I know that you don't have any reason to trust the two of us but we will keep you safe."

"What did he say?" Clint asked, tugging on Will's sleeve.

"He said that we should go with him because the people that are in charge of the guys you killed probably won't like that you killed all their men."

"Wait, you did this on your own?" Nick asked, standing directly in front of Clint so that he could read his lips. Clint nodded hesitantly and then gestured to the arrows strapped to his back. Will watched as a grin spread across Nick's face. Phil only rolled his eyes.

"They're kids, sir."

"We're sixteen," the trio protested in stereo. Nick raised an eyebrow. Phil gave a long-suffering sigh. He pressed the communication device in his ear.

"Sitwell, Hill, I need you two to strip everything on these computers. I want every bit of information on these three that you can find and have it on my desk as soon as you can. Also, make sure that someone gets them a change of clothes each. I'll work on the hearing aids in the morning." He looked at Clint. "Sorry, but you'll just have to stay close to your… friends?"

"My brothers," Clint corrected with a grin. "We're totally brothers."

"Yeah, we are," Kenneth nodded, like that solved everything. Will frowned.

"We could be clones."

"Clones are not a real thing," Clint argued. He paused looking to Phil. it was odd to Will to see an almost childlike expression of wonder and amusement cross over Clint's identical face. "Wait, are they? Are clones real? That's a real thing? Like I could get an actual clone? Oh my god, can I for real have a clone?"

Phil cracked a small smile, placing a hand on the shoulders of both Will and Clint and pushing them out their prison for the past month. Kenneth followed behind them with Nick. For some reason, despite the fact that he just met the men mere minutes ago, Will was comfortable letting his guard down around these two. They wanted to look out for his… brothers. Will trusted his instincts. He could usually tell when someone had less than… honorable intentions, so he felt content with letting his guards down. So he relaxed and sank back into being a sixteen-year-old boy who for the first time in his life actually had friends.

Well, brothers or potential clones, but at least they were his friends. He was never going to let them go. He was going to keep them close. He wasn't going to let anything happen to either one of them again. That was his silent promise to them both. He would protect his new-found brothers, especially Clint. Even though the obvious choice to an outsider for protection out of their little group would be Kenneth, Will found that he was oddly more protective of Clint. There was a spark of innocence left in the teen. And Will found that he wanted to preserve that spark. Even if he did just murder an entire base of people (who let's face it, no one would miss and Will was still mad that he didn't get to shoot anyone), Clint was every bit as vulnerable as Kenneth and Will wasn't going to let anyone or anything hurt him.

"A clone would be so awesome! Can I please, Phil? Please?!"

Yeah, he was special. But he was also his brother. They both were.

"Can I have one too?" Kenneth asked. His voice, as usual, was quiet compared to Clint's.

Will snorted as Phil and Nick exchanged glances. They had no idea what they were getting into. None at all.

"If they get a clone, I want one too."

"No one is getting a clone!"

Chapter Text

Many people are under the misguided belief that their lives are difficult. They think that they face these insurmountable obstacles and challenges that make things complicated beyond belief. And they might actually have them. But then some of those people are stupid enough to go out and have a kid. And at that moment, it becomes abundantly clear that life was a damn cakewalk until the moment that you're handed this tiny little human that you're completely responsible for. Childless as he was, even Phil knew that. As a Level 10 agent and a handler, Phil had a little more insight than most into the mind-numbing, heart-stopping responsibility that comes from being the sole caretaker of an individual but he still naively thought he was circumventing part of the difficulty of being a parent when he signed the paperwork that made him father to Kenneth, William and Clinton now Coulson. They were teenagers! They were used to relying on themselves. They were the most independent human beings Phil ever met. He really thought it was going to be easy. He thought that by adopting them as teenagers he dodged the difficult bullet. Sometimes, it was safe to say, that Phil was a complete and utter idiot.

For the most part, it was true. The triplets were relatively well behaved and never overtly disrespectful. They did chores without being asked and they all received a high school education... of sorts. Will actually attended (and graduated) high school with excellent grades and nothing but praise from his teachers. Clint and Aaron worked with tutors, who also had nothing but compliments for the boys. They were everything a parent would want their genetically engineered triplet teenagers to be. But it wasn't long after they came to SHIELD that Phil realized that the three of them were uniquely and badly damaged individuals and together… well, together they were one wrong look away from verbal explosions.

But despite all the challenges they presented (and they did, oh good god, did they) Phil wouldn't trade a single moment with either of them. Because for every argument the three of them had, there was the moment where they stood up for each other. For every time they were raising Phil's blood pressure by doing something completely insane, there were moments where they reminded him that the happiest day of his life was the one when he met them. They were his sons in every way except blood. They were his responsibility, his pride, his constant headache, and the best thing he did with his life. Even though they weren't always with him physically, the boys were never far from his thoughts. Though time and experience consistently proved that Phil needed to do more than just think about Clint. He actually needed to have Clint around physically. The youngest of the trio tended to get in trouble when left to his own devices. Phil snorted at his thoughts. That was beyond obvious by this latest fiasco.

"So last year," Tony started, leaning against the wall next to Phil. "The so-called 'behavior specialists' that you sent Clint to after the whole Loki thing… that was them, wasn't it? That's why Clint didn't pull his usual cut and run act. It's because he went to his brothers."

Phil sighed. He knew Tony wasn't going to let this go. The minute he laid eyes on the identical-looking Will and the almost identical Aaron, Tony was not going to leave this alone. He was going to ask every single question he could possibly think of and then find some more. It was the sort of tenacity that Phil usually appreciated in the scientist. That is when it didn't involve his children. Hopefully, Tony got this out of his system before they found Clint. Of course, that is if they found Clint...

"Phil?" Tony asked, quietly. Phil realized he must have zoned out.

"Yes," the older man finally replied. "I just stretched the truth a little. Aaron and Will are the closest to experts on Clint and his behavior that we'll find outside of Natasha."

"And the director approved this?"

"Of course he did," Aaron answered for Phil. Because of course, he was listening in despite all visual evidence to the contrary "I mean he is pretty much like an uncle." Phil raised an eyebrow in Aaron's direction. The oldest of the triplets smirked in response. "It's so true."

"You ever think about telling him that to his face?"

"Yeah, right. He'd legit murder me," Aaron scoffed. "Pretty sure that the only one who could get away with that would be Will, maybe Clint on a good day but definitely Will. Everyone knows Will is Nick's favorite."

"That's because Will is the only one of you three that doesn't feel the need to try and raise Nick's blood pressure every time he's around."

"I still maintain that I had nothing to do with the whole itching powder on his eye patch thing," Aaron swore, though his lips were twitching. Phil rolled his eyes as Tony visibly tuned into the conversation. He threw his oldest a dirty look. Aaron smirked wider before elbowing his brother in the side. Will grunted, not bothering to look up from the papers in front of him.

Phil sighed again. The two brothers were sitting side by side on the floor. While Aaron was playing on a Stark tablet, Will was pouring over the reports detailing Clint's disappearance. Phil knew there probably wasn't anything there to find but it was keeping him occupied and, most importantly, calm. Well, calm for the moment at least. Until he had Clint back by his side, that was the best that any of them could ask for.

People who met the three brothers on an individual basis struggled to understand how they functioned together as a unit but Phil found that it was because they balanced each other out. Clint was, admittedly, reckless, impulsive, and emotionally driven. Will, on the other hand, was more rational and prone to overthinking every move he made. He also tended to get stuck in his own thoughts. Aaron was a little tricky given that he was such a far cry from his old Kenneth persona. Kenneth was soft-spoken and kind. Aaron was sarcastic but equally caring. The enhancements he received from Outcome gave him the confidence he needed to be the perfect balance between his younger brothers. Of course, that was only a good thing when he wasn't stuck in the middle of an argument between them (and Phil definitely didn't miss the days when that was pretty much an everyday thing). Because more often than not Aaron tended to side with Clint. Apparently they both found it hilarious to watch Will lose his cool since it took a lot. Aaron and Clint spent (sadly) more time than anyone should be comfortable with trying to discover the best way of pissing Will off. Sadly to date neither of them has actually succeeded in really angering their brother. But both of them have witnessed Will's wrath.

The quickest way to anger Will was to mess with his family, specifically his ten minutes younger twin. Though they were the most likely to argue and bicker, there was no denying that Will and Clint loved one another unconditionally or that they needed each other. Since Kenneth died bringing Aaron into the mix, it was rare that the trio went more than six months without seeing one another in some capacity. Since Loki, it was even less than that for the twins. Phil knew he wasn't supposed to know that Clint and Will saw each other at least twice a month. He wasn't sure how they thought they were getting that past anyone that actually knew them but it was adorable that they thought no one knew but them.

Will was always hyper-protective of his brothers. But following the invasion, Phil got a sense that something changed in the dynamics between Clint and Will. It was almost as if it reaffirmed the fact that Clint needed to be protected. He was really shocked that the fallout from the invasion wasn't the push Will needed to bring him into SHIELD after all. But no, the stubborn man returned to IMF after making sure that his twin was at least functioning. It helped to know that Aaron was around even though his name didn't appear on any official SHIELD roster. Then again, Aaron was around this time too and Clint still went missing. If this wasn't enough to convince Will to stay, Phil really didn't want to know what it would take. Knowing Will, it would take something drastic like global nuclear war. He paused. God, he hoped none of them started a nuclear war. But given who his sons were, global nuclear war was definitely something that could (and would) happen. He just sincerely hoped that they waited at least until next year. His heart couldn't take much more of this.

"So Will and I have a plan," Aaron announced, pulling Phil out of his thoughts. Will glanced up from the papers with a raised eyebrow and a glare in his brother's direction. "Dude, it's been an hour and you haven't found a flaw yet."

"There is one flaw."

"And you know damn well why that argument isn't going to work."

"What's the plan?" Natasha interrupted before Will could form a retort.

"Well, whoever did this clearly works at SHIELD," Will said, still shooting dirty looks at Aaron's head. "They're probably going to report into work because they have to know that not showing up would look really suspicious."

"But what they probably wouldn't expect is for Clint to show up to work either," Aaron finished with a grin. The four gathered Avengers exchanged glances.

"That's the plan?"

"In a nutshell," Will shrugged with one shoulder. His lips twitched slightly at the blank looks on their faces. Phil cleared his throat pointedly. "Fine, ok. The plan is that Aaron is going to make an appearance at HQ with Natasha. No one knows about us so no one is going to have reason to think that Aaron is anyone other than Clint."

Steve nodded. "That's actually not a bad idea. But why is Aaron going in? Wouldn't it make more sense for it to be you since you are identical?"

Will threw Aaron a look that Aaron countered with an inelegant snort. "Really? You know how you get when it comes to Clint. You're Mr. Over Analysis with every aspect of your life except for him. Then you're the shoot first and ask questions while they're bleeding out."

"That's not…."

"You threw a mug full of hot coffee at a wall! An innocent defenseless wall that never hurt a fly, Will. A wall that did nothing to you. What do you think you're going to do a person that actually hurt our brother?" Aaron asked, with an arched eyebrow. "Oh wait, I already know. I believe you threatened to murder them 'in ways that even Natasha strongly object to'."

Will muttered something under his breath but raised no counter-argument. Despite the gravity of the situation, Phil laughed quietly. Will did have a tendency to go a touch overboard when Clint's life was on the line. It made sense to send Aaron in instead. Besides Aaron and Clint were very close personality-wise. The physical differences between Aaron and Clint were so minute only people who lived with them (or raised them since the age of sixteen) would be able to tell easily. So it really was a sound plan. Phil supposed that was at least part of the reason Will looked like he swallowed a whole lemon: there were no flaws in the plan.

Will's clear internal argument was cut short when the elevator doors opened once again. Phil let out a deep sigh as Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, and James Buchanan Barnes stepped out, all looking confused at the sheer number of people gathered in the room. The two women stopped short at the sight of Aaron and Will. Belatedly, it would seem, Bucky also got the memo that he was meant to be surprised. Fortunately, the majority of the team wasn't paying him any mind. Unfortunately, Tony was.

"Wait a minute!" Tony blurted out, pointing between the still sitting brothers and Bucky. "When Fugitive over here first joined up, he and Clint spent about two weeks with the behaviors specialists that you sent Clint to but that was just a cover to go visit his brothers… oh my god! Bucky knew about Triple Trouble over there! Bucky knows and I don't?!"

"There are three people that look like Clint in this world and I wasn't informed?!" Darcy echoed, glaring daggers in a not at all sorry Natasha's direction.

Phil rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long night.

The view from the top of the Tower was truly breathtaking. Will could totally see why it was one of Clint's favorite high up places. Up here everything was quiet. It really did feel peaceful even though it was in the heart of the city. He had escaped up here about an hour after Darcy, Jane, and Bucky showed up. He was trying to quiet the panic that was growing with every passing moment. He hoped that by going somewhere special to his twin, he could find some sort of balance. But it didn't. It just drilled home the point that Clint was gone.

"Not gone," Aaron corrected gently, sitting down beside him. "He's just temporarily missing. It's Clint. This is sadly an everyday occurrence for him, is it not?"

"Doesn't get any easier," Will murmured, resting his head on his raised knees. "What if this is it? What if this is the time we lose him?"

"It's not," Aaron replied with the firm confidence only an older sibling could muster. "You know he's too stubborn to stay dead. Besides, I do believe it's your turn."

Will couldn't help the snort that escaped at the. "Only you two think it's funny that you've both been declared dead at some point in your life."

"At least my death was faked. Clint actually went and died on us." Will let out a shaky breath, raking a hand through his hair. Aaron wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "We got him back then and we'll do it again. I'm not ready to say goodbye and I know he's not either."

He wanted to believe that. He really did. He wanted to believe that they would get Clint back and this would be just another in the long line of narrow escapes for their baby brother. But there was this nagging feeling in his gut. It came from not being able to sense his brother. For the first time in almost twenty years, Will couldn't feel Clint. He didn't want to think about what that could mean. Even when Clint was brainwashed and under Loki's control, he could sense his brother. It was all chaos and darkness but he was there. Now there was nothing.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Will shook his head. "First off, you can just read my thoughts, you know? And second, a penny? You cheap bastard. Is that all SHIELD is paying these days?"

"Times are hard," Aaron retorted with a grin. "Not all of us are lucky enough to live with a billionaire who showers his friends with lavish gifts and awesome suites."

"Sounds like you want to move in."

"Uh, have you seen Clint's floor? It is beyond tricked out and you know the runt isn't even using all of it since he probably spends most of his time right here or with Nat. The brat wouldn't even notice I moved in."

"And the real reason?"

Aaron sighed. "I just feel like it's time. I've been enjoying my whole SHIELD undercover gig. But I'm tired of lurking in the shadows. I'm tired of watching his life from the sidelines. By tomorrow everyone is going to know about us anyway. So I'm making it official. I'm moving back to New York and like hell I'm letting him live here without me. I need to be here. With him."

"You think I'm wrong for staying at IMF?"

"No, never did," Aaron answered. "Do I think it's weird that you stay there? Of course I do. That place is no good for you, Will. Something about the whole Croatia thing seems off to me. Plus the Secretary just seems way too invested in you."

"He wanted me to go with him to Russia," Will said absently. "He's actually kind of pissed that I came here instead. I told him it was a family emergency."

"You didn't tell him…."

"No. He still doesn't know I have brothers. We made a promise that we would only tell people we all feel comfortable about. And you guys don't trust the Secretary, so he doesn't know. And he won't until you say otherwise."

"Good," Aaron murmured. "But back to your original question. I don't think you're wrong for staying at IMF. And despite what Clint said back then, he doesn't think you're wrong for staying there or joining up. Of course we want you with us but we get that you need to be your own person. You want to be an individual and not part of a matching set. I get it."

Will let out a soft breath. Aaron nodded his head in understanding. "You think you're wrong for staying at IMF? You think you should join up with SHIELD?"

"I just keep thinking about all the near misses he's had. I should've been there. There's nothing that keeps me at IMF. But I also keep thinking that maybe he's safer being away from me. Because I screw up everything. I get people killed."

"Will," Aaron started before trailing off. He sighed. "I don't know how we can make this any clearer to you. What happened in Croatia wasn't your fault. You're always second guessing yourself because of this. I'm so tired of watching you metaphorically beat yourself because you think you committed some cardinal sin. You did nothing wrong."

"Then why is an innocent woman dead?"

Aaron didn't say anything. But Will knew that it wasn't for a lack of an answer but simply because he believed his pigheaded little brother was too stubborn for his own good. It was a look he was getting more and more acquainted with since Kenneth became Aaron. It was odd but sometimes Will honestly forgot that it wasn't always this way. That he wasn't always wedged in between two total sarcastic smart-asses that were actually too intelligent for their own good. That there was a time when he thought he was an only child. He's known about his brothers for almost twenty years and he can barely remember when he didn't have them in his life. He leaned into Aaron and smiled softly.

"Thanks for the pep talk, Kenny."

"No problem, Willy."

2004

Well now this was super awkward. Actually, it went far beyond super awkward. He really didn't even know why he bothered to listen to the summons. Actually, that wasn't true. No matter how awkward the situation, or how old he got, Phil Coulson was his father. He dragged him and his wayward brothers out of a really bad situation and gave them a home. And if Phil wanted Will to come home, well then that's what he was going to do. Still, he probably should've figured that Clint was going to get the call to come home too. Hence the awkwardness…

"So," Clint started as they stood outside Phil's house. It was a plain, non-descript home just outside the city and it was perfect. It was close enough that they were only a car ride away from the New York office and far enough away that no one blinked an eye at a bunch of teenagers wielding firearms and medieval weapons. It was the closest thing to home that any of them had in their lives before Phil and even after. Even now without Kenneth….

"How have you been?" Will asked, trying to fight the urge to babble senseless and inane apologies to his twin. The urge had been present since the fight following Kenneth's funeral two years before that led to them not talking for almost a year and a half. Even when they did talk, it was brief, terse and awkward…. not unlike this conversation right now.

"I'm fine, you?" Clint asked. Will looked him over with a critical eye. Clint may be many things but fine wasn't one of them. The younger of the twins had clearly lost weight during the last three years, not that he had much weight to lose. His eyes had a harder look to them and the bags under his eyes had bags. He clearly wasn't sleeping.

"I'm good." He shifted from one foot to the other. "So what does Dad want anyway?"

Clint shrugged. "I have no idea. I haven't seen him in six months. Yesterday was the first time I talked to him in like a month and a half."

"What? Why? Don't you see him like every day?"

"No," Clint shrugged again. "Phil has been traveling back and forth between New York and Malibu. Apparently Fury wants him to keep an eye on Howard Stark's kid. He thinks he has the potential for something. You know how he gets."

"Ok, but you should still see dad every now and then."

"I've been living at the East Africa branch. It's nice. It's quiet."

Will started to protest but closed his mouth. He lost the right to argue after he essentially told his little brother that it was his fault that their older brother was gone. And while he didn't really mean what he said, he was pretty sure that Clint did mean it when he turned around and accused Will of the same thing. After a lot of thought and consideration, Will was starting to think that Clint might have a point. Maybe his constant need to be separated from his brothers was the spark that led Kenneth to join the Army. Joining the Army led to his death. Maybe he was the reason why their older brother was gone. And maybe he was the reason why his younger brother was apparently working on a way to join him.

"Clint, I just wanted to say that…."

"It doesn't matter," Clint interrupted, tiredly. "It just doesn't matter. Let's see what Phil wants so we can get out of here. I left Wade unsupervised. I can only imagine all the ways in which this isn't going to end well."

"Wait, Wade as in Deadpool? You're hanging out with Deadpool?!"

"I think Phil got him to look after me," Clint said around a yawn. "Guess it says a lot about his trust in my mental state lately that he's basically paying the clinically insane chronically dying yet somehow immortal assassin to babysit me but whatever."

Will really wanted to address that. He really did. But the front door finally swinging open stopped his train of thought. He lost the ability to think when he finally registered that it wasn't their father standing at the door and instead was…

"Kenny?" Clint breathed out.

The matching pair of eyes standing in the doorway softened briefly before the owner of said eyes reached up to smack them both on the back of the head. Twin yelps escaped them and Will felt a small sense of satisfaction that the pain seemed to register with the older man. Ha!

"What the hell was that for, asshole?!"

"You two idiots haven't seen each other in two years and that's the best you can do for a conversation? I bet Dad twenty bucks that you would make up before you even got inside. But instead you're standing out here making weird small talk!"

Will exchanged confused glances with Clint before they both pushed past the somehow alive Kenneth to march into the house.

"Dad!"

"Boys!" Phil replied dryly. He was sitting on the sofa with a newspaper in hand, looking for all the world like there was absolutely nothing bizarre about their very much dead brother standing behind them in the living room.

"What the hell, Phil? You called us here to tell us that you made one of those freaky Life Model Decoys of Kenny?!"

Phil shook his head, not at all bothered by the fact that Clint was calling him by his name instead of dad. Will supposed he would be bothered enough for all of them then. "I would ask how you even know about the Life Model Decoys but I know it's you, so never mind. But really? That's what your mind leaps to? I blame Nick for letting you hang out in the science department when you were younger."

"Are we really going to blame the R&D Department for Clint being weird? I think it's safe to say that Clint has always been a little odd." Will spoke up, a teasing hint in his voice. He hoped that it would be a way to get them back on even ground. It was not.

"At least I'm not a screw-up," Clint retorted, eyes flashing. "I heard about Croatia. Guess you're not the Golden Boy of IMF anymore, huh?"

Will tensed, taking an involuntary step towards his twin. "Take it back, Clinton."

"Kiss my ass, William," Clint answered, shifting even closer.

"Enough!" Kenneth snapped, stepping between them. He put a hand on Clint's chest, pushing him back a few steps. "What the hell happened to you two?"

"You died!" Clint yelled. Will and Kenneth both froze hearing the anguish in the younger man's voice. He ran a hand through his short-cropped blond hair. "You want to know what happened to us. You died! You were the one that kept us talking. Will has never wanted anything to do with me unless you were around. He's always thought he was better than me. Of course he does because he's right! He's the functioning twin. He's not the deaf crazy weirdo." Will felt his heart clench at the sound of his brother's pain. He really thought that? "Kenny, you were the only one I could talk to and you left! I stayed even though Will left us. I stayed for you. But then you left me too! You said would come back. You promised me you would come back and you didn't. You died. So that's what happened!"

With that said, Clint shrugged off Kenneth's hand and stormed out the front door. They heard a car door slam just outside. Will started to run out the door as well when Kenneth placed a hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"What if he tries to drive off?"

Kenneth held up a set of keys just as they heard Clint yelling outside. "Who the hell taught you how to pickpockets?!"

"He's not going anywhere," Kenneth grinned weakly. "Why don't we just let him cool off for a bit. I think he kind of needs to be alone right now."

"He's alone all the time," Will muttered. "That's pretty much the problem. Clint tends to think when he's alone. We both know why that's a problem."

"Yeah, well, care to explain why he's alone? How exactly did you two end up on opposite sides of the world?"

"It's just… you died," Will finally answered, flopping down on one of the armchairs. "It was like a part of us was gone too. Everything was really hard to deal with. We just… drifted." Kenneth perched on the coffee table just in front of Will's chair. "So how are you back anyway? Dad did a little black magic? Are you a zombie? Or a vampire?"

"No," Kenneth smiled softly. "No black magic, zombies and vampires involved. Dad didn't bring me back because I was never really dead."

"But we got the letter from the Army."

"On paper, I'm dead. But it was really a cover-up. The short story is that I was recruited into this shady government project that promised to enhance me. It worked. But I really think it just enhanced what was already there. They trained me to be an assassin for them. And it's taken me all this time to find a way to go off-grid so I could get back to you guys. They're really invested in watching their assets. On the bright side I'm officially over the mentally challenged line on the IQ scale!" Will glared. Kenneth shrugged. "Ah, too soon, huh?"

"Basically." They paused for a moment. "I'm glad you're not really dead."

"Me too," Kenneth replied, squeezing his knee. Will placed his hand over Kenneth's and held on tightly. Silence fell over the two brothers for just a moment before they both came back to the youngest of them all. "So about what Clint said…"

"It's not true," Will sighed. "But I get why he thinks that way. I've never been terribly patient with him."

"Understatement."

"Anyway, I know that he has issues. I know I should stop pushing him but it's just that… I don't know. I just don't know how to deal with him."

"You don't want to let him get close," Kenneth suggested. Will nodded. "You think that if you let him get close he's either going to stab you in the back and leave you like your mom did or worse, he'll up and die like I did."

"You know when you say it out loud like that, it sounds really stupid."

"That's because it's really stupid. Clint is not like your mom. And neither am I. I'm sorry that you guys thought I was dead for two years. I'm really sorry because I know I how much that hurt. It hurt me to not be with you two and I knew you were alive. So I get it. But I know that it hurts Clint even more that you push him away or keep him at arm's length."

"I know," Will sighed. "I just wish I knew how to talk to him. It's like it's so easy for you. You always know what to say to him. You two never fight."

"Mostly because he never wanted to fight someone slow."

Will punched him on the arm. "Don't call yourself slow. And also, you know it's more than that. You two understand each other. I wish I could understand him too."

Kenneth nodded. "If you can beg off work for a while maybe we can actually work on that together."

"Together? Yeah, that could work." Will glanced at the clock. It had only been five minutes but then again he meant it earlier when he said that Clint wasn't ok when he was alone. Alone gave him time to think. Will liked that his little brother was impulsive and not prone to thinking sometimes. He would rather Clint not dwell on the horrors of his life before they were reunited and adopted. Maybe Kenneth was right. Maybe he needed to stop being Clint's brother just in name and actually be there for his twin. "I'm going to go get him."

"Great," Phil said, walking back in the room. Will was pleased to note that Kenneth was also confused as to when he left. They both paused taking in the sudden smell of their dad's famous burgers in the kitchen. "Lunch is almost ready and Nick is on his way."

"Uncle Fury?" Kenneth grinned, eyes sparkling. Will found himself snickering as well. This snarky, sarcastic version of his big brother was going to take some getting used to but he was already a huge fan. He knew Clint would be too. That is once he got him to come back into the house. If he got him to come back….

Steeling his nerves, and getting up before he could overthink his plan, Will walked through the kitchen to the door leading to the backyard. He didn't bother to contemplate which direction Clint would've walked in. He just followed the part of his brain that knew his brothers despite his need to push them away. He walked to the tallest tree in the yard and stared up. It was difficult but he could make out the faint form of his twin sitting high up in the tree.

"Permission to come up?"

Silence. It was a heavy, ugly silence and Will was terrified that Clint was going to tell him to go away. That he was tired of their fighting and arguing and was finally ready to be done with him. Will clenched his hand against the rough bark of the tree and hoped that it wasn't too late. That he could get another chance.

"Permission granted."

Will let out a sigh of relief before carefully climbing the tree. Heights and climbing things was totally Clint's thing. The youngest of the twins could climb a tree or a wall in less than a minute. Will took his time because he had a natural ability to fear falling. Judging by how far up Clint was this time, his innate ability to laugh in the face of gravity hadn't changed. He heard some shuffling as Clint started down from his branch to meet him halfway. The twins then sat side by side one of the more sturdy branches. Will shifted so that his shoulder was pressed against Clint's. The contact soothed them both. Eventually he felt Clint relax against him.

"I'm sorry I made that cheap shot about Croatia," Clint finally said breaking the silence. "That was really low of me."

"Yeah, it sucked. I'm over it though." Will more felt Clint nod than saw the motion and smiled. "Remember when Dad and Fury first found us?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when they were going through all the paperwork and everything about us. What did it say about you and me?"

He heard Clint exhale. "That we're twins. Identical twins."

"Exactly. We're identical twins, Clint. That's huge! Dude, you read the research. They were barely expecting one of the eggs to survive being implanted and then two survived. And then that one split and then there was us. We're amazing, bro."

"Why don't we get along? We're always fighting."

"It's because I get stuck in my own head, overthinking everything all the time. I don't always try to understand you and that's my fault. But what you said, it's not true. I don't think I'm better than you. I don't think you're a deaf crazy weirdo. Okay, well maybe I do sometimes but you're my deaf crazy weirdo." Clint laughed softly. "I know I don't always say it or even show it but…. you're the most important person in the world to me."

"More than Kenny?" Clint asked, impishly. Will grinned, bumping his shoulder against Clint's.

"Slightly more than Kenny. And I will murder you if you ever tell him I said that." Clint laughed again, pulling a smile from Will as well. Clint nudged him.

"Even more than Phil?"

"More than Dad," Will stressed. Clint pulled a face, rolling his eyes.

"Okay. You love me more than Dad. Do you love me even more than… the Secretary?!"

"Shut up, jerk. Yes, especially more than the Secretary. He's kind of creepy sometimes. And I think he is obsessed with me. It's weird. Sometimes he looks at me like how Dad does, with that pride and 'yay, that's my kid' look but with him it's all twisted and weird. So despite all my actions to the contrary, I do love you more than the Secretary. You and Kenny are my brothers. That means everything to me. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you for two years. I should've been there for you."

"Me too," Clint whispered. "I'm sorry about Croatia."

"Me too."

"You okay?"

"No, not really," Will raked a hand through his hair. "I should've left after everything. I should've just packed my shit up and come home. But I couldn't. I had to face the consequences. I didn't want Dad to be disappointed in me."

"He's not disappointed in you."

"Dad knows?!"

"Uh, duh. It's Dad. Of course, he knows. He's not disappointed in you. He's always proud of us. Just like I'm always proud of you. You didn't screw up, Will. You followed the protocol. You did what you were supposed to do. Yeah, the wife died but her husband didn't. It could've been worse if you told them about the attack. They both could be dead."

"I know. But that doesn't change the fact that she's dead. Still hurts."

"Yeah, I guess it would."

They sat in companionable silence for the first time in, well for the first time ever. Despite his protective urges towards Clint, Will struggled with connecting with his twin. Clint was always too something. But it took losing Kenneth to actually get that he was just scared to let him in. To let either of them in. Then it was too late. Or not because Kenneth was back. They were all about defying the odds those brothers of his. And maybe it was time he just gave in.

Will snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a rustling above him. He looked up in time to see Kenneth settling on the branch just above his head. He met his older brother's identical gaze and smiled. Clint reached up and poked him on the leg.

"So how exactly are alive and all spider monkey? That's my thing by the way."

Kenneth laughed before launching into the explanation he gave Will earlier but with more details. He told them how his squadron was killed in a roadside blast but he was lucky and lived. When he was given the opportunity to take part in Outcome, he didn't hesitate because he was tired of being the weak link with them all. There was a brief break as they had more sharing and caring time but then the tale continued. He explained about the pills and how they worked on his mental acuity and physical stamina.

"So what are we going to do about all that? If you stay off the grid for too long they'll get suspicious."

"Oh, I'm going back," Kenneth grinned. "I'm officially on my first undercover mission for SHIELD. I'm going to help SHIELD shut down Outcome and all the projects like it from the inside. I even got a mole working with me, Dr. Shearing. She's pretty awesome. She's also working to help me make the effects permanent."

"So you're like an agent of SHIELD now?" Clint asked with a wide grin.

"I'm pretty deep cover. Like Special Ops but even more unknown. But to anyone with Level 8 clearance, like you two and Dad, I exist. Hello, my name is Agent Aaron Cross."

"What happened to Kenneth?"

Ken… Aaron shrugged. "Kenneth Kitsom died in a roadside blast. And I don't know I feel different about the name now. I kind of like being Aaron." He bit his lip. "But I can be Kenneth if you guys need me to be."

"We only need you to be here," Will replied easily. "Don't care if you're Aaron or Kenneth. As long as you stay alive."

"What he said," Clint added with a small smile. He patted their brother's leg again. "I'm really glad that you're not dead, bro."

"Me too, little brother. Me too."

"And I'm glad all of you are alive. Now get your asses out of that tree before it breaks. You're not little boys anymore."

"Don't we know it," Aaron muttered.

"Oh, and Nick just got here. He brought John and Melinda with him. And I think Melinda said that she made pie."

"Garrett! May!"

"Pie!"

With that both Aaron and Clint were creating panic in the hearts of their father and middle brother as they jumped from the tree, landing gracefully (of course) on the grass by and racing into the house. Even from where he sat still in the tree, Will could hear Melinda let out a loud yelp as she was bombarded by both of them. Will climbed down more sedately and stood next to his father.

"So you were saying about that whole we're not little boys anymore thing?"

"Shut up," Phil chuckled, slinging an arm around his shoulders and leading him back into the house where they could hear Clint and Aaron excitedly talking with Garret and Melinda while Nick stood by watching in obvious amusement.

Will never thought he would be so happy to hear his two dork brothers just talking but then he remembered that he spent two years thinking one was dead and the other was just as unreachable. That's when he finally realized that they were the most important thing. The only thing that mattered really. He could still be an individual and a brother. Neither of them wanted him to leave IMF. They were fine with him remaining on his own as long as he didn't shut them out again. And he wasn't. He learned his lesson.

Chapter Text

Part of being an older sibling is learning to deal with the messes created by the younger siblings. Aaron was actually okay with that part of being the oldest of the triplets. He really enjoyed being called in to help with the craziness that Will and Clint created by simply existing sometimes. For so long he was denied the pleasure of being their older brother and not just another burden on them both. So he really didn't mind cleaning up after them. But he sometimes wondered if anyone else's younger siblings had problems like this?

He seriously doubted that anyone had to deal with a brother who went missing on a scarily frequent basis and the other one who ran so much and so far that he backed himself into a corner he couldn't get out. No, the twins created messes that were very far from normal. But Aaron didn't mind cleaning them up. He didn't mind being called to D.C. to pull Will out of whatever emotional funk he put himself in and remind him that he was still part of a trio no matter what he did. He didn't mind being called by their father or Natasha or Fury at weird hours in the morning so that he could use his almost always open connection to Clint to track the little weirdo down. He really didn't mind at all.

But what he did mind was when someone hurt his brothers. It was a trigger for all of them really but Aaron had twenty years of being unable to protect and/or defend them to make up for. He intended to make up for that all over the face of the idiot that dared to take his baby brother away.

"You ready?" Natasha asked as they stood in front of the doors that would lead them into the New York office of SHIELD. Aaron had never been there before. He really hadn't been in any of the SHIELD offices except for the Providence base. That one was remote and quiet. He enjoyed holing up there for a while. Especially when Clint and Wade came to visit. Now those were some good times. He jumped as Natasha snapped her fingers in his face. She raised an eyebrow at him once she had his full attention. "You were drifting."

"Yeah, happens sometimes. Part of sharing my brain with two other people," Aaron grinned. He winced as the smile pulled on one of the bruises on his face. He rubbed his cheek absently. "I'm starting to rethink the part of the plan where I let Will beat me up."

"You couldn't just walk in there uninjured. That would be the dead giveaway that something wasn't right."

"But again why did it have to be Will? He doesn't hold back when he's worried about Clint. Even when it's me he's fighting."

"Just be happy that he worked that out on you and not on any agent he even remotely thinks may be involved in Clint's kidnapping like he promised before Phil threatened to have him sedated."

Aaron paused for a moment. "Okay, valid point. Let's get this show on the road!"

Natasha shook her head even as she opened the doors. Aaron slipped into character as he followed in her wake. He kept a very deliberate limp in his walk as he remembered Bruce reporting that Clint's knee was damaged when he fell from the building (apparently that happened a lot. Aaron was concerned). He could feel all eyes on him as he and Natasha paraded through the busy bullpen on their way to Fury's office.

Aaron was grateful to whatever genetic coding combination that allowed him and Clint to have such amazing eyesight (though he was loathed to admit that Clint's was better). Out the corners of his eyes, he could make out the faces of the agents that were blatantly gawking at them as they walked by. Most of them seemed relieved that a missing agent was found. Others annoyed that once again the Black Widow and Hawkeye were making a scene just by walking. But there was one that didn't fit with the others. This was one was confused and slightly panicking. Working on a hunch, he turned to face that particular agent and winked. The man turned various colors of red before stomping off. Bingo.

"So soon?" Natasha complained. Her voice was barely a murmur but he heard her loud and clear. "That is mildly disappointing. Oh, well guess it's time to go to work." She leaned in and pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Be careful."

"Like that guy is going to get the drop on me. The only reason he got Clint was that he was hurt already."

"I know that. I meant to be careful when you talk to him. You know Will is going to want to have some words too. Leave some for your brother, will you? He's going to be intolerable if you don't." Aaron pulled a face. There wasn't a strong enough word in the English language to describe what Will would be if Aaron didn't let him in on the action.

"You're right. I'll be careful," Aaron sighed, feigning being put out. Natasha stifled a smile before loudly announcing that he should get checked out by Medical. Aaron gave the expected Clint like responses. There was a brief "argument" and then he was on his way.

He didn't make it three feet down the hall before he was being roughly grabbed by a figure waiting in the shadows and pulled into one of the empty offices. Aaron tilted his head to the side studying the man. He was tall. Aaron estimated that he was probably taller than even Thor. His muscles were rippling in the SHIELD issue t-shirt he was wearing. It was beyond obvious that he got by on his size alone because the brains were clearly not operative.

"How the hell did you get out?" his would be abductor hissed, shoving Aaron against a wall. "What kind of game are you playing at here, Barton?"

Aaron smirked, stepping out of character and away from the man. "I'm not Clint Barton and this is very much not a game, my very stupid muscular friend."

"What?" the man muttered. Aaron rolled his eyes before grabbing the man by the throat, flipping their positions and pinning him to the wall. He struggled to escape the hold but that wasn't happening. He was big but Aaron was stronger. He had double the amount of genetic cocktail in his body. He wasn't getting loose until Aaron felt like letting him go. And that wasn't happening until Aaron knew where Clint was. "What the hell is going on?"

"How much do you know about Clint Barton, Agent…? Oh, yeah I've heard a lot about you. Harris, right? Veteran agent. Been here for about fifteen years. Thinks he's somehow a better candidate for the Avengers Initiative than Barton. Also thinks that he could be a better deputy director than Maria Hill simply because he's a man and she's not. Yeah, you're a real piece of work. Right then, Harris, how much do you actually know about Agent Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton?"

"Uh…"

"Come on. Don't be shy," Aaron ordered. He reached into his jacket, taking the non-SHIELD issued gun from his front pocket. He let go of the man's throat but jabbed the gun into his side. Harris tensed and stopped struggling to move. "Wise choice. Agent Harris, I'd like to introduce you to one of my favorite girls in the world. This is Buttercup. Cute name but she really packs a punch. Or rather she punches a hole the size of your head through pretty much anything. That also includes the human body. So I suggest you start talking or you'll get a first-hand demonstration of just how beautiful Buttercup can be."

"I don't know anything about you, I mean Barton. No one knows anything about him except that he's somehow been around since he was a teenager and he's a favorite of Coulson. That must be the only way he got here. Why else would they want an orphaned nut job"

"You couldn't be more wrong," Aaron replied coldly. "See the thing is Clint Barton isn't real. Or rather he's not real anymore. When he's not surrounded by the mind-numbing stupidity that seems to breed itself in this office he goes by a different name. He goes by his adopted father's name. And so do his brothers. In case you're missing the hint, that would be me and his violent and bordering on psychotic at the moment twin."

"Brothers… twin?!"

"Yeah, he's got an identical twin with really bad impulse control and anger management issues especially when his twin is missing. Also, he has this incredibly awesome yet understandably awkward tendency to get really pissed at the person who made him go missing. If I were you I would tell me everything about why you thought it was a good idea to kidnap a fellow agent and where you put him. Or you can do the stupid thing and not say a word. Then I let Will torture you for the information. And he's very creative and angry."

Harris looked around the room wildly as if searching for some help. Aaron laughed. He knew that Natasha already had this area secured. There would be no help for him. Not today. He pressed Buttercup into the taller man's side harder, letting it dig into the flesh painfully.

"Okay, okay. It was just to teach him a lesson. He helped Loki! And nothing happened! He just goes back to work and everything is supposed to be great. How can we trust someone who turned their back on us? How are we supposed to trust someone that helped murder over a hundred people? People that were actually friends of his. Now he's running around with the Super Friends."

Aaron tensed and had to stop himself from shooting the man in front of him. His finger twitched towards the trigger and everything in him wanted to pull it because how dare he? Harris really thought Clint walked away from this with no damage?! Aaron knew all too well how much the invasion and the events surrounding it hurt his brother. How much Loki's brainwashing hurt his brother. This bastard thought that nothing happened? He was dumber than he looked. And Aaron was really tempted to just end his miserable life right then and there. But he needed a location first. Once he had Clint back, he was more than willing to turn him over to Will and Natasha. But only after creating a few new holes in his body courtesy of Buttercup.

"Where is my brother?" Aaron growled, digging the gun in deeper.

"He's in one of the older SHIELD safe houses. The ones we don't use anymore up in Yonkers," Harris grunted as Aaron continued to dig the gun in.

"Okay, new question, what did you do to him? I haven't been able to sense him in two days. What did you do?"

"He's… in a sensory deprivation chamber."

Aaron's eyes widened and he almost let the gun drop in surprised horror. A sensory deprivation chamber? For someone like Clint that would be… another form of hell. Clint relied on his other senses because of his hearing loss. Whether it was because of the way he trained them or because of the same formula that gave them life, Clint's senses were heightened to another level. To take them away from him would be nothing short of cruel. Aaron wanted to say something but he couldn't. He didn't get a chance as there as a muffled yell above their heads and then Will was jumping out of a vent.

"How long have you been up there?" Aaron muttered. "When did you even get up there? Why were you up there? Weirdo."

"You named your gun Buttercup. You officially have cornered the market on weird, big brother," Will retorted over his shoulder before all his deadly focus was on Harris.

Harris's eyes widened as he looked between the two brothers. Aaron rolled his eyes. He just told the man that Clint had an identical twin in addition to a triplet. What the hell was he expecting? Well, he probably wasn't expecting to have a gun pressed up against the soft flesh of his chin. He probably would've if he was paying attention. Aaron was really going to have to words with their father about the types of recruits SHIELD took in these days.

"What the hell have you done?!" Will asked in a too quiet voice. Aaron tensed knowing that this was not a good sign. It was good when Will yelled. When he was quiet, things tended to end badly. His entire body was coiled tightly and his finger was on scarily close to the trigger of the gun. This was not going to end well. Aaron watched as he grabbed the man by the shoulders only to slam him back against the wall. "Do you have any idea what he's been through? You think he got away with it? The only reason he's back here is because Director Fury knows that no one could ever punish Clint for what happened with Loki more than Clint can. He beats himself up every day for that. And you think you have the right to judge him?!"

"Will, calm down," Aaron said, stepping closer to his younger brother.

"No. Stay out of this, Aaron. Agent Harris and I are having a little chat. So butt out!"

"Dude, you need to calm down." Aaron tried to place a hand on Will's shoulder but instead found was sent flying across the room with a simple punch. Yeah, this was definitely not going to end well. The only people that could ever break through to Will when he got like were Clint and….

"William Michael Coulson put the gun down and step away from the cannon fodder."

"Dad," Aaron sighed in relief. Harris's eyes grew even buggier. Though that might have been because Will was currently choking him with the gun. Maybe.

"William," Phil started gently. He wrapped his hands around the gun and took it out of Will's grasp. "We need to find Clint. He's been in that tank for two days now. We need to find your brother. And then he's going to need you. That means you can't kill Harris. Yet. You can't kill him yet."

Will let out a slow breath and then stepped away. "Fine." He stalked over to where Aaron sat on the floor. He offered him a hand and Aaron accepted the olive branch that it was. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool," Aaron grinned, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulders. "I kind of like it when you go all Dark Will. It's scary yet kind of awesome." Will snorted softly, shaking his head.

"No way, you're their father?" Harris gasped. Aaron watched as the full reality of his situation settled in for him. By going after Clint he just managed to piss off the right amount of the wrong people. If there was anything left of the man after Will got done, there were about ten other people that were more than willing to make him bleed for this. And one of them was standing in the doorway watching the scene unfold with a critical eye.

"Yes, I'm their father. I've got the adoption certificate to prove it. And unfortunately for you, they consider the Director to be their uncle. It's a role he actually enjoys playing as well. So, yeah, good luck and enjoy that. Come on boys. We have a Hawk to find."

Aaron kept a tight hold on Will's shoulders as they passed by a stunned Harris. He could feel the man watching them even as they left the room.

"That's it? You're just going to let me go?" Harris' voice followed them down the hall.

"Hello, Agent Harris."

"Director Fury!"

Aaron snorted. Will grinned. "Moron."

Will was pacing again. It was an ugly habit he picked up sometime after that nasty business in Croatia. He claimed that it helped him deal with stress. Aaron was privately of the belief that he was well aware that his incessant pacing drove his brothers insane and that's really how it helped. This was the third house they checked and still no sign of Clint or the tank. Harris wasn't feeling very helpful at the moment. Or rather he wasn't feeling very conscious at the moment. He apparently fainted from the stress of seeing Nick and the concussion he got from Will ramming his head into the wall. It really did seem like a good idea at the time. Now with three houses down and about eight more to go between them all, Aaron was really regretting not stopping Will sooner.

"Relax," Natasha soothed from her spot against the wall. Aaron looked up at her. "We're going to find him. At least we know that he's alive."

"He's in a sensory deprivation chamber!" Will hissed. "They cut him off from everything. Including us."

"I know," she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Aaron gave Will a look. This was hard for her too. Natasha wasn't just Clint's partner. As weird (read terrible and horrible) as their relationship started out, Natasha was probably the only other person in the world who loved and was loved by Clint more than the other members of their very small, very close family unit. The assassin was kind of an unwelcome addition to the fold in the beginning but they realized her devotion to Clint ran deep which made her a very valuable member. Though she always talked about love being for children, Aaron knew that she loved Clint. So this was just as difficult for her to deal with as it was for them.

Will let out a deep breath before stopping in front of Natasha. She glanced up at him warily. Will gave her a small smile before pulling her into a quick hug. "We're going to get him back, Nat." Natasha nodded mutely and rested her head against his chest briefly before pushing him away. Aaron snorted as Will resumed his pacing though with significantly less annoyance for the rest of them. There was hope for that one yet.

"That's weird," Tony commented almost absently. The trio looked up in unison towards the genius. It was just the four of them at this location. The other Avengers had split up to hit the rest of the houses. Phil was leading the team of Bucky, Steve, and Thor. Aaron understood the logic of them splitting up. He really did. Clint was in that tank for two days. He wasn't going to be ok by any stretch of the imagination. And as amazing and connected as the relationships were between all the Avengers, none of them had experience with dealing with a not ok Clint. Not even Natasha really knew how to deal with that. But Phil and Will and Aaron did. So they needed to split up to cover more ground. But right now between Aaron's own concern and anxiety and Will's choking panic, Aaron really wanted their father to be here. Phil had a way of grounding them all. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead. They were so taking a much-needed break together when this was all over.

"What's weird?" Natasha finally asked when it seemed like Tony was never going to elaborate on his comment. But the man was engrossed in the schematics he was looking at. Aaron looked at the 3D model and saw immediately what the problem was. There was an extra layer to the house that shouldn't have been there. There was a basement. And yet...

"There's no entrance to a basement in this house," Aaron said, rising to his feet. He took a quick glance around and confirmed that there was no visible doorway. "We've been over every inch of this place and I haven't seen anything that would lead to a basement. Yet there's a basement."

Will finally ceased his endless pacing coming to a stop beside Aaron. "So how is there a basement with no entry?"

"Some of these walls don't belong here," Tony flicked an image off the screen. "See there that's the original blueprints. There are no walls in that section you guys are standing in originally. But now there are walls."

"So you think that the entrance to the basement is somehow behind one of these walls?"

"Only one way to find out," Natasha shrugged. "Tony, call Phil and tell him to get Thor and Steve over here. They can bust down the wall and show us what we're working with."

"Meanwhile we just sit here and wait," Will complained. "We need to find him. I don't know what that tank is doing to him. But I can't imagine that it's anything good." He stomped his foot on the floor. Aaron opened his mouth to chastise him about his inappropriate temper tantrums when he heard a cracking sound. The two brothers exchanged wide-eyed glances as the floor collapsed beneath them. Taking advantage of his supernatural reflexes, Aaron grabbed Will, rolling them around so that he would be on the bottom when they inevitably landed.

He groaned as they slammed into the concrete floor beneath them. He coughed as dust swirled around them. He heard the echoing cough from above him and sighed in relief. He let his head thump back with a heavy thud. There was a hole in the ceiling. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to estimate how far they fell. It seemed like it was a good twenty feet or so. Well, that explained why his body felt like it was on fire. But it could've been worse. Will could've landed first. Speaking of Will... he nudged the body on top of his.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Will rolled off of him, lying on his back beside his brother. "You?"

"It's cool. My back broke my fall… and it's self," Aaron winced, forcing himself to sit up. He felt a twinge in his back and he could tell the bruising was going to be spectacular but at least they were still alive. He could feel Will's concerned eyes on him and glared in that direction. "This is your fault by the way."

"My fault?! How do you figure that?"

"You were the one running around and stomping your foot like a toddler."

"Oh, shut….." Will trailed off abruptly. Aaron turned on his side to see what caught Will's attention. There in the far corner of the basement was a large tank. He could hear the white noise filter humming in the machine. "That's it?"

"I think so."

"We found him?"

"Yeah, we did," Aaron grinned. He yelled up to Natasha and Tony, who assured them that they were working on a way to get through the wall and into the basement.

The two brothers scrambled to their feet and quickly approached the tank that was cutting them off from their brother. Even now as they hovered uncertainly over the heavy metal chamber door, Aaron could feel the faint stirrings of their connection. Clint was here. He looked up to meet Will's gaze and nodded. Together they pulled the door open and Aaron's world exploded in a painful burst of colors.

Aaron gasped at the various feelings, thoughts, and sensations that were crashing into him. He knew they weren't his. But he never felt anything this intense from Clint before. Then again they've never had their connection severed for this length of time in the almost twenty years since they initially formed it. He was so consumed that it took him a moment to register that someone was yelling in pain. It was only when Will put a hand on his shoulder and sending him calm, warm, and soothing thoughts that Aaron realized it was him.

"Holy crap that's not cool," he muttered, feeling the burn in his throat. How long and how much was he screaming?

Will placed a finger against his lips before pointing to the thus far silent Clint. Their little brother was sitting upright with his hands pressed tightly against his ears and his eyes were squeezed shut. He didn't even seem aware of them in the room with him. Aaron gave Will a helpless look. Will rolled his eyes before climbing over the edge of the tank and sitting next to Clint. He pulled his twin into his arms, propping Clint's head on his shoulder. He then took the microscopic hearing aids out of Clint's ears and handed them to Aaron for safekeeping. The effect was immediate. The tension in Clint's body drained out and he relaxed back in Will's embrace. Aaron let out a sigh of relief as the connection between him and Clint calmed down.

"What… happened?" Clint asked. His voice sounded raspy but it was the best thing Aaron had heard in a very long time. He grabbed his little brother's hand letting him know that he was there. "Why are you two here?"

"Well, let's see," Will explained gently. Aaron didn't know why either of them bothered replying out loud. Clint couldn't actually hear what they were saying. He didn't need to when they were together. But if it helped either of them feel comfortable so be it. "You got kidnapped. So you know your usual Tuesday activities." Clint snickered softly. "And when you went missing Dad called us in to try and find you. Kind of obviously we did."

"Wait… dad… called…. the team knows about us, don't they?"

"Yeah. And they know that Bucky knew about us before them too."

Clint groaned, burrowing his under Will's chin. "They're going to hate me."

"No, they don't," Aaron assured him. "They get it."

"And if they don't then screw them. Besides Aaron is apparently moving in on your floor to keep you company if they do ignore you for some reason. I might consider it too when I get back. You get in too much trouble when left to your own devices little brother."

Clint shifted back and attempted to open his eyes to look at Will. Aaron was not trying to experience that one again. He quickly placed a gentle hand over the archer's eyes. Clint sighed. "Where are you going?"

"With the Secretary to Russia. I was actually supposed to go earlier this week but I couldn't leave without knowing you were ok. And now you are. I can't put it off much longer. But I'll back as soon as I can. Okay?"

"Yeah," Clint murmured, putting his head back where it was.

"Anyway, I'm not leaving for a few more days. I'm not leaving until you can open your eyes without frying Aaron's brain."

"How are we supposed to know it's fried?" Clint asked, way too innocently. Aaron glared at him prompting him to smirk. He really hated having little brothers sometimes. Especially little brothers that had a psychic connection with you.

"Hmm, that's a valid point," Will murmured thoughtfully. Aaron didn't hesitate to hit him. He wasn't traumatized and injured. He was fair game. Will smirked, resting his chin on Clint's head. "Let's just put it like this, I'm not leaving until I can see your eyes."

"You want to see my eyes, go look in a mirror, perv."

"I'll look in a mirror when you can see me again."

"Aw, you sap," Clint chuckled. "I always knew I was your favorite. Mostly because you're a totally self-involved narcissist."

"I take it back. I take it all back!"

Aaron grinned despite himself and listened to his little brothers' bickering. He could hear the other Avengers working on the wall upstairs and knew they'd be free soon enough. He smiled brighter when he noticed a certain redhead peeking through the hole in the floor they created. She met his eyes and smiled softly. No, there was nothing left to worry about. Clint went missing and was found. Both of his brothers were in arm's reach and neither of them was dead or dying. Yeah, this was a win. Then the entire wall connected to the basement door went flying off, narrowly missing hitting all three of them. They turned in unison at the very familiar roar.

"I told you it would be way easier to have the Hulk do it!" Tony commented as they stepped into the basement.

"I don't know whether we should be more concerned with the fact that Tony was right or the fact that Bruce actually listened?"

"Both," Clint replied.

"He speaks!" Tony said. "Wait, how did you hear that? Natasha told us Will took out your hearing implants."

"He hears you because we hear you," Will replied.

"What he said," Clint added.

"That's incredible. You three have a hive mind?" Tony murmured, looking for all the world like he was about to start poking them. Luckily the others were way too used to that expression on his face as Natasha intercepted the genius before he could get any closer. Tony rolled his eyes before taking in the trio in front of him. "I seriously cannot believe Phil managed to keep this one from us. There are three Hawkeye's in this world."

"Actually I think you'll find that there are three of me," Aaron corrected. Will scoffed. Clint splashed some of the water from the tank at him. Aaron dodged the movement without letting go of Clint's hands. "Hey, face facts. I am the oldest. As far as I'm concerned, you two are just piss poor copies of my genetic awesomeness."

"I apologize, Will. Clearly you are not the self-absorbed one here."

"As long as you know."

"Clint Barton, we were very concerned about you."

Aaron flinched as Thor's voice aggravated the headache he had since they opened the tank. He could feel the sharp spike of pain that ran through his connection with Clint and squeezed his brother's hand. Will pick up on their discomfort and nodded towards the god. "Hey, Thor, love the enthusiasm but if you could dial it down a bit."

"That was dialed down," Clint and Natasha replied in unison. Clint gave a ghost of a smirk in the direction of his partner. "Missed me?"

"No, I had your clones," she shot back with a smirk of her own.

"For the last time, we're not clones. Clones aren't a thing!"

"Actually…."

"And on that note," Steve said, cutting Tony off before he could crush Will's clone free dreams. "Bruce, how about you give Clint the medical check out he will inevitably avoid and escape otherwise so we can get out of here."

"I'm not letting Bruce near me if he doesn't have pants on," Clint complained. They all paused as they heard the scientist grumbling about how it wasn't his fault that the Hulk broke his pants constantly.

Aaron shook his head and laughed softly. His little brothers certainly did create some interesting messes but he definitely didn't mind cleaning them up. This was the kind of mess he could get used to.

Chapter Text

Clint had to give Will credit for one thing. He was truly a man of his word. Despite the increasingly more annoying pressure from the very irritated Secretary, who was no doubt wondering where his Chief Analyst disappeared to, Will stayed by Clint's side as he promised. Aaron also kept Will's word and moved into the Tower. Clint still wasn't sure when he actually moved in. He only knew that the morning he returned from his required overnight stay in the Infirmary the apartment opposite his on his designated floor was empty. Later that afternoon, it was full and definitely Aaron's. He really didn't mind despite his protests and grumbling. The few days that the trio spent together while they waited for Clint to adjust to the outside world again were perfect. It was something they hadn't allowed themselves to have in years.

But then a few days after they rescued him from his own personal torture chamber, Clint was finally able to open his eyes without shorting out Aaron's brain. Of course, Clint still wasn't sure what the actual measure was on that one. Aaron always seemed a little touched in the head. Then again he was their brother. That was pretty much standard operating procedure. Anyway, once they were sure that there were no complications or setbacks on his inevitable recovery, Will called the Secretary and let him know that he would finally be joining him in Russia. Of course, he didn't leave without the promised revenge. However, now that Clint was back and as safe as he was going to be given that he worked for SHIELD and was an Avenger, Will's murderous rage and impulses had cooled significantly. Aaron was disappointed that he wouldn't get to watch his brother eviscerate the moron that hurt their little brother. That is until the day he left when he announced that he got someone to take care of that for him. If Nick Fury was like their godfather/uncle, then Melinda May was their godmother/probable future stepmother. And she was scary as hell. Will missed a hell of a show.

And Clint missed him a hell of a lot. He wasn't diminishing the importance of having Aaron around because it was definitely super awesome and highly appreciated. But let the record show that he definitely missed his twin. He always missed him when he left. And it seemed like Will was always leaving. But something felt off this time. He felt like he shouldn't have let Will go this time. Not that he really ever had a say in that. Will was a stubborn son of a bitch. Wait. Was it ok to call him a son of a bitch when they were brothers? Was that insulting to their mother? Did they even have a mother?

"What are you thinking so hard about? I can hear your brain going in weird circles from over here," Aaron called out, drawing him out of his thoughts and into the moment. Clint looked up to meet Aaron's concerned gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"You know you can always read my mind, right?"

"Why, yes, Clinton, of course, I know that. But Dad said if I was going to live here that you and I would have to engage in at least two verbal conversations a day that wasn't completely random and made up. Apparently it's scaring the others that we can talk without, you know, talking and stuff."

"Dad should be more concerned about your lack of a coherent vocabulary. We had the best tutors Nick could scare into total and complete secrecy and that's all you got?" Clint laughed as Aaron threw a dishtowel at him. He didn't miss the hint of a smile on Aaron's face as his brother served him a plate of toast, eggs, and bacon.

Having Aaron around was taking some getting used to. He hadn't lived with his older brother since he started calling himself Aaron. But he found that despite the increased intelligence, pain resistance, sarcasm, and agility, Aaron was really the same person as Kenny. He was still able to see right through Clint's walls, even without using their connection.

"I'm waiting," Aaron reminded him. Clint smiled faintly.

"It's just… I... I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about Will's trip."

"He checked in yesterday and everything was fine," Aaron assured him, though Clint could feel that Aaron was concerned now. "Clint, Will is going to be fine. He's the normal one, remember? And by normal, I mean…."

"Boring," Clint finished with a slight grin. "I know that he's the one that nothing ever happens to but I can't help this feeling."

"You think it's got something to do with the tank?"

Clint toyed with a piece of toast. Honestly, that was his first thought when he initially started having this feeling. He really didn't want to give that experience too much thought. He tried to downplay for the sake of his team and his brothers but the reality was that there were some scars. Then again, they were his brothers. They already knew he wasn't ok. Clint knew Aaron didn't move in because he was suddenly ready to be an agent out in the open. He knew that the oldest of the brothers was worried. He knew Will was worried because despite having more than enough empty rooms on his floor, Will chose to sleep in Clint's bed. The skin to skin contact helped ground him. It definitely helped to keep the nightmares at bay.

So really it wasn't out the realm of possibilities to assume that his uneasy feeling about Will's trip was lingering anxiety from the tank. He needed Will and Will was gone. It made sense. But at the same time, it didn't. He was used to needing Will and finding that his twin wasn't there. He knew that made Will sound terrible but Clint was a realist. He knew that Will ran from them not because he didn't care but because he cared too much. It made sense to Will and it made sense to Clint. But the feeling in his gut wouldn't go away. That told him something was wrong. That had nothing to do with anxiety and everything to do with the latent magic that fueled their connection. It was true that he and Aaron were the trouble magnets out of the trio but something was telling him that things were not ok. He just didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do about that.

"Hey, turn your brain off for just a minute and eat this wonderful delicious breakfast that I lovingly prepared for you."

"I'm finished," Clint replied, pushing the mostly full plate away. "I don't really have much of an appetite lately."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Aaron retorted, poking the archer on the arm. "You're still not at the optimal weight."

"Since when do I have an optimal weight? How was this determined? Why was this determined? And how big was Will's role in all of that determining crap?"

"Shockingly Will had minimal input. Mostly because he's just as inept at self-preservation as you sometimes. It's actually something dad came up with," Aaron shrugged while hopping up on the kitchen counter beside him. "Mostly it's a gauge because we know how well you don't take care of yourself."

"I take care of myself."

"Right, that's why dad had to hire an insane assassin to babysit you during the years that you and the other idiot weren't talking to each other? And that's why we have to remind you to eat on an almost daily basis?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "I knew this you moving in thing was going to bite me in the ass somehow." Aaron ruffled his shorter blonde locks with a grin.

"Look, brat, I get it. You feel stifled and belittled and a whole bunch of other words. But like it or not, you're our baby brother. And we're going to take care of you. It's just how this whole genetically engineered triplet thing of ours works. We look after you but we look after each other too. I seem to recall that you helped me out more often than not when we were growing up." Clint looked up to meet his gaze. "Remember how you used to stand up to all the bullies at school that made fun of how slow I was?"

"Yeah," Clint sighed. He pulled the plate back over. "I'll eat the bacon, ok?"

Aaron gave him a fond smile before turning the plate towards the eggs. "Eat a handful of the eggs and I'll totally forget that I wasn't supposed to let you have the number to Will's SAT phone. You can call or text him and let him tell you just how ok he is."

Clint glared though the move was ruined by the tilt of his lips. "You're doing that thing where you're trying to placate me."

"I'm doing that thing where I do my damnedest to keep you alive because I lost you once and those were the worst ten minutes of my life," Aaron replied, honestly. Clint swallowed. He knew that his death, however temporary, was still a sore spot for his brothers. They only mentioned that when they needed to break out the big emotional guns. Clint nodded and scooped a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Aaron gave him a smile before plugging Will's phone number into Clint's phone.

And so the morning passed quietly with Aaron and Clint hanging out and enjoying a rare peace. Phil joined them midway through the day and Clint was happy. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the calm before the storm. His feeling was confirmed when the news hit that the Kremlin was blown up and the President declared Ghost Protocol on the Impossible Mission Force. He really hated being right sometimes.

It was not a secret to anyone that William Brandt turned Coulson wanted to be an individual. He loved that he had two people in the whole world that were genetically designed to understand him and like him but he still wanted to be his own person. So he spent the greater part of ten years trying to run as far and as fast away from them as possible. And during that time he lost them both. True, they were both fine and alive and just as annoying as ever. But the fact remained that for two years he thought Aaron was dead. And though it was a shorter time period, Will couldn't deny his twin's death for the ten minutes he sat praying for a miracle that he somehow got. Both times he came so dangerously close to losing them for good. Both times he swore if he got another chance, everything would change. He was going on record by saying he was always the third times the charm kind of guy. He swore that if he got another chance to see his brothers, he was going to stay with them. No more running. That is if he got another chance. Somehow that was looking less and less likely.

Will sat huddled in what he was officially claiming as his corner of the train listening to the others hash out a plan. They easily dismissed him as being only slightly useful. Any other day he would find that offensive but today he was glad. Because today he needed some time to process what the hell just happened. He was not going to be even remotely functional until he could. Because what the hell just happened?! He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting his mind map out all the information he was trying to process. It was like his father taught him. He needed to make a mental timeline of events. He needed to break it all down, make it easier to deal. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. He really missed his dad. His adopted father that is. Not his biological one because… just no.

All of the craziness started the way it always started… with one of his brothers. This time it was Clint sending him a text. He was actually expecting more messages. Aaron must've taken the phone away from him. Of course, he somehow got it back but Will really didn't mind. He was stuck analyzing data yet again. Anything that broke up the monotony was a good thing. Especially when it came from his younger brother. Although he was worried about this bad vibe that Clint mentioned. Maybe it was that concern or the stress from the past few days finally catching up to him but he slipped. He actually admitted that he had brothers to the one person he had been hiding that fact from for years. He expected that the Secretary would brush it off or not be interested but he was wrong. The man was creepily interested. He asked a million questions about Clint and Aaron. Questions that bordered on knowing too much.

Thankfully, or not given the outcome of that, the Kremlin exploded and the Secretary didn't have any more time to devote to creeping Will out. Now all of his focus was on trying to contain this. While he was off fielding angry phone calls from the President, Will was trying to remember what he forgot. He always knew there was something off about the man but he just couldn't remember what it was. But with the questions about his brothers combined with the insane amount of interest he showed in Will through the years, he finally remembered. There was one person who was affiliated with what the triplets called Project Rebirth Reborn that was never picked up. It was the man that funded the experiment. The man that donated his DNA to the project… essentially the man that was their father. Will thought back on all his interactions with the Secretary thus far and realized that it fit. The creepy interest in him and his actions, the almost obsessive focus on his memory, and the constant looks of misplaced pride. It all fit. He was their genetic template.

He didn't want to jump to conclusions or make assumptions based on information he really hadn't given much thought to since they were sixteen. So instead he sent an email to Tony asking him to look into it discreetly. He was back in the limo sitting next to their would-be father when he got a text from Clint and Aaron confirming that one, Tony didn't know what the word discreetly meant and that two, Michael Sterling, the Secretary of the friggin IMF, was their father. He wanted to be sick. He wanted to yell, scream, and wonder why this man chose him. He wanted to reevaluate every life choice that led him to be under Sterling's thumb. But all of that went out the window the second the limo door opened to reveal the metaphorical weight on his shoulders: Ethan Hunt. Then he just wanted to curl up into a ball and die.

After that, it was all a blur. A blur that led to him getting his wish and being curled up, feeling cold, damp, and impossibly alone. Even the connection between him and his brothers was a dull hum. He couldn't feel them through the chaos in his head. The Secretary was their father and he was dead. IMF was disavowed and they were on their own. He knew he could find a way to call SHIELD but that would be risking an international incident, so he was stuck. He was so incredibly screwed. He was incredibly alone. He could tell that the others already thought he was just an analyst, a paper pusher. They thought he was a burden. He could tell them that he had field experience but to do that would be to reveal his secret, his albatross. He would lose their trust and possibly a way to get them all out of this mess successfully. No, he just had to stay calm. Stay under control and be normal. But he swore to everything holy that this was it. He was done running now. If they somehow made it out of this alive, he was packing up his crap and moving into the Tower too.

"Brandt?" Will blinked, surprised to see Jane kneeling in front of his face. She leaned back somewhat to give him room. "Are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded. "I'm, uh, I'm okay."

"Yeah, you seem like it," she laughed quietly. "I know this must all seem… strange to you. It must be very overwhelming."

Will let out a shaky laugh. "It's something," he agreed. "How about you? How are you holding up?"

"I'll live," she replied, giving him another smile. "I just wanted to say that this might all seem crazy to you but if you need to talk…."

"Thank you," he said, honestly. He wished he could take her up on that offer but he knew that once she knew the truth, once she knew about Croatia, she wouldn't be smiling like that at him anymore. She would hate him. And for some reason, he really, really didn't want this woman to hate him.

"So tell me about yourself, Agent Brandt."

"Isn't that like against company rules? The less we know about each, the easier it is to walk away when the job is over."

Jane moved so that she was sitting next to him. She nudged him with her shoulder, smiling gently. "Do you really think it's going to be that easy to walk away this time?"

"No, I don't suppose it will be," he murmured. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Benji and Ethan's voices droning in the background. "I was thinking about my brothers. I just worry about them. Even though I just saw literally the other day. I… miss them."

Jane craned her neck to get a better look at him. "How many brothers do you have?"

"Two. An older and a younger brother."

"It's weird but I don't really hear about a lot of IMF agents keeping in touch with their families. Then again maybe that's just exclusive to field agents. We don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to relationships."

Will winced. He only just heard about Agent Hanaway. Romantic relationships between agents were usually frowned upon for just this reason. Agents were anonymous in IMF. They didn't have families. They didn't have ties. They only had IMF. Sometimes Will thought he would go crazy if he didn't have Clint and Aaron dragging him out of that way of thinking. He had strong ties to the outside world through them and that kept him grounded… kept him sane(ish). And yet he was always trying his best to get away from them. But not anymore. He was never going to let those guys go away. He smiled softly before bumping his shoulder against Jane's. Her brown eyes glistened in the dim train lighting.

"If we actually manage to get out of this whole thing alive, maybe you could meet them. You know, my brothers, if you wanted," Will suggested, and actually meant it. Jane gave him another smile.

"I think I'd like that, William Brandt."

She patted him on the knee before moving over to talk to Benji. All the while, Will could feel Ethan's eyes locked on him. He steadily ignored that and focused only on the black cord around his wrist. It was the only accessory he steadily wore. The only thing he couldn't bear to part with even when he was an active field agent and doing undercover missions. Because it was special. The simple corded black bracelet was given to them on their 18th birthdays by one Melinda May. It was a reminder that his family would always be there with him. No matter where or when they would always be there. His head shot up.

"Do you think this has gotten out yet?" he asked.

"It's the bloody Kremlin," Benji retorted. "Pretty sure everyone knows about it by now."

"Not that," Will shook his head. "Do you think other intelligence agencies know about us being disavowed?"

Ethan frowned. "There aren't a lot of agencies that have the clearance to even know we exist. But I suppose if they did know then they would know about the ghost protocol."

Will's eyes widened. "Oh god," he buried his head in his hands. The first order of business when they stopped was to borrow a phone. Otherwise, they were going to have a serious problem in a few days. Well more serious than the entire agency being disavowed and being blamed for an international act of terrorism. They were going to have to deal with his brothers, father, uncle, and their team. He really hoped an alien invasion happened in the next few days. Because nothing short of that would keep them from getting on a plane and making things much, much worse than they already were. And he knew that with his brothers involved no matter how bad a situation was, it could always get worse. And that was before they started hanging out with superheroes. There was no way this was going to end any way other than terribly.

Aaron frowned as he finally found his little brother huddled on the edge of the roof. He was making himself small again. He was hiding. And the person best suited to get him out of that mood was the reason he was hiding in the first place. His little brothers made the most interesting messes and he never minded cleaning up after them before… but this time? This time he didn't think he could clean it up. Because this time it was huge. Will was supposed to be the boring one. He was the one that avoided trouble. He sat at a desk! He was practically a paper pusher and Clint and Aaron couldn't have asked for much more. It meant that he was safe. And his eidetic memory meant that IMF wanted him protected. But now he wasn't safe. And there was nothing Aaron could do about it. He felt helpless again. All the genetic enhancements and intelligence in the world couldn't help Aaron save his little brother. He was starting to feel like…

"Stop it," Clint ordered softly. Aaron blinked surprised to find that he was sitting beside his brother. When did that happen? "You're not stupid or useless or anything of the sort. You never were and you never will be. This isn't anything we could've prevented. This is just… what happens in our world."

"I know and it sucks."

"That it does," Clint sighed. "I know why he runs, I really do. I get it and I'm not insulted by it. But I swear to the freaking deities we have living under this roof that this is it. This is the last time he leaves us. We're keeping his ass with us."

Aaron snorted, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulders. "You know, kiddo, I think you might be on to something. Besides even if you didn't think of that, I'm pretty sure that Dad and Uncle Nick were definitely already on that line of thought."

"Is that what Dad looks like when I go missing? Because it's kind of scary, to be honest."

Aaron laughed and he felt a burst of pride spread through Clint. He squeezed his baby brother closer. "Yeah, Dad is pretty much like this most of the time when you're gone. He's on the warpath and nothing short of the safe return of his kid is going to make him stop trying to bust a cap in the ass of everyone he thinks is responsible."

"So why is he stopping us from going there? We shouldn't be sitting back and waiting for Will to get to us. He's in trouble."

"I know. Trust me, I want nothing more than to steal a jet and fly straight to Russia and drag his ass back here. But you know we can't. We're SHIELD agents. We cross into Russian airspace right now and we're causing a major international incident. It would be an even bigger than this crap IMF has created. I want him with us too. But you saw the message. He's ok. For now. We have to trust him."

"I do trust him. I just don't trust the rest of the IMF. Who the hell lets the Kremlin get blown up? Oh, yeah Ethan Hunt, that's who."

"I have told you that I find your utter hatred of the man to be totally adorable, right?"

Clint snorted but didn't reply. There was no reply necessary. Because Aaron felt the same way. While he did feel a certain amount of sympathy for the man, he did lose his wife after all, Aaron couldn't help but hate Ethan Hunt. Because it was his need for a protection detail that sparked the mission that broke their brother completely. Will was always one shove away from being just as broken as his brothers. Croatia, and Ethan freaking Hunt, was that final shove. What they had left was a Will that was never quite the same. A Will that got lost in his own head and even the pair that were genetically designed to peer into his brain couldn't reach him sometimes. And it was Ethan Hunt's fault. It was also his fault that the entire IMF was disavowed and their brother was stuck in Russia.

"Let's give him a little bit of time to figure it out," Aaron finally said. "We don't hear from him in a few days then, politics be damned, we're going after him. Ok?"

Clint looked at him out the corner of his eye before his mouth ticked up in a grin. He tilted his head back. "You got all that, Dad? I know you're spying on us. A few more days and then we're going after him."

"I would expect nothing less," their father replied over the building's intercom system. The older and younger of the brothers exchanged smug grins. One way or another they were getting their brother back and they really didn't care who they had to plow through to get him. But they were both hoping it would be Ethan.

Will shuddered, fighting against the sudden chill racing down his spine. He glanced around the plan with a frown on his face. Nothing seemed out of place. Ethan was seated at the front of the jet, absently flicking through a file on his lap while rubbing his ears absently. Jane was curled up a few seats away, sleeping soundly. It was quiet and almost peaceful. So why did Will feel like something horrible was about to happen? It had nothing to do with the rest of this mission but it still felt like it had everything to do with Ethan Hunt. His frowned deepened and a low groan escaped his lips unbidden. His idiot brothers were plotting something.

"Problem, Brandt?"

Will glanced across the table at his companion. The computer tech was giving him a faintly amused look. Will return the small smile with one of his own, happy that he found a friend in Benji. Honestly, he didn't really have a lot of those on his own. Natasha and Marta didn't count. Yes, he knew they liked him for him but they were also his brothers' girlfriends. They had to accept him as they were all a package deal. Even Wade liked Will because he was part of Clint and Aaron. So it was nice to find someone that was a friend that he made on his very own. The fact that Benji knew the truth about Croatia and still considered him to be a friend worth talking to…. Well, it felt nice.

"You ever get the feeling something really bad is about to happen and you're absolutely powerless to do anything to stop it?" Will asked, toying with the cap to his water bottle. Benji shrugged.

"Of course I have. That's pretty much how I've felt every day since the bloody Kremlin exploded!" Will laughed softly nodding his head in agreement. "You know, you surprise me, Brandt. I would've thought after everything in Dubai that you would've been a little more vocally against this plan. I'm essentially dropping you into an oven."

"But you're going to catch me," Will smirked.

"I am," Benji conceded with a smirk of his own. "But still, I really thought you would be making a bit more of a fuss about this."

Will's lips twisted. Maybe he would've in another life. But the fact remained that jumping into a virtual oven was probably child's play compared to some of the stunts that both Clint and Aaron have pulled through the years. It was hard to get upset about Benji's impromptu plan when compared to their collective madness. Hell, just a little over a year ago, his little brother was fighting aliens with a bow and arrow. And god only knows what the hell Aaron got up to when he was off on his black ops missions for SHIELD. He really didn't want to know either. Especially since most of them involved Deadpool. Yeah, he could definitely handle being dropped down the shaft of the computer system.

"You do that a lot," Benji mused, dragging him back into the moment. Will raised an eyebrow. "You get lost in your thoughts then you play with that black cord thing on your wrist."

Will held up his arm, almost surprised to find that he was once again messing with the bracelet Melinda gave them. "This was given to me when I turned 18 by… a friend of my dad. She gave one to my two brothers as well. We always promised that no matter what, we would wear these. That way we knew that we would always be together even when we weren't."

"That's actually pretty sweet, Brandt. I didn't even know you had brothers. Are they anything like you?"

Will laughed. "No, definitely not. They're more like each other than they think… or want to claim. They're both impulsive, reckless, and not really big on worrying or even considering anything having to do with consequences."

"Why would they when they have you around?"

"I never really thought about it like that but I wouldn't be surprised if that's how they saw it," Will shook his head.

Benji grinned. "You seem like you're pretty close to them. When was the last time you saw them?"

"Right before I left for Russia. Feels like it's been years though," Will sighed. "That's why we have to get this done. I need to get back."

"You're that worried about them?"

"No, I'm that scared that if I don't get back before whatever imaginary deadline they've created that they're going to come after me. Trust me, nobody wants that."

"I don't know. They're your brothers. How bad could they possibly be?"

"You have no idea. And it's not necessarily them I'm worried about."

And honestly, he wasn't because while Clint and Aaron were a force to be reckoned with, they each had a kill switch. There was something that could be used against them to get them to stop. Their father, on the other hand, well his kill switch was a lot harder to find. Especially when it came to his sons. No, Will was more concerned about what Coulson would do versus what Aaron and Clint would do. He knew what they would do. They would burn everything down until they found him or were stopped. Phil wouldn't stop. He wouldn't rest until he destroyed everything that dared to threaten his kids.

2006

Will stared at the steadily beeping machine in front of him. The beeping would've been annoying had it not been the only sign that Clint was alive. Even the magic bond that connected the three brothers was fading as the Black Widow's venom worked its way through Clint's system. So the machines were providing the comfort of at least convincing Will that some part of his brother was still alive. Though by looking at his brother, it was hard to see what part that was. The poison was designed to shut down his organs one by one. Right now it seemed that he had the barest of kidney functions and his heart was still pumping. There was nothing he could do but wait and watch. It had been two days of this and there didn't seem to be any improvement.

"Clint," Will whispered, lifting his brother's cold hand and pressing his forehead against it. "If you can hear me, I need you to hold on. Dad and Aaron will be back. They're going to find the antidote. They're going to fix this."

Almost as if on cue, the door to Clint's room burst open and a doctor followed by an anxious Aaron entered the room. Will didn't let go of Clint's hand but he did move to the side as the doctor administered the contents of a clear glass vial into archer's IV. Aaron waited until he was done before moving to Will's free side.

"Is that it? Is he going to be ok?"

"It's too early to tell," Doctor Warner reported. "But based on the data that we received that was the correct antidote for the Black Widow's poison. His condition is still critical but I believe that this should stop the spread of the poison."

None of that made him want to jump for joy. Will realized he wouldn't be jumping for anything resembling joy until Clint opened his eyes. He wouldn't feel settled until Clint was plotting how to escape from the hospital. Since none of that was happening, Will was content to remain in his emotionally unstable and anxious state.

"How did you find it? Did Wade come through?" Will asked once the doctor was gone. He loved that the man didn't bother to tell Aaron or Will to leave. Neither of them were out of the room for more than a few minutes at a time. And once Aaron left to track down the antidote with their father, Will didn't bother to leave at all.

"Actually," Aaron scratched the back of his ear sheepishly. "It was Dad that got the antidote. And Dad that convinced her to give up the antidote. And by convince I mean he shot her in the shoulder and promised to aim lower next time."

"Dad?" Will asked incredulously. "Our dad? Phil Coulson? The dude that watches Super Nanny and makes us burgers and cookies?"

"Yup! That's the guy."

"Huh," Will mumbled. He glanced down at Clint and found that he was still not looking like he was improving. He tore his gaze away to focus on Aaron again. "Where'd you find her anyway? You weren't gone even a day."

"She was at SHIELD HQ."

"What?!"

Aaron nodded, taking a seat on the foot of Clint's bed. He rested a hand on the comatose triplet's leg and smiled. "I know! She turned herself in. Wade was disappointed to say the least. Then he went on some tangent about her being the Yoko Ono to our brotherly Beatles. Not really clear on that one."

"It's Wade. The only one fluent in him is Clint," Will laughed. Then his brow furrowed as he picked up on what his brother said. "You said Dad shot her."

"He did."

"But she already turned herself in…. why did he shot her?"

"That, William, is an awesome question," Aaron drawled. "I always thought May was the badass one out of the two of them. Scratch that. Dad is decidedly not cool when it comes to anyone hurting one of us. Fury suspended him. He told him not to come back until Clint is walking again. I think even he is disturbed by the sheer amount of instability Dad is displaying lately."

"He only gets like this… extra insane when it comes to Clint."

"I think we all tend to be a little bit… extra when it comes to Clint," Aaron agreed. "He's the baby out of us. And so many people have crapped on him in his life. He deserves a little protecting and insane defenses."

Will snorted, glancing down at his twin. Was he crazy or did Clint look paler? He looked up to the monitors that were steadily beeping earlier. But the beeping was slowing down. Just as he finally registered that fact the heart monitor emitted a high pitched whine. Clint's heart just stopped. Will blinked as he looked from the monitor to his brother. His skin was paler and the hand underneath his was losing warmth. And his heart just stopped.

"Clint?" Will yelled. His eyes were wide and he looked up to see Aaron staring in horror at the machines. Then they were both looking down at Clint. The archer made no movement or acknowledge them. The flat line sound continued to drone in the background.

And then they were being herded out of the room and into the hallway. Even through the closed door, Will could still hear that telling whine. The sounds that let them know that their brother was gone. He heard Aaron wince as they tried to use the defibrillator to bring him back but the whine continued. Will was vaguely aware of someone paging Phil, Nick, and Melinda down to the infirmary. But he couldn't focus on anything other than that sound. It was so loud. It was so damning. And then it stopped. For a moment, Will let himself believe that they managed to bring him back. For a moment, Will let himself believe that his brother was ok. Then the door opened and he saw them pulling the sheet up over Clint's face.

"Agent Coulson," Dr. Warner started. Will wasn't even aware his father was there until he felt the older man's arm wrapping around his shoulders. He knew without looking that he had a similar grip on Aaron. "Agent Coulson, I'm afraid that it was too late. The antidote didn't have enough time to work. His system was already too damaged by the poison. We tried everything but he didn't make it."

Will shook his head. "No, he's not. You just missed something," he said, feeling the hysteria in his tone but not being able to do anything about it. Because his brother was gone. His little brother… his literal other half. He reached out through their connection but found nothing. There was no connection. It was somehow all linked through Clint and with him gone…. He choked on a sob before pushing away his father, brother and the doctors to make his way to Clint's side. He took his brother's hand in his left letting his thumb rub absently against the back of Clint's. Those arrow worn and calloused hands were a familiar, comfortable weight in his hand. "Clint, wake up."

"Will."

"Clint, you need to wake up," Will murmured, ignoring Aaron standing behind him. The older brother let out a shaky breath and reached for him again. "No, Aaron. I don't want to talk to you. I want to talk to Clint. He needs to wake up. Because we were supposed to watch movies tonight, remember? All the extended editions of… extended…" Will trailed off as he felt the coldness in the non-responsive hand in his.

"Will," Aaron started. His voice cracked and though he was reaching for him, Will found that Aaron couldn't stand to look at him too long. "Will, he's gone."

That feeling right there? It was that feeling you get on a roller coaster when it's about to make the big drop. His heart took the big drop and crashed at his feet. His whole world imploded in that moment and everything seemed really bright and out of focus. Because Aaron wouldn't lie to him about something like this. That meant he couldn't feel him either. He couldn't sense Clint either. And that meant that…

He collapsed in the chair by Clint's bed, not letting go of his brother's hand. He couldn't let go. Not yet. And it seemed that no one was going to try to make him either. Aaron didn't say a word. He instead walked over to Will's other side and held onto his hand. He squeezed that hand tightly, looking up to meet his living sibling's tearful gaze.

"What are we supposed to do now?" he asked quietly. Aaron opened his mouth but no words came out. Instead, he shook his head.

"I don't know," Aaron whispered sounding more like Kenneth than he had in years. Will tightened his grip on Aaron's hand and took a shuddering breath.

He didn't know how long they sat there like that. He knew that Phil came and went. He also couldn't look at Will for longer than a second. He hugged both of his sons, pressed a kiss to Clint's cold forehead, and then stormed out. Melinda followed after him yelling about how murdering the Black Widow wouldn't do Clint any good now. Fury ordered the staff to leave them alone for as long as they needed. Will didn't know how long they would need. How long does it take to say goodbye to your little brother? To your best friend? He had no idea long they were sitting there or how long they would need at the time. But he was later informed that it was ten minutes.

He wished that he could say later on that he noticed the minute signs that led to the moment where his world fixed itself. But he couldn't. He was drowning in his grief. He was playing the what-if game in his head, lost in a sea of what could have been. What should have been. Would Clint have been poisoned if he were there? Would they even have gone after the Black Widow if Will was around?

"You can't think like that," Aaron said, interrupting his thoughts. "It should've been a simple hit. I was working back up forClint. Everything was going fine. We identified her and Clint was set to take her out. We were going to do it from a distance. It should've been a simple hit and then we'd be back here to meet you for movies."

"So what happened?"

"Clint happened," Aaron snorted. "He said he saw something in her. Something that reminded him of us. Said he couldn't take the shot. Then he up and ran away. And I know that I'm the most genetically enhanced of us all but damn the could move. By the time I caught up with him, he was offering her a job. She kissed him, told him he was too trusting and left. We were on the plane back home when he started getting sick. And the rest… well, you know the rest. And now here we are."

Yes, there they were. They were each missing a part of them both in the form of Clint and in their connection. And yet…

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Huh?" was all Aaron managed to get out before he gasped sharply and slid off the bed. Will wanted to reach for him but he felt a grip on his left hand holding him in place. It wasn't so much the strength of the grip as it pretty much resembled the pressure a newborn would give. But rather it was the rapidly warming flesh that caught his attention.

"Clint?" Will whispered looking down at his younger brother. He could hear Aaron spluttering on the floor and he knew he should be concerned with that but he couldn't focus on anything other than the still figure on the bed. He wasn't moving but his hand was warmer now. His skin wasn't so pale. And most importantly their connection was working again. He leaned forward to get a better look at Clint's face. Of course, that's when Clint decided to open his eyes. Will let out a yelp, jumping back and tripping right over Aaron who had only just made it up off the floor. The pair landed in a heap on the floor and quickly resorted to shoving each other as they tried to get up.

A rough sounding chuckle from the bed made them stop. They scrambled up in unison to stare in wonder at their little brother. Clint still looked like… death but his skin was decidedly less pale and worn looking. His chest was rising and falling evenly. And Will knew that if he checked there would be a steady pulse beating as well.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Clint murmured, eyes slipping to half-mast.

"You died!" Aaron blurted. "Like you didn't have a pulse or anything. You were dead."

"And now 'm not."

"But how?" Will asked, shaking his head. "You've been dead for more than a few minutes. Dad is completely off the rails. That's how dead you were."

Clint arched an eyebrow. "Where is Dad?"

"Uh, he's, oh crap!" Aaron ran out in the hallway to ask someone to page their father and possibly a doctor to explain how the hell the person he declared dead just ten minutes ago was sitting up and watching them all with clear amusement in his gaze.

After all the confusion, hysteria, and dramatics passed, Will found himself once again sitting by Clint's side with Aaron perched on the end of the bed. Phil was in the room staring at the trio like he was afraid they would disappear if he looked away for even a second. Will sympathized. He had yet to let go of Clint's wrist. His thumb resting firmly on the pulse point there. Aaron didn't need that to know that Clint was still with them. The restored connection between the three of them let him know and feel just how alive Clint really was.

"You didn't kill her, did you, Dad?" Clint asked. Phil stared at him blankly. "You know who I'm talking about. Natasha. You didn't kill her, right?"

"Not yet," Phil admitted.

"Dad!" Clint reprimanded. "You can't kill her ever."

"She killed you!"

"Yeah, but I'm better now. Plus she obviously felt bad about it. She bought the antidote. She didn't have to do that but she did."

Will groaned. "Please don't tell me that you're actually serious about offering her a job."

Clint frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I repeat, she killed you."

"We were trying to kill her first."

"He does have a point," Aaron admitted reluctantly. Will was not surprised. The oldest brother rolled his eyes. "I saw her. I think she definitely wants out of the Black Widow program. And she did turn herself in. Plus she would be a really good asset to have around."

"She's a cold-blooded killer who has never shown an ounce of remorse up until this moment," Phil countered. "How would she be a good asset?"

"We keep Wade around," Clint argued. "And I'm pretty sure that whenever he's not around us, he's actively murdering people. I know he's definitely kidnapping people and claiming they're his roommates."

"Wait, you mean Blind Al is actually his hostage?" Will asked, horrified.

"It's cool. Pretty sure she likes him now. Sorta. Maybe."

"Still… Clint, you cannot seriously want to recruit her!"

"I promised," Clint shrugged.

Will huffed. "You are beyond screwed up, little brother. You're legit the only person in the world that would look at the assassin that actually did murder him and think, 'yay, let's be best friends forever'. You have a very twisted perception of friendship."

"Of course I do. I was made in a test tube. And the closest friend I have that isn't related to us or pretty much like family is the insane and immortal assassin that has to kidnap his roommates! Dude, I grew up in SHIELD! I was never going to make friends the normal way."

"He has a point again," Aaron chimed in.

"Thank you, Aaron."

"Yes, thank you, Aaron," Phil said through gritted teeth. "Clint, this is not up for discussion. There is no way that Natasha Romanoff is joining SHIELD. She's lucky that I haven't actually followed through on killing her. She's not allowed anywhere near you. And that's all I want to hear about this subject."

Of course, it wasn't all he heard about the subject because the very next day Natasha Romanoff became an official agent of SHIELD and was partnered with Clint. She would naturally have Phil as her handler. It would take a full year (and yet another near-death experience for Clint) for him to finally stop reaching for his gun every time he saw her. Later once his own urge to murder her in her sleep had passed, Natasha admitted to Will that for the time in her life she actually thought she might have found the man that would actually kill her. Yeah, a pissed off overprotective Phil Coulson was definitely not one to mess with.

Chapter Text

William Brandt was a headache-inducing puzzle of a man. He was like a puzzle wrapped in a mystery and stuffed inside those little Russian dolls that never seemed to have an end. Try as he might, Benji still couldn't figure Will out. He freely admitted to still being completely mind blown by the fact that the man was not just an analyst but also a field agent who might be even more of a ninja than Ethan Hunt (okay, he was definitely more of a ninja than Ethan). The things he did know for certain were few. He knew that Will carried guilt like it was his job. He felt this unyielding responsibility for any and everything no matter how far out of the realm of his control the situation may be. He knew that Will was also in the habit of zoning out during quiet moments and was in the habit of toying with the bracelet he said was given to him and his brothers by his father's friend during those moments. And that led to the final thing that Benji knew for sure about William Brandt: he missed his brothers… a lot.

The things that Benji didn't know or understand about William Brandt, he was pretty sure, could fill the Grand Canyon two times over with some still left over. But the most pressing of the things that Benji didn't know was how he came to be more concerned about the slightly younger agent's wellbeing than the two members of their team that were actually in the hospital. The mission was over. It was a complete success. They managed to stop a global nuclear war. True, Jane got shot and Ethan… well, his sanity depending on not dwelling too much on how Ethan got hurt during the mission. But the point is that they all managed to survive which was more than he thought they would be doing at the beginning of this whole disaster. Yet despite all of that Will remained Benji's most pressing concern.

After the mission was declared to be accomplished, they were taken to a local hospital before being transferred back to DC and IMF headquarters. When they first arrived at the hospital, Jane and Ethan were immediately treated while Benji and Will were barely given a cursory checkup. It was assumed that since they were both walking and talking that they were fine. Benji was secretly of the belief that they didn't care if either man was actually healthy or not. Between the Ghost Protocol and the death of the Secretary, there was chaos and confusion, not to mention a power vacuum. If there was one man that could calm down the pending shit storm, it was William Brandt. And calm it he did… even while looking like he was trying out for a role as a walker on The Walking Dead.

Realistically Benji expected there to be some panicked flailing within the agency. He knew that just as he knew that Will was really the only person he felt comfortable trying to even begin dealing with the fallout of the Ghost Protocol and setting up the next in command following the Secretary. But he also knew that Will barely slept for the past week. He also had to face a nasty part of his past in the form of Ethan Hunt. He knew the only thing keeping Will going during the mission was the silent promise that he would see his brothers again. His nervous tic of playing with his bracelet increased in frequency as the mission wore on. He knew that Will wasn't going to be alright until he saw these brothers of his and it was looking more and more like that particular reunion was going to be on hold for a while. Benji also suspected that Will needed more than just a cursory checkup. He was clearly hurting but no one beside Benji appeared to give a damn.

"He doesn't look well," a man murmured from the place beside him. Benji jumped startled that there was suddenly someone standing beside him in the back of the room where Will was strategizing with a group of analysts and the latest of the interim Secretaries. He glanced in the man's direction. He didn't think he had ever seen him before. Not that he knew everyone in IMF but this man was definitely not one he had ever seen before.

There was absolutely nothing remarkable about the man physically. With his suit and tie, he looked like every other agent in this place. But there was a warmth in his eyes coupled with a sharpness that made Benji take notice. Especially since those eyes were focused on his only mobile (though for how much longer was anyone's guess) teammate. That made them partners at this point and he was not about to let his partner down. Well, he wasn't going to let him down any more than he was already letting him down by not insisting that everyone shut the hell up and leave Will alone. So yeah, he wasn't going to let him down more than that. That included allowing this strange man who was just a little too interested in Will to be yet another obstacle in Will's path to a bed and some much-needed sleep.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Phil Coulson. I'm from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."

"That's a bit of a mouthful," Benji gaped slightly. But he quickly recovered. "So what brings you here Mr. Coulson?"

"Agent," Coulson corrected politely. "And I'm here under orders from the Director of our agency. He wants to speak with the Chief Analyst regarding the recent events in Russia."

Benji felt intense anger at that moment. This Coulson didn't sound like the rest of the vultures that had descended upon Will the minute they made it back to headquarters but that didn't change the fact that he was the same as those vultures. All they were interested in, all anyone was interested in, was picking Will's brain and using him. Did no one see that the man was barely hanging on?

"What happened to him?" Coulson asked, breaking into Benji's thoughts. The tech started to make a sharp retort but he actually took the moment to observe at the man carefully. There was no malice in his tone. There was only confusion… and some concern. He was genuinely worried about Will. Benji narrowed his eyes. He knew that Will had brothers… what if this was one of them. Sure he was older than them but maybe there was just a gap in their ages. Then again Will described his brothers as impulsive and reckless. This man was none of those things. Everything about this Agent Coulson seemed almost serene and carefully constructed… not unlike Will actually. Definitely not one of his brothers. So that was a scrapped idea. And yet, Benji still felt compelled to reply.

"It was a long mission," he simply said.

"I gathered that much from your mission report, Agent Dunn. I was hoping for a bit more detail on his physical condition as there doesn't appear to be a medical report."

There was an edge to his tone that had Benji standing up straighter. He glanced at the front of the room hoping that Will would catch a glimpse of his verbal struggle with this stranger that seemed way too invested in Will's wellbeing. But Will didn't notice because he was too busy arguing with the interim secretary and trying to ward off a headache. Judging by the way he pinched the bridge of his nose and winced any time the other man spoke too loudly (which was often), Benji surmised that the battle was lost. And that concern just kept on building.

"He, uh, got in a fight with one of the targets," Benji reported. Coulson raised an eyebrow, silently urging him to continue. "He was uh, choked for a little while. But he didn't lose consciousness. He's been moving really slowly since we got back. I think he may have hurt his ribs. But he seems okay otherwise. Except he really hasn't been sleeping that much either."

Coulson made a disapproving sound under his breath before muttering something about problematic, troublemaking children. He then completely ignored Benji to pull out his phone. "Yeah, it's me. It's actually worse than we thought. He looks worse than Clint did when he was poisoned by Natasha. We both know how that ended. We have got to get him out of here. He looks like he's about to drop any minute now and they still have him working."

Benji could hear the concern in the other man's voice. He really wondered who and what this man was to Will. "Yeah, just make it quick. He doesn't look good at all. I know he doesn't feel it either and they have to know by now. I'm actually surprised the building hasn't been stormed yet. Remind me to thank Banner and Rogers later for distracting them." Benji heard a chuckle over the other line before they disconnected.

He wasn't left wondering for long what move the man on the other end of the line was going to pull. Less than two minutes after Coulson disconnected, a man and a woman strolled into the conference room. An IMF agent posted by the door made an attempt to stop them but a glare from the steely blue eyes of the man stopped the agent in his tracks. His partner, a petite brunette, smirked in her partner's direction before bouncing up to Will who stopped midsentence surprised by her abrupt appearance. Benji watched as recognition flickered on his face as he glanced at the two agents before he schooled his features into a blanker expression.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Agent Lewis. This is my partner, Agent Barnes and we're from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division of the United Nations. I believe that you were ordered to report to our Director immediately after debriefing with your superior. It's been almost forty-eight hours and yet this meeting hasn't occurred. We've been sent by our director to retrieve you."

Will turned a confused glance to the interim secretary. Benji gave the man credit, he managed to pull off looking flustered and embarrassed at the same time. He was turning more shades of red than Benji even knew existed when Coulson made his way to the front of the room. Benji was once again questioning the connection between the mysterious Coulson and Will as the recognition was definitely there and it seemed that Will didn't have the energy to try and hide the exhausted relief that the older man was there either.

"Secretary Adams, I'm aware that you just came into this position today but I would've thought that you knew that IMF does not outrank our agency. When Director Nicholas Fury makes a request, it's not a suggestion. It's an order that is to be followed on the requested timelines, not on whatever timeline you've created."

"You can have Agent Dunn."

"Yet we have specifically requested Agent Brandt," Coulson retorted, calmly. Yet there was an edge to his tone. Something dark yet protective. "I'm sure that you have half a dozen analysts that are capable of performing in Agent Brandt's stead. The United Nations has several questions regarding the circumstances leading to the bombing of the Kremlin. This is Intel that only Agent Brandt is capable of giving to us. So we will be borrowing him for the time being."

It was only because he knew what to look for that Benji caught the quirk of Will's lips. He also noticed the way that Agents Lewis and Barnes inched closer to him as if they were expecting him to collapse any second. Benji watched as Will let them in his personal space without even a small protest. Benji earned that right only after he saved the man's life. There was definitely something going on here. Eventually, Agent Lewis wrapped an arm around his waist and started to lead him out of the room. Agent Barnes followed in their wake, glaring at anyone that even dared to look in their direction while subtly flexing the fingers on his left hand. Benji didn't know what to make of that but he had a feeling that he definitely didn't want to know what was going on with that guy and his left arm.

Benji didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Will as things moved pretty quickly after that. He knew he should be pretty alarmed that three total strangers just waltzed in and essentially kidnapped his partner but he wasn't. There was an odd sense of calm coming from Will as the perky Agent Lewis prattled on to him about the ongoing adventures of some people named Clint and Aaron. Will seemed a mix of amused and exasperated as he listened. But he wasn't nervous or scared. He was fine with whatever was happening, therefore Benji relaxed. His gut was telling him that these people only wanted what was best for Will too. They were going to take care of him in a way that IMF wouldn't. So he let him go.

Still, he wondered who the hell they were in the first place. Who even heard of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division…? He laughed out loud as he finally caught the acronym. SHIELD. Somehow or another, William Brandt was involved with SHIELD. An agency that was even more shrouded in mystery and confusion than IMF. And William Brandt was definitely more than just slightly familiar with them. Benji smirked. Yeah, his new partner was definitely a headache-inducing puzzle of a man and he was seriously looking forward to figuring him out.

Aaron sighed as he watched Clint out the corner of his eye. His youngest brother was lying on the floor of the common room twirling a rather large knife carelessly between his fingers. He looked totally and completely relaxed but Aaron knew better. Even without the connection between them, he could sense the tension in Clint. He knew that his little brother was past the point of worry. It wasn't that Aaron wasn't also freaking out, but he knew that he had to keep it together for Clint. If he gave in to the panic and overwhelming fear he felt they would both be lost. Still, it was getting harder and harder.

Their connection had been active since they first reunited at the age of sixteen after weeks of experimentation. That connection kept them together even when they're weren't. Aaron never hated their connection as much as he did right now. Because that same bond told him that Will was not okay at all but he was faking it like his life depended on it. He could feel Will's anxiety. He heard Will's thoughts and inner dialogue like it was his own. Everything in him wanted to just grab his brother and hide him away from everything that was making him feel or think that way. But he couldn't. They lost their window of time. He was at IMF now. And as much as he wanted Will with them, Aaron would never do anything that would jeopardize Will's position with the agency. Even if that meant leaving him alone.

Aaron was pulled back to reality when he saw Clint sit up straight. He had his head tilted to the side. Aaron could feel his brother's confusion but there was an underlying sense of relief and peace. Aaron felt his brow furrow at the strange mix of emotions coming from his baby brother. That feeling intensified when he heard the elevator arrive on their floor. Darcy appeared in the room a second later, grinning from ear to ear.

"Triple Trouble, be prepared to love me for the rest of my life!"

Clint raised an eyebrow. "I thought I already promised to do that when you got me Oreos that time I was too tired to do it myself."

"It really doesn't take much with you, does it, baby brother?" Aaron asked, smiling lightly. Clint rolled his head towards Aaron and shrugged.

"It's the little things," Clint replied, leaning back on his elbows. He craned his head to the side looking over at Darcy. "Also, Darce, what the hell are you wearing?"

Darcy ran her hands over her very un-Darcy like outfit. It was a plain button-down white shirt, with a dark blue blazer and a black skirt that stopped below her knee. The outfit was capped off by a pair of plain black flats. In the few short weeks that Aaron had known Darcy Lewis, he knew that she wouldn't be caught dead in something this boring unless it was for a good (read Avenger related) reason. So that begged the question of what the hell was she wearing and why?

"I was running a secret op for your dad and Director Fury."

"You make it sound way more badass than it really was," Bucky muttered as he walked in. He toed Clint out of the way and sprawled out on the sofa. Darcy took that as her cue to drape herself over his lap. The fact that he didn't even blink was Aaron's sign that those two had been a thing for a while.

"Since when?" Aaron asked. He just talked to Bucky like a few weeks ago and he definitely didn't mention this little development.

"Since last month after everything with Johnny crashed and literally burned because certain Avenger affiliated people wouldn't stop harassing him!" Darcy retorted, glaring down an at all unrepentant Clint and Bucky. Her glare intensified until Clint finally cracked.

"Okay, Darcy even you have to admit that there were numerous reasons. First, it was weird. Johnny looks like Steve. Like he looks exactly like a younger and less morally responsible Steve Rogers. It was creeping all of us out," Clint said, pulling a face. "Second, that dude was more reckless and insane than me. You totally didn't need more than one me in your life. Shut up, Will and Aaron don't count. And the third, final, and best reason is that Bucky is such an upgrade. He doesn't resemble Steve in the slightest and he's hot. I mean just look at him!"

"Why thank you, Clint."

"You're very welcome, Bucky."

"I hate you two," Darcy grumbled but made no effort to move away from either of them. Instead, she cleared her throat. "Anyway, as I was saying be prepared to love me forever. I mean like serious love. I want undying loyalty and appreciation."

"Why exactly am I pledging my undying love?" Aaron asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't see any Oreos. Although now I really want some. Are you getting me Oreos? Because I will love you forever if you got me Oreos."

"No, I'm not getting you Oreos. That's a Clint thing. You have to earn Oreos with me, buddy. Also I would get them but I'm actually super comfortable. Besides I've done you one favor today already. You're declaring your love because I did way better than Oreos. I just did you a huge solid," she smirked. Bucky cleared his throat. "Fine, we just did you a huge solid." Off the no doubt twin blank looks she was receiving from the brothers, Darcy sighed. "What's the one thing you want most right now?"

"Ethan Hunt dead," they replied in unison. Clint's eyes lit up.

"Buck, did you snipe Ethan Hunt for me?"

"No, but now I know what to get you for Christmas."

"Okay, so if you didn't snipe Ethan, what the hell did you do for Dad?"

"We performed a very delicate and highly sensitive extraction of a valuable asset."

"So you grabbed Ethan so Aaron and I could shoot him later?"

"Seriously? Is shooting Ethan the only thing you can think of?!" Darcy asked in disbelief. "There's nothing else you can think of right now. Nothing else?"

"What could possibly be more important than someone shooting Ethan?" Clint countered.

"One track mind with you, little brother," a new voice chimed in. But that voice was as familiar to Aaron as his own. He was on his feet before he even saw him. Then there he was. He was leaning heavily on their father but he was walking. Aaron didn't even care. Because after a week and a half of waiting and wondering and worrying, Will was back.

He was pale and Aaron could feel the bone-deep exhaustion and pain coursing through his body. However, it was all muted at the moment due to the joy and peace that only happened when they were all in the same place at the same time. It was more soothing than any painkiller. But their next act would be to get him some painkillers because he could really feel the aches in Will's chest. Bruised, possibly broken, ribs were a bitch when it came to healing. Aaron really hoped that whoever did this was dead. Otherwise, he definitely volunteered for the task.

"Will," Clint whispered shakily. He stood up and cautiously walked towards their brother. Aaron didn't need to be mentally connected to know that Clint was hesitating. He knew how Clint's brain worked. Part of the archer didn't really believe that Will was actually there. He was convinced that one day they weren't going to get lucky and he was going to lose his brothers. The other part of Clint's brain that accepted that Will was there was most likely hesitant because he didn't want to hurt his twin. The great thing about a hive mind was that if Aaron knew what Clint was thinking, so did Will.

"I'm not going to break, Clint," Will smiled softly. "Come here, loser. I kind of missed you a little. Okay, I missed you a lot."

Clint laughed quietly and closed the distance between them in a few quick steps. He wrapped his arms around their prodigal brother and Aaron could only smile as Will's arms came up to hug his other half just as tightly in return. Aaron could feel the tension draining out of Will as he sagged against Clint. Phil stepped away to lean back against the wall, watching the twins with a smile on his face.

Clint pulled away but kept his hands on Will's shoulders. "You look…terrible."

"Gee, thanks," Will rolled his eyes. "I guess you're feeling better."

"Yeah," Clint replied easily. Aaron snorted. Yeah, he was better in the sense that he wasn't experiencing sensory overload anymore. But he still had yet to go back to Headquarters. He yet to leave the Tower at all, choosing only to interact with the team or his family. Clint was very far from better but Aaron didn't need to call him out on it because that was always Will's job. And he did it so well.

"You're lying," Will shook his head. "You're not okay."

"Neither are you," Clint pointed out, not bothering to deny it. His free hand strayed towards his ear and he tugged on it for a few moments before Will finally smacked his hand away. "We're not okay. But we'll get there… right?"

"Yeah, we will."

Aaron joined them and wrapped an arm around both of his little brothers. "You two are just so adorable, you know that? Seriously, you're just the absolute cutest thing ever."

"You see what you left me with," Clint said, over Aaron's shoulder.

"I see," Will replied in all seriousness. "Has he been like this the whole time?"

"Worse."

"Ugh, I sincerely apologize, Clint. I see what you've had to deal with since I was gone. It won't happen again, I promise."

Aaron tightened his grip on both of them, wincing as he felt a sharp burst of pain from Will. He loosened enough to alleviate some of the pressure but kept his arm around Will's shoulders as he moved them towards the infirmary. He didn't need to look back to know that their father was following them with his eyes locked on Will. It was going to be a while before any of them let him out of their sight. Because they finally got him back. But for how long was the real question.

When Phil first met the triplets at the remains of the CADMUS lab, he never thought they would fill the role they had in his life. He never thought that he would be a father of three genetically (and magically) engineered teenagers. But he was. And he didn't regret it for a moment. The triplets were as different as night and day when you looked at them from the outside. But when they were all together, that's when you saw who they really were. Too bad that after the age of 18, it was rare to see them all together. First Will left and then Kenneth. Clint never left but without his two brothers, he was a pale imitation of himself. He seemed almost normal in those years before Kenneth became Aaron. Phil would never admit it to anyone (especially not to Clint) but he liked Clint in all his eccentric glory. He never wanted the kid to change. He knew the same was true for Will no matter how much the middle brother complained about "Clint's infinite weirdness". Aaron never complained. He clearly enjoyed Clint's weirdness. It led to shenanigans and hijinks that had to be specifically designed to give him gray hairs or send him to an earlier grave. They had to be.

Back to the point and that was that Phil never imagined a world where he would have a kid, much less three, but he wouldn't trade it for the world. True, he was definitely not the happiest the day that Nick suggested (strongly and in words that sounded like an order) that Phil adopt the triplets so that they could give being normal teenagers a try. Phil agreed though he doubted how long that one was going to last. Clint surprisingly made it longer than he originally thought but Phil knew that was because he was holding out for Aaron. Once Aaron gave up, so did Clint. Will kept going though. He suffered through public school without his brothers in a world that didn't understand how amazing he was. Instead of shining brightly as his brothers did with private tutors, Will hid behind emotional walls that would give Fort Knox a run for its money. But Phil was slowly starting to see those walls crack.

For the first time in years, Will actually looked like he was happy and healthy and it was all mostly because he was in the company of his brothers for more than just a few days at a time. That, of course, meant that something had to come along and screw it all up. And didn't it just figure that the one thing that would cause it to come crashing down was part of the reason Will hid so well in the first place? Phil was really starting to see where Aaron and Clint were coming from when it came to Ethan Hunt.

Two months had passed since the IMF mission from hell and Will was finally starting to show signs of normalcy. It didn't hurt that he had all the mother hens on the team force-feeding him or checking on him every five minutes. That was in addition to the biggest mother hens of them all: Aaron and May. So Will was healthy and happy and in a place where he was accepted for who and what he was and could do. He was starting to come out of his shell and bond with the rest of the team. Then his phone rang.

"Don't answer that!" Clint yelled from where he sat across the room playing some video game with Thor and Bucky. Phil would comment that they all played entirely too many video games, but honestly, it kept them quiet and in one room where he could keep an eye on them (and where they weren't likely to be causing millions of dollars in property damage). He would give them all the games in the world to keep them that way.

"But its Ethan," Will protested. It fell on deaf ears as Aaron swooped in, grabbing the phone, declining the call with a swipe of his finger, and bouncing over to where Clint was sitting on the couch. Will sighed before following his brother and sitting on the edge of the sofa. The phone chimed again. "Did they leave a message?"

"No, but he sent a text with date and a location," Aaron replied with disgust. He glared up at Will. "Don't you dare even think about it!"

"But…."

"But nothing. You don't owe them crap," Clint interjected. "Screw them."

"Dude, I killed his wife. The least I can do is go explain it to him. Jane and Benji know."

"Do Jane and Benji think it's your fault?"

"No."

"Then why do you?"

Will chewed on his lip. "It feels like it's my fault."

"That's because you're stupid," Clint pointed out. "You're stupid and you've got a martyr complex. Thankfully Aaron and I are the little devils on your shoulder telling you that you don't have to do this. You don't have to answer that summons."

"Actually I do. Remember, I'm still technically an IMF agent. I can't just keep hiding out here," Will said, though Phil could read the hesitance and reluctance in his voice. Well, it seemed like his prodigal son was done wandering. Interesting.

"Why not? It's like IMF is going to be able to find you," Clint countered. "Between Dad and Tony, IMF doesn't have a chance in hell of actually tracking you down. Trust me, they've tried during the past two months and nada."

"I'm not worried about IMF tracking me down," Will replied calmly. "If they really wanted to find me, all they have to do is get Benji. I'm shocked he hasn't tried already."

"Benji Dunn," Tony muttered. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"In 2003, Benjamin Dunn came close to hacking both SHIELD and Stark Industries," Phil reported absently. "He was a good candidate for recruitment but IMF got there first."

"That's right. I sent Pepper to try to bring him in too," Tony said, clearly lost in thought. Phil shook his head. He dreaded a meeting between those two. If there was anything left that wasn't on fire or exploded, he would be surprised.

"So that's it?" Clint asked, picking up the argument without missing a beat. "You're going to go back to being the whipping boy of IMF because Ethan Hunt sent you a text?!"

"No," Will protested. "Well, I mean I don't want that."

"Great! So shut up and ignore the stupid message."

"Clint, I can't just ignore it!"

"You're still not giving me a good reason why you can't."

"Closure," Aaron said before Will could open his mouth. "Will wants to go to the meet because wants closure with Ethan. Right?"

Will turned various shades of red but nodded. Clint looked like he was going to comment on that but for once in his life he let the topic drop. Will gave him a small grateful smile.

"I know you think it's stupid and that I don't have to do this but I do. I need to talk to him and tell him how sorry I am about his wife."

Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked to Aaron, who turned to look at Phil. They were over thirty years old and had been grossly independent since the day he met them. Yet put them in a hard place and they went running straight back to him. Sometimes his kids could be adorable little brats. He sighed.

"Will is right. He needs to talk to Ethan and get closure finally. I know this mission brought up a lot for you and you have earned the right to finally deal with it. But Clint is also right. You don't need to do this… alone."

Will's mouth dropped open even as Clint and Aaron's faces lit up. Phil watched as Aaron gleefully picked up the forgotten phone. He closed his eyes after he read the coordinates. Phil knew his son well enough to know that he was looking at a mental map of the world. He sometimes envied the genetic enhancements his kids got. Suddenly his eyes flew open as he grinned in Clint's direction much to Will's growing horror.

"Coordinates are for some spot in Seattle. It's by the harbor. So most likely a restaurant. But definitely in Seattle."

"Awesome! I always wanted to climb the Space Needle!"

"Dad! Aren't you going to say something here?" Will cried.

Phil snorted. Sometimes it was like Will never learned a thing. The quickest way to ensure that Clint did something was to tell him not to do it. Phil learned his lesson with the whole Statue of Liberty disaster when Clint was seventeen. He never lived that one down. Jasper wouldn't let him. So Phil made it a habit to refrain from telling Clint that he wasn't allowed to do something. Will would figure it out one day. One day….

Meanwhile, Phil shifted down in his seat and ignored his bickering sons in favor of securing a flight for the trio. Once that was done, he was going to work on Will's transfer papers. He had a feeling that IMF wasn't going to let go of their Chief Analyst without a fight and Phil would fight them every step of the way. He saw what this last mission did to his son. Not to mention the blatant neglect post-mission. He was suffering from dehydration, two broken ribs, and a bruised kidney by the time they got him to the infirmary. And IMF didn't even bother to check. There was no way in hell he was going to let Will go back to an agency that used him like that. As he started the necessary paperwork, he selected three other files. Something told him that while Will was definitely coming back to SHIELD, he was most likely not coming alone. Oh, he couldn't wait to see the faces of his other sons when that happened.

Clint watched as his visibly nervous brother sat down at the table with Ethan and the other two members of their impromptu team. He did his homework on those two. They seemed decent enough. Dunn even seemed like he could be fun to hang out with. But Ethan…. Clint still didn't like him and he doubted he ever would. He could feel Will's anxiety as sharply as if it was his own. Everything in him wanted to be there for his brother but Phil was pretty clear about not interrupting unless Will looked like he needed them. Hence why Clint was sitting at a table a fair distance away while Aaron was standing at the rail overlooking the harbor. They were both in a position to hear and see everything. Clint was prepared to swoop in at the first sign of distress.

He watched as Ethan offered the trio a set of phones. He wanted to team up with them full time. Not surprising because his brother was awesome but Clint really wondered if IMF actually approved their precious analyst going back in the field. Probably not but Ethan had no problem defying them. If he didn't hate him so much, he might actually have respected that. But he did hate him, so yeah.

Benji was the first to accept the offer. He picked up his phone, threw a not so subtly concerned glance in Will's direction before walking away. Jane was the next. Clint watched her give Ethan a smile before her gaze also shifted to Will. There was a myriad of emotions that floated across her face but she was walking away before Clint even had time to process them. Clint knew that both Benji and Jane knew the truth about Croatia. They knew and they still accepted Will. Hell, Benji more than accepted him. He continued to reach out to their brother during their two-month hiatus. He never asked where Will was or even tried to visit. He just checked on him to make sure he was okay. Clint liked Benji.

'Focus'.

Clint looked over at Aaron to see his oldest brother staring at him over his shoulder. He turned back into the conversation happening between Will and Ethan. His twin was telling Ethan all the reasons he wouldn't be right for his team. And Ethan was telling him he knew who Will really was. Clint pushed away from the table, ready to head to his brother's side. But the words that came out of Ethan's mouth next caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

"IMF faked her death."

"What?" Will asked, flatly.

"She was really kidnapped and that's when I realized that being married to me was dangerous for her. So the Secretary helped me to fake her death. We told everyone she was dead but instead, just let her go so that she could be safe."

"So she's alive?" Will asked, his voice getting quieter. Ethan nodded, even though his eyes were watching a group of medical personnel that was getting off a newly arrived ferry. Clint tracked Ethan's gaze and found that his eyes were locked on a dark-haired woman. With a growl, he recognized the features.

He hacked Will's file once. He saw a picture of the supposedly late Julia Hunt. The same woman who was happily following her coworkers into some sort of coffee shop across the harbor. She not only wasn't dead but Ethan knew where she was all this time. All this time that Will suffered and he knew that it was all for nothing.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Aaron yelled, stalking over to the table where Will was still silently sitting. Clint smirked. Showtime. He ambled over to the table to stand beside his brothers. Ethan's eyes were wide as he looked at the three practically identical brothers. Will remained quiet.

"Will? You with us?" Clint asked. Will gave a small imperceptible nod. Clint would accept that answer at the moment. He looked back at Ethan.

"Brandt… there are three of you? You have clones?!"

"No, we're genetically engineered triplets, moron," Clint retorted, dryly. "Clones aren't an actual thing. At least I think."

Aaron frowned thoughtfully. Clint shrugged. "We're reasonably sure they're not real." They really needed to look into that one day. It was really embarrassing that they didn't know this for sure. Because if they were real, he was so owed a clone.

"Right, I knew that," Ethan muttered.

"Just like you knew that your freaking wife wasn't even dead?" Aaron spat. Oh, big brother was pissed. Clint smirked. It was nice not being the hotheaded one for once. "Do you know everything that our brother has been through because of your stupid ass and your freaking not dead wife?! And it was all for nothing?"

"You made him give up field world. He took a desk job like he was normal. You damned him to a life where people used him for his brains," Clint said, calmly picking up where Aaron left out. "You made him scared of his own judgment. He second-guesses everything! Your decision made it so that our brother doesn't even trust himself."

"Uh," Ethan trailed off, eyes flickering between the younger and older brothers. Will remained eerily silent throughout the whole exchange.

"What's going on here?"

All four men looked up to see Jane and Benji returning. Jane's eyes widened while Benji nodded as if he was reaching some sort of internal conclusion. Jane walked over to Will and put a hand on his arm. Will blinked up at her.

"Hey," she smiled softly.

"Hey," he answered. "Those are my brothers."

"Looks like I got to meet them after all," Jane smiled a little brighter. "Are you okay?"

"I… am not."

Jane frowned. "Are you taking the phone?"

Will glanced down at the forgotten phone and then shook his head. "No, I'm not. I can't." He looked up meeting his brothers' patiently waiting gaze. A slow smile curved his lips. Clint knew that he and Aaron were wearing matching smiles without even looking. "As a matter of fact, I'm resigning from IMF effective immediately."

"What?" Jane, Ethan, and Benji chorused together. "Where are you going to go?"

"Home," Will replied, still looking at Aaron and Clint. "I'm going to join SHIELD like I should've when we turned eighteen."

"Nah, I thoroughly enjoyed being the only Coulson son in SHIELD," Clint protested with a grin. "Besides, I don't think Jasper could've handled three of us in the beginning."

"I'm not entirely sure he can handle three of us now," Aaron corrected. "He seems to struggle with the two of us."

"Gee, I wonder why," Will countered with a raised eyebrow. "You two make it a habit to mess with him as much as humanly possible. And Dad allows it. And then you get Wade in on the action and everything just escalates."

"Remember how Jasper used to have hair before he met us," Clint asked, laughing. Aaron nodded with a grin of his own. Will rolled his eyes but they both saw and felt his own laughter echoing through their connection.

"You have an in at SHIELD?" Jane asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Will nodded, pointing towards Clint and Aaron. "Yeah. I have those two and our dad. He's the guy that orchestrated my escape from IMF when we first got back."

"Oh, he was the father," Benji muttered to himself.

Jane looked thoughtful for a moment before she reached into her purse and pulled out the phone she only just received. She handed it back to Ethan with a grin. "Sorry, Ethan. But it looks like I'm not going to need this after all. It seems that a much better offer has just made itself available and I would be an idiot not to jump on that."

Will practically beamed. Jane wasn't much better. Clint rolled his eyes. Oh, this was going to be adorably dysfunctional. Will's track record with relationships was just sad. He either friend-zoned himself because he didn't think he was good enough or he was so completely oblivious that he was in a relationship that the woman always ended up living.

Aaron leaned into Clint's side. "Aw, look he made a friend. They're going to be sickening, aren't they?"

"Most likely," Clint agreed with a snort. "But not any worse than you and the woman you dragged with you when you took down Outcome."

"Bite your tongue, heathen. Marta is awesome and you know it."

"Oh, I know she is. I love Marta. But it's been like ten years and you're still drooling over here. It took you five years to work up the courage to ask her out in the first place."

"Shut up," Aaron muttered. "You act like it's so different from you and Natasha. When did you two start dating anyway? She went from the assassin that did kill you to your partner to your girlfriend and no one is really clear on when any of that happened. We just know that it did. We think. You two are kind of weird, you know?"

"Oh, I know. And I believe the word you're looking for is awesome," Clint smirked. "Besides I know where Tasha and I stand. Hell, I married her a couple of times."

"Those so don't count," Aaron protested. "Hawkeye and Black Widow have gotten married but Clint and Natasha haven't."

"I know," Clint sighed. "Grandma pretty much reminds me of that every single day."

"Me too. I told Marta not to leave her birth control lying around or else Grandma was going to switch it with breath mints. She really wants some great grandkids, dude," Aaron replied. That's when they realized it was quiet around them. They found the entire IMF team, Will included, staring at them.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"He's Hawkeye?" Benji asked, pointing at Clint before looking at Clint directly. "You're Hawkeye? As in the Avenger Hawkeye?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"You know Tony Stark!" Benji pulled his phone out of his pocket. He handed it over to Ethan with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, Ethan. But Tony Stark!"

"I'm confused," Will said looking between the two self-appointed SHIELD recruits. "When exactly did I say either of you could join SHIELD?"

"You really think we're letting you go now?" Jane asked, arching an eyebrow. "We worked well together. It would be a shame to let that go to waste."

"I mean really that's pretty much the only reason why we came back," Benji added.

"Uh, hello?"

Jane and Benji gave him a blank look. "What? Was anything we said not true? IMF takes from us all the time and we get nothing in return. SHIELD at least lets you have a life. It at least lets you keep remnants of your dead partner."

"It lets you keep your wife," Clint muttered, not at all helping.

Ethan sighed, glancing over his shoulder at his wife who by now was boarding the ferry once again with a cup of coffee in hand. He stared at her for several long moments while clearly struggling with some internal debate. Finally, he reached some sort of conclusion because he took his own phone and threw it down on the table with the others.

"Are there any other positions open at SHIELD?"

"No!"

"Clint!" Will hissed.

"He's got a point."

"Aaron!"

"What?" Aaron asked with a frown.

"I'm telling Dad!"

"You're such a brat!" Clint retorted, glaring at his twin. "Fine, let the dude that ruined your life on the team."

"See if we care," Aaron finished.

Ethan blinked looking between the three brothers in shock. "Oh my god, there are three of you. There are actually three Wills in this world."

"You have no idea," they all replied in unison.

"That's creepy."

"We know. That's why we do it."

The first thing Phil did after greeting his sons was to hand three folders to the newest additions to SHIELD. Will wanted to be surprised that he knew they were coming but he wasn't. This was Phil Coulson. Phil who was known as Nick Fury's good eye. So Will was definitely not surprised. Too bad he was the only one that wasn't.

"How did you know?" Clint asked, looking between his father and the agents that were reviewing their no doubt scarily accurate paperwork.

"I always know, Clint," Phil reminded him. Clint narrowed his eyes before transferring his attention back to his twin.

"Are you completely sure that he's not actually bugging us?"

Will snorted. "I know he put a tracker on you two. But I don't think he's bugging us."

"Wait. What?! You put a tracker on us?!"

Phil scoffed, taking a sip from his coffee like his two grown sons were not having a temper tantrum in front of their guests. "You act like this is something that so completely out of the ordinary. First, it was Aaron. Mostly because he's black ops and has a tendency to go off-grid with Wade. Then three months ago, I came to the conclusion that Clint goes missing entirely too frequently, and looking for you is a waste of resources."

Clint looked scandalized while Aaron looked bored. At least one of them could accept that he was a trouble magnet.

"Besides, it's not like you guys are the only one. I had Will outfitted with one last month as well."

Will's jaw dropped. "Dad!"