Clint Barton/Phil Coulson Avengers recs
Aug. 17th, 2013 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereI've been saying for a few weeks that I'll post a list of Clint Barton/Phil Coulson Avengers recs. It took me most of the afternoon -- because I kept getting distracted and reading the stories again -- but it's now done. I can't promise that these will appeal to everyone or that they're even a good selection of all available fics. These are simply the stories that I love the most -- out of what I've read -- and I'll try to explain why.
***
First, my favourite Clint/Coulson fic: Losing Sight of the Shore by Casspeach. It's 23K of words and aliens made them do it (or Asgardians, but same difference), but it remains the Phil/Clint story that I've re-read the most and come back to most frequently.
I am fond of aliens made them do it/sex pollen/drunken make-out sessions; I like stories of inhibitions lowering and self-controlled characters getting what they really want, but the marvel of this story is honestly the characterisation. The sex is hot (very hot and it works for me like crazy), but it's the characterisation of Phil and Clint that I really adore.
"Oh please God, let it be a sense of humor," Tony interjected, and got glared at by everyone else, although it was possibly only Clint who thought Coulson's current sense of humor was basically perfect.
I should take a moment to say that the rest of the team are also fairly awesome, and if anyone occasionally deserved a quick punch to the face, it's Tony Stark. It's kind of one of my favourite moments, not just for the image but for the background of thoughts and motivations between the lines.
"Who even knew Coulson was capable of—" Tony said, before Clint's fist shut him up. He staggered back. "What? Come on, it's funny. You don't think this is even a little bit—" he shut himself off when Clint raised his arm again, because no, it wasn't funny. Maybe if it had been anyone else, even himself, it might have been, but Coulson was...Coulson was the most private man Clint had ever met, and the most together, and this had to be killing him.
"Stark, please shut up." Coulson interjected, sounding pained. "And Barton, stop hitting your teammates. It isn't good for unit cohesion."
And that? That was funny. Although it did also feel like it was tearing something important in Clint's chest.
I love that Clint is sarcastic and obnoxious and infatuated with Phil. I love that he's well aware of his own shortcomings and his self-esteem issues. He's even self-aware enough to see how he can focus on the negative news even if he can't always stop himself from reacting on instinct.
He wondered how many other times there'd been, how often Coulson had been so ridiculously, unnecessarily careful of him. He even had enough self-awareness to wonder if that wasn't part of why Coulson was his favourite handler.
Phil Coulson is one of those capable, competent, apparently-conservative characters that no-one should be surprised by me falling for. I love that the Phil in this story is responsible and considerate of Clint. I really like the idea of taking care/not being careless with those you love, and it's an ongoing theme of this story.
But one of things I really love about this story is the little insight towards the end about being Phil Coulson and the difficulties of dating. It really isn't easy to balance a ridiculous level of clearance with a social life, but that hasn't stopped Phil from trying to put clint's needs first. I love a quietly noble character.
Plus, deadpan sarcasm is the best thing ever:
"I can even work through 'I got my heart broken,' just, you know, for information."
"My first pet was a cat, named Jemima," Coulson said. "We got her from a shelter."
"Uh, okay," Clint said slowly, and Coulson looked up from where he was rearranging Fury's to do pile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are we not sharing information about ourselves that will never be relevant again?" he said. "I thought that was what we were doing."
It's kind of hard to summarise why I keep coming back to this story, but it's a lot more than it appears. It's hot, it's well characterised and some of the lines are brilliantly funny, but it's also Phil and Clint dealing with post-movie scars. It's taking a chance -- that you don't quite believe in -- with the person you trust most in the world. It *works* for me, so it has to be on the top of my list.
***
I've recced 10, 9, 8, car by Pollyrepeat before, but it should be on this list. A good Groundhog Day fusion is a thing of joy and beauty, and this is all that and more.
Watching Clint go through day after day, trying to save Phil and keep it together like a SHEILD employee should, is the right mix of adventure and underlying heartache. I love the team dynamics in this story and how well it flows, and the tiny little epilogue of scenes at the end.
I also have to pimp the audiofic version because the irritation of waking up every day to an annoying pop song is so much more understandable when you actually hear that song. *shudders*
***
Just Another Guy With A Bow by Myrmidryad is an epically long (94K) Clint Barton character study. I mean, yes, there is awesome Phil/Clint there, but most of the beauty of this story is seeing inside Clint -- from the Circus to SHEILD, his relationships with Natasha, Barney and Phil, the moments big and small that made him who he is.
I am someone who loves music -- not so much live music, but I love listening to songs and singing along -- and associates memories with music. One of the big themes in this story is Clint thinking about his life in terms of music (and, heh, his teen-years music is my teen-years music. You know you're an adult when fictional characters are now of an age to remember your teen years' pop references) and it really worked for me. It's a nice way of anchoring the character into reality and helping the reader feel the passing time in the story.
Of course, I wouldn't recommend this if I didn't enjoy the Clint/Phil vibe in it. Right from Phil's earliest introduction (He’s always dressed impeccably, he always looks approachable and unassuming, and he can deliver threats with a sort of kindness that makes Clint laugh out loud for their daring as much for the fact that Coulson could actually carry them through with no trouble at all. ), it's clear that he's caught Clint's attention. Sometimes, you like a story that starts with both characters interested in each other; sometimes you like a slower story like this, that shows you each tiny step of characters growing closer together, falling for each other without quite realising it. I loved the build-up of this story, the way I eagerly kept reading for Phil's next appearance.
“You passed,” Coulson nods and shoots him a faint smile. “Now you get to meet the boss.”
“Why, sir,” he widens his eyes and puts a hand on his chest, “aren’t you the boss?”
Coulson gives him a look that tells Clint that he’s both amused and totally able to break each of Clint’s fingers without breaking a sweat while he holds him still for the procedure. “I’ll always be your boss, Barton,” he says, and Clint grins wide and unrepentant.
There's a really nice flow to this story, but I'll warn you that it's the type of story not to start reading at night: before you know it, you're hooked in and staying up way too late to keep reading.
***
Ordinary Workplace Hazards is technically the third installment of a series by scifigrl47. The "how Clint and Phil got together" story is SHIELD Has Paperwork for Everything. Now, there's nothing wrong with SHEILD Has Paperwork for Everything -- Clint and Phil and Natasha, and protective, deadly Phil Coulson is very awesome -- but personally, there's something about Ordinary Workplace Hazards that I really like.
Maybe it's the tone of the piece -- it's a team adventure story, but it's also a story of tracking down what's happened to Tony's army of improved, hive-minded roombas so right there, you can tell it's light-hearted. Maybe it's the shifting POVs, and the way that you get to see a slice of Clint and Phil messing around during times of not-great-danger and you get to see them individually interacting with the rest of the team.
“Why do I love you, again?”
“It's one of the mysteries of the world, sir.” Clint shouldered his bow. “I suspect it's because you have trashy, trashy tastes.”
Maybe it's just the idea of Clint making the most of being stranded from the team and deciding that if there's a crown lying around, he might as well be wearing it and welcoming people to Bartonia. It's a fun, upbeat story and worth the read.
(Also, Phil purposely being a tease and then pulling the 'not appropriate at work' ploy is one of the best things ever. And Clint would agree with me.)
And the audiofic of this story is fantastically fun too. Especially with the robot noises.
***
Catch Your Voice by Lavvyan isn't the first or only fic that focuses on the idea of Clint getting to know Coulson over comms, but it takes the idea and runs with it. I really like the snarkiness of Coulson and the professional competence of Clint in this story. It's also funny. Any fic with the line, Coulson's pan is so dead it's become its own field of archeology is bound to be good.
I also like Clint and Natasha being besties, even if they are the kind of besties that probably talk about boys while either cleaning weapons or filling out mission reports.
Her eyes are dancing, and he wishes he didn't love her so much, wishes he loved her more, wishes they loved each other differently so they'd make at least a little bit of sense.
It's true that different fandoms and different OTPs tend to reflect different traits. There are common themes within main pairings, and Clint/Coulson seems to be a lot of sarcasm, competence and trust. My favourite stories all seem to involve understated humour and slow reveals, time to build up affection and get to know the other person.
This story has that -- slow build of Clint's crush, slow reveal of who Coulson as a person rather than a sarcastic, reliable voice down a comm line -- but it also has something I rarely see in fic: the refusal. Anyone who's asked someone out knows how humiliating it can be to ask someone out and have them refuse (even if they do it nicely), but it's something that rarely happens in fic. There are misunderstandings or confusion, or dates-that-aren't-really-dates-until-they-are, but this story stands out as having a really simple, realistic description of liking someone, taking a chance, and getting over being refused. It's refreshing.
(It's also not the end of the story, so don't avoid it on that sake. Trust me, I'd mention if there wasn't a happily ever after waiting there.)
And it gets points for fleshing out SHEILD with other agents. I especially liked Agent Li, right from her first line:
"SHIELD doesn't hire crybabies," she says flatly. "It's just a break."
***
The Nesting Habits of the Wild North American Barton by Sabinelagrande is a short story (3K) and rather sweetly understated. I'm starting to notice a trend of Clint-POV stories (no, seriously, I don't think I've recced one story from Phil's POV) but this is another one that I like. Clint who likes to sleep in his cache, who feels most secure when other people can't find him, gets used to Phil finding him.
It's a sweet little story, one of those that focuses on the unspoken ways you get to know someone well, and also comes in podfic form.
***
But I Will Hold On Hope (And I Won't Let You Choke) by Perpetual Motion. I always think of this story as Clint vs the Annoying Handlers (playing practical jokes with Hummel figurines will always be a wonderful mental image) but it's a lot more than that. It's Sitwell being a foul-mouthed matchmaker, it's Clint trying to deal with Phil's mixed and screwy signals and it's Phil freaking out and totally trying to ignore emotions and coming surprisingly close to screwing it up before anything begins.
It's a story that I never remember clearly when I start reading it and yet get sucked into every time.
***
Relief by Infiniteeight is sort of an AU. It's comicsverse Hawkeye meeting movieverse Phil, but you don't need comic-book knowledge to enjoy this. Or at least, I had no comics knowledge and I picked up what I needed from the story as it went. It's essentially a nice romantic getting-to-know-you story, the kind where you spark up a casual conversation in a bar and it eventually turns into something. There's a low-key feel to this story that I really like and it's interesting to see Phil and Clint bond without the handler/agent hierachy or inherent trust.
And, unsurprisingly, I'm a sucker for a story with a few funny lines:
"There's a lifetime allowance for hotness," Clint says, running his hands over Phil's shoulders. "I blew mine on my early thirties; I'm going to be hideous by 38."
***
Last but not least (seriously, I didn't realise I'd collected so many favourite stories in this fandom), Ring Around the Roses by Tawabids is another canon-related AU. (There are some pairings that lend themselves well to complete AUs -- John/Rodney, especially, but Arthur/Eames is another that works well -- and there are some where all I want to read is canon-related. A lot of what works for me in Clint/Coulson is clearly related to the level of competence and trust in their working relationship.)
The fic summary does explain it well:
Tony Stark wants Agent Coulson to live in the tower with the rest of the team. But Coulson has responsibilities they don't know about: caring for his partner Clint Barton, an ex-SHIELD assassin irreparably damaged after a mission that went wrong several years earlier.
Tony wants to help. Coulson wants to keep everyone happy. Clint just wants a garden and for the Avengers to piss off and let him grow weed in peace.
It's really more a team story than just a Phil/Clint. It's everyone getting to know Clint as much as it's about Phil's relationship with Clint. It takes the time to set up the story, and it works well.
***
And I lied. There's another story to rec, Guarantee by Infiniteeight because every fandom occasionally needs a dystopian romance. I blame SV fandom and the epics of what someone termed "monsters in love" (was that Seperis or Te? I think it was one of them, but they're probably equally to blame), but I sometimes have a weakness for seeing the heroes I love as incredibly competant villians.
This SHEILD would secretly rule the world.
***
Also, while I'm reccing stories, I might as well also rec the smutty ones. I'm making no claims about the plots of these stories, I'm simply saying that they worked for me so I might as well share the links:
Have a Good Time by Sabinelagrande -- Clint/Phil, a little bit of roleplay. While I sometimes find age-gap scenes hot, I can also find them a bit squicky. This manages to hit the kink without the concern.
"How's it feel to be 48, old man?" Clint says.
Phil laughs. "I'm only ten-"
Clint puts a hand over his mouth. "Don't spoil it."
My Heart in My Hand by sheanie -- Fisting. Post-movie. Definitely a PWP, but hot.
Say It -- First up, I will say that this one warns for dubious consent, and if that's a trigger, I'd avoid it. We start with Clint stubbornly trying to get Phil to lose his cool, teasing and flirting until Phil does something about it -- not factoring that Phil is damn competent at everything he does, and basically biting off far more than he can chew.
***
First, my favourite Clint/Coulson fic: Losing Sight of the Shore by Casspeach. It's 23K of words and aliens made them do it (or Asgardians, but same difference), but it remains the Phil/Clint story that I've re-read the most and come back to most frequently.
I am fond of aliens made them do it/sex pollen/drunken make-out sessions; I like stories of inhibitions lowering and self-controlled characters getting what they really want, but the marvel of this story is honestly the characterisation. The sex is hot (very hot and it works for me like crazy), but it's the characterisation of Phil and Clint that I really adore.
"Oh please God, let it be a sense of humor," Tony interjected, and got glared at by everyone else, although it was possibly only Clint who thought Coulson's current sense of humor was basically perfect.
I should take a moment to say that the rest of the team are also fairly awesome, and if anyone occasionally deserved a quick punch to the face, it's Tony Stark. It's kind of one of my favourite moments, not just for the image but for the background of thoughts and motivations between the lines.
"Who even knew Coulson was capable of—" Tony said, before Clint's fist shut him up. He staggered back. "What? Come on, it's funny. You don't think this is even a little bit—" he shut himself off when Clint raised his arm again, because no, it wasn't funny. Maybe if it had been anyone else, even himself, it might have been, but Coulson was...Coulson was the most private man Clint had ever met, and the most together, and this had to be killing him.
"Stark, please shut up." Coulson interjected, sounding pained. "And Barton, stop hitting your teammates. It isn't good for unit cohesion."
And that? That was funny. Although it did also feel like it was tearing something important in Clint's chest.
I love that Clint is sarcastic and obnoxious and infatuated with Phil. I love that he's well aware of his own shortcomings and his self-esteem issues. He's even self-aware enough to see how he can focus on the negative news even if he can't always stop himself from reacting on instinct.
He wondered how many other times there'd been, how often Coulson had been so ridiculously, unnecessarily careful of him. He even had enough self-awareness to wonder if that wasn't part of why Coulson was his favourite handler.
Phil Coulson is one of those capable, competent, apparently-conservative characters that no-one should be surprised by me falling for. I love that the Phil in this story is responsible and considerate of Clint. I really like the idea of taking care/not being careless with those you love, and it's an ongoing theme of this story.
But one of things I really love about this story is the little insight towards the end about being Phil Coulson and the difficulties of dating. It really isn't easy to balance a ridiculous level of clearance with a social life, but that hasn't stopped Phil from trying to put clint's needs first. I love a quietly noble character.
Plus, deadpan sarcasm is the best thing ever:
"I can even work through 'I got my heart broken,' just, you know, for information."
"My first pet was a cat, named Jemima," Coulson said. "We got her from a shelter."
"Uh, okay," Clint said slowly, and Coulson looked up from where he was rearranging Fury's to do pile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are we not sharing information about ourselves that will never be relevant again?" he said. "I thought that was what we were doing."
It's kind of hard to summarise why I keep coming back to this story, but it's a lot more than it appears. It's hot, it's well characterised and some of the lines are brilliantly funny, but it's also Phil and Clint dealing with post-movie scars. It's taking a chance -- that you don't quite believe in -- with the person you trust most in the world. It *works* for me, so it has to be on the top of my list.
***
I've recced 10, 9, 8, car by Pollyrepeat before, but it should be on this list. A good Groundhog Day fusion is a thing of joy and beauty, and this is all that and more.
Watching Clint go through day after day, trying to save Phil and keep it together like a SHEILD employee should, is the right mix of adventure and underlying heartache. I love the team dynamics in this story and how well it flows, and the tiny little epilogue of scenes at the end.
I also have to pimp the audiofic version because the irritation of waking up every day to an annoying pop song is so much more understandable when you actually hear that song. *shudders*
***
Just Another Guy With A Bow by Myrmidryad is an epically long (94K) Clint Barton character study. I mean, yes, there is awesome Phil/Clint there, but most of the beauty of this story is seeing inside Clint -- from the Circus to SHEILD, his relationships with Natasha, Barney and Phil, the moments big and small that made him who he is.
I am someone who loves music -- not so much live music, but I love listening to songs and singing along -- and associates memories with music. One of the big themes in this story is Clint thinking about his life in terms of music (and, heh, his teen-years music is my teen-years music. You know you're an adult when fictional characters are now of an age to remember your teen years' pop references) and it really worked for me. It's a nice way of anchoring the character into reality and helping the reader feel the passing time in the story.
Of course, I wouldn't recommend this if I didn't enjoy the Clint/Phil vibe in it. Right from Phil's earliest introduction (He’s always dressed impeccably, he always looks approachable and unassuming, and he can deliver threats with a sort of kindness that makes Clint laugh out loud for their daring as much for the fact that Coulson could actually carry them through with no trouble at all. ), it's clear that he's caught Clint's attention. Sometimes, you like a story that starts with both characters interested in each other; sometimes you like a slower story like this, that shows you each tiny step of characters growing closer together, falling for each other without quite realising it. I loved the build-up of this story, the way I eagerly kept reading for Phil's next appearance.
“You passed,” Coulson nods and shoots him a faint smile. “Now you get to meet the boss.”
“Why, sir,” he widens his eyes and puts a hand on his chest, “aren’t you the boss?”
Coulson gives him a look that tells Clint that he’s both amused and totally able to break each of Clint’s fingers without breaking a sweat while he holds him still for the procedure. “I’ll always be your boss, Barton,” he says, and Clint grins wide and unrepentant.
There's a really nice flow to this story, but I'll warn you that it's the type of story not to start reading at night: before you know it, you're hooked in and staying up way too late to keep reading.
***
Ordinary Workplace Hazards is technically the third installment of a series by scifigrl47. The "how Clint and Phil got together" story is SHIELD Has Paperwork for Everything. Now, there's nothing wrong with SHEILD Has Paperwork for Everything -- Clint and Phil and Natasha, and protective, deadly Phil Coulson is very awesome -- but personally, there's something about Ordinary Workplace Hazards that I really like.
Maybe it's the tone of the piece -- it's a team adventure story, but it's also a story of tracking down what's happened to Tony's army of improved, hive-minded roombas so right there, you can tell it's light-hearted. Maybe it's the shifting POVs, and the way that you get to see a slice of Clint and Phil messing around during times of not-great-danger and you get to see them individually interacting with the rest of the team.
“Why do I love you, again?”
“It's one of the mysteries of the world, sir.” Clint shouldered his bow. “I suspect it's because you have trashy, trashy tastes.”
Maybe it's just the idea of Clint making the most of being stranded from the team and deciding that if there's a crown lying around, he might as well be wearing it and welcoming people to Bartonia. It's a fun, upbeat story and worth the read.
(Also, Phil purposely being a tease and then pulling the 'not appropriate at work' ploy is one of the best things ever. And Clint would agree with me.)
And the audiofic of this story is fantastically fun too. Especially with the robot noises.
***
Catch Your Voice by Lavvyan isn't the first or only fic that focuses on the idea of Clint getting to know Coulson over comms, but it takes the idea and runs with it. I really like the snarkiness of Coulson and the professional competence of Clint in this story. It's also funny. Any fic with the line, Coulson's pan is so dead it's become its own field of archeology is bound to be good.
I also like Clint and Natasha being besties, even if they are the kind of besties that probably talk about boys while either cleaning weapons or filling out mission reports.
Her eyes are dancing, and he wishes he didn't love her so much, wishes he loved her more, wishes they loved each other differently so they'd make at least a little bit of sense.
It's true that different fandoms and different OTPs tend to reflect different traits. There are common themes within main pairings, and Clint/Coulson seems to be a lot of sarcasm, competence and trust. My favourite stories all seem to involve understated humour and slow reveals, time to build up affection and get to know the other person.
This story has that -- slow build of Clint's crush, slow reveal of who Coulson as a person rather than a sarcastic, reliable voice down a comm line -- but it also has something I rarely see in fic: the refusal. Anyone who's asked someone out knows how humiliating it can be to ask someone out and have them refuse (even if they do it nicely), but it's something that rarely happens in fic. There are misunderstandings or confusion, or dates-that-aren't-really-dates-until-they-are, but this story stands out as having a really simple, realistic description of liking someone, taking a chance, and getting over being refused. It's refreshing.
(It's also not the end of the story, so don't avoid it on that sake. Trust me, I'd mention if there wasn't a happily ever after waiting there.)
And it gets points for fleshing out SHEILD with other agents. I especially liked Agent Li, right from her first line:
"SHIELD doesn't hire crybabies," she says flatly. "It's just a break."
***
The Nesting Habits of the Wild North American Barton by Sabinelagrande is a short story (3K) and rather sweetly understated. I'm starting to notice a trend of Clint-POV stories (no, seriously, I don't think I've recced one story from Phil's POV) but this is another one that I like. Clint who likes to sleep in his cache, who feels most secure when other people can't find him, gets used to Phil finding him.
It's a sweet little story, one of those that focuses on the unspoken ways you get to know someone well, and also comes in podfic form.
***
But I Will Hold On Hope (And I Won't Let You Choke) by Perpetual Motion. I always think of this story as Clint vs the Annoying Handlers (playing practical jokes with Hummel figurines will always be a wonderful mental image) but it's a lot more than that. It's Sitwell being a foul-mouthed matchmaker, it's Clint trying to deal with Phil's mixed and screwy signals and it's Phil freaking out and totally trying to ignore emotions and coming surprisingly close to screwing it up before anything begins.
It's a story that I never remember clearly when I start reading it and yet get sucked into every time.
***
Relief by Infiniteeight is sort of an AU. It's comicsverse Hawkeye meeting movieverse Phil, but you don't need comic-book knowledge to enjoy this. Or at least, I had no comics knowledge and I picked up what I needed from the story as it went. It's essentially a nice romantic getting-to-know-you story, the kind where you spark up a casual conversation in a bar and it eventually turns into something. There's a low-key feel to this story that I really like and it's interesting to see Phil and Clint bond without the handler/agent hierachy or inherent trust.
And, unsurprisingly, I'm a sucker for a story with a few funny lines:
"There's a lifetime allowance for hotness," Clint says, running his hands over Phil's shoulders. "I blew mine on my early thirties; I'm going to be hideous by 38."
***
Last but not least (seriously, I didn't realise I'd collected so many favourite stories in this fandom), Ring Around the Roses by Tawabids is another canon-related AU. (There are some pairings that lend themselves well to complete AUs -- John/Rodney, especially, but Arthur/Eames is another that works well -- and there are some where all I want to read is canon-related. A lot of what works for me in Clint/Coulson is clearly related to the level of competence and trust in their working relationship.)
The fic summary does explain it well:
Tony Stark wants Agent Coulson to live in the tower with the rest of the team. But Coulson has responsibilities they don't know about: caring for his partner Clint Barton, an ex-SHIELD assassin irreparably damaged after a mission that went wrong several years earlier.
Tony wants to help. Coulson wants to keep everyone happy. Clint just wants a garden and for the Avengers to piss off and let him grow weed in peace.
It's really more a team story than just a Phil/Clint. It's everyone getting to know Clint as much as it's about Phil's relationship with Clint. It takes the time to set up the story, and it works well.
***
And I lied. There's another story to rec, Guarantee by Infiniteeight because every fandom occasionally needs a dystopian romance. I blame SV fandom and the epics of what someone termed "monsters in love" (was that Seperis or Te? I think it was one of them, but they're probably equally to blame), but I sometimes have a weakness for seeing the heroes I love as incredibly competant villians.
This SHEILD would secretly rule the world.
***
Also, while I'm reccing stories, I might as well also rec the smutty ones. I'm making no claims about the plots of these stories, I'm simply saying that they worked for me so I might as well share the links:
Have a Good Time by Sabinelagrande -- Clint/Phil, a little bit of roleplay. While I sometimes find age-gap scenes hot, I can also find them a bit squicky. This manages to hit the kink without the concern.
"How's it feel to be 48, old man?" Clint says.
Phil laughs. "I'm only ten-"
Clint puts a hand over his mouth. "Don't spoil it."
My Heart in My Hand by sheanie -- Fisting. Post-movie. Definitely a PWP, but hot.
Say It -- First up, I will say that this one warns for dubious consent, and if that's a trigger, I'd avoid it. We start with Clint stubbornly trying to get Phil to lose his cool, teasing and flirting until Phil does something about it -- not factoring that Phil is damn competent at everything he does, and basically biting off far more than he can chew.
