tasernanny | Dream of Californication

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[with: pissant]

Dream of Californication

It’s a gorgeous California spring day. The sun is shining, the air warm and softly scented with flowers. And fresh produce. The farmer’s market sprawls across the lush manicured lawn of a city park. There’s a gazebo in the center with a live bluegrass band. Honestly, it’s a perfect morning straight out of a movie.

Phil has a travel mug of coffee in one hand and Scott’s in the other, fingers laced together because Phil is a sap. He likes holding hands. And after putting Scott through his sexual paces last night it’s nice to be sweet and gentle with him.

“You know,” he says, studying the market through the lenses of his sunglasses. “I should bring something back for the team.”

They were very curious when he said he was taking leave for the weekend but he also refused to say where he was going and what he was doing. He imagined it was driving them all crazy back at base.

They’d better not use the satellites to spy on him. Phil’s told them not to abuse the tech. He’ll worry about that on Monday. When he goes back.

He smiles at Scott. There are a lot of stalls to see. Somewhere someone’s selling bread. He can smell that in the air but they only just got here and Phil doesn’t want to rush.

“You’ve got to have a vendor you always visit.” Phil’s guessing but he has a good read on Scott. The man would absolutely pick favorite vendor who’s fruits and vegetables were better than anyone else’s.

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While Phil has a rebellious streak sometimes he also has a very soft, romantic heart. When he is with someone Phil commits rather... hard. He wants a relationship with Scott and that means just the two of them. Defined and clear about what they both want and need. He can be a little intense at times.

"We're both only human. I think we would exhaust ourselves before we reached the second day." And they're both a little older, comfortably so. As intense and active as their sex life together was they burned themselves out eventually.

Which was good because it allowed them time to do fun things like visit a farmer's market and cook together.

"This was a really fun time out." He smiles warmly at Scott. "I'm very jealous of your easy access to this farmer's market."

It's a comfortable intensity that Scott can 100% work with because if he knows the rules he will do his best to follow them, especially when it comes to relationships and especially when he's fallen a bit in love, not just lust, with someone.

Though he has to put on his best offended face at the suggestion of the fact that they'd only last 48 hours. Phil Coulson for shame. "Why I never. I spent months building stamina so that I could stay big. It just about killed me but I found other uses for that extra stamina I'll have you know, so it was totally with it." And that was true, it took a lot out of him to get big. He spent months and months pushing himself to his limits so that he could take that physical drain.

But it worked for other things. He wasn't super human but all that hard work coupled with an enjoyment of edging meant he'd gotten pretty good at lasting. Especially if they took their time...

But then they're talking sweet nothings again and Scott forgets his pride and noses himself into the others shoulder. "The joys of San Francisco, it's a beautiful place."

"You have worked on your stamina. I am human." Phil is willing to correct himself. Scott does have much better stamina than him. His only advantage is control. Phil has fantastic control that can outlast Scott in the right situation. "So, two and a half days."

Phil turns and kisses the top of Scott's head, hiding his smile against his hair. This sweetness is addicting. "It is. More beautiful than Tahiti."

God, Phil hates Tahiti.

"We should grab that coffee cake because while your city is beautiful we've probably only got about forty minutes left on parking." Phil knows no one can tow Lola but he doesn't want a ticket. Those are just annoying to make disappear. It's only two minutes of work but it's still work and he could spend those two minutes doing more important things.

Like saving the world. Texting Scott. Bidding on ebay items. Very important things.

"There you go, that sounds a little better. At least give me my half I earned it." They walk leaned into each other for a moment, mismatching steps before they pull apart just enough to link arms. The sweetness is addicting. But not as addicting as this coffee cake will be. So he'll lead them to it, because he's both still hungry and excited to share. The one they grab for themselves will be promptly sliced, warmed, and buttered as they do up the soup for later.

"Is that a thing? That can't be a thing." He teases, sometimes company can make all the difference in the world when it comes to being in a space that's less than ideal. Traditionally beautiful or not. "She ain't perfect but damned if I don't love her. Glad you've been enjoying, theres a lot more to California to show you." And she doesn't deserve the glaring ticket either, she's too good for that.

Besides Scott's finding it harder and harder to behave himself anyway so best to quit while they're ahead. They make a quick detour at someone who has on offer a lot of fresh veggies, Scott picking up a few handfuls to finish off what will likely be their late lunch, early dinner, before beboping over towards the baker. They have a lot on offer but the coffee cakes look divine. It's clear they're popular because they have to wait their turn to grab one but they're there early enough that there's still plenty to pick from.

He lets Phil pick the two of theirs and Scott grabs an assortment of muffins for easy breakfasts for the week as usual. Once they've picked and purchased they disappear into the thrall of people again, arms hooked and paces matched. Perfectly coupled. It's nice to pretend that they're normal for a morning. As if both of them don't have huge world saving responsibilities looming just beyond the weekend. "Alright, I think that covers everything. And hey we should do this more often." Scott admits with a chipper tone. "I didn't end up with like four bags of stuff, look at you making me all mission orientated." Usually he ends up incredibly distracted and picks up things for about seventeen different meals because he can't decide what he wants. It all gets used, because Scott doesn't waste a thing having been pretty broke up until fairly recently. But it does get questionable towards the end of the week. Thank god for his cast iron gut.

While they're waiting for the coffee cake Phil wraps his arms around Scott from behind to hold him close to his chest. People aren't looking at them. They're busy with their phones or trying to see what's still available. He takes the chance to lightly drag his teeth along the side of Scott's neck and bite down softly at the the skin peeking out from the collar of his shirt.

He then rests his chin on Scott's shoulder like he's being sweet as any of the baked goods ahead of them, his expression perfectly innocent and pleasantly interested in the world.

Because secretly, Phil Coulson is a son of a bitch.

He gets two of the large sized coffee cakes because his team can be ravenous when they're given food that's not cooked in the Bus kitchen. If he's lucky they'll last a week.

"I know how to handle my assets." Phil has been described as goal oriented most of his life. "And letting any of this go to waste feels like it would be a minor crime."

There's a brief moment where he considers offering his services to distract Scott when he's shopping over the phone even when he can't be there in person. But if he can't be there in person he can't promise he can be on the phone either. Work.

"We should. There's a distinct advantage to you being in California where it doesn't snow and get bitterly cold half the year. Farmer's markets are less seasonal." Yes, he's thinking that far ahead in their relationship. It's what Phil does.

The act came as somewhat of a surprise. Not that he was complaining, in fact subconsciously he leans into that playful little nibble. Coulson is so good at taking him by surprise, he honestly should be mad about how many times he catches him so off guard but he's far from it.

He's impressed, mostly because that's usually his job.

It takes about everything he has not to let out a little moan. Everyone is busy doing whatever it is they're doing but you could almost bet money on the fact that if he were to give in and do something of that nature all eyes would be on them and as much as that thought is so damn appealing he knows, he knows they both need to be professional here.

"I have no doubt that you know how to handle your assets." He chirps out his voice low, only loud enough for Phil to hear. And then their conversation is a little more able to be openly spoken about. "Exactly, any time you're looking for that little escape." He doesn't mind that Phil is already envisioning them together further than just the now. It might be a little 'fast' to some people, but the thing about their line of work is that tomorrow they might not be here. So why not enjoy everything to their fullest. "You know you're welcome here."

The nature of his job and the nature of who he was made Phil jump into this head first. He didn't think too much about how fast things were going or how intense his affection for Scott was. There'd be time to examine it later when he felt like being a serious secret agent. This morning he was content to enjoy the warmth in his chest and the smile on his face.

"You've made it very clear exactly how welcome I am." Phil takes Scott's hand for the walk back to where he parked Lola. He's certain she's gotten plenty of admiring looks, maybe even a few pictures taken while he's been gone. She's a beautiful car.

Phil puts his things in the back seat then climbs into the driver seat. He slides his sunglasses on as he waits for Scott to get in.

Once he's settled Phil starts the car and drives them towards Scott's place.

"Good. Cause there is plenty of room in my bed too." He teases as they walk back to the car. Giving Phil's ass a playful little squeeze before they place their loot in the back of the cherry red muscle car. Scott would really have to introduce Phil to the powder blue mustang square body he'd inherited from Hank.

He'd probably enjoy it, Scott was more a fan of the CJ-5 himself, but he might be bias because he'd spent a few summers rehabbing it while he was working on his book. It kept him focused and helped him think. But that's how he got into engineering in the first place; taking things apart and fixing them up.

But it wouldn't quite be the same as Lola, Lola was a different kind of special.

It takes them about a half hour or so to get back to the house. They settled all odds and ends first before Scott brought everything to the kitchen and started setting things out to do his prep work. Settling into his element. "Feel free to free up some space in the pantry for the cakes to keep them out of the sun. I should have a paper bag in there too to make life easier."

They should talk cars one day. Phil helped build Lola. He likes working on cars and understands the mechanics of them, especially the older models. Somehow it hasn't come up but Scott respects his love for Lola and that's all that matters.

"I have to put them out of sight or we're both going to eat them before I can get them to my team," Phil says with a small chuckle as he opens the pantry and starts moving things around. Things are better organized that he expected but it's still a bit of Tetris to make room for the coffee cakes.

With them tucked away Phil moved to the sink and washed his hand. "Consider me your sous chef. Tell me how I can help you."

Scott can handle the cooking himself but Phil wants to help. There's a quiet intimacy to cooking together. They'd get to talk and know each other better outside of sex. Phil's looking forward to doing something so simple and domestic. He was a sucker for domestic moments.

That's how Scott started his whole career in crime, admittedly. Hot-wiring cars in Miami.

He's come a long way.

"I'm telling you, once they get a taste they'll be begging you to grab them all the time." He chuckles as he starts pulling things from where they sat nestled in the homey kitchen. It wasn't big but Scott made it functional. It's easier to grab what he needs than to explain where it is, but he does it in a way that if Phil is paying attention he'll realise where things are soon enough. "If you want could you grab the stock, should be right in the freezer on the left hand side."

He offers the other the dutch oven so that once he finds the cubed, homemade, stock he can load it up. It was nice how they could easily become so wrapped up in something so simple. Scott doesn't mind that Phil is a sucker for the domestics. Because he wants nothing more than this right now. "After you get that sorted if you wanted to make some dough should be everything we need in the island." Scotts not a huge baker, but everything the other should be on the end.

"They might also descend on mass to that farmer's market and get some for themselves." Phil takes the dutch oven and sets it carefully on the stove before he goes to get the stock.

It's not hard to understand why Scott likes fresh food and keeps what he needs stocked up. Phil's not experienced with long prison stays, just the occasional capture by enemy organizations. The food was terrible every time. Home cooked meals always tasted better afterwards. And they still do.

"I'll try to warn you if they do show up. They're intense," he says with a fond chuckle as he broke up a few cubes to drop into the dutch oven. "One or more of them will also threaten you. May, especially."

With the stock handled Phil digs into the island to find what he needs to make a simple bread. It really doesn't take much to make a good bread, just time and patience and the arms for kneading.

It was one of the most important things he wanted to do for Cassie, real food. Then various jail stays and his prison stint just solidified that fact. Hell even the Raft had better food than San Quentin and Scott's not even 100% sure how that worked.

"Is that how they show love huh?" He teases he is somehow not surprised, given what little he knows about the crew. Most of what he's heard comes from Phil but there is always an admiration when he speaks about his team.

Scott leaves them both to do some prep work him cutting up various veggies and pulling out the chorizo from its casing to roll it into little meatballs for the soup and Phil to mix, fold, and knead. Every now and then he catches himself getting distracted watching the other work quietly. Getting wrapped up in how this is just, so nice. The two of them working skillfully together to make something grand.

There's something to be said about that.

It takes them both a good forty minutes or so to sort everything out, the bread set aside to rise and the soup put on low and slow to start its multi hour journey to perfection. Scott will set timers on his phone to periodically come out to stir but aside from that there isn't much babysitting left to do which is the great thing about soup.

It leaves them time for coffee and conversation. So Scott does his due diligence on that front and starts another pot, deciding this time to go a bit fancier pulling out one of his fresher ground options and his press. He doesn't get to break it out often but this lazy afternoon calls for it he thinks. "So your team. Am I gonna get the full gambit when I meet them?"

"My team." Phil can't keep the fondness out of his voice when he thinks of them. How to explain them or prepare Scott to meet them is a bit of a challenge though. They're all going to have different reactions.

He relaxes back in his chair, both hands around his coffee cup. Under the table he rests his ankle against Scott's. "You're going to get a lot of questions about Pym from FitzSimmons. That's Fitz and Simmons but they've basically been partners since the Academy so we tend to refer to them as one unit. They're both brilliant scientists and will want to know everything about your suit and the particles even though they have access to Pym's research while he was part of SHIELD."

Those two will probably be the most annoying to Scott. They aren't the best at social cues and their curiosity can lead them into trouble pretty easily. He trusts Scott won't be a jerk to them but he feels it necessary to warn him about that.

"Daisy is the hacker I mentioned before. She's probably going to ask you about every single crime you've been arrested for. Especially the big one." He smiles fondly again. Daisy is the closest thing he's had to a daughter. She's his favorite even if he won't admit it to anyone out loud. Everyone knows.

"And May has known me since we were rookies at SHIELD. She will threaten you with bodily harm if you hurt me and carry it out. Sorry."

"That's ironic, considering that they'll find more through that than me." Scott is not a stupid person, though he might act like it quite a bit. But when it comes to the science behind the particles he's really at a loss. He's figured out the gear, how it works, and how he can better it. But the particles themselves? That's better left to Hank. But with a whole book and everything he's not entirely shy about sharing. Though most people don't get into the grit of it, nor does he offer.
That'd be different.

But it's better than if they were to go straight to Hank god bless his soul but he's a real ass if he's honest. But then again he and Hope are a little bit on the shit list right now thanks to giving his daughter a suit without even consulting him first. So he might be bias in that thought process currently but he spent a lot of time trying to purposefully keep Cassie out of that world only to have them suck her right into it.

Daisy gets an eyebrow pop. "As long as it doesn't go in some permanent record or something. There is a lot of stuff I left out." Which he probably wont get away with hiding from people like Phils team, hell he's exceedingly aware that what they know alright might fill whole case files.

But one of the reasons Scott did the tell all is that he's found misinformation to be rampant. Easier to tell your side than let people make up shit about him.

Not that, that really stopped it entirely.

"So May is the most important." He settles, from the way the other man speaks it's clear every single part of his team is so much more than that, they're family. But the ones who are more apt to kill him are the ones he really has to keep an eye out for. Although...

"I don't have any intention of harming you." Scott says in earnest, that being said no one can make the promise that he wont. But he will never intend on it, and truth be told if he has his way it'd be far from it. "So I think I'm safe." He offers returning the game of footsie under the table that he's gotten so damn used to over the past few weeks.

"Though I can only imagine what kind of bodily harm a SHIELD agent can do to me. After the whole 'Baba Yaga Incident'." Granted Ava was a LITTLE bit different, but still.

"They might also ask to draw your blood for study." Phil's completely serious about that. FitzSimmons would absolutely be fascinated and happy to study Scott's physiology and what Pym particles are doing to him. He can all too easily imagine the conversation. "You can tell them no. They will eventually back down."

And if they don't Phil will make sure they do. Scott doesn't need to be studied like a 408 specimen. No one does.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "She'll want to trade methodology with you is more likely. When I first met her she was a "hacktivist" calling herself Skye."

Out of all his team Phil imagines Scott and Daisy will get along best. She's grown up and changed a lot in the last few years but she's never really lost that sense of right and wrong that drove her to develop her skills and her heart.

Phil can't really argue that. May's his oldest friend from SHIELD. Since his resurrection she's been his minder and his confidant. "She's the only one who already knows about you. I've kept who you are quiet from the others but not with May. She's sort of my Luis."

"There are a few others I work with too but they're not inclined to follow me to San Francisco for coffee cake and spying on my boyfriend." May wouldn't be either except she has to fly the Bus.

He might draw the line at blood draws, even if it would be sort of interesting to know exactly what they are doing to him. Cause he knows it's something. Despite being from Florida oranges had never been on his radar prior to the suit. Plus the absolute amount of food he can put down, he'd never been a bad eater but there is a part of him sometimes that wonders where the hell it's all going.

But he is not a fan of needles.

"Well she should meet Kurt then. I'm good, but he's fantastic." Scott had spent a lot of time programing and building security systems even before X-Con, it's how he got the job at VistaCorp in the first place, but Kurt brought it to a whole new level. But if she's a 'hacktivist' then she might actually get more out of how he discovered the coding for what started the whole chain of events that lead him down the path of becoming an Avenger. Something he holds on to very dearly even now.

"That makes sense. Everyone needs a Luis. Hopefully yours doesn't talk as much." He teases, albeit affectionately. He can only imagine now the absolute amount of words that'll come out of Luis mouth when he finally meets Phil. He'd thus far, not kept him a secret because he did admit to the other he'd be 'busy'. But meeting a whole 'superhero cop team' might be a bit out there for him quite yet. "Naw? Well that's a bummer on their front because they'd get a hell of a show if they did." He teases leaning over to grab one of Phil's hands. "Though you better warn them if they try and do the whole cameras and tracking stuff they're gonna have a bad time. I built a whole business on being able to find and mitigate that sort of shit." Not that he thinks anyone would try that on, but his house has been bugged before thanks to Woo and His Crew and he'd gotten very good at sniffing that short of shit out, and sometimes using it to his advantage to cause absolute chaos and annoyance.

"Sure, but I'm dating you. Not Kurt. She'll figure out who you are as a person while talking about the work you've done." These are the people he spends almost every waking hour with. He knows exactly how Daisy will get to know Scott and if she doesn't think he's good enough she won't be afraid to tell him.

He doesn't think any of his team won't like Scott, though. He's too nice, too honest, for them not to like. It might take awhile for them to trust him but that won't be because of Scott's past. It will be theirs as members of a shady government organization. They tend not to trust anyone the first time they meet them. And they're wildly protective of him in general.

"May barely talks at all. Don't take it personally." He laces his fingers through Scott's, gently brushing his thumb back and forth. "They're tracking my phone right now, I can promise you that. I'm the Director of SHIELD. There's not much I can do to get them to stop that. But I'll make sure they respect our privacy. Especially yours."

Scott's not being monitored right now. The team doesn't need to make sure every second of the day things are fine around Phil. He can handle himself if things go wrong. And he's with an Avenger. How can they object to his safety when he's spending time with someone trusted to save the world?

"Consider that a blessing." But that statement gets the smallest hint of pink to grace his cheeks. He hopes if only to make a lasting impression on the people who mean the most to Scott. He knows it wont be effortless but that's the thing about Phil.

He's worth the effort.

"Within reason, I mean my life is literally an open book but what I do for me, and only me, is different." And Phil is only for him, at least when they're together.

"So long as they can't break in and listen. Because the things they'd hear." He teases offering a coy little smile to the other. "I had enough of people spying on my life for one lifetime."

"It's working out pretty well for me so far." Phil brings their joined hands up and presses a kiss to his knuckles. It's soft and sappy but also true. Scott Lang is turning out to be a good risk to take.

No relationship is without effort, especially one between two superheroes. Phil doesn't consider himself one. He's still just a very important secret agent. It means they both have tight schedules and not much free time. They'll have to work at this to make sure that it keeps working for them.

"They won't break in," he reassures him. "Not unless they think I'm in danger and they know I'm not. There's a panic code I can put in my phone to call for a rescue. No one working for me is spying on you."

Not anymore. The days of SHIELD constantly monitoring the Avengers are over. Phil doesn't have the manpower and the Avengers aren't exactly SHIELD agents. He can use his limited resources in other, better ways.

"If I want to see you I'll call you and start a video chat. I don't need to use the fancy satellites."

"Oh yeah?" He lets his arm go loose as the other takes it to place a kiss there. He has the same feeling about Phil Coulson. It wont be easy, it wont be easy at all. But he doesn't expect it to be. Thankfully he's gotten somewhat used to working around the 'super' lifestyle. Be it directly or indirectly.

"Well, you're in danger. But not that kinda danger." He chuckles giving the others hand a right squeeze. He's thankful for the fact that he at least doesn't have to worry about that aspect. There's a part of him that knew that but, he just sort of had to confirm it.

"Any time you'd be willing to call, I'll answer. Unless... Well..." A laugh and a shift so that he can lean in closer to the other. "You know why. And that's one of the nice parts about this."

"Mmhm." Phil lets go of Scott's hand so he can put his on the back of his neck and pull him the last few inches across the table to kiss him. Because he can. He's careful to not knock over his coffee or Scott's but it's a small table which makes it easy enough.

He lets him go with a soft peck on his lips and settles back into his seat, the perfect picture of innocent domesticity. Comfortable. That's what Phil is right now. These moments are rare in his life, especially since coming back from the dead. It's nice when they sneak up on him.

"If you can't answer your phone I'm pretty sure I'll be aware of the situation before I call. When you're busy I'm busy behind the scenes." The Avengers could handle things but Phil liked to be aware and ready in case SHIELD was needed. He hadn't given up on defending the world even if his main work these days was tracking down all the Hydra traitors still lurking.

He lets the other close that distance with ease. Leaning into the kiss, letting the other take control of it. To dictate its pace and depth.

It's light, and easy. Just like all of this feels. He's thankful for it in every sense of that word.

"Oh yeah? You out there making sure I'm safe?" He teases, though there is a part of him that sees that. There's always someone behind the scenes, making things work. Funnily enough though Scott has always been somewhat removed from the whole Avengers thing, he may be a member of the team but even now he's almost like an independent contractor. It was nice in some senses because it gave him time to do what he needed, be it X-Con or the work he'd been doing with Reed Richards furthering the whole time research stuff he's started with Bruce and Tony.

They all had their roles to play but right now, in these moments together. It was just Phil and Him and a big ol' pot of soup. And he wanted nothing more.

"You and everyone else in the world."

Phil's behind the scenes work had kept a lot of disasters from happening. Many things that could've grown into an Avengers level crisis were handled by his team and others around the world. The things he knew were... heavy.

But in Scott's sunlit kitchen he could forget those things. He could relax and laugh and trade kisses back and forth. Hell, if they wanted, they could drag each other back to bed and spend the whole day lounging there.

"Though I have a vested interest in keeping your ass safe," he flirts because he can. "It's currently my favorite."

"Mmm, my hero." They do important work, Phil and his team. He will never fault the other for doing what he has to.

But right now Scott wants the full attention on him. Not work, not the world, just... Them. And they can do whatever they want which is why Scott is going to shift in his seat and move closer towards the other, this time dictating the tone of the kiss.

He hooks a hand into the others button down shirt tugging him close and meeting the others lips in a firm kiss. They stay like that for a while until finally Scott lets them both up for a breath of air. "Who said my ass is safe when you're around?"

He braces one hand on Scott's thigh as he leans into the kiss. Phil's smiling against his lips before he returns the kiss. His thumb strokes slowly back and forth while they kiss.

"It's perfectly safe," he murmurs against Scott's jaw. "I'm keeping a very close eye on it."

Phil kisses his pulse before he pulls away. He smiles warmly at Scott. "I could stop and guard other parts of you if your ass needs a break."

There's that teasing, warm tone again.

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i am so sorry for my delays hardcore this weeks been like a cosmic bitchslap LOL

*snorts this tag to get a fix* I'm fine. Don't worry.

i had a jonesing bad for these bois~ hoping we're at tail end of craziness now LOL

fingers crossed for you!

full moon + mecury in retrograde = craziness

come here and let these two dorks sooth your soul

*salutes* hell to the yeah~

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snorts this tag to get a fix I'm fine. Don't worry.

salutes hell to the yeah~