"You will still be an Avenger and unless they want every Avenger up in arms they're going to keep me as a liaison between SHIELD and the Avengers." Again, Phil's sticking to the reasonable response. He knows SHIELD. It's been his life since he left the Rangers.

He reaches across the table and squeezes Clint's wrist. "There might be an official mark in my file. Maybe they threaten bumping my security clearance down. And maybe they force me to take unpaid leave for awhile. But they're not going to let me go."

Phil's confident and comfortable with that. He is ready to face the consequences of this relationship whatever they may be. As long as they don't cost him Clint. He wants to keep Clint fiercely.