He had almost forgotten how good these words sounded to his ears. He had almost forgotten how much he loved hearing them. He had almost forgotten the delightful feeling that invaded him everytime he pronounced them.

Actually, he had made sure to forget. He had made sure to never have to hear them again and to never have to suffer that pain anymore.

And he really thought he had been clear about that, he was sure that Tony had understood the silent pleading in his eyes on that fateful day.
But apparently, he had assumed wrong. Maybe the younger agent wasn't that bright after all. Or maybe he was a moron and Tony was the clever one because he knew that these particular words would get his attention instantly.

And they did. And contrary to what he always believed, they didn't shatter his ageing heart more than he already was, they didn't broke him more and leave him cold and shaken.

The words he had dreaded to hear for almost a year had made him smile, had warmed him up and had even mend a little part of his broken heart as two years of happy memories flooded his mind. A handshake, a smile, a friendly hug, a flirty laugh, a first kiss, an unhappy bedhead, goosebumps covering a milky-skinned body, his hands on that skin, his mouth on that body.

A slight shake of his head had brought him out of the flow of the images he would have wanted to lose himself in and back on his mission but with a new hope he hadn't felt in months in his heart and Tony's words still floating in his mind.

Special agent Caitlin Todd is out looking for your mom.