At the End of the Night
By the end of the week, everyone in the compound noticed. Clint’s supposed “return” to his own room had become a joke among the team. Natasha, of course, was the first to call him out.
“Tell me again how your room is ‘all fixed,’” she said over coffee one morning, her eyebrow arched in that way that meant she already knew everything.
Clint, who was sitting across from her, stifled a groan. “It is fixed.”
Natasha smirked, taking a sip of her coffee. “And yet, you’re still sneaking into Tony’s room every night like some lovesick teenager.”
“I am not sneaking,” Clint protested, but the heat rising in his face betrayed him.
“Mm-hmm,” she said, clearly unimpressed. “So, what’s the deal? You two dating now, or are you just really bad at being subtle?”
Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s… complicated.”
Natasha’s smirk softened into something more genuine. “Does it feel complicated?”
Clint hesitated. “No. Not really.”
“Then maybe it’s not,” she said simply, standing up and patting him on the shoulder before walking away.
That night, when Clint slid into Tony’s bed, Tony was already there, lying on his back with a book in hand.
“You’re getting bold,” Tony teased, not looking up. “Not even waiting for me to fall asleep anymore.”
Clint rolled his eyes, pulling the blanket over himself. “Nat knows.”
Tony snorted. “Natasha knows everything. That’s not news.”
“No, I mean she really knows,” Clint said, his voice muffled by the pillow. “She asked if we were dating.”
Tony finally set the book down, turning to look at Clint with a raised eyebrow. “And what did you say?”
“I said it’s complicated,” Clint admitted.
Tony frowned, his expression hard to read. “Is it?”
Clint blinked, caught off guard by the question. “I mean, yeah. Isn’t it?”
Tony was quiet for a moment, then said, “I don’t think it has to be. I mean, we’re already doing… whatever this is. Sharing a bed, stealing each other’s blankets, me letting you eat my last box of Pop-Tarts—”
“I did not—” Clint started, then stopped when Tony gave him a look. “Okay, maybe I did, but that’s beside the point.”
“The point,” Tony said, smirking, “is that we’re already acting like we’re together. So why not just… call it what it is?”
Clint stared at him, searching for any sign that Tony wasn’t being serious. But there was no sarcasm in his expression, no trace of the usual deflection Tony used to guard himself.
“You really mean that?” Clint asked.
“Yeah,” Tony said softly. “I do.”
Clint felt a strange mix of relief and fear settle in his chest. “Okay. Yeah. Let’s call it what it is.”
Tony grinned, leaning back against the pillows. “Good. Now we can stop pretending to be sneaky. Everyone already knows, anyway.”
Clint groaned, burying his face in the pillow again. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And yet, here you are,” Tony said with a laugh, throwing an arm around Clint and pulling him closer.
The next morning, Steve walked into the kitchen to find Clint and Tony sitting at the counter together, shoulder to shoulder, eating breakfast.
“You two seem… cozy,” Steve said, his tone carefully neutral.
Tony didn’t miss a beat. “Why, Cap, are you jealous?”
Steve sighed, clearly regretting saying anything. “I was just making an observation.”
“Observation noted,” Tony said, grinning as he popped a piece of bacon into his mouth.
Clint shot Steve a sheepish look but didn’t move away from Tony.
As Steve walked away, muttering something about needing more coffee, Tony leaned closer to Clint. “See? Not complicated.”
Clint rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the small smile on his face.
That night, Clint didn’t hesitate before heading to Tony’s room. He didn’t wait until the compound was quiet, didn’t try to slip in unnoticed.
When he opened the door, Tony looked up from his tablet, already smirking. “And here I thought you’d play hard to get.”
Clint shook his head, shutting the door behind him. “Not worth the effort.”
Tony laughed, setting the tablet aside as Clint climbed into bed.
For the first time in a long time, Clint felt like he didn’t have to keep his guard up.
And for Tony, letting someone in didn’t feel as terrifying as it once had.
They still had a lot to figure out, but for now, this was enough.
Because at the end of the night, it was just the two of them. Just Tony, and just Clint.