Work Text:
Clint was laying in his bed numbly. He had just come to the realization that he was in fact in love with the man he had been dating for nearly a year, Tony Stark. Clint's eyes began watering and he rolled over to bury his face in his pillow as much as possible. He was terrified of telling Tony that he loved him, because knowing Tony, it would probably lead them to his master bedroom down the hall. Clint was terrified, because if he told Tony he didn't want to have sex with him, Tony was going to drop him on his ass just like his last boyfriend had. Although Clint and Phil had ended things on good terms, the relationship had ended because Phil had forced Clint to tell him why he avoided taking the "next step". Phil had said that there was nothing wrong with him, that he just wasn't the right person. Clint knew what he had meant even if he was trying to be nice.
A wave of sadness hit him when he thought about how amazing Tony had been when they first started going on dates. Clint told him he wanted to take things slowly, so Tony didn't even hold his hand until their third date. When they finally kissed, it had been magical. Clint had been in Budapest with Natasha, and when they got back to the tower, he was so overcome with emotion at seeing Tony that he had gone right up to him and kissed him hard enough for him to stumble back against the wall.
Clint jumped when he heard his door open, cursing himself for not locking it. Tony stopped in the door frame at the sight of the redness in Clint's eyes.
"Hey baby, I was just going to tell you that I was going to be down in the lab if you needed me. What's wrong?" Tony asked, not moving any closer. Clint sat up on his bed, wiping at his eyes and gathering himself before standing and crossing the floor to wrap his arms around Tony's waist. Tony ran his fingers through Clint's short hair and held him close.
"Just having a bad day. Glad to see you." Clint mumbled into Tony's neck.
"You know that you can have JARVIS get me any time you want right? I can come up here and just hold you, or we can talk about it, or we can distract you for a little while." Tony grinned a little. Clint tried not to flinch at the remark.
"I know, it was stupid." Clint pulled away from Tony, taking a full step back to put more space in between them than necessary. Tony looked hurt but didn't comment.
"Well, do you want to come downstairs with me and hang out while I yammer on about nothing?" Clint huffed out a laugh, following Tony. Clint didn't take Tony's hand when he offered, and Tony made a disgruntled noise. Once they made it down to the lab, Clint sat curled up in the corner of the futon that Tony slept on more nights than not. Tony talked on and on about an adjustment to the thrusters on his suit that would make him go twenty miles per hour faster.
"I love you." Clint said while Tony was mid sentence. He didn't think he had said it very loud, but when he heard silence for the first time in an hour, he looked up. Tony's mouth was frozen forming a word that had little importance now. His arm dropped to his side from where he had been tapping away on one of his screens. He stared at Clint for what seemed like forever before he managed to walk over to the futon and kneel in front of the archer, who was now trembling. Tony wanted to reach out and comfort him, but he also didn't want to cross any boundaries that went up when Clint was particularly vulnerable.
"Hey-hey babe what's wrong?" Tony had no idea what to do, so he just put his hand next to Clint's. Clint took Tony's hand and threaded their fingers together, a sign that he wanted Tony close. Tony sighed in relief.
"Is that what you were upset about earlier?" Clint nodded just barely. Tony kissed his knuckles before settling on the couch beside him and guiding Clint onto his lap. He could feel hot tears on his neck and Clint sniffling pitifully. Tony held Clint's hand and rubbed his back, not knowing what to say.
"I love you, Clint. I'm sorry it has caused this, but I hope we can talk about it eventually." Tony felt a gentle kiss on his neck in response. Tony pressed a light kiss to the top of Clint's head and re adjusted his arms.
"We do need to have a talk Tony." Clint said after a while. He stood up, offering his hand to Tony. They stood shoulder to shoulder in the spacious elevator, and when they reached the floor with all of their rooms, Clint lead Tony to his room. He sat at the small coffee table and Tony took the seat opposite him. It wasn't the first time Tony had been in Clint's room, but he was still fascinated by the various decorations.
Clint sighed. "We should have had this conversation much earlier, but I guess it's better late than never." Clint looked at his feet. The look on his face was scaring Tony. "I love you. More than I could have imagined, and Tony, it scares the hell out of me," he paused briefly, "This morning, I was thinking about how to have this conversation, and I am terrified of what you're going to do". Clint looked up at the ceiling, trying not to let his tears fall.
"Tony I'm asexual. I don't really want to have sex with anyone. I don't know why, but the idea has always seemed unappealing to me. Before you tell me that I just haven't had the right person, trust me when I say that I have tried it plenty of times, and I just can't. I'm sorry if this changes our relationship. I'm sorry I let it go this far. I'm sorry that I can't do that for you. Most importantly, I'm sorry that I let you down. I know your reputation isn't you, but everyone wants to have sex with the person they love except me I guess. I'm so sorry Tony." Clint finally was able to look at Tony, but wished he hadn't. Tony was nearly weeping. Clint stood, preparing to leave the room when Tony stood also. Tony ran his thumb along Clint's cheek before pulling him close.
"Clint baby don't you ever apologize for your personality ever again, do you hear me? You are perfect just the way you are, and when I said I love you, I meant you, all of you, even the parts that I didn't know about and the ones I still don't know about. I fell for your wit and your smile, not your body or what you could do for me. You are the most beautiful person I have ever met, and you sure as hell deserve all the love and affection anyone could possibly give you. Who gives a shit if you don't want to have sex? It doesn't change the fact that you love me and I love you. You did not let me down in the slightest. I feel so honored that you felt comfortable enough to tell me that you're ace. I know that it was incredibly hard and I'm so proud of you. I love you so much." Tony held Clint tightly as he sobbed, hanging on to every word Tony had said.
Later that night, Clint was laying on top of Tony, his face pressed against Tony's neck and one of his hands combing through his dark hair. Several team members walked in and out, but neither had the will to move and figure out who it was. They were perfectly content in their own space.