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Clint Barton is a freak.
Tony means that in the nicest way possible, really. It’s just that the guy has impossible aim with a medieval weapon, is more flexible than anyone Tony’s ever been with (and he’s bedded an Oylmpic gymnast), and then there’s the whole James Bond assassin thing, except Clint is much more sarcasm and false bravado than class and sophistication. Still, Tony’s pretty sure he’s head over heels for the archer, and he has no real complaints. Well, maybe when he goes away on undercover missions too long, but other than that, things are pretty good.
Then Clint comes down to the lab after a training session.
It’s never happened before, not in the months they’ve been dating. Clint seemed to sense that this was Tony’s safe space, a place he could go to unwind and work through everything. The blond knew enough about that sort of thing. He’d already showed Tony his ‘nest’, the one he kept in the little lookout tower on the roof, the one that Tony will never admit was built just for Clint. Tony had been planning on inviting him down, but every time he was going to, something came up. DUM-E lost his sense of balance because of a misfired wire on his circuits (Tony really had to stop tinkering drunk), and then U couldn’t move without jerking, then the suit decided to malfunction right before a mission and…well, Tony Stark was a very busy man. Honestly, he didn’t know what made Clint come down, but he really had no complaints at the time.
“Hey there Katniss,” Tony greeted, looking up from the jumble of wires and hardware in front of him and shooting a smile at Clint.
The blond looked back and smiled. “Thought I told you to stop calling me that,” Clint said. He wandered around the lab, taking everything in. Tony was used to that, really. A lot of people that were confused about all this stuff were a bit in awe of his lab. It was understandable.
“Did you prefer Legolas?” Tony asked, watching as his…boyfriend, lover? They didn’t really put a name to it yet. Labels didn’t really matter at the end of the day. What mattered was that when the nightmares came, they each had arms to be held by, and a voice to be soothed by. That was what mattered.
Anyway, Tony watched Clint walk around the lab. The archer seemed pretty disinterested until he got to the bots.
“Woah!” Clint exclaimed, getting closer to U, who seemed very confused at having someone else down here that was not Tony, Pepper, or Bruce. Well, as confused as a robot could be, really. Tony was drawn out of his thoughts by the archer still speaking. “…You never told me you have robots down here Tony! I mean, I knew that you had the suits and all, but this…” he reached out and ran his hand over the sleek metal. “This is a lot different.”
Dummy, being the stupid, curious sweetheart that he is (At least in Tony’s opinion), extended his hand toward Clint. The blond grinned and took it, looking over the machine with awe. “What type of motor do you use for them? A DC motor would be too basic and the velocity capability isn’t enough to produce this movement…” Clint murmured, almost to himself. “They’re inferior anyway.”
Tony stopped everything he was doing and stared openly.
“Maybe an RC Servo? But then you’d have to alter a few things…then again you made a new element, so I don’t think that would be too hard for you. There’s always Stepper motors, but that seems too pedestrian for Tony Stark,” Clint seemed to realize that the other was silent and frowned, turning toward the genius.
Tony was at a loss for words. Tony was never at a loss for words. Never.
Clint opened his mouth to speak again when Dummy poked him with something. Clint turned and looked, finding a Stark Pad held toward him with the answer to his questions. When he took it, the machine whirred and chirped, sounding happy. “Thanks buddy,” Clint smiled, patting the arm.
Tony was still staring, watching as Clint’s bright blue eyes scanned over the words on the pad.
“So it’s a RC?” he asked, looked up. He finally seemed to notice Tony’s expression and frowned. “What?”
“How do you know all that?” he asked. “Seriously, not that…well, I know you’re smart. Not everyone can do advanced physics in their head without blinking, but I didn’t know you knew machines…”
Clint blushed brightly and cleared his throat. “It uh, started out with cars…I liked fixing things, using my hands. I started helping Phil with Lola…then SHIELD tricked it out, and I was really curious about how it worked, so a bunch of the squints…sorry,” he added quickly, knowing that Tony and the other scientists didn’t like being called that. “The um, scientists, actually sat me down and taught me everything about it and more. I was like a pet project,” Clint laughed, running a hand through his hair in a nervous gesture Tony was all too familiar with.
He pushed away from the table and strode across the room. Once he got to Clint, Tony took the Stark Pad from his hands and threw it, not caring where it landed. He had hundreds of those things. Clint opened his mouth to talk, but he cut him off by pressing their lips together. After a moment, the assassin seemed to get with the program and kissed back. Tony was perfectly content to let their make out session go on, but Clint turned his head to look over his shoulder.
Dummy was there, holding out the Stark Pad and whirring. Clint laughed and took it. “Thanks again, Dummy,” he said, patting the robot again. His arm pulled back and he rolled away then. Tony sighed and shook his head. “Great, you made a friend. Wonderful, now he can interrupt us all the time. Actually, I created him. I created my own personal cockblock.”
Clint laughed again. “And what was that for?”
“Because I didn’t know that on top of everything else you’re a genius in robotics.”
He blushed. “I’m really not. I just understand the basics.”
Tony grinned. “More than most people know.”
Clint looked at him for a long moment, considering. “You know, I don’t just shoot those hacking arrows, I do know how they work. Know the programs they run too.”
Tony grinned and nodded down to the Stark Pad. “Show me.”
Clint Barton was a freak…but he was Tony Stark’s freak, nothing would change that.