Clint straightened the hem of his t-shirt nervously as the elevator ascended; wondering for the millionth time since he'd left his apartment if he should have worn something a little nicer. Sure, Phil had seen him down and out, at his absolute worst, but that didn't mean he didn't expect something nice for a date. Clint knew he looked good, in comfortable jeans slightly worn at the knees, a purple t-shirt, and his favorite sheepskin jacket, but maybe Phil had something nice planned. Maybe he should have dug out that black button-up Natasha had forced him to buy under duress. God, he was going to screw this up before it really started.
He got off on the fifteenth floor, bypassing a woman with a Chihuahua-wearing little blue booties, no lie-and slunk down the hall to Phil's apartment, feeling less and less confident with each step. He and Phil had a worked together very closely for years, and had even kissed a few times, but now they were actually going on a date, where they would talk about things that weren't work, and Clint wasn't sure he'd even be able to keep up with the sorts of things Phil would probably be interested in talking about. This whole date was probably a really big mistake. Phil would see exactly how much he was out of Clint's league as soon as he opened his mouth.
Clint stood in front of Phil's door for a moment, seriously considering running away and avoiding Phil until he absolutely couldn't anymore, but the idea of hurting Phil was enough to keep him rooted to the spot. He took a deep breath, glanced around the hall to make sure that no one was around, and pressed the door bell, which had a small paper sign above it reading, "Out of order, please knock" in Phil's neat lettering. A little panel in the wall slid open to reveal a fingerprint scanner, which Clint dutifully pressed his thumb against. It scanned his print, and little green letters flashed, "BARTON, CLINTON" across the top before the doorbell actually sounded. He waited for a second, staring down at the scuffed toes of the Docs that he'd owned since he stole them from a store window when he was sixteen, wondering if maybe it was time to get a new pair of boots. He loved his Docs, and they'd always been reliable, but they looked really ratty, and he was suddenly super conscious of how they looked compared to the nice Italian loafers that Phil usually wore.
Just when he was about to ring the bell again, the door swung open to reveal Phil in a towel, still slightly wet, which made Clint's mouth kind of dry. Phil ushered him inside, closing the door quickly behind them and shaking his head.
"I know, I'm running late, I'm really sorry. I was babysitting my niece this morning and she wanted me to take her shopping and there was traffic on the way back. Just give me a minute to get dressed, all right?"
Clint just stared at him dumbly for a moment, eyes following a little droplet of water that was making its way down Phil's chest towards his stomach, before realizing that Phil was probably expecting some sort of answer. He cleared his throat quickly and nodded. "Yeah, of course. No problem."
"Make yourself at home; get a drink if you want. I'll just be a minute," Phil called as he disappeared in to his bedroom. Clint had been in Phil's apartment plenty of times before, but this was the first time since they'd started whatever it was they were doing. It felt different, heated, yet kind of awkward, and Clint headed to the kitchen for a glass of water just so he had something to do instead of staring awkwardly at the wall or judging himself for his sartorial choices. On the kitchen table was a white box, designed to look like one of those houses you might see in a children's drawing. He knew that it was pretty damn rude to just poke through people's stuff, but he was also very nosy, so he popped the top open and looked down at the contents. Inside was a piece of cardstock and a teddy bear. Bemused, he picked up the bear, noting its dark-blonde fur, blue eyes, and purple t-shirt. He gave it a light squeeze, wondering if it was some sort of information carrier or had something important stuffed inside it, but it seemed to be just what it looked like. A teddy bear. Huh.
He picked up the cardstock next, turning it over to discover that it was bright yellow and had the words "BIRTH CERTIFICATE" across the top in red. A seal in the corner revealed it to be from the Build-A-Bear Workshop, a little store he'd seen around a few times where kids could go in and make their own teddy bear and choose clothing for it and whatnot. It was kind of cute, if a bit loud. The Birth Certificate listed the bear's birthday as that day, but what really made Clint freeze was when he read the bear's name. Barton. Phil had a teddy bear, which he had apparently made himself, and it was named after Clint.
"And you were not supposed to see that," Phil sighed from the doorway, making Clint freeze. Very few people could sneak up on him, and it was always disconcerting when Phil did it. "My niece wanted to go today, and she insisted that I make a bear too."
"It's me," Clint said, fingering the little purple t-shirt that was almost a replica of the very one he was wearing. He stared at the birth certificate, specifically at the little mantra on top, the last line of which read, "I promise to love it and give it a home", not lost on the fact that that's pretty much exactly what Phil had done for him five years ago when he coerced Clint in to joining SHIELD.
"Yeah," Phil answered with a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. "I know it's silly, but…" Clint didn't let him finish, grabbing Phil's shirt and pulling him in to a kiss. He knew what Phil meant, and he was right, it was silly. But something about it touched Clint right down to his core, and he didn't really have words to express how good it made him feel.
"Well," Phil said when they pulled apart. "I'm glad you don't think it's creepy. Are you ready to go?"
Clint nodded, feeling much more confident about everything now, especially because he finally realized that Phil was wearing jeans, a Captain America t-shirt, and a brown leather jacket. He suddenly felt really dumb for how much he'd been freaking out on his way to Phil's apartment. Phil wasn't a shallow guy, and he knew everything there was to know about Clint. Obviously he wouldn't change his mind about Clint when he found out things he already knew.
"Yeah, I'm ready," he answered finally, setting the bear back down on the table and following Phil out the door.
Ten years later, when they were moving in to Stark tower with the rest of the Avengers, Tony found Barton the Bear in a box while he was being nosy, and despite the promises of taunting for years to come, Clint just smiled and set him on the top shelf of the bookcase, right next to their wedding picture and Agent, the brown teddy bear with a little blue tie, together just like they belonged.