Steve and Clint cross paths with the paparazzi and fans and have to made a run for their lives.
The Chase
It was hard for Steve to go out, he'd get recognized everywhere. It would have been bad enough without the battle in Manhattan but it was nearly impossible for him to go out, either in uniform or out, everyone knew what he looked like, knew his name, it was exhausting and disturbing. So the soldier essentially gave up and stayed in, avoiding the world and being recognized and mobbed.
Clint didn't like it. No one should be forced to stay in hiding, especially not Steve.
The other Avengers and more than a few SHIELD agents had tried to help, suggesting everything from hair cuts and dye jobs to holographic masks.
They were over thinking it in the archer's opinion. The next time he encouraged Steve to go out he produced a black ball cap with 'ARMY' stitched across the front and a pair of light framed sunglasses. Steve had been skeptical but Clint argued if it worked for Clark Kent why not try it?
It was invigorating. They had given it a short test run, just a walk from Stark Tower, where crowds and thongs of women and men clustered with signs beginner different members of the team to marry them and there was a lot of generalize screaming. And across the street where a small a die-hard group of anti-vigilante and anti-'supers' supporters picketed either from a pacing and screaming line or from lawn chairs set up all along the sidewalk and curb, well off Stark proper and safe from forcible eviction unless they got violent.
It had gone off without a hitch. Steve and Clint casually made their way unnoticed passed the two groups, walked down the block to a small café were they got cups of coffee and then headed back again, slipping inside completely ignored.
Steve could have kissed Clint.
He's was ecstatic and badgered Clint for time to go on errands or outings, anything to get outside. True to his good nature Clint always agreed and escorted him, keeping up the best he could as Steve rushed to exhaust the pent up energy he'd been bottling up and getting as much fresh air as possible to cure his cabin fever.
Clint was starting to see it as entertainment but he was still erring on the side of caution. About once a week he insisted the Steve switch hats, after a few weeks Steve had enough ballcaps that he was able to switch a few times a week. He was less worried about the sunglasses, though he did insist that Steve occasionally wear jeans in place of slacks or khakis and sneakers instead of Dockers or Dickies.
After hearing about the escapades Tony thought it would be funny to make and addition to Steve's ballcap collection with a blue cap sporting the rings of red, white and blue and the central star of Steve's shield. There's been a few jokes about the hat but Steve being the kind of man he was he wore it out the next time he made way into the world with Clint next to him.
Their luck ran out.
The symbol and a few moments when Steve had stripped off his sunglasses had earned a few stares and looks. Clint had gone a bit tense and started to act on high alert. Steve tried to reassure him, having grown comfortable in their deception of the public.
It had all gone to hell when a young, excited man rushed up to them with a hand held digital recording camera in hand and declaring excitedly he was from TMZ and he was so excited to meet /THE/ Captain America, Steve Rogers… and oh yeah, the bow and arrow Hunger Games guy.
Bow and arrow Hunger Games guy? Really? Couldn't even dignify him with 'Robin Hood' at least? Had to be 'Hunger Games'?
The pap had started off an overly excited reel of questions, some as asinine as what kind of toothpaste Steve used or if he thought kids should be lied to about Santa Clause when their young all the way up to increasingly more personal towards what kind of underwear Steve wore and if he was seeing anyone, where they another avenger, was it Hunger Games guy right here?
Knowing Steve was far to polite to ignore the questions or leave even when Steve was gradually getting more and more flustered and by the second and blooming into a huge blush when they suggested he and Clint where together the archer was getting increasingly more agitated. Especially when he notices a crowd growing or people pointing and chattering under their breath and taking photos. Most of them women that were getting more and more excited to a point that they were starting to whoop and squeal and shout suggestive things.
Clint roughly cut the pap off with a snarl that sent him scurrying away quickly, normally Steve would have chided Clint about being rude but he was glade for the relief, even if it sent a murmur through the crowd about them being together.
Clint quickly steered Steve away and set them off at a fast walk down the sidewalk to get away… the crowd followed. Clint and Steve started to get anxious as the crowd not only followed but followed a bit and the squeals and whoops were quickly turning into excited screams and more suggestive cat calls.
Steve was starting to turn a bit pale and was wringing his hands under the attention and that was putting Clint more and more on edge. It became too much for the archer and soldier when two of the women, far to close on their heels had gotten into a playful shoving match and one pushed the other right into Steve's back. The strange woman had wrapped her arms tight around Steve's middle and screamed hysterically in joy and it looked like her friend was going to jump in as well. Clint reacted like lightening. In a swift move he'd dislodged the woman, pushed her back into her friend and shoved Steve ahead with a sharp command to RUN.
Steve didn't hesitate and took off in a mad dash, Clint close behind him. The crowd, so shocked by Clint's quick action and the surprised shouts of the two women didn't notice the disappearance of their idols. A few hardened 'fans' gave sudden chase, rushing to trail Steve and Clint. The soldier and the archer were sprinting, it was hard going on Clint to keep up with Steve but he grit his teeth and pushed. They ducked around corners, doged across streets and more than once flung themselves over fences. Losing more and more of the pack as they continued well beyond the average human's limitations.
Limitations that Clint was quickly reaching and he was starting to have a difficult time breathing and losing speed. Steve refused to leave him and slowed to match the archer. Steve actually had to grab a hold of Clint's arm and stop him when he realized they weren't being chased any more.
They decided it was probably wiser to head back to Steve's apartment instead of Stark Tower or SHIELD HQ, there was sure to be a crowd waiting at the Tower and HQ was on the far side of the city, Steve's neighborhood wasn't too much further, they'd run in that direction instinctively. The rest of the route was agonizingly slow; they took back streets and alleys to confuse their route. It wasn't rushed any by Clint's exhausted state and he refused to be helped more than Steve staying close to his side. Finally reaching the safety of the apartment Clint unceremoniously collapsed onto Steve's couch, wincing with cramps and wheezing to catch his breath. Steve coaxed water into him and fretted quietly, feeling guilty about Clint condition because of the pace he'd set.
It was a few hours before Clint's breath recovered completely and he'd shaken off the cramps. Steve refused to let him help with dinner and insisted that Clint sleep over. The archer only grumbled a bit but put up no real fight. They stayed up late into the night, talking quietly about the fiasco of the day, actually managing a few laughs about it… until Clint and Steve received a demanding text from Tony commanding them to turn on TMZ immediately.
Clint's stomach dropped out and he pulled up his phone and tapped into the show's website and the currently running episode. He probably could have skipped it as the first headline he saw included the words 'Captain America' and 'video' and 'relationship'. They hunched over the smartphone to listen to the show as it aired. The excitable pap's "interview" with a stuttering, flustered Steve and snarling Clint as the lead story… the show's newsroom went wild with speculation about the soldier and archer being together. On national television and the internet…
A/N: Bit of humor for you guys! Hope you liked!