It wasn't private whatsoever and they spent most of the time stopping so that Tony could give a kid an autograph. Not many paid much attention to Clint or the fact that he was Hawkeye, he didn't mind though, it was best if people overlooked him. Still, he loved taking his afternoon stroll with Tony. It was the only time during the day where Jarvis wasn't interrupting them because someone wanted Tony's attention, or Fury was telling him he needed to go on a mission, or even Pepper yelling at them all because they were a PR's worst nightmare. This was the time of day where even though he had to share Tony with a few kids, he got to spend time with Tony. Everyone always thought that all Tony thought and talked about was robots and new ways to energize the world. He didn't though, during these walks their conversations ranged from literature to the afterlife to what the latest bad show on TV was. It was, in short, the only time where they could both act like they were normal human beings.
Tony felt bad whenever he was stopped by a child asking if Iron Man could give him an autograph or pose for a picture with him. He felt Clint was pushed aside during those moments and in his mind, Clint was a bigger superhero than he was. He had the iron suit and relied on it for almost everything; sure, he was good at hand-to-hand combat, but his suits did most of the work. Clint though, he was pure human, no super powers, no alterations, he was a superhero through his skills. He jumped out of buildings and killed aliens using just a bow and arrow, and everyone sort of ignored him. It irritated him because he thought Clint was amazing, why couldn't anyone else see that?
"You okay?" Clint asked as they turned towards the park. Today they would stroll through the park and end up by the most amazing coffee shop in the neighborhood.
Tony looked at Clint and nodded, "Yeah, just deep thoughts."
Clint nodded and nestled closer to Tony trying to steal some of the warmth from the trench coat he was wearing. "Care to share them?"
"I just feel bad, you know." He wrapped an arm around his lover as they strolled through the mostly empty park now.
"About?"
"Well, people always stop and ask me for a picture or autograph, but they can't be bothered to realize that I'm not that great." Tony sighed and looked towards the darkening sky. "You're a much better superhero than I am and they all just care about Iron Man because of the flashy suit."
Clint snorted and stopped walking causing Tony to stop and look at him in concern. "That's what you feel bad about?"
Tony nodded.
"You are such an idiot." He said smiling and giving Tony a light peck on the lips. "I am not a better superhero than you, nor are you a better one than me. People just see colors and go for that, at the end of the day both of us save people, and at the end of the day… either one of us would give up our lives to keep the world safe."
"You're not allowed to give up your life." Tony muttered as he pulled Clint closer in an embrace.
Clint rolled his eyes at Tony's words "Neither are you, tin can."
"Come on Cupid, we have a date with a coffee shop."
They continued their stroll through the park and just enjoyed being in each other's embrace. Today was the sort of walk during which not much had to be said, it was just about feeling each other's presence. Soon Clint would have to go off on a two-week mission and Tony always got quiet the days before it. Clint smiled as he breathed in the crisp fall air, it was times like these he wished he could freeze time forever. He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a small noise.
"What's wrong?" Tony asked as he felt Clint tense next to him before stopping completely. He automatically put his hand over the suit's remote control. It's sad that something such as a bird landing on a dry leaf got them all into a paranoid state where they were already reaching for their weapons.
Clint took a step back from Tony and looked around trying to determine from which direction the sound had come from. "It's not dangerous, Tony." He turned and walked off in the direction he'd heard the muffled noise from, Tony following close behind asking questions.
"Are you sure it's not dangerous? Why are you walking that way? This is the way people die in scary movies, they go 'oh a noise! I should walk towards the noise, that's what I should do!' and then they die. Never go after the noise." Tony followed behind Clint; he looked like the wife hiding behind the husband that's holding a bat.
"We are not going to die, Tony." Clint whispered as they went around a park bench. He stopped as they saw the source of the noise. In front of them, hiding behind a bush was a boy crying. He looked to be around nine at the most and had bruises on his neck and face. Clint pushed down the anger that threatened to arise at such a sight. "Are you okay?"
Tony froze as they came upon a hurt boy hiding behind a bush. He took notice of Clint's body language and tried to mimic it. Trying to look as non-threatening as possible, he stepped beside Clint and lowered himself along with Clint to the child's level. "We're not going to harm you."
The boy didn't move or answer their questions, his eyes darting from him to Tony. He sighed and looked around to see if anyone was looking for the boy. "Where are your parents?"
That got a response from the child as he started to shake his head. Tony stood up and looked around to make sure no one was approaching them; it was obvious now where the bruises had come from. In all honesty, he did this because he knew Clint was better equipped to handle this because of his experience with his father. It made him mad how much he couldn't go back in time to kick Clint's dad in the face, right now it would be best for them get this boy to safety.
"Right." Clint sighed and rubbed his eyes, he really hated abusive parents. "My name is Clint, can you tell me yours?"
"Eric"
Clint smiled at the boy and nodded. "Hi Eric, I'm not going to hurt you. In fact I want to help you, do you think you can tell me who did that?" He pointed at the bruises on the boy.
The boy looked at the bruises on his arm then at the man that was standing looking around; he then looked back to Clint. "My dad."
Tony turned to look at Clint who looked like he was trying to get himself under control and then at Eric. "What about your mom?"
"She died when I was five."
"My mom died when I was six along with my dad. He wasn't a very nice man either." Clint gave the boy a small smile; he looked like he was finally starting to relax. "We're not going to let your dad get near you again."
The boy sighed and scooted closer to Clint. "I wish I was stronger, then I wouldn't be scared of him." He whispered.
Clint frowned and looked the boy in the eyes. "Have you heard of the Avengers?"
"Yeah?"
"Who's your favorite Avenger?" Clint asked, hoping that it was Tony because he was right next to him.
The boy thought about it for a bit before turning to Clint and answering "Hawkeye."
Clint huffed out a laugh as the boy answered his question. "Well, Eric. Hawkeye used to be just like you."
"No way, he's always been strong." Eric argued with Clint, his favorite superhero would never be as weak as he is.
"Hey, I'm telling you the truth." Clint smiled and extended his hand towards the boy. "He was once a scared little boy, and sometimes he still gets scared. There's nothing wrong with being scared."
Tony grinned as he saw Clint stand up, the boy holding his hand tightly. He was about to propose they go have a cup of chocolate while he called a friend over in Social Services when he heard someone walking towards them. He turned and frowned as an obviously drunk man stepped out of the bushes. "Great."
"Give me back my kid." The man slurred out.
"No." Clint said as he stepped in front of the kid, shielding him from the drunken man. "You need to walk away before you do something you'll regret."
The man snorted and took a wobbly step towards them. "What are you going to do?"
"Just walk away." Tony said already getting ready to grab Eric should Clint throw himself at the man.
"Who do you think you are? Give me my kid!"
Clint nodded at Tony as he handed Eric to him, the man threw himself at Clint a second later and they both stumbled to the floor. In a flash Clint was on the man pinning him to the floor, he was heavier and bigger than he was but it was useless to him since he was wasted. "I'm Clint Barton, Hawkeye, an Avenger, and the wrong person to mess with."
A few minutes later a police officer took the man into custody, leaving Eric with Clint and Tony. Clint turned to look at Tony and Eric who were staring at him, Tony with that proud boyfriend look and Eric with just utter shock. "Everyone alright?"
"You're… oh my gosh, you're Hawkeye." Eric blurted out as he stepped away from Tony and towards Clint.
Clint smiled at Eric and nodded. "Yup, and that right there, is Iron Man." He said pointing towards Tony.
"No way!"
"Totally, that's my suit and everything" Tony said as he joined them. "I don't know about you guys, but that made me really want some hot chocolate."
Clint laughed as he extended his hand towards Eric. They walked to the coffee shop with Eric still staring at him with the utmost excitement he'd ever seen. He wasn't used to the attention and whenever Tony turned to grin at him he would blush. They drank hot chocolate and laughed at Clint's stories while Tony called his friend.
"What's going to happen to me?" Eric asked as he finished his cup.
Tony smiled and put his phone away. "Well, I've just talked with a friend over in Social Services and he's going to try and place you in a home. It won't happen till after the weekend is over so until then, he agreed that you can stay with us."
The smile on the boy didn't fade once throughout the whole weekend. Now that Tony thought of it, Clint had a bigger impact than he did on children. Clint's story gave hope to those who lived in a world where there was none. He gave them strength through his own sufferings, and that's what made him the best superhero.