Sometimes he doesn't want to be strong. Doesn't want to have to be the man. Sometimes all he wants is someone to hold him and tell him everything will be all right when he's weak.
Weakness wasn't a characteristic afforded to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, male or female. One could argue that the female agents were required to have colder hearts than the men, in order to compensate for their natural softheartedness. If there was one thing Clint Barton knew, however, it was that the women of S.H.I.E.L.D. were not to be underestimated.
But as strong as they were, it was expected that the stress of the job would eventually win out. The men were afforded no such privilege. To be weak, to cry, even, was unheard of. Weakness was frowned upon. Weakness would get you killed. Even if you survived, someone else would probably die as a result of your failure. When the amount of time and money was invested in training that was within the organization, failure was not an option.
Sometimes, though, failure happened. While the professional consequences were severe, the emotional ones were arguably worse. It was bad enough knowing that you were taking lives, ruining lives, doing untold damage to unimaginable numbers of people and property. But still, you were doing your job. And that's what made it bearable.
But sometimes - and they all prayed to whatever deity they believed in that it was only sometimes - it was too much. Those were the days that you would want to go back to your standard issue apartment and want to crawl into bed, to bury yourself under the covers, and never come out. It was those days that, despite the overwhelming urge to be alone and never come in contact with other humans again, you wanted someone who would understand. Civilians could claim they understood, but they never really did. Only people who have been through the same thing, the same horrors, can truly have an idea how you're feeling and why permanent isolation seems like such a good idea.
Sometimes, that was all that Agent Clint Barton wanted. Someone to hold him tight, to stroke his hair, to tell him everything would be all right and to actually mean it. But that was too much to ask
