Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Pairing - Tony&Clint (pre-relationship, if you choose)

Word Count - 698

I'll Keep You Safe

Tony couldn't sleep. He threw back the olive sheets and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He glared at the quilt. Why did he even still have those sheets? Pepper had chosen them, back when she'd still been able to deal with his shit but…

He didn't even like the colour, never mind that she said they matched the soothing browns and creams of the bedroom.

"Jarvis, order new sheets," he muttered, standing up.

"Yes, sir. Any particular shade?"

Tony snorted. "Not olive."

He left the bedroom and made his way down to the floor he'd designed for the Avengers to convene. The coffee pot was on that floor, and… perhaps, there would be someone else still up that could distract him for a while.

Sure enough, the tv was playing quietly, and Clint was slouched on the sofa, looking tired and drawn but just as awake as Tony himself.

"Coffee?" Tony offered as he passed the sofa.

"Sure."

Tony made quick work of two coffees and returned to the sofa. Clint had moved over a little from the middle, so Tony had room to slump beside him. He held the cup out and nodded when Clint thanked him quietly.

"Nightmares?" Clint asked after a long pause.

"Hmhmm," Tony hummed in agreement. "You?"

"Loki."

Tony nodded. Obvious, when he thought about it. Neither of them had come out of that battle unscathed.

Tony drank his coffee silently, eyes on the tv. He had no idea what they were watching, but it didn't really matter. The warmth emanating from Clint and the light from the tv were enough to push away the lingering thoughts of the invasion, and of space, and of the vast—

Nope, not going there again.

He dropped his empty mug beside his thigh.

"You wanna talk about it?" he offered Clint, when the man shifted beside him.

Clint snorted almost inaudibly and shook his head. "That'd be the healthy thing to do, wouldn't it?"

"Probably," Tony agreed.

They fell into silence again, and Tony slumped deeper into the sofa, but also to the side, closer to Clint. He startled when he realised his eyes had closed when his head landed on Clint's shoulder.

Clint chuckled and then tugged on Tony's arm, until Tony was laid out across his lap, head resting comfortably on a strong, firm thigh. Clint's hand settled in Tony's hair and he played with the soft strands.

"This helps," Clint admitted after a long moment. "Being reminded that I'm not alone. Helps me remember that he didn't… that I didn't… that I'm still me."

"It wasn't your fault," Tony murmured. "What happened while he had you under… none of what you did was on you. Brainwashing is fucked."

"That's one word for it," Clint agreed. "And logically, I think I know that it's not my fault."

"Logic helps absolutely nothing when it's three in the morning and you wake up with the images still in your mind, though, does it?"

"It really doesn't."

Tony sighed. "I don't think I've slept properly since Afghanistan. This… this just made it worse."

Clint's hand tightened on Tony's hair for a moment, before he let go entirely. "Sit up for a minute."

Tony did so, missing the contact immediately. Clint made him feel… human. Normal. He watched, confused, as Clint laid down on the sofa, pressed back into the cushions. Then he held his arms out, and Tony understood.

He laid down with his back to Clint's chest, and pushed back until they were in contact from shoulder to ankle.

"I'll keep you safe, Tones," Clint promised softly, arms wrapping around him tightly. "I won't let anything hurt you tonight, okay?"

Tony nodded, because for the first time in a really long time, he felt secure enough to believe him.

Clint's arms made him feel safe.

It wasn't a fix. It didn't instantly make either of them feel completely better, or like they were mentally healed, or even like they were back to normal. For one night though, it helped them sleep.

For one night, they managed to keep the nightmares at bay. And that… that was probably worth more than all the therapy in the world.

Written for;

Showtime - 15. Hurt/Comfort

365 - 44. Invasion

1000 - 931. Olive