Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count: 1486
Bright Star
Clint watched their new techie working on the lights. He was… well, in truth, he was absolutely adorable, but Clint would never admit as much out loud. Still, he tried to be honest with himself, if only in his own head.
The techie didn't really fit in at the circus, no matter how much he tried.
He was from a well off background, that much Clint was absolutely certain of. He was also jumpy, quick to try and please and clearly fearful of any older man that raised their voice near him.
It made something inside of Clint ache.
He hadn't had the best upbringing—in truth he'd been dragged up, kicking and screaming the whole way—but he'd never been particularly scared of anything or anyone really.
Growing up in the circus gave a kind of fearlessness that you just didn't gain anywhere else.
The techie chose that moment to look up, meeting Clint's eyes. He had a piercing gaze, pretty eyes and flushing cheeks when he realised Clint was watching him.
And yes, the blush was just as adorable as the rest of him.
…
"Uh, hi."
Clint glanced at the techie, and smiled slightly, straightening his fingerless gloves. "What's up?"
"Uh, Barney asked me to come and tell you that he needed you in the tent. Something about your act?"
Clint rolled his eyes and then nodded. "Alright, I'll be over in a sec. What's your name?"
"Uh. Tony."
"Tony..?"
"Just Tony."
"Huh. Well, just Tony, it's nice to meet you. I'm Clint."
"Yeah. Yeah, I know."
…
Clint finished his act, shooting the last of the targets with relish, and then flipped down into the ring, taking a bow before he left, pushing through the flaps of the pink and purple striped tent.
He was tired, so tired. Was it really so bad that he didn't want to be here anymore? Was he as ungrateful as Barney said, everytime he mentioned leaving for a different life.
Not better… just different.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked, when he saw Tony, bent over something, just outside the flaps.
"Oh. Just fixing this," Tony said, holding up two wires and an old looking power source.
"You must be freezing," Clint said, taking in the lack of jacket and the goosebumps that lined Tony's arms.
"Eh, it's fine."
Tony turned his head back to his work, but Clint huffed. "You want a s'more?"
"Some more what?"
Clint blinked. "A s'more? You know, chocolate, melted marshmallows… you've never had a s'more?"
"Um. No."
Clint stepped towards him before he'd even consciously thought about it, tugging Tony to his feet, the anticipation of watching him eat his first s'more making Clint bolder than he tended to be.
Tony allowed him to pull him along, a confused look on his face, his eyes bright with wonder.
Clint stopped when they reached the firepit, thankfully still going strong.
"Uh."
Clint glanced at Tony to see he was looking down at their still joined hands.
"I would have followed you, you know?" the techie offered, when he saw Clint looking at him.
"Truth is, I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand," Clint quipped, though he let go, ignoring the feeling of loss that clenched in his chest. "I'm going to introduce you to magnificence like you've never known."
"Really?"
"Really really."
…
"So, where is home for you?" Clint asked, a few weeks later.
Tony lay beside him, their hands joined between them, their stomachs full of pizza and s'mores. They'd been stargazing, Clint pointing out the visible constellations for Tony. They'd been silent for a little while when Clint had broken it with the question that had been bugging him for a while.
"I guess this is home for now," Tony replied softly. "I… I am, was, Tony Stark."
Clint blinked. "Stark Industries?"
"The very same. I was due to take over the company, you know? And my father never let me forget it. He was… cruel when he didn't get his way, and I never lived up to what he expected. In the end I just… run away."
"Bit of a change, right?"
Tony snorted. "I just… wanted to be free. Free to be me, free to work on things that I want to work on, you know? I don't want to make weapons."
"What do you want to do?"
Tony looked at him, his eyes full of a hunger that Clint recognised well. "I want to make a difference in the world."
…
Tony was a puzzle to Clint. He could fly through a rubik's cube in seconds, and yet, give him a hula hoop and the agility he had in his fingers was nowhere to be found in the rest of his body.
Clint chuckled as Tony picked up the white hula hoop and tried it again, huffing when it fell to the ground.
"Come here," Clint murmured, reaching out for Tony's hand. Tony placed his smaller hand in Clint's and allowed himself to be tugged until he was standing between Clint's legs.
"You are so warm," Tony murmured, snuggling closer.
Clint wrapped his arms around Tony, smiling. "It's almost midnight."
"Hmm? Is it?"
"Uh huh."
"Oh. Cool? Why are we focusing on midnight?"
"Tony, it's New Year's Eve."
Tony pulled back a little, blinking at Clint with his big bambi eyes. "Is it? Really?"
"Uh huh."
"Oh. I… it didn't seem like I've been here that long."
"Three months," Clint confirmed. "So… are you going to leave me kiss-less at midnight?"
"Um. No? But, uh…"
"What is it, sweetheart?"
"Well, is it just for New Years Eve or…"
Clint chuckled and shook his head. "Baby, if you don't kiss me every day, I'll cry."
Tony blushed, and Clint glanced at his beat up watch, turning his wrist a little so Tony could see it. They watched together as the seconds counted down.
"Happy New Year, Sweetheart," Clint murmured, before he pressed his lips to Tony's.
When they pulled apart, Tony gave him the sweetest smile. "Happy New Year, Clint."
…
"Do you really want to leave?" Tony asked, out of the blue. It was a chilly day in February, and Tony had been busy all day fixing the heaters in the tent, which had left Clint in a foul mood.
Clint buried his face against Tony's hair. "Yes. Where did you hear about that?"
"Uh. Barney warned me not to get too attached to you."
"As if I'm going to leave you here," Clint scoffed. "He's ridiculous, pay him no mind."
"You… you want me to leave with you?"
"Of course I do. You're so talented, Tony. You won't change the world if you're stuck at this shitty circus fixing heaters, will you?"
"I don't want to be Tony Stark," Tony admitted. "If we go back out in the world… I'll have to be him again."
"Maybe not," Clint suggested.
Tony looked up to meet his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"You can have my name? Maybe I won't hate it so much if it's attached to you."
Tony's brow furrowed. "What's wrong with your name? You know, I only just realised that I don't even know your surname?"
"Barton," Clint admitted.
Tony looked between the sign on the Circus, and back to Clint. "You're Barney's brother, aren't you?"
Clint nodded.
"Is that why you want to leave?"
"I want to learn a life that isn't based in a circus," Clint said softly. "I want to live in one place, and wake up every morning to the same place, and have somewhere to call home."
Tony nodded and then paled slightly.
"What's wrong?" Clint asked.
"Did you just ask me to marry you?"
Clint's laughter could be heard all over the circus.
…
Clint watched as Tony paced, enjoying the effect the sharp suit was having on his ass.
"You've got this, baby," he said eventually, tugging Tony to a stop. "You're going to rock it."
Tony stared at him for a long moment and then he nodded. "You'll be in the audience?"
"Of course I will. I wouldn't miss your first award, would I?"
Tony smiled. "I love you."
Clint nudged their noses together. "I love you too, Mr Barton. Go and show the world what you're made of, hmm?"
Tony nodded. "I got this."
Tony's name was called, and as his husband headed onto the stage, Clint slipped into the mass of people watching, making sure he was visible to Tony.
They'd settled in New York, and while Tony had set about making a name for himself in clean energy and modern tech, Clint had found himself enjoying the more sedate pace of life in one city.
Life was good, and while a small part of him perhaps missed the circus, he knew that he'd never be happier than what he was now; watching his bright star light up the room.
Written for:
Record Collection: 18. One More Sleep: (word) Anticipation
Time Machine: 8. Dialogue: "I guess this is home for now."
Amber's Attic: 30. Get a New Years kiss at midnight
Bex's Basement: Big Dipper: Write about stargazing
Film Festival: 24. (dialogue) "You want a s'more?"/"Some more what?"
Marvel Appreciation: Hawkeye: Purple / Pink / Fingerless gloves
Lyric Alley: 12. You are so warm
Forecast: 18. Fearless
Holiday Crackers: Paper Crown: Circus!AU
Naughty Or Nice: Nice: 1. First Kiss
Hot Chocolate Station: 27. Unicorn Hot Chocolate: (word) bright
Write Letter's To Santa: Prompt 2: Let me explain: (color) white
Big Dinner Bash: Meat: 8. Pheasant: Hula hoop
Toy Making: Teddy: 2. Circus!AU
Pop Figures: 14. Luna Lovegood: (Word) Piercing
Hogwarts Talent Show: Animal Noises: "Truth is, I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand." / Puzzle / Agility
