/ "… and there's my neighbour Clint, walking the pizza dog." \\ The video image of Kate beamed at the camera, the slightly distant, but clear view of Clint walking past the home, / "Alright, alright… the dog's called Lucky because he's managed to survive practically everything, but he likes pizza, so I call him pizza dog." \\
"Look at the time stamp." Kate practically pushed her phone into the officers' face, "Right around the time that man was killed by Mister Stark's car! And oh look! There's Clint, with no car or dead body in sight."
Tony simply sat back smugly in his chair.
There was no need to interrupt, she had this under control.
The officer stared at the phone for a moment more, glancing at his partner, almost silently communicating with one another, before the lead officer sighed.
"We'll start the paperwork to get him released." The officer conceded, "Thank you Miss Bishop for bringing this to our attention."
"No problem! Happy to help!"
The officers turned to leave, clearly disappointed that it wasn't going to be as easy as they thought, and they might have to do (gasp!) actual police work. Kate and Tony though, left the station with a spring in their steps.
"So, what's the plan now?" Kate asked, "Find out who really killed that man."
"I have a sinking feeling that I already know who's responsible for it."
…..
Clint looked stunned as he emerged from the prison, rubbing at his wrists as Tony approached him, "How- I'm free right? No chance that they can grab me in the middle of the night and- "
"- You've been cleared." Tony gestured at Kate standing beside him, "And you can thank Miss Bishop for that."
Clint turned to her, opening his mouth to do just that, only for Kate to spin around, pull him closer and take a selfie of them both together.
"This is going on my blog." She smirked, "The day I saved you from spending the rest of your life in prison."
"Hey!" Clint pouted, "Tony would have managed it eventually, right?"
"Actually, Miss Bishop was the key person in getting you released." Tony held up his hands, "I was just lucky enough to find her…. With your help of course."
Clint, to Tony's surprise, just groaned at the news.
"You want me to buy you pizza from now until eternity, don't you?" The blonde man asked Kate, who nodded eagerly.
"You know me so well." Kate looked over at Tony, "But I think the fancy lawyer can buy it this time… and then you can tell me how you know each other."
And just like that the tension was back.
"It's… a long story."
…
"You two dated!" Kate whisper-shouted, her milkshake straw hanging out of her mouth, "Seriously?"
The two men were silent.
"Mister Stark, I never knew you were into bad boys!"
"Keep your voice down!" Tony hissed, before sighing, "I suppose it's nice to know my Dad didn't go around telling everyone that I'd run away with a motorbike gang and my lover I suppose."
"No, he just implied you had drug problems."
That… didn't surprise him actually.
Clint had been strangely silent throughout the entire discussion, nibbling at his food, eyes fixated on the table.
An awkward silence fell between them, until Kate clapped her hands together.
"So, what's next?"
"Hm?"
"Well, we need to figure out who did it right?"
Tony winced, "It's a bit more complicated than that. I think my- " He was cut off as his mobile started to ring again, "-Sorry, excuse me."
He pulled it out, wincing at the caller ID.
Steve.
Or Peter.
He couldn't ignore it just in case it was Peter.
Sighing, he answered it, smiling softly when Peter's voice came over the speaker.
"Dad, Papa says I can't call you anymore!" Peter sounded close to tears, "And I don't know why."
Tony felt close to tears himself, turning away from Clint and Kate to hide his expression, "You don't need to worry about that sweetie. You know you can speak to me whenever you want."
"But I have to steal Papa's phone to do it!"
Tony desperately wanted to tell Peter that he would get him his own phone so that they didn't have this problem… but Peter was still just a kid, and Steve would only see it as Tony going behind his back, getting him a phone to tell lies about him.
"We'll find a way sweetie, okay?"
"Okay." Peter sniffled, "I love you three thousand."
"And I love you three thousand."
The call came to an end, as Tony took a deep breath, turning back to the others. "Sorry." He sighed, "Peter's just- "
"- You have a kid?"
Tony's head shot up to stare at Clint, who was staring at him in disbelief.
"Like… an actual kid, and not one you made, rig- AH!" Clint winced as Kate nudged him harshly in the side, hissing at him to shut up.
"Peter…" Tony whispered, "… Yeah, he's my kid."
"So, you got married?"
"Yep, and now currently going through a divorce." Tony shrugged, "You win some, you lose some I guess." He then cleared his throat, "Now, what I was trying to say…. Is that I think my Father might be the one actually responsible for that man's death. I know how often he drinks and drives… it'll be easy for him to try and blame an innocent man."
"Especially one he's hated since the beginning." Clint nodded in understanding, "Can we prove it though?"
"Not easily."
A silence fell over the table again, before Kate cleared her throat.
"So… what do we do?"
"We start investigating." Tony hoped it wouldn't come to anything. He hoped that the car had been stolen, and his Father had simply been wrong about who did it.
Because if not, they were looking at manslaughter or possibly even murder.
And he couldn't bear to think of his mother's reaction to that.
…
"You killed him!"
The small group paused as they left the restaurant, turning to the right to see an older woman and young man storming over to them, tears streaming down the woman's cheeks and she stormed closer.
Instantly, Tony and Kate moved in front of him, stopping her in her tracks.
"Mister Barton has been cleared of all charges." Tony stated firmly, "I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm sure the police will get to the bottom of this quickly."
"Cleared?! With what proof?!"
"My video evidence." Kate's voice was harsh, "He was on the other side of the town when it happened."
The woman stared at them for a few moments, mouth gaping open uselessly, before she glanced at the younger man, "But Mister Stark- "
"- Was upset and mistaken." Tony fought to keep his voice calm, "As I said, I'm sure the police will find the true culprit."
There was no good in spreading rumours that his Father was deliberately trying to blame Clint.
That wouldn't help in the long run.