Various x Ftm Reader

For You ||Clint Barton||

cw: mentions of dysphoria & negative body image

You're staring at yourself in the mirror, the feeling of dysphoria winding around you tighter and tighter the longer you stare.

You're on the verge of tears when you hear a loud clang, and see a figure dropping from the ceiling behind you.

"Enough of this." Clint says, walking towards you and grabbing your wrist. "This isn't helping anyone." He drags you over to the spot where he just landed, and laced his fingers together so that his palms were facing up.

"Up."

"What?"

"Come on, up you go."

"Um...okay..." you placed your foot on his hand, and your hands on his shoulders. "will you...will you be able to lift me?"

He looked at you dumbfounded. "Do you honestly think I came all the way here from the vents, and actually came out of said vents because I don't think I can support your weight?"

"Um..."

"You know, you'd think you'd be able to trust a person after knowing them for years, or even grateful for being the only one invited into their secret hiding place, but no."

You look at him blankly.

"Just go into the vent." Clint insists, rolling his eyes.

He helped you up into vent.

"Go to the right!" He shouted, before jumping up himself.

The vents were surprisingly nicer than you thought they'd be. They were cleaner, though that was probably only because of Clint's taking to them.

He directed you as he crawled behind you until you came to a space where the ceiling of the vent seemed to rise, while the floor remained flat. There was a wall in front of you, and thrown against it were a few blankets and pillows, as well as a small stash of your favorite snacks.

"What are we doing here?"

"Keep going, two people can fit into the space, you don't have to block the entrance."

You crawled forward enough for him to enter the space and sit up comfortably.

"Do you like it?" He asks, gesturing.

"Um...yeah...is this...is this for me?"

"No, I was thinking the Queen of England could stay here when she decides to visit Tony, of course it's for you."

"Thank you, but...why?"

"Because I know that when Tony stares at himself for extended periods of time in the mirror, it's either because he's lost touch with reality and doesn't think he's real due to sleep deprivation, or because he's extremely in love with himself. But when you do it, it's because you're overthinking your life and your body."

You nod, and look down.

"Hey, it's okay. I get it, people have their bad days. I just wanted to make sure you had a place where you could escape if you needed to...but if you also wanted to talk to someone, this vent drops down into my closet. And if I'm not in my room, I'm most likely in the vents. Of somewhere accessible by vent."

You nod.

"And you don't have to worry about me interrupting your time or anything, because I don't use this section of the vent anyway. I can't get a good foot up from my closet. I'll can make you a map of you want."

You chuckle. "That'll probably be needed."

He smiles at you. "Okay. Now come here."

The two of you shifted to hug each other. It was an awkward position—but it felt nice, and you ended up staying like that for a while.