Iron-Hawk Short Stories

Will You Marry Me?

AN: I owe y'all some fluff.

Third Person's POV

"You know, you don't have to act all tough right?" Tony Stark smiled softly as he dabbed a cotton ball soaked with antiseptic against a cut on the other man's head. He felt his partner flinch under him as the medication burned. "Everybody knows not to fuck with you."

Clint Barton just blinked as the other man continued to talk, a soft hand briefly brushed past his cheek.

"It hurts doesn't it?" Stark mused as he studied the blonde from head to toe.

"What does?" Barton muttered as he refused to look at the other man in the eyes. Tony then took a hold of the younger man's face and stared.

"Your broken ribs." Tony pointed out as he watched blue eyes dart around searching for an answer.

"No." Clint said as he finally stared at his partner dead in the eyes. Stark's gaze softened as he ran his thumb across the blonde's toned cheeks. A beat passed. "I took some pain killers."

"How'd you get in a fight anyway?" Tony's voice was softer this time. "Or at least, how did you get into a fight and lose?"

"I didn't lose." Clint mumbled as he leaned into his partner's touch. "I just didn't want to fight back." Stark chuckled softly and pulled the other man into a hug. Barton buried his face against his partner's chest, mindful of the cut on his head. "Thanks for patching me up."

"And here I thought you were incapable of thanking anybody."

[...]

"It wouldn't hurt to look." Natasha Romanoff teased as they stopped by a store. "You must have at least thought about proposing, haven't you?"

He hadn't.

"Yeah." He lied as his eyes wavered over the jewellery that were on display. "But honestly, what would change if I were to propose to him?"

He already knew the answer. Absolutely nothing.

"You get to call him your husband for one thing." She pointed out. He thought about it for a moment and had to admit that it sounded pretty cool.

"They're expensive." He mumbled as he thought about marrying Tony. The topic seemed so foreign to him, he never thought he would be the type to get married.

"We both know you can afford the most expensive thing in there." She rolled her eyes and playfully hit him on the shoulder. She was right, years of working as a contract killer granted him the luxury of money. "C'mon, it wouldn't hurt to look."

He reluctantly walked inside and even conversed with a staff member. His eyes eyed one ring. It was nothing extravagant, just a black band but diamonds lined in a straight line around the ring.

"You like what you see?" Romanoff asked as she studied the ring herself.

"I think he'll like something like this." He thought out loud as he played with the ring. "Should I get it?"

"Yes dumbass!"

"But it's such an impulse buy."

"You're about to ask somebody to marry you."

He smiled a little, he wasn't even sure how he would propose. "Alright fine. I'll actually ask him to marry me alright?"

[...]

"I made you breakfast." Clint mumbled as he slid the plate over to the other man. Tony smiled with delight as he saw the plate with ricotta toast. "And some coffee." He slid the warm mug over and watched as his partner's face lit up even more.

"Is there a particular reason you're making me breakfast?" Tony didn't mind. Clint cooked surprisingly well. The smell of rich coffee was enough to wake him up.

"I make you breakfast on most days." The blonde said.

"I know but this is my favourite kind of breakfast. I'm a basic bitch for brioche bread and ricotta." Stark said as his mouth was filled with toast. "So what's the occasion?"

"I just wanted to prep you."

"Prep me for what?"

"This." He placed something on the tabletop. Tony's eyes widened.

"Holy shit." The brunette whispered as he swallowed his food. "W-What?"

"Will you marry me?" Clint asked with a touch of puppy dog eyes. Tony simply lunged and hugged him.

"Yes! God yes!" Stark grinned and watched as the ring was brought into his line of sight. "It's so fucking pretty."

"You like it?"

"Of course I like it!" The man laughed as the ring was slipped onto his finger. "Here I thought you were never going to ask."

"Did you want me to ask sooner?"

"We've been dating for seven years! Of course I wanted you to fucking propose you god damn idiot." Tony said, "I would have asked but I was scared that you wouldn't say yes."

Clint frowned, "What reason would I have to say no?"

"I don't know." Stark shrugged as tears pricked his eyes. "Maybe it's just me being irrational." The blonde wiped the other man's tears away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't enough."

"Don't say shit like that. You've always made me feel like I was enough." Tony mumbled, "But enough moping. We're actually getting married."

Barton smiled a little. "Yeah, I can't wait." He felt a slight flutter in his heart as his partner hugged him once again. "I call dibs on cake flavour."

Stark chuckled, "I love you."

"I love you too." Clint mumbled as he pressed a kiss against the other man's head.