Issues with food.
This was going to be a five and one team ensemble fic, but apparently Tony hijacks everything I do at the moment, attention hog that he is.
Also, Tony is apparently group shrink or something, *shrugs*. (he just likes fixing things).

Tony noticed it with Clint first. He wasn't exactly subtle, not like the others. But then, when Clint did it, it didn't look deliberate. It looked like he had no idea what he was doing. They'd be talking, or laughing, or cooking, and Clint's hand would just reach out, seemingly of its own accord. He'd get a handful or a packet and whatever he'd grabbed would be squirreled away into his pockets.

Tony just filed it away. It wasn't any stranger than Thor getting into a fight with the microwave, or Steve spending half an hour trying to turn the TV on. It was just something that Clint did.

Then the air conditioning stopped working in Tony's lab.

"JARVIS?" He pushed up the welding mask and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"

"It's not you, sir, I assure you. The temperature has risen five degrees."

"Hmm." He turned off the torch, and set it down on a cooling mat. "Any idea what's going on?"

"There appears to be a blockage in the ducts."

"Okay. Where?" A holographic map appeared in front of him, showing the location of the problem. Tony grabbed his tool-belt and climbed up into the nearest vent.

When he found Clint's nest, because that's what it was; a nest, he wasn't sure what to think. He'd been expecting a collapse or a build up of debris. But instead...

There was a pile of blankets and pillows, and enough food to survive an apocalypse.

"Huh. Not what I was expecting."

"Sir?"

"JARVIS, there's a nest in here."

"A nest, sir? Of what animal?"

"A hawk. Patch me through to Clint."

"Certainly, sir."

"Clint?"

"Hey, Tony. What's up?"

"Can you meet me in my workshop? I need to talk to you."

"Sure. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Tony backed his way through the vent system back to his workshop. It wasn't actually that far away, and part of him was pleased that Clint's safe place was so near to him. He wasn't sure if it was deliberate or not, but either way, it made him all warm and fuzzy inside.

He got back to the workshop about thirty seconds before Clint showed up, which didn't really give him chance to figure out how to address the situation.

"So, I'm here. What's up?"

"Uh, I wasn't snooping. Seriously. It's just, my air conditioning stopped working. And JARVIS said there was a blockage, and..."

"Oh shit." Clint sat heavily down on one of the nearby swivel chairs.

"I mean, it's fine, you know. I built the vents specifically to your weight and width so you could climb around in there. Natasha may have given me a few hints, but I noticed you liked heights and confined spaces. Figured it would be a good idea to give you somewhere to play. So hang out in there all you like."

"But stop making nests?" Clint asked sheepishly, and Tony smiled hearing his word for the hideaway being used back at him.

"Make nests, but make them smaller maybe? I mean, it only became a problem today." He picked up a random object from his desk (even he wasn't sure what it did) and began to fiddle. "And, I've got to ask. What's with the food? I figured you'd been having midnight feasts or something when I saw you slipping biscuits into your pockets." He looked down at his hands. "You know I'm not going to cut you off, right?"

"I know that. Really. I don't even notice I'm doing it." He ran a hand through his hair. "Shit, Tony. Are we actually having a chick flick moment? You want to exchange tragic backstories?"

"God no. But if you want to talk..." Tony shrugged and turned away, attacking the doodad he'd picked up with a screwdriver.

For a long time, it was quiet.

"I ran away when I was a kid, me and my big brother. And this was after a few years in foster care, but we ran away to join the circus." Tony smirked, and Clint snorted. "Yeah, I know it's a cliché. But that's what happened. we didn't always have enough to go round. And if I screwed up in the ring, Trick- the guy who taught me to use my bow, he would take away my food. I learned to keep some around, just in case."

"Okay."

"Okay? I pour my heart out and you say okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. You want to have caches. A backup plan. I get that. Just, be careful where you put them."

"I can do that." Clint rubbed the back of his neck, and then got up. "Tony, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Seriously." He glanced up and grinned at Clint and got a grin back.

Clint left and Tony went back to tinkering. Half an hour later, JARVIS reported the blockage in the ducts had been cleared, and the temperature in the workshop dropped abruptly.

"JARVIS, order a crate of that cereal that Clint likes. And pull up the air duct designs. I want to see if I can put in a little more room."

"Of course, sir."