The Avengers sat around the greasy table in the shawarma restaurant. Tony stared at each of them in turn. Three days ago, the only one he'd known had been the Black Widow, and she had been posing as someone else. It was amazing how far they had come since then.

Thor, the demigod, to his right. Shovelling shawarma as though his life depended on it. Tony wondered what life was like on Asgard; it was certainly very different from Earth. Midgard. Home. Whatever you wanted to call it, Tony had lived here all his life - he couldn't begin to understand what it must be like for Thor, chasing his brother across the universe. He looked forward to educating the Asgardian about the joys of Earth. Coffee machines, for example.

Next to the Thunder God sat Captain America, Steve Rogers. Tony respected him as a just, smart and kind guy, and the battle had certainly proved that he was entirely unselfish. But Tony couldn't help but be annoyed at the war hero. Tony himself took risks and okay, maybe he was a little irresponsible now and then, but Spangles didn't seem to be prepared to do anything even remotely risky. Tony wasn't sure if he was completely happy taking orders from someone who had to think everything through three times before ignoring his instincts anyway. And who put him in charge anyway? Tony could sense that he was being biased; the buried resentment of the soldier was most likely sparked by his father's obsession with him and consequent neglect of his own son. But he was sure that he had a point. He just had to work out what it was.

Then came the infamous Black Widow. Tony trusted her about as far as he could throw her, but he admired her on the whole, no matter how much he tried to hide it. She had proven herself to be determined, adept and quick-witted, but Tony couldn't see past the front she was so skilled and practised at putting up, which was particularly irritating because there was no getting away from the fact that she intrigued him - especially her relationship with the man sitting next to her.

Which brought him to Hawkeye. Tony felt sure that he could list everything he knew about the archer in one breath. He was impressed by the man's skills with virtually every kind of projectile, but also his mental strength - God only knew what Loki had made him do. He knew Natasha, the two had a more-than-friendly relationship, he worked for SHIELD. Tony's knowledge (and lung capacity) ended there, and he burned to find out more. He was convinced that he had seen a dark sense of humour buried in Barton during the battle, and he was determined to bring it out.

And then there was Bruce Banner, on his left. Tony enjoyed the man's company, and was ecstatic to finally have contact with someone who (mostly) understood what he was on about. He respected Bruce's control over the Hulk, but he had resolved to get the other man to see what would happen if he gave the 'other guy' more freedom. Tony was certain that it would lighten Bruce's burden, and was determined to see his friend enjoying life again.

Yes, he supposed that they were a dysfunctional group, but they were a team, weren't they? They had just conquered an invading alien army. That, at least, was something to be proud of. But now they just looked exhausted, especially Barton, who was actually dozing in his chair, his legs propped on Romanoff's. Tony glanced sideways at Bruce, who was frowning at the archer, and at Thor, who was still guzzling shawarma. He felt Romanoff's gaze on him and looked up.
"What?"
"Nothing," she said, turning away.
"Oh, come on," he groaned. Receiving no reply, he was about to pose a question of his own when Bruce spoke up.
"Does he normally do this?" he asked Romanoff, nodding towards Barton.
"What, work himself to death and crash out dramatically when I've got his back? Yes," she shrugged, poking the sleeping archer. "Doing that's not going to wake him up for three hours yet." She paused. Steve stared at her. Thor shovelled shawarma, oblivious. "Don't try it unless you want a knife in your stomach," she added as an afterthought.
Bruce frowned again.
"That can't be healthy, though."
"It's okay, Doc. This is normal. He's not dead yet."
Tony wondered what it said about the assassins' mentalities that 'healthy' meant 'doesn't directly cause death'.

"Uh, sorry, but does he normally do that?" Steve asked suddenly, indicating the sleeping agent, who had tensed and was shuddering slightly.
Natasha swore in Russian, which Tony took to be a distinct 'no'. She grabbed her partner's wrist and murmured something softly to him. When this had no effect, she stood up and slapped him, hard, around the face. Everyone around the table winced, and Tony was aware of the waitress behind the counter staring at them.
Barton cried out and sat up with a jolt, gasping.
"Sshh Clint, it's okay," Natasha told him, sitting down again now that the crisis was averted. He took one look at the other around the table and buried his head in his hands.
"Fuck," he groaned shakily. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Bruce reassured him. "We've all been through hell."
"Certainly feels like it,"he grimaced, lifting his head slightly.
"Is everyone finished?" Tony kicked Thor, who wiped his hands guiltily and pushed his plate away. "We should go."
"Where to? Steve asked. "My flat's miles away."
"Stark Tower," Tony said, rolling his eyes as though it were obvious. "I'll call some cars."
"What, all of us?" Bruce frowned. "Fury might -"
"Yes!" Tony said in exasperation, pulling out his miraculously undamaged Starkphone.
"Uh, I don't do cars," Clint warned.
Tony lowered the phone. "What?"
"I'm fine driving, but, I dunno..." he trailed off. "I'm tired, it's not gonna end well."
"Do not worry, young hawk; I too am not accustomed to these Midgardian wagons. Mjolnir has strength to carry us both," Thor volunteered.
Tony did not miss the half-suspicious glance Clint threw the demi-god before nodding gratefully.
God, he doesn't trust any of us, does he, Tony marvelled. Except Widow.
"Fine. But this is not over," Tony said, selecting a number and pressing 'dial'. "Pepper? Yes, I know - I'm fine, quit worrying... What? That's not - don't be so - no, I didn't mean - never mind... Yeah, can you send a car? We're in the shawarma joint... thanks... Oh yeah, do you mind, uh," he did a quick head count, "five extra people overnight?... Yeah, I know... Uh, the Avengers... No! Don't even go there... cool." He hung up.

"Overnight?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"Well, the Helicarrier's out of action, Capsicle's miles from his flat, Brucie's on the opposite side of the world and Goldilocks is on the wrong side of the universe. So, you know, it seemed okay to assume you'd need somewhere to stay. You're welcome for as long as you want."
Clint scrutinised him with narrowed eyes, apparently cross-examining the offer in search of malicious intent. Tony waited, battling to keep the amusement off his face.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," he said eventually. Tony tipped an imaginary hat to him.
"You know, I was wrong about you," Steve said, looking at Tony. "You do care."
"Save the semantics for when the press are here to record it, Capsicle," Tony sighed, although they could all tell he was touched.
"Cars are outside," Bruce informed them, looking between Barton and Romanoff out of the window.
"Come on then people," Tony said, standing up and heading for the door. Barton hobbled over to Thor.
"See you in a minute," Natasha said. They left.
"Mind my back, don't think the window agreed with it. But don't tell Tasha," Clint added hastily. "Where do I hold on?"
Thor extended an arm.
"Are you ready, young hawk?"
"As I'll ever be. Mind the roof."

"So why doesn't he like cars?" Tony pestered. Steve and Bruce were having a rather more intelligent conversation next to him in the back, while he was leaning forward and attempting to poke Natasha through the headrest until she gave in.
"Not my place to say. Why don't you ask him yourself, instead of coming to me?" she sighed. It was going to be a long car journey.
"He might shoot me."
"So could I."
"Yeah, but I don't know him."
"But you know me?"
Tony considered this for a moment. "Fine, I give up."
There were forty seconds of silence (yes, she timed) before he began again.
"So what is it? An allergy? Bumpy ride? Claustrophobia?"
"Only mildly."
Tony stored that information as he continued. "Childhood trauma? Hulkophobia? A grudge?" he paused. "Starkophobia?"
"Stark, even if it was one of those, I wouldn't tell you."
"That means I was right, yeah?"
She raised one eyebrow at him in the rearview mirror.
"Can't you at least tell me if I'm close?"
"If you want."
Tony was taken aback by that answer. Then he saw Bruce trying to conceal his laughter.
"Negatives, Tony," Bruce clarified. Tony thought that one over.
"Hey!" he complained. "Not fair!"
Natasha smiled.
"Doesn't matter," he grumbled sulkily, slumping back and folding his arms. "I'll hack his file."
"I thought you said you didn't want to get shot?"
"Joking! Seriously!" Tony said, hastily changing the subject. "So is there anything we need to know about living with a couple of master assassins? However short-term it may turn out to be?"
"Don't wake us up. Make JARVIS do it. That goes for all of you," she added, turning around, "even if it's an emergency. Speaking from experience here."
"I'll bear that in mind," Bruce smiled.
"Don't deprive me of coffee at whatever time counts as morning. If you hear a noise in the vents, it's probably Clint. If you hear a noise on the roof, it's probably Clint. JARVIS will get disconnected and/or sabotaged if you try to keep tabs on us. And then you won't be able to wake us up. Don't force us to be sociable, don't expect us to be nice, don't challenge us to poker or anything like that if you like being a billionaire. Don't get alarmed if we disappear. Don't play Truth or Dare if you value your reputation. Ignore us if we say we're fine. About Clint - he's been withdrawn from active service until the SHIELD psyches can sniff him over. I haven't - I'm going to be out on missions a lot. With Phil gone, I need someone to keep an eye on him. That falls to you lot."
"Wait - has anyone told him about Coulson yet?" Steve said suddenly.
Natasha swore in Russian.

A/N This is going to basically be a compilation of pretty much unrelated events mapping out the build up of friendship between Clint and the other Avengers, especially Tony. I've got a few ideas, but if you have any situations you really want to see them in, drop me a line and I'll see what I can do :)
Please tell me what you think of this first chapter, especially Natasha in it. I'm sorry if she comes across a bit OCC - I find her the hardest to do, which is partly why I'm shipping her off on SHIELD missions later XD
About updates - Not sure exactly when I'll be able to update, because I haven't got much of the rest of it written atm. Keep an eye out though ;)
Go on. The review button beckons.
Hawk :D