I looked it up on the Marvel wiki today, and Hawkeye does have a criminal past. So maybe that has something to do with it. That and he can be rebellious—there is a reason why he led his own branch of the Avengers for awhile. I guess he just prefers being the one in charge.

As far as fan fics go, I suppose they can do whatever they want. Alternate universes is a well-established fact in the marvel universe. Not to mention marvel writers often disagree amongst themselves.