(A/N): Oh man. I hadn't even thought about the big brothering when it comes to Katie-Kate because that's so far down the line... omg. Now I AM thinking about it and it's hilarious...

Chapter 11: Make a Deal with the Devil

The circus' last performance couldn't come quickly enough for Clint's tastes — he was counting down the days until they got to go pick up Barney. And of course, they got there a few days early so that they could be sure they would catch him before everyone split and went their separate ways.

By the time the circus arrived, Clint couldn't wait for the performance to be over. He just wanted to bring Barney back home with him so they could hang out for more than just a little while at a time — and he wanted to tell his big brother all about exploring with K and to show him around the cottage and the area around it and… he just couldn't wait.

He spotted Barney as he was helping the others set up, and Clint all but skipped over to where his brother was. By that point, most of the circus performers knew who Clint was and were used to him helping his brother with his chores, so they didn't say anything as Clint slid in beside Barney and started to help him unload.

"Guess what!" he all but sang to Barney.

"Chicken butt," Barney said without missing a beat.

Clint laughed and shook his head. "No. I saw a bear!"

Barney raised an eyebrow at Clint. "Yeah?"

"Yeah!" He grinned. "Me and K went out on the trails and we were hiking and this huge bear was on the path and he stood up when he saw us!"

At that, Barney turned to face Clint better. "No kidding?"

Clint nodded. "It was kinda scary at first, but then it was pretty cool," he said with obvious relish. "Maybe we can see a bear while you're with us!"

Barney frowned and glanced back down at his hands. "Yeah… I dunno, Clint."

"What?"

"Well, it's a real long time for me to not be working with Jacques…"

Clint's entire expression fell as he stared at his brother. "But… but you said…."

"Yeah, I know," Barney said without looking up. "But Jacques said—"

"That's not fair!" Clint said, obviously getting worked up to an honest-to-goodness tantrum.

"I have a target range," K said, trying to cut off this nonsense at the pass. "And if I have to, I can throw for you so you know I'm not leading you astray."

"I dunno," Barney said quietly.

"What? Don't think I can do it?" K asked, tipping her chin up with her hands on her hips. "I'll arm wrestle him too."

Barney couldn't help but smirk at that. "No… I bet you can. But I gotta get Jacques' permission — or he might not teach me in the spring," he explained.

"You've talked to him already?" K asked gently. "Because if you have, then the next step is for me to ask nicely."

Barney bit his lip and then nodded. "He said no," he admitted.

She didn't even nod before she simply started toward his trailer. "Be back in two shakes." She took a moment to apply her lipstick again on her way across the grounds and was sure to try and push the growl down as she relaxed her posture and knocked, honestly deciding to go for 'nice' and see where that went.

When Jacques opened the door, he scowled when he saw K. "You're back."

"I am," she said in a relaxed tone. "And I'd like a peace treaty."

"That's a change."

"Yeah, well … the fact remains that we need to talk, and I'd like to not have this as a confrontation every time."

Jacques crossed his arms as he leaned on the doorframe. "What do you want?"

"I'd like to free up your off season, frankly," she replied.

Jacques shook his head. "I already told the kid no."

"And that was when he was asking you," she said. "Now I'm asking you. He'll have access to a target range whenever he wants it."

"Look, woman, it was one thing when you're just poking your nose in here, but I'm training the kid, and I can't trust that kind of thing to you just because you set up some papers for him to shoot," Jacque said with a sneer.

"What do I need to do to prove to you he won't lose any ground?" K asked. "Do you want me to throw for you?"

"Might be interesting," Jacques said. "See if you're as good as you think you are."

"Oh, I am," she said, arching one eyebrow. "Whenever you're ready, let's go. Just tell me what you want me to hit and what you want me to hit it with."

Jacques considered her for a long moment before he finally nodded. "The kid's got a set of knives. You can use his — and he'll show you where the targets are."

"I'm not doing this without you to see it with your own eyes," K said. "I don't need to warm up."

"Like I'd trust you any other way," Jacques said. "But he can set you up."

"Then I'll see you in a few minutes," she said. "Thanks." She turned on her heel and headed back toward the boys — relaxed and doing all she could to stay that way. When she found them, Clint looked mad and Barney apologetic. "I need you to set up some targets and let me borrow your throwing set."

Barney raised both eyebrows. "Whatchagonnado?"

"I'm going to prove to Jacques that you won't be without someone competent keeping you going in the off season."

"O...kay," Barney said, giving her a quick frown before he headed off to get her set up, leaving Clint watching her with a frown of his own.

"I wanna hit him," Clint told her. "It's Christmas and stuff and he's not letting Barney stay with us!"

"No one's gonna hit him," K said.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not this time, no," she replied.

"I don't like this," he said, crossing his arms. "I don't like any of it."

"Trust me," K told him quietly. "There isn't anything he can throw at me to screw me up. I've dealt with a lot worse than him."

"Okay," Clint said. "But I'll keep all my fingers and toes crossed, because this is really important," he added in a whisper.

"I know," K said before she kissed his forehead. "I'm not going to lose this."

Clint nodded, but he still looked incredibly nervous as he followed K to where Barney was setting up the targets quietly. Barney didn't look so much nervous as he looked sort of resigned, though he tipped his head K's way when the two of them arrived. "Got you all set up," he said quietly.

"Barney, chin up," K said as he handed her his knives. She took one out and weighed it in her hand for a moment, testing the balance. "This isn't a bad set, kiddo."

Barney smiled lightly. "I've been practicing so Jacques would let me in on the show next season," he said. "Right now, I'm just assisting, but I might even get to throw."

"Well," K said. "He's giving you the right tools."

Barney nodded. "Yeah, that's… that's why I wanna stick with this." He glanced up at K. "I'm real good at it, K. I really am."

She bent partway over to meet his gaze head on. "So am I." She set the knives down and slipped off her flannel shirt, then handed it to Clint. "Now we just wait on your trainer."

It didn't take too much longer for Jacques to arrive, looking smug as he took in the scene and made himself comfortable. "Now then," he drawled out. "Impress me."

"Tell me what you want me to hit," K said, gesturing openly.

"Start with the basics," he said. "Trick shots are one thing, but form… form is the most important thing."

She nodded at that picked up a knife and turned toward the target. "Distance?"

"Twenty feet to start, and we'll increase it by ten feet for each throw," he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay then."

"As I said, form is most important. If you want to teach my pupil anything, you have to prove that you can be as perfect as I am."

"I'm not arguing with you," she said, her expression open as she took her spot, relaxed her shoulders, and whipped the first knife into the bullseye.

Jacques leaned forward slightly, looking far more interested. "Thirty feet."

She didn't respond except to back up the distance he asked and simply repeat the process without a word said, letting her aim speak for itself.

After a few more of those, Jacques held up a hand to stop her. "You have the basics," he allowed. "But we also need performance." He tipped his head toward an old sign. "Dead center of each vowel only."

"You want a particular order?"

"Alphabetical," Jacques said. "Might as well teach the boys something too."

She couldn't help but smile at that and nodded to herself as she picked up the right number of knives to do the job and then took just a moment before she started throwing at a quick clip, then simply stepped back and rested her weight on one hip as she turned back toward him. But she wasn't doing a thing more or less than he asked.

Jacques got to his feet as he walked toward her. "Let's see a little more creativity… your name in knives. It's one letter, after all."

She nodded at that and waited for Barney to return with the knives. "Main target, or did you have something else you wanted me to hit?"

"The main target," he said, though he was standing almost right behind her

"I had to ask," she said, and she thanked Barney when he handed her the stack of knives and flat out ignored the fact that Jacques was slowly moving closer. She didn't lose her relaxed stance, and after she let her breath out, she started her throws and kept the knives as tight as she could to work on making a solid, even 'K'.

By that time, Jacques had gotten close enough to shadow her movements, putting his hand on her waist as she threw, and he didn't make any secret of the fact that he was trying to throw her off. She was nearly done with the 'K' design when he leaned in even closer and dropped his voice low.

"You know… you're right. We shouldn't separate them. I'll make sure they both learn together; younger minds are always better to mold anyway, and I'm sure I can find a use for the younger boy too," he whispered.

She narrowed her eyes, but he didn't see it, and after she threw the last knife, she turned just her head so she could look up at him. "I leave that up to him," she said honestly. "But that's not what I asked you for. Tell me you don't have other things that you'd like to do — other interests to pursue over the off season." She did not, however, move beyond that or even correct him in the fact that he was so close and touching her.

Jacques held her gaze for a long moment before he finally let out a light laugh and stepped back. "If he slips, even the slightest bit ... if he misses his targets when he comes back… no more visits. At all. His brother wants to see him, he stays here," he said.

She turned to face him and kept her relaxed stance. "And if he exceeds expectations …"

Jacques considered her for a long moment. "If by some miracle he exceeds expectations, then you'll get no argument from me on subsequent winters."

K turned slightly to the boys. "What say you, boys?"

Barney was already nodding, and Clint was halfway holding his breath. "Yeah," Barney said. "Yeah, I promise I'll practice every day."

K turned back to Jacques and offered him her hand. "Shake on it?"

Jacques smirked and took her hand with a smile. "You have my word."

"And I'll hold you to it," she replied. "Have a nice winter, Jacques."

Jacques nodded her way once, sharply, and then turned on his heel to leave. And Barney only waited until he was sure Jacques was out of sight before he darted over to high-five K. "That was amazing," he said in a terse whisper.

"That?" she said, letting her irritation show finally. "I can do that with steak knives." She let out a breath. "Why don't you two gather up your clothes and we can be ready to head out as soon as the show's over."

"Watch for me," Barney said with a grin. "I'm an assistant now!"

"You're gonna be the best one out there," Clint agreed, clearly relieved and also tickled with his mom as he grabbed Barney and started to drag him along. "Come on. Let's get your stuff before he changes his mind, huh?"

"Ooh, yeah, good point," Barney said, rushing off with Clint and letting K take a moment to let her irritation show as she went to get their seats.

But by the time Clint caught up with her again, he was back to his usual cheerful self. "Barney has the coolest knives and even a sword!" he said.

"He's doing really well," K agreed. "Could use a better diet, though. He's skinny."

Clint nodded quietly. "Yeah. But… but we'll take him hunting and we'll have steaks and all that stuff, right?"

"Oh yeah, he'll be strong by the time he gets back," K agreed.

Clint grinned as he pulled a bag of candy out of his pocket and held it out to her. "I got us some snacks if you want 'em," he said.

"Of course you did," she said, pulling him over to kiss the side of his head. "You think of those things all the time."

Clint grinned and sat down next to her, excited for the show to hurry up and be over so that he could run off with his brother for the winter season. Though since it was their last performance, even K and Clint had to be impressed with the way the performers were pulling out all the stops, despite the fact that they'd seen a lot of it before.

And Clint leaned forward delightedly when it was time for the weapons master performance — and he saw that Barney had his own costume and everything. It was an echo of the one that Jacques was wearing, but Clint had to elbow K and whisper, "He looks better."

"Low bar," K whispered back.

Clint giggled as he watched Jacques go through the opening of his act before he went around the edge of the tent looking for volunteers — and stopped in front of Clint and K. "What do you say, my dear?" he asked, extending a hand to her.

"Shit," she said between her teeth as she took his hand and went with it — sure that he'd be a pain otherwise.

Jacques led her to the center of the ring, presenting her to the roar of the crowd before he showed her where to stand. "Don't worry," he said, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "I never miss."

"I have full faith," she replied easily, sure to put on a smile.

Jacques gave her a showman's smile before he turned out to the crowd and then resumed his performance, throwing the knives close enough to K to have the crowd gasping. And K could see that Clint was holding his breath, leaning nearly out of his seat — while Barney was doing his very best not to look terrified while he was in the center of the ring, even if he had a green hue to his cheeks.

K remained relaxed and held her smile — if nothing else, sure that Jacques wouldn't wreck his reputation during a show. And when the show was through and he hadn't even nicked her, Barney finally relaxed a little as Jacques offered her his hand again to present her to the crowd once more.

When K got back to her seat, Clint reached over and all but clutched to her. "I thought he was gonna hurt you," he whispered, wide-eyed.

"That would have hurt his reputation, sweetheart," K said quietly, sure to keep the smile in place, since there were plenty of people around them buzzing with excitement still, before she continued at a whisper, "And I would have healed and kicked the crap out of him."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," he whispered back.

"No — so it would be that much more of a shock, wouldn't it?" K said.

Clint nodded quietly before he simply put his head down on her arm. "I can't wait til we get Barney gone from here," he whispered. Jacques scares me, he added, signing it so no one could overhear it.

Not me, she replied right back.

Nothing scares you.

Nothing in this tent.

Clint looked up at her. "What are you scared of?" he asked. "I thought you wouldn't be scared of nothing."

"Nothing important right now," she promised. "I'll tell you later if you want to know. Not here."

Clint nodded. "Okay," he said. "I just didn't think you were scared of anything," he muttered. "But maybe… spiders?" He gave her a small, teasing smile, obviously trying to get a smile out of her.

"I'm fine, Clint. It wasn't bad, really."

"He was doing it to scare you, though," Clint said "Just because he could."

"In that case, he failed."

"He sure scared Barney, though," Clint said.

"He shouldn't have been scared," K said. "Like I said, everyone's trying to show off today. Jacques included. He's probably mad I threw as well as I did."

"Yeah, some people don't like losing to girls 'cause they're stupid," Clint whispered with real relish.

"He's got all kinds of reasons," K agreed, though at least Clint had calmed down a little by that time.

The rest of the show went off without a hitch, and as the performers and the audience headed out of the tent, the ringmaster made it a point to find the two of them.

"I like the hair," he told K with a smirk.

"Every now and again, a girl has to change it up," she said, lifting her shoulder to her ear.

"Didn't even recognize you until I saw you with Clint," he said, tipping his head toward Clint. "But I gotta say, lady — you got balls."

"Why would you say that?" she laughed.

"Like I don't know what Jacques was trying to pull?" The ringmaster shook his head before he put his hand out and slipped her some money while he was at it. "That's for Barney. Christmas bonus. I'm not giving it to Jacques or he won't see it, and I figure you have better plans anyway."

She gave him an honest smile. "I'll make sure he gets it. And I have to tell you — there wasn't a thing to worry about. That man's pride wouldn't let him slip up in front of a crowd."

"Maybe you're right. But most people can't keep that in their heads when he's facing them with knives," the ringmaster pointed out. "Like I said. Nerves of steel, you've got."

She smiled again and offered him her hand for another shake. "See you in the spring. And thanks."

With that, the two of them headed to the trailer, where Barney was waiting for them with his bag thrown over his shoulder and his weapons cases at his feet. "We ready to go?" he asked, sounding almost nervous, like he was expecting Jacques to rescind his permission at any moment.

"Waiting on you," K said.

Barney grinned at that as he followed Clint and K back to where K had parked, though he had to raise an eyebrow when he saw the new Jeep. "Do you guys change cars, like, every time you come here?" he asked.

"It was a crap car," K defended. "Never would have made it the winter where we're headed."

Barney nodded as Clint helped him load up his stuff in the backseat, and Sicem made sure to give him a good licking once he had climbed in as well. Barney had to laugh, scratching Sicem's ears. "I love your dog, by the way. Did I tell you?"

"Yeah, he's the best," Clint agreed cheerfully before he climbed in too. "C'mon, Barney. You're gonna love the cottage."