Chapter 6: Barney's First Heartbreak

Things had tightened down considerably since General Ross's mini invasion with Tony. The labs that the Avengers were using were in a different facility entirely, since the tower was still undergoing some repairs, and because of it, everything was in a bit of disarray. New personnel, new feel to the workspace, new view. All of it was enough to pull people off-balance.

And though Bruce was trying very hard to pay attention and go under the radar, he still was having trouble recognizing all the new people he was forced to be around due to the change in locale. Because of that, he was keeping to himself and his assistant and, of course, Tony when he insisted on popping in and being a pain.

Bruce was just going over the latest data on the long-running experiment he'd been forced to re-start when his lab assistant set a cup of coffee down at his elbow like he usually did. Bruce barely looked up as he thanked him, then absently picked up the cup and started to try to wake up.

He was halfway through the cup when he realized he wasn't waking up at all. And in fact, he seemed to be slipping. But even on realizing it, his heart rate didn't jump like it usually would, and his adrenaline didn't spike in the least. It was, in fact, the most relaxed Bruce had felt in ages, even knowing that he'd been drugged.

Barney hung up the phone in Westchester looking like someone had hit him with a truck and then looked up at K, who had been the one to pick up Miranda and Paul's call. He wasn't sure how much she'd heard when she was being polite and giving him distance to have a private conversation, but she looked perfectly sympathetic.

He let his shoulders drop. "Ana's grandparents aren't doing well," he said quietly, trying not to get upset because the whole thing was such a reasonable reason to go. "So… so her parents are moving the family to Pennsylvania and leaving the circus so they can take care of them." He took a stuttering breath. "So… so she won't be there this summer."

K let out a deep, weary sigh. "I'm so sorry, Barney. What can I do?"

"I dunno," Barney said, doing a horrible job of acting like he wasn't heartbroken. "They're leaving next month."

"So … you need to see them before then."

Both of Barney's eyebrows shot up, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, of course."

"When can we go?" Barney's mind was racing as he tried to figure out what he was even going to say when he and Ana had been kissing for long enough to get teased about longer-term prospects now that they were both in high school. He hadn't even thought about what a goodbye would be like.

"When would be best?"

"I guess before they're packing up…" Barney bit his lip. "Soon? Yeah. Soon. That would be good. Just as soon as I figure out… anything. At all. With her."

"I'll talk to Logan; we'll make it a quick trip. He can stick around with James and the little ones; we'll hit the road like we used to. It should be easier for you to think that way."

"Can we bring Clint?" Barney asked. "Then it would really be like we used to do."

"I think he'd like that," K agreed. "I'll let you talk to him about it. You don't get to surprise him as much as I know you want to."

Barney broke into a grin. "Thanks, Mom," he said, trying not to rush off like he wanted to because he didn't want to look like an idiot kid.

As it turned out, Clint was with Kitty, teasing her relentlessly about her crush on someone so much older — which had Barney pausing in the doorway, since he'd had a crush on Kitty and knew the age gap there made Clint laugh, too. Telling him that Ana was moving in front of Kitty could open up a whole new avenue for teasing that he did not want to deal with from his obnoxious little brother.

Clint spotted him anyway, though, and waved him over. "What, are you a lurker now?" he teased.

Barney rolled his eyes and kicked off of the doorway. "Just wasn't sure if you were done telling Kitty what to do with her love life. Real smooth, Clint. I hear girls like being dictated to like that."

"First of all?" Clint turned toward Barney with his whole body. "At least I know when someone's old enough I don't have a chance and don't want to have a chance. And second, I'm not taking advice on girls from the guy who thinks the height of romance is hiding for kisses where you have to step around animal droppings."

"You're too busy picking fights with every bad guy in the world to notice if anyone has eyes for you. What do you know about romance?"

"Still more'n you." Clint crossed his arms. "Lurker."

Barney let out a frustrated noise. "Clint…" He shook his head, pinched his nose, and tried again. "I came to ask you if you wanted to go on a road trip just you, me, and Mom, but obviously, you're too busy being better than the rest of us, so I'll just tell Mom you can't make it."

"What?" Clint looked like Barney had completely thrown him off. "Wait!"

"No, you didn't sound like you were interested," Barney called back. "Might be better if you just stay here with the little kids."

"I'm the one who found Mom," Clint argued. "We were doing campouts and road trips before you even called her 'Mom'!"

"She must have realized I'm the superior brother. Too bad for you."

"Shut up, Barn; you aren't even here half the time."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder or something."

"She feels bad for you not getting attention. It's pity, not favoritism."

"All the more reason to leave you here, then," Barney teased. "So she doesn't feel like she's favoring anyone."

"Shut up, Barn. When are we leaving?"

Barney grinned. "Well, Mom has to make sure Dad isn't gonna be swamped with the girls and James…"

"Then I guess we should start packing," Clint said. "Where are we going?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Nope," Clint agreed, then waved to Kitty and headed off with Barney to start packing — leaving Kitty shaking her head, bemused as always by the two Barton boys.

K had made the arrangements with Logan, and Logan had agreed quickly enough when he heard what the trouble was. Of course, he had also insisted on panic buttons and team comms just in case. But considering how off in the edges Barney felt most of the time, a little trip with his brother and mom sounded like the kind of thing that would remind him of who loved him. And the boys needed it. Always.

Besides, the preparation for the trip alone was already serving as a reminder for Barney of where he stood with the family. Not only were Katie and Susie helping with the packing but the Summers twins were "helping" by taking clothes out of the bags, while Rachel actually tried to help and kept putting the clothes back in after the twins would take them out.

Barney might have missed the outpouring of love, though, because he was so focused on trying to figure out what to say to Ana. He definitely wanted to say goodbye to her, but on the other hand, he didn't want to come off as too sappy… so he was circling in his mind, going back and forth between ideas, and generally being quieter than usual.

Of course, K made sure to stop at some of Barney's favorite places to eat while they were on a road trip, so the mood didn't last, and he ended up enjoying himself despite the impending heartbreak all the same.

And it was nice to hang out just the three of them. It felt a lot like it had been when Clint and K had first found each other — eating out at restaurants, taking travel-tired naps in the back of the truck, and trying to out-do each other playing games like trying to find the farthest-away license plate on passing cars.

Eventually, though, they reached the rest of the circus, and Barney had to swallow down a nervous lump in his throat. Ana had been the first girl he'd actually been able to date. And now, he had to figure out how to say goodbye. He still hadn't worked that part out, actually.

Clint, of course, completely misinterpreted Barney's nerves. "Hoping you don't find your girl with a winter boyfriend?" he teased.

"Oh, shut up, Clint," Barney said, flushing without meaning to.

"I'll be here when you need a shoulder to cry on," Clint teased, not entirely realizing that he'd actually have to follow through on that promise soon enough.

Barney sighed, let his shoulders drop, and decided to ignore Clint for the time being as he made his way through the small crowd of his second family. Everyone that knew him threw up enthusiastic hellos and "when did you get here?"s, but…

There she was.

Ana looked completely caught off-guard when she saw Barney, but he was relieved to see her smiling when he came to join her where she was sitting outside trying to find some peace and quiet to read a book.

"Hey, so… so I heard you're leaving," Barney said, fully realizing how awkward he sounded and wishing he knew what to say.

Ana's expression softened, and she leaned toward him. "So you came here when you heard?" she asked. When he nodded, she smiled even more and then leaned forward to kiss him.

And, well, who was he not to run with a response like that?

By the time Barney caught back up with Clint and K, he was looking both more relaxed and more upset, somehow at the same time. He obviously still wasn't happy about Ana leaving, but on the other hand, it was plainly apparent the goodbye had fixed his mood right up.

And if Clint had been a little older, he might have thought twice about the teasing. Even if Barney was doing better, his shoulders were dropped, and he was staring at the ground despite the smile locked at the corner of his mouth. All the signs were there that he wasn't in the mood to be messed with.

But, as little brothers were wont to do, Clint ignored all that and went for the jab. "So," he said as he sidled up next to Barney, "good goodbye?"

"Oh, shut up, Clint," Barney grumbled, his smile dropping fast.

"Long goodbye?" Clint pressed.

"Shut up, Clint."

"I think, if you've settled business for now, it's probably time to feed your little brother before he starts chewing on whatever's closest to him," K said before Clint could get going.

Barney snickered and nodded. "Feral child that he is."

"Hey," Clint said.

"Oh, I should take offense to that," K said loftily.

"Didn't mean your kind of feral, Mom, but it was funny, you gotta admit," Barney said, grinning wider.

"I'm not — I'm not even that kind of feral!" Clint insisted.

"The kind that can't put his clothes on right or speak in sentences? Sure you are."

"Glass houses, non-blond Barton," K said, reaching out to brush his hair the wrong way.

"What? I talk goodly," Barney said, grinning somehow even wider down at K.

"Passable," she said. "Though it should be 'speak' or absolutely anything other than 'goodly,' you ridiculous little corn-pone."

"Oh, right," Barney said, nodding semi-seriously. "I speak bad-notly."

"Det är bra att du är vacker," K said.

"Not that pretty," Clint said under his breath.

"Passable, though," K replied as she squeezed Clint's shoulder.

Clint shrugged. "Only because he looks so much like me."

"Small miracles," she agreed, then tipped her head for Barney to catch up. "I'll leave it between you on where we go next. The only thing I know for sure is that you'll likely be looking for something sweet."

"Hot chocolate and peppermint sticks," Barney said after a moment's thought. "Please."

"Then, Clint, I guess it's up to you to pick dinner."

"Umm… what about that place with the volcano wings?"

"Works for me," K said, then turned to Barney. "You ready to burn your face off?"

"If it's the only way Clint can feel like he's better-looking than me…"

K sighed dramatically, matching both of them for their level. "You're both pretty. Stop that."

"Can't," Barney said.

"It's hard-wired," Clint agreed.

"You're both lucky I love you so much."

"Love you too," the boys chorused back to her.

The three of them headed off to get dinner — and the hot chocolate — but when they were done and they were nearly back to the car, K whistled shrilly and tossed the keys to Barney. "You're up."

Barney stared at the keys. "I'm what?" he asked at the same time Clint said, "He's what?"

"We'll stay in the parking lot, but it's time you learned how to drive. Shift anyhow," K said. "And don't worry; Logan said he had to re-do the clutch soon anyhow. So … you're up."

Barney looked like Christmas had come early as he climbed into the driver's seat, his eyes wide as he put his hands on the wheel and then looked over at K, grinning madly. "You're totally sure? I mean, last time I drove your car, I totally wrecked the gears."

"Yeah, I'm not worried about it," she promised. "And you might have been under a little stress last time."

"Yeah, just a little," Barney said, making a face as he thought of how he'd jackrabbited several times on his drive to find Logan and stop Creed. He shook his head. "This is totally different, though. No jerks, just me and my brother and my mom."

"So you'll do great," she said. "Just relax and try not to kill any guard rails or light posts."

"Which he will," Clint put in from the back seat, making a dramatic show of strapping himself in.

"Then it's a good thing Logan's ride is steel reinforced," K said. "Whenever you're ready — don't let him get in your head." As soon as she coached him through getting the seat in the right spot for his longer legs, she walked him through the basics. "It's not hard," K promised. "Just work on first gear to start. Keep the clutch in, give it a little gas, and gently feather off the clutch."

It took two tries before Barney got that far without either stalling out or lurching forward, and then it was clear he didn't know what to do and he was afraid to hit the gas or to try and back off — mostly because K was encouraging him to 'keep it steady' and trying to guide him through feeling when he needed to use the clutch, gas, or brake. And every time they'd start off, it would be with a good lurch … not just from the take off, but when he got bold and decided to try shifting to second, too.

Of course, that meant quicker speeds — and faster turns — and more anxiety about when to use the clutch. At that point, his coach was laughing hard enough that she was of no use whatsoever. "You've got it; you do," she laughed, holding her stomach. "Try not to crash land."

She was the only one out of the three that picked up when she needed to brace herself for a lurch or a short distance stop, laughing all the while until Barney finally got it. It was all at once, and though it wasn't the easiest on the engine, he did figure out the clutch without launching his passengers or himself toward the dash. "Good, now feather with the gas, too," K said, wiping her eyes. "And if you take your foot off the gas, just press the clutch in. That'll buy you time anyhow."

Barney thought he had it down — and it was getting smoother — until he barked the tires in third and K broke down laughing all over again. "Was that too much?" Barney asked through a grin.

"No, no — do that every time in every gear," K laughed. "Bonus points for reverse."

"She's trying to test my healing when you send me flying into next week," Clint put in helpfully, though he was laughing as well.

"Don't listen to him," K said. "More peel outs."

"Mom says more peel outs," Barney called to Clint.

"Mom heals better," Clint called back.

"He needs the practice!" K defended. "How else will he win drag races at stop lights?"

"Lipstick," Clint said without missing a beat, and Barney just about swallowed his own tongue with the noise he made.

The boys kept picking on each other back and forth for the rest of Barney's lesson, building up to an excellent mood until they finally stopped so K and Barney could switch places and, as Clint put it, get home safely.

"Such a weak stomach," K teased. "I'm sure Barney will be dying to go when you learn."

"I don't heal," Barney said without missing a beat. "I can't go."

"Chicken," K shot back before Clint could even get there, and Clint simply gestured toward K with one hand as if to say "what she said."

"Okay, fine," Barney said. "But only so I can rub it in when he takes an age and a half to get gear shifting down."

"I dunno," K said as she fixed the seat. "He was pretty fast with archery …"

Clint grinned triumphantly. "Besides," he sang out when Barney looked like he would argue, "I've got a big brother to watch make all the mistakes first."

"I think you mean you get to learn from me when I do it right."

K shook her head and put it into gear to get moving. They still had a way to go before they set up camp again, and fun as it was to play in the parking lot, it was time to move.