Nothing Will Ever Bring Us Back Together

Chapter Six- Arguments

BARTON HOUSEHOLD

"ETHAN BARNEY BARTON" Natasha Barton screamed at her petrified son. If there was one rule in the house, it would be to not make Natasha angry. This time Clint was angry too. Ethan knew he was in for one hell of a punishment.

"Yes, mum?" Ethan replied, trying to keep his cool.

"What did you just say this 'girlfriend' of yours name was?" Natasha asked, trying not to lose control, because if she lost it who knew what would happen?

"Ella Stark." Ethan replied and braced his mind for a loud impact. This time though, it came from his father. And it wasn't so loud.

"Ethan are you sure?"

"Yes," He replied. It was just a name. What was all this fuss about? "What's the matter? Who do you know called Stark? Is this some stupid thing you won't tell me about to do with your past that you won't tell me because it will give me nightmares?" He said it scornfully, like he didn't believe them.

"Yes, Ethan, I'm afraid it is. Now will you please go to your room, your mother and I need to talk." Ethan huffed.

"No! Not until I know about all of this." Natasha pulled three guns and two knives from various places on her body. She did not point them at him but he was scared.

"Tasha-" Clint began.

"A good interrogator will never give their secrets. A good Agent will always have a weapon." Natasha proclaimed. Ethan backed up the stairs as Natasha put her guns and knives back. Unknown to all three of them Katya had been watching the whole encounter, from the stairs, the whole time. She was almost as good as Natasha at reading between the lines. She followed Ethan up to his room and shut the door behind her.

"Get out Katya." Ethan instructed.

"No, I came to help you." She replied. "They were both agents for something. They know someone called Stark and he or she was related to the agency they worked for. They don't want anything to do with him or her." Ethan sat there for a moment, taking in what Katya said to him.

"Katya, go back on those stairs while they are talking. I'm googling Stark." Katya made her way about half way down the stairs and listened in.

"Clint, we have to leave, what if she knows? What if she tells him? What if he goes to Stark's place and he tells him? Clint, what can we do?" Natasha asked.

"What if it's a different guy? What if she doesn't know? Tony would have to tell her to tell him and I'm sure none of us have told any of the kids. I just don't want to mess up their lives again, we'll have to tell them one day anyway."

"If he can't pluck up the courage to get her round in one month we will leave. It would show their bond is not too strong."

"Ok, case closed." Katya turned to scamper back upstairs when the stair she was on creaked.

"Katya, come here!" Natasha yelled, "I can see you on the stairs!" Katya damned her parents amazing listening abilities and made her way to the living room.

"Katya, honey, how much did you hear?" Clint asked going for the nice guy effect.

"Nothing!" Katya replied innocently, a little too innocently.

"Be truthful Katya. I can read between the lines too." Natasha said to her, assuming a the nice guy wasn't going to work.

"Ok, I heard all of it. Don't kill me, please"

"We won't, just promise not to type anyone's name in to Google because we will find out."

"Ok," Katya chirped, "ETHAN STOP OR MUM WILL KILL YOU." Ethan walked down the stairs, sulking.

"Well you've had your chat, will you tell me now?"

"No, Ethan we have to keep you safe. However, you have three months to convince your lovely girlfriend to come to our house."

"What? No! You will scare her! No no no no no no no NO!"

"Yes yes yes. We can even get Katya to go to her friend's house so we can have a nice long chat you without any interruptions, if you want."

"That would be great except Katya doesn't have any friends, do you Kat?" Friends had been a sensitive topic since Ethan had found out that she had no friends at kindergarten. Ethan had always had the tan muscular look, girls always flirting with him. Katya, on the other hand, stared at people and her ability to read between the lines often freaked people out. Whenever Ethan had said 'Katya has no friends,' in the past she would always bust out crying and run away. Today though, she managed to scream at him first

"ACTUALLY, I DO NOW SO SHUT UP!" As she then ran away sobbing, Ethan muttered,

"And I suppose Mr. Imaginary who you sit next to on the bus counts." Katya didn't hear him.

"Now look what you've done." Natasha muttered back as Clint ran up the stairs after Katya. He knew where she'd be. The roof. Like him, she was quite fond of heights. "Back to you though, Ethan, If you don't bring her to see us before one month is up, I can guarantee you'll never see her again."

"But mum-"

"No buts, Ethan. Case closed." Ethan Barton walked away knowing he'd been defeated, once again, by his mother.

ON THE ROOF

"Katya, don't worry. He didn't mean it." Clint tried to console his daughter.

"Dad he did mean it, and you know it. When have I ever had a friend before?"

"Err…. Well you do now."

"Yes I sort of have three. Zoe, Joe and Sam. Ethan can never know their names; he'll use them against me." Katya then burst in to tears again.

"It's ok, sweetie." Clint said, giving her a hug. "Mummy and daddy are here for you."

"I-I know." Katya sobbed, "But what if I'm not a good friend? What if they start to hate me? What if-"

"Kat, there's a first tine for everything. My first friend was…" Clint paused as he struggled to remember who his first friend was. He couldn't count his brother. At school he was the strange guy who got beaten up by his father. At the circus he only had trainers. At S.H.I.E.L.D. he spent most of his time with Natasha and most agents were completely scared to come near her. It made getting through the hallways easier. Phil had been a good friend, but Clint felt like he was his dad. He realized his first friend; aside from Natasha was either Stark, Steve, Bruce or Thor. Possibly Pepper. Probably Steve though. And he had left them. "Katya, I had friendship problems too. Your mum was my first friend, aside from my brother, and he's dead. I had a few other friends as well though, after."

"Who were the rest of them?" Katya asked. She was curios as neither Natasha nor Clint ever talked about their past.

"I can't tell you but I've had seven friends in my life, I think," he counted on his hands Pepper, Tony, Steve, Thor, Bruce and Phil. Natasha. "That's including your mum and not my brother. How sad am I? I've had seven friends, one of which I married, one of which is dead five of whom I left sixteen years ago. I actually have no friends."

"Dad I'll be your friend." Katya had cheered up a bit. Clint smiled. "But tell me. Was Tony Stark one of your friends?"

"No." Clint lied, and Katya knew it.