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Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Was just a freight train coming your way..
There were very few people Clint actually told in the first place. Some may have figured it out, and certainly Bobbi's doctor knew. But he did tell Barney.
They had next to no one growing up, certainly not a conventional family, so when Bobbi told Clint that she was carrying his baby he immediately tracked down Barney to tell him.
"Guess what," Clint had said.
"What?"
"Chicken butt. Also, you're gonna be an uncle."
Clint had difficulty remembering the rest of the night; they drank themselves stupid and woke up the next afternoon cursing anything that made a sound. He actually had to tell the story over again because Barney drank so much he forgot the reason they were drinking.
A week later, a package came in the mail of odds and ends that a baby needed. However there was no order to it; most likely Barney went down the baby aisle at a random box store and picked up stuff his thought the kid might need. Some things the baby wouldn't even be able to use for a year or two down the line. Either way, Clint took everything out of the box and placed the items around the room even though they did not have any furniture or a crib. So most of it sat in random spots on the floor. And there was still six months to go.
Barney would call once a week or so for updates on "Barney Jr" (because one week he would swear the baby was a boy) or "Baby Bop" (because he'd swear the next week the baby was a girl). And because Barney continuously referred to Clint's unborn child as characters from that annoying kid's show, Clint would do everything he could to annoy him right back.
Barney was only able to talk directly to the baby once, if Clint remembered correctly. It was after Bobbi started getting a noticeable bump around her abdomen that she had difficulty covering; she was already downgraded to light duty. Bobbi sat up from the couch suddenly and froze, her hand on the side of her abdomen. Clint was in front of her in seconds. "What's wrong? What's happening?"
She grinned after a moment. "Your kid is beating me up." Bobbi took his hand and placed it against the side of her bump, pressing inwards. "Feel that?"
Clint waited until he felt the tiniest of movements kick at his hands. Then he waved Barney over and did the same thing, watching Barney's concentrated face. After less than a minute his entire face lit up. "She likes me better than you."
Bobbi and Clint both made faces at him while Barney kept his hand on Bobbi's belly. "Hi Princess, it's your Uncle Barney. I'm here to spoil you then hand you back to your mom and dad. That's what uncles are for."
And Barney meant every single syllable.
But then came the day Clint had to give him those words back. Because he wouldn't need them anymore.
It happened in much the same way. They sat together on the front steps of the apartment building after Clint had drained his entire body of any tears he had left. He didn't even need to say anything, Barney just knew.
"The baby?"
Clint nodded, his elbows on his knees and hands dropped in between. They wouldn't look at each other. Barney stood slowly, clapped him on the shoulder and walked inside, headed for the baby's unfinished room. He snagged a box from next to the stairs and opened the door to a room that wouldn't be needed.
Slowly, he put things in the box. By now they had a small bedside cradle tucked into the closet, but the rest of the items dotting the room were mostly toys and small things. A few onesies. Baby shampoo. Odds and ends.
Just as he was tucking the flaps of the box inward, Bobbi appeared in the doorway. Her face held no expression, and Barney could tell she'd done nothing but cry all day. She stood in disheveled clothing, her hair a complete mess, and cleared her throat. "What are you doing, Barney?"
Barney looked at the box in the middle of the floor and nudged it with his toe. "You shouldn't have to do this."
Bobbi nodded, then wiped at her face with her hand. Barney pulled her close to him and let her cry into his oversized button-up for hours until he walked her back to their room. Clint would come and go every few minutes, but he was the last person Bobbi wanted to see at that moment. So Barney sat with her until the sun came up once again and Bobbi fell asleep.
Clint crashed on the couch hours ago, curled into a ball like he did when they were still ankle-biters. And Barney would sit with him for a few hours as well, at least until one of the two needed something. It was two days of bouncing back and forth between Bobbi and Clint before Bobbi made the first effort to move about.
Barney stayed the rest of the week, helping with whatever needed to be done. Clint would go back to work. Bobbi went back the week after. The box remained in the middle of the floor for another few weeks until Bobbi shoved it into the closet. After a few months, it was like the baby never existed.
But Barney kept the ultrasound in his wallet. It's still there.