@shieldinitiatives said:“Wow, you look exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?” (Barney from Laura)
It felt weird, crashing on someone else’s couch but Clint had insisted while the last bits of his corrupted memories were fixed and Barney had for the past few weeks. What was even weirder was the fact that here there were others besides his brother. Kids and a wife, all after he had supposedly DIED so that was one hell of a shocker even still. But that was hardly was kept him up at night, what caused him to toss and turn, to wake with a start and wander the grounds for the rest of the night.
No, it was the rest of the pieces still clicking into place. Memories that had been LOCKED AWAY now resurfacing. A fog lifted but he was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t for the best, that even though the memories of being down in that bunker helped him recall just how they had TWISTED his own mind and figure out what was real and what wasn’t, it was like reliving every second all over again. Reliving every second of things best left in the dark and things he sure as hell wasn’t going to talk about with kids around. Hell, probably if they weren’t, he wouldn’t for the sheer sake of stopping someone from worrying about him.
But someone was bound to take notice sooner or later. The natural bags under his eyes only growing darker and heavier, the exhaustion setting in that made him even quieter than normal. Barney could barely even concentrate on his crosswords in his down time, unable to pull the right words from his mind and then the WRONG words, well, they only brought those memories up even in his waking hours. But when Laura, Clint’s wife, finally voice just how tired he looked, Barney had paused in his helping of cleaning the dishes. Blue eyes refusing to meet her, instead focused on the plate held in his hands, still covered in soap. ❝ ——— Don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout. Slept like a baby. ❞ LIAR. But to what extent she even knew about the situation, Barney wasn’t sure and he had never bothered to ask either. Had she even known Clint had a brother? It had a tendency to be a SHOCK to most people. But either way, Barney was all too quick to try and change the subject. ❝ Anything other than the dishes that needs workin’ on round here? Already fixed some of the equipment in your shed for you. ❞
