Increasingly Painful and Incredibly Close

16.5

Barney had followed through on his promise to be more involved with his brother. He was in the elevator of the tower, calling his brother to double check the floor number. It went to voicemail, but then Clint was calling him back within seconds.

"Hey, Barn. Sorry, was helping Piet. Wassup?"

He heard rustling on the other end and mumbling. "Fifth floor, right?"

"Yeah, second bedroom on the left. You almost here?"

More background noise. "Yep, in the elevator now."

"Okay, gonna finish this up then. Text me if you get lost."

The phone beeped as the elevator chimed. It was only the third floor, and the redhead just about passed out as Captain America got in the damn elevator. He didn't really speak to him during the wedding, but he was not in the mood for god's righteous soldier right now. Luck was on his side as the man just pulled out his phone, tapping at it disinterestedly. Seconds crawled by until finally, he was at the correct floor.

He made his way down the hall, hearing his brother laugh through the wall. It made him smile, he was glad that despite everything he was happy. At the instructed door, he knocked. "You lovebirds decent?"

"Yeah, c'mon in."

Clint was sat on the bed by his husband, a cup of coffee with a spoon in one hand and Pietro propped up with his other arm. Lucky bolted from her place by the younger's feet, excitedly smelling all the new person smells. He stroked behind her ear fondly while speaking. "Hey, guys. What're y'all up to?"

"Playing darts against myself while the love of my life bullies me." He set the cup down and smacked another dart into the wall without looking for emphasis.

Pietro smirked, laughing slightly. Barney rested his crutch against the dresser. "Y'know, I think the face that you don't have a dart board may have something to do with it."

"I'm imagining the dart board." Clint huffed. "You're both mean."

The archer laid his partner back down, pressing a kiss to his lips. Barney tried not to focus on how the silver haired man appeared even weaker, somehow looking much sicker than a month ago. He looked to the redhead, murmuring something.

"He says to quit staring at him." The younger brother spoke. "It's one of his pet peeves."

Barney ripped his eyes away. "Yeah, sorry. Got lost in thought. Y'all wanna go out somewhere?"

Clint looked to his husband, eyes trained on him as the younger was trying to speak. All the older brother really deciphered was his younger brother's name and maybe a worried tone. The archer just leaned down to kiss him again, smiling. "Hon, I'm not gonna let anyone take pictures of you. If I even see a camera flash I'll punch the shit outta the person."

A small agreement from Pietro. Clint looked at his brother tiredly. "Press has been real bad since that charity interview aired," he explained. "Piet's not a fan, obviously."

"Damn, that's ass. I could never do all the paparazzi shit." He stated, fiddling with the drawstring of his hoodie. "There's a nice little cafe like a block from here if you guys are interested. It's usually pretty empty."

"Sounds... good." Pietro slurred comprehensively enough for the man to understand. Clint nodded, stroking his hair.

"Alright, babe, lemme get you up." The archer lifted him tenderly, his husband's head lolling back. Barney winced as the frail man gave a weak groan. As Clint settled his lover, he made sure he was comfortable. "You want an extra dose before we go?"

"Yes... hurt." His voice sounded tight with pain.

Barney absently tapped on his phone, only occasionally looking up. He caught a glimpse of the tube entering Pietro's stomach, Clint injecting a syringe into one port, the other connected to a spool of beige tubing that lead... somewhere. He was never very knowledgeable when it came to medical things. The archer then eased limp arms through a leather jacket, pulling it around the thin man. He looked much more relaxed after a few minutes, the medicine taking effect. "You ready, honey?"

"Yes..."

As they got ready to leave the tower, Kate was in the living room playing some sort of videogame. She looked over, pausing her game. "Oh hey! Y'all going out?"

"Yeah, just down to a cafe. Want us to bring you back some hot chocolate or something?" As her mentor spoke she got up to stand by Pietro and wrinkle her nose as she brushed loose Lucky fur off his shirt. "I swear I'm gonna brush Lucky today, her fur is everywhere."

Barney was standoffish, watching as the sokovian giggled quietly. Kate picked one more cluster of dog hair off him before squeezing his shoulder and going to sit back down. "You guys have fun, and yeah hot chocolate would be great. Want me to see if Wanda wants anything next time I see her?"

An agreeing sound and then they were off. Down the elevator and outside the building, winter was setting in. Small flurries fell from the sky, nipping Pietro's nose and collecting on his shoulders and lap. Barney and Clint bickered, but the sick man wasn't listening. He was watching the snow, the people bustling past. It was soothing, being nothing more than a face in the crowd. It wasn't a long walk, they were there in under five minutes.

The warm, vanilla scented air enveloped the group as they entered. They found a table, Clint sitting next to his love and Barney across from his brother. "Do you want a peppermint latte, honey?"

"Won't... be able to... finish." The younger looked down.

His archer took his hand. "It's okay. You know Wanda also likes it and won't turn away extra coffee."

This got a small smile out of him as he agreed. His husband kissed his head. "Gonna go order, I'll be right back."

The silence was a bit tense between Pietro and his brother-in-law, both men too awkward to try for a conversation where one party likely wouldn't understand the other. Barney took in a breath, contemplating for a second before speaking. "Are one word answers easier for you?"

"Yes..." he tried his best to be understandable.

"Okay, that makes things a little easier." Barney grinned. "So my brother's treating you good, right? If not I can always whip him into shape."

Pietro gave a tired laugh. "Yeah."

"Good. He can be a real punk sometimes." He didn't allow his face to reflect pity as Pietro tried to swallow thickly, a bit of saliva escaping the corner of his mouth. A small choked sound escaped as the younger blushed. Barney went pale. "You need me to go grab Clint?"

A weak choking cough, barely there. "No. Am... fine."

"Okay, let me know if you change your mind. Anything I can do?" More faint coughing, his cheeks fully red now. He looked so small in that moment, helpless.

"No," a wheeze. "Am fine." Pietro repeated, trying hard to regain his composure.

Clint returned, gently tipping his husband's head forward to relieve the offending spit. He patted his lover's back tenderly, grabbing a napkin to wipe his face. Looking up he noticed his brother's face. "He's okay, Barn. Don't worry."

"Christ, that was terrifying." The older muttered after a few seconds.

The archer just smiled sadly. "That was barely anything, trust me." He was positioning his love back against the headrest, kissing him.

The coffee showed up shortly after.