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ysabetwordsmithThis story was written for the Asexy Valentines Fest, partly inspired by aceofannwn. It also fills the "game night" square on my card for the ![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trope_bingo fest. This fest features fundamental motifs that will be familiar to most readers. It encourages writers to analyze storylines and characters, then reinterpret them in new ways.
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, JARVIS
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: No standard warnings apply.
Summary: Phil Coulson is SHIELD's best handler for a reason: he can deal with the broken people that nobody else can manage but desperately need anyway. So he comes up with an unusual teambuilding idea to shore up the Avengers.
Notes: Asexual character. Aromantic character. Asexual relationship. Flangst. Dysfunctional dynamics. Mention of past abuse. Incidental self-injury. Non-sexual ageplay. Games. Cuteness. Teambuilding. Personal growth. Howard Stark's A+ parenting. Hurt/comfort. Trust issues. Making up for lost time. Odin's A+ parenting. Teamwork. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5. Skip to Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.
"Love Is for Children" Part 6
"What kind of game are you playing?" Steve asked then. "I mean, you don't have to tell me. You invited me before and I turned you down. I'm just ... kinda curious about the bathrobe."
"Well, my original idea didn't work out," Phil admitted. How could he explain this so it would make sense to Steve? Phil wanted him to feel intrigued, not uncomfortable. "I switched to a different plan. Have you ever felt like you missed something growing up?"
"All the time," Steve said. "It was the Depression. We didn't have much."
"Ever wish you could go back and change that? Do the things you missed, or maybe redo something to turn out better?" Phil asked.
"If only," Steve said, the rest of the thought swallowed up by a crack in his voice. And there it was, the yawning void in his life left by the loss of everyone he had known. Phil worried about that. Steve needed anchors in the here and now, and since he didn't care a great deal about possessions, that meant he needed people. But Steve wasn't reaching out much, even to his own teammates.
"Well, that's what we're doing. We're playing a little game of make-believe to catch up on things we missed and do over what went wrong," Phil explained. "Everyone else is pretending to be little, so they can let go of responsibility for a while, and I'm pretending to be Uncle Phil the babysitter. It's pretty relaxing. You're welcome to come give it a try."
"I'm not ... sure I can do that," Steve admitted slowly. "Growing up, it was always me and Bucky, you know? The two of us against the world. We were like brothers, and now he's gone." Steve hiccupped a little, clearly trying not to cry. From his perspective, that loss was still very recent. "I don't think I could put anyone else in his place. I don't want another big brother, I want my Bucky back."
Phil couldn't blame him. "What about something different, then?" he said. "You're the team leader. We want the others to look up to you naturally, and take over when their skills merit it, not fight over who's in charge all the time. You might think about being the big brother yourself."
"I never had a chance to do that," Steve said.
"This exercise is all about second chances, giving us the opportunity to do things we never could before," Phil pointed out. "How do you feel about playing the part of an older brother and helping me take care of the younger kids?"
"I think I like it," Steve said. He chewed on his lip as he mulled over the idea. "I enjoy looking after people. Didn't you say the point was to let go of responsibility, though?"
"If that's what people need," Phil said. "There's no reason you can't do a little of both. Everyone seems to be gravitating toward an age that works for them. Clint and Natasha have experimented a little but usually stick with eight and seven years old, respectively. Tony's parked at four. Bruce has been everything from two to six, though we figured out pretty fast that it doesn't work when he's older than Tony, it makes them both uncomfortable. He's currently hovering around three or three and a half."
"How many times has Bruce throwing a tantrum turned into Hulk making an appearance?" Steve asked.
"Zero," Phil said.
Steve's eyebrows went up. "He never Hulks out while you're playing? Even if he loses a game or gets hurt or something?"
This was not an idle question. Shortly after moving in, Bruce had dropped a blender on his foot, Hulked out, and wrecked half the kitchen. Fortunately Tony Stark was made of money and could afford to replace it, but still. Natasha had been there and it set back her tolerance by weeks.
"He hasn't so far," Phil said. "I don't think it's just about Bruce feeling a little safer or more relaxed. I think something in the exercise helps Hulk feel like he doesn't need to come out."
"Golly," Steve said.
Phil could only nod. After all the crazy and sometimes dangerous things that Bruce had cooked up trying to suppress or destroy his alter ego, the one thing that actually showed some progress was this quiet role-playing. Phil had a tentative hypothesis that, with Bruce allowing himself to express some of the things he usually bottled up, Hulk felt less compelled to burst out and handle those for him. The time Bruce had tripped over a chair and skinned his knee, he actually cried over it until Phil patched him up with a couple of cartoon band-aids. This from the man who hadn't shed a tear after his new best friend almost died saving New York from a nuclear bomb. Hulk had howled Tony awake; Bruce had never so much as mentioned the matter.
"So what age do you think I should be?" Steve asked.
"That's up to you," Phil said.
"Maybe ... ten?" Steve said.
"Sure, let's give that a try," Phil said. It was older than the others, enough to help watch them, but still young enough for Steve to need plenty of adult supervision himself. "Just think back to when you were that age. Find some happy memories to focus on. That will help you get a feel for the exercise."
"What do you get out of this, Phil?" asked Steve. "I mean, everyone else gets to goof off, but you're ... kinda still doing the same job as usual."
"I get to take care of people," Phil explained, "and they let me. I value that tremendously. Do you realize how hard it is to convince the Avengers to slow down, eat real food, sleep regularly, or tell anyone about a problem? We're still working out the dynamics, but we're learning. That's a good thing." Phil sighed. "I also get to make up for not being there when you needed me. For not getting there in time. Everyone on the team got roughed up, one way or another, before you all came into my life. I can't undo that, but I can do some damage control now that I'm here. That makes me feel better."
"Okay, yeah," Steve said. "I get that."
[To be continued in Part 7 ...]
aceofannwn. It also fills the "game night" square on my card for the trope_bingo fest. This fest features fundamental motifs that will be familiar to most readers. It encourages writers to analyze storylines and characters, then reinterpret them in new ways. Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, JARVIS
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: No standard warnings apply.
Summary: Phil Coulson is SHIELD's best handler for a reason: he can deal with the broken people that nobody else can manage but desperately need anyway. So he comes up with an unusual teambuilding idea to shore up the Avengers.
Notes: Asexual character. Aromantic character. Asexual relationship. Flangst. Dysfunctional dynamics. Mention of past abuse. Incidental self-injury. Non-sexual ageplay. Games. Cuteness. Teambuilding. Personal growth. Howard Stark's A+ parenting. Hurt/comfort. Trust issues. Making up for lost time. Odin's A+ parenting. Teamwork. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5. Skip to Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.
"Love Is for Children" Part 6
"What kind of game are you playing?" Steve asked then. "I mean, you don't have to tell me. You invited me before and I turned you down. I'm just ... kinda curious about the bathrobe."
"Well, my original idea didn't work out," Phil admitted. How could he explain this so it would make sense to Steve? Phil wanted him to feel intrigued, not uncomfortable. "I switched to a different plan. Have you ever felt like you missed something growing up?"
"All the time," Steve said. "It was the Depression. We didn't have much."
"Ever wish you could go back and change that? Do the things you missed, or maybe redo something to turn out better?" Phil asked.
"If only," Steve said, the rest of the thought swallowed up by a crack in his voice. And there it was, the yawning void in his life left by the loss of everyone he had known. Phil worried about that. Steve needed anchors in the here and now, and since he didn't care a great deal about possessions, that meant he needed people. But Steve wasn't reaching out much, even to his own teammates.
"Well, that's what we're doing. We're playing a little game of make-believe to catch up on things we missed and do over what went wrong," Phil explained. "Everyone else is pretending to be little, so they can let go of responsibility for a while, and I'm pretending to be Uncle Phil the babysitter. It's pretty relaxing. You're welcome to come give it a try."
"I'm not ... sure I can do that," Steve admitted slowly. "Growing up, it was always me and Bucky, you know? The two of us against the world. We were like brothers, and now he's gone." Steve hiccupped a little, clearly trying not to cry. From his perspective, that loss was still very recent. "I don't think I could put anyone else in his place. I don't want another big brother, I want my Bucky back."
Phil couldn't blame him. "What about something different, then?" he said. "You're the team leader. We want the others to look up to you naturally, and take over when their skills merit it, not fight over who's in charge all the time. You might think about being the big brother yourself."
"I never had a chance to do that," Steve said.
"This exercise is all about second chances, giving us the opportunity to do things we never could before," Phil pointed out. "How do you feel about playing the part of an older brother and helping me take care of the younger kids?"
"I think I like it," Steve said. He chewed on his lip as he mulled over the idea. "I enjoy looking after people. Didn't you say the point was to let go of responsibility, though?"
"If that's what people need," Phil said. "There's no reason you can't do a little of both. Everyone seems to be gravitating toward an age that works for them. Clint and Natasha have experimented a little but usually stick with eight and seven years old, respectively. Tony's parked at four. Bruce has been everything from two to six, though we figured out pretty fast that it doesn't work when he's older than Tony, it makes them both uncomfortable. He's currently hovering around three or three and a half."
"How many times has Bruce throwing a tantrum turned into Hulk making an appearance?" Steve asked.
"Zero," Phil said.
Steve's eyebrows went up. "He never Hulks out while you're playing? Even if he loses a game or gets hurt or something?"
This was not an idle question. Shortly after moving in, Bruce had dropped a blender on his foot, Hulked out, and wrecked half the kitchen. Fortunately Tony Stark was made of money and could afford to replace it, but still. Natasha had been there and it set back her tolerance by weeks.
"He hasn't so far," Phil said. "I don't think it's just about Bruce feeling a little safer or more relaxed. I think something in the exercise helps Hulk feel like he doesn't need to come out."
"Golly," Steve said.
Phil could only nod. After all the crazy and sometimes dangerous things that Bruce had cooked up trying to suppress or destroy his alter ego, the one thing that actually showed some progress was this quiet role-playing. Phil had a tentative hypothesis that, with Bruce allowing himself to express some of the things he usually bottled up, Hulk felt less compelled to burst out and handle those for him. The time Bruce had tripped over a chair and skinned his knee, he actually cried over it until Phil patched him up with a couple of cartoon band-aids. This from the man who hadn't shed a tear after his new best friend almost died saving New York from a nuclear bomb. Hulk had howled Tony awake; Bruce had never so much as mentioned the matter.
"So what age do you think I should be?" Steve asked.
"That's up to you," Phil said.
"Maybe ... ten?" Steve said.
"Sure, let's give that a try," Phil said. It was older than the others, enough to help watch them, but still young enough for Steve to need plenty of adult supervision himself. "Just think back to when you were that age. Find some happy memories to focus on. That will help you get a feel for the exercise."
"What do you get out of this, Phil?" asked Steve. "I mean, everyone else gets to goof off, but you're ... kinda still doing the same job as usual."
"I get to take care of people," Phil explained, "and they let me. I value that tremendously. Do you realize how hard it is to convince the Avengers to slow down, eat real food, sleep regularly, or tell anyone about a problem? We're still working out the dynamics, but we're learning. That's a good thing." Phil sighed. "I also get to make up for not being there when you needed me. For not getting there in time. Everyone on the team got roughed up, one way or another, before you all came into my life. I can't undo that, but I can do some damage control now that I'm here. That makes me feel better."
"Okay, yeah," Steve said. "I get that."
[To be continued in Part 7 ...]
![[identity profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-19 01:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-06 06:45 pm (UTC)...and having added my two cents in the middle of everything, I'm going to continue reading now. ^-^
Thoughts
Date: 2013-03-07 12:17 am (UTC)Thank you! I really appreciate that.
>> I'm pretty new to the idea of age-play (though I've read about it implicitely, I think, in the form of domestic discipline stories),<<
This is the first that I've written about it. It's not a typical topic for me. But it's proven popular, so there's one sequel already posted and another that I'll be launching shortly.
>> so I found Phil's explanations of what drives him personally and how he views his role very interesting.<<
He's got a protective and nurturing streak that I wanted to bring out and explore more openly. Phil usually tries to keep it hidden.
>> I also liked that we saw Steve thinking about it and deciding in favour of the idea.<<
Everyone comes at this exercise from a different angle. I think it was helpful for Steve to talk through this a little before jumping into it.
>>I have to admit, I like the little scenes of the guys all playing together a whole lot,<<
Yay!
>> but I'd have loved a longer, more drawn-out story centered on Tony's (or Bruce', since Tony might have come across the concept before) acceptance of his desire/need for ageplay. (A realization / accepting yourself kind of story - I sadly lack the appropriate trope name for that.) <<
To get anything close to that, I'd have to back up to Clint and Natka, who would've gotten a more detailed introduction from Phil when he pitched the original idea. I think Clint would've gone along just for the chance to goof off. Natka probably did it primarily because Phil asked ... but she did come up with the name on her own, so she must have thought it through and reached some level of personal acceptance.
Tony didn't talk about it. He saw it on the security feed, decided he wanted, and rather awkwardly invited himself in. And then he brought Bruce in, probably with a very brief summary and a lot of wheedling. Steve stumbled into it on his own.
I'll keep in mind that a self-acceptance scene would be welcome, if I find a character who seems to fit that.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-09 10:34 am (UTC)Steve, you're breaking my heart.
Phil, you're breaking my heart.
Helga
Thoughts
Date: 2013-05-10 10:01 pm (UTC)Tony is proactive, Bruce is reactive. Almost everything between them is initiated by Tony. With children, it's almost always the older one who takes the lead. So if Tony is younger than Bruce, it feels backwards to them.
This is especially true early in the series when Bruce is still curled pretty tightly into himself. Later on they might get to where Bruce is comfortable being older than Tony and taking the lead. You can see a little progress in "Eggshells" Part 3 where Bruce and Tony switch up together; they are both older and the same age, which is not how they usually play.
>> Steve, you're breaking my heart.
Phil, you're breaking my heart. <<
Awww!