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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, Part 6. Skip to Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.
"Love Is for Children" Part 7
Just then Clint's voice floated through the door. "Uncle Phil! Tony's climbing on the television set!"
"It's like turning your back on the ocean," Phil muttered, yanking the door open. "Tony Carter, what did I tell you before I left?" Phil saw Steve twitch at the name, but Steve said nothing about it.
"Not to break anything while you were gone," Tony said. He was clinging to the rack of electronics that framed the large viewscreen on the wall. "You didn't say I couldn't fix anything."
"My mistake," Phil said. As he watched, Tony's footie-clad toes slipped on the metal, then found a better hold. "Get down before you fall down."
"But I almost got it working right!" Tony protested. He had a firm grip on the shelving and an utterly stubborn set to his jaw. The installation didn't so much as creak under his weight; knowing Tony, it might have been designed that way. Tony watched Phil while twiddling with a knob.
Phil felt certain this was exactly how a four-year-old Tony had acted. The guarded look in his eyes still made Phil's heart ache. Little-Tony misbehaved constantly so he could get attention, and even more, so he could get scolded instead of smacked. Phil silently wished his parents into the fifth circle of hell.
"Why is he climbing the wall instead of just standing in front of the viewscreen like usual?" Steve whispered to Phil.
"Because a four-year-old couldn't reach the viewscreen from the floor, so he has to go up the shelves," Phil replied. Then he turned back to Tony. "If you come down from the electronics now, I'll let you off with a lecture. If you keep this up, you're not getting hot chocolate before bed."
"I'll get him," Steve murmured, moving past Phil.
Tony immediately let go of the shelves with one hand so he could cover his chest. It wasn't about the arc reactor this time, Phil realized, because that was blocked by a hidden layer of black felt. No, Tony was trying to cover up the star on the chest of his pajamas, a vintage-era Captain America uniform replicated in soft fleece.
"What seems to be the problem, squirt?" Steve asked.
"Everyone's mad at me 'cause I'm bad," Tony said.
"You're not bad, and I'm not mad at you," Steve assured him.
"Not even about my jammies?" Tony asked, looking up at Steve through dark eyelashes. Tony wasn't a large man to begin with, and Steve was so tall that he towered over everyone else, even with Tony clinging to the wall of electronics.
"I think your jammies are swell," Steve said. "Now come here, you're scaring Uncle Phil." He peeled Tony off the shelving, apparently intending to set him on the floor.
Instead Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's neck and his legs around the sturdy waist. Steve quickly put one hand under Tony's hips and the other behind his back. "What's this all about?" Steve asked.
"You're big and strong. You make me feel safe," Tony said into the soft hollow of Steve's throat where his cheek pressed against warm skin.
Phil saw the emotions flicker across Steve's face: confusion, compassion, discomfort, an exasperated fondness. Clearly this was weird for Steve, but it was also weirdly adorable to have Tony plastered all over him like a red-white-and-blue octopus. As Phil watched, Steve slowly shifted a hand up to cup the back of Tony's head, stroking the short dark hair.
"Should I be carrying him?" Steve asked Phil. He seemed to be wavering between adult mode and trying on his new ten-year-old role. Unlike the others, Steve was having a harder time with the concept of the exercise, possibly because he had less practical experience to draw on. Phil remembered the embarrassingly bad performances in the USO films.
"If it feels right to both of you," Phil said.
"So, um, are we all supposed to be related, or what?" Steve mumbled to Phil. "I don't know how to do this."
"Steve, don't try to force it," Phil said gently. "Just think yourself back to when you were younger, and do what comes naturally. You'll be fine." There was something genuinely childlike in all of them, Phil realized: Clint's sass, Natasha's malleability, Tony's curiosity, Bruce's simplicity, Steve's innocence. It gave them something to build on, once they figured out how to work with it.
"Okay," Steve said. He carried Tony to the couch and deposited him carefully on the cushions.
No sooner had he done that than Bruce crawled out from under the coffee table and declared, "You look like my cousin."
Phil held his breath. This was the first time that Bruce had really reached out to connect with anyone else of his own volition. Most of the time he just followed Tony's lead, or more rarely, Natka's.
"We can be cousins if you want," Steve said amiably. Phil smiled; this wasn't going quite according to plan but at least Steve was going along with it now.
"Uh-huh." Bruce held out his arms in an unmistakable pick-me-up gesture. Steve bent down and lifted him. Unlike Tony, Bruce didn't help; he lay pliant in the larger man's grasp. Steve swung him into a bridal carry. As an adult, Bruce tended to shy away from physical contact; little-Bruce was shy too, but more willing to touch.
"Tony's right. You feel safe," Bruce said. Steve obligingly cuddled him for several minutes until he squirmed to get down. As soon as his feet touched the floor, Bruce vanished back into his refuge. Like Natka, he felt more comfortable out of direct line of sight.
"I thought you said to think of my happy memories of childhood," Steve muttered to Phil. "Why's half the team hiding under the coffee table?"
Phil sighed very softly. "In some ways, Steve, you were the lucky one. Not everyone has a lot of happy memories to draw on; they're doing the best that they can."
"Oh," Steve said, his blue eyes darkening toward storm. "I see."
* * *
Notes:
The fifth circle of hell contains those damned by wrath and sullenness.
[To be continued in Part 8 ...]
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, Part 6. Skip to Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.
"Love Is for Children" Part 7
Just then Clint's voice floated through the door. "Uncle Phil! Tony's climbing on the television set!"
"It's like turning your back on the ocean," Phil muttered, yanking the door open. "Tony Carter, what did I tell you before I left?" Phil saw Steve twitch at the name, but Steve said nothing about it.
"Not to break anything while you were gone," Tony said. He was clinging to the rack of electronics that framed the large viewscreen on the wall. "You didn't say I couldn't fix anything."
"My mistake," Phil said. As he watched, Tony's footie-clad toes slipped on the metal, then found a better hold. "Get down before you fall down."
"But I almost got it working right!" Tony protested. He had a firm grip on the shelving and an utterly stubborn set to his jaw. The installation didn't so much as creak under his weight; knowing Tony, it might have been designed that way. Tony watched Phil while twiddling with a knob.
Phil felt certain this was exactly how a four-year-old Tony had acted. The guarded look in his eyes still made Phil's heart ache. Little-Tony misbehaved constantly so he could get attention, and even more, so he could get scolded instead of smacked. Phil silently wished his parents into the fifth circle of hell.
"Why is he climbing the wall instead of just standing in front of the viewscreen like usual?" Steve whispered to Phil.
"Because a four-year-old couldn't reach the viewscreen from the floor, so he has to go up the shelves," Phil replied. Then he turned back to Tony. "If you come down from the electronics now, I'll let you off with a lecture. If you keep this up, you're not getting hot chocolate before bed."
"I'll get him," Steve murmured, moving past Phil.
Tony immediately let go of the shelves with one hand so he could cover his chest. It wasn't about the arc reactor this time, Phil realized, because that was blocked by a hidden layer of black felt. No, Tony was trying to cover up the star on the chest of his pajamas, a vintage-era Captain America uniform replicated in soft fleece.
"What seems to be the problem, squirt?" Steve asked.
"Everyone's mad at me 'cause I'm bad," Tony said.
"You're not bad, and I'm not mad at you," Steve assured him.
"Not even about my jammies?" Tony asked, looking up at Steve through dark eyelashes. Tony wasn't a large man to begin with, and Steve was so tall that he towered over everyone else, even with Tony clinging to the wall of electronics.
"I think your jammies are swell," Steve said. "Now come here, you're scaring Uncle Phil." He peeled Tony off the shelving, apparently intending to set him on the floor.
Instead Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's neck and his legs around the sturdy waist. Steve quickly put one hand under Tony's hips and the other behind his back. "What's this all about?" Steve asked.
"You're big and strong. You make me feel safe," Tony said into the soft hollow of Steve's throat where his cheek pressed against warm skin.
Phil saw the emotions flicker across Steve's face: confusion, compassion, discomfort, an exasperated fondness. Clearly this was weird for Steve, but it was also weirdly adorable to have Tony plastered all over him like a red-white-and-blue octopus. As Phil watched, Steve slowly shifted a hand up to cup the back of Tony's head, stroking the short dark hair.
"Should I be carrying him?" Steve asked Phil. He seemed to be wavering between adult mode and trying on his new ten-year-old role. Unlike the others, Steve was having a harder time with the concept of the exercise, possibly because he had less practical experience to draw on. Phil remembered the embarrassingly bad performances in the USO films.
"If it feels right to both of you," Phil said.
"So, um, are we all supposed to be related, or what?" Steve mumbled to Phil. "I don't know how to do this."
"Steve, don't try to force it," Phil said gently. "Just think yourself back to when you were younger, and do what comes naturally. You'll be fine." There was something genuinely childlike in all of them, Phil realized: Clint's sass, Natasha's malleability, Tony's curiosity, Bruce's simplicity, Steve's innocence. It gave them something to build on, once they figured out how to work with it.
"Okay," Steve said. He carried Tony to the couch and deposited him carefully on the cushions.
No sooner had he done that than Bruce crawled out from under the coffee table and declared, "You look like my cousin."
Phil held his breath. This was the first time that Bruce had really reached out to connect with anyone else of his own volition. Most of the time he just followed Tony's lead, or more rarely, Natka's.
"We can be cousins if you want," Steve said amiably. Phil smiled; this wasn't going quite according to plan but at least Steve was going along with it now.
"Uh-huh." Bruce held out his arms in an unmistakable pick-me-up gesture. Steve bent down and lifted him. Unlike Tony, Bruce didn't help; he lay pliant in the larger man's grasp. Steve swung him into a bridal carry. As an adult, Bruce tended to shy away from physical contact; little-Bruce was shy too, but more willing to touch.
"Tony's right. You feel safe," Bruce said. Steve obligingly cuddled him for several minutes until he squirmed to get down. As soon as his feet touched the floor, Bruce vanished back into his refuge. Like Natka, he felt more comfortable out of direct line of sight.
"I thought you said to think of my happy memories of childhood," Steve muttered to Phil. "Why's half the team hiding under the coffee table?"
Phil sighed very softly. "In some ways, Steve, you were the lucky one. Not everyone has a lot of happy memories to draw on; they're doing the best that they can."
"Oh," Steve said, his blue eyes darkening toward storm. "I see."
* * *
Notes:
The fifth circle of hell contains those damned by wrath and sullenness.
[To be continued in Part 8 ...]
![[identity profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-02-20 08:49 am (UTC)Coffee tables. Ouch. *sadface*
Thank you!
Date: 2013-02-20 09:00 am (UTC)Sooth. I'm glad I managed to render him effectively.
>> Coffee tables. Ouch. *sadface* <<
Yeah, Steve didn't really understand just how broken some of the other members were, until he started seeing examples. But at least Phil got them a good coffee table.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-06 06:53 pm (UTC)>>"I thought you said to think of my happy memories of childhood," Steve muttered to Phil. "Why's half the team hiding under the coffee table?"<<
While the reasons behind it are heart-breaking, the image of Captain America standing in the middle of the room with Phil, while half of his team's hiding under the coffee table, is actually kind of funny. Also, yay for Steve handling the whole thing with aplomb!
Thank you!
Date: 2013-03-07 05:08 am (UTC)Too true.
>> the image of Captain America standing in the middle of the room with Phil, while half of his team's hiding under the coffee table, is actually kind of funny.<<
Heh, yeah. This series often mixes heartache and humor.
>> Also, yay for Steve handling the whole thing with aplomb! <<
He's pretty good at keeping a cool head even when things get weird. It helps a lot.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-08 01:39 pm (UTC)i wish i had an uncle phil and maybe a steve. i was the oldest one and its hard to be oldest sometimes. and i like games.
so its making me sad, a bit. but happy too. and these words are hard tonight, sorry i'm not doing very well. but i like it a lot.
Thoughts
Date: 2013-05-09 08:43 am (UTC)Okay. I sometimes say "appreciated" instead of "liked" for stories that are well-written but emotionally challenging.
>> i wish i had an uncle phil and maybe a steve. <<
You're in good company there; a bunch of folks have said things like that. Maybe someday you'll find people you can lean on when you need to.
>> i was the oldest one and its hard to be oldest sometimes. and i like games.<<
If you keep reading this series, you'll get to see where Steve gets to relax and be taken care of in some places, even switch down to a younger age occasionally.
>> so its making me sad, a bit. but happy too. and these words are hard tonight, sorry i'm not doing very well. but i like it a lot. <<
You're doing fine. Some things are just hard to put into words. That's why these stories are tagged "Feels."