Story: "Dolls and Guys" (Part 9 of 13)
Mar. 14th, 2013 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story is a sequel to "Love Is for Children" and "Eggshells."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, JARVIS, Betty Ross, General Ross.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: No standard warnings apply.
Summary: Phil Coulson finally talks Betty Ross into letting him visit. General Ross is not pleased, but is no match for the opposition. Betty decides to take refuge with the Avengers ... and the interpersonal dynamics get complicated.
Notes: Asexual character (Clint). Aromantic character (Natasha). Asexual relationship. Past abuse. Verbal hostility. Angst. Control issues. Hurt/comfort. Non-sexual ageplay. Fluff. Cuteness. Toys and games. Teambuilding. Personal growth. Howard Stark's A+ parenting. General Ross' A+ parenting. Making up for lost time. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Skip to Part 11, Part 12, Part 13.
"Dolls and Guys" Part 9
Phil brought Betty in first, before the Avengers, because the common room was their space just starting to become her space too, and dropping her into the whole group of them would just make too big of a splash. Betty flowed into her child-persona with the same easy acceptance that greeted Tony's meltdown and, Phil suspected, Hulk's outbursts as well. She was delighted by the knee-length nylon nightie over pink pajama bottoms, unicorn and rainbow blazoned across her chest. He'd wanted to give her something special, but he didn't know her yet, so he had to guess. Purity and light and power. She got it, her eyes twinkling at him, and yes, somehow he got it right after all.
Betty was tentative about hugging him, because she didn't know him yet either, but she showed willing all the same. Phil thought she must make friends very easily. Now that there wasn't an emotional crisis underfoot, they could afford to slow down, take their time, let this relationship grow into itself however it meant to do. Phil had learned this much about Betty already, that she disliked anyone rushing her. So he waited until she let go before he moved to open the door.
The others took care not to mob her. Tony arrived first, and Phil could see him quivering, torn between excitement and a desire not to scare her away. "Hi I'm Tony Carter and I'm four do you want to come play we have lots of toys," Tony said all in one breath.
Betty laughed, a bright spangle of notes like spots of light flung from a window prism. "I'm Betty, and I'm six," she said. "We should wait until everyone gets here, just to be fair, and then we can play." Six had been a compromise between her desire to stay close to Bruce and her tendency to take care of people which might have put her closer to Steve's age. Phil wouldn't be surprised if, like Bruce, she experimented with different ages to see what fit.
Clint and Natka introduced themselves next.
"It's nice having another girl around to play with," Betty said to Natka. "There aren't so many where I come from."
Phil realized that was true both of army bases and of science labs. He wondered if Natka ever regretted the dearth of female company.
"I don't play much like a girl," Natka said in a cool tone.
Well, at least she's not missing anything she values, Phil thought. He hoped that Natka's reserve would not bother Betty; it took Natka a while to warm up to anyone. He needn't have worried.
"Okay," Betty said. "I like girl games and boy games." She rolled with Natka's standoffish demeanor as gracefully as she had with Tony's exuberance.
Steve came in and greeted Betty. Then he said, "You took care of Tony when we kind of sent him to take care of you. So I wanted to say thanks for that." Evidently he'd forgiven her for her part in upsetting Tony in the first place.
"You're welcome. People should take care of each other," she said. Then she tilted her head and looked up at him. "Are you strong enough to lift me too?"
Steve glanced at Phil for approval. Phil nodded. "Yes," Steve said. He picked her up by the waist and swooped her carefully through the air. Betty spread her arms out and gave that sparkling, carefree laugh again.
Phil wondered if her father had ever even heard it.
Bruce arrived last, and did not come in, but rather hung onto the doorframe. Phil walked over and led him into the room. Bruce clung more than usual. In fact, he was halfway hiding behind Phil.
"Hi," Betty said softly.
"Hi," Bruce whispered around the fingers he had in his mouth.
"I'm Betty and I'm six," she said. "My parents just moved on base and I hardly know anybody yet. You wanna be friends?"
Phil admired her deft touch with backstory. It worked, too.
"Uh-huh," Bruce said, letting go of Phil to inch toward Betty.
"Look who just discovered the girl next door," Clint snickered.
"Shush, don't tease them," Steve said, elbowing Clint in the ribs. "Betty, you can pick what to play with first since you're new."
"What do you have?" she asked.
"We have all kinds of board games, some video games, plus toys like blocks and dolls and stuff," Steve said.
"I like dolls," Betty said. "I had all kinds. I had baby dolls and Kitchen Club Girls. I had Talking Barbie, Life Guard Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Ballerina Barbie, and a bunch of others." Bruce had scooted close enough to press himself against her. She slipped her hand into his.
"Dolls have kinds now?" Steve whispered to Phil.
"Yes," Phil said to Steve. He'd brought a modest selection of dolls early on, but they hadn't come into play yet, so he wasn't surprised by Steve's confusion. "Barbie is a fashion doll, designed to look like a young woman. Kitchen Club is a series of colorful little-girl dolls that teach cooking skills. There are still baby dolls too." He turned to Betty. "We actually have Talking Barbie and Astronaut Barbie. I know there's a selection of baby dolls and a few miscellaneous serial dolls, but I don't remember if any of those are Kitchen Club Girls."
"Excuse me, Uncle Phil," JARVIS said. "There are no Kitchen Club Girls currently in the common room toy cabinet. We do have Mint Chocolate Chip, Blueberry Pancake, and Banana Bread in storage."
Betty squealed. "Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite!"
"We have doll storage?" Tony said.
What they had, actually, was Phil's supply of excess goods that came when he bought collectibles in mixed lots. Prior to the tradition of game night, he used to donate most of the surplus to charities. Now he picked his best guesses of what his "kids" would like for the toy cabinet, but kept others for occasions like this when someone named a favorite. Duplicates still went to charity. Phil had discovered that Steve and Bruce felt more comfortable with a mix of used and new toys.
"Tomorrow I'll pull the Kitchen Club Girls from storage," Phil said to Betty. "Meanwhile, choose whatever you like."
"Okay," Betty said. Then she turned to Natka. "Do you want to play dolls?"
Natka looked at Phil for guidance.
"Be polite and be honest," he said gently.
"No thank you," Natka said to Betty. "I don't like dolls much."
"Wanna play with the train wreck?" Clint asked Natka. She nodded eagerly. Clint bounded over to the cabinet and pulled out the box of train parts.
"I think you mean train set," Betty said dubiously.
"No, they said what they meant," Phil said with a chuckle. "You'll see."
* * *
Notes:
I had fun with the symbolism of the color pink, unicorns, and rainbows.
There are statistics for the low proportion of women in the military and the sciences.
Read a list of Barbie's careers. Astronaut Barbie, Talking Barbie, Life Guard Barbie, and Ballerina Barbie all exist.
Kitchen Club Girls is an imaginary series of dolls loosely inspired by Strawberry Shortcake. They have a similar food theme, but it's the skin tone rather than the hair that's brightly colored on most of the KCG dolls. Each doll comes with a cookbook and they're supposed to teach simple kitchen skills.
[To be continued in Part 10 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, JARVIS, Betty Ross, General Ross.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: No standard warnings apply.
Summary: Phil Coulson finally talks Betty Ross into letting him visit. General Ross is not pleased, but is no match for the opposition. Betty decides to take refuge with the Avengers ... and the interpersonal dynamics get complicated.
Notes: Asexual character (Clint). Aromantic character (Natasha). Asexual relationship. Past abuse. Verbal hostility. Angst. Control issues. Hurt/comfort. Non-sexual ageplay. Fluff. Cuteness. Toys and games. Teambuilding. Personal growth. Howard Stark's A+ parenting. General Ross' A+ parenting. Making up for lost time. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Skip to Part 11, Part 12, Part 13.
"Dolls and Guys" Part 9
Phil brought Betty in first, before the Avengers, because the common room was their space just starting to become her space too, and dropping her into the whole group of them would just make too big of a splash. Betty flowed into her child-persona with the same easy acceptance that greeted Tony's meltdown and, Phil suspected, Hulk's outbursts as well. She was delighted by the knee-length nylon nightie over pink pajama bottoms, unicorn and rainbow blazoned across her chest. He'd wanted to give her something special, but he didn't know her yet, so he had to guess. Purity and light and power. She got it, her eyes twinkling at him, and yes, somehow he got it right after all.
Betty was tentative about hugging him, because she didn't know him yet either, but she showed willing all the same. Phil thought she must make friends very easily. Now that there wasn't an emotional crisis underfoot, they could afford to slow down, take their time, let this relationship grow into itself however it meant to do. Phil had learned this much about Betty already, that she disliked anyone rushing her. So he waited until she let go before he moved to open the door.
The others took care not to mob her. Tony arrived first, and Phil could see him quivering, torn between excitement and a desire not to scare her away. "Hi I'm Tony Carter and I'm four do you want to come play we have lots of toys," Tony said all in one breath.
Betty laughed, a bright spangle of notes like spots of light flung from a window prism. "I'm Betty, and I'm six," she said. "We should wait until everyone gets here, just to be fair, and then we can play." Six had been a compromise between her desire to stay close to Bruce and her tendency to take care of people which might have put her closer to Steve's age. Phil wouldn't be surprised if, like Bruce, she experimented with different ages to see what fit.
Clint and Natka introduced themselves next.
"It's nice having another girl around to play with," Betty said to Natka. "There aren't so many where I come from."
Phil realized that was true both of army bases and of science labs. He wondered if Natka ever regretted the dearth of female company.
"I don't play much like a girl," Natka said in a cool tone.
Well, at least she's not missing anything she values, Phil thought. He hoped that Natka's reserve would not bother Betty; it took Natka a while to warm up to anyone. He needn't have worried.
"Okay," Betty said. "I like girl games and boy games." She rolled with Natka's standoffish demeanor as gracefully as she had with Tony's exuberance.
Steve came in and greeted Betty. Then he said, "You took care of Tony when we kind of sent him to take care of you. So I wanted to say thanks for that." Evidently he'd forgiven her for her part in upsetting Tony in the first place.
"You're welcome. People should take care of each other," she said. Then she tilted her head and looked up at him. "Are you strong enough to lift me too?"
Steve glanced at Phil for approval. Phil nodded. "Yes," Steve said. He picked her up by the waist and swooped her carefully through the air. Betty spread her arms out and gave that sparkling, carefree laugh again.
Phil wondered if her father had ever even heard it.
Bruce arrived last, and did not come in, but rather hung onto the doorframe. Phil walked over and led him into the room. Bruce clung more than usual. In fact, he was halfway hiding behind Phil.
"Hi," Betty said softly.
"Hi," Bruce whispered around the fingers he had in his mouth.
"I'm Betty and I'm six," she said. "My parents just moved on base and I hardly know anybody yet. You wanna be friends?"
Phil admired her deft touch with backstory. It worked, too.
"Uh-huh," Bruce said, letting go of Phil to inch toward Betty.
"Look who just discovered the girl next door," Clint snickered.
"Shush, don't tease them," Steve said, elbowing Clint in the ribs. "Betty, you can pick what to play with first since you're new."
"What do you have?" she asked.
"We have all kinds of board games, some video games, plus toys like blocks and dolls and stuff," Steve said.
"I like dolls," Betty said. "I had all kinds. I had baby dolls and Kitchen Club Girls. I had Talking Barbie, Life Guard Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Ballerina Barbie, and a bunch of others." Bruce had scooted close enough to press himself against her. She slipped her hand into his.
"Dolls have kinds now?" Steve whispered to Phil.
"Yes," Phil said to Steve. He'd brought a modest selection of dolls early on, but they hadn't come into play yet, so he wasn't surprised by Steve's confusion. "Barbie is a fashion doll, designed to look like a young woman. Kitchen Club is a series of colorful little-girl dolls that teach cooking skills. There are still baby dolls too." He turned to Betty. "We actually have Talking Barbie and Astronaut Barbie. I know there's a selection of baby dolls and a few miscellaneous serial dolls, but I don't remember if any of those are Kitchen Club Girls."
"Excuse me, Uncle Phil," JARVIS said. "There are no Kitchen Club Girls currently in the common room toy cabinet. We do have Mint Chocolate Chip, Blueberry Pancake, and Banana Bread in storage."
Betty squealed. "Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite!"
"We have doll storage?" Tony said.
What they had, actually, was Phil's supply of excess goods that came when he bought collectibles in mixed lots. Prior to the tradition of game night, he used to donate most of the surplus to charities. Now he picked his best guesses of what his "kids" would like for the toy cabinet, but kept others for occasions like this when someone named a favorite. Duplicates still went to charity. Phil had discovered that Steve and Bruce felt more comfortable with a mix of used and new toys.
"Tomorrow I'll pull the Kitchen Club Girls from storage," Phil said to Betty. "Meanwhile, choose whatever you like."
"Okay," Betty said. Then she turned to Natka. "Do you want to play dolls?"
Natka looked at Phil for guidance.
"Be polite and be honest," he said gently.
"No thank you," Natka said to Betty. "I don't like dolls much."
"Wanna play with the train wreck?" Clint asked Natka. She nodded eagerly. Clint bounded over to the cabinet and pulled out the box of train parts.
"I think you mean train set," Betty said dubiously.
"No, they said what they meant," Phil said with a chuckle. "You'll see."
* * *
Notes:
I had fun with the symbolism of the color pink, unicorns, and rainbows.
There are statistics for the low proportion of women in the military and the sciences.
Read a list of Barbie's careers. Astronaut Barbie, Talking Barbie, Life Guard Barbie, and Ballerina Barbie all exist.
Kitchen Club Girls is an imaginary series of dolls loosely inspired by Strawberry Shortcake. They have a similar food theme, but it's the skin tone rather than the hair that's brightly colored on most of the KCG dolls. Each doll comes with a cookbook and they're supposed to teach simple kitchen skills.
[To be continued in Part 10 ...]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-14 01:30 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2013-03-15 05:28 am (UTC)I'm glad you liked it.
>> I'm getting lasik today so I probably wont get to read and comment for a few days. I hope to be back soon. <<
Good luck. I look forward to hearing from you later.
The next story in this series is drafted now.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-15 01:43 am (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2013-03-15 02:29 am (UTC)Sooth.
>> but of course with bruce and natasha most of all since they were finally starting to really build up the trust between them..<<
Betty does get action with both of them.
>> though she has her issues also she seems much more of a bright spirit than the rest.. i'm guessing because she hasn't been trained to kill and or in tony's case being the action hero that they all are..<<
Betty has a dark side, she's just had more opportunity to learn how to handle hers. Not being distracted trying to save the world as often, she's had more time to work through some personal issues. But she's still not a safe person to piss off.
>> really lovely update thank you! <<
Yay!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-16 07:38 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2013-03-16 08:03 am (UTC)Same here. My sadistic authorial impulses showed early. Kinda like Calvin & Hobbes.
>> Bruce is just too just clinging to Betty. I'm off to read the next part!<<
Yay! I'm glad you liked this.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2013-03-16 10:35 am (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2013-03-16 06:40 pm (UTC)