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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]](https://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. Skip to Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.
"Love Is for Children" Part 4
Game night became a regular activity. Phil was patient with his team as they worked out the dynamics. Natasha was quiet. Clint was a mischievous little monkey. Tony was a wild thing who could not sit still for two minutes, unless he had Phil's undivided attention, in which case he could not have been budged without a tow truck. They played everything from Go Fish to video games. (How did Tony even have that Smurf game on the server, dating from the original construction of the tower?) It was fun.
Everyone benefited, too. Natasha stopped jumping at shadows so much. Clint stopped looking like a raccoon, the dark smudges fading away as he got more sleep. Tony no longer hid in the lab during all his waking hours. Even Phil began to loosen up a bit as he felt more confident that his team wasn't going to fall apart or be ripped away from him at a moment's notice. There were problems, still, but those could be fixed.
Then one night Tony showed up ten minutes late, and not by himself.
"This is my friend Bruce," Tony said to Phil. "He followed me home --"
"Tony dragged me here," Bruce muttered, but perhaps not altogether grudgingly.
"-- so can he play too?" Tony asked.
"Yes, of course," said Phil.
"No," said Natka at exactly the same instant.
"You can't say you can't play," Phil reminded her. "That's mean, and we don't do mean things in here. It's a rule."
"Bruce is mean. He hits people. He scares me," Natka said. "I don't like him."
Which was all true of the Hulk, but Bruce wasn't exactly the Hulk. Though there was no inviting Bruce without also, necessarily, inviting the Hulk. Awkward.
"Well, we have a rule about not hitting people too," Phil said. "So that won't be a problem here."
"I'm sorry I was mean to you," Bruce said suddenly.
Phil recalled the security footage from Kolkata. Bruce had, in fact, spooked Black Widow on purpose, which was a pretty mean thing to do to a spy. (Phil wondered if Bruce had any idea how hard that was to do; he thought probably not.) It had also been a fair test of unfortunate circumstances, especially given Bruce's past. Bruce had apologized for it immediately after, but Black Widow had ignored his apology and just hauled him off to the Helicarrier as soon as he quit dragging his feet. She never had really trusted him, only tolerated him. But then that was how she dealt with most people. Few of them ever even suspected it.
Natka watched Bruce warily for a few moments. Then she sighed and said, "Okay. Apology accepted. I guess you can play too."
"Okay, then," Phil said with a smile for both of them. He beckoned Bruce and Tony into the common room. Today the activity of choice happened to be dominoes. Half a game already sprawled across the carpet where Natka and Clint had started without Tony.
Bruce hung back a little, clinging to Tony. Phil couldn't help remembering how they'd dragged the poor man out of hiding and forced him onto the team. That had been ... an act of desperate necessity, but still unkind. No wonder Bruce hesitated. I should have sent Tony instead of Natasha, nevermind the regulations, Phil realized. Then he pushed his guilt to the back of his mind; it wouldn't help now. "Have a seat, Bruce. We're happy to see you," Phil said.
"Uh-huh," Bruce said, still not moving even though everyone else did. Tony took his hand and tugged him gently forward.
Phil sat on the couch. Natka settled on the floor next to Clint, near one end of the coffee table. Tony sat on the other side of Clint. There were fresh hot fish sticks in a basket on the coffee table, the kind actually shaped like fish, in the interest of getting Tony to eat something that hadn't come out of a blender or a plastic bag. If some of the sauces were gourmet blends in addition to plain ketchup and tartar sauce, well, Phil was the grownup and could serve what he liked.
Bruce crouched down, deliberately making himself smaller than Natka. He hadn't stated a specific age yet but seemed to be aiming toward toddler range. He kept trying to scrunch himself under the coffee table. That was awkward because it was Natka's favorite hiding place too, and while she fit under there, Bruce didn't really. Clint liked to perch atop the couch sometimes. Phil allowed that as long as Clint took care not to fall off.
Watching Bruce, Phil got the distinct impression that he'd been told to "stand up for himself" or "be a man" too often and far too early. The conspicuous uproar of the Hulk probably didn't help matters either. Clearly what Bruce needed most was a sense of security. So if he wanted to curl up and hide, then fine, Phil was prepared to do whatever made him feel safe. Natka on the other hand was more grudging in her acceptance.
That meant they needed a new coffee table, one that could accommodate both Natka and Bruce. Fortunately Phil had an expense account and a personal account. He would just have to ask JARVIS to find some suitable furniture catalogs for him. Then he could pick out a good coffee table and have it installed as a surprise for the next game night.
He'd already sprung for the footie pajamas for Tony and Natka, although Clint had insisted on keeping his own feet bare. Phil had kept his bathrobe but replaced his boring old sleepwear with soft new bottoms in gray jersey-knit and a white t-shirt that said World's Mightiest Uncle. The latter had been a gift from the "kids," who promised they had not spent a penny on it but convinced someone else to help instead. Phil believed them.
Besides, it was a marvelous shirt. Secretly he loved it more than his suits.
[To be continued in Part 5 ...]
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. Skip to Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.
"Love Is for Children" Part 4
Game night became a regular activity. Phil was patient with his team as they worked out the dynamics. Natasha was quiet. Clint was a mischievous little monkey. Tony was a wild thing who could not sit still for two minutes, unless he had Phil's undivided attention, in which case he could not have been budged without a tow truck. They played everything from Go Fish to video games. (How did Tony even have that Smurf game on the server, dating from the original construction of the tower?) It was fun.
Everyone benefited, too. Natasha stopped jumping at shadows so much. Clint stopped looking like a raccoon, the dark smudges fading away as he got more sleep. Tony no longer hid in the lab during all his waking hours. Even Phil began to loosen up a bit as he felt more confident that his team wasn't going to fall apart or be ripped away from him at a moment's notice. There were problems, still, but those could be fixed.
Then one night Tony showed up ten minutes late, and not by himself.
"This is my friend Bruce," Tony said to Phil. "He followed me home --"
"Tony dragged me here," Bruce muttered, but perhaps not altogether grudgingly.
"-- so can he play too?" Tony asked.
"Yes, of course," said Phil.
"No," said Natka at exactly the same instant.
"You can't say you can't play," Phil reminded her. "That's mean, and we don't do mean things in here. It's a rule."
"Bruce is mean. He hits people. He scares me," Natka said. "I don't like him."
Which was all true of the Hulk, but Bruce wasn't exactly the Hulk. Though there was no inviting Bruce without also, necessarily, inviting the Hulk. Awkward.
"Well, we have a rule about not hitting people too," Phil said. "So that won't be a problem here."
"I'm sorry I was mean to you," Bruce said suddenly.
Phil recalled the security footage from Kolkata. Bruce had, in fact, spooked Black Widow on purpose, which was a pretty mean thing to do to a spy. (Phil wondered if Bruce had any idea how hard that was to do; he thought probably not.) It had also been a fair test of unfortunate circumstances, especially given Bruce's past. Bruce had apologized for it immediately after, but Black Widow had ignored his apology and just hauled him off to the Helicarrier as soon as he quit dragging his feet. She never had really trusted him, only tolerated him. But then that was how she dealt with most people. Few of them ever even suspected it.
Natka watched Bruce warily for a few moments. Then she sighed and said, "Okay. Apology accepted. I guess you can play too."
"Okay, then," Phil said with a smile for both of them. He beckoned Bruce and Tony into the common room. Today the activity of choice happened to be dominoes. Half a game already sprawled across the carpet where Natka and Clint had started without Tony.
Bruce hung back a little, clinging to Tony. Phil couldn't help remembering how they'd dragged the poor man out of hiding and forced him onto the team. That had been ... an act of desperate necessity, but still unkind. No wonder Bruce hesitated. I should have sent Tony instead of Natasha, nevermind the regulations, Phil realized. Then he pushed his guilt to the back of his mind; it wouldn't help now. "Have a seat, Bruce. We're happy to see you," Phil said.
"Uh-huh," Bruce said, still not moving even though everyone else did. Tony took his hand and tugged him gently forward.
Phil sat on the couch. Natka settled on the floor next to Clint, near one end of the coffee table. Tony sat on the other side of Clint. There were fresh hot fish sticks in a basket on the coffee table, the kind actually shaped like fish, in the interest of getting Tony to eat something that hadn't come out of a blender or a plastic bag. If some of the sauces were gourmet blends in addition to plain ketchup and tartar sauce, well, Phil was the grownup and could serve what he liked.
Bruce crouched down, deliberately making himself smaller than Natka. He hadn't stated a specific age yet but seemed to be aiming toward toddler range. He kept trying to scrunch himself under the coffee table. That was awkward because it was Natka's favorite hiding place too, and while she fit under there, Bruce didn't really. Clint liked to perch atop the couch sometimes. Phil allowed that as long as Clint took care not to fall off.
Watching Bruce, Phil got the distinct impression that he'd been told to "stand up for himself" or "be a man" too often and far too early. The conspicuous uproar of the Hulk probably didn't help matters either. Clearly what Bruce needed most was a sense of security. So if he wanted to curl up and hide, then fine, Phil was prepared to do whatever made him feel safe. Natka on the other hand was more grudging in her acceptance.
That meant they needed a new coffee table, one that could accommodate both Natka and Bruce. Fortunately Phil had an expense account and a personal account. He would just have to ask JARVIS to find some suitable furniture catalogs for him. Then he could pick out a good coffee table and have it installed as a surprise for the next game night.
He'd already sprung for the footie pajamas for Tony and Natka, although Clint had insisted on keeping his own feet bare. Phil had kept his bathrobe but replaced his boring old sleepwear with soft new bottoms in gray jersey-knit and a white t-shirt that said World's Mightiest Uncle. The latter had been a gift from the "kids," who promised they had not spent a penny on it but convinced someone else to help instead. Phil believed them.
Besides, it was a marvelous shirt. Secretly he loved it more than his suits.
[To be continued in Part 5 ...]
Re: Well...
Date: 2014-09-01 02:33 am (UTC)Re: Well...
Date: 2014-09-01 05:59 am (UTC)Paid, yes, but I suspect it was pitched as a scam. Street kids readily understand that and are good at it.
>> With that level of trauma, it would be that or mirror her experiences by trying to kidnap the kid for SHIELD, and given what happens in Birthday Girl, I think she might have gone to the 'THIS CHILD WILL BE HAPPY' extreme instead of the 'SHE MUST GROW AS A SPY AS I DID FOR HER OWN GOOD' end. <<
Remember that "Birthday Girl" happens after some months of further growth in game night. Black Widow didn't have as much access to her gentler feelings during The Avengers. I don't think she would've gone along with SHIELD kidnapping a child, though -- she did leave the Red Room, after all.
Re: Well...
Date: 2014-09-01 04:17 pm (UTC)That's part of why I think Black Widow went to the extremes I mentioned (plus indifference if the child wasn't in danger). Childhood trauma victims IRL get this fun thing where they identify with children at the age group they were in when they were abused (I wish I had a nifty link for you, but I'm running around trying to dry apples and dashing off replies--YOU REPLY SO MUCH I LOVE IT), and I think Black Widow might have that.
Re: Well...
Date: 2014-09-02 03:10 am (UTC)Point.
>> That's part of why I think Black Widow went to the extremes I mentioned (plus indifference if the child wasn't in danger). <<
It's possible.
>> Childhood trauma victims IRL get this fun thing where they identify with children at the age group they were in when they were abused (I wish I had a nifty link for you, but I'm running around trying to dry apples and dashing off replies--YOU REPLY SO MUCH I LOVE IT), and I think Black Widow might have that. <<
She does, although I suspect it starts out small and grows after game night -- and the manner of identification changes. She'd be less willing to involve a child now than before, because she has a better understanding that what happened to her was wrong. Earlier it seemed normal to her.