Story: "Birthday Girl" (Part 11 of 18)
May. 3rd, 2013 12:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story is a sequel to "Love Is for Children," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," and "Touching Moments," "Splash," and "Coming Around."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hulk, Steve Rogers, Betty Ross, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Inferences of past child abuse. Current environment is safe.
Summary: Doombots crash a beautiful spring day in the park. The Avengers clean up the mess. This includes Natasha's rather confused longing for something she never had: a birthday party.
Notes: Asexual character (Clint). Aromantic character (Natasha). Asexual relationship. Teamwork. Canon-typical violence. Friendship. Confusion. Hulk is a genius too. Fluff. Making up for lost time. Birthday. Cultural traditions. Games. Gifts. Cake. The cake is never a lie! Tickling. Trust issues. Safety and security. Non-sexual touching and intimacy. Personal growth. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10. Skip to Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.
"Birthday Girl" Part 11
"It's a trick with helium. The different density of the gas makes voices sound funny; it doesn't do anything harmful," Phil explained. "Would you like to try it yourself?"
Steve hesitated. Phil could see the shadow of Steve's past in the sudden hitch of movement, years of ingrained habit protecting his fragile lungs, that hadn't quite worn off in the much shorter subjective time that he'd had his new improved body. "I guess I can now," Steve said softly.
Phil had never imagined Captain America singing chipmunk songs in a helium-induced squeal. It was one of the most ludicrous and uplifting things he'd ever heard.
Natka sidled over with a large licorice-black balloon in her hands. "It really doesn't do anything else? You promise?" Natka said. She was meticulously careful about what she did with her body -- had to be, given some of the quirks from its modification; chose to be, after how much had been done to her without her consent. That often complicated aftercare in the wake of battles, along with more ordinary matters, sometimes making Phil frantic. For her to venture this far for the sake of recreation was a momentous step.
Phil took the balloon from Natka and inhaled half the contents. "It just makes you squeak," he assured her in a chirping tone.
Natka drew herself up, inhaled the rest of the balloon, and squealed:
Кукушка кукушонку купила капюшон.
Надел кукушонок капюшон.
Как в капюшоне он смешон.
Steve and Tony cracked up laughing, recognizing the Russian tongue-twister. They both tried to top Natka with different ones, but neither came close to her speed.
The party games were a hit. Some of them needed a little adjusting, though, to compensate for the people involved. The "kids" blurred their ages a bit but nobody minded.
First came Pin the Blame on the Bad Guy. Tony and Steve set up the targets while Phil went into the kitchen for drinks because everyone was getting thirsty. When Phil came back, he found a row of faces with crosshairs, including AIM and HYDRA agents, a Chitauri dragonship, Victor von Doom, and...
Phil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tony ... would you care to explain why one of the targets has Director Fury's face on it?" he asked.
"No, Uncle Phil, I thought that would be obvious," Tony said, eyes wide and innocent.
Natka's tinkling laugh was infectious.
Clint won the first three rounds, no matter how carefully they blindfolded him and spun him around. He was just that good.
Then Steve gave him a thoughtful look and said, "Hey, Clint -- wanna play airplane?"
"Are you serious?" Clint said. "I haven't done that since I was, I dunno, four or five."
"I've swung bigger guys than you," Steve said.
Clint gave him a measuring look, then said, "All right. Let's do it."
* * *
Notes:
Trust is a complex factor in human relationships. Trust issues can impair a relationship. There are many reasons why such difficulties may develop. Early trauma can make it difficult for people to trust; this is one of the more common signs of abuse.
More obscure than sexual or emotional abuse is medical abuse, of which there are several varieties, none of them discussed very often. Somewhat related are medical torture and Nazi experimentation. These approximate the kind of bizarre human experimentation that Natasha survived. That has an impact on how she feels about her own body and about other people.
The process of earning someone's trust depends on their personality type; Natasha seems to blend aspects of Thinker and Promoter. Phil is actually fluent across multiple types of trustworthiness.
Natasha's verse came from a page of Russian tongue-twisters.
Кукушка кукушонку купила капюшон.
Надел кукушонок капюшон.
Как в капюшоне он смешон.
Cuckoo bought a hood for his young one.
The little cuckoo wore the hood.
How funny is the little cuckoo in the hood.
Birthday games include "Pin the (blank) on the (blank)" and many more.
Steve is offering what he remembers as a fun childhood activity, which has a practical application here. What Clint is thinking, from his circus background, is trapeze artist trust -- what is to be considered before placing himself in the hands of someone who could drop him.
[To be continued in Part 12 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hulk, Steve Rogers, Betty Ross, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Inferences of past child abuse. Current environment is safe.
Summary: Doombots crash a beautiful spring day in the park. The Avengers clean up the mess. This includes Natasha's rather confused longing for something she never had: a birthday party.
Notes: Asexual character (Clint). Aromantic character (Natasha). Asexual relationship. Teamwork. Canon-typical violence. Friendship. Confusion. Hulk is a genius too. Fluff. Making up for lost time. Birthday. Cultural traditions. Games. Gifts. Cake. The cake is never a lie! Tickling. Trust issues. Safety and security. Non-sexual touching and intimacy. Personal growth. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10. Skip to Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.
"Birthday Girl" Part 11
"It's a trick with helium. The different density of the gas makes voices sound funny; it doesn't do anything harmful," Phil explained. "Would you like to try it yourself?"
Steve hesitated. Phil could see the shadow of Steve's past in the sudden hitch of movement, years of ingrained habit protecting his fragile lungs, that hadn't quite worn off in the much shorter subjective time that he'd had his new improved body. "I guess I can now," Steve said softly.
Phil had never imagined Captain America singing chipmunk songs in a helium-induced squeal. It was one of the most ludicrous and uplifting things he'd ever heard.
Natka sidled over with a large licorice-black balloon in her hands. "It really doesn't do anything else? You promise?" Natka said. She was meticulously careful about what she did with her body -- had to be, given some of the quirks from its modification; chose to be, after how much had been done to her without her consent. That often complicated aftercare in the wake of battles, along with more ordinary matters, sometimes making Phil frantic. For her to venture this far for the sake of recreation was a momentous step.
Phil took the balloon from Natka and inhaled half the contents. "It just makes you squeak," he assured her in a chirping tone.
Natka drew herself up, inhaled the rest of the balloon, and squealed:
Кукушка кукушонку купила капюшон.
Надел кукушонок капюшон.
Как в капюшоне он смешон.
Steve and Tony cracked up laughing, recognizing the Russian tongue-twister. They both tried to top Natka with different ones, but neither came close to her speed.
The party games were a hit. Some of them needed a little adjusting, though, to compensate for the people involved. The "kids" blurred their ages a bit but nobody minded.
First came Pin the Blame on the Bad Guy. Tony and Steve set up the targets while Phil went into the kitchen for drinks because everyone was getting thirsty. When Phil came back, he found a row of faces with crosshairs, including AIM and HYDRA agents, a Chitauri dragonship, Victor von Doom, and...
Phil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tony ... would you care to explain why one of the targets has Director Fury's face on it?" he asked.
"No, Uncle Phil, I thought that would be obvious," Tony said, eyes wide and innocent.
Natka's tinkling laugh was infectious.
Clint won the first three rounds, no matter how carefully they blindfolded him and spun him around. He was just that good.
Then Steve gave him a thoughtful look and said, "Hey, Clint -- wanna play airplane?"
"Are you serious?" Clint said. "I haven't done that since I was, I dunno, four or five."
"I've swung bigger guys than you," Steve said.
Clint gave him a measuring look, then said, "All right. Let's do it."
* * *
Notes:
Trust is a complex factor in human relationships. Trust issues can impair a relationship. There are many reasons why such difficulties may develop. Early trauma can make it difficult for people to trust; this is one of the more common signs of abuse.
More obscure than sexual or emotional abuse is medical abuse, of which there are several varieties, none of them discussed very often. Somewhat related are medical torture and Nazi experimentation. These approximate the kind of bizarre human experimentation that Natasha survived. That has an impact on how she feels about her own body and about other people.
The process of earning someone's trust depends on their personality type; Natasha seems to blend aspects of Thinker and Promoter. Phil is actually fluent across multiple types of trustworthiness.
Natasha's verse came from a page of Russian tongue-twisters.
Кукушка кукушонку купила капюшон.
Надел кукушонок капюшон.
Как в капюшоне он смешон.
Cuckoo bought a hood for his young one.
The little cuckoo wore the hood.
How funny is the little cuckoo in the hood.
Birthday games include "Pin the (blank) on the (blank)" and many more.
Steve is offering what he remembers as a fun childhood activity, which has a practical application here. What Clint is thinking, from his circus background, is trapeze artist trust -- what is to be considered before placing himself in the hands of someone who could drop him.
[To be continued in Part 12 ...]
Yay!
Date: 2013-05-05 01:59 am (UTC)That's good to hear. They deserve some pleasure after all the grief they've gone through.
>>And I love how they're at ease with each other now. Fun chapter!<<
It's taken a lot of work for them to get this far. There will still be conflicts, but they've gotten to where most of the time they're comfortable as a team.