Story: "Birthday Girl" (Part 18 of 18)
May. 10th, 2013 12:04 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, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17.
Here ends "Birthday Girl." If you've been reading this story, it's helpful to leave a comment on the last episode so I have an idea how many readers it has attracted. I'm also interested in feedback on how well this balances the more serious stories in the series. Thank you all for reading, and especially for the feedback you've given on earlier episodes.
Anonymous commenters: You don't have to specify exactly who you are, but it helps to have a first name or a username from some other service, so I have some idea of who's saying which and how many different "Anonymous" folks there are. You can just type some kind of identifier at the end of your comment.
The sequel is "No Winter Lasts Forever."
"Birthday Girl" Part 18
Epilogue
Phil Coulson presented himself to the harried parents at the corner of the pavilion. "We're from the Maria Stark Foundation, here to provide free entertainment for the makeup birthday party," he said. "The Tumbling Twins have been looking forward to this event." Phil gestured to Clint and Natasha, their white-painted faces topped by identical rainbow wigs.
"Yes, of course. The Foundation sent us a whole information packet!" the mother said, beckoning them forward.
Phil could see that the cake had likewise arrived, a towering confection topped with candied rosepetals and a marzipan princess. A Stark Industries bubble machine wafted iridescent spheres into the air through an ever-changing plate of blowholes. The bubbles ranged from marble size to head size. Tinkly party music emerged from a set of speakers.
"All right, everyone, gather around! The acrobats are here," the mother announced.
Children clustered around them, mostly girls in fresh pastel party dresses, piping questions in their high clear voices.
"Are you really twins?"
"Are you really acrobats?"
"What do you think?" Clint and Natasha replied. They sprang apart in graceful cartwheels. The girls applauded. Phil smiled proudly.
The Tumbling Twins twirled and bounced and flipped their way across the grassy park. They climbed over and under each other. They walked on their hands.
Clint and Natasha moved through the small crowd as if they were made of smoke and light. No matter how often the children reached out to try and touch them, they always spun away at the last moment, like an elegant game of tag.
The Tumbling Twins signed the birthday girl's cast in vivid purple ink. It joined the rainbow of care already traced over the white plaster.
Natasha appropriated a handful of butter knives from the table and juggled them. That turned into an impromptu lesson in juggling with colored beanbags from one of the party games. She showed everyone how to toss and catch one-handed, how to juggle two bags and three bags. The beanbags were safer and easier than knives. Natasha could afford to take a deadly skill and turn it into entertainment now.
Clint put his other circus skills to use by twisting balloons into creative shapes. He made an artful array of wiener dogs, swords, flowers, and princess crowns.
To their mutual amusement, the birthday girl requested both a crown and a sword. Clint happily obliged her. Phil smiled, remembering how the mother had attacked a Doombot with a lawn chair. Like mother, like daughter. Besides, Phil approved of self-saving princesses.
And if Clint smuggled home a green wiener dog for a friend, well, nobody minded.
* * *
Notes:
Candied rosepetals are used to decorate cakes and other confections. Yes, they really are edible; roses are related to apples. Candied rosepetals may be bought from suppliers. You can also make your own with a hot or cold recipe. Only use organic roses for cooking, though; ordinary ones can carry toxic chemicals.
Marzipan is an edible sculpture dough made from almonds and sugar. You can buy marzipan as dough or candies, or make your own. There are instructions on shaping it.
Bubble machines make a pretty good cloud of bubbles, but they're notoriously finicky things to operate. Assume that Tony, who is a genius, has produced a design that's actually reliable. Somehow.
Basic juggling is pretty easy to learn with something like beanbags or balls. One-handed juggling and knife juggling are harder. You can find many juggling tricks online.
Balloon modelling appears in many entertainment contexts. There are numerous patterns for balloon animals and other things. See examples of a weiner dog, flower, crown, and sword.
~ MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ~
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, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17.
Here ends "Birthday Girl." If you've been reading this story, it's helpful to leave a comment on the last episode so I have an idea how many readers it has attracted. I'm also interested in feedback on how well this balances the more serious stories in the series. Thank you all for reading, and especially for the feedback you've given on earlier episodes.
Anonymous commenters: You don't have to specify exactly who you are, but it helps to have a first name or a username from some other service, so I have some idea of who's saying which and how many different "Anonymous" folks there are. You can just type some kind of identifier at the end of your comment.
The sequel is "No Winter Lasts Forever."
"Birthday Girl" Part 18
Epilogue
Phil Coulson presented himself to the harried parents at the corner of the pavilion. "We're from the Maria Stark Foundation, here to provide free entertainment for the makeup birthday party," he said. "The Tumbling Twins have been looking forward to this event." Phil gestured to Clint and Natasha, their white-painted faces topped by identical rainbow wigs.
"Yes, of course. The Foundation sent us a whole information packet!" the mother said, beckoning them forward.
Phil could see that the cake had likewise arrived, a towering confection topped with candied rosepetals and a marzipan princess. A Stark Industries bubble machine wafted iridescent spheres into the air through an ever-changing plate of blowholes. The bubbles ranged from marble size to head size. Tinkly party music emerged from a set of speakers.
"All right, everyone, gather around! The acrobats are here," the mother announced.
Children clustered around them, mostly girls in fresh pastel party dresses, piping questions in their high clear voices.
"Are you really twins?"
"Are you really acrobats?"
"What do you think?" Clint and Natasha replied. They sprang apart in graceful cartwheels. The girls applauded. Phil smiled proudly.
The Tumbling Twins twirled and bounced and flipped their way across the grassy park. They climbed over and under each other. They walked on their hands.
Clint and Natasha moved through the small crowd as if they were made of smoke and light. No matter how often the children reached out to try and touch them, they always spun away at the last moment, like an elegant game of tag.
The Tumbling Twins signed the birthday girl's cast in vivid purple ink. It joined the rainbow of care already traced over the white plaster.
Natasha appropriated a handful of butter knives from the table and juggled them. That turned into an impromptu lesson in juggling with colored beanbags from one of the party games. She showed everyone how to toss and catch one-handed, how to juggle two bags and three bags. The beanbags were safer and easier than knives. Natasha could afford to take a deadly skill and turn it into entertainment now.
Clint put his other circus skills to use by twisting balloons into creative shapes. He made an artful array of wiener dogs, swords, flowers, and princess crowns.
To their mutual amusement, the birthday girl requested both a crown and a sword. Clint happily obliged her. Phil smiled, remembering how the mother had attacked a Doombot with a lawn chair. Like mother, like daughter. Besides, Phil approved of self-saving princesses.
And if Clint smuggled home a green wiener dog for a friend, well, nobody minded.
* * *
Notes:
Candied rosepetals are used to decorate cakes and other confections. Yes, they really are edible; roses are related to apples. Candied rosepetals may be bought from suppliers. You can also make your own with a hot or cold recipe. Only use organic roses for cooking, though; ordinary ones can carry toxic chemicals.
Marzipan is an edible sculpture dough made from almonds and sugar. You can buy marzipan as dough or candies, or make your own. There are instructions on shaping it.
Bubble machines make a pretty good cloud of bubbles, but they're notoriously finicky things to operate. Assume that Tony, who is a genius, has produced a design that's actually reliable. Somehow.
Basic juggling is pretty easy to learn with something like beanbags or balls. One-handed juggling and knife juggling are harder. You can find many juggling tricks online.
Balloon modelling appears in many entertainment contexts. There are numerous patterns for balloon animals and other things. See examples of a weiner dog, flower, crown, and sword.
~ MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ~
Thank you!
Date: 2013-05-11 09:51 pm (UTC)Yay! I'm glad this worked for you.
>> This is probably the first time Natasha has gone into costume and disguise just for fun and to entertain herself and the children. <<
Probably so. I wonder if they'll keep this cover identity for similar occasions in the future.
>> I love Clint and the balloon animals. Tony and Clint should work together to make a big dog the way they have a big rubber duckie. <<
Well, there are giant balloons ...
>> I think the big kid would like the plushie equivalent of Clifford the Big Red Dog, in a suitable size. <<
*laugh* Now there's an idea.