Story: "Hairpins" Part 9
Mar. 10th, 2014 12:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," and "Green Eggs and Hulk."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, JARVIS, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanova, Bruce Banner.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: This story is mostly fluff, but it has some intense scenes in the middle. Highlight for details. These include dubious consent as Phil and JARVIS discuss what really happened when Agent Coulson hacked his way into Stark Tower, over which Phil has something between a flashback and a panic attack. They also discuss some of the bad things that have happened to Avengers in the past, including various flavors of abuse. If these are sensitive topics for you, please think carefully before deciding whether to read onward.
Summary: Uncle Phil needs to pick out pajamas for game night. He gets help from an unexpected direction.
Notes: Service. Shopping. Gifts. Artificial intelligence. Computers. Teamwork. Team as family. Friendship. Communication. Hope. Apologies. Forgiveness. Nonsexual ageplay. Nonsexual intimacy. Love. Tony Stark needs a hug. Bruce Banner needs a hug. #coulsonlives.
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, Part 14.
"Hairpins" Part 9
Phil turned off the Starkpad, then set it in his lap. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Tony is an easy man to misread," he said. "I've made that mistake before. I do not want to repeat it. He's just beginning to open up to me. I need to get this right. I simply don't have the intel to make that happen. For all the flash and snap in public, he doesn't let out much of substance -- especially early in his life. I don't know what to do next." He covered the dark screen with his hand.
"Look again," JARVIS said. "I trust you will handle this information with the respect it deserves."
The Starkpad lit up under Phil's fingers. He looked at it. There in pure shades of red, white, and blue was a Captain America uniform rendered in soft fleece. "You can't be serious," Phil scoffed. "Tony and Steve hate each other!" Then in a low voice he continued, "... and I don't know how to fix it."
"Neither do I," JARVIS said, "but that does not mean we can stop trying."
"This doesn't make any sense," Phil insisted. "I've always admired Captain America, but Tony Stark is a different story."
"And Tony Carter is different yet again. Do you recall the invention of the new element?" JARVIS asked.
Phil would never forget it. Tony had been strung out on far too much caffeine, and frankly still sick from the palladium poisoning, palliative treatment notwithstanding. Everything depended on a rickety contraption spread all over the room and propped up with whatever was handy. It had been nerve-wracking.
"Sir asked you to hand him something," JARVIS continued.
Suddenly the image flashed in his mind, the smooth curve of the old prototype. Phil had passed it to Tony, who used it to raise part of the big pipe into alignment. "It was a shield ..." Phil said.
Images shuffled across the screen. The one on top now showed a very young boy with dark wild hair dressed in plain blue pajamas ... which had been modified with a quantity of white and red tape. It looked like a scan of an old Polaroid. I can't imagine Tony being let out of the house dressed like that, so the picture must have been taken by someone who lived with him. A nanny, perhaps; I know he had those, Phil thought.
"Very little record remains of sir's truly private life," JARVIS said. "What you see here is real, just not current. If you wish to remind him of those early days -- if you want to get this not merely right but perfect -- then you must reach back to help him reclaim what has been lost."
The voice from the walls fell silent then. It was uncanny how responsive it could be. Phil had been living in the tower for some time now, and he still wasn't used to it. He had never known it to hurt anyone, though, and as a security system it was staunchly protective of Tony. Something fluttered in the back of Phil's mind, some kind of pattern trying to focus, then fuzzing out again. He was just too tired to bring it together yet.
The images in Phil's lap melted away, leaving the screen divided between his search page -- even though he hadn't saved it -- and the order page. Phil took a deep breath and considered his options.
Then he ordered the Captain America pajamas.
* * *
Notes:
People, especially men, often mask their true feelings due to social pressure or other reasons. This can make it difficult to read them accurately. Body language, gender and ability markers, etc. can all be manipulated or misread. Misinterpretations and miscommunication often place a strain on relationships.
It's hard to deal with people who hate each other, especially if you're friends with both of them and get caught in the middle of their conflict. Phil's attempt to remain neutral between Steve and Tony is about the best that can be managed, and probably helps set the stage for the hairpin turn of Tony Carter latching onto little!Steve later.
A prototype of the Captain America shield appeared in the workshop where Tony created the new element during Iron Man 2. Tony asking Phil to hand him that object is both a tweak at Phil and Captain America, and a show of trust.
Athena4405 has made fanart for the polaroid of Tony.
Compare an example of Steve's uniform from Captain America: The First Avenger and this set of Captain America footie pajamas found by one of my readers.
Adultification happens when children are pressured to behave beyond their age and/or developmental level. It is particularly a risk for gifted children, but can also happen with wealthy or famous children who are often in the public view. There are hints in canon that Tony was pushed to perform early, and then rebelled as a teen and young adult.
[To be continued in Part 10 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, JARVIS, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanova, Bruce Banner.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: This story is mostly fluff, but it has some intense scenes in the middle. Highlight for details. These include dubious consent as Phil and JARVIS discuss what really happened when Agent Coulson hacked his way into Stark Tower, over which Phil has something between a flashback and a panic attack. They also discuss some of the bad things that have happened to Avengers in the past, including various flavors of abuse. If these are sensitive topics for you, please think carefully before deciding whether to read onward.
Summary: Uncle Phil needs to pick out pajamas for game night. He gets help from an unexpected direction.
Notes: Service. Shopping. Gifts. Artificial intelligence. Computers. Teamwork. Team as family. Friendship. Communication. Hope. Apologies. Forgiveness. Nonsexual ageplay. Nonsexual intimacy. Love. Tony Stark needs a hug. Bruce Banner needs a hug. #coulsonlives.
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, Part 14.
"Hairpins" Part 9
Phil turned off the Starkpad, then set it in his lap. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Tony is an easy man to misread," he said. "I've made that mistake before. I do not want to repeat it. He's just beginning to open up to me. I need to get this right. I simply don't have the intel to make that happen. For all the flash and snap in public, he doesn't let out much of substance -- especially early in his life. I don't know what to do next." He covered the dark screen with his hand.
"Look again," JARVIS said. "I trust you will handle this information with the respect it deserves."
The Starkpad lit up under Phil's fingers. He looked at it. There in pure shades of red, white, and blue was a Captain America uniform rendered in soft fleece. "You can't be serious," Phil scoffed. "Tony and Steve hate each other!" Then in a low voice he continued, "... and I don't know how to fix it."
"Neither do I," JARVIS said, "but that does not mean we can stop trying."
"This doesn't make any sense," Phil insisted. "I've always admired Captain America, but Tony Stark is a different story."
"And Tony Carter is different yet again. Do you recall the invention of the new element?" JARVIS asked.
Phil would never forget it. Tony had been strung out on far too much caffeine, and frankly still sick from the palladium poisoning, palliative treatment notwithstanding. Everything depended on a rickety contraption spread all over the room and propped up with whatever was handy. It had been nerve-wracking.
"Sir asked you to hand him something," JARVIS continued.
Suddenly the image flashed in his mind, the smooth curve of the old prototype. Phil had passed it to Tony, who used it to raise part of the big pipe into alignment. "It was a shield ..." Phil said.
Images shuffled across the screen. The one on top now showed a very young boy with dark wild hair dressed in plain blue pajamas ... which had been modified with a quantity of white and red tape. It looked like a scan of an old Polaroid. I can't imagine Tony being let out of the house dressed like that, so the picture must have been taken by someone who lived with him. A nanny, perhaps; I know he had those, Phil thought.
"Very little record remains of sir's truly private life," JARVIS said. "What you see here is real, just not current. If you wish to remind him of those early days -- if you want to get this not merely right but perfect -- then you must reach back to help him reclaim what has been lost."
The voice from the walls fell silent then. It was uncanny how responsive it could be. Phil had been living in the tower for some time now, and he still wasn't used to it. He had never known it to hurt anyone, though, and as a security system it was staunchly protective of Tony. Something fluttered in the back of Phil's mind, some kind of pattern trying to focus, then fuzzing out again. He was just too tired to bring it together yet.
The images in Phil's lap melted away, leaving the screen divided between his search page -- even though he hadn't saved it -- and the order page. Phil took a deep breath and considered his options.
Then he ordered the Captain America pajamas.
* * *
Notes:
People, especially men, often mask their true feelings due to social pressure or other reasons. This can make it difficult to read them accurately. Body language, gender and ability markers, etc. can all be manipulated or misread. Misinterpretations and miscommunication often place a strain on relationships.
It's hard to deal with people who hate each other, especially if you're friends with both of them and get caught in the middle of their conflict. Phil's attempt to remain neutral between Steve and Tony is about the best that can be managed, and probably helps set the stage for the hairpin turn of Tony Carter latching onto little!Steve later.
A prototype of the Captain America shield appeared in the workshop where Tony created the new element during Iron Man 2. Tony asking Phil to hand him that object is both a tweak at Phil and Captain America, and a show of trust.
Athena4405 has made fanart for the polaroid of Tony.
Compare an example of Steve's uniform from Captain America: The First Avenger and this set of Captain America footie pajamas found by one of my readers.
Adultification happens when children are pressured to behave beyond their age and/or developmental level. It is particularly a risk for gifted children, but can also happen with wealthy or famous children who are often in the public view. There are hints in canon that Tony was pushed to perform early, and then rebelled as a teen and young adult.
[To be continued in Part 10 ...]
Re: Hugs for Phil and Jarvis!
Date: 2014-03-12 09:54 pm (UTC)Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much.
>> Now I not only want to hug both Jarvis and Phil, but... (It's amusing, how many seeds for stories germinate from that one little word!) <<
Sooth. Hugs are good.
>> Phil doesn't seem to be strongly physically demonstrative in the movies (moreso on the SHIELD television series)-- <<
He is not as tactile as some other people, like Tony. Phil tends toward peripheral touches -- hand, shoulder, knee, etc. -- rather than full-on hugs. But he'll hug or cuddle someone who is falling apart on him.
>> what kind of reaction/response could one offer without tripping past his comfort zone? <<
Phil does well with casual social touches such as pats and handshakes.
>> Jarvis, frankly, is such a difficult network of sensory input to imagine, that a "hug" for him becomes a totally different manifestation. <<
JARVIS perceives the world through many layers, because the tower has a lot of different sensors and he is networked with all of those. This is one reason why JARVIS gets antsy if he can't find someone, because he's intricately aware of his people most of the time, and actually wrapped around them in the tower. So finding a more deliberate route of social touch is a little challenging. Some of the Avengers wind up petting JARVIS by reaching for nearby bits of technology. They haven't quite gotten to hugs yet, but that's definitely something I want to explore.
On the other hoof, JARVIS is adept at adjusting the environmental controls. Where a human might wrap a warm blanket around an upset friend and hug them, JARVIS can turn up the air temperature or turn on the heating in a bed, lower the lights, etc. It's not the exact same gesture, but it can have a similar effect and is motivated by the same kind of concern.
>> So, where exactly do these two expressions meet... and mean the SAME thing? <<
I think the biggest overlaps are verbal and service ones, which is why you see JARVIS talking to Phil more and taking care of him more, now that they're becoming closer.
>> Fortunately for them, they both tend toward verbal interaction as a first response, so they'll understand and accept both more precision and less, when dealing with each other. <<
Yes, that's true.
>> Words, inflections, the odd vocalization when tired or amused or enjoying something, can carry the same intent as a "hug". <<
Based on canon, JARVIS conveys a tremendous amount of emotional information with his voice. He pretty much uses it the same way people do their facial expressions. If you pay very close attention, you'll notice subtle changes in pronunciation as well as tonal changes that match people's emotions. Somehow or other, JARVIS has figured out "X emotion inspires Y expression which produces Z sound pattern," and then incorporated that into his speech synthesizer.
>> I'm as eager to read about HOW they work these details out as I am confident that they will manage to do so. <<
Yay! That interests me too.
>> Fortunately for the readers, that means MORE words, which means MORE story. <<
What you get in this story is primarily the mental shift in Phil as he realizes the true nature of JARVIS, and the beginnings of mutual respect and affection as they start working together consciously. The actual relationship development between JARVIS and the Avengers is spread across the entire series. The better JARVIS comes to know them as individuals, their tastes and needs, the more he reveals of himself and the more different interactions he evolves with each of them. Conversely, the more he shows of himself, the more intrigued the Avengers become as they learn who he really is and what they have in common. So they reach out to JARVIS in different ways, each coming from their own area of expertise.