The Wordsmith's Forge

This story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk,""kintsukuroi," "Little and Broken, but Still Good," "Byzantine Perplexities," "Up the Water Spout," "The Life of the Dead," "If They Could Just Stay Little," "Anahata," "When the Wheels Come Off," "Against His Own Shield," "Coming in from the Cold: Saturday: Building Towers," "Coming in from the Cold: Sunday: Shaking Foundations," "Coming in from the Cold: Monday: Memorial Day," "Coming in from the Cold: Tuesday: Facing Fears," "Coming in from the Cold: Wednesday: Coping Techniques," "Coming in from the Cold: Thursday: Digging for Answers," "What Little Boys Are Made Of," "Rotten Fruit," "Trying to Find Prui," "Life in Quicktime," "Keep the Homefires Burning," "Their Old Familiar Carols Play," "Fluffy," "A Leg Up," and "Wabbit Season."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Betty Ross, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Drug Dealing, Canon-Typical Violence, Dexterity Impairment, Missions, Missions Gone Wrong, Bugs & Insects, Major Character Injury, Injury Recovery, Itching, Hurt/Comfort, Sleepiness.
Summary: A mission to shut down drugrunners in Brazil goes wrong. The Avengers fare pretty well against the drugrunners, but less well against the swarms of insects guarding the compound.
Notes: Food, Bathing/Washing, No Sex, Intimacy, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Herbalism, Massage, Friendship, Team as Family, Avengers Family, #coulsonlives.

A note on feedback: While it's not necessary to comment on every post I make, remember that I don't know who reads/likes things if nobody says anything. Particularly on long stories, I've discovered that I get antsy if there's nothing but crickets chirping for several posts. So it helps to give me feedback at least once, even if it's just "I like this" or "This one doesn't grab me." First and last episodes are ideal if you rarely feel inspired to comment in the middle.

I also have a list of favorite photogenic scenes from the whole series for fanartists to consider, partly compiled from audience requests.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.


"Coming in from the Cold: Friday: Bug Hunt" Part 4

Phil managed to get his cranky archer bundled into the bathrobe, then led him out of the bathroom. Clint shuffled along without much energy.

"Come and lie down," Bruce invited, patting the towels.

"Sure this'll work?" Clint mumbled.

"It has before," Bruce assured him.

"Mmmkay," Clint said.

Phil helped Clint stretch out. When he peeled off the bathrobe, Bruce draped towels over most of Clint's body, leaving just his back exposed.

"Long, smooth strokes," Bruce said. "I think you'll like this. I don't need to do any heavy kneading tonight."

Natasha padded by wearing one of Betty's bathrobes, her long red hair wrapped in a towel. She seemed much more relaxed. "Night," she said, and everyone murmured a reply.

Bruce opened a bottle of massage oil, which released a fragrant cloud of spice. He poured a little into his palm to warm it. "This encourages circulation and boosts the antihistamine effects," he said.

"Mmm ... smells nice," Clint said. "What is it?"

"Rosemary, ginger, and ginkgo in a base of light olive oil," Bruce said, smoothing it over Clint's back. It covered up the swampy smell of the jewelweed gel from earlier.

Clint gave a deep sigh of appreciation. "Love how warm your hands are."

Phil watched patiently as Bruce stroked up and trailed down the broad expanse of skin, setting up a steady rhythm. The strokes followed the pattern of Clint's breathing, up on the exhale and down on the inhale. Soon Clint melted into wordless relaxation.

Bruce kept an eye on Clint's skin tone. Now and then he pressed his fingers against Clint's arm or the side of his neck to check the circulation. Murmured conversation with JARVIS filled in other details.

There wasn't much to see, watching it closely -- just Bruce's hands making their leisurely path over Clint's back. When Phil looked away for a few minutes, though, he could see subtle changes when he looked back. Clint's skin definitely seemed less irritated now than when he first got home. Bruce hummed happily over his work.

Then Clint began to snore.

"Well, I guess that worked," Bruce said. He gave Clint a gentle nudge. "Time to get up and head for bed."

Clint just snored louder.

"I don't think you'll get him up," Phil said. "Don't worry, I've got this."

"Okay," Bruce said. He draped a towel over Clint's back, blotting away the excess oil.

Phil checked the status of the other Avengers. Then he called Bucky and said, "Could you come to Bruce's apartment?"

"Yeah, probably," said Bucky. "I got Steve to sleep, and I think he's too worn out to wake up if I leave. What do you need?"

"Bruce put Clint to sleep, and he's not waking up," Phil explained. "We need someone to carry Clint to bed."

"Also Natasha is less likely to stab me than anyone else," Bucky said.

"That too," Phil agreed. He helped Bruce get Clint into some sleep clothes. People kept conking out in Bruce's apartment, so he kept things to fit everyone.

A few minutes later, Bucky came into the room on little cat feet. He scooped up Clint, who snuggled into him and promptly began drooling on Bucky's shoulder.

Bruce reached up to tuck a hand towel under Clint's head. "Here, this should save your shirt."

"Thanks," Bucky said, and carried Clint out of the room.

Phil checked the Avengers again. Most of them were either down for the night or headed that way. Tony was in his workshop, but his display had status bars indicating food intake, estimated repair time on the suit, and probable time of collapse. Sprinkled along the timelines were little flags indicating when JARVIS would issue reminders. Everything was well in hand.

"JARVIS, bring up the SHIELD status on mission followups," Phil said, the last word cracking around an enormous yawn.

His Starkphone went dark in his hand.

"I regret to disrupt your work plans, Phil, but it is late and the paperwork will still be there in the morning," JARVIS said from a nearby speaker. "Please retire now before you overstrain yourself. I have left a little something by your door for you."

Phil looked at his dark phone, then looked at the speaker. He decided it was not worth trying to argue or hack around the nanny block just to get a head start on paperwork. "Okay, you win."

Besides, he really wanted to find out what JARVIS had left for him.

Phil found a little extra energy to pick up his feet on the way to his apartment. The smell reached him as soon as the elevator doors opened. He hurried forward.

There on a cart by his door was a go-cup of white chocolate steamed milk, a plate of apple butter French toast sticks with extra apple butter for dipping, and a fruit cup. Phil's mouth watered. It was exactly what he needed, a little delicious fuel but not too heavy.

"Thank you, JARVIS," he said as he picked up the cup of steamed milk. "This is perfect."

"You are most welcome," JARVIS replied. "Sleep well, Phil."

Phil didn't even notice the chamomile until he was halfway down the cup. He rolled a sip in his mouth, then decided that he liked it for a nightcap. Phil stuffed the last French toast stick in his mouth and used his finger to extract the last of the apple butter from its tiny cup. Then he chugged the rest of the milk.

By then he was nearly asleep on his feet. Phil fumbled his way through his bathroom routine, then barely managed to shuck off his clothes before falling into bed. The lights dimmed automatically, carrying him down into sleep.

* * *

Notes:

This recipe for Rosemary and Ginger Massage Oil includes a list of other herbs that can be added. Bruce's version adds ginkgo, a natural antihistamine. And of course, it smells fantastic.

JARVIS has used a basic steamer recipe to make White Chocolate Steamed Milk, and then added chamomile. He also leaves a plate of Apple Butter Cinnamon French Toast Sticks with apple butter and a fruit cup. That's a soothing bedtime snack for someone who's been running around all day and worrying more than eating.