I have no recs to offer, but the second question got my thinking:

How does Natasha cope living with five guys, one more devastatingly gorgeous, anti-social and damaged than the next

I see this as a complete non-issue. Natasha doesn't strike me as the kind of woman that has any problems with a male dominated environment. In fact, I've always viewed her as likely to have more problems interacting and relating with women than men. And as for how she lives with people who are devastatingly gorgeous, anti-social and damaged? She's one of those people! She's all three of those things. So I highly doubt any coping would be involved due to those aspects.

If anything, I think the challenging aspect for her would be coming around to the notion of working together as a team with no clear rank structure. And the follow-on to that would be figuring out how to cope with living with people who care and pry into her personal life.

You're probably right on all points! (Although, consider the toilet seat ... ;-) )

I agree that the loss of privacy would probably be a threat to her, to some extent - residual, trained paranoia about not revealing too much.And yes, I would like to think that gender as an issue doesn't arise - in fact I write my own stories to that effect. That said though - do they "look"? Does she? (Hell, I know I would ...)

And what about Clint? Based on the comics he has the social graces of a Sherman tank. Between him and Tony, there's a car potential crash in the making - although I think they'd actually get along quite well, respecting each other's competence. (I wrote one story that has them interact extensively, but feel the need for another coming on...)

I'm all for that storyline. Let the snarky banter commence! And I'd be willing to bet I've read the story you're referring to, but honestly can't remember it. Would you please provide the title (if you don't mind my asking)?

It's called Time's Arrow (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1007178) - a time travel story, in which Tony and Clint are sent back to the 15th Century, and the rest of the team works on getting them back. :-)

I would bet that sexuality inevitably comes up, but they make a joke to acknowledge it and then they all move on. But obviously it'd be a different dynamic in the case of genuine romantic interest.

I wonder how she DOES interact with women...she seemed to get along with Pepper just fine (of course she was undercover), and spoke highly (ok, calling them "cute" and "nice") of the girls with whom she was trying to hook up with Steve. I think b/c she is the ultimate super spy, she can find her through most situations and interactions, but how much is the real Natasha?

I've said this before (I think) but I am SOOOO curious about her line in CA2 about how truth is a matter of circumstance and is different to different people and so is she. Is she who Clint wants her to be? Or is she just herself? Is he the exception? (I think he is, their scene in Avengers seemed to confirm that), but does she realize that?

I have a tendency to lean towards the side that the Natasha we saw in Avengers was more of the 'real' her. A woman of few words, and a lot of action. As opposed to the snarky, quippy version we saw in CA2. It wasn't until she and Cap were at Sam's place that I think we saw some of that image she was projecting come down and we got a glimpse of a more honest look at her.

All of your examples are awesome and need to be written. /grabby hands

Weeelll... the first one I actually did kind of write already. It's called "The Skies over Manhattan". ;-) I was just hoping that there were other recs out there -- I have another week's leave and need to read stuff!!

I think after SHIELD, working with/around a bunch of guys wouldn't be an issue for Natasha. I do think the lack of command structure would be a hurdle for Natasha, as well as Clint and Steve (whereas Tony and Thor are used to calling the shots, and Bruce is pretty much a loner). I think the hardest part would be the clashing personalities, such as we saw on the Helicarrier in Avengers (and obviously Loki had something to do with that, but the underlying tensions were still there) and the fact that when you commit to work with a team, and people are relying on you to save the world on occasion, you can't just tell them to STFU. Well, you can, but it tends not to go over well.

On a fangirl note, really really looking forward to seeing Clint interact with the group, since he got so little chance to do that in the first movie. :D

Absolutely!!

"Friend Archer! What a pleasure to meet you."

"Actually, I met you before this, Thor."

"In truth? Surely I would remember an encounter with a warrior such as yourself."

"Maybe not. At the time you were rolling around in the mud, trying to lift that hammer of yours, and I was way up on a crane waiting for orders to kill you."

"I like this meeting far better, Friend Archer."

"No shit. You want to finish my shawarma?"

lol yes. Although in the shwarma scene I imagine them communicating mostly in grunts and exhausted gestures.

Well, mostly. (Which is why I haven't ever bothered trying to write it up ...) But I think Thor is the polite sort, and may have wanted to make pro forma conversation at some point, at least with the guy he knew got screwed over by his Baby Bro.

Thor: ...

Clint: ...

/awkward

Thor: He's-

Clint: Adopted. I heard.

Perfection. Or, as Natasha would put it, "..."

lol indeed.

LJ needs a like button. :) Hilarious!

Clint is interesting b/c even though he plays the rank game, I kinda feel like he likes calling the shots himself. I can see friction when he disagrees with the other Avengers...I mean, there will of course be friction whenever anyone disagrees, but he seems a bit more surly than the other characters.

Also...

conspiring with Pepper how they could get Hawkeye to sit like a normal human, or at least take his #$%%^@! boots off the couch.

Tony: S'ok, I can buy a new couch. /just really wants friends who aren't robots

YES. Tony! :-)

In Avengers, when Tony asks Pepper if she can "bunk over," he really just wanted a sleepover. Well, plus sex. But mostly a sleepover.

Sleep is ... secondary.

I TOTALLY agree about the living-together thing!!! When I first read about it in fanfiction I was like "um, this is dumb". I saw the last scene of the Avengers, but I assumed that was just their headquarters...like they didn't actually LIVE there. But now I can see the value of it...its bad b/c it can be targeted and perhaps get rid of all the Avengers in one fell swoop. On the other hand, they are all together, most of the time, so woudn't have to rally everyone from every corner of the globe and beyond either. I think everyone would be reeling from lack of privacy in the beginning (except Tony) but then appreciate the familial aspect.

Oooo... many of these are points I'd like to explore...eventually! But I'm trying to finish Defniing Points first! LOVE the idea of them in Avengers Tower. I figure a place that size, they've all got separate suites! It's not like sharing an apartment.

Bet Clint's got the top floor... ;)

Edited 2014-07-25 02:41 am (UTC)

I think Clint would always be treated like a bit of an outsider by the team as a whole. He goes out of his way to get distance between himself and other people. The incident with Loki would only make him more likely to try and get that distance since there would be some people who had never had an interaction with him other than the times when he was trying to kill them. Even though they would know he was controlled by Loki it would still be hard to break that impression, the gut reaction to not trust him. I see Clint as making jokes when he is around them and trying to get in, but having a hard time of it at first.

I think Natasha would be fine living with five guys. She doesn't seem to really give a shit as long as they stay the hell out of her room and don't touch her things. If she did get annoyed she would totally vent to Pepper though. Pepper would totally help her get them in line as much as they ever could.

I think they would both try to keep their relationship a secret for as long as possible. Both of them are very private people and wouldn't want anybody digging through their personal affairs. I think Tony would be the first to call them out on it though and everybody would back him up like "Yeah, we totally saw that coming".

As far as the others view their relationship I could see Bruce being a bit mournful because he sees himself as incapable of such interactions. Tony has Pepper so he would heckle them, but only in good fun. Steve would be genuinely happy for them, even if it made him remember what he could have had. Thor has Jane and would wonder why they were keeping things a secret.

I don't think Coulson's team would see enough of Natasha or Clint together to really have an opinion of them other than "badasses that show up and get shit done".

I think the Avengers would be a lot more suspicious after the fall of SHIELD. Clint and Natasha would be viewed as the most suspicious because they used to work for SHIELD.