Pairings: Anthony/Vincent, Ben/Lindy, Bobby/Bianca, Jake/Amelia, Jamie/Liv, Trick/Ginny
Previously: Henry and Becky are in town to intensify Amelia's therapy; Trick and Ginny (Ben's ex-girlfriend) were cast as Lancelot and Guenevere in the Spring musical; school is on break and many of the families will be leaving town after the party
Gift Exchange
Gift exchanges tend to be hit and miss - when there are some forty people involved, it's chaos. Lucy was the only one to opt out; she elected to be considered a kid and was rewarded with a stack of gifts nearly as tall herself. If Bobby didn't have a girlfriend to impress he would have elected to be considered a kid, too.
Gift cards are inevitable… Bobby still doesn't know who Jane Foster is. But Clint should be happy Jake is too polite not to give a gift card; many of the other participants might not have had his restraint. Particularly in light of Clint's own gift for Ben - a box labelled "Open Later" so clearly containing something inappropriate, or at least that was the assumption, which was most likely Clint's purpose in the first place: everyone wondering, imagining, and disapproving. The only disappointment for Clint was how unruffled Ben - and Lindy - were.
Clint wasn't the only one who chose a gift to get a reaction. Thor and his daughter conspired to give Amelia and Jake matching beer steins from Asgard. "For college!" Thor explained in a booming voice that made Amelia grin and Carol drop her head in her hands. Thor and Liv beamed.
Pepper pulled Trick's name which annoyed her at first because it opened her up to public scrutiny over her attitude towards him, but when she realized she would not have to get him something additional simply because he was Ginny's boyfriend she decided it was a blessing. Her gift dominated the room: a full size vintage carousel horse. Trick was delighted, Ginny was perplexed, and Bobbi was dismayed at the thought of just getting it in their apartment, never mind storing the thing. All in all, Pepper was pleased with the response.
Many of the gifts were thoughtful. Anya researched the origin of trumpets, traveled to New Orleans as a traditional birthplace of jazz, and presented Anthony with a scrapbook of her findings and an Anya-written walking tour of the city for the next time he was in the neighborhood. Peter also made a book for his recipient, Rikki. He included photos of her and Anya over the years and titled it How To Date a Spider.
If Ben were someone else, getting his ex-girlfriend's name in the exchange might have been awkward and onerous. But Ben is Ben and Ginny received T.H. White's The Once and Future King as a three volume hardcover box set with an accompanying charm of a silver crown. Ben was also mostly responsible for Pepper's gift from Lindy. She would have been in a quandary about gifts for most of the assembly but Pepper was particularly difficult as none of the people Lindy is closest to get along easily with Mrs. Stark. But Ben suggested framing a photograph of Ginny in performance and the gift was not only well received, Pepper was visibly touched.
Trick gave Dani a glittery stethoscope. Jess Drew gave Bobby a miniature of the car he wanted with spending money in the trunk. She thought it was clever; he only pretended not to agree. Ginny and her unlimited funds put together an amazing weekend in Milan for Bianca and a guest. It was what she'd asked for, though Bianca had said for the two them - Ginny gave her the option to choose anyone just to be fair. Then she made donations in everyone's names on top of the ones her family made annually. Just to be fair.
Amelia also gave out a gift to everyone: tiny geometric ornaments with the year and their name and a quote, or lyric, or doodle, and in some special cases a message. She nearly didn't finish in time, but plucky persistence broke through her depression. For the exchange she put together an evening on Broadway, dinner and drinks included, in January, conveniently forgetting that Becky was supposed to be back in L.A. by then. The night was also conveniently and blatantly set up with Becky and Henry in mind, though she hadn't gone so far as to write his name on the tag. Becky might have found it annoying in someone else, but Amelia was cute about her matchmaking. Plus, Becky wanted to trade for Henry's gift - an adorable little puffball of a kitten from Vincent that he clearly had no idea what to do with. And she knew him well enough to know of course Henry would take her as his date for her gift so in the end win, win, win.
Whether by accident or design, the last gift opened in the exchange was for Lindy from Natasha. Like Pepper for Trick, Natasha would have gotten something for Lindy anyway, but in public is gained resonance. Unwrapping revealed a small box of simple polished wood, with a brass crank - a music box. But Lindy didn't raise the lid. She turned the box over and over in her hands, inspecting each side and crack, and very careful not to touch the winding mechanism. Finally she looked up to ask Natasha directly.
"How does it transform into a weapon?"
The question hung in the air a moment. Most of the crowd felt suddenly thankful for their own life. Jessica Jones blinked back tears and Luke put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Amelia bit her lip; her worried eyes flickered from Lindy to Jake to Ben and back again, round and round. Henry and Ben kept their eyes on Lindy; Jake and James watched Natasha. She tilted her head forward.
"It doesn't."
Lindy's eyes narrowed in thought. She took a deep breath and unhooked the latch, opening the box with deliberation. Lindy, and possibly a few others, still worried something may explode but instead a twinkling Tschikovsky melody played into the quiet.
Lindy blinked. "Thank you," she murmured, softly, and replaced the lid. Natasha nodded and the crowd breathed normally. James pulled Natasha into an embrace. Ben touched a finger to the crease between Lindy's eyes; he was becoming fond of her thoughtful frown. Jessica clapped her hands and ran off to put on music and soon the party was in full swing. Most of the gifts were set aside until it was time to go, to scatter for family gatherings and holiday getaways. Lucy ran about the room with a new digital video camera to record impromptu holiday interviews. The kitten leapt between Henry's and Becky's laps with glee.