SUMMARY: Mary Sue Poots runs away from the orphanage and ends up meeting a Bambi-eyed, optimistic girl with a bright aspect on life and an enthusiasm towards science, and it turns out to be the beginning of a peculiar friendship. / Skimmons friendship, with FitzSimmons and SkyeWard.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This idea sprung to me as I was writing up my one-shot Smiles, about the part where Skye used to go celebrate Halloween with another little girl from the orphanage, and I thought it would be sweet if Skye and Simmons did the same thing, and alas, Little Birdy was born. Also, I love the friendship between those two.
This is obviously an AU, where SHIELD doesn't exist and they all live in the same town and all seem to know each other. The younger kids are all friends, and Coulson and May are older and parents (or at least, Phil is).
I really love the concept of this idea, and have quite a streak of inspiration for this at the moment, so do let me know if you'd like some more, as I'll probably update some more little snippets at some point in time.
LITTLE BIRDY
Mary Sue Poots runs away one chilly autumn night, slipping out the windows easily (the matrons never really look at the window locks) and darting out into the cold night air.
She must look a sight to any passer-bys wandering down the street. A wild looking seven year old with flying brown hair and pyjamas that are definitely not fit for wandering down the alleyways in. She's freezing, but she continues on anyway, because for the first time Mary feels free.
And she knows that she'll be caught in the morning, that the matrons will force her to do some horrible chore as punishment such as washing the dishes or doing the laundry or something equally boring and dull. But for now the sense of freedom and adventure and fun is all that matters, and so Mary Sue runs down the street carelessly and kicks away at the beautiful multi-coloured leaves that decorate the gutters and clog up the pathways.
She doesn't even allow the thought of being caught to cross her mind, but the streets are so empty at this time of night that it hardly matters anyway.
Her eyes glint as she spots a strangely bright colour amongst the leaves and she kneels to dig the object out, hardly bothered about the cleanliness of the situation. Mary must look a picture; a messily-kept little girl in her pyjamas, digging around in a pile of leaves for an old piece of junk.
Then again, she doesn't particularly care about what others think.
The object is a ball; one of those classic red rubber ones that people throw for their dogs to fetch. It looks a bit worn and smells a bit funny (like Sharpie and mothballs), but she picks it up all the same and throws it in the air as she wanders further.
But of course, being a tiny little seven year old clad in nothing but her sleepwear is bound to end up with numb fingers from the bitter cold, so of course the balls slips out of her grasp and rolls under the fence of a quaint little town house.
Mary frowns, debating on what to do. And then without a second thought, she creeps forward towards the fence. Poots has such few things to call her own, and she's not about to let this rare opportunity alone. Besides, this is like one of those stories that Mother Agatha reads. It's daring and new and exciting.
Stretching to her tip-toes, she tugs herself over the fence and scrambles onto the other side, falling to the ground with a tiny oomph upon landing.
It's as she's creeping towards her target with a grin that wariness takes over, and she snaps her head up to check the house. It looks occupied, with warm golden lights filing through the splits in the curtains, but she can hear the faint humming of the TV and the distant chatter of people.
For a moment, she feels a flicker of envy. What she would do to be inside that house, with a family of her own and a pretty house like this one. She half thinks about peeking in the window (just to have a look, of course), but decides against it and shuffles through the leaves to her prize.
She's just scooped it up with a grin when suddenly she hears a click from behind her and light suddenly floods the backyard.
Eyes wide in frozen fear, Mary whips around and clutches the ball protectively to her chest. In the door way is a girl about the same age as her, with fair brown hair curled into a neat bun. She's dressed in fawn-printed pyjamas, and her feet are tucked into yellow slippers. Her cheeks are flushed with warmth from inside, but her eyes shine with curiosity.
"Who are you?" The girl questions in a high-pitched voice. Her voice sounds funny, Mary decides. Different to everyone else.
Mary freezes and her eyes flicker to the fence. She could run away, but that would take too long and be really embarrassing. Besides, if Mary is anything, she's brave. So she lifts her head a little higher and hugs her possession tightly.
"I'm just getting my ball," she announces courageously.
The other girl looks suspicious, and she pads forward in her slippers to approach her, shuffling through the leaves in her dressing gown. Her eyes widen and Mary is immediately reminded of Bambi, the deer from that book that the older kids sometimes read on Sunday nights.
"Jack lost his rubber ball the other day," the girl says, eyeing up the ball. "He was really upset."
"Well, it's mine," Mary declares defiantly. That might be a teensy little lie, but she can't help it if this weird girl with her posh voice and pretty house wants to steal the ball from her. Without warning, the girl suddenly grabs the ball and studies it curiously.
After a moment, she smiles victoriously. "This is Jack's ball," she moves her hand to show a smudged scrawl on the material, "see, it's got his initials on it and everything!"
Mary shuffles her feet and drops the act with a defeated sigh. "Sorry. It's just that I don't really have any toys of my own, and-"
She's cut off from a shout from inside the house. "Sweetie? Is everything okay outside?"
The girl - Mary decides to call her Bambi from now on - widens her eyes further and calls back sweetly, "sorry, mum! I think it's just the neighbour's cat!" With that settled, Bambi turns back to examine her curiously. She doesn't look mean, just inquisitive. She wonders why the girl didn't sell her out to her mom - after all, a random little girl in your backyard isn't a normal everyday thing.
"You don't have any toys of your own?" she echoes, clearly surprised.
Mary shrugs, shivering from the cold. "Not really."
Bambi blinks as she seems to dawn in realisation, eyes raking down her uniform. "You're from that orphanage down the road!" At her sheepish nod, the girl forges on with an elated expression. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you," Mary explains irritably. "I found the ball, and it slipped under the fence, and I just wanted to take it back with me because.." She trails off into another shrug.
Bambi stays silent for a while, but then she jolts into action. "Stay right here. I'll be right back!" She promises excitedly, and within moments she's gone. Mary Sue debates climbing over the fence and running off while she's got the chance, but there's nowhere else to go and she doesn't want to go back to the orphanage.
So she stays, and it's not long before Bambi is rushing back with a bundle in her arms. She holds a finger to her lips and says, "sshh. We have to keep quiet, my mum and dad don't know what I'm doing."
Poots wants to say that it's been her making all the noise in the first place, but she shuts up anyway and blinks in surprise as Bambi presses several items into her hands.
The first is a fluffy, faded yellow dressing gown that reminds her of soft, downy fur. "You must be cold," the pyjama-clad girl chirps in explanation. "Here, you can keep it."
Mary stares in shocked bewilderment, threading the fabric through her hands in slight amazement. "You're letting me use your stuff? Won't your parents be mad?" she asks tentatively.
"Of course not! Daddy said he was going to throw it out anyway," she says brightly.
Still slightly stunned, she slips the gown on carefully. It warms her up almost instantly, and she feels like she's being hugged by a giant teddy bear when the fabric rubs against her arms. "Thank you," the orphaned girl begins, but Bambi is already speeding off onto another topic, stumbling over her words as she tries to explain everything at top speed.
"And here." Suddenly, a cookie slides her hands, and Bambi is smiling shyly at her. "I made them the other day. I hope you're not allergic to chocolate chip."
Mary smiles in response, a geniune, toothy smile. "Thanks."
"And last but not least," Bambi tugs a small wooden sculpture from her pocket and offers it out with a timid look. She makes Mary take it, and upon closer inspection she noticies that it's a intricately carved wooden bird.
"Huh?"
She regrets her choice of words immediately, but Bambi only grins and shuffles sheepishly. "You said you had no toys," she explains meekly. "So here's one. Mum always told me that it was nice to give gifts."
It takes Mary a while to respond, but eventually she grins. "Your mom must be nice."
"She is," the girl nods eagerly, before peeking uncertainly at her. "Do you like it?"
Mary gives Bambi a nod as her fingers close around the bird. "Yeah. Thanks."
She savours the taste of chocolate chip cookies as she blunders her way home, and although the matrons scold her heavily and confiscate the sleeping gown, Mary Sue manages to keep the bird hidden in her pyjama pocket, and that night she wonders on what it would be like to have a real friend.
...
The next day, she begs and begs the matrons. They're firm and stern, but eventually they crack and Mary gets what she wants. Coloured paper, patterned with pretty flowers and decorations.
She hides herself away in the closet and spends the next few hours perfecting her project. She's missed dinner before she finishes, and as soon as the sky turns dark she sneaks out again.
This time Mary keeps the route firmly in her head, memorising every turn and twist of the short trip down to Bambi's house. The streets are mostly empty, but the moon is full and the stars shine down, and she feels perfectly content as she wanders down the road.
She fully intends to just leave her gift on the doorstep and then retreat (would the park be scary at this time of night?), but as soon as she scrambles over the fence a familiar face pops out of nowhere and grins excitedly at her.
"I got the feeling you would come back," she cheers, her voice slightly hushed.
Mary smiles sheepishly, and holds out her project. Sitting in her palm is a slightly disfigured, crumpled origami bird. When Bambi blinks at it in surprise, she rushes to explain, "it's a bird. To say thanks. For the bird you gave me."
For a moment, she worries that Bambi will find her attempt at folding silly, but then the other girl smiles broadly and scoops it up gently. "It's so pretty! Thank you."
"You're welcome, Bambi." The words spill out of her mouth before she realises she's said them, and Bambi stares at her curiously.
"Bambi? My name's not Bambi."
"I know," Mary rushes to fill in hastily, feeling more than slightly embarrassed. "But I kind of.. make up nicknames for people, and you were wearing your deer pyjamas, and.." she trails off with a sheepish shrug. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Bambi says, and suddenly her smile is brighter than ever. "I like it. You can call me Bambi, if you want."
It's after they both exchange shy smiles that Bambi speaks again. "What's your name? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
It's then that Mary pauses. She's never liked her name - not at all, it bugs her beyond no end and she thinks it's silly. What if Bambi laughs at her? It turns out there's no need to worry, because as if reading her mind Bambi cradles the bird and smiles again. "It's okay. It can be a secret, alright? It'll be fun. You can call me Bambi, and I'll call you.."
They both pause to think, and eventually Bambi lifts up the bird to pretend it's swooping across the sky.
"Skye," she decides. "Because then I can say that I got this bird from the Skye. Is that okay?"
Her eyes gleam and she nods, because that's possibly the best name she's ever heard. "Yeah. Yeah, that's okay."
...
Days fly by, and soon their peculiar meeting blossoms up into a strange (but rather nice) friendship. Bambi's the first proper friend Mary's ever had, and Mary's one of Bambi's greatest adventurers.
Eventually, Bambi's parents find out about Mary, but that's okay because they accept her with welcoming arms and warm smiles. And although Bambi's mother often invites her in for cookies and milk, the two often find themselves enjoying the thrill of secret night adventures more than normal playdates.
When Mary turns ten, a kind man comes in to ask for adoption. She finds him barely tolerable at first (ugh, why doesn't he understand that she doesn't want to take ballet?), but eventually she warms up to him (should she call him Phil or Dad?) and his 'friend' (she thinks that they're secretly married) Melinda, who refuses to be called anything but May.
Phil encourages her friendship with Bambi and seems to like her (although he did have a confusing moment on what to call her, but that's a story for another time), and soon enough she's going around for sleepovers and fun afternoons of stirring up trouble.
She even gets her name legally changed - to Skye. Bambi's utterly shocked, but Skye liked that name better anyway.
They head to the same primary school, and for a while Skye's life is perfect.
One autumn day, her and Bambi sneak out on a Sunday night to visit the park. It's the first of October and brightly coloured leaves litter the ground. It reminds her of the time they first met, not all but two years ago, and she drags Bambi across to the swing set to play.
They giggle for a while, pushing each other up and down on the swings and enjoying the vacancy of the playground so late at night. Bambi worries a bit, but Skye's used to it by now and she knows just the right words to guile her friend into doing whatever she wants.
"Do you remember when we met?" Skye asks suddenly, letting her lips curve into a smile as her swing slips into unison with Bambi's, and the breeze whistles through her wild hair. She recalls that event three years ago with absolutely no difficulty at all.
"Yeah," Bambi smiles in return, kicking her feet up and down to propel her higher. "You looked like a little hedgehog."
"I did not!" she defends, but they both burst into laughter anyway.
"It's Halloween tomorrow," Bambi continues when the laughter finally echoes away.
"Yeah," Skye agrees, a tad quieter. "I've never celebrated it, not really." Of course, Skye's seen the heavily-costumed trick-or-treaters from her window back at the orphanage, and the day after she normally scavanged the streets for dropped sweets to hoard. The older kids used to drape themselves in the white linen sheets and spend the day pretending ro be ghosts. But she's never really celebrated it. She doesn't know whether Phil will celebrate it either - it's her first year with him.
"We should go together," Bambi announces, eyes bright with the sudden spark of inspiration.
"Really?" Skye can't help but blink in surprise, halting the swing to a gentle sway.
"Yeah," she nods eagerly. "Halloween's the best! It's the only holiday when mum and dad let me have so much candy. We could dress up and go around the houses! I'm sure your dad would let you."
"He's not my dad, and he'll never say yes," Skye mutters, but Bambi either doesn't hear or ignores her statement, because she's chattering excitedly about all the different costumes they could pull together.
Phil doesn't want her to go at first, but May rolls her eyes and points out that she won't come to harm, and then she's off to discuss costumes.
She ends up going as a devil, and Bambi as an angel, the perfect combination. They trick or treat and get a sugar-hype, and it's the beginning of many more shared Halloweens to come.
It becomes almost tradition, really. Every Halloween, she goes as a devil and her as an angel, and it's the highlight of the year.
...
Soon enough they hit thirteen years of age and they're off to different schools. Skye attends a plain (nice, but very ordinary) school in town where she finds herself incredibly bored but still struggling to do well academically. It's not that she's not smart, it's that she doesn't really have the attention span or simple will to do well at school, and so there she stays.
Bambi, on the other hand, excels at schoolwork. She's always been the top of the class, light years ahead of anyone else in the year group and even occasionally surpassing the ordinary primary school teachers. Because of this, she's offered a scholarship to a fancy boarding school that she can't pass up, and soon they're seperated for most of the year.
Skye makes other friends, of course (a guy named Grant who she might have a teensy crush on, and a couple of other kids like Tripp - who only goes by his last name -, Bobbi and Lance), and she has no doubt Bambi makes friends as well, but it's not quite the same same as the dynamic friendship that they used to have.
They still keep in contact, of course, and their Halloween tradition stays the same.
No matter what comes up, spending Halloween together is never pushed aside. They always wear the same thing, visit the same houses. It's an unspoken oath, one never to be broken until the end of the time.
That is, until they're fifteen, and Skye finally learns Bambi's real name.
...
That spooky Halloween night, Skye spends quite a while planning her costume. To say she's excited is an understatement. She hasn't seen Bambi in quite a while, and Halloween is the perfect opportunity to catch up. A part of her is slightly disappointed - Grant's throwing a killer Halloween party, one that she's kindly declined - but she's mostly just glad to see her friend again.
She dons her usual devil costume and slips down to the Bambi's house with the tiny wooden bird clutched in her hand.
She climbs over the fence as per usual and hovers in the front yard with an excited smile. The garden is decorated with a pure spooky theme; there's fake spiders and fairy lights and pumpkins galore - but no zombies because Bambi's afraid of them.
The door opens a crack, and Skye grins. But then it falters, because she hears something rather strange. Bambi is laughing, and although the words are muffled she can hear them clearly.
"Don't be silly, Fitz! Of course ghosts aren't real." There's another muffled giggle, and then she continues, "no, we can't name it Caspar."
There's another voice, a boy's voice. "But-"
And then the door swings open, and Skye gets a full view of the boy in question - a young looking boy with curly hair and half a face full of make-up. He freezes, clearly startled, and opens his mouth. "Jemma? Are you expecting someone?"
"Hmm? No, why?"
"There's uh.. there's someone here," the kid mutters awkwardly.
And then Bambi's head pops up, and everything falls into place for Skye. Bambi's real name is Jemma, and she's got a new friend, and clearly she's not going for Halloween with Skye because she's dressed as a cat. A cat, of all things.
But Skye can't voice any of this, so instead she holds out the bag that Bambi had given her once upon a time. "I just wanted to return this."
She escapes quickly afterwards, and spends her afternoon with her friends at Grant's party.
...
Skye gets a call from Bambi - Jemma, she corrects herself - the next day, asking her if they want to meet up at the park for a chat, like old times.
She has to cancel a date (okay, not a date, but close enough) with Grant, but she does it anyway because right now her friendship is more important than getting a possible date with Grant. When she informs him of it over the phone, he sighs audibly, and she suddenly feels incredibly guilty.
"I'm sorry."
"That's okay, rookie."
She smiles at the nickname, and she can just imagine his expression. "It's just that I haven't seen her in a while, and.."
"Are you sure that she still wants to be friends with you?" And that's when Grant voices her fears, and she tightens her expression. "I mean, not to sound mean or anything, but.. She blew you off for Halloween. That's a big deal to you, right?"
"Yeah," she answers tightly, swallowing as she thinks over it. "I'm sure she just forgot or something, anyway. Look, can we go another time or something?" Her voice sounds false even in her own ears, and by the sound of it Grant doesn't believe her either.
"Okay," his voice crackles over the phone eventually, "if you say so. Just.. call if you need a ride or something. And yeah, we can go another time. Me and Bobbi were wanting to see a movie anyway."
Skye pushes down a bubble of jealousy, and nods even though she knows he can't see her. "Thanks, Grant."
The phone clicks when she hangs up, and she slips the device into her pocket for safe-keeping on her way to the park. Despite the strange feeling of dread, having Grant only a phone call away makes her feel slightly better about the whole situation.
...
Bambi - or is she Jemma now? - sits on a swing, swaying back and forth gently, digging her toes into the ground as she rocks. She looks up as Skye approaches, and offers a tentative smile.
Skye returns it (although it's somewhat awkward), and sits herself on the swing beside her.
"I'm sorry," Bambi begins hastily. And although her words are rushed, Skye can tell that she's being genuine. Besides, she knows for a fact that her friend can't lie to save her life.
"I know," she nods, but Bambi forges on over her response.
"It's just that we haven't talked for so long now, and Fitz is really sweet and he's just becoming my friend and I thought it would be a good idea and I didn't even think about the fact that you would want to come as well and-" Her word's rush out in one long stream of babbles, and Skye stops her with a smile.
"I know! It's okay. I get it."
Bambi pauses then, and her eyes flicker up hopefully. "So I'm forgiven?"
"Of course you're forgiven," Skye laughs, and she reaches forward to slink her arm's around Bambi's for a side hug around the swing chains. "It's just Halloween, after all."
"But Halloween's important," her friend grins timidly, and Skye suddenly feels like everything is back to normal and perfect once again. Because she's realised that while Bambi is her best friend and no one else can compare, she has other friends too, ones that love her and support her through everything. And Bambi must feel the same way.
Skye can't resist the urge to smirk as she leans back in her swing. "Is Fitz his name, huh? Do you like him?"
Bambi rolls her eyes and swats at Skye's arm playfully, her cheeks dusting pink in a way that only Skye would be able to tell. "Of course not! As a friend, of course. He's the only one in my class who can even begin to understand my concept of thinking."
"So sophisticated," Skye teases, but she really is happy for Bambi. "I'm glad you're friends. You'll have to introduce me to him one day. Maybe we can go Halloweening together next year?" They both laugh at that, and the sound echoes around the park and carries into the breeze. "So, Miss Popular. Any other friends I should know about? A boyfriend, maybe?"
"No," Bambi admits shyly, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm not that popular, actually. It was just me for the longest time. People liked me, but they're not real friends, you know?"
Skye knows all too well.
"They think that I'm too smart."
"Does anyone bully you?" Skye's defences raise instinctively, and she's relieved to see her friend shake her head quickly.
"No! Well, not much. But that's okay, it's better now. Me and Fitz used to have this rivalry, but it's better now. We're friends."
They fall into a comfortable silence for a long time, and Skye uses that pause to think that maybe, her worries and social life hadn't quite been as bad as her friends.
"When you get some free time, I'm taking you to meet my friends," Skye promises, before they lapse into quiet once again.
The sun's just going down when she finally speaks again, with a tiny smile. "Should I start calling you Jemma now?"
"What?" Bambi's face morphs into surprise, but then she relaxes again. "If you'd like. I think everyone's getting rather confused, actually. But if you'd like to keep calling me Bambi.."
Skye pauses then to examine her friend. It's then that she realises that perhaps her friend has outgrown the look of childish, naive Bambi, and instead become better. She suits the name Jemma, Skye decides.
"Nah. I think we outgrew that anyway," Skye says finally, throwing her a grin, "Jemma."
And although Bambi isn't really Bambi anymore, that doesn't mean that she's any less of her friend anymore, right?
"I guess we should change up our Halloween costumes next year?" Skye suggests.
At that Bambi - no, Jemma - laughs openly. "I think some things we will never get too old for, Skye."