Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Good luck?” Seriously?! Of course, he meant it sarcastically, but now he felt like he had spoken it into existence. Mace had been flirting with her shamelessly, and if he put his hand on her back one more time when they walked, he was going to have Fitz install those lasers in his fingers like he always joked about. He’d really like to test them out on the director.

He wasn’t jealous. He had no reason to be jealous. Melinda was his best friend and nothing more. He had no reason to be upset if she wanted to be in a relationship with some tall, charming, pompous jerk who was not good enough for her. She didn’t seem to mind all of his attention. She wasn’t exactly encouraging it, but Melinda had never been one to outwardly display her feelings. For all he knew, she was attracted to him too. She might even be falling in love with the guy and want to run off into the sunset with him and his stupid rainbow color security system.

He wasn’t jealous.

Son of a….he touched her back again! Seriously? Does this guy have no concept of personal space?

He couldn’t help the huff of frustration that escaped him. Mace just kept on talking and pointing out details of the inhuman he wanted them to find, but Melinda was now focused on him. Her eyes narrowed, and he knew his annoyance had not gone unnoticed by her. He tried to school his features, but her eyes narrowed a fraction more as she watched him from her place standing next to him. He kept his eyes focused on the screen and eventually felt her eyes shift away from him.

The meeting took longer than he was willing to be patient, and he was ready to be out of there. He had almost made it out the door when he heard Mace’s voice call out, “Agent May…I was wondering if you had plans for dinner tonight…I know this great Thai Place….”

He clenched his fist to his sides and just kept walking. He needed to find Fitz and discuss laser options. He was halfway down the hall when she called his name. He really wanted to just keep walking, but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with a ticked off Melinda May if he ignored her. He paused to allow her to catch up and immediately wished that he hadn’t.

“What’s the matter with you?” She questioned and though she didn’t ask with any tone but one of concern, he found himself annoyed that she had asked.

“Nothing….just tired.” He hedged and tried to continue walking, but she put her hand on his arm to stop him. He should have brushed her off so that he could continue brooding alone, but the look of care and concern he found in her eyes when he turned back to look at her took the proverbial wind out of his sails. He wished she didn’t care so much. He wished he didn’t care so much about her. He wanted to be happy for her that she’d found someone, but he just wasn’t there yet.

“I’m fine, May. There’s no need to worry.” He said in a softer reassuring tone, and his eyes implored her to believe him.

She watched him carefully trying to decide if she should take him at his word or push for more. She seemed to make her decision and pulled her lip between her teeth as she nodded.

“Want to grab something to eat?” She asked after a beat.

His heart warmed at her concern and desire to be there for him even when he was being a jerk, but he wasn’t about to ruin her plans. “Umm…thanks, but I’m not all that hungry.”

The look of disappointment that crossed her face made his heart clench and had him quickly adding, “Rain check?”

She gave a half-smile that seemed more sad than sincere as she nodded. “Yeah….next time,” she agreed, and he nodded back and walked away unable to stand seeing her disappointment at his unwillingness to open up to her. He just needed time, and then he could be happy for her.

He wasn’t jealous.

He locked himself in his bunk for the rest of the night. He didn’t want to risk seeing her leave all dressed up for a date. He definitely didn’t want to see how late she returned, or even worse, not see her return at all. He really couldn’t handle that thought running through his head.

He intended to avoid her the next day, but she came into the hanger where he and Mack were doing inventory.

“Late night?” He heard Mack ask her, but he refused to turn around and look at her.

“I didn’t get much sleep.” She responded, and they both looked at him when the pencil in his hand snapped in half.

He still wouldn’t look her way and just found another pencil to write with as he tried to play it off. He could feel her eyes trained on his back, and he was determined not to stiffen under her gaze.

“I have to run a couple errands for the director and was going to grab lunch on the way back. You boys want anything?” She asked, and Mack gratefully gave her his order.

“You want anything, Phil?” She asked, and he bit his lip to keep the words, ‘just you’ from flying free. “You could come with me if you want to get off the base for a while.” She suggested, and he closed his eyes at the softness in her tone.

He wanted nothing more than to spend a little time alone with her, but he wasn’t in the frame of mind for it and was worried he would say too much, or worse, say something to hurt her. He was jealous, and he could admit that now. He couldn’t handle it if she talked about her date with Mace, and he’d be a terrible best friend if he didn’t ask. It was safer to just stay away from her until he could pull it together.

“I’m actually pretty busy, and I’m not all that hungry….but thanks for the offer.” He finally said and wished he wouldn’t have looked at her. The disappointment was but a mere flicker across her face, and he felt like such a jerk. She tucked it away and it was unnoticeable to anyone but the man who spent his life memorizing every look and feature she possessed. She nodded in acquiesce and turned to go, but his heart wrenched at the thought of disappointing her again and he couldn’t be that guy…not to her.

“May, wait!” He called out after her and stood when she looked back at him. “I could actually use a break and change of scenery. Plus, I think I owe you a raincheck.”

He sighed when she finally smiled. “You do,” she agreed.

He grabbed his jacket from the back of the seat he was working at and followed her to one of the SUVs.

They rode in silence for almost ten minutes before he caved and broke it. “I’m really fine.”

“I didn’t ask.” She shrugged and gave him a glance. “…but since you brought it up. Have I done something?”

He looked out the window to buy himself a minute to formulate a less incriminating response than, ‘Yes, you fell in love with someone that wasn’t me,’ but her worried, ‘Phil’ when all he gave her was silence made him want to reassure her.

“If you even dare give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me speech’ I will punch you in the throat.” She continued, and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped said throat.

“I’m just working through something,” he sighed “I’ll be fine, I promise. I just need some time to work it out.”

She nodded but her grip on the steering wheel tightened. “You know I’m here…” she offered and he quickly nodded in agreement.

“I know.” He assured her, but her look only grew more concerned.

“Is that the problem? I’m around too much and you’ve finally gotten sick of me after 20 odd years?” She inquired without taking her eyes from the road to look in his direction.

“What? How could you even think that I could be sick of you?” He asked appalled at the very idea that she could even find that a possibility.

“Maybe the way you’ve been avoiding me.” She suggested, and he swallowed hard at her hurt tone.

He let out a frustrated sigh, “I could never get tired of spending time with you, Melinda. I just need you to give me a little time to work through this….thing.”

Her shoulders visibly slumped at that, “It’s just that…you used to talk things out with me; and if you won’t talk to me now, it makes me concerned that it’s either about me, or you’ve stopped trusting me.”

“I do trust you, Melinda. I trust you more than anyone.” He assured her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect as her shoulders stiffened once more and she glanced at him with narrowed eyes.

“So it’s about me then.” She stated, and he wanted to bang his head against the window in frustration.

Any response he planned to give was cut off by the ringing of her phone.

“Yes, Director.” She answered and his fist automatically clenched in response. Of course, she had to be the epitome of a safe driver and put it on speakerphone. Just the sound of the man’s voice grated his nerves on a normal day, but it was positively lilting now as he talked to Melinda and his stomached turned.

“I didn’t realize you had already left, Agent May. I was going to offer to go with you so you didn’t have to take care of it all alone.”

“That’s okay, Phil came with me.” She assured him and a brief awkward pause followed from the other end.

“Oh…Phil is there…”

“Hi, Director” he chimed in and was glad Mace was aware of his presence in the vehicle before he said something personal.

“Hello, Phil. Well…I’m glad you have it all under control then….be safe out there. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Yes, Sir.” She finished as she reached to disconnect the call.

She glanced in his direction, and he tried to relax, but she’s too observant and called him out on it.

“You don’t like the new boss?” She asked him, but it came off as more of a statement.

His fingers flexed against his knees and he tried to respond in an even tone.

“He just takes a little getting used to, but I’m sure he’s great. So…what are you thinking for lunch?” He asked desperate to change the subject.

She glanced at him for a moment before responding, “Mack wants tacos.”

He gave her a nod before turning his attention to the scenery moving outside his window. “Tacos it is then.”

She allowed a moment of silence before informing him, “You know I’m not going to let this go, Phil.”

He sighed. “I’m sure you won’t Melinda.”

Chapter Text

She was more touchy than usual. Ever since their talk in the car on the way to lunch last week, she had become a little more touchy with him than before. He wanted to tell her that he was really fine, and she didn’t have to keep trying to make him feel better, but he also wanted her touch to linger a little more so he kept silent. She hadn’t asked him anything more about what was bothering him, but she stood closer in briefings, and he tried not to react every time her shoulder brushed against his.

Every attempt he made at trying to move past his feelings for her were thwarted by a soft touch or smile from her. He was tired and frustrated and wanted nothing more than a mission to pop up so that he could get back on the Zephyr and off base for a while. Maybe distance would help.

He had anything but distance tonight. FitzSimmons had invited everyone over to their new apartment for dinner and a movie, and he was settled on the couch beside Melinda. There was plenty of room for the two of them and Mack and Elena, but it felt like Melinda was a little closer than necessary. His arm tingled where it pressed against the side of hers, and he resisted the urge to lift his arm and put it on the back of the couch behind her. He rationalized that it would give them more room, but he wasn’t dumb enough to do it and explain it that way to her. She shifted again and he held back a groan as her thigh brushed against his. This already felt like the longest movie ever, and they were only fifteen minutes in. He was about to fake a bathroom break just to give himself a brief escape from the torture, but she placed her hand on his thigh to get his attention.

“You okay, Phil?” She whispered, and he nodded and faked a smile.

She left her hand there and went back to watching the movie.

He stopped breathing.

Her hand was on his thigh.

She left her hand on his thigh.

The burning sensation in his lungs reminded him to breathe, and he did so as quietly as possible. She looked at him again with concern, and he tried to reassure her with a smile as he placed his hand on hers to remove it from his leg. He really needed to fake that bathroom break if he had any hope of not embarrassing himself tonight.

She misinterpreted his motives and turned her hand over so that their hands were resting palm to palm. She laced her fingers with his and offered him a soft, sweet smile as she turned back to watching the movie.

Could he possibly move any further into the friend zone?! He wanted to tell her that he was fine, and she could stop being so concerned and caring, but her hand fit perfectly in his, and he marveled at how soft it felt. His heart was racing, and he was grateful that his palm wasn’t sweating.

He loved her so much.

She kept her hand in his for the duration of the movie, her thumb occasionally stroking over the back of his. It was the sweetest torture, and he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hand even though it made his chest hurt.

The ride back to base was filled with conversation bouncing between May and Yo-Yo discussing the impracticalities of one of the action sequences with Mack occasionally reminding them that it was just a movie. He remained silent. For one, he had been heavily distracted throughout the movie, and two he was still lost in thought now. Melinda was driving but made frequent glances in his direction. He knew she was worried about him and his lack of involvement in their debate was probably raising more flags for her, but he couldn’t quite get out of his own head enough to participate. He needed to talk to the director when they got back about taking the next mission out on the Zephyr. He needed to put some space between him and May until he could move on and get back to being her best friend.

He knew May was waiting around for him when they got back. It would bother him, but he was just so relieved that she didn’t rush off to see her boyfriend as soon as they returned. His stomach knotted at the thought of it. Ughh…Mace as Melinda’s boyfriend. Maybe he was off the base for the night.

“Phil, can we talk?” She asked as he went to walk past her on the way to his bunk.

He hesitated for a second before deciding it was inevitable. “Sure, what’s up?”

“I was actually going to see if you had plans for tomorrow night. I thought we could grab dinner…maybe catch up. It’s been a while since it’s been just you and me.” She watched him carefully as he thought it over.

She looked hopeful, and he tried to reassure her as he said, “You don’t have to keep doing this. I promise I’m fine. I was actually about to ask Mace for my next deployment…”

“You’re leaving again?” She interrupted.

He felt his chest tighten at the look of disappointment on her face. He wished he didn’t cause it.

He wished she’d love him back.

“I’m just feeling a little restless….I need to get off base for a while.” He explained.

Her eyes narrowed as she rebutted, “You just got back to base, Phil.”

He floundered for what to say and barely got out an “I…” before she was interrupting him again with a frustrated tone.

“Why don’t you want to be here, Phil? Is it me?” She asked and her eyes looked so sad that he couldn’t take it anymore.

“No…Melinda. It’s just me, but….let’s grab dinner tomorrow night. It’ll be good to have some time…just you and me.” He hoped his conceding to her previous request would placate her, but the sad look was still in her eyes.

She nodded and smiled softly. “Okay…we can head out around six….anywhere you want to go is fine. I just…I just miss you and want to spend a little time with you before you go back out.”

He struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat. He wanted to hold on to the idea of her missing him. He missed her all the time. He missed her even now when she was right in front of him.

“I miss you too…dinner will be great. There’s a new place I’ve been wanting to try with you. I’ll make reservations. Okay?”

She nodded and the hand she placed on his arm felt much too warm.

Chapter Text

He was a bit nervous. He changed his clothes three times and tried to come up with any excuse he could think of to cancel, but he would think about the look of disappointment on her face, and he just couldn’t let her down.

She wore a dress.

He was so screwed.

There was nothing quite like the sight of Melinda May in a dress. His heart started racing when he saw her, and he felt like a middle school boy with a crush.

He tried not to think about how beautiful she looked next to him in the passenger seat of Lola as he drove them to dinner. He paid close attention to the road to keep from glancing at her, but his eyes kept sliding in her direction. He knew how soft her hair was and wanted to brush the curls from her shoulders with his fingertips. His hands gripped tighter on the steering wheel as he thought of Mace getting to do that, getting to hold her close, getting to kiss her. That last one made him want to throw up.

This dinner was a bad idea.

He just needed to convince her that he was fine, and if she brought up her relationship with Mace then he needed to make her believe that he was happy for her. Then he could take a mission off base for a few months and move on. He just really needed to move on. Who goes and falls in love with their best friend anyway? Idiot.

Her hand was soft in his when he helped her from the car, and she squeezed his back reassuringly as they walked into the restaurant.

She didn’t let go until they were seated across from each other.

“I’m fine.” He stated abruptly as soon as the waiter had left them alone to look over their menus.

She studied him with a raised brow as she replied, “Good, but I wasn’t asking.”

“Wasn’t that what this dinner was about; making sure I was okay?” He asked.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “This dinner was about spending time with you, Phil. That’s all. Stop being weird and just decide what you want to eat.”

He watched her skeptically over his menu for a moment before looking down to peruse his options. He missed her concerned glance in his direction over her own menu.

They didn’t speak again until the waiter had left with their orders. He wanted to avoid the subject of her and Mace for as long as possible and searched his brain for a safer topic. She beat him to it.

“I’ve requested to go out on the next deployment with you. Mack needs a break, and I volunteered to switch with him. He’ll spend a couple of weeks doing weapons training with my strike team, and I’ll partner with you.”

He bit back a groan of frustration. The point of going out again was to get away from her and try to work past his feelings for her. Now she was going with him and he’d have her all to himself. What should be a dream come true was a nightmare to his desperate heart. He tried to keep a neutral face as he held up his end of the conversation.

“Mace approved of this?” He asked and tried not to seem hopeful that her request had been shot down.

She hadn’t looked at him since she mentioned her plan and she moved her fingertip around the rim of her glass as she responded, “Not at first, but he agreed that it would be beneficial to my team to have variation in their instructor and training. He also accepted that Mack needs a little time on base to regroup. Not everyone loves the traveling for months on a plane that you do.”

“You like it.” He reminded her with a smirk.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “but that’s because I get to fly the plane.”

He laughed softly as he tried to convince his heart that it wouldn’t be as bad as he thought to have Melinda with him on deployment. She would probably spend most of her time in the cockpit anyway, and he would hardly see her. It would be good to be in the field with her.

Finally, he relented, “It will be good to be partners out there again….like the old days.”

She finally looked up at him, and the smile she gave him made his heart beat madly in his chest.

Her eyes were dancing when she said, “Yeah, like the old days.”

He was so screwed.

Dinner was more relaxed and comfortable after that. They went over the broad details of their upcoming deployment that could be discussed safely in public and transitioned to recalling memories of old missions and times spent together. For the rest of their time, he was able to relax and just spend time reminiscing with his best friend. He was glad he had agreed to dinner with her and the thought of days spent like this on deployment with her put his heart at ease. They continued their talk all the way back to base, and he couldn’t remember when he’d had such a good time.

They left Lola safely tucked away in the hangar, and he walked her back to her bunk.
He had planned to drop her off and head to his own room, but the hand she wrapped around his wrist as he moved to pass her stopped him in his track.

He raised a brow at her in askance as he turned back to see what she needed. Her eyes darted down as if she was taking a moment to consider something, but they looked back to find his right before she stepped into his space and tiptoed up to place a soft kiss to his jaw.

“I’m not sure what’s bothering you, Phil, but I just want you to know that I’m here; always.” She said softly, and he nodded in response.

She smiled and her thumb traced the inside of his wrist where she still held it. “Thanks for dinner tonight. I had a great time.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled back. “Me too. You’re still my best friend, Melinda.”

Although she smiled in return her eyes had the slightest hint of sadness as she nodded and confirmed, “Yeah…best friends.” She looked at him a moment longer before her hand slid from its place on his wrist and she turned toward her door. “Goodnight, Phil.”

“Goodnight, Melinda” he responded and watched her as she entered her bunk. He stood staring at the closed door for a moment as he pondered her expression. He had this nagging feeling in his heart that he’d somehow said the wrong thing, and he wracked his brain to figure out what was wrong, and how he could fix it. He sighed deeply before turning and heading towards his own bunk. He was just relieved he didn't have to end the night watching her head off in search of Mace.

As he settled into bed a little later, he pressed his fingers to his jaw and remembered the feel of her lips there.

He just needed to find a way to not love her as he did. He hadn’t figured out a way in over twenty years, but he’d never been quite this desperate before. He closed his eyes and replayed the evening with her and smiled thinking of how stunning she looked in that dress. He’d give himself tonight to indulge.

He’d try again to fall out of love with her in the morning.

Chapter Text

He was growing impatient. She had been in a meeting with the director for over an hour and they were set to depart soon. He would gladly just leave without her, but she was the pilot.

Stupid plane.

He looked up at the sound of the access door to the hanger opening and smiled when Melinda walked in. His smile faded quickly when he caught sight of Mace trailing close behind her.

“I came to see you guys off,” explained Mace.

Wow…gee thanks, Dad, Phil thought and fought the urge to roll his eyes. They should give this guy another medal. A really heavy one…and then toss him into the ocean.

That thought cheered Phil up enough to be able to paste on a fake smile as he took May’s bag from her and headed toward the Zephyr to stow it in her bunk for her. He didn’t want to be around to see her say goodbye to 'Mr. tall, pale, and unnecessary'.

“Thanks, Director. I’m just going to put this away so we can get going. See you when we get back, Sir.” Phil said with his pasted-on smile and nod of his head. He rolled his eyes as soon as his back was to them and walked quickly up the cargo ramp of the plane and towards the pilot’s bunk. He kept himself busy until May joined him a couple of minutes later.

“You good?” She asked and studied him carefully.

He nodded and tried to avoid eye contact. “Yeah….just ready to get going.”

“Point taken,” she said with a nod and headed towards the cockpit to prepare for take-off.

He really hated taking his frustrations out on her. It wasn’t her fault that he was jealous. He had his fair share of chances with her over the years, and he never took them. He has no one to blame but himself. He really needed to get over it so that he could go back to being her best friend. That was much too important for him to risk losing. He just needed to get himself together.

He stepped into the cockpit a little while later to apologize. The cold reception she gave him had him floundering to make things right.

“Do you remember our mission in Mexico?” He asked as he slid into the co-pilot's seat.

She gave no indication that she heard him, but he continued anyway. “We were stuck in that dingy motel room for hours waiting for something to happen. You wouldn’t even sit on the bed.”

“It was disgusting” she finally spoke.

He smiled remembering, “You wouldn’t drink anything because you were worried you’d have to use that bathroom.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Ugh…It was worse than the bed. I also remember you screaming like a girl.”

“A roach fell from the ceiling and down the back of my suit!” He protested.

She smirked and rolled her eyes playfully. “We almost lost the mark while you were dancing around and giving me the worst strip tease ever.”

“Well, …you weren’t exactly helping me get the roach out of my clothes.” He laughed

“Of course not,” she replied, “It was too much fun to watch.”

“I would have helped you!” He argued with a smile.

She glared at him with an arched brow. “You mean you would have been willing to help me take my clothes off to save me from a bug? Wow. My hero,” she remarked sarcastically.

He leaned back into the seat with his arms crossed. “Well,…I would have….’cause big giant bugs are gross, and I’m just such a nice guy.”

“Uh-huh,” she huffed and turned her attention back to the flight control panel.

“I remember getting to go to the nice hotel later that night, and you spent an hour in the shower,” he continued with a fond smile.

She huffed and gave him a pointed look. “I couldn’t get clean enough. I remember you looking up various diseases you could contract from cockroaches.”

He turned toward her and spoke with mock outrage, “That’s because you told me about your great uncle who died from a roach bite when you were little!”

“I can’t believe you bought that,” she laughed and shook her head.

He pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek and shook his head. “You preyed on my vulnerability, Melinda. I was tired and could still feel it crawling on me.”

“Yeah..you were really tired. You wouldn’t shut up and let me sleep.” She reminded him with a roll of her eyes.

He threw his hands up and explained, “I had all that post-mission adrenaline flowing!

“Except that, you’re always like that,” she retorted.

He sat back with his arm crossed as he argued quietly, “Not always.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before she eventually broke it.

“I traded places with Blake to take that mission. I liked working with you.” She admitted.

He felt his breath hitch at that information, and he tried not to show any outward reaction as he turned to study her. “Even in roach-infested motels?” he teased. 

She smiled softly but kept her focus on the clouds in front of them. “Terrible strip tease aside…it was a pretty good mission.”

“It was a great mission,” he said with a growing smile. “The room service that night was incredible. Still one of the best steaks I’ve ever had.”

She laughed. “Do you remember trying to justify that bill to Fury when we got back?”

“Umm…well….I remember you standing there and saying absolutely nothing while I tried to explain that bill to Fury.”

“Yep!” She agreed with a grin.

His chest tightened at the sight of her smiling. Talking about old times and hearing her laugh and tease like she used to just confirmed what his heart already knew. There was no way he could possibly fall out of love with her.

He was stuck.

So while he sat there in the co-pilot seat next to his best friend and love of his life, he developed a new plan.

He was going to steal her away from Mace.

He’d spent too many years wasting time and chances, and he was not going to let this one pass. He had enough regrets when it came to his relationship with her. He wouldn’t regret taking this chance now.

It was now or never.

He had her all to himself while they were deployed, and he was going to make the most of it.

Operation 'Beat Mace' had just commenced.

Game on.

Chapter Text

He had a plan. Well, …it wasn’t really a plan…more like a strategy.

Step one: spend more time with her and remind her of all the good times they had together.

Step two: find a way to impress her.

Step three: eliminate Mace, install laser finger option to eliminate Mace, Come up with a step three.

He had nothing.

They were on deployment which wiped out a lot of the options he would have had on the base. He couldn’t really cook for her on the Zephyr, and he couldn’t really take her on a date while they were on a mission. Plus, if he was going to beat Mace, he needed to really pull out all the stops. He also couldn’t just ask her out when she had a boyfriend. He needed to be a little more subtle until he’d convinced her that he was a much better choice.

He needed to think of things that he could reasonably accomplish on a plane. He’d just have to start with doing things for her so she felt taken care of and appreciated.

He brought lunch to the cockpit so that they could eat together. She flipped on the auto-pilot and turned in her seat to talk to him while they ate. It was a decent start, but he needed to do more.

They spent the afternoon checking in on a few of their inhuman assets. With the Watch Dogs gaining numbers and support, they needed to increase security protocols to protect them. They were given a lead on a couple of unregistered inhumans so they followed up and made arrangements for SHIELD to monitor and protect them. By the time they got back to Zephyr One, it was late and they were both tired. He was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to spend time with her, but it would give him time to plan and prepare for tomorrow.

He moved toward the small kitchen area to throw something together for dinner but paused when he caught sight of a freshly showered Melinda at the small counter with plates and sandwich meat.

“We’re limited to rations or sandwiches so I hope you don’t mind turkey on wheat.” She said as she pushed a plate in his direction.

He looked at her surprised. “You made me a sandwich?”

“You made me lunch. I thought it would be nice to return the gesture. Plus, you look a little out of it, and I thought you might just try to skip dinner and go to bed.” She explained as she put the left over ingredients away.

He shrugged and sat down at the counter. “The thought crossed my mind, but I was too hungry to sleep.”

“Well then, sandwich and bed.” She suggested.

“Yes, mom,” he teased and smirked when she threw a piece of bread crust at his chest before coming around to sit at the counter next to him.

“Still glad you volunteered for deployment?” He asked to break the silence as they ate.

She nodded before pointing out, “Of course. Someone has to watch your back.”

“And no one does it as well as you do.”.

“Of course not. I’ve had years of practice saving your defenseless ass.” She said with a smirk.

He smiled back. “I’m too tired to argue that point…so…thank you for your years of service.”

“You’re welcome,” she said and leaned her shoulder into his with a soft smile.

He studied her for a moment while they ate. She was beautiful. He thought so when they were in the academy, but all these years later she was even more stunning. His heart still raced when she smiled and the part of his shoulder that touched hers tingled like tiny pinpricks of energy. She glanced up to find him watching her. He swallowed hard at the spark in her eyes.

“I’m glad you’re here.” He managed to say and felt his stomach knot at the smile that spread across her face.

“Because I make you sandwiches?” she teased.

He shook his head with a grin and looked down to study his plate before responding, “No…because you’re you.”

“Your best friend?” She asked and her tone had him looking back up at her.

“Always.” He promised, and her smile looked melancholy for a moment before she nodded and stood to take their empty plates to the sink.

They cleaned up in silence and he racked his brain for anything he could say to make her smile again. He opened his mouth to speak, but she said goodnight and he watched her walk toward her bunk. He stood there a moment longer wondering how every attempt that he made to get close to her left him feeling further away.

He gathered himself and headed for his bunk to work on his idea for tomorrow.

She looked up with a smile when he stepped into the cockpit the next morning with eggs and toast for her. She flipped on auto-pilot and turned to him with a smile until she noticed the small package in his hand.

“What’s that?” She asked and gestured to the box.

“I just thought you might could use this.” He shrugged and handed it to her.

She took it with an arched brow before opening the lid to see a small audio device and earbuds.

“I know you enjoy the silence in here, but I thought if you got bored while we traveled that you might like this.” He explained.

She turned the device on and slid her thumb across the screen to see the contents. She realized what exactly he had brought her, and she looked at him with a playful smirk. “You made me a mixtape?”

“Umm…well…yeah…I mean…kinda. I just thought you’d want some good music to listen to while we travel…If you don’t..”

“It’s great,” she interrupted. “Thank you.”

He gave a relieved smile and handed her the plate with breakfast on it before sliding into the co-pilots seat with his own plate.

“So…the music on here….is it actually stuff I will want to listen to or is the Captain America theme song on a loop?” She teased as she took a bite of her eggs.

He rolled his eyes. “I know what you like, Melinda. I loaded it with the classics…but if you happen to find the Captain America theme song to be inspiring, you can just skip to track 18.”

The smile she gives him in response is as close to the old Melinda as he’s seen since before Bahrain. His heart skips and he wants to stay in this moment with her. She opens her mouth to tease him, but the flight control panel sends an alert.

“We’re about ten minutes out from our destination,” she informs him, and he stands to take their empty plates.

“See you soon.” He says on his way out of the cockpit but turns back just in time to see her putting the earbuds in to start listening. The sweet smile that spreads across her face as the first track plays makes his heart feel full. It was well worth the hours he stayed up putting it together for her.

Take that, Mace. He internally cheers as he cleans up their breakfast dishes and heads to the control room to get ready for their mission.

His day was off to a great start and so was his plan.

He was not going to lose her this time.

Chapter Text

The mission was a bust. The inhuman they were sent to check in on wasn’t actually an inhuman at all. Just an awkward teen with special effects and a youtube channel. Melinda was annoyed that Mace had sent them there without doing his research first. He tried not to smile that she seemed frustrated with him. Relationships are hard.

Also, Mace is a moron.

On the bright side, they made it back to the Zephyr early; and they were waiting for Mace to get back to them with their next destination so he decided to take a chance.

“You want to go into town tonight….maybe grab some dinner and a movie?" He asked and tried to play it cool and act like he wasn’t about to throw up waiting for a response. “We could just hang out and get off the plane for a bit.” He added hoping it sounded less like a date that way.

She seemed surprised by his offer but nodded slowly before replying, “Yeah…that sounds good. Just umm…let me get changed and we can head out. Leave in an hour?”

He nodded as his stomach slowly started to unknot. “Yeah….sure. That sounds great.”

She smiled and then turned to head towards her bunk. He headed towards his own bunk to clean up a bit and at least lose the tie. An hour would give him time to research the area and find a good place to eat and see what movies were playing. He wondered if it counted as a date if she didn’t know it was a date. He found a local diner for them to eat at. He knew Melinda liked old local places as much as he did, and he thought it seemed more laid back and less ‘date-like’ than a nice restaurant. Plus he was pretty sure she didn’t pack for that kind of thing and felt weird asking if she had managed to bring date clothes with her. Especially since this wasn’t actually a date….to her.

“You folks in town for the festival?” The older waitress asked as she brought them their food.

“Umm…actually we’re in town for work. We didn’t know there was a festival.”

“It’s the annual Community Festival. We get people from all over that come into town just for this festival. There’s live music…food…local venders. You should check it out when you leave here. Don’t tell anyone I said this but you ought to skip dessert here and get some of the baked goods down at the festival instead.”

“Thanks for the heads up Miss….Carla….we’ll have to check it out. What do you say, Melinda? You want to skip the movie and check out the festival instead?”

“Sounds fun.” She agreed with a smirk as she took a sip of water.

“Good!” Carla beamed. “It makes for a great date, son.”

He tried to keep the blush from spreading across his face but the widening of Melinda’s smirk proved he was unsuccessful. “Thanks, Carla”.

“You didn’t want to tell her we’re just friends?” Melinda asked as she walked away.

His heart sank at the reminder but the playful glint in her eyes caused him to smile. Playful Melinda May was his favorite, and he wasn’t going to waste the chance to enjoy it tonight. He decided to just let her play and tease if it kept that smile on her face.

“Nah…there’s no way I’d ever be able to convince her that you could settle for just being friends with me.”

She laughed but made no attempts to deny it. He tried not to read into that, but he was clinging to any shard of hope that she could possibly want to be with him too so he tucked it away to examine later.

“We can still see the movie if you’d rather do that,” he suggested while they ate.

“Oh no,…..you’re going to get me a really big dessert at the festival; something with chocolate.”

“Deal,” he agreed with a smile.

They finished eating and got the directions to the festival from Carla. It wasn’t far, and the drive was filled with pleasant reminiscing about the last time that either of them had been to any type of festival. He was glad that they were doing this instead of seeing a movie. Movies were dark and quiet. It’s easier to convince a girl that you’d be perfect for them if you can actually see and talk to her. There were people everywhere and a live band playing could be heard as they arrived. His eyes scanned the area in search of a place to get the dessert he owed her, but she spotted something first and took his hand to lead him through the crowd. He grinned like the idiot he was as he followed her.

They found sliced apples covered in caramel and chocolate sauce and found an open bench not far from the stage the band was on. He smiled at the burst of nostalgia that washed over him as the band of local musicians covered old Billy Joel songs. Images of a young Melinda May humming along to the current song as they rode through town in Lola crossed his mind, and he indulged in the memory.

“This song was on my mix-tape.” She said pulling him back to the present. “I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be nostalgic or…” she trailed off as the lyrics of “For the Longest Time” swirled around them.

His heart was racing as he studied the band. He didn’t dare look at her. He was focused on keeping the blush from his face. He took a deep breath before prompting, “Or….?”

“Nothing.” She said after a beat. “Want some?” She asked and offered him the fork to share the apples.

He should feel relieved that she didn’t call him out on his intentions for including such a sappy and obvious song on the playlist he made her, but he only felt disappointment. He took the fork and dessert from her and took a bite to buy his brain a moment to think. The sound of the harmonica transitioned them to “Piano Man,” and he stole a glance at her. She looked deep in thought as she studied her hands and he worried for a moment that he had made her uncomfortable. She looked up and offered him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and he swallowed hard.

“Want to walk around for a bit before we head back?” She suggested and he stood and tossed the empty plate away in the bin a step away before returning and offering his hand to help her up. He kept her hand in his as they walked. If she called him on it, he’d simply say that it was to avoid being separated in the throng of people. He honestly just needed the connection with her and had a valid excuse for the contact and was loath to waste it. Her fingers threading through his a moment later made his heart race and when he looked at her the smile had finally reached her eyes. His own smile was soft and filled with cautious hope and optimism. The way she occasionally traced her thumb over the back of his made his heart feel achingly full and the two hours they spent weaving through the festival passed by much too quickly.

All the chances he never took before raced before his mind as they drove back to the plane. He looked over to see her smiling softly as she studied the passing scenery, and he determined not to waste any other opportunities that came his way. He loved her and tonight got him one step closer to winning her heart. No more steps back….only moving forward. It certainly felt like a date tonight and when they finished up this mission he was going to ask her on a date for real. He just needed a little more time to lay the groundwork so it didn’t all blow up in his face.

He pulled Lola into the hanger as they arrived at the large open field they had cloaked the Zephyr in. He shut the engine off and turned to face her. She was studying him carefully and he held his breath. There was something akin to anticipation in her eyes, and his heart rate sped up. She opened her mouth to express her thoughts but was cut off by the ringing of her phone. She stared at the screen for a moment as if she was deciding whether or not to ignore it but instead took a deep breath and answered, “Yes, Director?”

He deflated quickly and leaned his head back against the seat as he waited to see if the call was personal in nature or related to their next orders.

“Hold on, Sir, Agent Coulson is here. I’m going to put you on speaker so you can bring us up to speed.” She placed the phone on the console between them and gave Mace the go-ahead to continue.

“The Watch Dogs have several EMPs that they are threatening to set off if we don’t meet their demands. One of them is in your vicinity. I’d rather you not be trying to take off when they set it off. I’ve got Fitz-Simmons working on this and they're en route to Agent Rodriguez. We won’t be able to get to you until we’ve resolved this so I’m ordering you to stay grounded until further notice. We have your location and can have an extraction team to you but it won’t be until morning. If you get hit by the EMP just hang tight and we’ll send…” Anything left to say was cut off but the ominous sound of the power being cut to the plane and the shroud of darkness they were suddenly plunged into.

They were stuck on a dead plane with no power until Fitz could find a solve or the extraction team could get there in the morning.

All alone in the dark with Melinda May…..it was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

They sat there in the darkness for a moment before he moved from his seat and slid his hand down the side of Lola until he could reach the trunk. It would have been nice if the EMP would have spared his hand. That built-in glow would have been pretty convenient right now. Instead, he felt around blindly in the trunk until he found the emergency kit.

“Ah-ha!” He exclaimed as his hands contacted the emergency glow light. He cracked it and smiled as a soft glow gave him a view of Melinda sliding out of the passenger side and moving towards him.

“Nice work.” She smirked, and he waited until she reached him before he started to move out of the cargo hold.

“So, what’s our plan?” He asked as they walked.

She placed her hand on his shoulder as they moved through the darkness, and he struggled not to react.

“We can head to your bunk and grab what you need first. Then we’ll grab a few supplies on our way to the cockpit so we can…”

“What I need?” He interrupted.

“Yeah…to sleep…,” she said and almost bumped into the back of him when he stopped suddenly to ask her.

“I’m not sleeping in my bunk?” He interrupted again.

She sighed in frustration before responding, “We have no power which means no heat and limited lighting. My bunk is by the cockpit so we’ll be able to hear the emergency comm if Fitz can get a signal to us.”

“So…we’ll bunk together then.” He nodded. “Cool.”

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that a problem?”

“Nope…no problem here. We’re good.” He nodded again and turned to keep walking.

She decided not to push and instead placed her hand on his shoulder again as they moved to his bunk to grab his things; his jaw clenched. Along the way, they found a couple more glow lights and some blankets.

They were literally spending the night together, and he kept telling himself that it wasn’t a big deal. He could handle being that close to her for one night. They'd shared a bed many times over the years. It wasn’t even really a whole night….just a couple of hours and they’d be asleep. He had managed to convince himself that all would be fine when they stepped into her bunk.

He swallowed hard.

That bed looked pretty small.

Yep…he was screwed.

He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and turned away quickly as she started changing. He took a steadying breath as he went to do the same. He changed into sweat pants but then fumbled a bit with the buttons on his shirt. It had been a while since he’d had to do it one-handed but the lack of power to his robotic hand left him no choice. He was working the second button when he felt her hand cover his and looked up to see her watching him with a raised brow.

“May I?” She asked with a soft smile, and he moved his hand to his side with a nod of his head. He was just grateful it was too dark for her to see how much he was blushing as she worked the buttons on his shirt. Once unbuttoned, she pushed the shirt off of his shoulders before neatly folding it and placing it on the top of her dresser. She then pulled his t-shirt over his head and helped maneuver his powerless arm into it. His heart swelled at the tenderness of her actions and he found himself reliving another moment in time when she’d asked him to take off his shirt. She'd been so tender then too as she pressed gentle hands to his chest and eased his worry. She was his calm and his center. She was everything good in his world and the idea of losing her from his life for even a moment left him shaken. As they stood there, he could feel everything shifting into place and he wanted nothing more than to move forward with her.

She looked up at him through lowered lashes and his breath caught. She glanced back down and took a step away from him, but he gently reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Melinda..…” he started with the intention of thanking her, but she looked up at him again and he broke.

It happened so fast. She barely had time to react as he pulled her back to him and used his free hand to slide to her back and press her closer. His lips found hers instantly like a magnet pulling him in, and his hand moved from her wrist to frame her face. His fingertips felt the silkiness of her hair and he slid his hand through it to hold the back of her head. Her lips were soft and sweet and years of fantasies didn't do this moment justice. His lips moved fervently over hers, and he was sure he’d never known bliss like this before. He pulled her bottom lip between his own as he drew away to catch his breath.

Her whispered “Phil” hit him like cold water. He dropped his hands and stepped back as he realized what he’d done. Her eyes opened and searched his with a surprised look on her face.

He just blew it. All that he had done to get closer to her and he just blew it.

“I’m so sorry, Melinda.” He whispered and ran his hands over his face. “That was stupid and I’m so sorry.”

She just studied him for a moment and she looked so sad.

He felt sick.

He wanted to apologize again; he wanted to confess that he loved her.

“Melinda…I…” he started but the words stuck and he didn’t want to have this out now. They couldn’t run away if things got awkward, and he couldn’t handle spending the night in bed with her if she would reject him. “are we okay?” He asked instead and watched as she seemed to hesitate a moment too before offering a nod and soft “We’re fine.”

It didn't feel fine.

She looked away and grabbed a glow light and headed into the bathroom. He stood still a moment with closed eyes and a sinking feeling in his chest that he'd just made a huge mistake.

They took turns finishing their nightly routines and he left the glow light on the bathroom sink after he finished brushing his teeth. The glow gave him just enough light to see his way to the bed, and he closed his eyes for a minute to gather himself before he slid into the small space next to her. The plane had gotten noticeably cooler and he was grateful that she had already piled the extra blankets on the bed. He laid on his back as close to the edge of his side as possible without falling off and placed his folded hands on his torso. She was laying in a similar position and their shoulders touched in the small space.

He needed a distraction.

“Hey…you remember that time we forged the mission docs for Garrett…and we had him convinced that he had to infiltrate a woman's bachelorette party as the male entertainment because SHIELD thought she might be a Russian spy.”

“But it was actually the birthday party his mother was throwing for her friend, and he was halfway through his routine before he realized the mistake.” She added and he could hear the amusement in her voice. 

He grinned remembering how much fun they had with that one. “Yeah…that was pretty funny. Oh gosh....his mom offered to let him move back home since he was obviously in need of money.”

She giggled. She seriously just giggled, and his heart exploded in his chest. He turned to look at her and the soft illumination from the glow stick allowed him to see her soft smile and dancing eyes as she looked back at him. He was so in love with her.

He studied her for a moment before the words slipped out, “I’m not sorry that I kissed you, Melinda.” He confessed and watched the surprise play out across her face. “I know we’re on a mission and this isn't the time.....so when we get back…maybe we can talk.”

He held his breath and waited as she studied him in the darkness. Eventually, she nodded and agreed. “Okay, Phil,…when we get back.”

They laid there in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually, it was Melinda who broke the silence. “What was he dressed as for his routine?…a fireman?”

“Oh no!” He said with a chuckle. “He went with the classic ‘Cop interrupting a party for the bride being too naughty’ act.”

“Ughh..gross!” She groaned and his heart filled with the soft sound of her giggling again.

They both lay on their sides facing each other and he was so close that he could easily reach out and touch her if he dared. He noticed her shiver and pulled the blankets up higher around them. She burrowed into them a little trying to get warm, and he took a deep breath to work up his nerve before opening his arm to her in offering.

She hesitated for only a moment before sliding closer to him, and he moved onto his back and waited for her to get comfortable against his side. Her cheek felt cool agains his shoulder but his whole body suddenly felt flushed with warmth. She was pressed into his side a little stiffly at first but a few minutes later she relaxed into his arms and slid her own around his waist. He smiled in the darkness and closed his eyes; he’d just found a new level of contentment.

Her softly whispered “Goodnight, Phil,” was the last thing he heard as he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Something was tickling his nose. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. He took a moment to orient himself and realized he had a warm weight covering his body.
 

Then he grinned like an idiot. 

He very slowly and carefully glanced down to see that she was still sleeping and the faintest glimmer of light could be seen peeking from underneath the door of her bunk. It must still be early if May was still asleep. 

She’d gotten closer as she slept. Her head had shifted to the center of his chest and her leg was draped over his hip to tangle between his own. The foot she had pressed to his calf was a little cold. Her arm was wrapped rather possessively around his torso and the tickling sensation was a strand of her hair that was too close to his nose. 

He could handle the tickling sensation. 

It was totally worth it. 

He closed his eyes and tried to memorize every inch of her body pressed to his and the way it felt to wake up with the love of his life in his arms. He pressed his lips together as he remembered what hers felt like against his own. He really wanted to do that again….take his time….drown in her lips for a while. She really had the best lips. Maybe they could just not go back. They could just take the Zephyr anywhere they wanted and disappear for a while; just the two of them. No Mace, or missions, or anything else just the two of them and lots and lots of kissing. He smiled brightly at the idea and imagined trying to talk her into it. 

She began to stir and he relaxed his hold on her to allow her to move around as she pleased. She seemed to realize where she was and her position across his body so he lay as still as possible feigning sleep so she didn’t feel awkward as she pulled away. Instead, she pressed a little closer to his side with a sigh of contentment. 

“How long have you been awake?” She asked and he should have known that he couldn’t pull off faking sleep with super-agent Melinda May around.

He kept his eyes closed as the smile spread across his face, “Not long.”

“You could have woken me up.” She said, but the way she stretched lazily against his side stole the sincerity of that comment. 

“I like watching you sleep.” He replied softly and was glad her position kept her from seeing the blush that spread across his face. 

He could feel her smiling against his chest. “Was I snoring?”

“Lil’ bit.” He replied and jerked when she jabbed his side. 

“Liar” she accused and then settled her hand over his chest. 

He laughed softly and closed his eyes again. He would happily lie there like that as long as she wanted to. 

“Phil…” she spoke a few minutes later “maybe we can talk now instead of waiting till we get back.”

He tried not to tense up and breathed out, “Yeah…okay”                                          

They were both silent for a moment as they thought through what to say. Eventually, she broke the silence. 

“Did you want to kiss me?”

He wasn’t sure how much to admit to her. They were still trapped on the plane with no power or way to escape each other if things got awkward. He felt her tense in his arms as she waited for his reply and he decided that honesty really was the best policy. 

“Yes,” he replied softly “I really, really wanted to kiss you.”

She was quiet for a moment and then started to move from her position in his arms. He held his breath and his stomach clenched as he realized he’d said too much and made her uncomfortable. He directed his eyes to study the ceiling of her bunk while he waited for her to get up from the bed. Instead, she simply sat up a little next to him to be able to study his face. He directed his gaze back to her and the look in her eyes made his breath catch. 

“Do you want to kiss me now?” She asked and her eyes searched his. 

He swallowed hard and nodded. He reached his hand up to cup her cheek as she leaned down to him. His eyes slid shut as he felt her draw closer and his heart raced in anticipation. 

The small cabin was suddenly bathed in light as the plane began to re-power itself. They pulled apart in surprise and a persistent beeping noise could be heard from the cockpit. They shared a look of regret as they began to pull apart and move from the bed. She glanced away as she stood up and gave him one more soft look before moving towards the cockpit to answer the hail. 

His plan to steal the Zephyr and run away together was looking better and better.

“Mace has a mission for us.” She said as he joined her in the cockpit. “There’s a Chinatown gang they’ve been tracking that may be connected to the Watch Dogs. He wants us to check it out.”

He nodded, “Okay…back to work.”

She looked equally disappointed as she slid into pilot’s seat to start checking over the newly restored systems. 
He gave her one last lingering look before heading to freshen up a bit and find them some breakfast. 

When he returned to the cockpit she was in full mission gear preparing for take-off. He handed her a travel mug filled with tea and the protein bar and bowl of fruit he’d fixed for her. She smiled as he settled into the copilot seat next to her with his own bowl and cup of coffee. 

“The Director wants us to assess the situation and call in the strike team if we need back up. We’ll land a good distance from their last location and take ground transportation to the sight,” she informed him as her hands moved over the various switches and controls with practiced ease. He always found it a bit of a turn on watching her fly, but he couldn’t think about that now. He took a sip of coffee to give himself something else to focus on. 

The Zephyr lifted from the field and began moving towards its destination under the steadiness of its skilled pilot. He was smiling when she looked over at him. 

“What?” She asked and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. 

He shook his head but couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. “You’re just the coolest woman I know.” He admitted. 

The faintest blush stole across her cheeks as she turned her attention back to the sky in front of them. She didn’t say anything but the slight smirk made him smile more. 

He suddenly couldn’t wait to get home and have that talk. 

The rest of the flight was filled with comfortable chatter. They both studiously avoided talking about anything personal and kept their conversation focused on work and the details that Mace had sent them about the Chinatown crew and the concerns that SHIELD had. 

The infrared scans they were viewing on the tablet from their position outside of the warehouse showed they were outnumbered and severely outgunned. They had radioed in for back up but the strike team was still a good twenty minutes out from their position. They lost the feed for a moment but when it came back they could see mass chaos erupting inside. Gunshots rang out and suddenly a guard rounded a corner to where they were positioned. She pulled her gun and shot quickly. He fell to the ground unconscious before them. 

“We can’t wait for back up.” She said as she stowed the tablet in her bag and started moving toward the entrance of the warehouse. “We have to secure whatever is in that container before they get away.”

“Agreed,” he said as he unholstered his own weapon and moved to take position behind her left shoulder. “Whenever you’re ready.”

She looked back to give him one last look before offering a confident nod and moving forward once more. 

‘Once more, into the breach’ he thought and followed her toward the sounds of gunfire. 

Chapter Text

She was a force unto herself. She moved with a grace and speed unparalleled by anyone he had ever met, and he knew superheroes. Once they were inside the warehouse their cover was blown and they moved quickly behind crates for cover. The Chinatown crew was firing at them and themselves simultaneously and the place was a madhouse. 

“Cover me,” she ordered and then moved from safety towards one of the men while he laid down cover fire. A quick glance in her direction showed her foot connecting to the middle of the guy's chest while her hands wrapped around the center of the gun to change the direction of the barrel before knocking it away. It clattered to the floor only a moment before the now unconscious gang member joined it. She now had a different cover spot and she signaled to him to join her while she laid down cover fire of her own. 

He took a steadying breath before following her order and darting toward her. She shot expertly to give him a clear and safe route to her and the sound of ricocheting bullets provided no fear when Melinda May had his back. He had almost reached her location when his peripheral caught movement. Another shooter was aiming directly at Melinda and he reacted without thought. 

The sound of the gun going off to her left caused her to turn quickly to redirect her aim, and she took the gunman out with one shot. 

A look of panic flitted across her face when she saw the blood beginning to stain his shirt, but they didn’t have time for that now. They still needed to secure the package. 

“I’m fine,” he reassured her. “It’s just a graze. Keep moving. I’ve got your six.”

She hesitated briefly, and he schooled his features to reassure her. She gave him a nod of agreement, but he could see the worry etched across her face. 

They moved from behind the cargo container in tandem and fired simultaneously at their marks. Their movements were fluidic as the experience from years of combat side by side took over. The men turning on each other had taken out several of the hostiles and they made quick work of knocking out the rest with Icers. They would be out long enough for the strike team to arrive and secure them. She quickly resealed the container and made sure the area was completely safe before going to assess his wound.

He had taken a hit to the shoulder and the adrenaline was wearing off enough now that he was really starting to feel it. He slid down to rest against one of the cargo containers as his head started to spin a little from the blood loss. Gentle fingers pressed against his back to search for an exit wound. He grimaced as she pulled his jacket off carefully to get a better look at the injury. 

“It passed all the way through,” she informed him with a relieved sigh, “but we need to stop the bleeding.” She pressed his jacket to the wound and he gasped at the pressure. “Sorry,” she murmured.

Beads of sweat were forming on his brow and he forced his breathing to steady. He studied her face and watched her expression change from one of concern to anger. He opened his mouth to question her, but the strike team entered the warehouse and called out to them. 

“Over here,” she called out, and he could hear their boots against the concrete floor as they moved in their direction. 

“Henderson and Macklesfield, begin securing the prisoners. Piper and Davis, I want you to secure the package and get it ready for transport back to base. Move it to the Zephyr, and Agent Coulson and I will supervise its transport from there. Agent Rhodes will help me get Agent Coulson back to the Zephyr for medical attention. Agent Piper is running point on clean up.”

“Yes, ma’am” they all replied and went to work following her orders. Agent Rhodes came and helped her get Phil back to where they had stashed the SUV and drove them back to the waiting Zephyr while she sat in the back to keep pressure on his wound. She managed to put on a makeshift bandage from the supplies in her field pack, but it would need to be cleaned and dressed better back on the plane. 

Once Agent Rhodes helped her get Phil situated in the medical bay, he left them alone to go back and help with the clean up of the warehouse. 

She moved about quietly grabbing what she would need to patch him up, and he studied her carefully from his position on the gurney. 

He had been wrong with his earlier assessment of her emotions. She wasn’t just angry; she was livid. 

“Melinda,” he started to say but she turned and cut him off.

“You should have trusted me out there!” She seethed, and he was quick to respond.

“I do! There’s no one that I trust more than you.” He meant that too. He’d choose her over Captain America if they were going into battle and feel 100% confident that he had made the right choice. 

His reassurance did nothing to settle her and she lashed out again, “Then what was that about?! That was stupid, Phil! You could have been killed. I saw him to my left but I needed to neutralize the threat in front of us first. If you’d only waited a second before dashing out to get his scope trained on you instead..”

He could have been killed? The guy had a gun on her and he just reacted on instinct. She could have been a second too late getting her own shot off so he did what needed to be done.“You’re safe and that’s all that matters,” he said and he wouldn’t be dissuaded from thinking that he had made the right choice. He’d die before he went home without her. 

Her eyes narrowed and she placed both palms flat on the metal island between them. Her voice took on a low dangerous tone as she reminded him, “I don’t need you to protect me, Phil.”

He swallowed hard and all his frustrations bled out. “I know that, but I can’t lose you!” He confessed, “I’m not the director anymore…and Daisy is gone….I’m dealing with that….but losing you isn’t an option.”

“Phil…” she breathed and her anger deflated before his eyes. 

“I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself,” he continued, “You don’t need anyone…but I need YOU. You mean everything to me and I need you. I need you to be safe and make it home, Melinda….and I know you’re strong….you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. I just….I can’t explain that fear… that moment of panic… when I think one of these times I might have to go home without you.” He wiped his hand over his face before holding it out helplessly as he whispered, “I can’t do this without you.”

“Because I'm your best friend?” She questioned softly, and his heart clenched at the sheen of moisture coating her eyes.

“My very best friend...Always.” He stated resolutely but then his tone softened. “But I want more.”

She was watching him carefully. Her eyes searched his as she asked, “You want more?”

‘Guess they were having this conversation now’ he thought but outwardly nodded and said, “Yes….I wanted to talk about you and me, but you and Mace are together so…”

“What? Me and Mace? Are you high?” She interrupted and looked at him as if she really believed that he might be. 

“No,” he huffed and a thought occurred to him,  “are you trying to spare my feelings right now?”

“You idiot! I’ve been throwing myself at you for weeks!” She shouted in frustration, and his head started to swim.

Weeks? Throwing herself at him? “What? No, you haven't’!” He exclaimed and watched an array of emotions flit across her face. 

“When have you ever known me to be so touchy?” She questioned and threw her hands up in exasperation. “And how many times do I have to ask you out before you consider it a date?!”

‘Come again,’ he thought before finding his voice and asking, “Wait…you were asking me out? I thought you were trying to be a good friend because you were worried about me”

Her mouth gaping open in surprise would have been comical if she wasn’t angry and yelling at him. “I held your hand!….Several times!”

“So?” He questioned. How was he supposed to know from holding hands that she was interested? Friends hold hands right? 

“So….” She continued, “I was practically in your lap watching that movie at Fitzsimmons place and then I thought we were having a moment when you held my hand but then you blew me off on the way home that night.... And we had that kind of date at the festival, but then we kissed and you apologized!”

Okay, that’s quite the list but still. He stammered out, “But…you…and I….and…”

“If you’re not interested, Phil, just say so.” She said and crossed her arms over her chest as she studied the countertop diligently. 

Now it was his turn to look shocked. “Not interested? Are YOU high now?!” 

She looked up at him and her eyes narrowed dangerously. That was clearly the wrong thing to say so he swallowed and tried again.

“I’m so in love with you I can’t think straight! You’re all I’ve ever wanted, and I thought you were with someone else…and I was trying to get over you.” He confessed and watched as her jaw clenched and she took a deep breath. 

“Did it work?” She asked without looking up at him. 

He shook his head and sighed, “Not even for a second. I love you, Melinda... Please, love me back.”

She looked back up at him and rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot, Phil.”

He nodded in agreement. “You’ve mentioned that.”

“I'm already in love with you.” She said and his heart skipped at her words. 

“I’m an idiot,” he admitted and felt relieved when a smile finally tugged at her lips.  

She nodded and started moving towards him. “Yes…you really are.”

“But you love me anyway,” he stated and his own smile spread across his lips. 

She had reached his side and cradled his cheek in her hand, “Yeah….I really do.”

He reached up with his good hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear as he suggested, “So…..maybe we should talk…”

“Shut up, Phil” she interrupted, and a second later her lips crashed into his. His hands found her hips and pulled her forward to stand between his thighs where he still sat on the medical gurney. Her hands moved up his neck to frame his jaw, and her thumbs stroked soflty over his cheek. The soft sigh she made against his lips made his head swim and the feel of her mouth opening under his had a moan of pleasure slipping from the back of his throat.  

No more talking. 

That was probably for the best.

Chapter Text

She stepped even closer as she leaned into the kiss and her hand slid down his neck to his chest in sync with the tilt of her head. The groan that slipped past his lips was one of pain rather than pleasure this time, and she pulled away quickly as she realized her hand had touched the wound on his shoulder. 

He tugged her back with a mumbled, “I’m fine,” as his lips worked their way up her neck. She smiled and went to step away again, but his lips found that spot behind her ear that made her eyes close, and she decided to give him one more minute. Eventually, her brain kicked in, and she slowly pulled away from him with a faint blush dancing across her cheeks. 

She cleared her throat and reached for the medical supplies. “We should clean your shoulder.”

“Okay….yeah,” he agreed, but try as he might he couldn’t seem to keep the grin off of his face. She carefully helped him out of his shirt, and he watched her face while she removed the makeshift bandage she had applied earlier. She wouldn’t look at him as she started cleaning the wound, but a smile was tugging at the corner of her lips and her cheeks held more color than he’d ever seen on them. It was all he could do not to whistle a jaunty tune. He did, however, grin wider; and her lips curved up a bit more. 

“So….that talk….,” he mentioned as she applied the last of the bandage and started cleaning up the supplies she had used. 

“We should…,” she started to reply, but at that moment Agent Piper stepped into the medical bay. 

“Clean up is complete, Agent May. The package is onboard and ready for transport. The Director is on comms asking for your ETA back to base.”

“I’m on my way to the cockpit,” she said as she put the last of the unused swabs and antiseptics away in the cabinet.  Agent Piper nodded and then turned to head back to the command center of the Zephyr. 

He had already stood and slipped his ruined shirt back over his shoulders, and her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the dried blood on his shirt. 

“I promise I’ll go clean up,” he assured her and took a deep breath before adding, “Melinda,….I think we’re finally on the same page, and I don’t want to mess that up….”

She took a step closer and reached up on her tiptoes to bring her lips to his. “So…don't,” she said before kissing him slowly and thoroughly. His hands framed her face and his fingers threaded through the silky strands of her hair. He deepened the kiss for a moment before slowly pulling away and smiling when she pressed her forehead to his while she caught her breath. 

“Maybe after you’re done debriefing with the director later…you should come find me.” She suggested before turning and heading out of the medical bay. 
He smiled brightly and rubbed the back of his neck as he watched her leave. A glance down at his unbuttoned bloody shirt reminded him that he needed to get cleaned up so he headed towards his bunk with a happy whistle. 

He spent the flight back in the command center relaying information about the container they recovered to FitzSimmons who were getting the lab ready to begin scanning and analyzing it once they got it back to base. If his grinning like an idiot seemed odd to either of them, they were polite enough not to mention it. It felt like the longest flight back he’d ever experienced, but eventually, he was strapping in for landing and the gentle ‘tap’ of the Zephyr landing in the base hanger had him sighing in relief. He had a debriefing to get through and then a long-overdue conversation to finish. 

He was just finishing the last of the preparations necessary for the package to be moved to the lab for analysis when she stepped into the cargo hold. He made a valiant attempt to play it cool and would have been a bit more successful if he could have thought of something to say. Instead, he gave the eloquent articulation of, “So…”

She pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek to hide her smirk, but her eyes were dancing with humor. “So…,” she replied with a nod of her head.

“You going to be in your bunk later?” He asked as he took a step towards her. 

“Yep.” She nodded. 

He nodded back, “Okay….cool. That’s cool.,” and watched as an amused smile spread across her face. 

“Wow, so smooth, Phil.” She teased, and he laughed and relaxed a little. 

He rubbed the back of his neck as he responded, “Right? Yikes, I’m totally ruining this right now aren’t I?”

“Not as bad as you think.” She replied with a fond smile. 

He gave a short laugh and shake of his head before offering, “How about this…when I’m done talking to the Director, I'll bring dinner to your bunk. We can eat and…talk….see where things go from there. Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed with a nod, “I’ll see you later then.”

He wanted to take a step closer to steal another kiss before they parted ways; but a lab team was coming up the ramp to transport the package to the eagerly waiting Simmons, so he looked away and took a step back. She gave him a knowing smirk and shake of her head, but the light blush on her cheeks made him smile too. 

He gave her one more glance before shaking his head with a happy smile as he headed towards the director’s office. 

“Phil, buddy! Come on in!” Mace stated over forty-five minutes later when his assistant finally allowed him to go into the director’s inner sanctum. He realized he somehow found Mace to be less annoying and tried not to smile as he remembered Melinda’s face when he told her he thought she was dating him. 

He took a seat across from Mace’s desk and jumped right to the point, “We were able to secure the remaining members of the Chinatown crew and secure the package. Agent Simmons and her team are busy analyzing it now and should have a report of their initial findings to you soon.”

“Yes,” he nodded, “a job well-done, Phil. I suppose you’ll be wanting to head out again soon?”

“Actually, I think I’d like to stick around the base for a while….rest up…recover…” he said and indicated the shoulder and bandage that could be seen peeking out from his shirt. 

“Of course, that won’t be a problem,” Mace assured him with a smile. 

Hoping they were done, Phil prepared to leave. “If there’s nothing else, Director…”

“Actually, Phil,” he interrupted, “there is something rather delicate I’d like to talk to you about.”

He worked hard not to sigh in disappointment or frustration and schooled his features as he said, “Go ahead, Sir.”

“I know you and Agent May are close,” Mace began, and he fought the urge to mention exactly how close they were now. “So I was wondering if she’s said anything about me.”

“About you?” He questioned with a raised brow to buy himself more time to formulate a response. 

“Yeah…I’ve noticed this…tension…between us,” Mace continued.

Phil nodded in mock understanding, before trying to tactfully reply, “Have you considered that the tension isn’t….sexual tension….and maybe it’s just May’s typical ‘warm’ demeanor towards people she doesn’t know all that well?”

“I’ve got a good feeling about this one, Phil. I really think there’s something there.” He stated confidently as he leaned back in his seat and straightened his tie. 

“Well then,” Phil replied with a nod as he stood to leave, “I’m going to take off…” 

“I’ll keep you posted, buddy,” Mace assured him with a smile.

He just awkwardly nodded and said, “Yeah…okay…buddy” and headed towards the door. 

He shook his head as he realized how ridiculous it was that he ever thought Melinda was interested in that guy. Love really is blind and makes us idiots.

He smiled as headed towards the kitchen in search of dinner options. 

He had no intention of keeping Melinda waiting. 

Chapter Text

He was waiting. 

He was trying to be patient, but she still wasn’t in her bunk and the food had grown cold. After an hour of waiting, he decided to just leave her a note and head to his own bunk. He left the food for her. Whatever was keeping her from her bunk was also keeping her from dinner, and he wanted to make sure that she ate. He wasn’t really hungry anymore. 

It was still rather early, but he went through his nightly routine and was just about to crawl into bed with an old book when he heard the knock at his door and went to answer it. 

“I’m so sorry, Phil,” she said the moment the door opened and her look of disappointment melted away his own. “I was stopped by Fitz on my way to my bunk to approve the new optics he designed for the strike team, and then Mack called me to the gym because one of the guys on the strike team broke his leg in training today and needs to be replaced while he recovers…then Mace called me to his office and was…”

“Did you eat?” He interrupted, and her brow furrowed at his question.

She shook her head, “No. I saw your note and came straight here to explain.”

“Okay then,” he said as he slipped on a pair of shoes and moved past her into the hall. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?” She asked but followed him down the hall.

“Back to your bunk to eat. It was a grilled chicken salad so it should still be okay,” he said and looked over at her. Her brow was furrowed and he stopped walking, “Unless you’re tired and would rather just try again tomorrow night. I could take you out somewhere….like a date.”

She smiled and reached for his hand. She led him toward her bunk as she said, “I’m good to eat now…..but…." she paused and turned to him with a playful spark in her eyes, "you can still take me on a date tomorrow night.”

"Deal," he eagerly agreed and smiled as he waited for her to key in the code for her door. His thumb brushed over the back of hers, and he tried to keep his heart from racing.  

“So what did Mace want?” He asked a few minutes later as they uncovered the plates and settled against her headboard to eat. 

“Oh, he said he wanted to work on his hand to hand combat training and asked if I would be able to work with him a few nights a week,” she replied before taking a bite of her salad.

He chewed slowly to hide the smirk and just nodded without looking at her. “So….umm….when will you be training him? Do we need to reschedule tomorrow night?”

“Oh, I’m not training him!” She informed him as she speared a piece of cucumber off of his plate. 

He noticed another cucumber under a piece of lettuce and pushed it to the edge of his plate for her.  “You’re not?”

“Seriously, Phil?” She asked him with a raised brow as she took the offered slice. “I’d kill him.”

“So…you just told him no?” He asked and smiled when she put a piece of her grilled chicken on his plate. 

She took the last bite of her salad and placed the empty plate on the nightstand next to her. “No, I told him I wasn’t available, but I could talk to Mack about working with him.”

He let out a soft chuckle and shook his head as he finished up his own dinner. 

“Why are you laughing?” She asked with arms crossed as she studied him with a raised brow.

He handed her the empty plate to place on the nightstand with hers before turning to her with a smirk as he informed her, “Because he didn’t really want the training. He was trying to hit on you, but you set him up with Mack instead.”

“He was not hitting on me,” She denied with a roll of her eyes.

“He told me earlier that he really thought you two had something special and promised to keep me informed.”

“Uh huh….well….maybe I should just tell him I can train him after all….see where that goes.”

He smirked and shook his head as he reached down to take her hand, “No….I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Then give me a better idea,” she suggested, and the suggestive glint in her eyes made his heart race. 

His hand moved to her neck to cup her cheek, and he smiled at the sight of her eyes sliding closed in anticipation. He took just a second to breathe her in before closing the distance between their lips. She sighed softly and her hand slid up his chest. Her hand fisted in his shirt as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, and the soft sigh of pleasure that escaped her lips made his pulse jump. 

She pushed up on her knees and his free hand gripped her hip as she moved to straddle his lap. His heart was pounding in his ears and all rational thought was flying out the window. He’d lost count of how many times he’d fantasized about this very moment, and he could hardly get his brain to recognize that it was finally happening. She was kissing her way up his neck, and then she wasn’t. It wasn’t until he heard the groan of frustration that he realized her head was resting on his shoulder and both hands were gripping his shirt tightly. Slowly awareness seeped in and he heard the knock at the door. 

“If that’s Mace, I’m going to kill him.” He sighed in frustration. 

“Get in line,” she mumbled back as she slid from his lap and walked towards the door. 

The frustration faded slightly as she opened the door to see Fitz standing there. 

“Sorry to bother you, May, but I wanted to make sure these are exactly what you had in mind, Oh hey, Coulson, so if you could just…” It was at that moment that realization seemed to spread across Fitz’s face, and he trailed off as he noticed him sitting in her bed. It was almost comical to see his eyes shift back to May and her slightly disheveled hair and swollen lips. The blush moved across his cheeks and up to the tip of his ears as he began to stammer.

“Umm…actually….there’s no reason we can’t talk about this tomorrow…I mean you’re obviously getting busy…you're busy! I mean you’re busy. I should go…you know…do lab stuff…down at the lab place…cause that’s where I work…in the lab. Yep…I’m just going to go now. I’m gonna go to the lab. Goodnight Agent May, Agent Coulson. Sir.” 

With that he spun on his heel and started moving back down the hall in the opposite direction of the lab. He seemed to notice this too and quickly turned back around to go the other way. 

She gave a soft laugh as she closed the door and turned to move back towards the bed. She curled up next to him and slipped her arm around his waist as her head rested against his shoulder. She gave a contented sigh when his lips pressed to the top of her head. She closed her eyes and his arms slid around her. 

“I should probably go and let you get some rest. We can talk tomorrow…about our date…” he suggested.

She picked her head up from his shoulder to look at him as she made a suggestion of her own. “Well….you’re already in your pj’s….you could just stay here tonight…”

“You sure?” He asked hesitantly, but she had already started pulling the covers back. 

He slid down under the covers and waited patiently while she stepped into the bathroom to get ready for bed. He smiled happily when she came back into the room dressed in shorts and an old t-shirt and climbed into the bed to settle into his side once more. She reached up to turn of the lamp beside her and placed a long slow kiss on his lips before whispering, “Goodnight Phil” and resting her head back on his shoulder. 

He smiled into the dark and traced his fingertips across the bare arm she had draped over his waist. Her skin was soft and smooth beneath his fingers and he marveled at the difference a day had made. Last night he had gone to sleep with her in his arms afraid that she would be gone or uncomfortable when they woke. Tonight he’s curled up in her bed holding her close, and he’ll wake up in the morning to plan a date with her. 

He finally got the girl. 

Chapter Text

She was up early for training. He woke when he heard her come out of the bathroom and opened his eyes to see her in work out clothes and hair up to head to the gym. She smiled when she saw him watching her and moved towards the bed. 

“Good Morning,” she said softly as she leaned down to catch his lips. 

He moved his hand to her cheek and kissed her back. “Good Morning,” he said with a smile as she pulled away. “Come back to bed.”

His lips found hers again, and he could tell that she was tempted by his offer. “Get up and come work out with me,” she countered. 

“I’ll see you when you get back”

“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought” 

“It’s not that I don’t want to work out,” he argued as he propped himself up on his elbow to watch her pull her tennis shoes on, “I just have a date to plan. I’m so, so busy.”

“Well…I guess since you’re so busy planning a date I can let it slide. I think Mace was wanting to work out anyway. I bet he wouldn’t mind helping me stretch out either. I’ve been rather tense lately and could use a good work out,” she teased as she stood to head out. 

He reached out and wrapped a hand around her wrist, and she laughed as he pulled her back onto the bed. He managed to catch her by surprise and with one quick maneuver had her pinned beneath him. Her eyes were dancing playfully and he smiled down at her as his hands slid up her arms to her hands. She laced their fingers together and slid her legs up to cradle his hips. 

“I thought you were too busy to play, Phil,” she reminded him with a smirk. 

He leaned down to place a kiss to the edge of her jaw, then another behind her ear, and then another against her neck. “I said I was too busy to work out, but I have lots of time to play.”

He grinned as she arched beneath him to grant him better access to her neck. He moved his lips to accommodate her, but quickly found himself on his back beneath her. 

She smiled triumphantly and pressed a quick kiss to his lips as she moved off of him. “I’m going to go work out. I’ll see you later for our date.”

“Fine,” he sighed, “I’ll pick you up at 6. Don’t be late.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she assured and gave him one more kiss before grabbing her gym bag and heading out the door. 

He shook his head with a smile as he got up and made the bed.  

He had just pulled her door closed behind him when he turned around and almost smacked into Simmons. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Sir! I was just looking for Agent May,” she apologized. 

“No problem, Jemma, she’s actually in the gym if you want to try there,” he said and moved to head towards his bunk.

“Thank you, Sir, I will,” she said and smiled warmly, but then her brows knit together as she asked, “Are those your jammies sir?”

He worked really hard to keep the blush off of his cheeks as he replied, “Yep. See you later, Simmons.”

He walked as naturally as possible away and tried not to cringe under the hole he could feel her eyes burning into his back. He didn’t need to turn around to know she was standing there trying to puzzle out why he was leaving May’s bunk so early wearing his sleep clothes. At least he knew that Fitz hadn’t said anything about last night. They’d have plenty to discuss now. 

He spent the day catching up on inventory reports and other paperwork that needed his attention. He tried not to overthink his date with Melinda. He didn’t have to plan anything elaborate. She didn’t like that sort of thing anyway. He just needed to plan something simple away from the base so that they’d be able to have some time alone to work out what this all meant. That thought gave him an idea and he made a quick phone call to set everything up. 

He was right on time to pick her up and with one knock she slid the door open with a soft smile. She wore jeans and a deep purple shirt that made her dark features seem even more alluring and he was glad he had opted for the jeans and jacket rather than the dress shirt and slacks. 

“Shall we?” He asked with a smile and offered his arm. 

She slid her hand into the crook of his arm and grabbed her leather jacket off the hook by the door before pulling the door closed behind her. “Lead the way,” she requested and they headed towards the cargo bay where Lola was waiting. 

They drove a good distance away from the base, and she gave him a questioning glance as he took Lola on back roads rather than the highway that would lead them towards town. He just smiled and turned the radio on. She smiled in return and settled back into the seat to watch the scenery as they drove. 

He pulled Lola to a stop at the top of a hill overlooking the city. He stepped out and headed towards the back of the car to retrieve a blanket and duffle bag from the trunk and signaled for her to wait. 

He placed them on the ground a couple of steps from Lola before heading towards the passenger side to open the door and offer a hand to help her out. 

He spread out the blanket and she sat down patiently as he moved to unzip the duffle bag at his side. 

“It’s not a picnic basket,” he shrugged, “but the thought was the same. I know it’s a bit cheesy, but this way we could have dinner and I didn’t have to share you with anyone else,” he explained. 

She smiled softly as she watched him unpack the food and leaned in to place a kiss to his cheek. 

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

He blushed softly and moved to spread out the food on the plates he had pulled from the bag. 

They talked comfortably as they ate, and it all felt the same as it had every other meal they had shared over the years. He wondered how they’d missed this all this time. They already had everything right in front of them, but they could have been kissing this whole time. He decided that instead of being disappointed at the year's worth of wasted opportunities he would just make up for it with the time they had now.

Especially the kissing.

He was definitely going to make up for all the missed kisses. 

He packed away the empty containers and smiled happily as she stretched out on the blanket. Once he had everything cleaned up, he stretched out on his back next to her. 

She reached over to slide her hand into his and he turned his head to study her with a happy smile tugging at his lips. 

“Did I do okay with our first date?” He asked and she turned her face to offer him a sweet smile. 

Her thumb brushed over the back of his as she replied, “Best first date I’ve ever been on. Think you might want to try for a second date?”

“See….now I know you’re asking me out. You weren’t this clear before.” He pointed out and she rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. His smile grew as he brought her hand up to his lips to place a kiss to the back of it. “I’d really like a second date….and a third….and a forth…”

The press of her lips against his cut off his count, but he’d made his intentions pretty clear. 

“Deal,” she sighed against his lips, and he decided they could iron out the details later. 

He had years of missed kisses to make up for.  

Her head on his shoulder as the sun set around them was blissful. So were the occasional kisses she kept giving him. 

He sighed happily as her thumb brushed over the back of his. 

“Favorite mission we’ve been on since we started this team?” She asked a while later as they watched the light fade out and pinpricks of light start showing up more prominently in the dark sky above them. 

He thought about it for a moment before a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “The one where we went undercover to steal the painting. That was a really great dress.”

She sighed but couldn’t quite hide her smile as she responded, “Ugh….I was captured and tortured with an electrical wire….and even worse than that was the dancing.”

He turned to her with a smirk. “And you had to fight yourself….which was really hot. I tried for days to get the video footage of that.”

The elbow to his ribs had him chuckling and quickly adding, “For SHIELD evidence of course!”

“Uh-huh”

He turned his head and studied her face in the fading light. “This last mission worked out pretty well.” 

“You were shot,” she argued and turned her face toward him. 

He shrugged with a soft smile. “Yeah….but I got the girl. Totally worth it.”

She shook her head and went back to watching the stars, but a soft smile stole across her lips and he smiled too as he watched her. 

They lay there a while longer trading memories of the things they had done together since forming their team; both were content to enjoy the quiet companionship. Eventually, they decided to pack up and head back to base, but neither was eager to end their time together. 

He walked her back to her bunk and lingered outside the door for a moment. 

“So….we’re dating now?” He asked hesitantly with his hands in his pocket. He rocked a little on his feet as he tried to appear casual and collected waiting for her response. 

“I’d say so,” she replied and leaned against her door frame with crossed arms. 

He grinned and shook his head at how awkward he was being. “Good.” He replied and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. 

“Goodnight, Melinda.” He sighed happily as he pulled away. 

She smiled and pressed another kiss to his lips before bidding him goodnight and slipping into her bunk. 

He couldn’t wipe the happy grin off of his face all the way back to his own bunk. 

It was well after midnight when he heard the faint clicking of his door that signaled someone accessing his lock code. The faintest light spilled into the room as the door slid open and then closed again. 

He smiled as he felt the weight shift on the bed next to him and then a familiar form pressing to his side. 

“I’ve gotten used to you,” she explained as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder and slid her hand across his chest. 

He smiled into the darkness and pulled her closer. “Good,” he replied and his eyes closed once more. 

He pushed back the sense of foreboding that rushed over him, and the thought that the fragile bubble of happiness they found themselves in was about to burst and chose to be in this moment with her. 

They were both asleep moments later. 

Chapter Text

He woke to a gentle push to his side. 

“Phil…” she coaxed, but he kept his eyes closed and tried to pull her back to his side. 

“Back to bed, Mel. It’s too early,” he whined and winced as her hand pushed against his side again. 

“Wake up, Phil. We have company…” she warned and suddenly his eyes flew open to see a very satisfied smile glaring back at him from the foot of his bed. 

“Well, well,…looks like Mom and Dad finally got their act together. It’s about time.” She teased and placed her hands on her hips with a gleeful spark in her eyes. 

He sat up quickly and blinked to clear the sleep from his brain. “Daisy?….What are you doing here?”

“Well for one I’m thanking every deity in existence that you’re both dressed!” She teased, “But also….checking in….making sure you guys are being safe….I don’t need any little siblings crawling around here…” she trailed off at the annoyed look May was sending her way and quickly added, “Also there’s a situation with the Watchdogs, and I could use your help.”

“Why don’t we meet you in the common room in thirty minutes and you can fill us in.” Melinda suggested and Daisy nodded. 

She faked a look of disgust as she replied, “Just don’t tell me what you plan to use that half hour for. No one wants to hear that mom and dad are still doing it.”

His pillow hit her as she ducked out the door, and he could still hear her laughter ring out as the door slid closed behind her. 

“That’s it,” he moaned “we’re moving off base. There are too many people here. Let’s find a house far away from here.”

“She’d just break into our room there too.” She reminded him as she slipped from the bed. 

He sighed, “That’s true, but I like that you said ‘our room’”

“What? You’re gonna get a house with me and we have separate rooms?” She teased as she pulled the covers up to make the bed.

“Nope….just pointing out that you said it.” He said with a smirk as he helped her put the bed in order. 

She playfully rolled her eyes as she moved towards the door. “When did you get so sappy?”

“I’ve always been sappy,” he said as he joined her by the door and slid his arms around her waist “You just have to work harder now to pretend you don’t like it.”

“Maybe,” she conceded as she pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’ll see you in a few.”

He smiled as she slipped out the door and watched her walk down the hall for a moment before moving to get ready to meet her and Daisy in the common area. 

Daisy was still smirking when he walked in the room fifteen minutes later. 

“So…” she said with a raised brow. 

He tried to play it cool, he really did, but Daisy said that May was stopped by Fitz and would be another ten minutes before she joined them, and he finally had someone to talk to about it. 

“I’m dating May,” he said with a bright smile. 

“Looked like a little more than dating this morning,” she goaded. 

He blushed but amended, “We were just sleeping. We’re taking our time.”

“I’m not sure you two could take any more time. How long has this been dragging out? Twenty plus years? How much slower can two people go?” She asked with a roll of her eyes. 

“You really want to talk about me and May doing something besides sleeping?” He asked with a raised brow.

“Eww….no. Oh, look! Here comes your girlfriend. Insert subject change!  Just in time, May!” She said quickly as May walked into the room.

“What’s up? What do you need our help with?” She asked getting straight to the point. 

“I’ve got the leader of the Chinatown gang in holding, but he’s talking nonsense. I can’t tell if its some Chinese slang that I’m not familiar with or just gibberish. Care to talk to him for me?”

“Sure,” Melinda agreed, “what else?”

“I thought they were helping fund the Watchdogs, but I’ve traced some of their communications, money, etc and I think there’s actually something else at play here.”

“We’ll look into it,” Phil assured her “I’ll start on that while you and May go handle the interrogation. We can meet back here when you’re done.”

“Great,” Daisy agreed and she and May headed for the holding cells. 

He was still working when they came back in an hour later. “Any luck?” He asked. 

“He’s delusional,” Daisy replied as she looked over his shoulder at the screen to see his progress. “He went nuts about some woman being in the containment module with him no matter how many times May told him there was no one else in there. We had to sedate him and leave so Simmons and her team could check him out.”

His eyes moved to Melinda’s to get her take on the guy, but she was staring across the room with her eyes narrowed. He turned his head in that direction; but when he couldn’t see anything that could possibly have her attention, he called out, “May? You okay?”

She startled at the sound of his voice and looked at him for a moment before squaring her shoulders and responding, “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

Daisy’s moan of “Eww…please don’t tell me what kept you from sleeping last night!” Brought a slight smile to her face, but he watched her carefully. He knew her, and something was bothering her. He’d have to ask later when Daisy wasn’t around and maybe she’d open up. 

He and Daisy were walking through the base a couple of hours later when a few medics rushed past them on their way to the lab. 

As they got closer they could see Jemma frantically working on the man Daisy and May had interrogated earlier. The monitor let out a long shrill beep, and Jemma slumped her shoulders in defeat before reaching up to switch off the monitor. 

“What happened, Jemma?” He asked as they stepped into the lab. 

She pulled her gloves off and tossed them in the wastebasket. “He went into cardiac arrest, and we couldn’t save him. I have no idea what set him off.” 

She took his arm and pulled him a couple of steps away to give them a bit more privacy as she quietly asked him, “Have you talked to May lately?”

His heart sank at the implication of why she was asking him that, and he turned on his heel and left the lab with quick strides on his way to find Melinda. 

He eventually found her in the locker room pulling bags and personal items from each locker as she frantically searched for something. Even from the doorway, he could see the sweat beading on her brow and the look of agitation clouding her eyes. 

His heart clenched, and he pulled the door closed to give them privacy. 

“May,” he said softly to get her attention, “what’s up?”

“The base has been infiltrated,” she said as she opened the next bag, “something got in”

“So…you thought you’d redecorate?” He asked as he tried to puzzle out just what she was looking for. 

“Maybe somebody brought something in…something that’s getting to everyone” she continued.

Suddenly it dawned on him, “And if you find it you can destroy it.”

“yeah…that’s right”

His heart filled with love and worry. “Always ready to do the brave thing. Always looking out for us.”

“I won’t let them take you.”

He needed to get her to settle down. He’d just seen what could happen if he did get her heart rate slowed, and he tried to come up with a quick plan. 

“May…uh…what if we stop…take a minute…rest…make a plan...”

“Can’t…can’t….no time.”

Okay, next idea. “You know what? We have current blood samples on file for every shield agent…even the director. That could help us figure out who’s been infected” he tried and placed a hand softly on her shoulder. She flinched at his touch, and he knew he had to tread carefully. 

“We just have to go to the lab. How does that sound?” He asked and studied her eyes for any sense of understanding.   

“Yeah,” she said after a moment, and this time she didn’t flinch when he placed his hand on her arm. 

She followed him out, and his concern grew with each step. Something was definitely wrong. He just needed to get her to Simmons so she could figure this out. 

They had just taken a couple of steps into the gym when she started looking around at the agents gearing up for training. She faltered in her steps, and he tried to get her to focus on him.

“May, you alright?”

“Why do you want me to go to the lab so bad?” She asked as her eyes narrowed. 

“I told you so we can…” he started but could tell by the look on her face that he needed to switch tactics. “okay, look. There’s a situation you need to be aware of,” he tried instead 

“I’m aware.” She said with a hard tone to her voice, and then her foot connecting with his chest sent him flying. “and I’m gonna stop ‘em.”

It took him a moment to catch his breath as he sat up, but as he saw the other agents moving towards and being sent to the floor, he cautiously warned, “She’s sick! Don’t hurt her!” 

He was trying not to panic, but he needed to get her to Jemma and she was becoming more and more agitated. She was taking out agents one by one. Agent Piper managed to land a punch but was quickly overpowered by May as well. He pulled himself to his feet and blocked a punch. He held her arm with one hand and held up the other to block the next blow she was sure to deliver as he pleaded with her. “May,... May, stop…it’s me.”

Her eyes locked with his in a moment of clarity and he saw her relax for a moment as she recognized him, but then the uppercut to his jaw sent him back to the mats. She close-lined the next agent and then started walking to the door. 

He felt panic bubbling up as he clamored to his feet and begged, “Melinda….wait…please!…You’re not well, sweetheart. Please, let me help.”

She turned back to him, and her eyes softened for a moment at the endearment, and he thought he had finally gotten through to her; but she squared her shoulders and said resolutely, “Phil, I’m doing what has to be done.”

“So am I.” Mace said from behind her. She turned quickly and moved to strike him, but his inhuman strength held up under her barrage of hits. He lifted her off the ground and moved to the brick pillar where he slammed her head against the wall to knock her unconscious.

She slid down the wall like a limp rag, and he moved quickly to her side. He pushed the director aside as he knelt by her slouched form and felt for her pulse. He slid his hands into her hair as he carefully probed the back of her head to make sure she wasn’t seriously hurt. 

“Was that really necessary?” He asked with clear annoyance in his voice. 

“She had to be stopped, Phil. I’ll take her to the…”

“No,” he interrupted as he gently scooped her up in his arms. “I’ve got her.”

He carried her carefully to the lab and Jemma looked up startled as he walked in and quickly directed him to a bed. As soon as he laid her down she started hooking her up to various monitors to get her vitals.  

“Please, you have to help her Jemma,” he pleaded and she placed a sympathetic hand on his arm.

“We’ll do everything we can, Sir, I promise.”

He swallowed hard and nodded before moving to give her room to work. His heart was in his throat and he couldn’t decide if he was about to throw up or if his body was about to collapse from the sudden feeling of exhaustion. She looked so fragile on that bed and images of the Chinatown leader in his final moments flashed before his eyes. 

He found a chair in the corner out of the way where he could sit and still be close to her. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together as he squeezed his eyes shut to try to gather himself. 

He’d never been this terrified before.

He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t survive that, and he knew it. He sat up and looked over at her lying still on the bed while Jemma ran tests. 

It was at that moment that the monitors started to beep in rapid succession and Jemma started shouting orders to her team. 

All the air rushed from his lungs. 

Chapter Text

It took almost ten minutes for Jemma’s team to get her stabilized. It was the longest ten minutes of his life and his hands were still shaking. 

He watched Jemma talking to the Director in the hallway. She nodded solemnly before walking back in and moving towards him. 

“We’re moving May to another site to try to get her more help,” she explained, “We’re just not sure what we’re working with and the other doctors and scientists might find something we’ve missed. I promise you…we won’t stop until we figure this out.”

“Okay…,” he nodded, “When do we leave?”

“You’re not going, Agent Coulson,” he heard Mace say and turned to him quickly.

“Like hell, I’m not. It’s May. I’m going with her.”

“You’re needed here. Agent Johnson has a new lead and I want the two of you to check it out. I’ll keep you apprised of any changes in her condition,” He placated. 

“That’s not good enough," he argued, "I’m going with her.”

“You have your orders, Phil. Agent Johnson is already waiting for you on the Zephyr, and I know you wouldn't want her on a potentially dangerous mission alone. It's the same call you would make as director.  Wheels up in 10. Agent Simmons, get Agent May ready for transport. I’ve got a security team ready to escort you to the new facility. She’s important to me. See that she’s taken care of. Call me immediately if there are any changes,” he instructed and then moved with Burrows out of the lab and down the hall. 

Jemma gave him a sympathetic look as she moved to prep May for their departure. He knew Mace was right and he would make that call as the director. He also knew that Daisy needed back up, but the thought of not being there with Melinda broke him. With a final word to Jemma, he placed a lingering kiss to Melinda's fevered brow and whispered in her ear that he'd be back with her soon.

Jemma had never seen him look so broken as he walked away in search of Daisy. 

There was a full tactical team ready to accompany them when they wheeled Agent May to the waiting Quinjet. She knew that Agent May had taken out a room full of agents earlier, but the five agents decked out in full gear including helmets and eye shields seemed a bit much. It also amused her to know that even sick, Agent May could take them all out no matter how much gear they wore to protect themselves. She felt like the proud kid of a super badass mom. 

“We’re wheels up as soon as you secure the patient,” one of the agents said, and from his voice, she could tell it was Davis but couldn’t tell which one he was. 

She secured the gurney that Agent May was on and then harnessed herself in for take-off. She made sure that she was within arms reach in case she needed to quickly increase the sedation before any of the security agents could get to her. They seemed a little anxious. 

She pulled out her tablet and started making quick notes and checking test results. As soon as they landed she was going to send a text to Agent Coulson to let him know how she was. He looked devastated when he said goodbye to Agent May's still form. Just before he left the lab to head to meet Daisy on the Zephyr, he had pulled her aside and made her promise him that she would do anything necessary to save her. She didn’t care what the director said. She knew how much Agent May meant to him, and she’d update him as much as she was able.

Someone else could keep Mace up to speed. 

The Director intended to send them to a CDC facility, but she had another plan. She had to really throw her authority around, but eventually, they arrived at Holden Ratcliff’s house and the security team escorted them in. She and Ratcliff got May hooked up to his monitors and began to examine the situation. 

“Alright, gentlemen,” Jemma said as she felt like the audience in the room was a bit much, “We’ve got it from here. You can stand guard in the other room and we’ll just call if you’re needed.”

They stood there still and she rolled her eyes as she prepared to remind them all that she outranked them. 

“You heard Agent Simmons…move out,” one of the agents said and she shook her head as she recognized the familiar voice. The others filed out but he remained and she crossed her arms over her chest as she waited. 

His shoulders slumped and he reached up to remove the helmet and eyewear. 

“I just couldn’t….” he started to explain, and she offered him a sympathetic smile and nod. 

“I know, Sir.”

He moved to May’s bed and took her hand in his. “How is she?” He asked and pushed the damp hair from her forehead gently with his fingertips. 

“We’re mapping her brain right now to try to find the problem,” Ratcliff explained. 

He nodded and watched as she started to thrash around on the bed. His heart ached watching her suffer and it must have read on his face because Jemma placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to be in here,” she offered “you can wait in the other room”

“Please…” was the only word he could get out but she understood and gestured to a chair a few feet away that would keep him out the way of their work but give him a direct view of her. 

He pressed a kiss to Melinda’s temple and moved to the chair to wait. 

He would check in on Daisy and Mack’s mission later; for now, his attention was focused solely on Melinda and the two people racing against the clock to save her.  

Every moment with her flashed through his mind in rapid succession. Every op, every late-night conversation, every kiss, every moment with her with perfect clarity scrolled through his brain as an aching reminder of how much he’d lose if he lost her. 

He felt the bile rise up in his throat and he took long slow breaths to try to push back nausea his fear was creating. 

He wiped his hand over his face as he looked back over at where they had her strapped to the bed. She was becoming increasingly agitated and he knew they were quickly running out of time. 

“Come on May, fight it,” he whispered.

He felt like he was in a tunnel. His ears were ringing and he could see Ratcliff and Simmon’s mouths moving but the sound was muffled. The hours passed by. 

His phone began to vibrate and he pulled it from his pocket to see the Director’s number on the screen. He turned his phone off before sliding it back into his pocket. He’d willingly face whatever consequences Mace deemed appropriate. He just needed Melinda to be okay. He looked down at his clasped hands and prayed and begged that she’d make it. 

He looked up when Jemma approached and she looked worried. He was immediately on alert as he waited to see what she had to say.

“Sir, we think we have a way to save May,” she said as she pulled up a chair to sit across from him.

He let out the breath he had been holding, “That’s great. That’s great, Jemma.”

“There’s just one problem, Sir,” she started and his heart started to race at the worried tone in her voice, “We have to stop her heart.”

Chapter Text

He couldn’t breathe.

“No, There’s got to be another way. I won’t let you kill her”

“She’ll die if we don’t. At least this way she has a chance at beating this thing.” Ratcliff explained.

“Sir, we need to reboot her brain. It’s the only way to flush this out of her system. We’ll stop her heart and wait until her brain shows the minimum threshold of activity and then we’ll restart her heart. We’ll watch the clock and make sure we revive her before there’s any permanent damage,” she said and her voice softened as she added, “Sir, you know I wouldn’t even suggest this if I didn’t think this was our ONLY option.”

He swallowed hard and tried to speak past the lump in his throat, “I can’t lose her Jemma.”

“I know, Sir,” she confirmed with a gentle touch to his arm. She’d known for years how much he relied on Agent May and how lost he would be without her. 

His eyes held such brokenness as he pleaded, “Promise me you’ll do…”

“I promise, Sir,” she interrupted and he looked into her eyes for a moment until he was satisfied that she truly would do anything necessary to save Agent May. 

“Okay then,” he nodded with a grave look on his face, “do whatever you need to do to save her.”

“You may want to step into the other room, Sir,” she advised but he shook his head.

“I won’t leave her,” he swore and the way he set his jaw and squared his shoulders told her not to press anymore.

She simply nodded and moved back to where Ratcliff was getting everything prepared. He gave her a nod to let her know that everything was ready for them to proceed and she spared one last look at Coulson. 

She knew he loved her, but this was something more. This was a lifetime of affection, friendship, adoration, and unfailing devotion that culminated in an unbreakable bond that she had admired since they had formed their team. She’d never seen a love so pure and selfless and always wondered why they never acted on it. Now, she was about to take his chance to do so, and she looked back at May with second thoughts. If they were wrong she would be killing someone that had been a mentor to her and a friend; but as she looked back at Coulson, she knew she would be taking everything away from him and she wasn’t sure that he would survive that. 

She looked back at Ratcliff who noticed her hesitancy and spoke softly, “It’s the only chance we have.”

She nodded solemnly and picked up the syringe. 

“Wait!” Coulson said and stood quickly. She squared her shoulders ready to defend this choice to him again but he ran his hand over his face and walked to May’s bed. 

The half sob that he tried to swallow back brought tears to her eyes and she gestured to Ratcliff to give them a minute. They both stepped back and tried to give him a moment with her as he brushed the hair from her brow and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. 

As much as she wanted to give them this moment of privacy she couldn’t help but lean in just a little to hear the words he whispered to her writhing form. 

“I love you, Melinda. Please….please don’t leave me. I need you to fight this….just fight, May,” he pleaded and with one last kiss to her forehead he stepped away and nodded to Simmons to go ahead. 

She took a deep breath and pushed the syringe into her IV before she could change her mind. The sound of the heart monitor beeping frantically caused her stomach to jump to her throat and she felt sick. The sheen of moisture in Coulson’s eyes when she looked over at him made her feel even worse. She turned her eyes back to the monitor and fought back her own tears as Agent May flat-lined. 

She was dead. 

She pulled the defibrillator closer and flipped the machine on to charge the paddles. She watched anxiously as the system began to show the shut down of her brain and the clock which counted down the time they had left to safely revive her. She held her breath as the clock seemed to move faster than the scans and she began to doubt that they would reach the necessary threshold in time. 

“We have to revive her,” she said as she picked up the paddles in preparation.

Ratcliff held a hand up to stop her, “Not yet. We’re almost there….”

She watched impatiently as the scan and clock raced against each other. She spared a quick glance at Coulson who stood watching the monitors with his hand over his mouth and a look of fear in his eyes she’d never seen before. She tore her eyes away to charge the paddles and moved into position. 

“Reaching minimal threshold…..now” Ratcliff exclaimed and the words had barely left his lips before she had the paddles positioned on May’s chest and sent the first current flowing to her heart. 

There was no response.

“Charging again,” she warned and repositioned the paddles to send a second shock.

Still nothing.

“Going again,” she said but Ratcliff placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

“Jemma we’re too late,” he said and the sorrow in his eyes made the tears she had been fighting slip from her eyes. 

“No…” Coulson breathed, “Jemma, you have to…”

“Clear!” She interrupted and Ratcliff barely jumped away in time as she sent another current to May's heart. She made a promise, and she wasn’t going to give up.

She sent a fourth shock into May’s chest and the steady beeping of the heart monitor filled the room. Coulson pushed past Raticliff on the other side of the gurney and unstrapped May’s wrist and clutched her hand to his chest. The relief on his face sent a flood of emotions to her heart and she put the paddles away and wiped her eyes. The look of absolute gratitude he sent her had the tears flowing steadily down her cheeks and she gave him a warm smile as she brushed them away. 

As her heart rate and vitals began to stabilize for the first time since she was infected, Phil sent a silent prayer of thanks and gratitude up. His hand tightened around the one he clasped to his chest and he used his free hand to cup her cheek. His thumb stroked gently over her soft skin as her eyes began to flutter. 

They opened slowly and found his immediately. “Phil?” She muttered in confusion, and he was sure he had never been so happy to hear his name pass from her lips in all the years they had known each other.

“Hi,” he whispered with a smile and leaned down to press a kiss to her head.

Confusion clouded her eyes and for a moment he was afraid that their plan hadn’t worked, but the hand against his chest gripped his back tightly and her cheek leaned just slightly into his palm and his heart calmed. 

Jemma started to explain what had happened to her and the steps they took to save her but her eyes never left his. The confusion melted away to be replaced with something else. She held a look of certainty he’d never seen before and he wanted to ask her about it, but she finally turned her attention to Jemma. 

“So you killed me,” she stated rather matter of fact and a hint of annoyance laced her voice. 

“Just a little bit,” Ratcliff retorted as he moved around them studying the results of her scans and preparing to run more tests, “but we brought you back.”

She looked around the room for the first time and realized they were no longer on the base. Her eyes found his and softened as she said, “You’re here.”

“Of course I am,” he smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before stroking his knuckles across the back of his cheek, “where else would I be?”

A sweet smile spread across her face and she used the hand he was holding to his chest to tug him closer until his lips met hers tenderly. 

He would have to face the music with Mace soon, but she was alive and being here with her was worth all the consequences coming his way. 

Chapter Text

Jemma had assured him multiple times that Melinda was fine, but he hovered by her bedside all the same. Daisy had checked in to let him know that she and Mack were looking into a man named Eli Morrow and uncovered a new lead they were following up on. He smiled remembering that the first thing Daisy wanted to know when he answered the phone was how May was doing.

She had been the one to suggest he put on the tactical gear to get on the Quinjet, and Mack had volunteered to take his place on the mission before suggesting all the tack team wear eyewear to buy him more time before he was discovered.  They were a family that took care of each other, and that’s something Mace didn’t understand yet. 

Mace was ticked about him circumventing his orders, but between the situation, with Lucy Bauer and conflicts rising with Senator Nadir he couldn’t afford to pull him from the field right now. Fitz was on the way over to run test on May and come up with a less deadly cure for the havoc Dr. Bauer was causing, Daisy and Mack were on the way to talk to Lucy Bauer’s husband, and as soon as Dr. Ratcliff and his assistant Aida cleared Melinda for duty, they would be sent out too. It had been a long time since they had all been out in the field together and he was a little excited about feeling like a team again. 

He looked next to him just to see Melinda roll her eyes in frustration as Ratcliff insisted on another test before they would clear her. It was about that time that Fitz walked in and seemed a bit flustered.

“Hel…lo,” He stuttered and paused in the doorway. 

“Hello Fits, always nice to see you,” Aida called out as she adjusted the monitor on Melinda’s arm.

He seemed to not know what to do with his arms all of a sudden. “Um, how—what is—what is—how is everything going in here?”

Fitz was acting very odd and seemed nervous. He crossed his arms and watched as he floundered a bit.  

Melinda sighed, “Still waiting for them to finish the test so I can get the hell out of here.”

“Just assessing any last glitches before we send May on her way,” Ratcliff called from the doorway.

“Good.” Fitz agreed and gave the most awkward thumbs up he’d ever seen. Something was definitely up. He was about to question it but it seemed like Jemma beat him to it. She grabbed his arm and walked him to the next room. He’d have to ask her about it later. 

For now, Aida was finishing the final test and declared Melinda free to go. He smiled at her obvious relief and offered a hand to help her from the bed. Fitz had brought her go-bag from the base and she walked out to go change clothes. He tried to shake the anxious feeling that came across him when she was out of sight but knew that might not go away for a while after coming so close to losing her. 

She came out looking refreshed and almost back to her old self and the smile she offered him flooded his heart with warmth and affection. He had just gotten off the phone with Daisy and Mack who said that Lucy Bauer had already beaten them there and that they were coming to get him and May before they picked up Eli Morrow.

He filled May in on the plan and Fitz promised to begin working with Ratcliff on a cure and get it to them as soon as possible. Jemma had been called back to base and he sighed thinking that their team reunion would have to wait a bit longer. They bid everyone goodbye and he and May started to make their way to meet Daisy and Mack. They’d made it only a few steps out the door before his hand on her arm stopped her and she turned to see what he needed. 

“That was too close, Melinda. I almost lost you and I…”

“I know,” she said softly and moved into his arms. 

He held her close for a moment and his eyes closed as he breathed in her scent and took comfort in the solid feel of her in his arms. She pulled away and offered him a soft smile before reaching up and pressing her lips to his in a slow kiss that reminded him of how very much alive she was. He couldn’t help the dorky grin that spread across his face as she pulled away and she had to work to hide a smirk of her own. She playfully rolled her eyes before taking his hand and walking towards their ride once more. 

It was back to business as they entered the Quinjet and Daisy and Mack began their rundown of what they needed to know to get up to speed on developments with Lucy Bower. Daisy’s new friend Robbie Reyes was on board as well which May did not seem to approve of. Mack’s first visit with Eli Morrow had not gone well so they had Robbie with them to convince him to cooperate after he and May had him transferred into SHIELD custody. 

“I asked for fieldwork and you get me paperwork,” she complained as they were going through the security checkpoint at the prison. 

He took his robotic hand from the plastic security bin and used it to point at her as he asked, “What’s wrong with taking it easy? Come on, you just had a near-death experience.”

“It was a death experience and I’m over it.” She complained with a roll of her eyes.

“Well, I’m really not over mine. I thought you’d wanna talk about it…what it felt like.”

“It didn’t feel like a trip to Tahiti,” she quipped and he admired her cleverness before pushing a little more. 

“Which means it was something else. See, I died but anything I would have seen or felt was wiped away. I don’t remember anything, but you do.”

“What do you want to know, Phil?”

“What did you see?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“No…we..”

“Agents, follow me,” the guard interrupted.

He sighed in disappointment, but the look Melinda shot him had him locking his curiosity away for the next free moment as he followed her dutifully towards the warden’s office. 

He chatted amicably with the warden and answered questions about the transfer but noticed that Melinda seemed to be a bit distracted. His heart skipped at the thought that she could be having a relapse and tried to get her attention. 

“Agent May called ahead to try to cut down on the paperwork.” He said to the warden, but his attention was focused on Melinda.

He tried again, “She really hates paperwork.” 

Still nothing from her so he tried again, “Don’t you?”

His question seemed to snap her attention back towards their conversation and she agreed with a nod but he could see her eyes scanning the room. His concern was growing until he saw her eyes widen moments before a warning, “Coulson!” flew from her lips.

He reacted on instinct and moved to the back of the office as she jumped over the table and grabbed it with her hand to flip it over as she landed. 

They ducked as several shots hit the table and they shared a look of concern at their current predicament. Her eyes widened a fraction as the sound of the gun jamming registered with her. She jumped quickly from behind the table and kicked the warden’s desk towards him which effectively pinned him in place as she jumped on top of the desk and kicked him in the head to render him unconscious. 

‘That was hot!’ He thought but then the sounds of guards in the hallway caught his attention. He raised his shield and effectively protected them from the bullets flying towards them as he and Melinda made their way to the door. Once he was close enough, he took out the guard with a blow to the head from his shield. Several more guards were moving towards them and he shouted, “Incoming!” Before closing and locking the door. They managed to move some filing cabinets in front of the door, but he knew that wouldn’t hold long so he radioed in for Mack to send help. 

“Well, you wanted fieldwork. How’s this?” He joked and she shook her head. 

“It’s better than paperwork,” she quipped back and he offered her a smile before getting his brain back on the problem at hand.

“Back up will be here soon but I’m not sure that door will hold until they do. Thoughts?”

“We let them break in, disarm them, I do my thing and we meet back up halfway,” she suggested with a shrug. 

The sound of the door starting to give had him quickly agreeing with her, “Solid plan, May. Let’s do that.”

He moved to stand in front of the filing cabinet in order to be hidden from view. The door slid open enough for the first officer to slide through with his gun raised. He quickly grabbed the gun and disarmed him before pushing him in the direction of May who quickly rendered him unconscious as he went through the same procedure with the next two officers. 
Once they had them secured he stepped out of the warden’s office with his shield raised as they moved down the hall. May had the next two men knocked out before they could unholster their weapons. They used the zip ties they found to secure the officers until they could be injected with the cure Fitz was working on. They were just finishing with the last one when they heard a noise on the other side of the door. They moved to a defensive position just as the door swung open to reveal Daisy and the strike team. 

They immediately relaxed and accepted weapons they were handed.

“We’re here to….rescue you….” Daisy said hesitantly as she surveyed the work they’d done.

Melinda took her gun from the agent and explained, “Thought we’d meet you halfway”

He began laying out the plan while agent Davis prepared to administer the antidote to a few of the officers. 

“Stop whining,” Melinda admonished the moaning man on the floor and he looked at Daisy with a proud smirk. His love was alive and back to her tough and formidable self and they were finally on a mission with their girl again. 

This was going to be great! 

Chapter Text

It didn't go great.

There was a whole thing with Lucy Bauer locking them in the cell block and then having to get Fitz to unlock all the doors which included the cell doors and a bunch of angry bad guys who started chasing them. There was a lot of running, and apparently living on a plane for months at a time had made him out of shape. Daisy locked herself in the cafeteria with the aforementioned angry bad guys and now he was quite literally dumpster diving with May to try to get back to Daisy. Because, unfortunately, this wasn’t really an unexpected turn of events for them, he was able to multitask while he climbed into the giant pile of smelly trash. 

“You know….you never did tell me what you saw when you died…” he asked as he tucked his gun in the waistband of his pants. 

She closed the lid of the trash bin with a roll of her eyes and incredulous expression. “Really? Now? Is it because it smells like death in here?”

He was determined to get answers and pushed a little more. “You saw something.”

“You wanna know what I saw, Phil? I saw you,” she confessed and her eyes narrowed as she warned, “Don’t let it go to your head.”

His jaw dropped open in shock as he tried to process her words. He watched dumbfounded as she closed the lid on the dumpster between them and waved him over. 

Another thought occurred to him as he realized what she’d done, “You didn’t think of that before I jumped in the trash?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She replied with a smirk.

He shook his head but couldn’t help the smile that lit his face as he climbed out of a pile of something squishy and onto the closed lid. 

She saw him. 

Don’t let it go to his head? Yeah, right. In what universe would that not go right to his head?

She saw HIM!

They managed to make it back to Daisy in time and found their way out of the prison only to discover that Lucy Bauer had taken Eli Morrow. They were currently trying to track the ambulance she had stolen to get away, but he was focused on something else. 

She saw him when she died. 

Maybe he was obsessing over it. His mind flashed with thousands of scenarios for what exactly she saw and why she saw him. He wanted to talk about it and find out, but by the time he could get some time alone with her, they had managed to find where Lucy Bauer took Eli Morrow. 

He felt sick the whole time she was with her strike team investigating the facility Lucy Bauer had been tracked to and he made up his mind that he wasn’t going to be separated from her again for the foreseeable future. He didn’t care how that looked for him, he just needed her close. She could still do her job and beat up whomever she wanted….as long as he was in visual range. 

It's exactly why he made sure to assign them together to find Eli and sent Mack with Fitz. The dilemma came when they found the Darkhold. He needed her to take it somewhere safe. He felt the familiar knot of anxiety at being away from her with Lucy Bauer still on the loose, but she was the only one he trusted. That’s exactly what he expressed to her as he handed her the book and ordered her to get it to a secure location. 

The blast was a bit of a setback in the overall plan. 

It was tough when he and Fitz realized they were gone and in a different dimension from everyone else. He felt kind of dumb answering May and Mack’s questions until he saw them on the coms. They looked pretty stupid, which he would never mention to Melinda…if he ever got back to her. Now they were on the plane watching helplessly as their team reviewed the footage of the explosion. 

The look on Melinda’s face when he vanished made his chest hurt. 

Mace turned to the group with a solemn look, “This is a tragedy. We have to prepare for the…”

“Whatever you’re about to say, don’t.” Daisy interrupted. “I see the way you’re all looking at that screen. We don’t know what happened.”

“Daisy” Mack warned

Mace held him off, “It’s okay. This is a process…”

“No, it’s SHIELD! Impossible things happen all the time,” Daisy interrupted again, “that machine ghosted that Lucy woman.”

“So what?” Mack countered, “Coulson and Fitz come back in five years, bloody and insane?”

She threw her hands up in exasperation, “I don’t know! That’s my point! They could be stuck in one of those boxes or maybe they're…”

“They’re not dead,” Melinda finally spoke up, “He’s not dead. I know he’s not gone.”

Mace and Mack sighed in frustration but Daisy breathed a sigh of relief at finally having someone backing her up. 

“May, I know it’s crazy, but Coulson came back from the dead. Fitz pulled Simmons through a rock and Robbie’s head lights on fire,” she reminded her.

“Simmons,” Mack sighed as he thought about having to tell her about Fitz. 

“We need to approach this with level heads,” Mace warned.

Daisy shook her head. She had a better plan in mind. “No, we need to call Simmons. She can solve this if anyone can.”

“She deserves to know,” Mack stated and Melinda nodded her head in agreement.

“Okay,” Mace relented. 

Their voices became gradually fainter as Fitz began to puzzle out exactly what had happened to them. While Fitz tried to figure out a way to get them back, he needed to figure out a way to get to Melinda.

He followed her into the cargo hold and his heart ached to hear her. He just needed her to know where he was…that he wasn’t dead. 

“May, I need you to hear me. I’m not gone. Melinda, help!” he pleaded but she moved right past him.

He groaned in frustration. 

“You’re not allowed to be gone. Not yet,” she muttered while she worked.

She knew. 

He moved to her side and tried again, “No, I haven’t gone anywhere.”

“You’re not dead.” She declared and moved towards the crates she was supposed to secure. 

“After the Glasgow assignment,” she continued, “we promised that we would open that bottle of Haig if we ever had a worse job. We’ve had ten by now.”

He smiled in remembrance, “I think Fury would rather have had us die than give up that bottle.”

“What the hell did we wait so long for, Phil? And now we’re finally taking our chance…”

“Hey, I’m here. May, I’m right here. You can do this…please…” he begged and his breath caught as she looked up right at him. “Yes,…I’m right here,” he continued but as she stood, he realized she was looking past him. She unzipped her bag and he panicked.

“The Darkhold, No. No no no…that’s not how we solve this. May, no!” He warned and was relieved when Mack walked in. Finally, someone that she could hear and would be able to talk some sense into her. 

“I know you’re not okay,” he said softly, “but…you okay?”

“He’s not dead,” She declared and the look of sympathy that crossed the big man’s face had her continuing boldly. “When he died the first time…I felt it. Before Fury even came and told me…I felt it…this sick feeling of dread that washed over me…like my insides were all twisted up and I couldn’t breathe right. There was this immediate sense of….of emptiness and I just knew something was wrong. I sent him a text to check in….just to ease that knot in the pit of my stomach…then I called him and…I just knew, Mack. He’s not dead. I'd...I'd know if he was.”

“Melinda…” Mack sighed compassionately. 

“Daisy's right. They’re not dead,” she insisted as she squared her shoulders. 

Oh, no. He knew that look.  

“Mack, do not let her open that book!” He ordered.

“Where is this coming from?” Mack questioned.

She took a deep breath before grabbing her bag and bringing it over to him. 

“I have a feeling. I can’t explain.” She said and unzipped the bag to show him the content.

His eyes widened in surprise, “I know you’re hurting, but Coulson was clear. Do not open that book!”

“Thank you! Someone listens!” He said with a sigh of relief and an annoyed look cast towards Melinda. 

“He didn’t know what was inside it.” She argued.

‘Are you kidding me right now?’ He thought in frustration and if she could see him right now she would see how very frustrated he was with her. 

Ughh… stupid, different dimensions. 

Mack shook his head, “He knew enough. It’s pandora’s box and you don’t know the consequences.”

It was then that a loud moaning and groaning reached his ears. “Really? You’re not hearing that?”

“Neither do you. This might be our only shot at saving them,” she tried again.

“Melinda, don’t you dare,” Mack warned.

He would just have to trust that Mack had this situation under control while he went to investigate the source of the agonizing moans. 

They were running out of time.

Mack was possessed by the Ghost Rider, Robbie was apparently dying, Fitz was freaking out over Simmons, and he was desperately trying to keep up with Melinda May who had the Darkhold and wasn’t afraid to use it. 

He’d actually never seen her this unglued before. He’d seen her broken after Bahrain, he’d recently seen her go mad and delusional after being infected by Lucy Bauer, he’d seen her angry, sad, and he’d even watched her die. The one thing that he had never seen in all his years of knowing her was fear. This is the first time he had ever seen her look truly and genuinely afraid and he knew from recent experience the type of fear that comes with thinking you might lose the one you love. That fear drives you to do stupid and reckless things. He’d open the Darkhold if their positions were reversed. He would always do anything necessary to save her. He understood her reasoning, but this would destroy her if she read it. He couldn’t let her risk herself to save him. What good would it do to save him if he had to go back to a world without her? 

She was his world. 

It was then that Fitz had a brilliant idea and they both breathed a long sigh of relief when Aida agreed to read the Darkhold. Finally, they had a plan of rescue. They just needed to hurry. 

They were running out of time. 

Robbie, Mack, and Daisy were all missing, no one knew where Simmons was either, and now he and Fitz were watching the robot lady build a cool arch thing that no one could see. 

So…basically a typical Tuesday for their team. 

As cool as it was to watch Aida form the gateway, he was distracted as always by Melinda and the anxious look on her face as she watched helplessly while Aida’s hands moved. They were so close, but the darkness was pulling at them. 

“May, I really wish you could see this,” he whispered but Fitz called his name in warning just as he felt something wrap around his leg and pull him backwards.

Fitz grabbed his arm but the darkness was stronger. 

“Come on, fight! You’ve got to Fight!” Fitz demanded as he pulled with all of his strength. 

His arm felt like it was being yanked from its socket and he reached his other arm up to grab Fitz’s. “I’m pulling,” he replied as he tried to get a firm grip on Fitz’s arm. 

“We’re running out of time,” Fitz said in a panicked tone as he tried to use his feet to get some traction. It only caused him to slip further into the darkness and Fitz quickly reached out for his other arm again. 

Suddenly there was a loud humming sound and he could hear her voice ring out clearly, “They’re in trouble……hang on, Phil!”

Melinda.

“Come on, fight it!” She called out, and suddenly he felt it: his reason for fighting. 

Melinda.

“That’s right. Fight!” Fitz coached and he used every last bit of energy he had.

He pulled his way up Fitz’s arms like a rope. “Let’s go home,” he said and with one final pull from both of them, they were free from the darkness and he was crashing through the portal and straight into her arms. 

Melinda.

“I knew you weren’t gone,” she said as he took a moment to catch his breath.

He didn’t care that they weren’t alone. They had almost lost each other again. “I know," he assured her before cupping her face in his hands and pulling her in for a long slow kiss. 

She didn’t seem to care that they weren’t alone either as her hands fisted in his jacket to pull him closer while she passionately reciprocated the kiss.

He couldn’t breathe when they finally pulled away and he pulled her into his arms to hold her close while he gathered himself. He looked over her shoulder to see Fitz offer him an awkward thumbs up. ‘Maybe that’s his thing now’ he thought for a moment before his attention was once again directed to the woman in his arms. 

“You and I don’t separate again,” she ordered into his shoulder and he quickly agreed. 

That was his plan before the Darkhold and the one time he’d let her out of his sight again, he’d almost lost her. “Consider us inseparable,” he promised and pressed a kiss to her temple. 

They still had to track down Eli Morrow, but for now he was going to take one more moment to bask in the feel of holding Melinda in his arms. 

Melinda.  

Chapter Text

He told Mace that Aida was an android. He didn’t take it well. Also, he was still clearly interested in Melinda which was definitely not okay. Understandable….but not okay. 

He wasn’t planning to mention the recent development in his and Melinda’s relationship, but Mace had just ordered her to go pick up Aida instead of sending her with him and the strike team and that just was not okay with him either. 

“Yeah….Actually,” he spoke up, “I’ll go with May to get Aida while Mack gets everything set up with the strike team and we’ll meet them on site.”

Mace seemed surprised at first but then nodded in understanding and offered, “If you’re concerned about Agent May being alone with the android then don’t worry. I’ll go with her and protect her. Plus, she’s on our side right? You said she wasn’t a threat to us.”

He could feel May tense up beside him and quickly intervened. “Yeah…May can handle herself. We’ve actually just hit a stretch of bad luck lately you know...with all the dying and disappearing and such...and well, we decided not to separate for the foreseeable future so…she’s either going with me or I’m going with her but that’s non-negotiable.”

Mace’s brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he reminded him, “You’re not the director anymore…that’s not your call to make.”

“You need us to help with Eli Morrow,” she interjected, “You can’t afford to lose us until all of this is resolved.”

“Mack and Jemma can handle getting everything ready, and May and I will be there with Aida by the time they’re ready to confront Eli,” Phil added and watched as a look of frustration fell over Mace’s complexion. 

He pasted on a fake smile but there was anger and frustration seething from his eyes. “I get that you two have been partners for a long time, but…”

“It’s more than that,” Phil interrupted, “we’ve waited a long time to be together and always put SHIELD and the world first, but I can’t do that anymore. We’ll help save the world like we always do, but I’m choosing her over everything else.”

He could feel Melinda’s eyes on him and heard the slightest hitch in her breathing at his words, but he wouldn’t be distracted and forged ahead with determination, “You either send us out there together, or we walk away from it all...together. Either way, I’m not taking another step without her.”

“I don’t like being backed into a corner,” Mace said in a low frustrated tone, “We’ll do it your way for now, but as soon as this crisis is over we’re going to have a long talk about this and your future with SHIELD.”

“Understood, Sir,” Phil agreed and took Mace’s stern narrowing of the eyes as a dismissal. 

They turned and left his office with a nod and walked silently through the base towards the quinjet to fill Daisy and Mack in on the current plan. 

“Felt like poking the bear?” Melinda asked as they stepped off the lift. 

He glanced at her as they walked, “I meant what I said. I’m not doing any of this without you. We need to find out what’s going on with him and Senator Nadeer. She hates Inhumans…hates SHIELD, but he sent Simmons off to examine a new inhuman for her…I don’t like it.”

“We’ll figure it out. Meanwhile…we’ll be playing chauffeur to a robot.” She said with a roll of her eyes as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of his jacket. 

He pulled the jacket in place and she reached up to straighten his collar. He offered an apologetic smile as he commiserated, “Sorry, I didn’t realize we’d be sent on a milk run. They’re going to need you out in the field.”

“We’ll catch up. We can’t let them have all the fun,” she smirked and he smiled as a thought crossed his mind. 

“When this is over, it’s time. We are cracking that bottle.” 

A soft smile spread across her face as she agreed, “You don’t have to twist my arm.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he promised and a playful glint lit his eyes as he added, “you might whip my ass.”

She shook her head with a soft laugh. ‘Flirt’ she thought as she reached up to press a kiss to his lips. “Don’t ever forget that.” She warned teasingly and he muttered, “Yes, ma'am” before placing a hand on the small of her back to lead her towards the quinjet. 

Aida seemed odd when they got there to pick her up. Radcliffe got there moments after they arrived and looked at him with a startled look.

“Agent Coulson, I thought they were just sending Agent May to retrieve Aida.” He said and seemed a bit flustered. 

“Change of plans,” he said with a smile, “You packed and ready to go?”

Radcliffe glanced at Aida and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Umm…yeah…change of PLANS, Aida. We’re going to go with them to save the day again. We’ll…discuss our future plans later."

Aida tilted her head as she looked at Radcliffe but gave a nod of comprehension before saying, “Understood. Change of plans.”

“Yes, well…shall we?” Radcliffe asked and led Aida to the front door. 

He watched them go and looked at Melinda with a raised brow. She seemed to find that interaction odd as well and there was an unspoken agreement to keep their eyes open before following Radcliffe and Aida out. 

The plan was solid. He held out his hand and gave the order and a second later there was a gun in his hand that he used to take out the two men on either side of him. With Yo-Yo's help, they managed to neutralize Eli's crew within moments and he tossed the chain to Robbie to help pull him out of the box. Eli moved the magnet off his chest and stood to get out of the box. They watched helplessly as Robbie grabbed Eli and allowed himself to be pulled through the dimensional hole they had opened up. 

They all stood in stunned silence for a moment taking in the sacrifice that Robbie had made. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He felt her move next to him, and he turned his head to look her over. They had both managed to come through yet another battle unscathed and he sighed in relief as he turned fully towards her and tugged her into his arms. 

She went willingly and leaned her forehead against his chest as her arms slid around his waist. He felt her release a long shuttering breath as she pressed her palms to his back and he knew she was feeling the same sense of relief. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and took a moment to breathe her in before they pulled apart and went to check on FitzSimmons and Daisy. 

That night they watched the news with the team and smiled when Jemma excitedly presented Daisy with her lanyard. 

He looked around and felt the sense of peace and comfort he had been missing the past few months. His family was all back together again. They chatted amicably as they all caught up and he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Melinda was slipping quietly from the room and the wink she offered before slipping out of sight made his pulse race and his cheeks flush.

He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to hide the heat that had run up his neck to tint the top of his ears pink. He tried to play it as cool as possible as he quietly made his way to the door and slipped into the hallway. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to sprint towards her room, but he managed to slow his steps and used the time to calm his nerves. This was it. The moment he’d been waiting decades for. 

Her door was cracked open when he reached it, and he pushed it open and smiled when he saw her standing there with two glasses and the long-anticipated bottle of Haig.

“Once we crack that bottle, it’s open…no going back,” she said, and he knew she meant more than the Haig. They could end this now and possibly go back to the way things were. They could agree to walk away from this and go back to the safety of being partners, but if they crossed that line and took this next step there would be no going back. He could never take this last step of intimacy with her and ever go back.   

“Fine by me,” he said and began opening the bottle with a soft smile, “there’s nothing I’d rather be doing, no place I’d rather be. You?” He asked as he poured them each a glass and passed one to her with bated breath. 

She smiled confidently as she raised her glass to his in toast, “I’m right where I belong."  

His heart was racing as he took a sip and watched her over the rim of his glass. She took a long pull from her drink and her eyes never left his. She placed her glass on the dresser and took his from his hand and placed it next to her own before moving slowly into his space. Her hands slid slowly up his chest to his shoulders, and his heart was now pounding in his ears. 

Her eyes searched his for any hesitation and finding none she smiled happily before reaching up and sealing her lips over his. 

His brain finally woke up and one arm slid around her waist to pull her closer while the other hand moved to cup her jaw while he kissed her slowly and thoroughly. Her head tilted to adjust the angle of the kiss and he sighed in pleasure and moved his hand to the back of her head. His fingers threaded through her hair as his lips moved fervently over hers.  

Every nerve ending in his body was tingling and her hands gripped his jacket to pull him with her as she moved backward toward the bed. She pushed the jacket from his shoulders and the faint sound of it hitting the floor reached his ears. As he lowered her to the bed another sound reached his ears.

She groaned in frustration as the knock came again. He shook his head as he tried to catch his breath and pressed an apologetic kiss to her lips as he moved off of her and offered her a hand as he stood. 

He picked up his jacket and tossed it on the bed as she moved to answer the door. 

“I’m looking for Coulson. Have you seen him?” He asked and there was a momentary flash of surprise across Mack’s face when she opened the door all the way and moved to recap the bottle of Haig.

“Oh…umm….I’m sorry to interrupt…” he stumbled, “but we’ve got a situation. Fitz and Radcliffe went to pick up Aida, but she’s escaped. We’ve got a Psycho robot on the loose who has a robot brain full of information from the Darkhold and Mace just left with Daisy and Jemma to rescue the inhuman Senator Nadeer is holding hostage.”

He shared a look with Melinda before turning back to Mack, “That’s not good. We’ve got to find Aida.”

“I’ll send Aida’s picture out to local authorities,” Melinda offered as they moved to follow Mack out the door. 

They started moving down the hall as Mack filled them in, “Radcliffe and Fitz are on their way back here. Maybe they’ll have some idea where Aida’s headed.”

He looked at Melinda as they followed Mack and she offered him a sympathetic smile. Once again interrupted to save the world. 

They needed a vacation. 

Chapter Text

He gave the orders and watched as Mack left to get Yo-yo while Fitz and Radcliffe moved in the direction of the server room. He and Melinda filed out last and discussed their plan as they moved down the hall. 

“Where are we headed?” she asked as she walked next to him down the long corridor. Their shoulders bumped occasionally as the practiced ease of partnership settled into place.

He glanced at her and was impressed with how easily she slipped into mission mode. He was still trying to process how close they had come to crossing that line earlier and was now semi-mission focused because he wanted this over with quickly so they could head back to her bunk and pick up where they left off. 

“Emergency staircase to the base’s bar entrance. We need to lock that down manually,” he managed to get out and noticed the way her eyes narrowed in confusion. 

“Don’t you think we’d be better off guarding the Darkhold?”

He shook his head confidently as he replied, “No. The Darkhold is secure where it is.”

“Better hope so,” she said as they rounded the corner and saw the android of darkness in front of them. 

“Hello Aida,” he sighed and felt Melinda shift slightly in front of him and take a defensive stance. 

He moved to strike at Aida, but Melinda beat him to it and landed a kick to Aida’s midsection followed by a hard connection of her fist to Aida’s jaw. Anyone else would have at least staggered upon contact, but Aida stood still and unfazed. 

“My hand does that too,” she said before swinging her arm and knocking Melinda effortlessly into the wall. He took a step towards her still frame on instinct and realized she was unconscious and Aida was moving towards them. 

“You’re not getting that book,” he said as he moved to intercept her. 

“Yes I am, but I’m going to need your help,” she replied coldly before landing a blow to the side of his head. He felt a rush of pain and then nothing. 

His head was throbbing when he managed to open his eyes, and he was grateful for the dim lighting overhead. He pressed his fingers gently to the side of his head to probe for injuries and felt a lump forming where Aida had hit him. His eyes scanned the room until he found what he was looking for. 

Melinda. 

She was propped up against the wall still unconscious and he sighed in relief that she was there and safe for the moment. He moved to her side to check her over and studied the gash at her brow. It was hard to see how deep it was, but it had stopped bleeding and didn’t appear to need stitches. He still wanted to have Jemma take a look at it when she got back. 

He stood and moved to the door and found it locked just as he suspected it would be. They were stuck until Fitz could get them out. He moved back to her side and tried to gently rouse her. 

“May…wake up,” he said softly and she moaned and tried to stir. 

She seemed disoriented at first but soon came to herself and focused on him. 

“Where’s Aida?” She worriedly asked as she started to take stock of their situation. 

“Out there. Looking for the Darkhold presumably,” he answered as he looked her over for any other injuries. 

Her eyes clouded over in confusion and she tried to recall the moments surrounding their encounter with Aida. “I was about to fight her and then…”

“…woke up in here?…me too,” he finished for her and watched her wince as her fingers probed the wound at her temple. His fingertips gently pushed her hair out of the way of the cut and he cupped her cheek as he looked it over again. He tried not to smile at the slight hitch in her breathing his touch had caused. 

“Yeah…seems Aida nailed you pretty good. Radcliffe failed to mention she had Ninja programming,” he joked as his eyes slid from the cut to hers. Her eyes were focused on him and his heart skipped at how very beautiful she looked. 

‘Focus on the mission, Phil,” he thought to himself and stood to keep from kissing her. 

“There’s an electronic lock on this door, so until Fitz overrides the system, we’re trapped,” he said as he moved towards it awkwardly.

“And the Darkhold? You’re sure Aida won’t find it?” She asked because of course she was focused on the right thing. 

He was about to answer and then remembered the camera in the corner of the room. He moved towards it and plucked it from where it was screwed into the wall. He tossed it to the floor and then stomped on it for good measure.

“Now it’s just the two of us,” he said with a smile and moved back towards her once more. 

“How many times have we been locked up together?” She asked suddenly and he thought back to their many years as partners as he slid down to sit beside her on the floor while they waited.  

“Huh…hard to say. First time by a robot though,” he quipped and delighted in her answering smile and soft laugh.

The smile slid from her face to be replaced with a contemplative expression. “You ever feel like you’re living someone else’s life?"

“Every day,” he answered without hesitation.  

Her brow arched as she studied him and replied, “Funny…you never show it,”

He shrugged and leaned his head back against the wall, “That’s ‘cause I have an excellent poker face.”

“You’re terrible at poker,” she stated with a look that dared him to argue. 

He smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “That’s true. I’m too cautious…don’t take enough chances.”

“Maybe you should start,” she said as she slid her hand into his and laced their fingers. Her eyes when they met his held such invitation and his heart sped up a little. 

At least now he knew he wasn’t the only one having trouble staying on task. He smiled and squeezed her hand. “I’ll keep that in mind…if we ever get out of here."

“Won’t be long till Fitz retakes control of the system. Where we headed…once he does?” She inquired as she leaned her head back against the wall to get comfortable while they waited for their rescue. 

“Back to where we came from,” he replied and felt her attention snap to him in response. 

“Maces’ office? Why there” she asked but then the smile on his face had her nodding in understanding, “…because that’s where you hid the Darkhold. But…there’s no safe in that room.”

“Which is why we cloaked the book. It was actually Mace’s idea.”

“Hmm…clever,” she said and they sat silently together for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. 

His eyes were closed as he leaned his head back against the wall. He was just content to be next to her for however long it took. A few minutes passed and then her thumb moved rhythmically over his and her voice held a low sultry quality as she said, “You know…. It could take a while before Fitz is able to get the door open.”

He smiled and opened his eyes to find her already watching him as she waited to see how serious he was about taking more chances. He decided to start.

“It could take hours…” He agreed and leaned towards her. 

“Mmm-hmm…” she murmured as she met him halfway. 

Her lips were so soft, and the sigh she gave as his lips moved over hers made his pulse quicken. Her mouth opening under his took the final coherent thought from his brain and he threaded his fingers in her hair to keep her close. She needed no encouragement and her hands slid to his shoulders to hold him steady while she straddled his lap in one fluid movement. He felt her hands slide from his shoulder down his chest and then stop. She broke the kiss and turned her attention towards his pocket. His brain felt fuzzy and he was struggling to adjust to the sudden momentum shift plus the fact that Melinda was still in his lap running her fingers slowly over his chest. He looked at her as her eyes narrowed in confusion.

“What is it?” He asked but she quickly clamped her hand over his mouth. He looked into her eyes and nodded in understanding. She removed her hand and went back to studying his pocket. She carefully slipped her fingers inside and slowly pulled out a tiny, flat, silver disk. 

A bug. 

Aida had slipped the listening device into his pocket while he was unconscious and he’d been so concerned about Melinda when he woke up that he hadn’t noticed. They probably wouldn’t have found it if they hadn’t been making out. He’d point that out to her later. For now, they had a much bigger problem on their hands. 

Aida had heard every word of their conversation and now she knew exactly where the Darkhold was hidden. 

Melinda handed the device to him, and he used the enhanced strength in his robotic hand to smash the device between his fingers. 

She placed a finger over his lips and he understood that Aida had potentially planted more than one device on them. 

It was at that moment that the click of the lock was heard and she climbed from his lap before offering a hand to pull him up. 

“We’ve got to move,” she instructed and he followed her out the door as they rushed to Mace’s office. 

Stupid Android of darkness. 

They heard Fitz and Radcliffe talking to Aida as they rounded the corner. She had just given a semi-convincing speech about wanting to help them when the door opened and Mack stepped out with his shotgun ax. Her head rolled to their feet as the Darkhold hit the floor. He moved past Aida’s head and picked it up. A quick glance to Melinda had her following him as they moved to take it to a secure spot until they could get the base back in order. 

Mace called as Melinda was setting out the take out they had ordered. He was on the way back with Jemma and Daisy and wanted the Darkhold off the base to be safe. 

"Copy that,” he said and ended the call as he walked to the table where Melinda was waiting for him. 

“You gonna need a pilot?” She asked as she settled on the stool while he poured them each a drink.

He grinned and slid the glass to her as he took the stool across from her. “I already volunteered you. Sounds like Senator Nadir was the one organizing the Watchdogs.”

“At least now we know who our real enemy is,” she said as she began to remove the food from the bag and set it out in front of them. 

He nodded as he removed the lids and passed her a fork, but she rolled her eyes and picked up the chopsticks instead. 

“Show off,” he teased and then picked up the fork as he mumbled, “I’ve got nothing to prove.”

Her answering smirk made his heart feel full and he thought for the millionth time that he couldn’t wait for this to all be over so that he could finally just have time alone with her. 

When she looked up at him through lowered lashes with the faintest blush to her cheeks, he knew she felt the same. 

He just needed to be patient. 

Chapter Text

He adjusted his tie once more and any thoughts he had about ever wearing them again on a daily basis were eradicated. He never realized how uncomfortable they felt and how hot a suit jacket could get. The only redeeming quality about the suit he was forced to wear was the way that Melinda had looked him over as he walked into the hanger to board the Quinjet. 

That’s right…. Melinda May had checked him out. 

He felt her eyes on him now and made no attempt to hide the smirk that had spread across his face. 

He snuck a glance in her direction and felt the familiar jolt to his heart that came when he looked at her. She was none too pleased about having to put a suit on as well. He hadn’t seen her wear one since their early missions on the bus, but it was necessary to blend in as security detail for the Director and was a lot less attention-grabbing that her tactical suit. Although Melinda May was attention-grabbing no matter what she wore.  Mace had requested Mack for today's security, but he was reluctant to leave Yo-Yo until the burns had healed on her arms, and he was definitely not keen on having Melinda out of his sight yet. 

She looked good in her dark slacks and blazer despite how much she complained it restricted her movements. He was sure behind her sunglass was a deadly glare directed at Mace. It just made him smile even more. 

He wasn’t sure who was more reluctant to be there, her or Daisy, but he was on a mission with them both and couldn’t be happier. 

They watched as Burrows was handed the sliver briefcase by Talbot. 

“Seriously? They couldn’t find something a little less shiny and conspicuous to carry around? They should have just painted a giant target on the front and called it a day.” Melinda complained into his earpiece.

He laughed as he scanned the crowd once more. “Maybe there isn’t even anything important in there. Maybe it’s just snacks so the Director doesn’t get cranky.”

“Oh, that’s probably it,” Daisy quietly chimed in from her spot behind the guest speaker, “Hey May, ask him if he has any chips in there. I’m getting a little hungry from all this fake smiling.”

He smiled and turned to look at Melinda; but her eyes were focused on the building across the street and even with her sunglasses on, he could tell she was concerned. 

“What is it?”

“We’re supposed to have an agent on that roof,” she said and he immediately turned to look for the agent he had directed to the roof earlier himself. 

A moment later Daisy’s voice rang in his ear, “Sniper! Get down!” And mass chaos erupted. 

The podium blew up and he turned to see Melinda already moving towards the Director. He moved along with her as they pushed through the crowd trying to get to the steps where Mace and Daisy were. 

“Director, we’ve got to get you out of here. We have a Quinjet waiting,” he yelled to be heard over the panicked crowd. 

“Lead the way!” Mace shouted, and they took up a protective position on either side of him and began to move. “Burrows! With me!”

“I’ve got the shooter,” Daisy said and shot off from the ground towards the roof. 

He caught sight of her soaring over the top of the building and onto the roof before he put his focus on getting the Director to safety. 

The backup pilot was waiting and moving swiftly through the final pre-flight check, so Melinda let him go ahead and take off while she raised the ramp and strapped herself in. 

They took off as Burrows and Mace were getting strapped into seats of their own across from them. 

He turned his head to catch Melinda’s attention, “Did we just leave our kid behind? It’s bad parenting when you forget your kid and drive off right?”

She shrugged her shoulders as an amused smile danced over her lips, “Ehh… “our kid” has superpowers and was trained to fight by me. She’ll be fine.”

“That’s true. She’ll be fine,” he agreed and his grin grew impossibly larger. He reached to place his hand over the one she had resting on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. She flipped her hand over so that they rested palm to palm and squeezed his back. He took a moment to let it sink in that they’d just survived their latest scrape before pulling his hand back to rest in his own lap. 

He looked up to see Mace’s jaw clench as he looked away from their moment and started talking to Burrows. They were whispering but he caught a few words such as “briefcase” and “clocks”.

“It doesn’t make sense. We had agents all over the place not to mention two Inhumans. Who would send a sniper in there and think that they could get away with it?” He pondered out loud and watched Melinda’s eyes cloud with concentration. 

“Smart money’s on the watchdogs,” Mace suggested, “Though, Senator Nadir may have pointed them in my direction. She’s on the Intelligence committee so she had access to my event schedule.”

He shook his head in dismissal of the idea. “Nadir has motive, but she’s too smart to tie herself to the assassination of an American hero…and it doesn’t add up. That plan was sloppy,” he argued. 

“Silver lining…the Director looked like a total hero throwing that podium” Burrows cheered, “I bet every network is covering it.”

Melinda’s jaw tightened and her voice was low as she reminded him, “There is no silver lining for that dead agent's family.”

The mood turned somber and Mace seemed to feel the weight of his duty settle onto his shoulders once more. “Agent May has a point. McCafferty,” he called out, “can we get HQ on the line?”

“Working on it sir,” the pilot called out as he reached down to flip a few switches on the control panel. Only static filled the plane. “There’s some interference,” he informed them.

“I’m having the same problem,” Burrows complained as he unstrapped himself from the seat and watched his phone screen as he searched for better reception. “If I could just get a couple of bars, see if we’re trending…” he explained, but the moment he stepped away from his seat, the side door blew off and Burrows was sucked from the plane through the opening that had been created in the explosion. 

“No,” Mace said and could barely be heard over the blaring of alarms as the plane started to go into distress as it attempted to compensate for the sudden change in cabin pressure. 

“We’ve lost the port engine!” McCafferty yelled out over the alarms.

There was no way the plane was going to stabilize. “Everyone hold on!” He called out and reached next to him to grasp Melinda’s hand tightly. 

She held his back equally tight as she pressed her head back against the seat to brace for impact.  Everything that wasn’t secure began to fall down around them as they rushed towards the ground. 

He glanced out the cockpit window to see the line of trees they were rushing towards. He then allowed himself one last look at Melinda before pressing his head against his seat back and squeezing his eyes shut tight as they rapidly descended. 

It was over in seconds. 

Smoke was billowing from the instrument panels and electrical sparks shot out from various places all around him. As soon as his eyes were able to focus, he looked next to him to check on Melinda. She was coughing and had some visible cuts and scrapes on her face and temple but was starting to come around. 

“Everyone okay?” he asked.

“Still breathing,” she moaned and started to unbuckle her safety harness.

Mace looked a little banged up but seemed fine overall. “I’m fine,” the director confirmed when he noticed that he and Melinda were looking him over. 

“McCafferty, you all right?” Phil called out but was only met with silence. “McCafferty?!” He tried again but he remained motionless in his slumped position in the pilot’s seat. 

Melinda was already easing her way towards the cockpit to check on him. She came to a sudden stop once she was able to get a good look at him. “He’s dead,” she announced. 

“This assassination attempt…this crash…it’s not a coincidence.” Mace surmised.

He nodded in agreement. “Whoever came after us, anticipated the protocols…knew we’d fly to safety.”

“The sniper was just their first move,” Melinda chimed in as she looked over the instrument panel in the cockpit. There was still power flowing to the controls and she started to flip various switches in an attempt to contact base. 

He stretched sore, bruised muscles and looked around for the sat phone. “Sabotaging the Quinjet was plan B.”

“There’s no comms. Crash must’ve cut the power.” Melinda said as she tried to manipulate the panel. “I can still try to fix it.”

Mace looked up from his seat as various protocols and procedures came to mind. “HQ can still track the transponder signal. Search and rescue should already be on the way.”

“May not be that easy.” He cautioned as he held up his cybernetic arm to test the signal. It wasn’t working either.

Melinda let out a sigh of frustration, “It can’t be another EMP.”

He nodded in agreement as he tried a few more options. “Our tech is working. Just can’t get a connection.”

Mace seemed to be coming back to himself and stood with determination. “If this was their plan B, we can only assume plan C isn’t far behind.”

He concurred, “Yep. I don’t feel like sticking around to find out what that is. We’re sitting ducks here. We need to get to high ground, try to get a signal for this sat phone.”

“First we find Burrows” Mace suggested and he and Melinda shared a look of surprise and concern. 

“Burrows?” Melinda asked and then her features softened in sympathy as she pointed out the obvious, “Sir, the chance of him surviving is practically…”

“Shield doesn’t leave a man behind,” Mace argued with determination and started to move off the plane towards the woods. 

“You really think this is our best move?” She asked once the director was out of earshot. 

He really didn’t, but they had no choice. He found his sunglasses and moved to put them on. “You know the saying…if a jet crashes in the woods and there’s no one there to hear it, stay close to the guy with super-strength.”

He sighed and tossed his broken glasses to the ground and followed her out of the plane. They needed to keep the Director safe, and he needed to make sure nothing else bad happened to Melinda. It was going to be a long day, but he had high hopes that help would arrive soon. 

It didn’t. 

Everything turned to chaos and it was all that he could do to keep Melinda from putting another bullet in the backside of the director when she found out his super strength was chemically induced and currently being soaked into the ground rather than doing them any good. They were outmanned and outgunned, but he had Melinda ‘Ninja’ May with him so he felt pretty good about their chances. He also knew their team wouldn’t give up until they found them so they just needed to hold on until help arrived. 

“You should have left me in the woods when you had the chance.” Mace moaned as they searched through the ranger's station for weapons while they developed a plan. 

“I agree,” Melinda replied quickly and he tried to keep his face impassive.  

“Not helping,” he said with a pointed look in her direction. 

She merely rolled her eyes and continued to load the gun she’d pulled off a Watchdog.“So what’s the plan?”

He turned to Mace with as much confidence as he could muster. “Time to suit up, Director.”

“You heard the part where I don’t have powers, right?” Mace reminded him.

A smirk turned up the corner of his mouth as he replied, “Yeah…but they don’t know that.”

They continued to map out their plan and Mace stepped into the bathroom to change out of his suit while he and Melinda stole a moment alone. 

“You good?” He asked as he watched her slip the gun into the waistband of her pants. 

“Yeah…you good?” She asked and watched him carefully for a reaction. 

He gave her a soft smile before placing his gun on the table and reaching for her hand. It took only the slightest tug to bring her into his arms, and he held her close for a moment. 

“I’m good…just be careful.”

She pulled away just enough to slide her hands up his chest to the back of his neck. “I’m more worried about you in here babysitting Mace.”

“Well….hopefully, he can at least shoot a gun.”

“I wouldn’t hold out hope for that one. He’s more likely to be hiding behind the door than shooting a gun.”

“The team will be here soon. We’ve just got to make it till then.”

She reached up and pressed her lips to his for a soft slow kiss. She pulled away but he followed and found her lips again and the hum she gave as his lips worked over hers made his heart race. He pulled away reluctantly and took a moment to memorize the look of bliss in her eyes and slight flush to her cheeks. 

He smiled and stepped away just as Mace emerged from the bathroom in his tactical suit. They gave Melinda enough time to slip quietly out the back before Mace stepped onto the porch in an attempt to distract the Watchdogs. 

An explosion sounded outside, and he knew that Melinda had taken care of the truck. Help would be here soon. He activated his shield and managed to get Mace back inside. Bullets whipped past them as they tried to avoid the windows as much as possible. He broke open a small space in one of the windows and started to return fire. 

She was already a little sore from the plane crash and then their long hike through the woods; but as the Watchdog followed her into the barn, her adrenaline started to kick in. She moved into a defensive position as she waited for him to attack. He was skilled but over-aggressive. Had she been in top form, she would have him out already; but her body was protesting the amount of stress and strain it had been under for the past month. She watched as he picked up the sharp clippers and she moved back to put a little space between them. She felt the chain behind her and gripped it in her hand as he lunged towards her. She used the chain to block the attack and then wrapped it around the clippers and twisted to pull them from his hands. A swift kick to his midsection had him stumbling backward, but he reached for a machete laying on the workbench and came at her once more. A quick glance to her left had her reaching for a shovel and she used it to block his next blow. She swung the shovel and connected with his shoulder but he only stumbled back before moving towards her again. It was that very moment that Mack ran in and grabbed the closest thing to an ax he could find. 

“Thought you could use some backup,” he called out as he moved to stand beside her. 

“It’s about damn time,” she muttered and they moved in tandem towards the Watchdog. 

He was fast and her initial swing missed. On the next swing, he managed to grab the shovel handle and used it to shove her backward. Her back connected with the saw blade and she cried out in pain as it sliced into her shoulder. Mack grabbed him from behind and she used the surge of adrenaline the pain had caused to push herself forward and knock him out. 

She clenched her jaw as she tried to push through the pain, but she could feel blood running down her back and soaking her blouse and the jacket of her suit. 

“You okay?” Mack asked when he saw the dark stain spreading across the back of her shoulder. 

She clenched her jaw a little tighter and focused on breathing and pushing past the pain as she assured him, “Yeah…I’m fine.” 

She just needed to find Phil. 

They moved towards the ranger's station and she felt relief rush through her as she saw Daisy leading him and Mace out of the building. He smiled when he saw her and his eyes narrowed when he saw the controlled look on her face. He knew that look. 

“You good?” He asked as he moved closer to check for himself. 

She nodded and checked him over for injuries as well. They could patch each other up when they got back to base. For now, they needed to get out of there. 

Once back on the base, Phil and Mace went to meet with Talbot and she moved to the locker room to clean up. She carefully slipped out of her suit jacket and looked over her shoulder to see how bad it was. It looked deep and was still bleeding quite a bit. She could see muscle and tendons and knew it probably needed stitches, but she was too tired and worn down to head to the med bay. At least she wouldn't have to wear that suit again. 

“Hey, you need help with that?” Daisy asked as she stepped into the locker room. 

She shook her head. “Uh, no, its, uh…it’s just a scratch.”

“No, it’s not. She needs stitches.” He said as he walked in with a medkit. She rolled her eyes but the look he gave had her sitting down with an exaggerated sigh. 

He carefully helped her out of her shirt and then placed the medkit on the bench beside her. He worked on cleaning it as best he could but it was pretty deep. 

“This needs stitches, Melinda.”

“Just put some of the bonding gel on it,” she insisted, and he rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. 

She was stubborn, but he was too. He rummaged through the medkit as he quipped, “You want me to use the superglue this time, or do you have some duck tape in your locker you’d like better?”

“Well, Dr. Smartass,” she replied with a dangerous narrowing of her eyes, “why don’t you use the medical stuff that Jemma came up with and stop saying things that make me want to punch you.”

Daisy’s chuckle from the doorway cut off his reply, and he simply shook his head as he picked up the bonding agent and some butterfly closures and started trying to close up the wound. 

“Just promise you’ll have Jemma look at it later,” he requested and she shot him a look of frustration. “Please,” he pleaded gently and her eyes softened as she nodded with a soft smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. 

Daisy watched their exchange with a happy smile and realized how much she had missed them. ‘Maybe staying wouldn’t be so bad', she thought but out loud she said, “Mace is gathering everyone in his office.”

He nodded as he started packing up the supplies and throwing the used gauze away. “We’ll see you in there.”

She looked at May one last time and needed to be sure she was really alright. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked and the soft smile spread across Melinda’s face. 

“Never better,” she promised and Daisy knew her response had more to do with the tender care of “Dr. Smartass” than actually feeling better. She decided to give them a little time alone and moved down the hall towards the director’s office. 

“Are you taking over?” She asked once Daisy had left the locker room.

He shook his head and sat down on the bench to wait as she searched her locker for something to wear for the meeting. “He’s still the director, but we agreed that I’ll plan all of the ops from here on out. He gets to deal with the politics.” 

She nodded in understanding and pulled out a soft v-neck shirt that wouldn’t be too painful to try to get on. Phil stood and helped her get it over her head and in place without moving her injured shoulder too much. Once she was dressed, he gently brushed her hair behind her ear and examined the cut at her temple that had reopened during the crash. 

“I’m getting too old for this,” he sighed and her hands found his waist as she leaned into him. 

“Plane crashes will make you feel that way,” she replied and his hands moved to frame her face. 

His eyes held a look of pain, and he swallowed hard. “If you would have been flying the plane, Melinda….”

“I know,” she cut him off, “but I’m okay. We’re okay, Phil.”

He pulled her carefully into his arms and she held him back as tightly as she could manage. 

She meant everything to him and he wouldn’t survive without her. As soon as this was all over, he planned to take her somewhere far away from this so they could rest and recover. 

Losing her just wasn’t an option. 

Chapter Text

Things managed to go from bad to worse. He and Melinda had trusted the Darkhold to the Koenigs and now Billy was missing. They had just connected the watchdogs to Nadeer and Prime Minister Olshenko, so they now had a whole international bag of bullies teaming up to find the Darkhold and wipe out the Inhumans. So….that’s cool. Now they needed to pick up L.T. Koenig in order to track down the Darkhold before Radcliffe could get to it. Her last known location was the club they were currently watching. He had sent Davis and Daisy inside while he and Melinda waited to provide backup if necessary. He may have also set it up to have a stolen moment away from the chaos to spend with the beautiful woman waiting in the car for him to return with their drinks. 

He carefully maneuvered the cups into one hand so that he could open the car door with the other. 

“Got your green tea” he announced as he handed her the steaming cup. 

“Thank you,” she replied gratefully as she took the cup and settled back into her seat. 

He climbed in and closed the door behind him. “Any news?”

“Nothing yet,” she sighed and took a sip from the steaming cup. 

He took a sip from his own cup and regarded her thoughtfully, “I hope we’re not too late. Those Koenigs are tough, but they’ve been through enough already.”

She nodded in agreement and turned to look at him as she responded, “We all have. That’s the game.”

He nodded back as he took a slow sip from his cup. Memories of missions from their years together scrolled through his mind and his voice cut through the silence once more. “I guess we should be grateful. After all the years, all the missions, all the close calls…”

“Both our deaths” she added with a sardonic smirk as she glanced over at him. 

“Right…” he agreed with a smile. “After all that, we’re still standing, the two of us.”

She chuckled and thought of all the reasons that shouldn’t be true. 

“Maybe we should toast to that,” he suggested and his eyes regarded her carefully as he waited for her response.  

She tilted her head with a soft smile as she raised her cup to tap his.

They sat in comfortable silence while she gathered her thoughts, but a moment later she spoke up.

“We’ve been, uh, making a lot of toast lately. Maybe we should try something else,” she suggested with a look in her eyes that left no doubt what she’s implying. 

He released an exasperated sigh and shook his head. “We’ve been trying to try something else but everyone keeps interrupting us!”

She chuckled and took a sip of tea. “You don’t think it’s a sign?”

“No!” He answered quickly. “Do you?”

“No….it’s just…we’ve been dancing around this a few decades…I’ve known you most of my life,” she shrugged and he nodded in agreement. 

A thought struck him and he watched her expression carefully as he asked, “Does it feel weird? Crossing the line from friends to…well..you know…”

She smirked and arched a brow as she tossed the question back at him. “Does it feel weird to you…making out with your best friend?”

“No," he replied with a flush of color sliding up his neck to fill his cheeks. "It really doesn’t. I mean…I guess if I had seen you as just my best friend and partner all these years….but…I’ve always thought of you this way. I’ve never not been attracted to you and a little in love with you all this time.”

That surprised her and she set her drink in the cupholder as she turned in her seat to face him better. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I did…well…kinda. That mission to Russia….but then you married Garner.”

“Because you were my partner…and I didn’t want to lose you." She confessed and trailed a finger over the plastic lid of her cup. Her eyes followed the movement as she worked to gather the words to explain why she had backed away from the possibility of them all those years ago. "At that point, I’d never had a long term relationship. I was pretty sure I was going to screw it up with you and then…well…it would have been kinda hard to keep working with someone once they’d seen you naked and dumped you.”

Had she been looking, she would have seen the way his eyebrows arched into his hairline at her words. “You think I would have been the one to break it off?" 

She shrugged as her eyes met his once more. “I would have probably done something to drive you to it.”

“Seriously?" he scoffed. "You’re so far out of my league Melinda May. I think it’s more likely that I would have driven you to dump me. Maybe gone on about Captain America one too many times.

“Oh no…I thought that was cute,” she laughed and her eyes danced playfully.

“Yeah?" he asked and couldn't keep the smile from his own face. "hmm, …so chances are that it would have worked out.”

She nodded, but the smile slipped from her face and her expression turned somber as she thought through what could have been. “But then Bahrain happened. So… I’m glad we didn’t risk it back then. I needed you as my friend through that. Only my best friend could have gotten me out of that cubicle.”

A smile spread across his face as their past settled and reconciled with itself. “And here we are now…and it’s not weird.”

“It’s not weird,” she agreed and the smile once more tugged at the corner of her mouth. 

“Well…now that we’ve talked through the past…maybe we can talk about where to go from here,” he suggested. "We can take our time, but we can start to work on our future…whatever comes next. As soon as this is over, you and I should get away…just the two of us…no interruptions so we can actually…try something else.”

“Deal,” she agreed with a smile, and he leaned across the console to press a kiss to her lips. 

He had barely grazed them when Daisy’s voice came through the comms, “Guys, I think you need to get in here.”

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers in quiet frustration. “On our way,” he called into the mics. 

“Far away…with no interruptions,” she muttered as they slipped out of the car to head inside.

Thurston was odd, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t entertaining to watch L.T. wipe the floor with Davis as they walked into the club. He even heard Melinda softy chuckle when she apologized for taking out his “candy ass”. He was really looking forward to those two women working together on this mission. Good luck to Radcliffe and anyone else who stood in their path. 

L.T caught sight of him and surprise lit up her face. “Coulson? What are you doing here? You brought Agent May…this can’t be good.”

“Wait? You all know each other?” Daisy asked as her eyes bounced between each of them.

L.T nodded and holstered her weapon relieved to know that the current situation was under control. “Coulson and I ran a mission once in Singapore,” she replied and watched as the girl’s brow rose in question before glancing towards May.

“With May too?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never worked with Agent May before, but as the best operative in Shield history, everyone in Shield knows who she is…and Coulson wouldn’t shut up about her the whole mission. Huh…did you ever man up and ask her out?” She asked bluntly and smirked as his face went red and his hand went to the back of his neck. Her attention shifted to Daisy who was enjoying this conversation immensely. “Who’s this? Your kid?”

“Something like that!” Daisy answered before anyone else could, and her eyes sparked with humor and mischief. 

Melinda rolled her eyes and reached out a hand to help Davis up. “We need to go,” she reminded the group, and they all ignored Thurston’s protest as they followed her out and towards the SUV. 

He’d always thought he missed out by not having brothers or sisters but watching the Koenigs gave him mixed feelings. L.T was tough and definitely ruled their clan. He’s not quite sure how any of them survived living with her, and he’s even less sure how they’ve survived life in general without her once they’d gone their separate ways. It made sense that she stayed close to Thurston. He was a train wreck, and certainly needed his big sister’s protection despite his protest. 

Finally, the family reunion broke up and Thurston was escorted to a safe place to wait it all out while the rest of them came up with a plan. They needed to beat Radcliffe and Aida to the labyrinth and retrieve the Darkhold before they figured out that’s where Billy had taken it. They set a course for the Library.

He’d give the Koenigs points for creativity. A top-secret base hidden in a public library was a crazy choice and he was sure most people wouldn’t even consider searching a place like this for classified materials or objects. 

They split off and moved in different directions and he looked around the large space as they waited for Sam to key in the code that would open the labyrinth and take him to the Darkhold. 

“Read any good books lately?” She quipped once they were alone. He smiled and let his eyes wander over the spines of the large collection before him. 

“I never read Ulysses. I always wanted to go to Ireland….read it in pubs. Someday.”

“Maybe we could go there together,” she suggested and he turned to her in surprise.

He took a step towards her and took in her expression. She seemed nervous. “Yeah? It’s kinda nerdy.”

She watched silently as his final steps took him close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her skin. He was close enough to see the tiniest spark of uncertainty in her eyes as she asked, “Did you really mean it…when you said…you’re ready for whatever comes next?”

There was a moment's pause as his eyes locked with hers and he could feel the tension rolling off of her. It occurred to him in a flash of wonderment that she was actually nervous about his response…that there was a flicker of fear that he might not want a life with her. He needed to fix that. 

His hands found her hips and he gently tugged her forward. His lips pressed to hers softly at first, but he had something to prove. One hand reverently cupped her cheek while the other wrapped around her waist to bring her flush against him. Her lips moved over his with equal passion and his hand slid through soft strands of silk to cup the back of her head as he backed her up against the bookshelf. 

“We’ve got incoming,” LT shouted as she ran into the room. They pulled apart and the look in her eyes made him want to ignore everything else and find her lips again, but they had a job to do. 

“What’s going on?” Sam asked as he came bursting back into the room with a bag in hand containing what they’d come for. 

“Three men armed and heading our way and they’ve got Billy,” LT explained. 

“Alright, take this,” Sam said and handed the bag to May, “we’ll handle it.” He nodded to them as he pulled his gun from its holster and followed LT from the room.

“Here, give it to me. No need for you to be the target.” Phil said and reached out his hand for the bag. Confusion clouded his eyes when she hesitated and gripped the bag tighter.

“May?” He asked and reached out more persistently. “What’s going on? Give it to me.”

“I don’t want you to be the target either, Phil. If something happened to you…” she trailed off and he knew what it cost her to be so open with her fear. 

“I know,” he assured her but held out his hand once more for the bag, “but I’ve got a badass ninja girlfriend, and with your hands free you can do what you have to to keep us safe.”

She smiled softly with a roll of her eyes and finally stretched out her hand to hand him the bag. “Once again it’s on me to protect your defenseless ass,” she teased.

“Good thing you’re so good at it,” he teased back, and they turned as Daisy came rushing into the room and the distant sound of gunshots filled the air. 

“Go!” He called out and gripped the bag tightly as they ran towards where LT and Sam had gone moments before. 

“My brother? What? Are you kidding? I’ve never seen this guy before in my life.” They heard Sam saying as they slowly rounded the corner. Mindful of the man holding the gun to Billy’s head, Coulson slowly stepped into sight with the bag held up for them to see. 

“You want the book?” He asked and strode purposefully closer. “Let him go,” he demanded and tossed the bag towards their feet.

They released Billy and pushed him towards were LT and Sam were waiting. 

“What did they do to you, Billy?” Sam asked as he grew closer.

A look of utter sadness filled his face as he explained, “They took my puppy.”

LT took his shoulders and carefully led him to safety. “You’re going to be okay, little brother,” she soothed and they moved towards the exit where they would wait for the rest to play out in the safety of the Quinjet. 

Just as the man reached down to grip the bag, a wave of motion moved the book across the floor as Daisy stepped into view with her hand raised. Before they could react, Coulson raised his icer and took out one and then another of the Watchdogs. May took out another one before reaching down to grab the bag that had slid to a stop at her feet. She moved to leave, but Daisy’s cry as the man shocked her arm made her pause. 

“Take the book and get to the Quinjet,” Coulson ordered over the sound of gunshots and she gripped the bag tightly to her chest and took off. 

‘They would be fine,’ she assured herself and moved swiftly towards the exit. She had just made it into the next room when she saw Radcliffe standing there with his gun aimed directly at her and Aida standing calmly by his side. 

“Agent May, I’m eternally grateful,” he said and held his hand out expectantly. 

She gripped the bag tighter and held her ground. 

“Oh come now. Let’s not make it any harder than it needs to be. Give me the bag.”

“No,” she said, and she watched the gun carefully while keeping Aida in her sight as well. 

She heard the slight sound of footsteps behind her and turned just in time to catch the handle of the gun across her temple.  

They had managed to take out most of the Watchdogs, but Phil swore under his breath as the main henchman managed to flee during the scuffle. They would have to track him down later. For now, they needed to get the Darkhold and Koenigs to a secure place.

He moved quickly into the next room and paused when he saw Daisy standing there looking around. 

“Where is she? Where’s May?” He asked.

She turned to him with a look of confusion and worry clouding her features. “I don’t know. She was heading back to the Quinjet with The Darkhold.”

It was then that his eyes locked in on the spattering of crimson on the tiled floor. “There’s blood….that’s blood on the floor…they have her and she’s hurt.”

Daisy placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to lock her own panic away. “Let’s just calm down a minute. That’s not a lot of blood…and they could have just shot her and left her here if they wanted. That’s a good sign. They would've had to knock her out to get her to go with them…you know she’d put up a fight. We have to believe that they need her for something. They’ll keep her alive, and that gives us time to find her. Okay?”

“Yeah…” he whispered but the look of worry on his face made Daisy’s heart ache.

“We’ll find her,” she assured him. “We won’t stop until we do.”

He nodded and tried to breathe past the knot of fear in his belly. “I know.”

“And in the meantime…she’s totally gonna give them hell,” she quipped hoping to make him smile and calm down for a second.

His eyes stayed glued to the floor where the smear of blood contrasted hauntingly on the light-colored tiles. When he looked up his eyes held a determination in them that made her breath catch. “They totally grabbed the wrong person…and they’re going to regret it.”

Chapter Text

Location: Caldes de Montbui, Spain

“I’d be the first to admit that I’ve followed my worst instincts at times. Last year. Loss will make you do that. It feels good in the moment…” he trailed off as a cup was placed before him.

“Gracias,” he says to the waiter before continuing, “…but it never ends well. I’ve lost my temper. I’ve killed. But lately…I have this voice in my head telling me not to go down that path again. It’s telling me to be patient to stay steady.”

“I take it you don’t mean me, sir,” Mack called through the earpiece.  

“It’s Agent May,” he sighed, “She’d tell me to stay on mission.”

“Listen to the woman,” Mack admonished, “She knows what she’s talking about. Hold on. This could be her.”

He left enough money on the table to cover his tab and moved in the direction of their target. 

“One look at her face should confirm it,” he said as he carefully moved to intercept. Fitz had surmised that Radcliffe had based his designs off of a human model and with a little digging from Daisy they had tracked down a former lover of Radcliffe named Agnes Kitsworth. It was frightening how close to the original Radcliffe had managed to make Aida. If the two women were side by side it would be hard to spot the difference. He shuddered thinking of a machine version of Melinda and hoped they could get to her before Radcliffe got any ideas. 

They found Agnus but she had no desire to help them and Mack made it clear that they needed to back off and find another way. The woman was dying and didn’t deserve to be brought into this mess. Usually, he would agree, but this was Melinda.

He’d cross any line he needed to for her. 

He stood in front of the wooden door with a heavy feeling in his belly. She had no reason to help them, and he wasn’t sure how far he could go to convince her. She was already dying. What else would she have to fear? It was his own fear driving him now. Maybe that was all he had to work with. 

She opened the door with a look of disgust and disdain, and he knew it was time to be honest. He would only get one shot at this. 

“Hi,” he started, and her eyes narrowed further. “I was planning on coming down here, try to throw my weight around…force you to comply. I came up with some pretty good material, but I think the best place to start might be an apology. I know you don’t want to hear ‘I’m sorry’ anymore, so I apologize. Really, I do.”

She seemed to soften a bit at that and nodded in acceptance as she muttered, “okay.”

He took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “Radcliffe took something from me too. Her name is Melinda May….and she means everything to me.”

His confession seemed to reach her and her expression softened at his revelation of what was really spurring his desperate need to seek her help. He knew he needed to make her understand his heart if he was going to get her to help. He kept going. “I wish there was another way. I’m trying not to make it personal because…May would hate that…but…I can’t help it. It is. I love her.”

“What do you mean he took her?” She asked and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

“He kidnapped her…and now he’s gone. And I still don’t know what happened to May...or if she’s even still…” he trailed off. He couldn’t even bring himself to say that she might not be alive. He wouldn't even consider the possibility. Melinda May was the strongest person he knew, and she would survive this and he would find her. He had to believe that. 

She sensed his distress and tried to reassure him. “Look, obviously I’m not his biggest fan, but I can’t believe Holden would do something like that. He’s all about healing, enhancing, prolonging life.”

She had no idea the monster that the Darkhold had created. He wasn't even sure if he could put it into words, but he was running out of time and he needed her help. “It’s a lot to explain, but Dr. Radcliffe is under the influence of something dark and powerful. He is not the same man you knew.”

He watched helplessly as she seemed to close herself off again at the mention of Radcliffe so he changed gears, “May’s like you. She’s brave and she’s not afraid of death. But she deserves the chance to live what’s left of her life on her own terms. I know you can appreciate that. She's the best person I know. She's smart and beautiful and strong. She's...she's my best friend, and I can't do this without her. I know I'm asking a lot from you, and you have no reason to help me....but I can't live without her, and I'll do anything you want if you'll please just help me.”

The silence stretched between them and he swallowed hard trying to think of anything he could say or offer that might convince her to help him, but her voice broke the silence. 

“What do you need me to do?” She asked, and suddenly he felt something close to hope. 

It didn’t last long.

She’d turned on them. They had Radcliffe in their sights, but she climbed in the car and they drove out of sight while he and Mack dove for cover as a barrage of bullets flew around them. 

They’d made their way to the plane empty-handed, but not completely hopeless. He could tell Mack didn’t know just what to say to him. He opened his mouth a few times but remained silent.

He decided to spare the big guy and start the conversation himself. “She made her choice,” he offered solemnly. 

“I don’t know what to say,” Mack admitted quietly. He had worked with May for the last couple of years and while they might not be that close, they were a team…a family. He knew Mack was feeling this loss too in his own way. 

He kept talking, “I understand why she went with him. She saw a chance, no matter how slim and risky, and she took it. I would have.”

“I know it’s not easy to let go,” Mack said quietly, and his head turned toward the big man in confusion.

“To let go? Of May?” He asked with an incredulous tone. “I’m not letting go! You heard Radcliffe. He said he had a subject in the Framework, someone who was thriving. He was talking about May. She’s alive.”

He was sure of it. Even as the sympathetic look crossed Mack’s face, he was sure of it. May was alive. He was going to find her and bring her home. 

They searched for days.

The Director was missing now too and they’d made the connection to the Russians and an old base. He was haunted with memories of the early days he and Melinda had spent working together as they made their way through the old building searching for clues. The laughing, energetic ghost of her younger self bounced off the walls teasing him about cats and sunglasses, and the memories settled painfully in his chest. He had loved her even then. He should have told her and taken the chance when he had it all those years ago. He could close his eyes and still see her bright smile as they talked about the possibility. It was a lifetime ago, but filling his thoughts like it was merely yesterday.  

The creepy phone in the skeleton was a great party trick, but the goose chase the caller was sending them on made him more annoyed than impressed. He was past conversation and more than willing to just hand the guy over to Daisy once they located him.

She was getting anxious too. Every dead-end was leaving her feeling just as frustrated and uneasy as he was feeling. 

“It’s not the same without her. Just feels like something is missing,” she’d said to him earlier as she paced back in forth in front of him on the Quinjet. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “She said something similar when you were gone.”

“I knew Mom was a softie,” she teased as she flopped into the seat next to him, but he heard the hint of emotion behind the title she’d thrown out. He needed Daisy to know just how much she meant to Melinda.

“She loves you, Daisy,” he said, “she kept combing through all of the news updates…called in favors with cop friends and other agents trying to find you. She’d send anything she came across to me and Mack no matter how far fetched it seemed. She would have been on that plane with us if the Director would have let her. She even threatened him a few times until I convinced her she could do more to help us back on base.”

“I love her too,” she confessed quietly, and he reached next to him to hold her hand. 

“We’ll find her,” he promised as much to comfort her as himself. They needed her, and he knew that neither of them would stop until she was safely home with them again.

Daisy squeezed his hand and used her other hand to wipe a few tears from her cheek. He was surprised a moment later when she chuckled. 

“She’s going to be sooo pissed when we find her,” she explained with a smirk, “Like full on Bezerker staff May.”

“Yeah…. it's going to be fun to watch,” he said, and a real smile stole across his face. 

“Oh yeah, it is!” She agreed. “She literally nailed Ward’s foot to the ground…wonder what she’ll do to Radcliffe and Aida.”

He chuckled at that and his mind relaxed into the game they were playing. “I don’t know…maybe we should have a few of Mack’s power tools laying around for inspiration.”

“I don’t think so,” she said with a shake of her head. “I think she’ll be in the mood to take them out with her bare hands.”

“You’re probably right,” he laughed and then took a moment to admire the young woman next to him. “I’m glad you stuck around, Daisy.”

“Me too…..Dad,” she said and emphasized the endearment with a playful smile. 

He shook his head and settled back into his seat with a wide grin on his face. They would find Melinda, and he would take her somewhere far away from all of this for a while…but as soon as they got back, they were going to spend some quality time with their “kid” and he was sure he wouldn’t even have to try to talk Melinda into it. 

They found the old drilling station and Antoine Ivanov. What he remembered of that mission to Russia with Melinda was how close they had come to becoming more than partners, which probably had a lot to do with why he didn’t have the faintest idea who Ivanov was. To be fair, it was also a long time ago and as he had explained to the Russian, he’d taken down a lot of bad guys over the years. The time for catching up was over and he was more than happy to leave him with Daisy so that he could scour the base for Melinda. 

Every room and turn was a dead end. He and Mack had found the Director, but he was barely conscious and too out of it to be able to tell them where Melinda was being held. They needed to get him out of there and then keep looking for Melinda. 

They had just made it around the corner in the next hallway when a blinding pain erupted in his skull. He barely heard Mack groan next to him before everything went black and he felt himself falling. 

In the eerie glow of the submarine compartment, a voice called out. 

“Welcome back, Doctor.”

Holden Radcliffe stumbled forward, “What the hell? My orders were to bring me out after 24 hours.”

“That’s exactly what I did,” She assured him.

“Really?” He asked and a look of confusion flittered across his face. “Oh, my…I completely lost track of time. Aida, there were…changes.”

“I had to restart the simulation to accommodate the new residents. In order to reduce their pain, to fix a regret for each of them, I had to restart the Framework simulation from those moments in time.”

“Are you mad?!” He hollered at her as he glanced around at the new occupants before settling his stare firmly on her. 

“I am programmed to do just that,” She stated matter of fact unsure of why he was upset with her.  

“You shouldn’t have done that with me plugged in! I could’ve lost my grip on reality! To the human mind, there’s no difference between the perception of the Framework and the physical world. Its….so vast. This is all…perfectly real,” He tried to explain, but she kept on filling him in on their latest developments. 

“There are LMD models of Agent May, Agent Mackenzie, Agent Coulson, Agent Fitz, and Director Mace in place. They have orders to subdue and scan Agents Johnson and Simmons as soon as possible without raising suspicion.”

“Good…good,” he said and finally started to relax as he realized everything was falling into place just as they had planned it. “We’ll have LMDs in the top-ranking positions in Shield and the Russki will be able to take out the Inhumans. That will keep him happy and allow us to complete our main objective.”

“Protect the Framework at all cost.”

“Indeed, Aida. Indeed,” he smiled. 

They had barely escaped the base. If they hadn’t been able to get through to the LMD version of May, they would have never made it. They had just picked up Yo-Yo, and Davis and Piper were flying the Zephyr while she and Simmons set up the Framework technology. This was the only hope they had of saving their family. The relief she had felt when she saw Mack and Coulson walking towards them with a perfectly healthy-looking May and Director Mace at the drilling platform was short-lived. They’d barely made it back to base when Jemma had grown concerned about the missing time and she had stumbled across a room full of robots with her body. Her heart clenched thinking about how she’d barely managed to convince Jemma that she wasn’t an LMD.

The LMD version of May had been better programmed. Radcliffe had probably intended to sneak her in months ago but missed the opportunity. She was so much like May it would have been impossible to spot the difference if they hadn’t have put all the LMD detectors up after Aida had stormed the base and left a fake Radcliffe behind. It was the emotions and desires of the real Melinda May that Radcliffe had programmed in that allowed them to persuade her to help them.

Melinda May had been their protector since they formed their team turned family, and even the robot version of herself couldn’t help herself from sacrificing herself for them. Daisy was determined that as soon as they got the real May back she was going to make sure the woman knew just how much she meant to them and especially what she meant to her. 

Once their entrance to the framework was set up and the exit programmed in, they laid back on the bed and allowed Yo-Yo to hook them up to the monitors. 

She glanced next to her to Jemma before she steeled her nerves and nodded to Yo-yo that she was ready.

With one last breath, she closed her eyes and plunged into darkness. 

Chapter Text

She gasped and quickly sat up coughing to push the water from her lungs. She looked around as she attempted to get a grasp of her surroundings, but nothing looked familiar. She needed to figure out where she was and then find a way to locate the others. She heard a buzzing sound and reached for the small pager on the shelf by the tub and held it up to read the words scrolling across the screen. The word ‘boyfriend’ seemed to scream to her from the message, and she felt her heart begin to pound in her chest. Slowly she rose and dried herself off taking note of her much longer hair and the lack of pain in her arms.  

Even going through the simulation with Coulson in the lab wasn’t quite this intense. She hadn’t been prepared for how realistic this would feel. She focused and tried to gently send a vibration across the water groaning in frustration when nothing happened.  

No powers here.  

Fantastic.  

Careful not to make the slightest sound she slowly opened the door inch by inch unsure of who or what she would find. She saw a bed and held her breath as her eyes made note of the large body nestled beneath the sheets. She would need to move closer to identify the stranger but felt her feet rooted to the floor.  

‘This isn’t real,’ she mentally reminded herself and took a deep breath before slowly edging forward. It only took two small steps before she could make out his face, and her hand flew to her mouth to cover it before she could cry out and alert him to her presence. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. He was dead. She was sure of it. She had witnessed it herself.  

He stirred and she took a hesitant step backward to increase the distance between them.  

“Good morning,” he murmured without even opening his eyes. “What time is it? Come back to bed.” 

She couldn’t move or speak. She just stood there staring at him and the silence prompted him to open his eyes and look at her. 

“You okay, Daisy?” He asked, and the genuine concern in his voice made her heart clench. 

She swallowed to clear the lump in her throat, but her voice was shaky as she finally responded. “Yeah, Lincoln, everything is fine.” 

“Who was the message from? I heard the pager go off.” 

“Someone who knew you’d still be asleep,” she responded and hoped her vagueness would go unmentioned. 

“Pinksy,” he sighed. “It’s probably another intake briefing,” he continued rising from the bed and moving past her to the bathroom. “Get dressed. Don’t make us late.” 

The moment the door closed behind him she frantically started searching for her clothes. Quickly she pulled them on and glanced around the room. Her eyes fell to the dresser where several framed photographs of the two of them were resting. They looked happy.  

“Here, don’t forget this,” he said and held out her badge.  

She took it and slipped it into her pocket hoping he failed to notice how badly her hands were shaking. She took a steadying breath before picking up her gun and clipping it to her hip.  

Their drive was filled with only radio chatter, and she tried to get her bearings from the passing scenery. It looked familiar, but only vaguely as if the memories and scenery were just slightly skewed and didn’t quite fit together.  

She felt his eyes on her before the question even left his mouth. “Everything okay, Daisy?” 

“Yeah,” she replied, but her eyes caught sight of the building looming before them and she couldn’t keep the gasp from escaping her lips.  

“Yeah…some mornings the Triskelion just takes my breath away too,” he offered and took the exit ramp heading directly towards it.  

It was not the Triskelion that had stolen her breath but rather the giant Hydra symbol marking its exterior. ‘This isn’t real…this isn’t real…’ she kept telling her mind over and over. The mantra continued as she climbed out of the car, but it all seemed very real as she rounded the corner and her eyes landed on a few hydra agents mercilessly kicking a man who was clearly defenseless and begging them to stop. She stepped forward to intervene, but the hand on her arm stopped her short.  

“They can handle it without you. Let’s go.” 

She spared one more glance towards the helpless man and picked up her mantra once more. ‘This isn’t real. This isn’t real.’ 

Walking through the lobby, she tried to scan for any sort of directory that could put her in the right direction, but she couldn’t seem to figure out what she was supposed to do now.  

“Daisy, are you sure you’re alright? You’ve been on a totally different planet all morning.” 

“I’m fine…” she lied. She was in an imaginary world as a freaking Hydra agent. She was far from fine. 

His hand gently grasping her arm had her turning towards him. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said, and she forced her mind to settle and focus on his words.  

“You’re sorry?” She asked and waited hoping his response would finally fill in some necessary blanks.  

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have asked you to move in with me last night. It’s too soon.” 

“You want me to move in with you…” she responded and tried to tamper her surprise, but her brain was struggling to keep up. 

“I get it. We’re under a lot of pressure at work…and you didn’t need this right now. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t push.” 

“It’s fine,” she whispered, “let’s just get to the briefing.” 

He nodded and then turned to head up the stairs. She followed him and even though she kept telling herself that this world was not real, she felt the longing start to tug at her heart. What she wouldn’t give for Lincoln to be alive...for this Lincoln to be real and for the chance to build a life with him. It was only the constant vision of the Hydra symbol that kept her grounded. 

As they entered the main office filled with cubicles she finally felt in her element.

Computers.

Lots and lots of computers.  

“I’m just going to check my email,” she tossed over her shoulder as she slid into the seat at the desk that appeared to be hers.  

“Why?” He questioned. “Everyone who would have emailed you will be in the briefing.” 

“Yeah…which is why I want to check my messages and get caught up.” 

Her response only made the look of confusion gracing his face sharpen, but he sighed and shook his head. “Alright…just hustle. You know what she’s like when someone is late.” 

She nodded and watched him walk away before turning back to the computer and attempting to hack into the system. She had no idea what her password could be, and she breathed in relief when she saw the thumbprint scanner and quickly pressed her thumb to it. As soon as the screen unlocked, her fingers flew across the keyboard as her eyes eagerly scanned the information running across her screen. Finally, the information she had been looking for scrolled past, but she froze when she saw that Jemma Simmons was listed as deceased. She had just closed the screen when a voice sounded behind her.  

“Why aren’t you in the briefing?” 

Her head snapped up and her heart raced as her brain registered the familiar voice. “May? Oh, thank god. I’ve been looking for you. It’s me…I’m here to…” she stood and moved to hug her but stopped short at the closed-off look on May’s face.  

“You’re about to be late. Get in the briefing.” 

“But…I’ve come to help you…” she tried again, and her chest tightened painfully at the lack of recognition in her eyes. May had no idea who she was, and the scathing look in her eyes made Daisy feel sick.  

“Do I need to have you drug-tested? Get in the briefing, Agent Johnson.” 

“Yes…Yes, ma’am,” she agreed and moved in the direction she had seen Lincoln go earlier. She would have to figure out a way to get May to snap out of it. She needed to find Jemma and come up with a plan. Maybe she was having better luck.  

She took the only empty seat at the conference table and told Pinsky to shut up as he called her out for being late.  

This May was even harder and no-nonsense than the May she had first met in the real world had seemed. She sat quietly as this May went over the specifics of the subversive they had captured and the doctor’s interest in him. It all sounded suspiciously like Daniel Whitehall and she felt her stomach churn at the thought of Aida and Radcliffe adding that monster into this world. The picture of Vijay Nadeer popping up on the display struck her, and she worked hard to play it off as May called her on it.  

It wasn’t long before she found herself in an interrogation room with the ghost from the past and the ghost of her lost love. Her grip on reality was getting harder to hold onto, but the surprise of Lincoln’s fist connecting with Vijay’s face shocked her back to the present.  

It felt like she’d barely taken a breath before she found herself chasing Vijay down a hall and nearly running into something that was the exact opposite of who Leopold Fitz was. The menacing look on his face made her blood run cold, and she couldn’t understand what Aida hoped to accomplish by creating this version of hell. She needed to get out of here and find Jemma.  

She was about to make up any excuse she could think of to get as far away from the “doctor” as possible when May rounded the corner and handed a tablet to him.  

“A report came in about a subversive at a school. There could be ties to the resistance,” she explained, and he nodded as he reviewed the report.  

A tense moment later, he handed the tablet back to May. “It seems it was called in by a teacher…Phil Coulson. Go see what he knows” he ordered and Daisy’s heart jumped at the familiar name.  

“I can go,” she chimed in quickly and noticing their looks of surprise tried to cover her enthusiasm. “I mean…I’m sure you’re busy and…” 

“No. It should be me,” May interrupted, and Daisy’s brain whirred trying to come up with a plausible reason for her to be the one to get to Coulson.  

“Why? I could…” Daisy tried again.  

“Because he’s my soon-to-be ex-husband,” May responded and Daisy’s breath caught at the revelation. She wasn’t sure if this version of herself would have known that or if this version of May was just as private as the real one.  

“Oh…husband. Yeah…” Daisy stuttered “that’s…you’re right…it should be you.”.  

May’s eyes narrowed, and Daisy tried not to squirm under her scrutiny. “Are you sure I don’t need to get you drug tested?” 

“Yeah…sorry…” she answered with a nod of her head, “just think I’m coming down with something. Nothing to worry about…I’ll just go and…umm…see if I can get a…” she mumbled as she backed away, but their attention was already distracted once more by the report on the screen and she used their lack of attention to slip around the corner and move towards the exit. She needed to find Jemma and together they could come up with a plan to get the others.  

This was way worse than they had anticipated and it was up to them to save their family or Hail Hydra.  

She finally found Simmons and thought she might just cry in relief at having something tangible from the real world to hold onto.  

“I found Coulson, but it isn’t Coulson!” Jemma explained the moment they stepped into Daisy’s apartment. “He doesn’t remember anything or anyone. He practically shoved me out of his classroom and warned me not to come back!” 

“Well, he called and sold you out to Hydra after you left. Which is me now...I’m Hydra. He told them you’d been there. They called you a subversive and now they’re looking for you.” 

“You and Coulson work for Hydra?” Jemma gasped. “What kind of messed up world is this?” 

“You have no idea!” Daisy groaned in response. “Apparently, May is one of their leaders.” 

The look of frustration fitting across Jemma’s face was exactly what Daisy had been battling all day. “I still can’t believe Coulson would turn me in!” 

“Well...probably because May’s his wife and he had to tell her.” 

“His wife?!” 

“I know!” She smiled genuinely for the first time since entering the Framework. “Surprisingly, that’s the one thing in this whole messed up place that makes sense.” 

“True," Jemma smiled. "I suppose even Aida couldn’t keep them apart. It’d be romantic if everything else here wasn’t so terrifying.” 

“Right?! Except I think May mentioned they were splitting up, but that’s not important. We’ve got to figure out a way to snap them out of it so we can get them out of here. If we could just turn one of them, then maybe they could convince the other.” 

“That might work,” Jemma agreed as her mind raced with possibilities and potential ideas. “Did you...did you find Fitz?” 

She hesitated unsure of how to express to Jemma just who Fitz had become in this world. “Yeah...he’s...he’s very different here, Jemma...I don’t know...” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Jemma interrupted with determination clear in her voice. “He’s still Leopold Fitz and whatever Aida has done to him here we’ll get him home and fix it. No one knows Fitz like I do.” 

“Yeah...let’s just start with Coulson and May and go from there,” she suggested. “We still have to find Mack. Maybe we should go back and talk to Yo-Yo and the team...come up with a solid plan now that we know what we’re dealing with here.” 

“I think you’re right,” Jemma sighed in resignation. “Okay...let’s just push the button and...” she trailed off as a panicked look flashed over her face. 

“What? What’s wrong?” 

“The button...It’s...it’s not working.” 

“Let me try,” Daisy said and reached out for the device before pressing the button frantically as panic welled up in her chest. “no no....no...” 

“Why isn’t it working? We programmed it...” Jemma asked and realization struck Daisy so hard that she closed her eyes at the impact of what it meant for them.  

“Aida knows we’re here. When Coulson called it in, Aida must have figured out something was wrong and blocked our exit somehow.” 

Jemma ran her hands over her face as discouragement washed over them both. “What do we do now?” 

“We need Coulson and May. We work better when we’re all together.” 

“Okay," Jemma agreed with a nod of her head, "so how do we convince them?” 

“I have no idea,” Daisy sighed.  

She was tired. Despite the awkwardness of seeing him again, she had waited with Phil while he gave his statement and then had to go back to the Triskelion to update the doctor. She was finally walking through the parking garage and towards her SUV in hopes of heading back to her empty apartment to crash.  

Her pace slowed as she approached her car, and she carefully unholstered her gun and gripped it as she slid into the seat. “Why are you in my car, Agent Johnson?” 

“I just want to talk to you alone,” Daisy said quietly as she sat up. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to sneak up on Melinda May even this brainwashed version.  

“What could you possibly need to talk to me about that couldn’t be said inside?” she questioned as their eyes met in the rearview mirror.  

Daisy’s heart was pounding in her chest. She took a deep breath to slow it down just like May had taught her. “I just....need you to remember me....who I am.” 

“I know who you are,” she snapped impatiently. “You’re Daisy Johnson. Level Seven field agent of Hydra.” 

“No...I’m...I just...” 

“Spit it out Agent,” May growled and the eyes that locked with Daisy's in the mirror narrowed dangerously.  

“You’ve been brainwashed...your memories changed to make you believe in this other life...” 

“What are you talking about? Who are you?” she asked and Daisy noticed the way her hand tightened around the gun in her lap.  

“I’m Daisy Johnson...and you’re Melinda May...and you used to be the one that made me feel safe...that I would go to when I felt freaked out. I mean...I’d go to Coulson when I was confused and, at first, he was the only one I could really talk to...but you became my S.O...and then you were more...so much more...everything I wanted my mom to be...but now you don’t even remember...” 

“Why should I believe any of this?” 

Daisy was just relieved May hadn’t shot her yet or marched her upstairs to the doctor, so she took a breath as her brain raced trying to come up with any way to convince the woman in front of her that what she was saying was true. “I....okay...wait. You need proof. I know things about you...umm...Aida changed Bahrain and the little girl didn’t die so everything before that...everything about you should be the same. I know things about you that you told the real me that you would have never told Agent Johnson.” 

The only response from May was the continued look of disdain in the mirror so Daisy continued.  

“You used to ice skate when you were little. You told me about it one night after a tough training session. How you kept getting back up every time you hit the ice...you hated the fall...but the feeling of finally getting it right was worth getting back up over and over. You told me I had to think like that as an agent. That I would fall and get hurt and there would be bad days but all that mattered was getting back up. You umm...you had a really hard time when your parents got divorced. You were mad at yourself because it hurt you so much when you didn’t think it should. Your mom was always gone anyway on some mission so it didn’t really change anything that she didn’t live there, but it hurt anyway and you felt like you’d lost a sense of security...something that was supposed to be steady and permanent was broken and it hurt you. You only ever told me and Coulson about that. You hate coffee, but you have this special blend of tea that you’d kill for...it’s rare and hard to find...Coulson always managed to get some for you. Every time it would be about to run out, he’d miraculously have a couple of boxes show up. No one even knew how he pulled it off...” 

“He always did that...when we were together,” she muttered quietly and her eyes glanced down to the gun in her lap.  

“You like chocolate and claim you hate dancing...and you and Coulson are the closest thing to family that I have...and I’m terrified right now and I just...” 

“Daisy,” she interrupted and the tone in her voice was different. It wasn’t sharp and chastising. It was soft and almost breathless as if she were afraid to say it.  

“May, please,” she pleaded, and the broken sound that slipped past her lips turned something in the woman’s mind and caused her eyes to glaze over where they once more met Daisy’s in the rearview mirror.  

“I know you...” she whispered and tears spilled down Daisy’s cheek as she nodded.  

“Yes, you know me,” she encouraged “and I’m here to save you.” 

“Save me? From Hydra?” 

“Yes...but not just Hydra...you’re trapped...this...this world isn’t real. You’ve been trapped in this alternate reality for weeks and we’ve been looking for you everywhere. Coulson wouldn’t rest until we found you, but then he was taken too and...” 

“Phil? He was taken? Is he all right?” 

“Yes...he’s been here with you...trapped, but he doesn’t know who he is either. Jemma was trying to explain it to him earlier, but he called her in.” 

“The subversive? You’re working with her?” 

“Yes, but she’s...gosh...this sucks,” Daisy groaned in frustration. “We should have brought like a memory zapper thingy or something. We didn’t realize you wouldn’t know who you are. Jemma came with me from the real world. We came to rescue you, but we had no idea how complex the framework was.” 

“The Framework?” 

“Yeah...that’s what we call this place. It’s coding...a virtual reality.” 

“I’ve lived my whole life here. Seems pretty real to me,” she argued, and Daisy realized she hadn’t quite gained her trust and that May still doesn’t remember who she really is, but she wasn’t giving up.  

“I know...I know...it...you’ve been programmed to feel that way. That’s why they gave you the false memories, so you wouldn’t know you weren’t you.” 

“Not me? Who am I in this...real world?” 

“You’re Agent Melinda May....of Shield.” 

“Shield fell.” 

“Here...in this messed-up hell that Radcliffe and Aida created, but in the real world you and Coulson have rebuilt Shield...and we have this team. We’re like a family...one that chose each other. You...me...Coulson...Jemma...Fitz...” 

“Fitz?” she gasped. “As in Leopold Fitz?” 

“Yeah...he’s different here,” Daisy tried to explain. “He’s not like this in the real world. Aida changed him...made him this...this thing...We have to figure out a way to help him, but we wanted to get to you and Coulson first...come up with a plan together.” 

Daisy held her breath waiting. She wasn’t sure she had managed to get through to May. She had taken a huge risk coming to her first. If she didn’t believe her then she could easily sick Hydra on them and they would never figure out a way out. She just needed May to believe her...to help them.  

“He was heading home when I left to come back here earlier. He should be there.” 

The relief Daisy felt at May’s words was audible and she wiped the corner of her eyes as she nodded. “Okay...okay good. We’ll need to get Jemma first. It might take all three of us to convince Coulson.” 

“It might not be as hard as you think,” May suggested and it was Daisy’s turn to be surprised by the provided information.  

“He turned Jemma into Hydra for trying to talk to him earlier. What makes you think he’ll believe us?” 

“He’s had some theories. Don’t ask.” 

“Okay,” she nodded again and was too relieved that May was willing to help them to follow up on it.  

May placed her gun back in her holster as Daisy climbed across the console and into the passenger seat.  

“You’re about to take me to the subversive I’ve been tasked to find. What makes you think. you can trust me?" May asked, and Daisy smiled for the first time since breaking into May’s ride. This was an easy question.  

“Because you’re May,” she grinned. “Even in the beginning when I thought you hated me and I was pretty sure I hated you too...you protected me...always put yourself in the line of fire for me...for Coulson...our team. You’ve been more like a mother to me than my real one ever was...and I love you. I won’t go back without you or Coulson...so I’m trusting you so that you know you can trust me.” 

There was a softness in her eyes now that Daisy recognized before the steely determination was back. “Okay. Let’s go get Jemma.” 

Chapter Text

He always felt that their meeting was kismet...fate. He walked into the grocery store as she was walking out and nearly bumped into her. He’d been captivated immediately by how stunningly beautiful she was as she passed by him and the spark that shot from his shoulder and ran through his entire body as they slightly brushed against each other had his heart racing. Her face fell as she realized that it was pouring rain, and he had never been so grateful that his mother had raised him with manners as he was in that moment when he offered to walk her to her car with his umbrella. She hesitated at first, but slowly agreed and pointed to her car on the far side of the lot. He told her he didn’t mind the long walk and made a joke about needing the exercise before taking the bags from her hands and trading her the umbrella. She smiled in gratitude before moving closer to him so that the umbrella would cover them both as they made their way to her car. He was sure she could hear the loud hammering of his heart as she put her free hand on his arm to allow them to walk closely in the tight space, and he tried valiantly to focus on putting one foot in front of the other instead of the scent of her hair or the delicate curve of her cheek. He carefully loaded the groceries in the back of her car while she covered them with the umbrella and then he returned the favor as she slipped into the driver’s seat.

“Thank you...”

“Phil...” he supplied with a grin, and she offered him a soft smile.

“Thank you, Phil,” she said softly with her smile growing as he stood back and allowed her to close the door.

She didn’t give her name, but that didn’t keep him from thinking about her the rest of the day and all the days after that. It was a week later when he saw her again in the same spot but with clear skies and no need for an umbrella. She smiled over the bags of groceries in her arms as she exited the store passing him as he entered.

“It’s sunny skies today, Phil,” she commented, “Guess you won’t get the extra exercise this time.”

It took him a moment to get past the initial shock that she remembered his name, but he smiled and gestured to the bags in her arms. “Actually, I’m really trying to build muscle. You mind helping me out?”

She laughed and shook her head before allowing him to take the bags and walk with her to her car.

This time when he closed the driver’s door behind her she rolled down the window with a smile. “Thanks again, Phil.”

“Oh, no. Thank YOU,” he replied with a grin, “I can already feel the muscle mass increase. So, thanks for helping me out with that...”

“Melinda,” she supplied and playfully rolled her eyes as she rolled up her window.

Even hours later he couldn’t get the smile off of his face.

A few days later he was grading papers at his desk in his office at the school when a student walked in with a grocery bag.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Sir, but a lady in the parking lot asked me to bring this to you,” the young man explained, “I hope that’s okay...”

“Umm...yeah, thanks, Kyle,” he replied and quickly took the bag and glanced inside as Kyle made his way back out the door.

His confusion grew as he pulled out a small container of protein powder with a note attached to the lid.

“If this doesn’t help with muscle growth, I could probably use some help around 5:30 tomorrow afternoon. Lots of heavy grocery bags if you’re interested.

-Melinda”

He grinned and made a note to move his tutoring appointment up so he could make sure to be there on time. He was pretty sure the protein powder he tucked safely into the bottom drawer of his desk wouldn’t be sufficient anyway. It never even occurred to him to wonder how she found him with only his first name to go on.

She was waiting for him just inside the entrance when he stepped in with her arms suspiciously free of grocery bags.

“Turns out I didn’t really need anything today after all,” she explained, and he felt the disappointment settle in his chest.

“Want to go grab some coffee instead?” she offered and the grin spreading across his face matched the dancing of her eyes.

He narrowed his eyes and pretended to think it over. “Coffee is good for muscle growth, right?”

“If I say it’s not, will you still go?” she smirked and arched her brow in askance. That look alone had his heart racing, and he fought the urge to brush his hands against his jeans to remove the moisture he was sure must be collecting on his palms. 

“If you let me buy the coffee.”

“Deal," she agreed with a soft smile, "but I’ll take tea instead.”

“Trust me enough to ride there with me?” he asked and pointed to his car across the lot. 

She studied him for a moment with eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest, and he held his breath until the slow smile found its way to her lips once more. “No... but I can handle myself. Lead the way to your car, Phil.”

Coffee and tea turned into dinner with plans for a real date two days later. It was the last first date for each of them. He’d been surprisingly calm six months later when she explained her job as a field agent for SHIELD, but it made sense how she had been able to track him down all those months ago which he had still been too love-sick to follow up on.

He told her the story of how Fury had offered him a job with SHIELD, and how he had turned it down certain he would be terrible at that line of work. It put her at ease revealing her work to him knowing that Fury had trusted him and thought enough of him to have mentioned SHIELD to him in the first place, and though she still had to keep parts of that life classified, she felt free to share the broad strokes of that part of her life with him. Mindful of the secrecy of her line of work and the trust that she was showing him, he never pressed for details. He’d only asked that she gave him a heads up before she left on missions, so he didn’t worry.

Six months after that they were married and house hunting.

He could still remember talking to her before she went into that building in Bahrain...the fear that had gripped him...the relief he’d experienced when she called him after it was all over to tell him that she was safe and that she had saved the girl.

He remembered the devastation that almost destroyed them after the Cambridge incident. The way that she carried the guilt of it and tried to push him away, but how he’d refused to leave her side throughout it all...how he’d promised it was the two of them against the world and that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get rid of him...that she was his forever for better or worse.

They’d grown closer...stronger after that, and he had supported her as she turned her allegiance to Hydra. His loyalty was to her, and he would follow whomever he needed to as long as he could do it by her side.

But then she had left him.

She’d been in his arms the night before whispering how much she loved him, but then he’d woken up and she’d been gone. All of her clothes and personal items had been stripped from the house as if she’d never been there and her phone had been disconnected. He’d found a letter from her on the counter next to the coffee pot explaining that she just couldn’t be with him, and she was only doing what was best for them. The brokenness that washed over him as he pushed the letter aside to see divorce papers lying there was indescribable.

That had been over two months ago now, and he still hadn’t signed the papers. He still loved her. It’s what made him want to follow her now even when he wasn’t sure what to believe. She trusted these strangers enough to turn their lives upside down, and he believed in her enough to jump off the cliff with her. Heaven or Hell they would walk through it together.

“So…we’re both from the real world, we’re SHIELD agents, our bodies are being held captive, and this is all a virtual prison built to keep us sedated. Am I missing anything?” He asked and the young stranger in his kitchen shook her head.

“No, that’s about the gist of it,” Daisy replied and watched his face carefully to see how he was handling the revelation.

His hand hitting the kitchen table made Jemma and Daisy jump. “I knew I wasn’t crazy!”

“Well, that’s still debatable,” May muttered, but there was an affectionate smile tugging on her lips that he returned wholeheartedly before narrowing his eyes and continuing.

“Hydra lies about everything,” he carried on. “The news? It’s all fake. Hydra used Cambridge to take control…in the name of law and order…to justify everything. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“I knew if anyone would understand, it’d be you,” Daisy sighed in relief, but he shook his head in frustration.

“I would have figured it out a long time ago if it wasn’t for the mind control soap.”

“Yeah,” she agreed but then realized what he had said. “Wait. What?”

“Oh, please don’t get him started,” May groaned and placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her before filling one for Jemma.

“That blue soap everyone uses,” Phil began to explain completely ignoring the way May’s eyes rolled as though she’d heard this line of lunacy one too many times. “Hydra loads it up with chemicals. It seeps into our bloodstream. Implants false memories into our brains. They want us to believe this is a magical place. But don’t worry, we’re clear. I make my own soap now.”

He had such a proud look on his face, and she cut Jemma a glance before she turned to May for help. “Umm…?”

“I gave up and just let him go with it,” she sighed. “It keeps him busy, and it smells good.”

“Well, good for you, Sir! That sounds exciting! Making your own soap!” Jemma chimed in and his smile grew before his look turned serious.

“You should too.”

“We’ll get right on that,” she assured him, “but first we need to figure out a way to help our friends.

Daisy’s phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID before stepping out of the kitchen to answer it.

“Lincoln?”

“Daisy? Where are you? Hydra is sending out a team to pick up the teacher and they wanted you in on it.”

“What? Why me?” she asked and glanced back into the kitchen where Coulson was talking animatedly with Jemma. “Why not Agent May since she knows him? She could probably talk him in... convince him to come in voluntarily.”

“The Doctor doesn’t trust her. He’s going behind her back on this one and he wanted you to take the lead.”

She needed to get them all out of here, and her mind worked furiously to come up with a plan.  “I can’t...I’m not close by right now...”

“Daisy? Where are you?”

“I can’t say...Please just...I need your help,” she pleaded and felt a lump in her throat as she thought of her Lincoln in the real world and how she would have been able to trust him with all of this. The line was quiet until she heard him sigh.

“I’ll cover for you, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”

She closed her eyes in relief. “Yeah...thanks, Lincoln,” she replied softly before disconnecting the call and moving quickly into the kitchen.

“Bad news guys!” Daisy announced as she moved back into the kitchen. “Hydra is on the way to pick up Coulson.”

May’s body immediately stiffened, and Daisy recognized the look of protectiveness flit across her face before she squared it away. “What? Why wasn’t I notified?”

“Seems the doctor didn’t trust you not to warn him. They’re keeping you in the dark. Look we don’t have much time.”

“Here,” May said handing Daisy Phil’s keys. “Get him out of here. I’ll cover you.”

“What?” Phil protested as he quickly stood from his seat. “No, Melinda! I’m not leaving you behind.”

Her eyes softened for just a moment before the look of determination took over and she squared her shoulders. “Phil, please. I need to maintain my cover with Hydra if we’re going to figure any of this out. I need you to be safe, so the three of you need to get out of here now!”

Phil hesitated, but May had already turned away and moved carefully to the window to peek out into the darkness in search of Hydra agents.

“Let’s go,” Daisy encouraged softly, and she and Jemma followed Coulson to the garage where a rather plain-looking Buick was waiting. She’d have to ask him about Lola later.

Melinda heard the garage door close once more and allowed herself a moment to pray that Daisy and Jemma could get Phil somewhere safe before returning her mind to the moment at hand. She quickly gathered the teacups and placed them in the dishwasher hiding the evidence of the company they’d kept and glanced around making sure she had covered up any evidence of Phil’s cooperation. Then she took a deep breath to prepare herself before grabbing a knife from the butcher’s block on the counter. As gingerly as she could, she made a small incision on her left temple gritting her teeth as the blood trailed down her cheek. She cleaned the knife and returned it to the block just in time to draw her gun as the Hydra agents kicked in the front door.

She held up her hands as they barged into the kitchen, “Don’t shoot!” she ordered before reaching up with her free hand to press her fingers to the fresh cut with a wince.

“I tracked the subversive here,” she explained as she holstered her gun and grabbed a dishrag from the counter to press to her temple. “She knocked me out. I think she took Coulson.”

“Any idea where they were headed?” The lead agent asked, and she shook her head, wincing convincingly to sell her supposed head wound.

“No, but let’s get back to HQ. There’s something the Doctor needs to know.”

The agent nodded and gave the order for the others to return to base, and she held her breath until the last agent had stepped out of her former home and into the night once more.

She needed to talk to the Doctor.