Chapter Text
The lot was silent as they walked towards their building, their footsteps echoing on the concrete as they made their way towards the darkened set.
“So how did you manage to hide the Haig on set?” Melinda asked as they stepped into their building, listening as the door clicked shut behind Phil. “Cal is pretty dense but…”
“It’s behind the crate they put Daisy on.” Phil shrugged, following her to the set with the flashlight on his phone lighting the way. Their footsteps and voices echoed off of the walls in the large space, which was almost ominous.“I took off the label so it looked like a misplaced prop. Cal was too busy to pick it up.”
“Ah. I still don’t understand why you didn’t just keep it in your trailer.”
“Cal’s a fan of Haig too. I told him he could have some just to placate him.” Phil rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, walking over to the switchboard near the powered-down cameras and flicking on the set of warm-toned lamps. “I didn’t think he would expect a drink after shooting today.”
“You thought Cal would raid your trailer while we were gone.” Melinda finished, bending down behind the crate they’d talked about and picking up the half-empty bottle of Haig. “That man is desperate.”
“Very.” Phil chuckled, walking over to her with his hands in his pockets. He leaned closer to take a look at the bottle in her hands, silently congratulating himself for taking the label off of the Haig. Anyone who saw it would probably think it was just some random bottle that an inexperienced intern left laying out. “You wanna finish this in my trailer or yours?”
“That sounds suspiciously like a hookup line,” Melinda smirked, running her eyes over the bottle with a laugh.
Phil’s face immediately flushed crimson, his mouth going dry at the very idea of him and Melinda doing anything more than drinking in his trailer. He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to chuckle rather than be roped into saying something stupid. Melinda looked over at him, her eyebrow raised at his lack of a response.
“What? Nothing to say for once?” she asked softly, suddenly hyper-aware of how close they were. She bit her bottom lip without realizing it, turning to face him when the warmth of his gaze made her chest constrict.
Phil felt something warm and fluttery in the pit of his stomach, pulling him towards her. His gaze flickered between her eyes and the lip she had tucked between her teeth, his mind practically begging him to yank her into his arms and nibble that lip. She would be a good kisser, he could tell. Her lips were probably soft...and warm… Was she a gentle kisser, or was she the type to just go for it?
Without thinking for even a second, he unconsciously moved closer to her. The bottle had been lowered to her side, her eyes searching his face and her grip tightening on the bottle. Phil swallowed hard, his lips parting slightly as he struggled to decide how to ask permission to kiss his best friend. Thankfully Melinda picked up on his inner turmoil, moving a tentative step closer so they were hardly a breath’s distance apart. Phil’s lips quirked upward in a relieved smile, earning him a sly smirk in response. His eyes moved toward the way the light illuminated the strands of her hair as if searching for a distraction, his hand coming up to twirl some of it.
“Did Cal ever tell you he wanted you to go blonde next season?” he hummed, watching the strands weaving between his fingers.
“He mentioned it,” Melinda said with a roll of her eyes, her gaze returning to his. “I don’t think me as a blonde would go over well.”
“I think you’d look fine.” he chuckled, his heart fluttering when she briefly nuzzled the hand he had tangled in her hair. “But I might be a little biased.”
“You think?” she hummed, chills running down her spine when the back of his index finger brushed her cheek.
“There you two are!”
Melinda nearly flung the bottle at Cal for interrupting them. If there wasn’t a clause about breaking the director’s nose in her contract, she would’ve shattered Cal’s a long time ago. Every single time she and Phil got close to finally taking their friendship a bit further, Cal made an appearance, almost as if he wanted to be a spectator if something did happen. He did claim to be a romantic at heart.
Phil backed away from Melinda in a single lurch backward. Curse Cal and his annoyingly perfect timing...he had been so close to finally crossing that invisible line with her. After all the years of being her best friend and confidant, hiding his feelings and ignoring the tug on his heart...Cal showed up to be yet another obstacle.
“Cal.” Melinda frowned, her grip tightening on the bottle of Haig to the point of her knuckles turning white.
“What are you doing up, Cal?” Phil sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Security told me you two were back.” Cal grinned, running over to the switchboard and flicking on more lights. “Now listen, I had an epiphany right as I was falling asleep.”
Phil and Melinda glanced at each other, then returned their focus to Cal running around the set flicking on lights and adjusting props.
“Cal, what are you doing?”
“We need couple shots! The fans are desperate for some shipping fuel." Cal grinned, grabbing Phil and Melinda by the hand and dragging them towards the center of the set. It was then that he noticed the bottle in Melinda’s hand, swiping it with a laugh. “Oop, no props this time!”
“We can’t do this in the morning?” Phil raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a robe.”
“No, we have to do this now! The inspiration won’t be as strong if we wait!"
May didn't even try to hide her annoyed groan, her arms crossing over her chest and a frown permanently etched onto her face.
"This is ridiculous, Calvin."
"Aw, c’mon Melinda! It's just a few shots." Cal grinned, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Then we can all go to bed and rest up for more filming on Monday. It won't take long, I promise."
May stared at him in tense silence, but eventually, let out a sigh and dropped her arms to her sides.
"...Fine," she muttered, glancing over at the cameras. "Hurry up."
Cal's grin widened, and he hurried over to grab Phil by the arm. Phil looked thoroughly confused but went along with it, allowing Cal to turn him so he and Melinda’s backs were to each other.
"Perfection." He breathed. "Now. May, cross your arms...good. Phil, turn slightly...perfect. Now eyes on the camera…"
May hated to admit it, but taking these dramatic shots with Phil was honestly one of the most entertaining things she had ever done. She was glad she had honed her ability to turn her smile on and off at will while on set, otherwise, she would be a giggling mess right about now. Every time Cal meticulously repositioned them, May wanted to roll her eyes and wander right off set. But as soon as their director turned his back to rush to the camera, Phil would make some stupid face or mutter some borderline inappropriate comment that forced a smile onto her face.
By the time Cal let out a yawn and leaned heavily against the camera stand, the alcohol Melinda had drunk was flowing warmly through her veins. She hadn’t had much at all, preferring to save some space for the Haig, but they had snuck a few shots when Cal ran off to use the bathroom. Melinda was sure her cheeks were a nice rosy color, but they could just edit it out in post...right? She glanced over at Phil, nearly bursting into laughter at the glazed-over look in his eyes, his hands at his sides as if he were waiting in line at the DMV.
What Melinda hadn’t noticed was the gentle clicking sound of Cal taking a high-resolution shot of her smiling over at Phil as if he had hung the moon just for her.
Or how when he took the last shot of the night where Melinda’s back was to Phil, the camera caught every bit of flirtatious tension between them. Neither of their gazes was on the camera, Phil’s eyes seemingly roaming down her back while she glanced provocatively over her shoulder at him. Cal had to bite his lip to keep from blurting out how perfect that particular shot was. It was candid, unexpected, and absolutely what he had been hoping to capture.
The fans were going to lose their minds.
“All right you two, my bed is calling my name.” Cal grinned, stretching his arms over his head and scratching his belly over his robe. “You’ll power everything down for me, right? Don’t bother checking the shots, I’ll have them edited and ready to view tomorrow. See you on Monday!”
“‘Night, Cal.” Phil waved, sighing heavily and joining Melinda on the crate she had hopped up on once Cal was gone. “He’s a character.”
“I’m just glad he gave us the weekend off,” Melinda muttered, pulling the bottle of Haig out yet again and chugging some of it. She pulled the bottle away from her mouth with a burp, smirking lazily as she handed it over to Phil.
Phil took it from her with a chuckle, sipping for a few moments and cringing almost immediately afterward. The alcohol burned going down, and he wondered how May hadn’t batted an eye after chugging more than he just had. He set the bottle down on the floor, humming softly at the warmth he felt blossoming through him. That warmth only intensified when he leaned back onto his hands on the crate, feeling Melinda lean her head against his shoulder. He was glad she was shorter than him so she couldn’t automatically see the delighted lopsided grin on his lips.
They were quiet for a few moments, listening to the gentle hum of the set. Somehow it was comforting, the blaring lights and hum of technology around them. Something about leaning against him, the fogginess of the alcohol running through her veins, the familiar din of the career they shared…
“I’m pretty sure Cal left the shots up on the monitors. You wanna take a look before the others get back?” Phil asked softly, his voice sounding a little calmer than he was with her leaning against him so heavily. “We can delete any embarrassing ones before they get to the editing and promo team in the morning.”
“Or Daisy.” May snorted, moving away from him and sliding off of the crate. Phil was glad he was able to keep down the soft whine he felt wiggling up his vocal cords at the loss of contact. “You shut down the set, I’ll grab the SD card. We can look at them in my trailer on my laptop.”
“What if Daisy barges in when they get back?” Phil asked, squinting at the switchboard to figure out which lights he should flick off. He had purposely drunk less than usual, simply because he wanted to remember spending this time with Melinda. They didn’t get much, mainly because they were busy filming, taking promo shots, going to events with the rest of the cast, or sleeping off whatever they’d done the day before in their trailers. Even so, the Haig was hitting him a little harder than he’d expected.
Eventually, he figured it out, flicking off the set lights and making his way through the semi-darkness to find Melinda.
“I’ll be surprised if she can even walk on her own after what she and Deke were doing. Mack will probably drag her right to bed.” Melinda shrugged, the bottle of Haig he hadn’t noticed her grab swinging at her side as she wandered from the crate to the camera and its monitor. She ejected the SD card, slid it into her pocket, then made a rather tilted half turn on her heel in the direction of her trailer.
“True. And the hangover she’ll have will probably keep her in bed until at least noon tomorrow.” Phil added, walking up beside her and linking their arms when she wavered ever so slightly towards him.
May realized it was obviously because of the Haig...not from any subconscious need to be closer to him. Obviously.
XXXXXX
Phil waited patiently against the headboard of her bed while she changed into her pajamas in the bathroom, his fingers toying with the SD card as he stared blankly at the screensaver on her laptop next to his left leg. He glanced over at the empty spot on the bed on the other side of the laptop, his stomach tightening when he remembered she would be seated there soon. He leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling that seemed to be slowly swimming before his very eyes. He groaned softly, closing them to try and regain some sort of composure.
It looked like he might regret the Haig for once.
“Hey, they’re not that bad.” Melinda snorted from the bathroom door, her arms crossed over her chest.
Phil’s eyes opened, his head turning to the side to see her in what looked like an oversized light blue shirt and nothing else. He swallowed thickly, his inebriated mind giving him all sorts of inappropriate comments he could blurt out as his eyes traveled up her legs of their own accord. He had seen her in almost nothing while shooting beach scenes for other films, but none of that could’ve prepared him for the image of Melinda May in a shirt so big it left everything to your imagination. There was something about the mystery of it all that made Phil’s chest constrict almost painfully.
“Uh…”
“I mean, the shorts are a little short but they fit.” Melinda shrugged, grabbing the hem of the shirt and tucking part of it into the waistband of the black running shorts. “There. Now you can tell they’re there.”
Phil, still a little dumbstruck, dug his nails into his palm away from her view. She was not helping him right now. Sure he’d seen her in pajamas before, but they had always been a silk shirt that fit and matching pants that were not meant to be worn while sleeping. They’d also been so busy over the years that there hadn’t been many opportunities for “sleepovers” or “movie nights”.
“You...what happened to the… the other ones?” Phil finally managed, his tongue threatening to flop around uselessly in his mouth.
“Oh, that’s Cal’s fault. Again. He forgot to tell the crew they were dry-clean only and they shrunk.” Melinda smiled, climbing onto the bed and settling on the other side with the laptop between them. “I was fine with it though, they weren’t exactly fun to wear. Or take off. Too slippery to deal with on my own.”
Okay, where had that bit of info come from? Melinda felt her cheeks warm even further, realizing the possible imagery her statement may have just conjured up. Although Phil was a gentleman, and always would be, he was still a man. Add alcohol to the will-they won’t-they nature of their relationship and it was a recipe for....something to happen.
Why did Melinda hope it would?
Phil had to bite down on his tongue to keep from blurting out something about being happy to help her out of her pajamas, a choked clearing of his throat coming out instead of actual words. Did Melinda know how she was affecting him? Did she have any idea at all? Would he be able to keep his mouth shut about it?
“You alright, Phil?”
Why was she looking at him like that? All sleepy-eyed and crimson-cheeked, a little smile on her lips as she leaned against the headboard...everything about her emanated trust and wanting, and as badly as he wanted to pull her into his lap and let her sleep against his chest, he didn’t want to risk ruining what they had. They were best friends, that was enough.
“Yeah, just feeling the Haig.” he chuckled softly, leaning forward to insert the SD card into her laptop. Something needed to break the tension in the air around them, and since neither of them seemed to be ready to throw themselves at the other, the laptop seemed to be the only option.
It didn’t take him long to find the fifty-some photos Cal had taken of them, and once they started going through the good, bad, and ugly shots, the atmosphere around them had returned to its more comfortable natural state.
“Does Cal just click until the SD card runs out of space?” Melinda muttered, her head resting against his shoulder and a sour apple Blow Pop hanging out of her mouth. “Half of these look like they were taken seconds apart.”
Both of them could usually handle their alcohol pretty well, they had enough experience to not be half-dead over a few shots. But most of the Haig was gone at that point, even though Phil had taken it from her before she could finish it off. She would have put up more of a fight if it hadn’t been for Phil distracting her with the Blow Pop. Either way, Melinda was about twenty minutes away from succumbing to the lure of sleep that had been tugging at the back of her mind. It didn’t help that every time Phil spoke, his voice rumbled like the distant roar of thunder in her mind.
“Maybe he was hoping to catch some amazing shot that would revolutionize cinema forever.” Phil chuckled, using the arm he had wrapped around her shoulders to grab a Blow Pop for himself out of the bag on the other side of her. He briefly remembered hearing someone call alcohol “liquid courage”. A completely sober Phil Coulson would have at least hesitated before effectively cuddling his best friend and co-star. But inebriated Phil? Inebriated Phil had slid his arm around her the minute her head landed against his shoulder.
Thankfully Melinda didn't seem bothered if the content sighs she kept letting out were any indication.
"Should we skip to the bottom? Cal seemed like he didn't want us to look at those."
Melinda shrugged in response, using her right hand to scroll to the bottom of the folder on the laptop. Phil took the chance to watch her fingers as they nimbly highlighted and selected the last two photos. He wondered what she might do if he lifted her hand to his lips and-
"Wow."
Melinda’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, his eyes shifting back to the screen on his lap.
"What?" Phil blinked, staring at the photo she had just pulled up. Part of him was glad she had interrupted his train of thought, although he had a feeling that the train would continue chugging down the tracks when he closed his eyes to go to sleep in about an hour. "Oh."
"I look like a toddler." Melinda huffed. "Why am I smiling at you like that? I was barely tipsy, or at least I think I was."
"You?" Phil snorted, using his free hand to point at himself on the laptop. "I'm standing like I forgot where I was. What are my hands doing? I look depressed. How drunk was I? Did I all of a sudden become a lightweight?"
"I think we're just getting old." Melinda laughed, a sound that always made everything else in Phil's life pale in comparison. "I guess we'll keep that one for fan fodder."
"You heard about the Philinda and Cheidi fans too, huh?" Phil sighed, a small smile on his lips when he saw her smiling as well.
"Yeah…" A loud crunch sounded as she broke the rest of the Blow Pop in her mouth and removed the stick. She sat up slightly to toss the stick into the trash can in the corner, the collar of her oversized shirt sliding down enough to expose some of her shoulders as a result. She didn't fix it. "Daisy reminded me of them the other day. Apparently they're getting impatient. Slow burn romance and all that."
"Hey if the writers don't wanna appease the fans, they won't." Phil shrugged, his eyes back on the laptop when she settled against him again. "The longer they drag it out, the more episodes we get."
"At this point even I want them to just get it over with." she sighed. Kissing Phil wasn’t the worst thing she could see herself doing. In fact, she was sure she’d enjoy it more than she thought she would...and that was saying something since she thought she may not let him go the minute their lips touched.
Phil felt a slight chill run down his spine at the realization that Melinda was on the side of those who wanted to see their characters (and by extension them) make out on screen. Suddenly the arm he had around her shoulders felt like it shouldn’t be there like he had somehow done it wrong and needed to adjust to make himself less uncomfortable. He could feel the heat radiating through her pajamas, the gentle way her body moved as she breathed, could smell the faint scent of her shampoo that had been slowly driving him crazy whenever she shifted against him...had her skin on her shoulder always been that soft?
"You uh…" he stuck his Blow Pop in his mouth, trying his hardest to keep his voice steady. The alcohol running through his veins wasn't helping. "You...you wouldn't mind a kiss scene?"
“Well...It wouldn’t be the first time the two of us did something like that.” she shrugged, reaching forward to scroll to the last photo. “You remember that commercial we shot in Tahiti?”
Phil snorted, rolling his eyes at the memory. It had been a car commercial, with only about thirty seconds of dramatic action music and far too many special effects. It had been the most chaotic job they’d had up until that point, with the strangest final shoot day they had ever experienced. The director had waited until the last minute to explain the parting shot of the entire project, because he knew they would be skeptical about it. He had envisioned a final shot in front of a sunset with the two of them against the hood of the car, which would’ve been fine...except for the fact that he also wanted Melinda to wrap her legs around Phil’s waist with his hands flat on the hood on either side of her. He explained that he wanted them to tease a makeout session, to insinuate that buying the car might lead to some sort of romance. Neither Phil nor Melinda had been comfortable with the idea, but the pay had been good and they went along with it anyway.
They ended up staring into each other’s eyes, glancing at each other’s mouths longingly as if they couldn’t wait for the audience to go away. The director had loved every bit of it, too lost in his excitement to notice the actual tension between his actors when they hurried off the set.
The final product ended up getting shut down by the advertising company since they feared it might be too “risque” for a mixed audience. The commercial never aired, and the best friends chose to never discuss it again.
“I thought we said we weren’t gonna talk about that ever again.”
"I needed an example. I’m just saying, we could handle a kiss.” Melinda rolled her eyes, gesturing with her hand to the laptop screen at the last photo Cal had taken. “I mean look at us. No wonder the fans think we’re together. Look at how we are when we’re tipsy.”
“Huh.” Phil chuckled, staring at the image in front of him. His face felt hot just looking at how they'd be captured, with her looking over her shoulder at him and him sizing her up. If she hadn’t been so obviously comfortable against him, he would have gotten up and went outside to try and clear his head. His thoughts were clouded with what-ifs and maybes, drowning out whatever logic he had left in his head. All he could focus on was the way she was looking at him in the photo, dwelling on the fact that he was currently sitting on her bed, eating candy and practically cuddling like lovers. “I guess you’re right.”
“I am.” Melinda nodded, shifting forward again to grab her bottle of water from the floor beside the bed. “An on-screen kiss would be no big deal.”
“What about off-screen?” Phil blurted, immediately regretting the words the minute they left his mouth. His hand came up to cover his mouth, his eyes just as wide as hers were when she sat back up and stared at him. He removed his hand, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Sorry. It’s the Haig talking.”
Melinda blinked, shifting into a cross-legged position facing him. Did he just ask if he could kiss her? Without a camera on them? No director, no fellow cast members, no hair and makeup team, no set or stage lights...just them. Just Phil and Melinda, barreling over that final line between them into something so much more than friends. If she were honest with herself, Melinda’s stomach had been tightly coiled like a spring ever since they entered her trailer. Something felt different like the air was charged with electricity between them. It hadn’t been too intense at first, but now...every word felt loaded, every breath felt like pure anticipation building in her chest. She had allowed herself to relax enough to lean into his embrace, and was thankful the Haig was already coursing through her veins to keep her somewhat fuzzy in the head. It helped with all the intrusive thoughts, such as how perfectly broad his shoulders were, or how comforting his heartbeat was, or how good he smelled, or how soothing his voice was…
Staring into his eyes now, seeing the fear of rejection swirling through them, all of her resolve began to melt away. He was the one person she trusted with her life. They had waded through the sludge of fame together, riding the highs and working through the lows when no one else would understand. He had seen her at nearly every stage of her career and had backed her up in everything she’d done. How they had managed to keep their friendship as stagnant as it was, she would never know.
Suddenly it all made sense.
Everything she had been trying to ignore or hide, every emotion she had tried to stifle, and every heated locking of eyes between them that made her stomach clench meant something. She hadn’t known what it was, assuming their friendship was the cause of the butterflies he gave her.
But no, it was so much more than that.
“I wouldn’t exactly be opposed to it.”
All he had to do was say the word and she would be whatever he wanted her to be. His costar, his best friend, his lover...all he had to do was finally tell her what he wanted.
“You wouldn’t?” he asked incredulously, his hand dropping back into his lap to toy with the edge of the laptop.
“Of course not, Phil. I trust you.”
He was so cute like this, she thought. His face was red with embarrassment and his eyes were wide with shock. She wished she could simply transfer her thoughts into his head, so he would stop looking at her like that. At least then he would know how badly she wanted him to just pin her to the bed and kiss her.
‘Liquid courage’, that’s what he’d called the Haig once. She realized now how accurate that was as she waited tensely for him to do something. She had half a mind to make the first move, but something about the way his fingers kept twitching in his lap told her he would make it worth the wait.
“Mel, wait. I um...hold on a second.” Phil mumbled, pressing his fingers to his temples as he tried to register what was happening. Had his best friend, Melinda May, the woman he had been in love with ever since they first met just told him she wouldn’t mind making out with him? Well, she said she wouldn’t mind a kiss. But if that glint in her eyes was any indication, one kiss wouldn’t be the end of it. Was this the Haig talking here? Would she regret this in the morning? Were they ready for whatever happened afterward? The repercussions? The consequences? The teasing from the rest of the cast when they found out? What about Cal? Would he have an issue with them being more than just castmates? What would the fans think?
Why did he care?
“Phil? It’s okay, we don’t have to keep talking about this.”
He met her eyes again when he felt her hand on his arm, saw all the concern and fear of rejection he was sure she saw in his own. His heart clenched in his chest, his eyes flickering down to her lips that were curved into a gentle frown. He didn’t remember telling his arm to move, and hardly noticed it was his thumb moving up to caress the corner of her mouth. Her eyes never left his, although her face shifted from concern to gentle confusion. Her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes scanning his face for any sign that this was finally going to go somewhere. His eyes were locked on her mouth, on the way the corner of his thumb was still gently caressing shifted upward into a half-smile.
“Phil…” his name came out on a sigh, and whether she meant it to have that effect on him or not, he was happy she said it that way. It effectively broke whatever wall was left between them.
“Melinda.”
And just as they had both expected, their first kiss surpassed everything they had ever imagined.
XXXXXX
“Aw, shut up already guys…” Daisy slurred, leaning heavily against Daniel’s chest. “Your voices are so annoying.”
“Nobody told you two to drink until you can’t see straight.” Mack snorted, jostling Deke slightly over his shoulder and frowning when Deke groaned like a seasick toddler. “You better not puke on my back, man.”
“So...high...up…” Deke mumbled, whining like a baby.
"Aw, Deke. We'll take care of you tomorrow, okay?" Jemma said gently, petting his brow.
"We will?" Fitz groaned from beside Jemma, crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh.
"Of course we will, Fitz." Jemma frowned "He's going to have such a headache, and didn't you finish that formula that you claimed might cure hangovers?"
"Well, it's not quite finished but-"
"We'll test it on Deke tomorrow. Then we can spend the day with him and see how he does." Jemma smiled, tapping Deke’s nose and receiving a grateful smile in response.
"Great," Fitz muttered, sighing heavily. "There goes my bloody weekend."
The crew entered their building quietly, taking in the darkness around them as a sign that Cal was asleep. They walked over towards the trailers, Elena letting out a soft laugh as she pointed at the single trailer with the lights on.
“Looks like May is up,” she smirked, elbowing Mack playfully. “Which means Coulson is too.”
“Let me guess, you wanna go see what they’re up to.” he sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. “Do it if you want. I’m gonna put Deke to bed before he changes the color of my shirt.”
“Fine.” Elena shrugged, crouching down slightly and hurrying over to May’s trailer. It was well-known that Elena was the quickest and lightest on her feet, so Mack wasn’t even remotely concerned about her being caught.
Elena slid up to the side of the trailer, pausing briefly to listen for any indication that May or Coulson might already be listening for them. She heard none, giving Mack a thumbs up across the space. He just rolled his eyes, opening the door to Deke’s trailer and disappearing inside. Daniel was watching Elena silently from right outside Daisy’s trailer, still cradling the nearly-blacked-out actress as if he didn’t want to let her go just yet. Elena studied the windows of May’s trailer for a few seconds, her eyes catching the single slightly-parted curtain at the back where May’s bedroom was.
Part of her wished she wouldn’t see anything. All the alcohol in the world wouldn’t be able to erase the image of May and Coulson between the sheets if that’s what she was about to see. Elena shook herself, reminding herself that they hadn’t even kissed yet. Why would they go all the way after one night? And in a place that might literally start to rock if they moved too much?
With this in mind, Elena gave herself a determined nod and peeked through the curtain.
XXXXXX
Mack gently closed the door to Deke’s trailer, glad that he’d gotten him to conk out faster than the last time. He’d left a glass of water and some Tylenol at his bedside, telling him to stay in bed for as long as he could the next day. Part of that was for Mack’s benefit. The last thing he wanted to deal with was Deke with a hangover.
He looked over towards Daisy’s trailer, raising an eyebrow at how Daniel stepped out with a dopey smile on his face. He looked startled when he realized he was being watched, his face shifting from joy to fear to confusion to embarrassment. He shrugged when Mack smirked at him, chuckling softly before watching Daniel hurry off to his trailer. Mack rolled his eyes yet again, grunting at the mild headache he was developing from the drinks and rolling his eyes all night. He quietly made his way over to where Elena was continuing to stare through May’s curtains, bent over so no one would see his looming shadow.
“Yoyo,” he whispered, being careful not to startle her. She glanced up at him, pointing enthusiastically at the scene in front of her with a widening grin.
Mack sighed softly as she shifted off of the box she'd been standing on and moved out of the way, finally taking a look at what was so interesting. When his eyes adjusted to the light from the lamp inside, he almost wished he hadn’t looked.
What he saw was Phil and Melinda effectively making out like teenagers on prom night, May straddling his lap and one of Phil’s hands in her hair. May was wearing a shirt that was too big for her, the fabric thankfully keeping their hips somewhat hidden from view. Phil's other hand rested on her hip, anchoring her to him just in case. May's laptop leaned dangerously towards the edge of the bed, threatening to fall and shatter the moment. But neither Melinda nor Phil seemed to care. They broke what looked like their billionth heated kiss with laughter, their voices muffled but still discernible through the glass.
“You think anybody is gonna believe us?” Melinda panted softly, her cheeks flushed and her hair a little wild.
“What, that I fell asleep in your trailer or that nothing happened between us?” Phil chuckled, leaning forward to place a kiss on her nose.
“Both.” Melinda sighed, playing with the curve of his ear.
“Probably not.” Phil shrugged, then broke out in a lovestruck grin. “But who cares?”
Mack nearly gagged when May grabbed his collar and yanked him back into a kiss, both of them tumbling backward so Phil was on top this time. The laptop hit the floor with a loud crack, and Mack backed away from the window with a quickness he forgot he had when he saw their gazes move toward the window.
He grabbed Elena’s hand and pulled her as far down below the window as he could, gesturing for her to be quiet.
"My laptop fell." May could be heard saying.
"Oh. Should we grab it? The SD card was still in there."
A long pause of silence, then laughter.
"I'll take that as a no."
The lights in the trailer flickered off, and Mack ran a hand over his face. This made things more interesting. Elena looked like her grin might split her face, her arms crossed over her chest and an 'I told you so' glint in her eyes.
“Don’t even think about it,” Mack muttered, unable to keep himself from laughing softly in disbelief. "Come on, let's go before it gets even more PG-13."