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Phil has been working in the weapons development department at Fury and co. for longer than he cares to remember now. He has his own little team and they spend each day doing research, engineering, and testing of prototypes.
His father had gotten him an internship here when he was just a teenager, and he’d eventually been hired at the end of that year.
He’s aware of the employees that still chatter behind his back about him not earning his right to work for the company, and that he’d only been hired because of his dad’s position. But his father was long gone now, and Phil still hadn’t been fired yet so he’s hoping that has something to do with his own merits and work ethics.
The man who had taken over his father’s position, one John Garrett, did not take a liking to him. He’d brought in his own team, along with a young man named Grant Ward who he was grooming to succeed him in the future.
Phil knew with certainty that his division was in the way of whatever plans Garrett had for the company; research into the development of non-lethal weaponry was not something companies were looking to invest their money and resources into.
They’ve been testing prototypes for a series of tranquilizing weapons, the Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railgun, dubbed the ICER by his two top scientists Dr’s Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons who were responsible for the majority of the project.
They’re kind of his lab rats; at least it’s how he refers to them in his head – a few years back Simmons had declared that just readjusting the ratio of the dosage of dendrotoxin in their tranquilizers to account for the difference in size between actual rats and humans was not accurate enough.
So once she and Fitz had engineered the substance using a formula also of their own design, they had loaded it up into a gun and shot their computer technician Skye in the back with it.
She was out for several days, but aside from a bruise on her head where she had hit the floor and a justifiable amount of anger towards the two scientists who had shot her, there seemed to be no adverse effects.
They’d immediately lowered the concentration of the dosage in the each cartridge, all the while constantly checking their backs in case Skye was mad enough to get them back for it.
An area in the back of the lab had been padded afterwards and Phil had given them strict instructions to only do human testing there so no one would crack their skulls open on the way down to the floor.
Using themselves as experimental test subjects proved effective; the results were much more accurate than when they had injected the rats, and if things kept going the way they were, the first batch of ICERs could be ready to hit the market in the next year.
The main problem was that the self-experimentation was against company policy, and they had nowhere near enough funds to manufacture the different versions of the tranquilizers if they wished to keep the high quality of the weapon.
That was why Phil was gutted to announce to their team they would have to hold off further production until more funding opened up. He knew their team received less and less money each year, because Garrett had redirected the cash flow to his own wonder boy Ward, and the doomsday device they were working on that could end wars with the press of a single button.
They had also lost their one opportunity a year to gain support from investors; Stark Industries was holding their annual gala that allowed researchers and developers, like them, that desperately needed resources, to pitch their ideas to representatives from major companies.
Unfortunately for them, the gala was exclusive, and each company only received a limited number of invitations, and Garrett had obviously made the effort to exclude Phil and his team.
That’s where Garrett and most of him team are now, at the Stark Industries gala whilst Phil watches Skye help Fitzsimmons correlate data using a new and improved software she had designed. At this rate, with the lack of resources, Phil’s sure that progress on their prototypes will slow down and that Garrett will find a chance to fire them sooner or later, and he doesn’t want to have to let these brilliant technicians go.
There’s a loud cough from the entrance to their floor, and they all drop what they’re doing and turn to see who it is that’s come down to their floor at this time of day. It’s nearly 5 and those who aren’t at Stark’s gala have gone home for the evening.
Standing there is the Director.
Their Director.
Nick Fury, the big boss.
The man in charge.
His expression spells annoyance, and standing behind him is Jasper Sitwell with a satisfied smirk on his face.
Phil tries to avoid using profanities when he can, but that bastard - pardon his language - must have tattled to Fury about them. He knew Garrett had eyes everywhere, and they’d already been increasingly cautious these past months, but now Director Fury is in their laboratory looking unimpressed.
‘Jasper here informs me that you have been testing experiments on fellow employees down here.’
His voice is loud and booming; he’s striding into the lab as he speaks and Fitzsimmons are so afraid they look like they’re about to pass out.
‘Sir, we can explain,’ Phil stands and starts to speak, but Fury cuts him off with one hand and Phil feels like he’s in high school again and Jasper has told on him to the school principal.
Fury’s standing in front of the bench where Fitzsimmons and Skye were working, and he picks up one of the ICERs turning it around in his hands, inspecting it.
He places it back onto the bench and slides it towards Simmons, who barely manages to catch it.
‘I’d like to see a demonstration.’
Phil’s breath catches in his throat and Fitzsimmons and Skye are wide-eyed, just staring back at the director as if unable to comprehend what he’s just said to them.
‘Well, what are you waiting for? Show me how it works.’
Jemma’s standing there petrified with the gun in her hands and Jasper’s begun to badger the director about how it’s not a good idea, and it’s against regulation.
She squeezes her eyes shut and pulls the trigger; there’s a loud crash and Phil looks to see where Sitwell is passed out on the ground.
Fitzsimmons are frozen in fear and Skye has this shell shocked expression on her face and Phil can’t believe that just happened.
But Fury’s grinning and he looks impressed and he’s looking over at the rest of their prototypes with an approving eye.
‘I want you to load all your data onto a portable device,’ he says, pointing at Skye who quickly nods, before turning to Phil. ‘And you, we need to get you something appropriate for Stark’s gala.’
Well, this was a strange turn of events.
It’s just past eight in the evening, and Phil’s pretty sure this gala started at six but Fury insists they’re fashionably late.
Phil’s in a brand new tuxedo and currently sitting in the passenger’s seat of a Chevrolet corvette that has to be the most beautiful car he’s ever seen. Only someone as wealthy as Nick Fury would be able to swing this in less than three hours.
They’re let through the gates at Stark’s mansion and Fury just parks onto a freshly mowed patch of grass saying ‘Tony won’t give a crap about it.’
The party’s already in full swing when they enter, there are waiters handing out champagne and men and women dressed to the nines conversing all around the room. Stark has a few of his own creations on display, and Phil can’t believe that he’s actually here.
As they head into the main room, Fury claps Phil on the back and wishes him good luck before adding, ‘And remember, meet me out front at midnight; I’ve got a plane to catch in the morning and the cars a rental.’
He’s left to his own devices now.
Phil’s not an overly awkward person by any means, but he hasn’t been in a situation like this for years, and he’s a little rusty.
He manages to make small talk with a couple of gentlemen whose names have already escaped him. He’s sort of just wandering aimlessly around, and he knows he should be finding an opportunity to speak to potential investors while he can, but this was all so last minute and he can’t distinguish between which people are here to hand out cash, and who is like him and trying to sell ideas.
He’s standing by one of Stark’s self-powering creations, pretending to look occupied when he spots Garrett and Ward conversing with a man he recognises to be Tony Stark.
He sighs softly, but apparently it’s loud enough for someone to notice.
‘Not your scene? These galas aren’t really my thing either.’
There’s a woman standing next to him, speaking to him. Her eyes are warm but she’s not smiling, and she’s looking at Stark’s invention with some disdain.
Her dark hair has been pulled up in a fancy design much like the other women here, and she’s in a dress with golden straps, a cream bodice and cherry red skirt.
She’s easily the most beautiful woman in the entire room, and here she is talking to him of all people.
‘It’s my first time at one of these things,’ he says eventually, his mouth suddenly dry and his palms are beginning to sweat.
She laughs and it’s a wonderful sound.
‘Well I could show you the ropes.’
She’s looking up at him with a smirk and he realises that she’s flirting with him.
He wasn’t good with these things, he hadn’t been on a date for longer than he could recall. He nods awkwardly and then she’s taken his hand and is leading him out of the hall and deeper into the mansion.
There’s a huge part of his mind that is screaming at him to stop, to go back and do what he came here to do, that they’d all lose their jobs if he didn’t find an investor tonight.
But those thoughts disappear as she drags him into a dark room and has him pressed up against the door in one swift move.
He’s still breathing heavily as he buttons his shirt back up and redoes his silk blue tie. He’s about to pull his jacket back on when a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind and she’s there, her head resting on his back.
‘That was fun. Are you sure you don’t want to go again?’
He takes a breath and smiles to himself. This was the most impulsive thing he had done in a long time, and he doesn’t regret his actions, not one bit.
But if he doesn’t go back outside and find an investor, he’ll lose his job in a matter of months and his little lab rats will be fired too.
He unclasps her hands from around him and turns to face her, placing one hand against her cheek. Her hair is out and flowing and her make-up is smeared but she looks even more perfect than before.
She smiles and leans up to kiss him and he can’t control it as his hands get tangled in her hair and her arms go around his neck.
There’s the sound of loud cheering outside and they break apart and he turns his head to the door with a curious glance.
‘Stark’s doing this presentation at midnight, should start any minute now,’ she tells him, and he freezes up.
Crap. Crap crap crap. He’s screwed.
‘I have to go.’
She frowns and bites her lip, and he’s vaguely aware that she’s just standing there in her underwear as he grabs his suit jacket from where he had dropped it earlier.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says, opening the door and rushing out, following the sounds of the people to find his way back out.
As he passes the ballroom, he sees Tony Stark making his way up onto a platform to address the audience, and he knows that he has only seconds to spare.
‘Get lucky tonight?’ Fury asks him as he climbs into the passenger’s seat, and he really doesn’t know how to respond.
It’s only after Fury has dropped him off back at his apartment building that he realises the hard drive Skye had handed to him before they left is missing from the pocket in his jacket.
Crap.
‘We’re so fired. I’m going to have to move back to England with my parents.’
Phil’s sitting shamefully in the lab after recalling the events of the previous evening to his team, and as he usually did in these situations, he’d developed a case of verbal diarrhoea and told them everything.
Simmons is distraught and Fitz is standing awkwardly beside her, patting her shoulder.
‘I can’t believe you had a one night stand.’
Oh and Skye was focusing on all the wrong details.
‘Skye. That was our one chance to find an investor and now we’ve run out of funds, our research could be in the hands of anyone, and we’re going to get fired,’ Simmons says. ‘I’m going to have to start packing.’
‘Guys. Nick Fury himself was impressed with our product. He knows that we worked on it. He’s not going to fire us.’
‘I blew our chance at Starks gala. Even Fury can’t redirect the funds we need to keep this team running. And who knows where the drive might have ended up. Someone’s probably already mass produced the ICERs by now. We’re done, and I’m so sorry.’
The amount of guilt that Phil is feeling cannot be described, but it multiplies as he finds his thoughts drifting to the woman from last night. He wishes he didn’t have to leave, he wishes he could see her again.
They’re all going to lose their jobs after all the time they spent on the ICERs, after all that went in to it; it’s his fault and he can’t even come up with a solution. Here he is just sitting pathetically reminiscing over the hours that he had spent with a woman he never even asked the name of.
There’s a loud knock on the door to their lab, and he recognises the woman as Maria Hill, Fury’s secretary.
‘Coulson, Director Fury wants to see you upstairs in his office immediately.’
There’s an uneasy feeling in his gut as he nods and follows her out, ignoring the stares from all the other employees working on their floor. Garrett has a full blown grin on his face, and all the satisfaction he had gained when Simmons had shot Sitwell yesterday has gone.
He’s barely aware of the fact that they’ve rode the elevator up to the 32nd floor until he hears Maria say ‘Sir, Phil Coulson is here to see you.’
The door to Fury’s office swings open and Maria has to practically shove him inside because he’s so nervous he’s kind of frozen up.
Fury’s sitting in his fancy office chair, and he looks pissed, but Phil kind of anticipated that. What he didn’t expect was the woman sitting across from the director, and even from the back he recognises her.
Phil runs a thousand scenarios in his mind in the space of seconds about why she would be here but none of them seem plausible.
He gingerly approaches as Fury angrily gestures at him to sit in the empty seat beside her, and he keeps his head down the entire way because he can’t bear to look at either of them.
‘I was supposed to be leaving for my holiday in Hawaii this morning but instead I’m here, in my office, talking to you. Do you know why?’
Phil shakes his head.
‘I got a phone call from Tony Stark this morning, and then I received an email from Ms. Potts with a series a bills attached.’
Fury is waving a stack of sheets around and Phil’s so confused and embarrassed at the same time.
‘Apparently he had to get his couch reupholstered, the walls scrubbed and the carpet ripped out. And I’m paying for it because he says that one of MY employees caused it. He didn’t seem to care too much about the fact that one of HIS was involved’
Phil can hear the woman beside him smirk and he’s mortified. She’s obviously not embarrassed by this whole situation.
‘Must I remind you that Tony is all too happy to forget about what happened if your development team agrees to collaborate with Stark Industries on the ICER project,’ says the woman, tapping on something in front of her, and Phil finally looks up, recognising it as Skye’s hard drive.
Fury is looking at Phil with a look that says, ‘Say yes or you’re dead,’ so he quickly nods.
‘I’ll go tell him the good news myself then,’ Fury announces with a satisfied grin and Phil has a feeling all the yelling and lecturing from before was just an act.
He just sits quietly in his seat as Fury shakes hands with the woman and leaves the room with a purposeful stride.
‘Maria, tell Stark to meet me in Hawaii, I am not missing my vacation.’
The door shuts behind him, and Phil finally turns to her. She slides the hard drive over to him.
‘I believe this belongs to you, Phil Coulson.’
He swallows and picks the drive up, shoving into his pocket.
She’s watching him intently, her hands folded in her lap and Phil takes a moment to appreciate how different she looks today.
‘I never got your name,’ he says, contemplating whether he should reach for her hand and decides that they’ve been through enough together to not feel awkward about it.
‘Melinda May.’
His hand closes over hers and she’s smiling at him again.
‘How’d you find me?’
‘I have my ways.’
He’s acutely aware that they’re still in Fury’s office, but he’s realised that he has no control when it comes to her, this Melinda May.
She’s leaning into him and before he knows it she’s in his lap, his arms around her waist, her fingers running through his hair as they kiss. She’s nipping on his bottom lip and he’s then he’s exploring her mouth with his tongue and they don’t really have a need for oxygen any more.
But then the door slams open, and Fury’s standing there with his arms crossed.
‘Nuh uh, not in my office you don’t. Out. Now.’
His cheeks are flaming, but she just laughs as she takes his hand and pulls him out into the hall, past his unimpressed boss.
‘Just because I only have one eye doesn’t mean I can’t see,’ he shouts after them.
They’re both giggling as they head down the hallway and away from his office.
‘Let’s go for lunch, I know a great place near Stark Towers,’ she tells him as they come to a stop outside the elevator.
He knows he should go downstairs and tell his team the good news, but he’s sure Fury will take care of it before he leaves for Hawaii.
Phil never believed in love at first sight, and was sure he’d spend his entire life married to his work. But that was before he met Melinda May; he knew next to nothing about her, but he had a lifetime ahead of him to learn everything he could.
She nudges him with one shoulder, digging into her pocket to find something. She triumphantly pulls out a set of keys and dangles them in his face.
‘Fury said that you were drooling over the car, so this is an advance from Stark Industries.’
Phil’s never been so thankful in his entire life.
Fury had saved his team, allowing them to continue to work on what they loved to do. And most importantly, had it not been for him, Phil would have never met Melinda and for that he’s the most grateful.
The car is nice bonus though.