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When May agreed to teach Coulson how to ride her motorcycle, she hadn’t expected him to be quite as enthusiastic as he was. But then again, this was Coulson she was talking about. He had come to her in the cockpit after she had landed Zephyr One, his voice actually startling her and throwing her into fight-or-flight that had her aiming her gun at his chest the minute she turned around in her seat.
“Whoa, May, it’s me!” he put his hands up in surrender, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
May sighed and holstered her pistol, turning back to finish powering down the Zephyr.
“What do you want, Phil?” she sighed, unable to resist the urge to roll her eyes as he stepped closer and pressed a kiss to her head when he was sure the door behind them was shut. It wasn’t that they had a reason to hide their relationship, it wasn’t like anyone was brave enough to comment on it or report them… they just preferred their privacy. May had never been one for public displays of affection, and Phil respected that.
“I’m more concerned that your first instinct on our plane is to shoot whoever walks up to you, Agent Grumpy.” he chuckled, sliding into the seat beside her. “Did you think we had some HYDRA stowaway on board?”
“Just on edge.” she snorted, leaning back in her seat while she listened to the agents moving about the base’s hangar as they moved supplies in and out of the plane. She had sustained a few bruises from the punches her assailant had managed to land, but she'd been through a lot worse before. At least she hadn’t been stabbed this time. It also helped that said bruises were in spots no one could see, otherwise she was sure Phil would have dragged her off to the medbay by now. "I'll probably go blow off some steam in the gym."
May knew she was too tired to actually hit the punching bags they had strung up, but if she hadn't given him some sort of sign that she was okay, he would insist that she let him look her over. Intending on working out was the excuse she was willing to give him, because the last thing she needed was to be fussed over.
“Or...since we’re not set to go off on another mission for a while…" he said slowly, tilting his head slightly to give her that pleading puppy dog look that usually made her cave within minutes. "I thought that maybe you could finally teach me to ride a motorcycle…? It's less exhausting than working out, and I should probably learn in case I need a quick getaway on a mission."
May’s head turned from the window ahead to him, her eyebrow raised as she stared. While the look he was giving her was downright adorable, she had her doubts about him being anywhere near a motorcycle. Especially after the incident during their second-to-last year at the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy.
He'd been dared to do some lame trick on Garrett's bike on some uneven terrain. Something about impressing another student (May would find out later that she was the one Phil wanted to impress). It had all ended with the bike attempting to become one with a tree, smoking pouring from it even after the fire department did their thing. Phil had ended up needing several stitches on his forehead, arm, and torso from where he had leapt off of the bike and skidded across the grass, tucking himself into a ball the way he had been taught. May had found out from Clint, who had almost gotten a fist to the face before he blurted out that Phil was hurt but didn't want her to know. May had burst into medical, a frown on her face as she shouted about how stupid he was. Eventually she got permission to take care of him while his stitches healed, which resulted in her spending a few weeks bunking in his dorm room. She slept in the spare bed he had procured when his roommate went MIA, and more than once he was woken up by the feeling of her double-checking his wrappings. After one particularly rough day, she'd given him the painkillers he had been refusing, which resulted in him sluggishly admitting why he had gotten on the motorcycle in the first place.
She had to admit, it was pretty cute that he had wanted to impress her even then, but he was still an idiot and she refused to let him get hurt again.
“Phil, we’ve been over this. You don’t need to know how to ride one, you barely leave the command center, and we both know the real reason I don't want you to ride one...again." She narrowed her eyes, forcing herself not to smirk at the embarrassed blush on his cheeks. "Besides, my motorcycle isn’t even drivable anymore."
“It wasn't drivable." he grinned, standing up and grabbing her hands to try and pull her up with him. "With special emphasis on the word 'wasn't'."
May could only groan as she followed him down to the garage, where most of the agents had cleared out and were milling about the hangar instead. She crossed her arms over her chest as she waited where he had stopped her, more than a little amused at his enthusiasm when he pulled the cover off of what looked like her black S.H.I.E.L.D- issued motorcycle.
“I got Mack to restore it.” He grinned as he watched her smile and move to inspect it, as if he got more pleasure out of giving her the bike than she did from getting it. “I mean, I have Lola, so now you have…”
“Steve.” she said almost immediately, her heart warming at the way his smile grew. He was such a dork. “The bike looks like a Steve.”
He had told her time and time again that a good vehicle needed a name. Something about it becoming more important to its driver as a result, which gave May the opportunity to teasingly ask him if naming Lola had anything to do with his apparent obsession with her.
---
“I’m not trying to fall in love with my bike Phil.”
“Just think about it, Mel. There’s gotta be some name you’ve always wanted to use.”
---
Naming her motorcycle after Captain America was her little homage to Phil, and judging from the lovesick expression on his face coupled with the blush on his cheeks, he appreciated it. It was then with a dramatic roll of her eyes and a dismissive wave that she had him hurrying off to change clothes for his first lesson. She sighed while she stood there with her hands on her hips, silently chastising herself for caving so quickly.
She slipped off to change as well, but when she came back to the garage, he was nowhere to be found. She sighed, realizing that he must’ve needed more time than her to change, which was honestly concerning when it came to Phil. He had a tendency to go above and beyond, so who knew what was about to walk through that door? May sighed as she admired the work Mack had done, her fingers moving nimbly along the bike's more complicated systems. The sound of footsteps twenty minutes later brought her out of her thoughts, her eyebrow raising as she sized up the man entering the garage.
“Phil, what are you wearing?” she asked with a smile, wiping her hands on her black jeans so she wouldn't smear the oil from the motorcycle joints all over everything she touched.
Daisy and the rest of the team had cleared out a while ago, all of them more than happy to be home for once. That meant Coulson and May had the garage all to themselves, which was probably for the best since Coulson looked pretty good out of his tactical gear.
He looked good in pretty much everything he wore, but this look in particular had to be filed under one of her favorites.
He wore a light blue plaid button-up shirt, one she had seen only once before when he was cosplaying as Steve Rogers on Halloween. It was accompanied by tan khaki pants that made a very slight sound when he walked, brown pseudo-combat boots, and the brown leather jacket he’d picked up during one of their refueling stops. His signature shades sat on his face comfortably, obscuring his gaze so that all she could truly focus on was his giddy smirk. He carried a black motorcycle helmet in the crook of his arm, the S.H.I.E.L.D insignia visible above the visor.
She tilted her head for a moment, trying to think of why this particular outfit was so familiar to her.
“You like it?” he grinned, setting the helmet on the seat and taking off his sunglasses. “It’s what Cap wore when he rode his motorcycle in New York.”
Melinda rolled her eyes, laughing softly at her adorable dork. Of course he would plan out his outfit for his first motorcycle lesson to match his hero. He had practically begged her for a lesson and had yet to give her a reason for his insistence, and honestly she wouldn’t be surprised to find out he had asked just so he could wear this particular outfit. Not that she was complaining, he pulled it off in a way that had her imagining some rather interesting situations in which she could tear that plaid shirt off of him.
“Of course it is. Come on, Phil.” May turned towards the motorcycle to clear her head. Just because they were alone... didn't mean they were actually alone. They were still aboard the property of a secret spy organization, which meant cameras nearly everywhere. The last thing she needed was for Daisy to stumble upon them making out when she went through the security footage like she did every night. “You asked for a lesson and it’s already been twenty minutes.”
“Fine, fine.” he grinned, grabbing the helmet and setting it on the floor beside the bike. “So do I just get on?”
“Not before you learn about the basics of the bike.” May snorted. "That's what got you in trouble the first time."
"Garrett should've told me how to stop." Phil shrugged indignantly, huffing softly.
Melinda just rolled her eyes and placed a hand on the motorcycle.
"Alright, first off-"
Phil wanted to be fully interested in everything she was saying, he really did. He didn't want a repeat of the incident at the Academy, especially when she was the one teaching him this time.
But halfway through her run-down of what was what on the motorcycle, he found himself unable to focus on anything other than the way her jeans clung to her curves. She’d switched her usual black ensemble for a deep purple tee that framed her torso perfectly, her leather jacket draped over one of the jump seats against the wall. Not that he was missing it, especially since the hem of her shirt shifted upward away from her dark jeans whenever she squatted down to show him something. He found himself almost drooling at the expanse of skin it displayed, and before he could reconsider it, his hands were there, keeping the shirt from sliding back into place when she stood back up.
May stiffened against her will, her heart fluttering when his warm hands slid around her torso to rest on her stomach beneath her shirt. She forced a laugh to cover the shudder that ran through her, finding that it was a little harder to do when his body was pressed up against her back so tightly that she couldn’t focus on anything but him.
“Phil… Not sure what I said about the motorcycle to warrant this but…”
“You are way more interesting than the bike right now, Mel.” he hummed against her, his lips leaving a trail of fire along her shoulder as he planted kisses over the fabric of her shirt.
“Phil…”
Curse him and his frustratingly effective distraction methods. It was unfair that he was using the techniques they had both learned all those years ago at the Academy to get what he wanted out of her.
Any member of their team or any other agent could wander up into the garage right then, and again she tried to remember Daisy and the cameras. While they had no problems with anyone finding out about the two of them, the last thing they needed was to become the talk of S.H.I.E.L.D because they’d been caught “fraternizing” on the Bus. But suddenly she couldn't find it in herself to focus on anything but him and the way his calloused hands felt moving over the plains of her stomach, his voice in her ear warming her from the inside out.
Wait, what did he say?
"Mel…?" He chuckled, practically singing her name to try and get her attention. She had started leaning back into his arms, her hands having a mind of their own as they moved up to cover his hands on her stomach.
"Hm?" She practically grunted.
"I asked what was in the big box underneath the jump seats. It’s been there for the past couple of hours and nobody has mentioned it...So I assumed it’s yours since no one will even go near it.”
“Hm...might as well open it and find out.” May was surprised at how steady her voice came out, especially when he pressed a kiss to her temple and moved away to grab the box.
"Gladly." He grinned.
She tried not to lean against the motorcycle as she willed the heat to leave her face, instead focusing on how Coulson was curiously tilting the box this way and that. He held it up to his ear, and much like a kid at Christmas, gently shook it.
“Phil you have to open it.”
May tried not to melt at the way his smile shifted into a small frown, his gaze meeting hers as if asking for help. She rolled her eyes, moving around the bike to grab something from her jacket pocket.
“See, this is why I had it hidden down there. You’re nosey. And aggressive.”
“No I think you had it hidden here because you wanted me to find it.” Coulson snorted in playful annoyance, setting the box down and taking the box cutter she handed him. “You knew my curiosity would get the better of me.”
“Must be a coincidence that you only noticed it when you were practically nibbling on my neck.” she smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Obviously a coincidence that it was at just the right angle too.”
“Of course.” May shrugged, watching him carefully slice open the tape that kept the box closed.
“Who can truly understand the ways of the universe?” Phil chuckled, his eyes lighting up when he lifted the flaps. His mouth dropped open, his gaze shooting up to meet hers before dropping back into the box.
"Aw, Mel…" he breathed in awe, reaching in and gingerly lifting the helmet out. “How did you…?”
It was brand new, probably the only brand new helmet she would have ever bought since she tended to not wear one to begin with. (High speed chases during missions meant not much time for unnecessary safety precautions)
It was decorated just like Captain America’s suit, the bold white star at the front gleaming in the light. Phil rotated it carefully in his hands, staring in awe as if he were holding the Tesseract instead of a motorcycle helmet. The light reflecting off the helmet made his face glow, and once again May felt her chest tighten at the realization that this monumental nerd was her monumental nerd, and the man she couldn't imagine living without. She waited patiently for him to look at the inside, an amused laugh leaving her lips at the way he gasped dramatically like a little kid.
“Mel, you didn’t!” His eyes widened even further as he moved the helmet closer to his face, muffled laughter leaving him as he practically shoved his face into it. “How did you get Cap to sign it?”
May shrugged, moving closer to run her fingertips over the bright coloring on the outside.
“Clint owed me big time for telling him you’re still alive. He sent the helmet to Cap without telling him who it was for and got it signed.”
“Wait…” Phil’s brow furrowed, his eyes searching her face. “You...You told Clint I’m alive?”
“Of course.” May felt herself tense. There had been plenty of reasons why they hadn’t told the Avengers about Coulson’s resurrection. Coulson perishing on the Helicarrier was what had brought the team together, so telling them he was actually still walking the earth would feel like they had been told a lie. No one wanted to anger them, especially since they were amongst some of the most powerful people on the planet, so they had kept it under wraps.
“May...I don’t know if that was the sma-”
“Phil, Clint has been hiding a wife and 2 ½ kids in a farmhouse for years. Nat, Fury, Maria, me and now you are the only ones who know about it.” May rolled her eyes. “Trust me, he can keep a secret for a while. I know you’re upset that I told him without talking to you first but buying gifts for you is a pain. You wanted something signed by Cap himself and this was the best I could do.”
Phil’s mouth hung open the slightest bit for a few tense moments, and all May could do was stare right back at him until she huffed and turned back to her motorcycle.
“If you don’t like what I did then we’ll have FitzSimmons whip up some memory wiping gadget and zap Clint with it.” She grabbed the tablet someone had left behind from one of the jump seats and positioned it on the motorcycle’s seat. “I have his address on Fury’s old secure server.”
May felt like she had been staring blankly at the tablet for ages. While she had known Phil wouldn’t be excited to hear that Clint knew about him still being alive, she had hoped he would at least understand why she’d gone to such great lengths. She loved him beyond all reason, and seeing him sacrifice so much on a daily basis reminded her every day that he could be taken away from her again. His birthday had been four months ago, and even though he claimed their night in the Quinjet drinking painfully expensive wine and watching old Captain America specials was the greatest gift she could have given him, she knew he deserved something more tangible from his favorite hero.
Finding the helmet wasn’t that difficult, she had a buddy in San Jose who specialized in custom helmets. It had cost more than a pretty penny out of her own pocket to make on with such a specific design, but it wasn’t as if she had anyone else to spend the money on. Getting in touch with Clint had been the hard part. She’d had to go through four burner lines and a virtual backdoor to find his number, and even then he had insisted she meet him in some field in the center of nowhere so he could make sure it was her.
---
“Sorry about this, May. Things are so crazy out there I can’t be too careful with my family.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“So...he’s really alive? How? Where is he?”
“Some sort of alien blood thing. Fury didn’t talk about it much.”
“So he’s an alien now?”
“Not exactly. It just healed him.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Fury had me keep an eye on him. He’s fine.”
“Hm. Anybody else on the team know?”
“No, and we’d like to keep it that way for now.”
“Right, especially with people like Stark. He might blurt it out at a press conference.”
“Or post it on a billboard.”
“You know he still refers to him as ‘Agent Agent’ sometimes?”
“Wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Well… you look good, May. Really. And not just because of whatever magical elixir you put in that tea that keeps you young. You look happy.”
“...I am.”
“I’m assuming you and Coulson finally got your acts together? Which is why you have me taking this to Cap?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“Glad to hear it, took you both long enough.”
“You’re telling me.”
“Heh, tell him I said hi. I’ll contact you when it’s ready.”
---
Phil’s fingers ghosting along her jaw brought her back to the moment at hand, her eyes slightly wider when she looked up and saw him standing in front of her on the other side of the motorcycle. He was giving her that stupid lopsided grin, his eyes soft and warm the way they always were whenever she caught him staring at her. She let out a soft hum when he leaned over the bike to press a kiss to her lips, pulling away with her own soft smile.
“I love you, Mel.” he grinned, kissing her again. “The helmet is absolutely perfect, thank you. And I don’t care that Clint knows I’m still around. If you trust him, I trust him.”
“Good.” she muttered, melting into another kiss before pulling away and taking the helmet from him. “Because I don’t think FitzSimmons know how to make a memory wipe serum anyway.”
Coulson chuckled, letting out a soft grunt when she put the helmet on his head without warning.
“Mel?” he blinked at her when he adjusted it better on his head, staring at her through the darkened visor. He swallowed thickly when he was greeted by the sight of her straddling the bike, the rumble of her revving the engine making his heart pound.
“Let’s go, Captain Coulson.” she smirked, leaning back and patting the space in front of her before putting her own standard S.H.I.E.L.D helmet on. “Best way to learn is by getting out there.”
Coulson hesitated, waiting for her to come to her senses and change her mind. She simply raised an eyebrow at him and gestured towards the spot in front of her yet again.
“I hope you realize you’re putting your life in my very unsure hands.” he shrugged, getting on the bike and tightening his hands on the handlebars. He revved the engine hesitantly, grinning to himself at the pleasant rumbling it made.
“Not the first time.” she laughed, the sound muffled but still warm as she wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed the side of her helmet against his back. “I trust you.”
XXXXXX
Daisy was a little tired of finding confusing footage from the base’s cameras. She completely understood that this was a spy organization with ridiculously advanced tech, but it would be nice to go through security footage and not end up stuck on one frame for twenty minutes trying to figure out what she was looking at. She sighed heavily as she walked towards the hangar, her eyes on the tablet she held in the crook of her arm. If anyone knew what this blob of dark blurry nonsense was, it would be Coulson. She’d found out he had last been seen in the garage of the Bus, so that was where she was headed, silently hoping she wouldn’t walk in on something she wasn’t supposed to see since she knew he was probably with May.
The revving of an engine echoing through the hangar startled her when she entered, causing her to look up sharply from the tablet to see what looked like Coulson and May sitting on May’s motorcycle. She hurried up to the ramp at the edge of the garage, putting her hands on her hips when Coulson’s head raised to look at her. The helmet was new...very Coulson with the stars and stripes...and very new. Even through the small window on the helmet Daisy could see his eyes crinkling with his grin, and her eyes widened when he glanced back at May who just stared at him in what looked like mild confusion.
“Coulson...” Daisy started, narrowing her eyes at him.
Phil shot Daisy a wink, flipped down his visor and revved his engine again, narrowing his eyes right back at her. Daisy turned away from the gust of wind that threatened to knock her over when they suddenly sped out of the hangar, Coulson’s muffled laughter mixing with the dust they left behind. Daisy just laughed and rolled her eyes, descending the ramp and heading back to her bunk.
"Dorks."