Chapter Text
“Ugh, I hate Mondays.” Daisy Johnson huffed as she entered the trailer, grunting as she shut the door behind her and headed straight for the jet-black couch she always occupied when she was there. It was way too early in her opinion. 7 am wake-up calls should be illegal, especially when her being in a good mood and on top of her game was so important. It was kinda hard to be 100% when your body was still waking up when it was time to “get to work”.
“Good morning, Daisy.” Melinda May sighed softly, a small smile on her lips as she set the lipstick she had been applying down on her vanity. She raised an eyebrow at the young actress in the reflection of the mirror, noticing that Daisy had set her coffee down in the same spot on the floor beside the couch that she always did. Daisy wasn’t usually a creature of habit, she didn't like to be predictable. But whenever she visited Melinda, she had a routine...which included never using the coffee table for its intended purpose. “You just finish your warmup?”
Daisy nodded, stretching out on the couch and sighing melodramatically like the method actor she was.
“Yep. They had me practice ‘bantering’ with Deke. It was awful. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
“That was awful?” Melinda raised an eyebrow, standing from the vanity and setting her robe on the hook beside it, revealing the alarmingly sequined silver dress she had been trying to keep clean. The slit on the left side went up dangerously high, a decent amount of her thigh visible when she walked, but not so much so that she would have to go commando. The neckline was v-neck but not too low, which was nice since Melinda did not feel like having her cleavage stared at for an entire day of shooting. It was strapless, allowing her to move her arms freely as needed, while the whole thing was held up by a series of strings interweaving down her somewhat exposed back. It was one of the more...stimulating dresses, while still being functional.
“Me laughing like a donkey on cocaine was the problem. Less laughter, more flirtatious banter.” Daisy rolled her eyes, staring up at the ceiling in frustration. “As if me and Deke have any kind of chemistry. He's funny and everything but... he’s like my little brother. It'd be like flirting with Fitz or...like, Mack. Now Daniel on the other hand…”
“The fans don’t know that. And Daniel's too new to be a love interest." Melinda snorted, walking to the same end of the trailer and grabbing her prop knife from the cabinet on the wall beside the couch. “I’m sure they expect you and Deke to end up together by the end of the season with the direction the writers keep going.”
Nearly everyone on set knew about Daisy’s apparent crush on their new cast member, Daniel Sousa. He had come on as a temporary guest for their episode where they teamed up with the FBI, but the minute the show was over, the fans sent up a cry for #moredaniel. No one in the original cast had had an issue with his joining the team. He was a very genuine man, sweet and respectful in a way that would make even Prince Charming seem rude. Daisy had started falling for his charms after a few awkward interactions when she realized he was being genuine and that his gentlemanliness wasn’t an act. Unfortunately for her, he was having issues deciphering her behavior around him as an attraction. It was almost as if he’d grown up in the 1950s and was completely out of touch with how people flirted in the modern-day.
“Ew, I hope not. There’s nothing hot about kissing Deke.” Daisy huffed, her gaze shifting over at the sound of Melinda’s heel hitting the coffee table. She smirked, sitting up and letting out a wolf whistle. “Speaking of hot…”
“It’s uncomfortable.” Melinda rolled her eyes, securing the holster and prop knife to her thigh before lowering her foot and smoothing the front of the dress. “The dresses they put me in always are.”
While she never enjoyed putting on makeup and dressing up, it was all part of the job in situations like this, especially since the fans of the Agents of S.E.C.R.E.T.S series had been calling for more ‘steamy romance’ between her and her co-star, Phil Coulson.
“Trust me, they aren’t putting you in stuff like this for your benefit. This is purely fan service. People like seeing you in stuff like this.” Daisy laughed, grabbing her coffee and chugging half of it. “Speaking of people that like to see you, I saw your boo thang on the way here.”
“First of all, he’s not my...that.” Melinda turned away under the guise of looking for some other prop, just so Daisy wouldn’t see the little smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Second of all, never say that phrase again.”
“Oh c’mon May. Even the fans ship you two. You should read the fanfiction.” Daisy snorted, grabbing one of the sparkling waters out of May’s fridge and cracking it open. “It’s adorable the stuff these fans come up with.”
“Fiction, Daisy. Fiction written by fans. They’re allowed to write whatever they want, it doesn’t change anything in real life.”
“I’m just saying…” Daisy practically sang, sliding towards the door with a grin. “They had to get inspiration somewhere…”
May let out a sigh as the door shut behind Daisy, setting down the brush she had been using and leaning against the vanity. She stared at her reflection, silently cursing the red tint on her cheeks. Truth was, there had always been this tension between Melinda and Phil, even before they started on AoS.
Melinda met Phil at an audition for a different show, their first actually. After a good ten minutes of him sneaking glances at her without saying a word, she'd frustratedly asked him if he needed something. She quickly learned that he was just trying to see what book it was she was reading while they waited in line. They fell into a comfortable conversation in the waiting area, so much so that they almost missed their turns to audition. He had gone first, smiling brightly when she wished him good luck. Her audition was a moment later, in a different room, so she didn't get to see him come out.
She was pleasantly surprised to see him waiting outside, leaning against the wall and watching the world go by with his hands in his pockets. It was the moment she noticed how boyishly handsome he was.
When he finally noticed her walking towards him, his whole face had lit up and his cheeks had tinted red. He'd awkwardly managed to ask her out to lunch, which she would have wholeheartedly agreed to had she not had another appointment that day. He had been visibly disappointed, even with the gentle smile he gave her.
She had given him her number and told him she was free for lunch the day after.
Finding out that they hadn’t gotten the parts they’d wanted hadn’t been quite as devastating when they had each other to vent to. They became friends seamlessly, and, their first movie (an indie film done by a friend of theirs), featured the two of them as characters who started as friends and eventually fell in love. The indie film was highly regarded as “groundbreaking” and “heart wrenching”, with many reviewers giving a lot of the credit to Phil and Melinda for their “outstanding acting”. Unfortunately, the director of that film, John Garrett, hadn’t liked the reviews since it seemed that no one cared about anything he had done. He’d cut ties with Phil and Melinda in a jealous rage, claiming that they would be nothing and would go nowhere without him. Of course, he had been wrong.
Cal Johnson, their director for AoS, had come to them the minute he’d come up with the idea, practically begging them to join him on the project before another director came and snatched them up. By that time, they’d been in an overwhelming amount of movies, tv shows, commercials, and had more cameo offers than they knew what to do with. Their names were synonymous with both excellence and each other, so much so that Cal hadn’t even considered hiring anyone else for the main roles before calling them both.
Part of that was because of the paparazzi. They seemed to catch them in the most intimate situations when they would be eating a meal together or going for a walk, or leaving each other's apartments after a full night of rehearsing lines. The whole world thought there was more to them than friendship, but neither would confirm it and that was part of why so many people were invested.
They had on-screen chemistry that couldn’t be rivaled, and that was exactly what Cal had been looking for. Unfortunately, by the time Cal had gotten confirmation from both of them, Phil and Melinda hadn’t had a decent conversation in weeks. Both of them had been occupied with sorting through the multiple offers they already had, deciding which ones to accept and which ones to reject. They both had agents that loved helping out with that, but neither of them had liked the idea of someone else giving a potential director the boot on their behalf. The most conversation they'd had was a "how are you" text every other week or so, and maybe a ten-second phone call before one of them got pulled away.
Showing up on the AoS set and seeing each other had almost felt like coming home. Phil's face lit up, and a shy smile spread over her lips when their gazes finally met, but before they could even attempt to greet each other, Cal had interrupted by shouting about how excited he was for filming to begin. He had dragged them around pretty much the entire day, introducing them to the rest of the cast and crew, showing them where their trailers would be, then separating them to get acquainted with literally every single person who would be working on the show.
It wasn’t until the sun went down when she was sorting her things in her trailer before filming the next day, that he sheepishly made an appearance by knocking on her door.
“Hey.” he smiled when she opened her trailer door, his cheeks a light shade of pink.
“Hi.” she smiled back, the tips of her ears feeling warm as she stepped down onto the ground.
“We didn’t uh...get to talk earlier.” he shrugged, glancing at his shoes, his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Yeah… I didn’t know you’d be here either.” Melinda snorted, unable to wipe the smile from her lips. “Cal didn’t tell me.”
"He didn't tell me much either." He chuckled, letting out a soft sigh. "It’s been a while.”
Melinda was quiet for a few moments, raising an eyebrow at him as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
“Are we really trying to make small talk right now, Phil?”
“I...um…" he blinked for a few moments, his eyes just a little bit wider than before when he broke the silence with a relieved laugh. "Oh thank god you said something. I was just thinking that this is not us at all.”
“Exactly. So just relax. Look, I’ve got an unopened bottle of Haig in my trailer…” Melinda smirked, tilting her head to the side as she gestured behind her. “Would you like to do the honors? We could catch up before things get hectic.”
“After Cal and the day we've had? Chugging alcohol with my best friend sounds great.” Phil sighed dramatically, following her into the trailer and letting the door close behind them.
XXXXXX
“May! Your shoot is up next! Are you alive in there?”
May visibly jumped at the sound of Cal’s voice, letting out a shaky sigh as she forced herself back to the present. She shook herself briefly, doing a few of her quick breathing exercises to get into the mindset she would need for their season 2 promotional photoshoot. She stepped out of her trailer when she felt more put together, just in time to catch Cal pacing like a concerned parent while Phil stood there watching him with his arms crossed. Phil's eyes landed on her before Cal's, and she almost laughed at how quickly his face changed colors.
"Whoa, Ma-"
"There you are, May!" Cal exclaimed dramatically before Phil could finish his dumbfounded mumbling, hurrying towards her. His pace oddly slowed as he looked her up and down, his eyes widening and a grin on his face. "Wow…"
May raised an eyebrow at both Cal and Phil, her stomach feeling a little fluttery at the look on the latter's face. To keep herself from saying anything overtly flirtatious or teasing, she turned her attention to the man with the clipboard and ridiculous hat on his head.
"Uh...Cal? Promo photos...?" She said slowly, trying to bring their director back to the moment at hand.
“Oh, I'm sorry Melinda. You look ravishing, you do." He said with an apologetic smile, stepping towards her as if he were calming a stray cat. "But…"
"But?" May frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We... need your black leather ensemble for this shoot." He swallowed thickly at the fire that exploded behind her eyes, his next sentence flying out at mach speed. "We’ll do ‘date night’ later on tonight."
"Cal…" Melinda practically hissed, remembering all the prepping and work she had done just to get into this dress. Hair and Makeup had offered to assist her, but May had always been more of an independent actress who would rather be the one taking care of her appearance. She had not spent over an hour doing so just to be told she had to change everything.
"Uhhhh…" Cal spun around on his heel, his eyes landing on the man who had yet to speak or stop staring at his co-star. "Phil! Will you help Melinda change while we shoot the rest of the team? Thank youuuuuu!"
"Uh...huh?" Phil grunted, giving Cal a confused eyebrow raise since his mouth didn't seem to be working well enough to form actual sentences.
"Where are Jemma and Fitz? Someone go get them!" Cal shouted to no one in particular, ignoring Phil. "I need Elena, Mack, and Deke out of hair and makeup as well! And will someone PLEASE grab Daniel? More than likely Daisy is with him as well. Let’s go, people! We're burnin daylight!”
"Calvin!" Melinda shouted, visibly frustrated as the man in question hurried off back to the set with an apologetic smile and uncomfortable chuckle.
XXXXXX
"I can't believe him." Melinda huffed, staring at her reflection in the full-sized mirror that sat in the corner of her trailer. "Why didn't he text me and tell me about the change? Or, I don't know, walk over here and just tell me in person? He could have even told Daisy to tell me when she came by this morning. And did you see the way he was looking at me? Practically ogled me, the sick bastard."
"He probably figured someone else told you about the change already, like Daisy or me," Phil said from behind her, his eyes on the back of the dress that he had been tasked with figuring out. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to interweave convoluted strings instead of using a zipper? He felt like a monkey trying to solve a Rubik's cube. "But I can't exactly fault Cal for staring. I mean… look at you."
Melinda frowned and stared at the floor. She didn't want to look at herself. Every time she did, her irritation with Cal and his lack of communication flared up all over again. Cal was someone she would call a very good acquaintance. Not a friend exactly, but someone she would save if he were hanging off of a building and she happened to be there.
But that was beside the point.
Cal knew her. They'd worked together for over a year now. He knew how she was, and even though she adapted easily, it was much easier for everyone if everyone knew what was going on at all times. Melinda hated being the last to know, and Cal knew that.
"Phil, I don't-" she huffed, turning her head slightly towards him over her shoulder.
"Just look, Mel." He rolled his eyes, reaching around her shoulders and nudging her chin back towards the mirror.
Melinda sighed heavily, finally really looking at herself. She had to admit, she did look good. Alarmingly good.
But she knew that when she finished her makeup that morning. It wasn't new information to anyone that Melinda May was attractive. Half of the offers she got were based on the fact that she was, AND the fact that she was one of the most effective actresses in the industry.
"You've worn some pretty eye-catching outfits throughout the first season but… this one is something else entirely. A whole new level of 'yowza'." Phil chuckled, sighing triumphantly when he finally got the strings somewhat undone.
"You're the only one who can say that without sounding like a perv." She snorted, fighting back a chill from the gentleness of his fingers brushing her skin as he pulled the strings away. "But you don't have to flatter me, Phil."
"I'm not." He shrugged, smiling at her reflection yet again, his face a little more crimson than before. "You look amazing."
She hoped he couldn't feel the heat radiating off of her at that statement.
"Thanks, Phil. I guess that makes it all worth it."
"Mmhm." He hummed distractedly, his focus shifting towards locating the garment bag with her "combat outfit" in it.
"And your initial reaction was pretty priceless," Melinda smirked, dropping her jaw like a gasping fish and making her eyes wide. "Oh wow...pretty dress…"
"I did not say that." Phil rolled his eyes, playfully pushing her towards the divider that she changed behind whenever he was in her trailer.
"No, you didn't say anything. That's what made it so satisfying." Melinda hummed, stepping behind the divider with her hands against her chest so the dress wouldn't droop with the back of it undone.
"Okay, now you're just giving yourself too much credit." Phil huffed, tossing the garment bag over the top of the divider with an affectionate smile that he hoped she couldn't hear in his voice.
---
"You think they'll make you guys kiss this season?" Daisy elbowed Phil playfully, watching Cal position the others the way he had envisioned. May looked properly bored, but she always did whenever Cal took more than twenty minutes to position her.
"What?" Phil blinked, breaking himself from his wandering thoughts. "No, I don't think so. Most fans come for the tension. A kiss would kill some of that, right?"
He chose not to admit that he'd dreamt of a kiss scene between him and Melinda since the beginning of the show. There had been plenty of moments where they could have, but the writer's always put in some disaster or catastrophe that would shatter the moment before anything could happen.
It was almost funny. They'd worked together for years before S.E.C.R.E.T.S, with well-known chemistry that should have led to plenty of kiss scenes on multiple projects. But there hadn't been one yet. Nearly all of the directors had preferred to keep the tension there, to keep the fans waiting and anticipating a passionate declaration of love followed by a PG-13 makeout session. It was the anticipation that kept fans coming back for more.
"Hm." Daisy hummed, turning her attention back to Cal and his odd way of working.
"What, were you hoping for one?"
"I mean...sorta. I'm a fan of the show too. I get why the "Cheidi" and "Philinda" shippers are frustrated."
"Cheidi?"
"Charles and Heidi. Your characters' ship name." Daisy grinned. “It’s all over the fansites.”
"Huh.” Phil’s brow furrowed, making a mental note to look at some of the sites their fans made. He’d avoided them as much as he could over the years, ever since Melinda emailed him some “steamy” fanfiction that almost scarred him for life. She’d thought it was hilarious, but he’d had to consistently think about dead puppies to keep from imagining her in some of the rather precarious positions the fanfiction had put in his head. “I'm assuming Philinda is me and Melinda?"
"See? You're not as dumb as you look."
“Thanks, Daisy.” Phil rolled his eyes, glad that his combat gear had a popped collar that would hide some of the heat crawling up his neck. If Daisy did happen to notice it, he could claim he was just warm from all the set lights and the thickness of his jacket. “The fans know Melinda and I aren’t together, right?”
“You think they care?” Daisy snorted, her grin widening. “All that matters is that you’re both single and you’re cute together. Don’t even try to deny it, the fans have already spoken.”
The conversation effectively ended when May left the set to stand beside him. Maybe it was from years of knowing her, but he could practically feel the waves of irritation rolling off of her.
"Hey, there you are," Phil said somewhat cautiously, taking in her frustrated huff and the way she had yet to uncross her arms.
"You still mad, May?" Daisy raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to look past Coulson at May.
"Thinking about it makes it worse." She muttered, her eyes still on the set ahead. "I wasted an hour this morning just to completely switch the outfit.”
“I didn’t think you cared about stuff like that.” Daisy shrugged, her brows furrowing slightly. “Like...appearances and stuff.”
“She doesn’t. She just hates wasting time.” Phil answered, running a hand through his hair. “Been that way since we met.”
Daisy didn’t miss the slight lift to Coulson’s voice or the way May’s lips twitched ever so slightly in an attempt to combat a smile. Phil knew her so well, even the infamously scary-when-angry Melinda May couldn’t pretend she didn’t care. Unfortunately, Daisy’s plan to risk her life and mention May’s reaction was completely derailed when Cal appeared out of thin air and swept her off to the set.
“Come now my talented little Inhuman!” Cal shouted triumphantly, his hand locked around Daisy’s wrist as she reluctantly followed him.
“Cal I’m only an Inhuman on the shooooow…” Daisy whined, rolling her eyes dramatically.
“Exactly! Where it matters most!” Cal laughed. "You have some shots with Daniel now since we revealed he's an Inhuman too last season."
"Daniel?" Daisy tried to hide the exciting lift to her voice, quickly covering with a cough and a shrug. "I mean yeah sure. Whatever."
XXXXXX
After a full afternoon of shooting about two hundred shots from an innumerable amount of angles, Cal finally gave the cast the rest of the night off. Both Jemma and Fitz had wanted to retire to the trailer/mobile science lab they had on-site, but Daisy had rolled her eyes and shuffled them out along with the rest of the cast to their favorite bar.
“You two are the only two actors I know that are just as big of nerds in real life as you are on the show you star in.”
The walk to the bar consisted of Daisy and Deke arguing over who could drink more, Daniel walking quietly beside Daisy, Mack and Elena flirting in Spanish, Jemma and Fitz muttering scientific formulas as if to remind everyone where they would rather be, while Phil and Melinda brought up the rear and simply listened to their castmates’ voices.
A few people recognized them while they were walking and after they reached the bar, their fans shouting their names and begging for photos. Several hugs and an innumerable amount of photos later, the cast was seated in their designated booth in a curtained-off room at the back of the bar. The AoS cast wasn’t the only cast to frequent this bar, so David (the owner) set up the VIP room to give them a moment away from fans and paparazzi.
They ordered three baskets of chicken wings and some beers, letting the alcohol melt away the stress of a long workday. But after two hours of watching Daisy and Deke bicker and drink, Phil felt the effects of a full day of work in the form of pure drowsiness. Almost as if reading his mind, he felt Melinda’s finger tapping the back of his hand beneath the table. He looked over at her, and it only took a raised eyebrow from her for him to realize she was tired of sitting in this crowded bar as well.
“So...we’ll see you guys in the morning, okay?” Phil announced as he stood and stretched, watching Melinda stand as well. Without even thinking about it, he slipped her jacket from the back of her chair and handed it to her.
“Wait, where are you two going?” Daisy frowned, her voice slurred from the multiple shots she and Deke had been consuming. “We haven’t figured out who’s a lightweight yet.”
“Daisy, let them be.” Mack rolled his eyes, smirking as he adjusted the arm he had around Elena’s shoulders. “They have better things to do than watch you two throw up in the bathroom.”
“Hey! That was one time!” Deke shouted, leaning heavily on the table with his current shot in his hand. “And Daisy threw up more than me! I measured.”
“Okay and on that note, we’ll definitely see you guys later.” Phil snorted, bumping his fist with Mack’s. “Have fun getting them home.”
“Hey, this just means you’ll be on drunk duty next time. Besides, Daniel can carry Daisy.” Mack laughed.
"I can do what?" Daniel blinked, his gaze moving from Daisy who seemed to be having a staring contest with the table to Mack’s face.
"We'll be fine. Night you two " Mack snorted, watching Phil and Melinda roll their eyes and head out.
“You think anything will happen this time?” Elena asked quietly, smirking at the way Phil held the door for Melinda before following her outside.
“Don’t know. Guess we’ll find out in the morning.” Mack moved his gaze to the sloppy drunk actors across the table, reaching forward to swipe yet another shot out of Daisy’s reach. “Hey slow down. Just because Daniel is carrying you doesn't mean you get to push yourself."
"Uh, I don't remember agreeing to that exactly." Daniel laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Dude, you don't have a choice," Deke murmured, swiping at the drink Mack had taken away from Daisy with an annoying whine.
XXXXXX