A/N: I don't own anything. Many thanks to ElementalLiz, who is my awesome and patient beta. Pretty much all of the ficlets were inspired at least in part by regionsofkindness on Tumblr, who writes the most amazing May meta.
May does not regret her decision to leave the field after Bahrain. It was traumatic. She needs time to work through it. She does, however, regret her increased exposure to the less mature agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
She first notices it out of the corner of her eye on a coworker's desk when she passes it while leaving for lunch. It is an image of her in an email. The text on the image reads, "Death had a near-Melinda May experience." She is not pleased. To put it lightly.
So she goes to Barton. He knows all the gossip. Reluctantly, he tells her that there is a series of emails with similar images going around S.H.I.E.L.D. They are calling her The Cavalry. She is furious. She did what was needed, nothing more; it is not something to be admired. She wishes everyone would forget about it. She wishes she could forget about it. No. She does not wish to forget. She wishes to be past it.
So she goes to Fury. She tells him to stop the emails. He tells her it's a meme, that there's no stopping it until its run its course and something else grabs people's attention. She tells him to stop the emails. He sighs.
Two days later, during an op in Australia, Barton makes a spectacular shot – while falling into kangaroo shit. Coulson gets footage. Barton's over-the-top reenactments in the Triskelion cafeteria only add to the general hilarity.
S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't forget about Bahrain and she never escapes that stupid nickname, but at least the emails stop and she's left in peace. Just how she likes it.