A Lasting Treasure

A Phil Coulson & Melinda May story

Brown Eyes Parker

Author's Note:

My first attempt at writing a May/Coulson story, my second time writing anything for Agents Of Shield. Sorry for the out of characterness. Title of the story comes from "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by the Shirelles.

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I do not own anything at all.

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Chapter 1

I'd like to know that your love is love that I can be sure of.

He almost didn't recognize her with her hair pulled away from her face and the pretty red party dress she was wearing. Her sudden transformation and the songs that his mother used to listen to playing in the background made him realize that she could be more than just a partner. . . more than just a friend. And then, she was giving him the look and brought him crashing back to earth. He hurried over to the bar to meet her, managing not to stumble over his words as he greeted her.

"Hello May," he said, smiling at her.

"Coulson," she replied as she took a sip of her white wine and eyed him wearily. "What took you so long to get over here?"

"I just got here," Coulson lied.

"Phil Coulson, don't you lie to me!" May said. "I saw you standing near the hostess table! You were looking at me like you've never seen a girl before."

Coulson pushed his thick glasses up on his face. "I've seen plenty of girls before. They just haven't looked nearly as pretty as you do in a dress."

May blushed, but a second later the pleasing pink flush faded and she had reached out and grabbed his hands, placing them in his lap. "Coulson, don't push your glasses up on your nose like that," she said.

"I've always pushed my glasses up like that though—"

"Well, it's time to start making some new habits," May told him, smiling the first genuine smile that he'd ever seen from her. "Some attractive ones—"

"May," Phil interjected, lowering his voice. "Don't look now, but our subjects just entered the restaurant—"

May jumped up off her chair and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the dance floor. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, starting a slow dance with him that to the uninformed passerby made them look like a couple that was out on a date. Her hand found his back and she started to rub circles around it.

He closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that it was all pretended. That it was all for a mission, he tried to ignore the fact that she felt so good in his arms or that he had denied an attraction to her since the first moment that they had met. He tried to block out her scent, tried to pretend that he wasn't imagining them in half-a-dozen scenarios that didn't have anything to do with work.

The song ended and she pulled away from him, her eyes bore straight into his and for one distinct moment, he thought that she could see everything that he was thinking. She took him by surprise when she kissed him. For a second, he told himself that she was trying not to blow their cover, but there was something so real about it that he knew he was just fooling himself.

After a sweet, chaste second May pulled away and whispered, "Come to my room tonight after we put these suckers on ice."

Coulson nodded wordlessly, his pointer finger finding the bridge of his glasses to push them up on his face. But then he stopped, thinking about what May had said earlier. Maybe, he reflected, it was time to start making some more attractive habits.

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May dimmed the lights and then took his glasses off, placing them on the nightstand by her bed and then leaning in to kiss him. "Promise me that you'll still look at me the same way tomorrow Phil. That you'll still. . . that you'll still love me when everything's back to normal and I'm the tough as nail's agent again." she whispered.

"I promise," Coulson repeated, his voice gentle as he leaned in to kiss her as he freed her hair from its ponytail and dropped the holder on the floor. "That's how I loved you first."

May closed her eyes and kissed him back, allowing him to lower her onto the bed as she pulled off his tie.

For a moment, she felt complete.

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May jerked away from Ward suddenly and shook her head as she zipped up her suit. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. Not right now. I'm sorry."

"This is the third time this week," Ward replied. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," May answered absent-mindedly as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Just fine. . ."

"I don't think so," Ward said. "It's Coulson, isn't it? You haven't been the same since he got back. Did you two ever—"

"A few times," May answered, shaking her head. "It was a long time ago. It isn't any of your business Ward!"

Ward shrugged and sat up. "You should tell him."

May gave him a hard stare. "Tell him what exactly?" she asked sharply.

"That you still love him," Ward replied, putting his shoes back on.

"I don't—"

"You do," Ward said. "You just didn't know it until you thought you'd lost him. Which is fine, we both knew when we started that this wasn't more than a way to burn off the extra energy and stress. It was fun while it lasted but everybody deserves to be with the person they love—"

May shook her head. "He doesn't, not really. I closed that door a long time ago. . ."

Ward came over to her and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Well, you'll never know until you say something. Say something. Okay?"

"That's funny coming from you. . ."

"Go," Ward interjected, pointing to the door. "Go now."

And against May's better judgment, she went.

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She wiped her hands on her thighs and then knocked on his door. After what seemed like an eternity, he opened the door and smiled at her.

"May, what are you doing here?" He asked, smiling at her.

She swallowed hard and then gave him half a smile, cursing herself for acting like a teenage girl with her first crush. "I need to tell you something."

TBC. . .

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Author's Note II:

I'm anxious to hear everybody's thoughts on this story. Especially since it was my first attempt at writing an Agent Coulson/Melinda May story. If you hated it, I promise I won't continue this. If you liked it a little bit, I'll write the next chapter soon. Drop a review in the box below. Thank you.

Holly, 1/1/2014_