Fury's Favourite
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
AN1: So, I'm not 100% sure where this will fit in the timeline, but it would have to be somewhere in season 2 after everyone is at base, but before Tripp dies, and before Daisy gets her powers. Even though it's not exactly relevant it would probably be best to assume Gonzales's SHIELD doesn't exist. As this is set before she changed her name Daisy will be referred to as Skye.
There May be a scene similar to this in a future multiple chapter story of mine as I got the idea about this while writing plans for a couple future stories I'm planning and realised it could work as a one shot.
It's after dinner, a typical night at the hidden S.H.I.E.L.D base The Playground, or at least that is what someone would assume, but what is making it less than typical is that the nine highest ranking agents are all in the lounge room together drinking beer even, Melinda May who the others aren't exactly sure how Coulson got to agree.
Skye, Fitz, Simmons and Trip are sharing the big couch. Hunter is lying across the black couch, and Bobbi is sitting on the floor in front of it, while Mack is sitting on the end of that couch, looking like he regrets his decision as Hunter puts his legs on his laps, even though he keeps pushing them off, and May and Coulson are sitting on the two chairs across from the couch.
"We should do something." Skye informs everyone.
"Like what?" Bobbi asks, being the first to voice the question.
"Um… like, something to help us get to know each other." Skye answers, "I mean we spend all this time together and apart from those of us who knew each other before we don't really know much."
"That's a good idea." Simmons says approvingly.
"It is." Trip confirms, "How about we start with something simple. How old were we all when we joined?" he asks, "I was twenty-one."
"Boring." Skye comments, "But I guess that considering I only joined last year I'm guessing I was the oldest out of all of us."
"Not true. Technically Hunter hasn't joined." Bobbi says with a smirk.
"Hey!" Hunter objects.
"It's true." Bobbi says with a shrug as she takes a drink.
"I was twenty-four." Mack answers, doing so because he wants to stop Bobbi and Hunter before they get too out of control.
"Twenty." Bobbi says once she takes a drink.
"Fitz and I were almost seventeen." Simmons answers, and everyone looks towards May and Coulson.
"Eighteen." Coulson answers.
"Wow Sir. That's pretty young for Operations." Bobbi says, sounding impressed, "You must have been one of the youngest."
"Not the youngest." Coulson corrects.
"True, rumor has it that Hill was seventeen, and that there was once someone who was recruited to operations, by Peggy Carter herself, at sixteen." Bobbi comments.
"Really?" Simmons asks sounding amazed.
"Yeah, well according to operations rumors that is." Tripp answers.
"I'm guessing that's a surprise." Skye comments, being pretty sure that she is missing something.
"Oh yeah, most people are recruited for ops in their early twenties, having already had some training." Tripp explains, "That's what makes whoever it is so much of an interest."
"Not much is known about whoever it is." Bobbi explains, looking between Fitz, Simmons, Skye, Hunter and even Mack as they wouldn't know, "The only thing that anyone knows for sure is that whoever it is must be pretty amazing to have been recruited for ops that young."
"Yes, she is." Coulson says with a smile, causing everyone but May, who just rolls her eyes and takes a drink, to look at him.
"You know who it is, Sir?" Bobbi asks, looking interested.
"I do." Coulson confirms.
"Who?" Everyone in the room, other than May, ask together.
"Me." May answers, doing so because Coulson has given her no choice.
"Wow." Bobbi says, sounding impressed.
"Impressive." Fitz comments.
"You know Peggy Carter." Simmons says, her eyes widening.
"Cool." Skye says, sounding amazed, "Why would you join S.H.I.E.L.D at sixteen?"
"To piss of her mother." Coulson comments, with a smirk, as he takes a drink of his beer.
"Really?" Hunter asks, "I thought you were beyond that level of pettiness, Agent May." He says with a grin.
"Contrary to what you and Nick believe that wasn't my reason." May informs Coulson as the others exchange looks, all wondering if Nick is who they think it is because if so that poses a whole lot more questions.
"It was one of them." Coulson responds.
"Why would you joining S.H.I.E.L.D piss of your mother?" Skye asks curious, being glad to know more about her new SO.
"My mother was Deputy Director of the CIA before she retired. She was trying to get me to join a specialized CIA team when Director Carter, who I had met before because she and my mother a friends, gave me an offer I couldn't refuse." May explains, "How much my mother didn't like the idea was just an added bonus." May says, taking a drink, causing Coulson to snort while the rest of the room just look surprised, as they drift into silence.
"I've got to ask." Trip says, breaking the silence after a little while, "Are the rumors true? Did the two of you and Fury work together as a specialized team for a decade before he became director?" Trip asks looking between Coulson and May.
"Seriously?" Skye asks, wondering just how many surprises she is going to get.
"Yes." Coulson answers once he and May have a whole conversation without speaking.
"For the record there was once more truth in the S.H.I.E.L.D rumor mill than there was in what agents said to each other." May reveals.
"Yep." Coulson and Bobbi say together.
"Just how long have you two know each other?" Skye asks, looking between May and Coulson asking event though she wouldn't normally as she figures that it is the best
"Almost thirty-three years." May answers.
"Holy crap." Skye says, sounding completely shocked.
"It can't have been that long." Coulson comments and May just gives him a look, "It feels like yesterday."
"So that means that you two have been working together since way before I was born." Skye says, looking shocked, now understanding a lot more about how May and Coulson act around one another.
"Me too." Fitz says.
"Same." Simmons, Bobbi and Trip add.
"Are you feeling as old as I am right now?" Coulson asks May.
"Nope."
"So did you meet at the Academy?" Hunter asks, realizing how rare it is that May and Coulson are sharing and wanting to know as much as possible while they are in sharing mood.
"Yep, our second day." Coulson answers, "It would have been our first day but May was too busy knocking Fury on his ass." He says with a grin, causing May to roll her eyes.
"Director Fury?" Simmons asks.
"He wasn't director back then." May answers, a small smirk on her face.
"There has to be a story there." Mack realizes, actually wanting to hear it.
"There is." May confirms, with a nod.
"Can you tell it?" Fitz asks.
"It's simpler than Coulson makes it sound." May explains, "Peggy Carter wanted to introduce me to Fury and he clearly didn't understand why Director Carter would recruit a small sixteen-year-old girl and so she suggested that Fury asses my sparing skills, knowing perfectly well what I could do." May explains, the smirk on her face increasing a bit as she will never forget the look Fury had on his face the first time she knocked him onto the mats.
"I'm pretty sure he never underestimated you again." Coulson says with a smile, "In fact you just kept surprising him, both of us." He says, smiling at May and causing the others to exchange looks as they are pretty sure that they are all missing something.
"So… You and Fury were a team, for a decade?" Skye asks amazed.
"Yes." Coulson answers.
"And then didn't you recruit Barton?" Bobbi asks, asking a question that she already knows the answer to as she wants to see the others reaction.
"Barton as in Clint Barton the Avenger?" Hunter asks shocked, "You recruited him?" he asks looking between May and Coulson as he's crossed path with Barton through Bobbi but they don't really know each other.
"Yep." Coulson says with a nod, "In ninety…. Two?" Coulson asks, looking at May who nods.
"Awesome." Skye says, sounding amazed.
"And then, if rumors are to believe, Barton recruited Romanoff a couple of years later, and then a few years after that, you took on Hill as your Rookie." Bobbi says, looking at May, "And the five of you were one of S.H.I.E.L.D's best teams ever."
"Garrett said so, not that that means much, but he talked about the team you were." Tripp comments.
"Of course he did." Coulson says, not at all surprised, "He didn't like that he wasn't included."
"So, let me get this straight." Skye says, wanting to understand, "The two of you worked with Fury for a decade, and then were a team with two Avengers and Commander Hill?" she asks, wanting to understand.
"Yes." May and Coulson answer,
"For a long time." May explains.
"Why did you stop being a team?" Simmons asks curious.
"I left field work." May answers, causing an awkward feeling to take over the room as no one is sure how to respond to that.
"You must have some great stories." Mack comments, breaking the silence after a couple of minutes as he figures that would be for the best.
"That's classified." May and Coulson say together.
"Oh come on!" Skye objects, "There has to be something you can tell us!"
"Maybe one day." Coulson answers as he and May exchange looks, both knowing all too well that there are a lot of stories of their old days that the team would like to know.
"Did Fury really promote you to level eight when you left fieldwork and allow you to test fly new plans?" Bobbi asks May, wanting to know if Clint was lying when he told her that.
"I thought you were only level seven." Skye comments.
"Who told you that?" May asks Bobbi, though she has a narrowed down list of three, Maybe four, names.
"Barton."
"He talks to much." May comments and Coulson laughs, to the confusion of everyone at that.
"So, it's true?" Skye asks.
"Yes, but people weren't not supposed to know." May explains, cursing Clint's big mouth.
"That's because you're Fury's favorite." Coulson says, causing May to roll her eyes.
"That's your title, not mine." May informs him.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Coulson comments, "Fury let you get away with things he wouldn't let anyone else. Let you do things he wouldn't let anyone else. Plus, you were his, and my, number one draft pick when he was coming up with the Avenger Initiative." Coulson says, the words out of his mouth before he releases what he said.
"Oh my god." Skye comments, sounding amazed, but before she can ask any of the questions she has May gets up and walks out of the room.
"Oh crap." Coulson says, realizing what he's done.
"Sir?" Bobbi, Mack and Tripp ask together.
"I said too much." Coulson says, putting his beer down on the floor, "I forgot how painful the past can be." He says before getting up and leaving, following after May.
"Okay, what just happened?" Skye asks confused.
"I think we just got a glimpse into the people May and Coulson once were." Simmons comments.
"But why'd she walk out?" Hunter asks, confused.
"My guess… Coulson was getting too close to saying something May didn't want to hear." Bobbi comments, as that's what she suspects.
"Think she will be okay?" Skye asks, sounding concerned, but no one has an answer for her.
A few minutes after he left the common area Coulson isn't at all surprised to find May sitting in the cockpit of the bus and so he just slides in and sits in the co-pilots seat without a word.
"I'm sorry." Coulson says after a couple of minutes of silence, "I didn't mean to cause you pain, I just got swept up in the old days."
"The old days are gone." May says, looking at Coulson, "They've been gone for a long time."
"I know, but it's nice to remember them." Coulson says.
"Sometimes." May answers, "But I am not Fury's favorite."
"Yeah, you are." Coulson says with a laugh, "He so designed this plane more for you than me." He informs May as after learning that May created the specifications for his team he realized that the plane is more to May's liking than his, though the nostalgia aspect if it was clearly for him.
"If you say so." May responds and the two of them drift into silence, as they do they both stare out of the window at the base, both remembering all the many times they have sat in a cockpit together, sometimes in silence, but more often than not Coulson talking while May is in silence.