The Family Secret Chapter 1: Hello, Heartache, an Avengers + Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Crossover fanfic

The Family Secret

Disclaimer:
As always … I own nothing.

Rating:
T (Just 'cause I never know where I'm gonna end up going with these things)

Genre:
Romance/Angst (with a little kiss of Family)

Pairings:
IronTazer
Steve/Skye (I don't have a name for them … Suggestions?)

Lyrics Used:
Avril Lavigne "Hello Heartache"
Boyce Avenue "I'll Be There For You" (Friends Theme)
Jessie J "My Shadow"

Hello, Heartache

Phil Coulson had been so lost in thought he'd never heard the hacker that had entered his bunk. "Coulson … AC … Phil!" Finally, he tore his eyes away from the picture in his hands as he snapped up to look at Skye.

"I'm sorry, Skye." The senior agent muttered, distractedly. "I was … Somewhere else …"

"I see that." The hacker hummed, thoughtfully, rounding the desk before the senior agent had the chance to hide the photo he'd been looking at. "Whatchya thinkin' so hard about?" She asked, curiously, glancing at the photo in her friend and mentor's hands. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Whoa!" She grinned, slightly. "You and Stark?" She asked, disbelievingly. "Seriously?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly love at first sight …" Phil mused, smiling softly at the memory. "But, yes. … We were together."

"For how long?" Skye asked, curiously.

"Two years." Phil admitted, Skye's eyes widening in shock.

"Wow." She breathed. "Looks like you two were pretty happy …" The hacker mused, staring at the photo of the agent and the billionaire, once more.

"We were …" Phil replied, wistfully.

Sensing that this might be a sensitive topic, Skye decided to tread lightly. "Mind if I ask what happened?" She asked, carefully.

After remaining silent for a moment, Phil deadpanned "I died." Looking up at the bewildered expression on the hacker's face Phil sighed as he replied. "As I'm sure you remember, I told you I was stabbed just before the battle of New York." He began, watching the young hacker nod silently, recalling the story Phil had already told her of his stabbing. "Well, Director Fury – in his infinite wisdom – decided to use the news of my 'untimely demise' as motivation for the Avengers to get their acts together and start working together as a team."

"Did it work?" Skye asked, curiously, clearly invested in the senior agent's story. If Phil were honest with himself, it was nice to have someone in his life, again, that cared about him and what he had to say.

"It did." Phil conceded. "They came together and stopped Loki – well … more specifically – Tony stopped him." He corrected, smiling softly once more, as he recalled reading the official reports on the battle. "The council had decided to nuke Manhattan and Tony flew the nuke through the portal – away from the civilian population – and used it to destroy the Chitauri battleship which single-handedly destroyed the entire Chitauri army."

"Damn." Skye breathed, impressed. "That's pretty badass."

"Agreed." Phil mused, smirking ever so slightly. "Nearly cost Tony his life – thankfully, the other Avengers managed to revive him. But …" Sighing heavily, the senior agent finished his story. " … After it was all said and done … Fury decided to let the Avengers go on believing I was dead." He finished, a helplessness to his voice that he would deny even under the worst torture.

Stunned, Skye couldn't believe that Fury would keep the two lovers apart, like that. "That's bulllshit." She cursed, quietly.

Amused by the hacker's explicit candor, Phil couldn't resist smirking slightly as he asked "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, but, I just think that it's bullshit what Fury's doing!" Skye replied, standing by her beliefs. Phil had always respected her for that. "I mean, Tony Stark clearly loves you … I would think he deserves to know that the man that he loves is still alive." She argued, vehemently. "Hell, I would think anybody would deserve that …"

"Agreed." Phil conceded, with a light sigh. "That's why I fought Fury tooth and nail to read the Avengers in – or even just Tony, at the very least …" He admitted. "But … He just wouldn't budge." He finished, defeatedly.

That's nowhere near good enough for me. The young hacker thought to herself as her mind had already set to work. "I'm really sorry, AC." She spoke, softly, lightly patting his arm as she turned to leave him with his thoughts.

You were perfect | I was unpredictable | It was more than worth it | But, not too sensible

Young and foolish | That seemed to be the way | And, I was stupid to think that I could stay | Oh oh | To think that I could stay

Tony Stark was pulled from his reverie when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning to search for the owner of the hand, he found only the surprisingly warm and gentle eyes of the red-headed assassin he'd become unlikely friends with ever since the battle of New York. "Hey, Nat." He greeted, hoping to have reached his usual, care-free tone of voice. Though, deep down, he'd known he'd failed. It was written all over the Black Widow's face.

"Everything okay, Tony?" Natasha Romanov asked, her voice uncharacteristically tender as she spoke to the billionaire, noticing that he'd been looking at his ultrasound pictures.

"Yeah …" Tony sighed, looking up from the sonogram pictures in his hands of his unborn twins, to address the assassin. "Just … I just miss 'im is all …" He finally conceded. There as no need to ask who Tony meant by 'him'. The genius had finally confided in the rest of his teammates about his clandestine romance with one Agent Phil Coulson several weeks after the battle of New York had ended. When Tony'd started feeling ill, he'd presumed that it had to have been related to his fall from space. However, once Dr. Bruce Banner had examined him and determined he was pregnant … Well, he knew he couldn't hide his secret, anymore.

Thankfully, however, his friends and teammates had all been surprisingly understanding about the whole thing – perhaps due to the trying time of Tony finding out he was pregnant right on the heels of losing the father of his unborn children to a psychotic Norse god. Whatever their reasons, Tony had definitely appreciated their support. Natasha, however, had become something of an unexpected confidant. Tony figured it was because of her own desires to have a family, despite her career.

"We all do..." Natasha replied, lightly wrapping her hands around those of the billionaire. "We all miss Phil. I know it's been hardest on you …" She admitted, softly. "But, just remember that you are not alone. Phil may not be here to see your children … But, the rest of us will always have your back … And, Phil's watching over the three of you wherever he may be."

"Thanks, Nat." Tony replied, quietly, with a soft smile. "I really needed to hear that."

"Okay, Stark..." Skye muttered to hereself, as she stretched out on the back seat of the SUV she always retreated to for her 'me time'. "If I were you … Where would I hide?"

The hacker had been digging for the better part of an hour – thoroughly impressed with the billionaire's firewalls – before she found something that stopped her dead in her tracks. She didn't know how she'd done it … But, she'd managed to get into his computer system – more specifically, his medical records – where she'd found something quite interesting.

Staring at the pictures, she struggled to wrap her mind around the implications of what she was seeing. "I'll be goddamned …"

You'll never leave me | You'll never leave me | You'll never leave me | You'll never leave me

"Sorry to barge in on you like this – again – AC …" Skye stated, eyes zeroed in on the senior agent. " … Again … But, there's something I think you really need to see …" She added, throwing the printouts of what she'd found on the senior agent's desk.

Eying the hacker, curiously, Phil then picked up the photos she'd thrown onto his desk. Instantly realizing what the photos were, Phil's eyes snapped back up to the hacker before him. "Skye … What … What are you-"

"They're not mine." Skye interjected, already knowing where Phil was going with his line of questioning.

Curious, Phil asked "Well … If they're not yours … Whose are they?"

A tense, palpable, silence stretched between the two as Skye slid into the seat before Phil as she fidgeted, nervously, before replying in an uncharacteristically quiet voice "Tony Stark's."

Up until that point, Phil Coulson never would have guessed that a simple name – two little one-syllable words – could bring his world to a screeching halt. Staring at the sonogram pictures before him, it was almost as if he could literally see his life changing right before his eyes. "T … Tony's … pregnant?" He breathed, in awe of the implications of what he was seeing.

"About three months along – according to his medical records." The hacker explained, her voice taking on a warmer, gentler tone. Even though she couldn't relate to the situation, she could still understand that it had to be indescribably difficult for the senior agent to know that the man he loved – a man who thought he was dead – was three months pregnant with his twins. Reaching across the desk, Skye gently rest her hand over that of the senior agent's and stared straight into the man's eyes as she spoke. "I think it's time you told Tony the truth."

Looking into the eyes of the woman who'd become something of a daughter to him, Phil knew she was right. Tony needed him now more than ever. And – in that moment – he realized that he couldn't care less what Fury had to say about it. He was reading the Avengers in. He was reading Tony in.

Author's Note:
I hope y'all like this chapter and will continue to read the later ones. I have quite a bit planned for the Avengers and Team Coulson alike! ;)

~Skye Coulson