The romance here will be a slow burn, driven by character transformation. Should be plenty of action and intrigue as well. I am ever drawn toward unlikely pairings, and this is no exception. Read, review, enjoy!
Prologue
A sliver of moonlight filtered through the industrial window of a tiny apartment, soft white mingling with the glowing yellow of the occupant's desk lamp. The scratching of a pencil was the only sound heard in the otherwise dim room, until a voice jumped from the darkest corner near the door.
"Remarkable."
The man at the desk started, whirling around in his chair. "What the-who are you?"
The faceless voice remained in shadow. "It's been ninety-seven days since your accident. Not only have you recovered your health, but you've made inconceivably great leaps forward in cybernetic prosthetic technology-entirely under your own strength, with only one naturally functioning arm. Remarkable."
"Yeah, I'm a genius, genius," scoffed the man at the desk, flexing his right arm with a quiet mechanical hum while his feet crossed over each other in a self-conscious metallic shuffle. "I asked you who you are."
"I've been watching you for a while now, Mr. Pine."
"Flattering as well as disturbing. Mostly disturbing. But I'm only going to ask nicely one more time: who—the hell—are you?"
"I represent an organization that's very interested in you, Mr. Pine. Lucky for you, I'm interested for very different reasons. You see, my superiors believe you're one of today's greatest threats to global security."
"Nifty." The man's arms were folded over his chest now, more bored than frightened by his intruder. "And you believe...?"
The voice stepped into the moonlight, revealing a clean-cut man in a grey suit that fairly screamed secret agent. "To answer your first question, my name is Agent Phil Coulson. And as for the second…I believe you could be one of Earth's greatest assets."