Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.


Chapter Seven

Hours turned into a day which turned into a week, a week and he was still alive. He was certain he had died in her arms there, but he had gotten some color back into his face, his breathing had improved and most of his strength had returned.

He spent all of his time with Melinda, he couldn't be helped. If only, his near death experience had made him love her even more, and he thanked the universe and everything that could possibly be thanked for this opportunity to be beside her.

Jemma had warned them that there could always be a chance that it might soon be over anyway, but he reminded her that that was the fun of life, in a way. You had to enjoy what you got, as though it was your last day, and the past weeks had reminded him of that even more. At least he would get to spend some more time with Melinda, and that was honestly all that mattered.

Melinda was making them tea in the kitchen and he had followed her, standing in the door opening for a few minutes, admiring her fully, before standing behind her and wrapping his arms tightly around her. She just sighed and leaned back, her hands covering his on her flat belly.

"Hey," she whispered, and when he looked down at her he saw her smile, satisfied, happy.

"What do you think of Paris?"

"What?"

"For our honeymoon."

She turned in his arms and he took that chance to brush her hair out of her face.

"What makes you think I need a honeymoon?"

"It's not about needing. You deserve one."

"We're in Tahiti, Phil."

"Yes. But we got married here. It doesn't count."

She rolled her eyes and he wrapped his arms around her tightly and lifted her onto the kitchen counter. She spread her legs and he stepped in between them. All the while, she smiled at him, and he loved that he could lift her like this again, that he was finally strong enough to love her properly, show her how much he loved her.

"I would be content to just go home," she whispered, her hands entwining in the back of his neck, and she pulled him close to link their lips briefly.

"Where's home?"

"Hmm… wherever you are."

Her words filled his soul with hearts and flowers and rainbows, she would kill him for being so cheesy but he couldn't believe his luck, that he got to spend this time with her, that he got a third chance.

A third chance. There was a price to be paid, he knew that, and perhaps his final death would be painful and gruesome and lonely, like he deserved, but hopefully it was twenty, thirty years away from now.

"I can't wait to spend forever with you. I can't wait to buy a home together. I love you."

When he kissed her, she smiled against his lips.

"I know."

He pulled back and she was smiling so brightly he gained twenty more years to live. He would live to a 160 if she kept going like that.

"Thanks, Han Solo."

She chuckled and he felt the urge to kiss her and make love to her, more than ever before, because he knew he could enjoy it properly now, didn't have to hold back, didn't have to slow down so he could catch his breath. She seemed to be totally fine with this turn of events. If only, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer just like that.

"Let's just go somewhere and see where we end up," she whispered, close to his lips. "I just want to be with you, that's it. I still have to get used to the fact that I don't have to worry about you anymore. Not like that."

"Then let's do it. The guys are still here with the Quinjet. I'm sure they can drop us off somewhere."

"You really hate to fly coach, don't you?"

"Uh, yes. Duh. Being stuck between a crying infant and an elderly lady who can't stop gloating about her grandchildren? I'd much prefer the jump seats in the Quinjet, thank you very much."

She chuckled and they kissed some more, until someone entered the room and they hardly pulled away, just looked at who it was.

Daisy.

"Hey, we're leaving now. You need a ride?"

Phil looked at Melinda, who was just smiling at him, encouraging him without words to just say yes and be a little adventurous. He could do anything with her by his side, his best friend and wife. They might even settle down in the end. He knew that thought scared her a little, his Melinda was afraid of too much permanence, but he would show her how beautiful it could be, would be, just the two of them.

"Please. Just let us pack our stuff."

There was nothing to pack, they had hardly taken anything with them, and he almost thought of leaving everything behind, start all over again, but when he saw her beach dress draped over the chair in the bedroom, he threw that plan into the wind. She… they deserved a life, together, in peace, and in a way, this simple flower dress represented everything he wanted for them. No more fear of being hurt, no more fighting for their lives. No more SHIELD. He deserved to be without SHIELD.

She looked at him as his fingers lightly touched the fabric, and when he looked at her, her eyes were questioning him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. That's the thing. It's kind of scary. My life has never been like this."

She snaked her arms around him after she looked at him worryingly for a few moments, and he pulled her close.

"I honestly thought I would die… when I thought about the future, I didn't even dare to look past this island… and look at us now. We are making plans for the rest of our lives, and it feels so… great. This is perfect. The last time I got close to a happy end… she died. And Audrey… And then with you, I almost died."

She held onto him tightly and made him look at her.

"Hey. Nobody is dying, okay? Not anytime soon. So you can get used to us being together, because I'm not letting you go."

Thank god.

He couldn't wait to be with her for as long as they were allowed.

~...~

"Well, this place is yours now. Good luck."

He smiled at the happy couple and handed them the keys. As soon as he was out of sight, Melinda May pulled Phillip Coulson in for a toe-curling kiss, deep enough to make him wrap his arms around her and push her flush against him.

"Good luck?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"It is kind of a mess."

He grabbed her hand and opened it, placing the keys in her palm and closing her hand again. Then, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other underneath her knees and he lifted her, bride-style, though they were long past that.

After she unlocked the door, he carried her over the threshold, the one thing he hadn't been able to do on their wedding day and the one thing he kept trying to recreate, as though that was necessary, as though she had hated that specific day in their lives.

He put her down in the hallway but he didn't let her go. Instead, he pulled her in for another kiss, and she briefly wondered how long they had gone without kissing each other once they had gotten together. It was probably about ten minutes. It made her smile.

"We gotta learn the language," he said all of a sudden.

"The language?"

"Yeah. The slang? The mojo? What do the kids say these days?"

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, putting her hands in the back of his neck.

"They speak English here, Phil. We will already stand out, so what's the point?"

He shrugged at that and let her go, but she wasn't going anywhere. They held hands while they explored the house, their house, quite possibly her dream house. Not too big, so it was cozy, but there was still enough space for their loved ones to come visit them. The windows were big, putting their surroundings in perfect view. She loved looking at the hillsides, and the nature was probably the first thing she had fallen in love with when he had shown the house for the first time. It was secluded and peaceful and serene, exactly what she had always needed. She had lived in a city all her life. Now was the time to retire to the countryside.

"It's perfect."

"It sure is." He squeezed her hand, causing her to look at him. "And the house is, too."

"Stop it, Phil. You're being too corny." She said it with a smile, however, because she knew no matter how many times she would deny it, she secretly loved this side of him.

"Why was it specifically this house that you wanted to buy?"

"Because I thought you might like it. And… there is parking space for our family."

When she frowned, he pointed outside to the vast green fields. It took her a while to realize what he was talking about.

"The Quinjet." She smiled and realized once again what an amazing person he was, to factor in all sides of a coin, to look at what she wanted, the coziness, the solitude, the serenity; but also their family, because that is what they were above everything else. They wanted to be able to visit them often, stay over if possible, especially Daisy.

"Hey. You better get into your painting gear. We have to start."

He saluted her, with a big, doofy smile on his lips, and she pushed him away from her, knowing that that specific smile could get him anything he wanted.

~...~

Since her childhood, she had always thought that she would be stuck in the same lifestyle for eternity, because her mother was a bad example. May had done fine until Bahrain, and had then preferred any other job over that one and had settled for office work, which had pushed her into a depression even faster than normal. She had no idea how her mother was still in that job.

Phil Coulson had gotten her out of that office with sweet talk and she had followed like a bee to honey, because the prospect of working with him again sounded incredibly tempting. Even if she was the one who had assembled their team, he had actively tried to get her as involved as possible. Five years down the line, and now she was retired, at 54.

Well, mostly retired. As opposed to Phil, who refused to take a single step into any base SHIELD related, she still offered some advice from time to time, taught some self-defense classes because she loved to train the younger generation.

Now, she was sitting in the deep window sill with multiple cushions surrounding her, reading some stupid book that somehow had piqued her attention and she was about halfway. Her husband was outside doing God knows what, probably tending the garden, or just staring out at the fields. He liked to do that, for some reason.

He had given up spy life entirely, and while everybody else was surprised, she wasn't. They had been in the business for over three decades, and while she'd had no complaints, he had often discussed his dreams of a quiet, civilian life, even back in his twenties, when they had rolled fresh out of the Academy. After all, he had never had any ambitions of being a spy, had always planned to be a history teacher.

He was damn good at being a spy, and that was what had kept him going, but he wasn't made for it. When they had started settling into their home, he had gone job hunting and had landed himself the position of history teacher at a local high school. He had visibly lighted up, and that was all she lived for - for him to be happy, to feel comfortable in his skin. Retirement from SHIELD did him well.

It should have surprised her that when they had started looking for houses, one of his first options was Ireland. She had no idea what she could expect from the country but he had been so excited about the new adventure, and she had always encouraged him to remain as adventurous as he always had been, so they had started this adventure. The house had really been a mess, but their love had turned it into their perfect home.

The front door opened and he entered, smiling at her and automatically diverting towards her to kiss her lips.

"I think I heard something outside."

"That's very generic. What did you hear?"

Right at that moment, she heard the telltale sounds of jet engines drawing closer, and she got up, throwing the book away, screw that stupid book. He smiled at her and she grabbed his hand, and together they walked out the front door and watched as the smaller Quinjet landed right in their front yard.

"The kids are home," he whispered, his arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her to his side. It briefly reminded her of their goodbye to the team back in Tahiti, a little over a year ago now. His knowing smile showed her that he was thinking the same thing.

"Phil?"

"Hmm?"

"What was number one on your list?"

They had worked down his list as much as possible, although one thing they could never tick off - have a child. It was okay, they had their family, but it would never be the same thing.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Are you sure you want to keep it from me?"

He chuckled and tightened his hold on her.

"Alright. It was to die in your arms. Not just any arms, your arms. Because I love you, so much. I haven't loved you any less, only more. I haven't loved anyone as deeply as I love you. And I know I didn't technically die, but I think we can both agree that I came pretty close. It was frightening, but your arms were there. And it was… perfect, in a weird kind of way. I knew you were there. That was all I needed to know."

Of all the answers he could have given, there was no way she could have expected this one, and she stood frozen to the ground for a moment, but then her eyes landed on his and she saw the love he had spoken the words with, and it was alright.

"Well…"

"I know. It was different for you. That's why I focused on literally any other point on that list. Number one… it was for me."

That was important. Phil had spent most of his life pleasing others and had put himself to the back more than once. Even his death in New York was selfless - it had served to bring the Avengers together, even if it meant he was dead. She had been furious at them once, that it had taken his death for them to get serious. He should never sacrifice himself like that again. It hadn't been worth it, anyway - not even a Border Collie could keep those stupid sheep together. She was secretly glad for laughing in Fury's face when he had asked her to help out with the Avengers - she would probably have mortally injured all of them for their stupidity. But they were Phil's friends, she knew. And privately, as civilians, they weren't half bad.

In front of them, the Quinjet was leveling with the terrain, it was obvious that Davis was behind the wheel because he was quite possibly the only one on the team who could park here. Well, him and May. But she hadn't flown in ages.

"I actually quite like the sentiment of that. But I'm glad that you didn't die."

"Me too. Now, I get to kiss you for all eternity."

For good measure, their lips met briefly and she let out a sigh. Just at that moment, she heard the hangar door open and a couple sets of feet climb down from the plane. She rushed out of his arms to wrap Daisy Johnson in hers, who was now legally their daughter (she had just gotten the official papers in the mail the day before), while over the woman's shoulder, she saw Fitzsimmons exiting the Quinjet with their baby girl in Fitz's arms.

For once, nobody had died. It was a pleasant change to their normally tragic existence.