Everything that we recently learnt about Bahrain and May's marriage life with Andrew will be featured here, mingled with the existent ideas of the story, but in the end Philinda will end up thriving (major shipper over here; besides I wouldn't be drilling holes in my favorite ship, especially in the story that I write!)
Skye's 'Feel Good Mix' is actually my mix of feel good songs. I've got the playlist on my YouTube channel, I suggest you to check all the songs here: /playlist?list=PLcACxRt3letfb38H6IA7uQOSlKflTIUBp
This playlist will be used again in a future chapter, so be sure to at least remember that it existed.
(Skye's five-years-old; the action of this chapter takes some time between chapters 6 and 8 of this story)
Coulson leaned on the kitchen counter, sipping on his coffee, watching Skye munching on her toast. For a very obvious reason, he felt more excited that day. His best friend, his partner, the one person he'd trust his life to, was turning on year older. They always spent their birthdays together ever since the Academy because they were away from home and they were the closest family they had to each other. The tradition carried on after they graduated. Even after he got Skye's guardianship he always found a way to be there for May's birthday. This year though he was thinking of something different.
"You know whose birthday is today?" Coulson let out suddenly, his eyes focused on the wall in front but his mind drifting.
"Uhm, mine?" Skye asked expectant, slyly grinning.
He shook his head, "No. your birthday isn't for another six months."
"Then it's your birthday?"
"Not mine either," his smile grew as he told the girl, "Today is May's birthday."
"Oh, it's Melinda's birthday?" Skye responded, excited, "She's so cool. Can I wish her happy birthday?"
The man crossed the distance to his daughter and sat next to her, explaining, "Melinda doesn't really like to celebrate her birthday."
"Why? Birthdays are so cool. You get presents and cake."
"I always spend May's birthday with her, but I was thinking that maybe this year I could do something different. How would you like if I'd invite May to have dinner with us tonight?"
Skye was quick in her answer, "Call her!"
"One thing you need to promise me, though," he began, and Skye dutifully nodded her head and waited for the condition, "You can't wish her happy birthday. We're gonna have to pretend it's not her birthday, alright? We'll have dinner and you can give her the gift I got for her, but no mentions of birthday. Got it?"
"What did ya get her?" Skye asked instead.
Coulson gestured her to wait as he walked to his bedroom to get the present he got for May. He returned with a small rectangular case that he showed Skye. He opened the black box and showed her a pair of Aviator sunglasses. He got the shades off its case and put them on Skye.
"These are called Aviators. I think May will like them. What do you think?"
The girl nodded her head and carefully handed the sunglasses back to her father. "I like them too."
"May just got her pilot's license a few days ago, which means she can now fly planes, and I thought she'd like to wear these when she's piloting -"
Skye's jaw dropped open, "- Melinda can pilot planes? Wow!"
"I know, Melinda is amazing," Coulson smiled as he put the sunglasses back in the case. "I'll pick you up at the kindergarten and then we'll go to the supermarket to get things for tonight's dinner."
"Are we getting cake too?" Skye waved her hands, "Without candles, 'course."
"I'll think of that. Right now I need you to finish breakfast. We're getting late."
Coulson picked Skye up from kindergarten after already having gone shopping. It was easier and quicker to buy ingredients for the meal without Skye. However, there was something he couldn't exactly do on his own: cook really well. But he knew someone who could: Mrs. Evelyn Lancaster from the apartment below theirs. Coulson humbly asked the woman for cooking advices, and while Skye played domino with William, his wife Evelyn wrote down on a paper tips for Coulson. Once they entered their apartment, he walked to the kitchen, determined to successfully cook a meal. He put the paper over the kitchen counter and began silent reading the topics.
"Dad, can I put the mixtape Katie made for me?"
Katie was their twenty-ish-year-old neighbor who lived in the apartment down the hall from theirs. She noticed that Skye was very joyful and enjoyed music and so she made a mixtape for the girl, so that she could have a particular set of songs that would always put her in a good mood.
"Sure," Coulson said, not tearing his gaze from the piece of paper, "some music would be nice."
Skye ran to her Walkman cassette player lying in her bed and retrieved the cassette of the blue and silver metal-cased player, running the way back to the living room. After fitting the cassette in the stereo player put on the shelf in the living room, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run was playing throughout the entire apartment. Skye realized how much she hated cassette tapes because The Boss' song wasn't the first one of the list, but she was already too enthralled by the song to rewind it back to the beginning.
"Baby we were born to run," Skye sang at the top of her lungs, walking to the kitchen.
"Ok, Skye, I'm gonna need your help around here," Coulson said, "I'll take care of the cake itself, and while I finish dinner, you handle the topping, alright?"
"Okie dokie, Papa," she responded, providing a salute, kneeling over the chair's seat, sitting over her heels and resting her elbows over the table.
Skye handed the ingredients to Coulson as he added them into a bowl. He then gave it to Skye, leaving her whisking the ingredients together, turning his attention to the stove. He stirred the garlic and the onion around in the saucepan, grimacing once he realized they were starting to burn. Quickly he moved to the next step, reducing the heat and draining the spaghetti out of the pan where it was boiling, internally hoping for the best. He still couldn't understand what had gone through his head to find himself capable of cooking dinner and baking a cake at the same time, but he was still confident everything would turn out well.
"I think it's done, dad," Skye chirped, taking in a deep breath.
Her arms were hurting, feeling on fire, because she had been beating the batter for quite some time now. The two of them transferred the batter to oven to bake. Skye sat on top of the kitchen counter, holding a dishcloth as her dad washed the unused utensils and she drying them. The kitchen was turning into a chaotic mess and May would be arriving soon.
Skye swung her head to the rhythm of the song, singing, "Nothin' the matter with your head, baby find it, come on and find it. Hail, with it baby 'cause you're fine and you're mine, and you look so divine,"
"Come and get your love, come and get your love," Coulson's voice joined Skye's in singing, "come and get your love, come and get your love."
A few more minutes went by as Skye and Coulson finished preparing dinner and baking the cake. Soon the spaghetti with tomato sauce was ready, the strawberry and whipped cream cake was in the refrigerator, the kitchen was as clean as it was before, the table was set and Coulson and Skye was a bit tired but happy, dancing to the groovy tunes waiting for May to arrive. The doorbell rang, Skye grinned, Coulson did too.
"Pretty woman stop a while, pretty woman talk a while," Coulson sang, as he walked with Skye in his arms to the door, "Pretty woman, yeah yeah yeah, pretty woman, look my way, pretty woman, say you'll stay with me. Hey," he greeted, opening the door, meeting May's apprehensive gaze.
"Happy bir -" Skye clamped her own mouth, remembering that she couldn't wish happy birthday to May. "I mean, hello, Melinda."
The corner of May's lips twitched in a small smile and she gently tickled Skye's sides, "Hello, Skye. Hello Phil," she greeted, looking at him, repressing a smile.
Coulson put Skye down on her feet and watched her run to the living room. He took May's leather jacket and hung it on the coat hanger, placing his hand on the lower of her back, guiding her to the living room.
"I hope you're hungry. We busted our asses off cooking."
"You didn't have to," May affirmed.
"Of course I did," he replied, "Make yourself at home, I'll be right back."
"Uhm," Skye hummed and looked back, searching for May, "can you help me rewinding the cassette?"
May nodded and pressed the button the rewind the tape and then pressed play again. Skye was jumping over the couch, dancing her own version of Footloose.
"Have you ever watched the movie?" May asked. Skye frowned and the woman proceeded to explain, "Footloose, there's a movie, you've never watched it?"
"No," Skye stopped jumping and dancing, and sat on the couch, "What's about?"
"It's about a man," May began explaining, taking a seat next to the girl, "named Ren McCormack, who teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that, dancing, well, is the greatest thing there is."
"Who put the sticks up their butts? That seems bad."
"It's an expression. It means that those city people didn't do anything and were arrogant."
"Oh, I see," Skye concluded, and quickly changed the topic of conversation, "Daddy told me you can now fly planes."
"Yes, it is true."
"You know you're really cool, right? Even dad says you're amazing. And I know you can't really because of your work, but you think maybe you could take me on a plane ride?"
May smiled a little, "If the opportunity comes around I'll be sure to invite you for a ride on a plane."
"Yes!" Skye rejoiced. "Dad," she resumed, noticing her father walking in the living room, "Melinda said she'll take me on a ride on a plane one day."
Coulson rested his forearms over the back of the couch, smiling. He showed May the sunglasses case, saying, "I think these will come in handy then, when you're piloting. The sun can be a real pain in the as- in the butt," he amended, remembering that Skye was in the room.
But the truth was that she wasn't in the room anymore. She had taken a trip to the bathroom and luckily wasn't present to witness what happened next.
May opened the small box and her eyes lit up as she saw the sunglasses."Thank you. Really. You didn't have to do this."
"Of course I did."
The woman concealed the sunglasses back in its case and looked down at the small box, avoiding his eyes. She hated that she couldn't say he looked at her with only lust in his eyes. She hated the fact that she loved him that much and that he may love her back the same way. Before she could stop herself, her lips were already inches away from his. She pecked his lips gently. Coulson seized the moment to the fullest, cupping her face and deepening the kiss.
When she let out a quiet moan into his mouth, May's brain jumped in and made her realize what she was doing. She parted the kiss and looked down, embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I don't know-"
He didn't let her finish. He softly kissed her forehead, which made her lift her chin to look at him, surprised. Coulson put a kiss on the tip of her nose and then pecked her lips, running his thumb across her jawline. May's hands gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Coulson felt his insides burning once he parted the kiss and heard May's little gasp, her mouth seeking for his again. She refused to look at him but slowly loosened the grip of his collar. He knew that she was feeling embarassed for exposing herself like that, so he said casually,
"What about we have dinner now?"
The woman nodded and put the sunglasses case over the coffee table. Luckily Phil was a friend who knew her to the core, so she was glad to see that he had made the way to the kitchen already, giving her a few seconds to recompose herself. Skye giggled as soon as she entered the kitchen and saw May's and Coulson's faces.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
Skye giggled a little more, "Your faces are red."
The two exchanged a look, and despite what had happened, none of them was really feeling any embarassment or guilt. In fact, they found themselves wondering what could have happened if they had carried on kissing.
The girl sat at her chair and told May, "Daddy and I even maded a cake of strawberries and whipped cream."
"You didn't have to do that much. Really. Having dinner here was enough already," May confessed, smiling.
Everything was pleasant from the food to the good wine (juice for Skye, obviously), and the meal was peppered with chitchats. Most of those chats were about Coulson and May embarrassing each other with funny stories. Skye grinned until her cheeks hurt; she was so happy that it felt like it was her own birthday. She liked May, and that fact that she and her dad got along so well just offered Skye the ideal family life she wished to have. Because really that was all she wanted - more than any toys or expensive things – she wanted to have a mom and a dad like the boys and girls from kindergarten had.
Coulson placed the cake on top of the table and turned around to fetch the dishware that was needed. When he turned around, he found Skye suppressing her giggles and saw two small cavities on the cake's frosting.
"Whose finger was that?" he asked, perfectly knowing that Skye had stolen a bit of the whipped cream while he turned his back to them.
"Melinda did it too," Skye said, pointing her finger at the woman.
"You two are such troublemakers," he shook his head and smiled.
After a while, a thought hit Coulson. He licked the whipped cream off his lower lip and asked, "Isn't today Thursday?"
May told him after swallowing a bit of cake, "Yes, why?"
"Well, this is new," he said, looking at Skye, "today's Thursday and it's almost 8:30 and Skye isn't watching Friends. It's a weekly routine for her."
Skye looked up from her plate to her dad and then to May as she explained, "Melinda's here and it's her birt –" Skye resumed, "I don't wanna -"
"It's alright. Go watch it, bao bei, I don't mind," May said.
Skye smiled, "Cool. You're the bestest, Melinda."
"But you know the drill: once the episode is over, you're marching to bed. And please turn off the stereo now."
"Yes," Skye crooned, wiped her mouth and left the kitchen.
After the meal was finished, Coulson and May washed the dishes quickly. The two then moved to the living room; May sat on the couch while Coulson filled two glasses with scotch. Skye showed up coming from her bedroom, dressed in her pajamas.
"You're going to bed?" the man asked, taking a seat at the couch.
Skye nodded her head and placed a kiss on his cheek. She then turned to May and said, "I know you don't like it, but, don't be mad, happy birthday."
"I'm not mad," May reassured her, "And thank you."
The girl grinned and kissed May's cheek as well, "G' night."
"Good night," Coulson and May said in unison, watching Skye go to her bedroom.
May was still a bit stunned about what had just happened, but gulped down the scotch, hoping Coulson didn't notice it. He did, but chose not to say anything. He himself was also surprised with Skye's action. Coulson poured more scotch in their glasses and raised his.
"To more years to come."
The woman clicked her cup with his, repeating, "To more years to come."
Coulson chuckled as he sipped on his drink, "Remember when Garrett once toasted with us -"
"And ended up drinking the whole bottle?" May finished his sentence, "I remember that."
"I remember it even more. He threw up all over my bed."
"It's not as bad as having Blake ripping half of your clothes," she said, drinking the scotch in a single sip.
"You put pink hair dye in his shampoo. I'd want my revenge too." May and Coulson quietly snickered and looked at each other, "I miss the Academy times."
May shrugged, "I'm not that unhappy about how things are now."
The two continued to recall the Academy days and their first missions as rookies. Coulson may have broken a record that day of keeping May chatting and smiling throughout the entire talk down memory lane. She wasn't the type of person who showed her emotions to an audience, but if Phil was the only one hearing, she didn't feel vunerable to expose herself. By the mid of the night, the bottle of scotch was almost empty and even though neither of them was drunk, they were smiling a whole lot.
May downed the scotch in a single gulp, put the glass over the coffee table and got up, "Well, thank you for the dinner and the company -"
"Wait, you're leaving? Already?" Coulson got up as well.
"Yes," she nodded her head, putting her jacket on, "I've got a plane to fly tomorrow morning."
"Wow, reputation does really succeed you. You just got your license two or three days ago and you're already going for a flight."
The two were in relative silence after that; May was flattered by the comment, Coulson was saddened by her early leaving.
"You're sure you can't stay for a while more?"
She looked at him, his sad puppy face melting her heart. She sighed, "If I stay for a while more, I'll end up staying for the night. I know it, it's what always happens."
"You can leave really early in the morning." Coulson insisted a little more, "Come on, you just got your pilot's license. You're sure you don't want to use me for a test drive tonight?"
"You make the worst jokes ever, you know?"
Coulson smirked and enlaced his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, "I know," he retorted, pecking her lips, gently capturing her lower lip between his teeth, "but they haven't let me down up until today."
"If I'm late for tomorrow's flight, I'll hunt you down and kick your ass."
"I know and I don't mind. I just really want you around."
May pushed aside every rational thought and kissed him. Hell with reason and rationality, she'd savour every moment, she'd beg and moan and let him take control. It was her birthday and she was with the man she loved.
Next chapter May takes Skye fishing.