Melinda woke up the next morning curled on her side, and it took her a moment to work herself down from the panic of hearing someone else breathing to her right. Slowly the memories of the night before came back to her and she was almost uncomfortable with how easy it was for her to relax again. Memories of laying on the couch, tucked into Phil's side while they half watched whatever black and white John Wayne movie Phil had picked. She hadn't even been able to bring herself to tease himself about the ridiculous cowboy movies because despite the fact that she was doing her best to control whose emotions she was feeling, she couldn't help but know that he was happy to just be there with her and so was she had brought them both another beer and tried not to tense when Phil had let his arm drape over her side as he lay behind her because as much as she craved it, his touch still felt like something taboo or forbidden; a side effect of the mutual yearning that they had allowed to go on for far too long.
Melinda rolled over in bed to face Phil who was laying on his back, still asleep, just inches away. She glanced toward the window and saw that the sun was only barely starting to peek over the horizon and she almost felt guilty for how happy she was about that. Carefully, tentatively, so as to not wake him up, Melinda moved closer to him, just enough that she could allow for her hand to rest over his in the middle of the bed. He stirred a little at the touch and Melinda held her breath watching carefully until his breathing evened back out and he settled again before she let herself fall back asleep.
When Phil woke up it was to Melinda's alarm ringing on the bedside table beside her. He couldn't help but smile when he noticed how peacefully she was sleeping against him and almost felt guilty when he squeezed the hand that had somehow come to be wrapped around his own to wake her up. She stirred and immediately made a face as she paused for a moment before rolling over and snoozing the alarm. She rolled back over and landed on her back, letting Phil rub his thumb against the back of her hand.
"It sounds like you need to get up."
"I waited too long for this. Give me five more minutes." Phil nodded with a smile. He couldn't bring himself to close his eyes and try to sleep for a few more minutes. Instead he watched the rise and fall of Melinda's chest, focused on how despite the fact that she would've fooled anyone else, he could tell she was awake by the way she would squeeze his hand every once in while, the way she would crack a joint occasionally.
When Melinda finally got out of bed for the day, Phil wasn't surprised when her alarm hadn't had the chance to begin ringing again. She looked at her phone for two seconds as she sat at the edge of the bed, her back to Phil and despite the fact that it was obvious they weren't holding back quite as much anymore his glances felt stolen as his eyes traced the lines and curves of her back that peeked out around the straps of her tank top and shone through the thin material. When she stood up Phil could see that she was already rolling her eyes and he couldn't help but smile at the look she shot him as she dropped her phone at the foot of the bed. She disappeared into the bathroom and when he heard the shower water begin to run he reached for his own phone and read through the notifications he had missed. There were several from Daisy that had been sent with increasing urgency.
hey, you didn't pick up
hello?
a.c. you good?
seriously this isn't funny
WAIT
ARE YOU WITH HER?
that's the only reason you'd ignore me, right?
right?
you better call me in the morning
Phil couldn't help but laugh to himself as he scrolled through Daisy's messages. Melinda caught the tail end as she walked out of the bathroom toweling her hair dry with one hand, holding another around her body with the other.
"What's so funny?"
"Just Daisy."
"She texted you too?"
"Of course. Very concerned when I didn't answer her call last night. Is she mad about you missing tai chi?"
"She told you about that?"
"She loves it." Melinda couldn't help but smile as she dropped her hair towel and walked to the front of the apartment where her closet hid behind a sliding mirrored door. She dug for half a minute before she pulled out a black pantsuit and a white button down. She tossed them on the chair as she pulled them out then grabbed them by their hangers before she disappeared with them back into the bathroom. She reemerged two minutes later, not even long enough for Phil to make any progress on the article he had selected to read, and when he looked up from his phone he had to keep himself from staring. What she was wearing wasn't all that different from what she had worn the day before, but he supposed it was something about the way she hadn't tucked her shirt in yet, or the way her blazer was draped over her arm. She noticed his eyes, but if she minded she didn't say anything as she walked toward the kitchen, dropping her blazer on the couch on her way.
Phil took this opportunity to get out of bed himself, stretching as he stood up. Melinda couldn't help but glance not so discreetly over her shoulder as his t-shirt rose above his boxers when he lifted his arms above his head, revealing his abs that were just starting to turn into the dad bod Jemma had always teased him about if he didn't stop eating so much junk food all the time. Melinda didn't mind that he hadn't listened. She felt Phil's eyes on her and she went back to pouring milk into her cereal. When he disappeared into the bathroom she allowed a smile to herself as she sat down at the kitchen island. Phil came back wearing his dress pants with the t-shirt he had slept in and smiled at Melinda warmly as he started some coffee from the pot he had watched Melinda pull out of one of the cabinets.
"No tea for you?" He motioned to the unplugged electric kettle.
"I've moved on."
"To?"
"Redbull." Phil scoffed with a smile.
"Of course you have." He sat across from her and they sat in silence for a minute as Melinda finished her breakfast until she got up and left the bowl in the sink. She grabbed her blazer off the couch and shrugged into it.
"You're sure you don't mind that I'm just leaving you here?"
"May, I'll be fine. I can entertain myself." Melinda gave him a smile that she just couldn't manage to force enough annoyance into.
"I've only got two classes today and office hours so I'll be back by 5."
"Sounds good." Melinda stepped into her heels by the door and picked up her bag, hoisting it onto her shoulder.
"I'll leave a key here in case you want to go out."
"May."
"And there's a Starbucks down the street."
"May."
"And-"
"May." She finally stopped and looked at Phil. "Go. I'll be fine." She nodded with what Phil could only read as relief. She opened the door and got halfway into the hallway before she stopped again and paused for a moment before she looked over her shoulder.
"I'm glad you're here." Before Phil could say anything else she shut the door behind herself and Phil was left alone in the flat. He sighed as the coffee pot finished brewing and his eyes lit up a bit as he got up to look for a mug. After looking through a few of the cabinets he found a plain black mug that once had one other match on an otherwise scarce shelf, now sitting dirty in the sink from Phil couldn't even tell when. He couldn't help but breathe deeply as he felt the heat coming out of the mug and the scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the room. He went into the fridge in search of creamer, but found only beer and a tupperware container half filled with rice alongside a rotting pepper.
"May…" he scolded under his breath. He shut the refrigerator and headed out to the balcony. He sat in one of the two patio chairs Melinda had set out there and watched as the city started to wake up below him. He spotted a Whole Foods in the distance and smirked to himself. He took a sip from his coffee and it was right then that he realized Melinda owned a coffee maker, but had always hated coffee.
It was 5:15 pm by the time Melinda was heading up the stairs to her apartment, already feeling bad that she was running late. A professor had stopped by her office, asking if she would guest lecture for one of his classes because, as luck would have it, she was still one of the only people that had died in impressively permanent ways and lived to tell about it. While she was more than happy to, she wasn't as happy when he refused to leave her office, making small talk (which she hated), no matter how many times she hinted she was trying to leave for the day. Melinda was still so deeply in her own head as she dug for her keys in her bag that she didn't notice the music that was filtering through the door and floating into the hallway. It wasn't until she opened the door and she saw Phil singing to himself in the kitchen that she stopped.
Melinda's apartment was almost unrecognizable to her. Phil had made her bed and folded the blankets at its foot; there was a strong chance he had washed the bedding as well, judging by the empty laundry basket sitting at the foot of the bed. The balcony had been swept and the string lights she had hung up and never plugged in were on and just able to be visible in the late afternoon light. The TV in the living room was playing music with a random assortment of antique art flashing across the screen, her screensaver something she had never seen or at least not noticed before. And then there was the kitchen. He had done the dishes that had been piling up in the sink and wiped down the counters. As Melinda slowly took off her shoes, taking in the room, the smell of dinner cooking finally hit her. She stared as Phil shook pans on the stove with delicious looking steaks in-between cutting up vegetables and sauteing mushrooms and looking more handsome than Melinda would've admitted to his face in his jeans and old tshirt. She hadn't expected Phil wearing jeans to be an event that did something to her. But she found that she couldn't help but stare at the barely defined muscles that moved under his shirt and worn jeans that almost covered his sock feet. It wasn't until Phil turned to smile at her that she found she could look up at his face.
"Hey."
"Hi." Melinda was quiet. She was always quiet but she had never expected that Phil would have gone to such lengths, much less on day one. He saw the deer in headlights look in her eyes glazing over into the indifference he had become so accustomed to over the years. Before Melinda could say anything else, he was backtracking.
"Was this okay? I didn't want to over step, but I thought that maybe we could-"
"Phil." He stopped, watching at the smile he had been hoping to see started to show at the corners of her mouth. "It looks amazing, thank you."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely. Here, I'll help. Give me five." Melinda smiled just a bit more as she walked to the closet, pulled some clothes out, and disappeared into the bathroom. With the door shut behind her she leaned against it with a sigh. This was fine, right? It had to be fine, this was stuff that couples did. And for her to be overwhelmed by something as small as a clean apartment felt silly; it was a rather small apartment after all. Melinda reasoned with herself as she changed into a pair of black leggings and an athletic tank top. She looked in the mirror and quickly pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, getting it out of her face. Finally she opened the door with her newfound confidence and headed back into the kitchen, dropping her work clothes in the hamper as she walked. She couldn't help but sway her hips just a little bit extra, Phil had had the audacity to look like that after all, and she had felt his eyes on her even after she had closed the bathroom door. Phil smiled at her as he took the steaks out of the pan and set them to rest on a plastic cutting board. Melinda did her best to relax as she tried to let the day go from her mind, sighing as she cracked her neck and stretched a shoulder behind her back.
"Long day?"
"You could say that."
"Tell me about it." Phil spoke over his shoulder as he pulled out two plates and started piling food on them.
"It was just boring. What do you want me to help-"
"No. Sit. I want to hear." Melinda was caught a little off guard but found his insistence adorable. She took a seat on a stool by the island and let herself revel in how intently Phil listened while he finished putting their dinner together. Minutes later, Melinda had a plate full of delicious looking food and a glass of wine with Phil sitting adjacent to her at the kitchen island.
"And just what did you do today?"
"Nothing much. You and I need to have a word, though." Melinda froze. Phil immediately saw the slight panic in her eyes and backpedaled as fast as he could. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant your fridge. Beer and old rice? That was it? Really?" Melinda relaxed and bit her lip as she smiled at her plate.
"Haven't made it to the grocery store in a minute."
"What do you even eat?"
"Takeout, sometimes I make pasta, sometimes I do stir fry." Phil shook his head disapprovingly with a teasing smile.
"Sometimes?"
"We both know I'm not the best cook."
"Looks like I'm gonna have to change that." Melinda smiled at him and took another bite of her steak.
A half hour later Melinda had forced Phil to relax on the couch while she did the dishes, not even allowed to dry them. He scrolled on his phone, only half paying attention, as he kept glancing back up to watch Melinda move through the kitchen with the grace he only wished he had. Finally he heard the water running in the sink turn off and he started paying much less attention to his phone when Melinda fell into the couch beside him, their shoulders almost touching. He smiled at her as she pushed a stray piece of bang that had fallen from her pony tail out of her face and let her head fall back against the cushion. Phil let his hand come to rest over Melinda's and couldn't help but notice when he felt her fingers twitch and he almost pulled away.
"Are you ok?" Melinda looked at him confused.
"I'm fine. Why?" Phil looked down as he thought of what to say, Melinda watching intently with concern. Finally, he spoke. "Are… are you ok with me being here?"
"Of course I am. What are you talking about?" Melinda's brow furrowed and Phil almost felt bad for even asking when he saw the look in her eyes.
"I just- You just seem-"
"Cold?" Phil paused as Melinda spoke, watching as she pulled her eyes from his. She didn't pull her hand away from his, but he could almost watch her recoil inside herself.
"No!" Now it was Melinda's turn to pause. She looked up at him, confused.
"You've never been cold to me. Angry, yes. But not cold. You just seem… stressed. And I can't figure out why. Was I stupid for trying to play house so soon? Or is this just not what we thought-"
"Phil stop." Melinda closed her eyes and took a breath. Then she laughed to herself. "You can be so oblivious sometimes, you know?" Phil raised an eyebrow. "Phil. We spent ten years loving from a distance. Our form of affection was making sure the other didn't get themselves blown up." She shot him a glare with a half smile and Phil finally smiled back. "And now there's no bombs. I'm just not used to… how normal this feels. I just-"
"I can stop, if it makes you uncomfortable."
"No. I don't want you to. It's just an adjustment."
"I can slow-"
"No." Melinda had to stop from allowing her frustration to seep into her tone. "No slowing down. No holding back. We waited too long to do that bullshit now." Melinda finally met Phil's eyes and was met with adoration she hadn't seen since Daisy left.
"No holding back?"
"No holding back." Melinda nodded. "Change just takes time. Even good change." Phil nodded.
"Well then in that case…" Phil took Melinda's face gently in his hand and turned it towards his. He couldn't help but take a moment to just look at her. The way the light shined in her eyes brought out the golden specks he only got to see once in a blue moon. The way she smiled at his touch. Melinda couldn't help but lean into his hand, feeling its warmth against her face and the way Phil's thumb rubbed gently against her cheek comfortingly. Finally, he kissed her. Gently, kindly, but with love behind it, with promises behind it. Melinda pushed herself closer to Phil, turning and tucking her feet underneath her so she could prop herself up, so that Phil didn't have to lean down quite as far. Phil's other arm came to wrap around Melinda's waist and her hand reached to cover the one cupping her face. Phil finally pulled away when he felt Melinda's legs shaking from lifting her body higher. She closed her eyes and smiled, humming softly and squeezing Phil's hand against her cheek. He took her hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss to the palm. Phil leaned back into the couch and relaxed so Melinda could move closer and rest her head on his shoulder.
"You sure that's all you wanna do?" Phil looked down at Melinda. Melinda looked up at him with an amused smirk.
"So you've got balls all of a sudden?"
"Helps to know we're on the same page."
"Oh are we?" Melinda smiled at him deviously as she lifted her head off Phil's shoulder and let her arm support her, stretched across Phil's waist. Phil looked at Melinda intently as she moved to face him with a look in her eyes Phil had never seen before. Her voice was suddenly low and heavy, lower than Phil had ever heard it. "Because I don't know that we are, Phil."
Suddenly she was kissing him hard and fast and passionate and Phil could barely focus when Melinda's hands were everywhere as he kissed her back; running over his short hair, her nails scratching down his back, her fingers running over the scar on his chest and sliding downward… Melinda smirked into the kiss when she heard Phil's breath hitch as she grabbed his dick through his pants. His fingers trailed up the back of her head and pulled her hair out of its ponytail so that he could run his fingers through it. Phil moaned Melinda's name against her lips as she squeezed and it sent a shiver down her spine that settled right in her already throbbing core. Phil noticed as Melinda pressed her thighs together and smirked as he swept her off of him with one arm and suddenly they were standing next to the couch kissing as Melinda blindly fussed with the zipper of Phil's pants and his hands came to rest on her ass. Finally the tiny noises Melinda was making as she kissed him and the way she had started tilting her hips against his thigh were driving Phil crazy. Without ever breaking their kiss, he walked them backwards until Melinda's knees hit the back of the bed and they fell together. Melinda's hands moved to tug at the bottom of Phil's shirt. He lifted his arms and let her pull it off of him before he stepped back to take off his pants. By the time he had returned his attention to Melinda, her shirt and leggings had disappeared, leaving her only in a black lace bra that left little to his imagination and matching panties that hugged her ass so tightly and seamlessly they might as well have been painted on.
"Fuck, Melinda." Phil leaned down and kissed down her neck, stopping to suck at her pulse point and make her moan.
"What did you just call me?" Phil looked up as he kissed his way down her chest.
"What? Melinda?"
"You never call me that." Melinda lifted her back as Phil unclasped her bra and peeled it away.
"Don't you like it?" Phil couldn't help but stare reverently at Melinda's breasts. They were small, but full and perky as all hell despite her age, her dark nipples calling for Phil to suck on them. Phil couldn't believe he hadn't caved to this sooner.
"I love it. Say it again."
"Whatever you say, Melinda." Phil said before he finally took a nipple into his mouth. Melinda arched into it and cursed under her breath. A hand came to rest on the back of Phil's head. He switched to the other nipple as a hand snaked down Melinda's body where he could already feel the heat.
"Fuck," Phil breathed out. "You're so wet." She sighed as he ran two fingers up her slit and let them circle her clit.
The only noise Melinda could manage to get out is a moan because it was true, and she couldn't even make herself feel embarrassed. She'd loved him for too long and wanted him for too long and imagined this for too long and fuck it she was tired of waiting.
"Is this what you want?" Melinda nodded. Phil put pressure on her clit that made her hips buck up into his hand.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Phil. Please just fuck me already."
As if her words let him off a leash, Phil let the two fingers that had been teasing Melinda roughly enter her, making her yell.
"Fuck!" Phil smirked to himself as he started to move them in and out and lowered his head to take a nipple into his mouth. Melinda's hands gripped Phil's shoulders as her head fell back and a long string of expletives fell from her mouth as Phil's thumb tapped her clit every few thrusts. Phil hummed softly.
"You like that, Melinda?" Phil felt her walls clench around his fingers, release, then flutter as she nodded her agreement and he could tell she was close.
"Then you'll like this even more."
His mouth left Melinda's nipple and she couldn't help but ever so slightly mourn the loss of contact. She was about to lift her head to see where his mouth had gone but she felt it first. Phil wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked, hard, letting his tongue run over it as he did.
"You taste amazing."
Melinda had started cumming the moment she felt his mouth on her pussy, her back bent in an impossible arch as she twitched and Phil could feel her thighs shaking for almost a minute. He made sure to keep his eyes on her, not that he could have looked elsewhere if he had tried. She was beautiful when she came; the way her breasts heaved against her chest as she breathed, the way her moans morphed into curse words that morphed into a silent scream. The way that despite the fact that the sheets could have formed holes from her white knuckled grip, she was still reaching for his hand. Phil could have spent the rest of the night eating Melinda's pussy; her scent and taste and the way she screamed was intoxicating. But instead, he took mercy on her and stopped. Phil slowed his fingers but didn't remove them, not until she was laying back on the bed, catching her breath, and motioning for him to come lay next to her. He moved up and tucked Melinda into his side, brushing her hair out of her face.
"If I had known it was going to be that good, I would have done that years ago." Melinda smiled at Phil as his fingers traced patterns on her thigh.
"That wasn't even my best work." Phil teased.
"Oh?"
"Oh yeah. I can do way better." Melinda couldn't help but smile at his audacious cockiness.
"Then I guess I'll just have to see for myself." Melinda rolled on top of Phil, straddling his waist. Phil was caught a bit off guard, but his hands still moved to hold her waist. "You don't think I missed this, did you?" She reached down and grabbed his cock, stroking it once. She had seen his cock the minute he had taken his pants off and had to keep herself from gasping. It was fat, fatter than most she had seen and almost seven inches long. Phi's head fell back onto the bed as he let out a low moan, his already hard cock getting harder with every touch.
"I'd tease you but I don't think you'd make it more than a minute." Melinda slid herself back a bit. "But that's not going to stop me from doing this." She leaned down and kissed the head before letting inch after inch disappear between her lips. Phil had to keep himself from thrusting into her mouth, not wanting her to gag, but found himself second guessing that decision when he felt her lips brush against his balls and he looked up to see Melinda taking all 7 inches like a champ. His head fell back again when she moaned and the vibration traveled down his shaft in the best way he could imagine. After a minute and a half, Melinda finally pulled away and Phil all but pulled her closer to him.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need you to fuck me now." Phil captured Melinda's lips in a kiss as she reached down and guided his cock inside of her. She lowered herself much faster than Phil had expected and groaned when she ground her hips against his and made the smallest noise in the back of her throat, but Phil thought it was the sexiest thing he had ever heard. Melinda paused for a moment, adjusting, before she lifted herself up then dropped back down on Phil's moaned together and Melinda quickly picked up the pace, raising as quickly as her already tiring legs would let her.
"Phil…" Melinda's voice trailed off in pleasure.
Finally, Phil knew she wasn't going to be able to go fast enough for either of them, especially after the orgasm she had just had, so in a smooth motion, Phil wrapped his arm around Melinda's back and flipped them. Melinda let out a cry of surprise then couldn't help but whine softly when Phil's cock slipped out of her while they moved. Phil lined the tip back up with Melinda's entrance and immediately pushed his full length in. Melinda cried out and Phil groaned as he set an absolutely punishing pace. Melinda's legs wrapped around Phil as he leaned down to kiss her. Melinda couldn't help but nip at Phil's bottom lip with her teeth but quickly stopped with a gasp when Phil gave a particularly hard thrust. Melinda was still kissing Phil when he felt her hand snake between their bodies to play with her clit. Phil looked at her with a half smile.
"You close?"
"Are you?" Phil nodded. Before Melinda could answer her face gave her away, contorting into pleasure as he felt her walls tighten around him. "Come with me, Phil." It wasn't a hard request to fulfill and the moment he felt Melinda's legs shake and watched her head fall back in another orgasm, he let himself lose it, gripping tightly onto her hips. He groaned and pushed his cock as far inside of Melinda as it would go and let his orgasm wash over him, moaning her name over and over as he watched the look on Melinda's face as she felt him shoot ropes of hot cum inside of her. The room was soon filled with nothing but both their heavy breathing. Melinda smiled lazily when Phil finally collapsed next to her.
"Was it worth the wait?" Melinda looked over at Phil.
"I don't know, you tell me. You were the one screaming." He winked teasingly and Melinda hit his arm.
"Ass."
Despite the insult, Melinda still curled herself against Phil's body and let her nails run softly across his chest. They sat in silence for long minutes that seemed to stretch on, but neither of them minded. Melinda would have thought Phil was asleep if she hadn't known better; Phil's even breathing was simply from contentment, he moved too much when he was actually asleep. Finally, Melinda broke the silence.
"You know I don't want you to leave, right?"
"Hm?" Phil looked down at her.
"Don't make me say it again."
"I'm surprised."
"Are you?"
"Shouldn't I be?"
"You can be so stupid sometimes, you know that?"
"I just figured-"
"Well stop figuring. I want you here. Or at least with me. If there's places you want to go, fine, but I want to go with you."
"I'm tired of the distance."
"So am I."
"So what you're telling me is that I should go unpack my Captain American mugs from the trunk?" Melinda tried to keep a straight face but couldn't help but laugh at Phil's goofy smile.
"No. You're staying right here because my legs are still shaking." Melinda moved closer.
"I think someone likes to cuddle."
"I do not."
"I think you do."
"Shut up." Then a moment later: "You're just warm is all."
"Sure, whatever you say." Phil smiled as Melinda finally rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He watched as her breathing slowly evened out and he felt his own eyelids getting heavy. He sank a bit lower into the bed, hoping he wouldn't wake Melinda up, with what he determined to be success. But no matter how hard he tried to sleep, he couldn't get rid of the slight smile that refused to leave his face. Finally, he looked over at her again and moved some of her hair.
"How does this feel so easy?" Despite Phil's assumption that she was asleep, Melinda responded ever so softly and smiled to herself when Phil jumped a bit at the sound of her voice.
"Because you make it that way."
Phil woke up to find that it was still dark. After a glance at the phone screen that blinded him and he had to hold back a hiss to keep himself from waking Melinda who was still sound asleep beside him, he discovered that it was 3 am; entirely too early to get up. He took a moment to fix the blankets that he had stolen in the middle of the night so that Melinda actually had at least one covering her. He was surprised that she hadn't cared. Phil moved to lay down closer to Melinda, but stopped himself. He took a moment to watch the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed before he finally committed and laid down so there was less than an inch of space between them. He hesitantly let one arm drape over Melinda's side and almost pulled away when he felt her move. But instead, she took his hand in hers and held it comfortingly against her body as she moved to press her back against the front of his body.
"Much better." Melinda's voice was barely audible as she squeezed his hand lightly. Phil smiled and finally settled in, sleep coming much easier than he had expected.
Phil woke up on his back with Melinda tucked into his side, her head resting on his shoulder and his arm tucked underneath. He closed his eyes again and tried not to move too much; it was Saturday and Melinda deserved the chance to sleep in. The sun had already risen and was starting to peek through the break in the curtains that Phil would've fixed if he could. Melinda moved to drape her arm over Phil's stomach and that's when he knew she was awake, despite his best efforts. He moved a piece of hair out of her face and she smiled without opening her eyes.
"Did I wake you up?" Melinda shook her head.
"I've been up for an hour. You're the one sleeping in." Her voice was deep in a way he hadn't heard before. He wanted to hear it every morning for the rest of his life.
"It's Saturday. You should try and go back to sleep.
"Phil, it is 9:45 in the morning. I haven't slept in past 6 am in probably 20 years. I'm doing just fine." Melinda finally opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, never getting too far from Phil's side. "You want breakfast?"
"Not yet."
"Well I'm making it. Eat or don't, but you're on lunch duty." Phil sighed and nodded as Melinda got up and retrieved her bra and panties from the ground, slipping into them quickly before heading for the kitchen. Phil cracked his neck and grabbed his own boxers from the floor next to the bed and put them on without even getting up. He then grabbed the blanket that had managed to remain folded from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around himself to go sit on a stool.
"You know, I remember you being much more of a morning person," Melinda teased.
"Retirement changes you."
"You call this retirement?"
"I call it working at will?"
"How did you know?"
"I've been keeping tabs. It's also not that hard to figure out when I see Simmons calling in 'special orders' and she's supposed to be 'retired' too." Phil couldn't help but smile.
"Can't get anything past you, can I?"
"What are you two doing with the quantum realm anyway?"
"Had a favor called in." Melinda nodded with a smile and set a bowl of cereal in front of Phil.
"I'm hoping you still like breakfast as much as I do?"
"This is the most breakfast I've eaten in a year."
"Hear, hear."
They ate in a comfortable silence as they listened to footsteps in the hallway and conversations through the walls. The apartment was still dark, save for the sunlight that continued to force its way into the room.
Melinda was the first to get up, placing her bowl in the sink.
"You better keep that sink clean. You don't wanna know what I found in there," Phil teased.
"I'm surprised you made it through at all."
"You're lucky I love you." The sentence no longer hung in the room the same way that it used to, hard and unexpected, tinged with fear no matter how many reassurances had been shared. Now it dissipated quietly, the same way that the scent of a candle floats through a room. Melinda didn't answer, but Phil didn't need her to any more; he knew.
"I'm going to shower. You coming?"
"I mean, if you're offering…" Phil smiled and placed his bowl in the sink next to Melinda's. He dropped the blanket that had been wrapped around his shoulders on the bed as he followed close on her heels and softly shut the bathroom door behind himself.
They reemerged an hour later to the sound of Phil's phone ringing.
"Would you just answer it already? She's just gonna start calling me next." Melinda had her back turned to Phil as she towel dried her hair.
"You sure you wanna open that can of worms?"
"You already opened it when you told her in the first place."
"Fair enough." Phil walked across the room to the night stand where his phone was still plugged in. Daisy's face lit up the screen and his notifications showed it had been for quite some time. He looked at Melinda, took a breath, and answered the call. The phone didn't need to be on speaker for Melinda to hear Daisy.
"Philip J. Coulson."
"Hi Daisy. How's it going?" Phil couldn't help but smile at Melinda who rolled her eyes playfully.
"You really thought that you could tell me that you were gonna rocket car across the country for a moment that I- hell, all of us have been waiting for for 6 years and you just decide to stop answering my calls? Hell, I don't even care about May anymore, I thought you were dead."
"Hi Daisy." Melinda called from across the room as she checked her own phone.
"Oh I'm not cool with you either. You're supposed to be the responsible one. The one who answers people's calls and texts when they say things like 'I'm going to leave space if you don't tell me you're not dead in the next hour'?"
"And yet, you didn't." Melinda called out again.
"But I was going to! Dan even agreed with me."
"Oh, so he's Dan now?" Phil teased.
"You don't get to tease me until you tell me everything. Hell, just give me a recap of what happened every time you thought it was ok to ignore me."
"You wouldn't have wanted to be there for those calls anyway, Daisy." Melinda called again. They could feel Daisy's recoil through the call and couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh my God, now what I wanted to know. Ew. Please never say that again."
"You said you wanted every detail," Phil continued. "Ok so first-"
"Oh my God, please stop right now. You're giving me a different reason to come home."
"And what's that?"
"To crash land." In the background, Phil and Melinda could hear Sousa and Kora wholeheartedly disagreeing with Daisy. "Ya know what? I'm good. As long as y'all aren't just sitting there twiddling your thumbs six feet apart I'm happy."
"We're not, I promise." Phil replied. "Don't you have, oh, I don't know, captaining to do?"
"Don't remind me."
"You can always come home." Phil offered temptingly.
"Again, don't remind me. If I come down, I'll never come back up. And then who would protect us from miniature size meteors?" Phil laughed. "Oh, one more thing. May. Are we ever gonna do tai chi again or are you gonna be too busy cuddling with Coulson in the morning to do that anymore?"
"Monday morning. 5 am." Melinda appeared at Phil's side wearing leggings and a sweater.
"5?" Daisy was incredulous. "But that's a whole hour-"
"Ah." Melinda cut her off.
"Yes ma'am."
"Call me ma'am again and I can start making it 4 am."
"Um, actually I gotta go. Love you guys talk to you later bye!" Daisy immediately hung up the phone. Phil and Melinda couldn't help but laugh.
"Remind me why we kept her again?" Phil asked teasingly as he dropped his phone on the bed.
"You know exactly why you kept her around." Phil couldn't even come up with a clever reply as she started to dig through the duffel bag he had left on the floor for an outfit as Melinda watched. "You know you can put those in a drawer, right?"
"I'll get around to it." Melinda rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Sure you will. Now, what are you making for lunch?"