A/N: I'd have to say I absolutely hated writing this chapter, but it has to be written~ Nevertheless, here it is! Introducing a new and familiar character, Audrey Nathan! (dun dun duuuun)
Five months since they moved in Portland, and in each passing month, the couple feel themselves drifting apart from each other. Melinda has been working even until the night that Phil had to give up waiting for her to come home and sleep instead. When he wakes up, he still finds the other side of the bed empty and her clothes from the previous day in the laundry.
Ever since their fight when Melinda had left the apartment at six in the morning, only to come back two hours later, the two had been arguing a lot. Sometimes, about petty things, sometimes on huge things.
All of their fights, however, are always rooted to just one thing.
One early morning, Melinda had left a small plate on the sink. Phil had always hated seeing unwashed and unattended plates on the sink, and this is just one of those moments. Melinda is just about to leave when Phil calls her. She flinches at his sharp tone and goes back to the kitchen.
"You left the plate on the sink." he says, holding out the small plate.
"You have it in your hands now, so it's not in the sink anymore." she says, crossing her arms over her chest. She is not in the mood anymore.
"You use it, you wash it."
"I'll be late for work."
"Couldn't spare two minutes to wash a small plate?" Phil can feel the heat in his face and could swear he is feeling smoke coming out of his ears and nostrils. Melinda just looks at him.
"Could, won't." Melinda answers, shrugging. Phil takes a deep breath and exhales loudly.
"You're right. You won't spare two minutes to wash a dish, you can't even spare a minute to spend time with me, anyway." Phil says, putting the plate back down in the sink and crossing his arms over his chest, mirroring Melinda. Melinda's body tenses and she narrows her eyes at him.
"I'm busy. You know that." Melinda tells him, her voice quiet but firm, her teeth grit. Phil lets out a chuckle. A horrible, horrible chuckle that sends chills down in Melinda's spine.
"Right, I know. I know that's going to be your answer every time when you start working for S.H.I.E.L.D., so you won't have time for any of this bullshit, right?" Phil shouts at her. Melinda has had enough.
"Is this what this is about? All this crap? All the distance you've been giving me? All because I considered hey, I could start working for S.H.I.E.L.D." Melinda advances towards him and he stands firmly and straightens his posture so that he is towering over her.
"You could, you will." Phil mocks her. In the dim light, Phil could see tears forming in Melinda's eyes. He could see her lips trembling and her muscles tense. He couldn't see her like this. He couldn't see her hurt, especially when he knows he's the reason why she's hurt. He walks away from her and goes back to their bedroom and a few moments later, he hears their apartment door open and close with a loud bang.
That's the start of Melinda's too frequent trips out of the state.
She would be gone for a week or two tops. She would come back to Portland only to work more and come back to their apartment for her to sleep, bathe and eat. Even on the weekends, she's preoccupied. He wouldn't see her in the light of day. He would often come down to her workplace and watch her from a distance just to see how she is. She seemed well, only stressed, with the dark circles under her tired eyes. He wouldn't even see her in the dim light in their bedroom, as she is more often turned away from him, or is passed out on their couch. He would bring a blanket out and put it over her body and give her a light kiss on the temple. Other than those moments, Phil never really sees Melinda.
Eight months since they moved to Portland, Phil couldn't take the distance from Melinda anymore. He feels helpless and hopeless, and he hates feeling those things especially with the woman he loves so much. He goes down to the nearest bar one night and orders a double as he sits on the barstool. He drinks all the contents of the glass in one drink, and he sighs when he feels the drink trickling down his throat and leaves a warm feeling in his stomach.
"Phil?" someone beside him asks. He turns to see a brown-haired, wide-eyed woman looking and smiling at him. His eyes widen and he clears his throat before standing up.
"Audrey." he breathes. Audrey nods and laughs as the two embrace. "How have you been?" he asks, as he sits back down on the barstool, and she sits down beside him.
"Great, really great, actually." she replies, and she gestures the bartender for the same drink. "Still playing cello like the last time you saw me in high school."
"Oh you're still playing?" Phil asks, not surprised. He had known Audrey since they were in high school and since then, Phil loved hearing her play the cello.
"I'm aiming for Portland Symphony, actually," she says, thanking the bartender for the drink. She sips a little. "I need more time to train but I'm hoping next year I'd be in at least second chair."
"Second chair, oh wow." Phil says. "I bet you can do that, though, you've always been a great cellist in high school." Audrey gives him a smile.
"Oh, Phil," she says. She sets the glass down and clears her throat. "How have you been?"
How has he been? "I'm…not so good." he admits, looking down at his now empty glass. Audrey takes his hand, making him look up at her, meeting her eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asks, her voice soft. Phil sighs.
"I just…" he trails off. Audrey raises her eyebrows. "I just broke up with my girlfriend."
He must admit, even he was surprised with what he just said.
"Oh God, Phil," Audrey says, her grip around his hands tightening. "I am so sorry."
"Yeah, well, she had to leave anyway for S.H.I.E.L.D." he says. Audrey tilts her head.
"Aren't you in S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she asks. Phil shakes his head.
"I'm a high school History teacher," he says and lets out a chuckle. "Now I think about it, it does sound pathetic coming from a top graduate of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy." Audrey smiles.
"It's not that pathetic," she comforts. "It's just weird. Why didn't you want to join S.H.I.E.L.D. like you planned in high school?"
He sighs. "I wanted a shot of a normal life. I met this girl also in the Academy, who wanted a shot of the same so here we are, in Portland, trying to get a shot of that normal life. But then she…she joined S.H.I.E.L.D."
Audrey frowns. "What's the problem of her joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she asks.
"When you're in S.H.I.E.L.D., you can't have a normal life, Audrey," he says. "You're abandoning every possibility of having a family and settling down." Her eyes begin to furrow. "It's like a real bloodbath out there, Audrey, and no one in the right mind will want to come home and see their family knowing that just minutes ago there was blood in their hands."
"Phil, you're not murderers or anything," Audrey says. "You guys are the good guys saving the world, and had the blood not been in your hands, there would be more blood in their hands." Phil blinks several times and Audrey raises her eyebrows.
"I never saw it as that." Phil grumbles. Audrey chuckles and scoots closer to Phil.
"Look, being with S.H.I.E.L.D. or not, you can always have a shot of a good normal life, it's just up to you on how you would make it normal." Audrey explains. Phil sighs.
"Doesn't matter, she left." he says. Audrey sighs and the two fall silent for a few moments, with Audrey holding Phil's hand.
"Did you know I had the biggest crush on you in high school?" Audrey asks him, grinning. Phil looks up at her and smiles. "You were dorky and nerdy, and you always ate lunch with your fellow dorks and nerds, but you were also the only one who really appreciated classical music as much as I do."
Phil is now grinning. "Yeah?" he asks. Audrey nods. "Did you know I had the biggest crush on you in high school too?" Audrey smiles at him and blushes. "That's why I'm always in your orchestra shows, to hear and see you play."
"Phil." Audrey whispers, stroking Phil's cheeks with her thumb. Phil savours her touch and closes his eyes as he leans against her touch. He holds her hand.
"Do you wanna get out of here? Have coffee tonight?" Phil asks. Audrey grins.
"I thought you'd never ask."
P.S. I kind of made Coulson seem like a bad person here :( I'm sorry about that, but he'll eventually turn out good! Anyways, tell me what you all think!