After-action report

[agent_coulson]

Phil laid out on his bed, looking--he hated to think it, but it was true--a little pathetic. One of his toes was in a splint from when he'd flown backwards and hit a fire hydrant with his foot, there was an ice pack on his knee, where he'd been slammed by the guy's metal armor, there was a bandage wound around one forearm that concealed a long, deep gash (he wasn't even entirely sure when he'd gotten that, he hadn't noticed it until the fighting was over), and the rest of his body was covered in bumps and bruises. A scrape on his left cheek gave him a rough-and-tumble kind of look, but it conflicted with the rest of him, which looked more tough meat than tough guy.

The only upside was that he'd officially been given the rest of the day off, and SHIELD Medical had given him a few Vicodins, one of which he'd popped when he got home. Now at least he wasn't in much pain, and he felt a bit floaty, which was pleasant. He closed his eyes and tried to just be glad they'd gotten the guy. Stark had gotten to the scene a little late--Phil shouldn't really have been taking this one on alone, and he knew it, but he'd had to keep him occupied somehow--but he'd gotten there eventually, and that was the important thing.

Comments

[ladyofmarvel]

Carol had been occupied herself for most of the day, dealing with a mutant worm that someone had created in their lab after clearly watching too many reruns of 'Dune'. A quick shower at HQ to get the slimy giblets off her had her mostly feeling better-- until she went to hand in her report and heard a pair of junior Agents gossiping about 'The Great Coulson' being laid up from his last case. That had a frown crossing her face, and she inquired casually about this from the Agent she handed her report into.

She was informed of Coulson's status and his current recuperation at home, a status that had her fighting back a scowl and turning to leave and get on with the rest of her day. Though, she did shoot him a quick text message:

You okay? I'm coming by after shift.

[agent_coulson]

Yes, fine, just enjoying modern medicine. Painkillers are really the pinnacle of human achievement. Someone should tell Stark his suit of armor's got nothing on hydrocodone.

Coulson smiled at his phone after sending the text. He really did feel better now, although there was some part of him urging him to take it easy, reminding him this was just the drugs he was feeling, and he was still bruised and a little bit broken.

[ladyofmarvel]

Wonderful. He was high. Which meant he was injured enough to require pain meds, and in enough pain to take them. This soured her mood towards the rest of the day, and even though she tried not to show it, there was a noticeable air of 'not happy' around her, making people quick to move out of her way as she walked the halls.

As soon as her shift was over, she forewent her usual wind-down routine and flew directly over to Phil's, knocking on the door and trying to blank her face of the worry she'd been feeling most of the day.

[agent_coulson]

He'd taken another pill by then, when the pain had started to seep back in, so it took him a second to figure out what the noise was. When he realized it was the door, he looked down at his foot with a grimace. Well, at least he wouldn't feel much of it. He shifted off the bed and walked--hobbled, really--to the door.

He was pleased to see Carol, at least for a moment, until he saw her face. She looked seriously unhappy, and his stomach clenched in instinctive response. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

[ladyofmarvel]

Her eyes took him in, grimacing slightly when she saw his foot and wanting to be pissed that he was on it, but him being on it was her fault in the first place right now. Gesturing for him to get back inside, she slipped in and closed the door, wanting to scoop him up and carry him back to bed, but not sure where else he was hurt and not wanting to do any damage. "Am I okay? God, Phil. Get back in bed."

[agent_coulson]

"I'm... you knocked." Phil frowned, but turned around and headed back to the bedroom. "I'm okay, Carol, really. Just a little bruised. I'll be back at work tomorrow."

[ladyofmarvel]

"You are not okay, and this is way worse than bruises," she grumbled as she followed after him, moving to pull the covers out of the way for him to slip back into bed.

"Have you eaten?"

[agent_coulson]

"There was..." Phil looked around, then spotted a wrapper for a protein bar he'd eaten a few hours ago. "One of those." He settled back down onto the mattress, sighing. "I wasn't really hungry, but you have to take these pills with some kind of food."

When he was resting back against the headboard again, he looked up at her, suddenly smiling. "You came to see me because I got hurt?" It was sweet, in a way he hadn't anticipated.

[ladyofmarvel]

Tongue clucking, she pulled the blankets gently up over him, tucking him in and generally fussing over him, because she could. She'd been imagining all these worse-case-scenarios in her mind most of the day, and while she wasn't pleased he was injured at all, she was happy it wasn't as bad as some of the things she'd come up with.

She looked up at the smile, trying not to let her own lips quirk into one in response. "Of course I did, Phil. We are friends, are we not? Friends are allowed to display concern when one friend is a moron and gets themselves injured."

[agent_coulson]

Phil raised his eyebrows at her, trying to match the stern looks she'd been giving him, but it was hard to look stern on drugs. "I'm not a moron. Someone had to keep the guy busy while Stark was taking his time getting to the scene. It was that or end up with a hostage situation on my hands."

When she had him all tucked in, he reached for her arm and tugged her down, trying to get her to settle down beside him.

[ladyofmarvel]

"Keeping him busy didn't require turning yourself into a human projectile." She was trying to smooth the blankets over him when he tugged her down. The intention behind that deflated a lot of her anger, though there was still a small grumble of annoyance as she sat down beside him.

"You need to keep yourself whole, Phil. I'll be very put out if you go and get yourself seriously hurt."

[agent_coulson]

"I'm fine, Carol. Still in one piece. And I plan to stay this way." He slipped an arm around her waist, leaning against her gently.

"It was nice of you to come and see me. I'm sorry I'm not... well. I'm sorry I'm in a bathrobe and on painkillers." He laughed. "Not the most dignified way for you to see me."

[ladyofmarvel]

Her own arm draped gently over his shoulder, tucking him in against her. She snorted at that. "Screw dignity. I'd rather see you whole and in a mumu than beat to hell and pristine in a suit."

Turning her head to look at him, she ran a careful finger under the scrape on his face, sighing. "You should eat something. I can't cook for hell, but I could order something. Is there anything you need?"

[agent_coulson]

"...you will never see me in a mumu." He gave her a very serious, determined look. It felt like it would be the punchline to one of Stark's horrible practical jokes, and he'd had just about his limit of those.

"I'm not really that..." He trailed off, suddenly thinking of something. "Actually. You know what does sound good right now." Then he stopped again, because he was not so high that he couldn't recognize that he was high, and he knew this was going to sound ridiculous.

[ladyofmarvel]

"My heart weeps," she drawled, grinning slightly at the look he gave her.

She watched him almost ask for something, then stop. Well, that was a good way to pique her curiosity, Coulson. "A lot of things sound good right about now, Phil. You'll have to clarify a little more on what exactly you want."

[agent_coulson]

He hesitated, then grinned. "Those... those little doughnuts. You know, the miniature ones they have at gas stations? Chocolate or powdered sugar?" He held up a hand quickly. "I'm not saying you should go get me those, I... I think that's just the pills talking. They just sound good, is all."

[ladyofmarvel]

She blinked once at him, then started giggling, amused as all hell that Agent Phil Coulson not only had the munchies, but he had a sweet tooth. "Oh, sweetie. I think the sight of you mowing down on mini-powdered donuts is worth the trip. Stay in bed, though. I'll just come and go through a window, if that's okay."

She got up, bending over to press a kiss to his forehead, still giggling.

[agent_coulson]

"Wait, Carol." He grabbed her hand. "If you're going to the store... could you get chocolate milk, too?" He said the last part in a half-whisper, hearing the ridiculousness of the words as they left his mouth. But he couldn't stop himself. Chocolate milk sounded too good.

[ladyofmarvel]

Still laughing, she cupped his face in her hands gently before giving him a small kiss. "Yes, you big baby, I'll get you some chocolate milk. Just... stay in bed. Or else." She ended that with a tap on his nose before going and finding a window large enough for her to fly through.

[agent_coulson]

Coulson lay back on the bed, feeling a little too excited about chocolate milk and doughnuts. He was pleased that Carol was going to be here, too. All in all, it was actually turning out to be a better day than he'd expected. He was sure he'd probably feel differently in the morning, but for now, he was kind of enjoying himself.

He slid down on his side and rested his head on the pillow, feeling a wave of sleepiness. His eyes closed--he could doze while Carol was out, maybe, so he'd be refreshed for the junk food she brought back.

[ladyofmarvel]

Flying to the nearest convenience store, she puttered around the aisles, looking for anything else a munchie-afflicted agent might enjoy. She got both chocolate and powdered mini-donuts, as well as a carton of chocolate milk. She tossed in a package of red licorice whips, just because she could. Hey, he could munch on donuts, she wanted some licorice whips. The clerk gave her a knowing look as he rung her up, and she just rolled her eyes and took the bag and her change, then left to flit back to Phil's.

Slipping in the window, she closed it behind her and went into the bedroom, mouth twisting into a small smile as she saw him dozing away. Quietly, she went over to kneel by the bed, head resting on the mattress as she looked him over. Poor thing...

[agent_coulson]

He became aware of her presence slowly, his eyes opening with a few heavy blinks. "Hi," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Sorry, I passed out a little."

[ladyofmarvel]

"You don't have to wake up. Go back to sleep. I'll put the milk in the fridge." Reaching out, she stroked a hand gently over his head, still smiling.

[agent_coulson]

"Will you come back?" He yawned a little, still feeling impossibly sleepy for how excited he'd been about doughnuts just a little while ago, but he didn't want to just pass back out. He wanted to have Carol beside him for a while, to feel her soft warmth against him.

[ladyofmarvel]

"As wonderful as your kitchen is, Phil, I don't see it capturing my attention for hours on end," she teased, getting up with the bag and going to put everything away.

Coming back in the room, she slipped off her boots and shrugged out of her jacket, crawling over him and stretching out beside him. "You know, you might hate me for saying this, but you're sort of adorable when you're tired."