Working relationships

[agent_coulson]

Phil Coulson was used to being woken up from a dead sleep. In fact, he'd basically stopped having "dead sleeps" anymore, after so many years of being on call and needing to be instantly alert at a moment's notice. He dozed more than he actually slept now.

So it wasn't a shock to hear his mobile ringing at 3am, but that didn't mean it was pleasant. His hand shot out automatically, pushing the button to answer the call even before he was fully awake. By the time it reached his ear, he'd opened his eyes and the beginning of a silent hope was already forming in his head: that maybe this would be something needing his authorization, or a question from a junior agent, or--hell, even a question from Fury himself, anything to let him go back to sleep after the call ended.

Of course that was a pipe dream. He listened carefully as the threat was described to him: two speedsters, shooting some kind of unidentified beam, in Newark. Destruction to property. Civilian lives at risk. General chaos.

It made sense, really. Of all the places he least desired to be, New Jersey at 3 in the morning on a Saturday was pretty close to the top of the list.

He sighed, and sat up, swinging off the bed to head for the closet. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Call whoever's up on the roster, at least a Level 2. I don't want to be there all morning." With that, he snapped the phone shut, grabbed a suit off the rack, and made a beeline for the kitchen--if he was going to deal with this, he wasn't going to do it without coffee.

Comments

*flicks red cloak* Bring it, baby.

[ladyofmarvel]

She chuckled at that, watching him slide the car easily into the sparse early morning traffic. "Very diplomatic save there, Phil. And I'll be the first to admit that I can be very demanding, given the right circumstances."

Biting back a grin, she turned to look out the window, wondering what else the day was going to throw at her with such an invigorating start so far. "I might use my lunch hour for a nap, but only if the day's slow."

[agent_coulson]

Phil smiled and was quiet for a moment, just watching the road as they drove. Something she'd said made him think. After a minute of silence, he ventured: "Carol... about the other night. At the bar." He hesitated, trying to carefully formulate what he wanted to say. Someone zipped into his lane ahead of him and then slowed down, making him break forcefully and mutter a curse--more at himself for losing focus than at the other driver.

[ladyofmarvel]

She was wondering when he'd bring that up, or if, even. She'd left the ball in his court, stating her interest, preference and letting him decide when and if he wanted to visit that option. Anything else would not only be unprofessional, but unwanted and far too pushy. "Mm? Are we referring to your frisbee activities, or something else?

god I experienced so much vicarious uncomfortableness writing this tag XD

[agent_coulson]

He grinned involuntarily. "Oh God, I forgot I told you about that." Then his expression sobered. "No, I'm referring to something else." He looked over at her for a moment, then turned back to the road. "I want you to know that... I understand we were both drinking. Sometimes people say things when they're drinking... that they wouldn't otherwise. Or make certain offers."

He cleared his throat. "My point is: I--you don't seem uncomfortable around me, but I just wanted you to know that I wouldn't hold you to anything you said in a bar, after a few beers."

*chortles* YES!!!

[ladyofmarvel]

Shifting in her seat so that she was facing him more solidly, she gave him a small, soft smile. "Phil, I wasn't drunk. I was barely buzzed. And if it would clear things up with your conscious, let me make things clear. I'm perfectly sober and it's in the light of day, and I'm making you the same offer. Casual, reciprocal sex, with no emotional strings attached and no requirements of changing our current friendship, other than adding an extra... layer to it."

[agent_coulson]

Phil's knuckles turned a pinkish shade of white as he gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. His eyes flicked over to her--the early morning sunlight on her hair, the gentle curl of her lips. "Ah. Well, I guess in that case, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't... interested."

He sighed. "This is an incredibly unprofessional conversation to be having in a SHIELD vehicle." He pulled onto the off-ramp, leaving the US-9 behind as they entered New York.

[ladyofmarvel]

"Would you prefer to have it in a SHIELD office? With SHIELD employees everywhere? Or perhaps in the residence if a SHIELD Agent. Kind of a tough thing to get away from, Phil. Part of working where we work is learning how to compartmentalize our lives and work. This moment here? This is a transitional one. It's allowable because it's ours. Those brief little snippets we can call our own, we're allowed to be ourselves."

Tucking her hair behind her ear again, she let her eyes linger over him. "I'm glad you are interested, though."

[agent_coulson]

He turned to catch her looking him over, and a bit of color rose in his cheeks. "An Avenger giving me the compartmentalizing speech. That's different." His lips twisted up into a small, self-deprecating smile. "I'm usually using it in the opposite argument, though. In order to--as Stark puts it--suck the joy out of life."

He turned onto a surface street, heading away from SHIELD HQ. "By the way, if you ever make a similar offer to someone and they aren't interested, you should probably bring them in to SHIELD. They won't be human."

[ladyofmarvel]

She snorted at that. "Stark's idea of joy is almost parallel to Loki's, minus human casualties. Mostly."

The turn away from their destination was noted, and had her lifting her brow and tipping her head slightly to the side, curiously. "I believe that's the nicest compliment I've ever gotten, Phil. Mind if I ask about the detour?"

Not that she was concerned, but she was curious. Phil Coulson wasn't particularly known for deviating from regulation and procedures.

[agent_coulson]

His eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "I did say this was an unprofessional conversation to have in a SHIELD vehicle." He gestured ahead of them. "And I need coffee. So, we have two options. One--that Starbucks, where you could let me buy you a latte. Or two--my apartment, a few more blocks north. I have Italian roast, but no milk."

[ladyofmarvel]

Her smile widened. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't love a chance to get to see the inner sanctum of Phillip Coulson. It would even be worth foregoing a little milk in my coffee." She was pleased, amused at his obvious and logical adaptation for having a personal conversation; more pleased that this meant the conversation would be continuing.

[agent_coulson]

"It's not very exciting." He shrugged and smiled. "But it has a bed and caffeine, nothing else is really necessary." He paused, his mind quickly replaying what he'd just said. "To clarify, I meant... necessary for me. For life. The life of a SHIELD agent." He shut his mouth again, resolutely disallowing himself from putting his foot in it again. He had a feeling this was going to keep happening with Carol.

A minute later they pulled into a darkened parking garage beneath his building, and he swerved into the first open spot. There were four other cars in this garage registered to him--three of them SHIELD vehicles, and one of them a personal car, which saw hardly any use. He kept thinking about just selling it... but it seemed like one of those psychological steps that would mean his life--down to his ability to transport himself--really did belong to SHIELD: lock, stock, and barrel.

He blinked and brought himself back to the present moment, hopping out of the car and walking around to open Carol's door. He knew she probably didn't expect him to, and apparently whatever they might be doing at some point in the future would be as purely physical as you could get without being by yourself, but he'd been raised with certain ingrained values, and one of those included holding the doors open for people he'd recently professed interest in sleeping with.

[ladyofmarvel]

Another small chuckle, and she reached over and gave his shoulder a light pat. "It's all right, Phil. I get what you meant." But the phrasing itself was certainly serendipitous, along with his obvious realization and attempted verbal backpedalling.

She'd been about to open the door herself, but she'd seen him coming around the back, letting him indulge in his chivalrous attempts. Besides, it wasn't often Carol was actually treated as a lady. It was... nice. Welcome. Getting out of the car, she might have passed by him closer than she needed to, her eyes keeping his as she stood and moved slightly away. "Thank you."

[agent_coulson]

"My pleasure." He tried not to think too much about how the smell of her shampoo left a pleasant waft in the air when she walked by him. Gesturing to the elevator a few feet away, he walked to it with her, then pushed the button for his floor and crossed his hands calmly in front of him as they rose.

"I guess we could have stopped by and gotten you a change of civilian clothes." He glanced at her costume, continuing to resolutely not notice how it conformed to the curves of her body. This was all sensory information he was very, very good at ignoring during the course of his day, but suddenly his brain was making notes of it, was filing it away in files he didn't even realize he'd had. Hell, in cabinets he hadn't even been aware of. The Carol Danvers file cabinet had apparently just been waiting for data entry. "But the people in my building are used to seeing Avengers come through all suited up, so if you're comfortable..."

[ladyofmarvel]

She wasn't sure what the scent coming from him was; body wash, cologne, deodorant, or perhaps something more natural, but it was nice. Crisp, with a little hint of something male. It suited him.

Standing in the elevator with him, she looked down at herself, taking in her costume with a small sigh. "It is a bit much for civilian interactions, but I have a change of clothes at HQ, so I don't have to stay suited all day. Unless you find it discomfiting...?" That last was said with a bit of a curve to her lips, tone light and easy.

[agent_coulson]

Phil met her eyes, trying to hold in a grin that was just going to be too inappropriate, even if they were out of the car now. "No... no, it's just fine with me."

The elevator stopped and the doors swung open. Phil let her walk out first, then led her down the hall to his apartment. He unlocked the door and turned the knob slowly, listening carefully. When he heard the sound of something small falling to the ground, he nodded and opened the door, stepping inside and picking the little weighted object off the floor. "Come on in. Make yourself at home." He closed the door. "Is coffee all right, or would you prefer tea?"

He stepped into the kitchen, waiting for her response--it was more of a kitchenette, really, just a little island of linoleum and tiny countertops, with an undersized fridge and a coffeepot. The rest of the apartment was similarly pared down, with the right furniture in the right places, but not much personality or thought put into them. A couch and television were situated in the living room, he had towels in the linen closet, a bed and dresser in the bedroom... all the basics. The place had an upscale feel to it, with new carpeting, modern fixtures, but it didn't feel quite lived in. More like a well-appointed hotel suite. The only thing that hinted at a past or a life beyond his work at SHIELD was a framed picture of two older people standing in a field with a Golden Retriever, hung on the wall by the kitchen.

[ladyofmarvel]

The little booby-trap was a bit of a surprise, only because of the simplicity of it. But it didn't phase her in the slightest that he had a contingency security measure to endure the safety of his home. She had one; herself. Anyone attempting to break into her place would likely find being kicked out the window to be a deterrent. "That all depends on what kind of tea you have."

The apartment was sparse, not much in the way of knick-knacks or personal touches. Though, considering how often he was at the office as opposed to his home, it made sense. She went over to look at the picture, smiling at the dog. "Aha. The fabled best friend. Your parents look nice, Phil. Happy."

[agent_coulson]

"I have, ah... Early Grey and some kind of... orange..." He rustled through a container of tea from the top of his fridge. "Orange Pekoe," he told her, reading aloud from the writing in the packet. "Sorry, not much of a tea person, I don't have a great selection."

He walked out to take a look at the picture with her, still holding the tea container. "Yeah, they are nice. I try to get out there to visit them every once in a while. They think I'm still in the military."

[ladyofmarvel]

She looked over at him as he came to stand beside her, looking down at the container. "For future reference, Orange Pekoe is basically black tea. But I think I'll be happy with a coffee, if you're making some for yourself, thank you."

Looking back to the picture, she tipped her head to the side slightly. "Must be hard, balancing family, lies, and work." Not that she intimated that in a negative way. Lying sort of came with the package when you worked where they did.

[agent_coulson]

"Not really. They know not to ask a lot of questions--even when I was in the military, most of what I did was classified." He smiled and closed the container again. "Good to know about the tea. For future reference... is there a kind you would pick over coffee?"

He walked back into the little kitchenette, pouring some coffee he'd ground the night before into a filter, and setting up the coffee pot. He took two mugs down from the cabinet, setting them beside it, and then two spoons. When everything was ready, he walked back out to where Carol stood. "I could keep a particular kind... on hand for you." Then he colored again, realizing that sounded like he was expecting her to be over all the time. Navigating this tactfully was like trying to navigate a minefield with a fork on a wire.

[ladyofmarvel]

"Ah, you trained your parents well," she teased, nudging him slightly. Tucking her hair back behind her ear, she slid her mask up, preferring to not see everything surrounded by a black border. "I like a little cinnamon tea, but you don't need to go out of your way for me, Phil."

She moved her head to look at him when he came back, seeing the small flush and smiling slightly. "If you wanted to, though, I'd like that." One hand lifted to rest on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

[agent_coulson]

"It wouldn't be any trouble." He raised his own hand experimentally, more to see if he could get himself to do something with it than anything else, and to his surprise he found it settling at her waist. "I'd like you to be comfortable." He let out a little gust of air and dropped his eyes to look at where his hand was on her waist. His thumb rubbed gently against her. "I'm... I'm rusty at this," he muttered.

[ladyofmarvel]

"Don't take this the wrong way, Phil, but... it's entirely endearing. And makes me even more interested." The hand on his shoulder slid up to let her fingers play at the side of his neck, her eyes watching him, looking for any signs of discomfort. "Not that you aren't interesting enough."

[agent_coulson]

He breathed in sharply when her hand touched his neck, eyes closing for a moment. Then they opened again, meeting hers. The coffee pot in the kitchen beeped, twice, to indicate that it was finished with half a pot (enough for two cups, at least), but he didn't move.

"I'm glad it's endearing," he said quietly. A few seconds later, he added, "...do you want any coffee? Or would you rather...?" His eyes flicked toward the couch, the bedroom, then back to the couch. He wasn't sure what they were doing here, what to suggest.

[ladyofmarvel]

That was certainly a positive response. As was the fact that he ignored the beeping of the coffee maker. Thumb tracing lightly over the line of his neck, she watched his eyes flick around, saw a moment of hesitancy as he tried to put it in a way he was likely trying to think of as inoffensive.

"Phillip... are you feeling a bit of an itch?" She took the burden of opening the topic from him. He could either deny it, and they could have a cup of coffee and head in to work, or he could admit it, and... well... she was curious what he looked like out of that suit.