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star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 6 years

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The Perfect Date (A Human Resources One Shot)

Word Count: 3470 Tags: @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso@feelmyroarrrr@anyakinamidala @dirajunara @little-study-bug@rampant-salamander@goodnightwife @samaxraph99 @anotherotter @outside-the-government@kingarthurscat @coyote-in-space @originalpottervengerlock@dolamrothianlady @curiositywillbethedeathofme @superheroesofbothuniverses@mtriestowrite @wanderingkat77

Summary: Anna has to make an appearance at that damn wedding flying solo.

I surveyed myself critically in the mirror. My mother had vetoed the little black dress I’d brought from DC with me, saying black wasn’t appropriate at a summer wedding. Thankfully, Lizzie lived in Vancouver now, as opposed to across the street from Mum and Dad’s place at home as she had when we were growing up. And to her credit, Vancouver had incredible shopping. I’d taken a walk down Robson the afternoon I’d arrived and found the perfect replacement dress. It was halter style, with a contrast band under the bust and a flowy A-line skirt that was to the floor. It was made of some slinky fabric that hugged at my good curves and ignored the wiggly flawed bits, and the colours were perfect for a summer affair, hot pink and purple horizontal stripes that initially had gone against everything I believed about clothing, but once the dress was on, I was sold.

I stepped back and took the whole picture in. I’d splurged when I got up and popped into the salon in the hotel and had the wave in my hair tamed into loose, sexy curls. Once I’d told her about how Jack had dumped me because I wanted him to come to the wedding with me, the stylist convinced me to let one of the estheticians do my make-up. She was determined to make me just a hair less stunning that the bride, so I’d score a wedding hook-up.

I was not opposed to the idea. I’d been at odds with myself since Jack had dumped me, and apart from my disastrous Karaoke night out with Erin, I hadn’t allowed myself to have any kind of fun yet. I was finished grieving my relationship, I was at home in my favourite city on the planet, and I was totally going to pull at my cousin’s wedding. Her NHL fiancé had a crapload of gorgeous friends, and when I’d covertly checked out their stats on the team website, most of them even had all their teeth.

I looked damn fucking good. Too good for Jack, and good enough for whatever hockey player caught my eye. I was ready to take this wedding by storm. I met Mum at her room and did a showy turn for her.

“You look lovely. Much better choice, and it’s just casual enough you won’t risk upstaging Lizzie,” Mum nodded and looked me over. “Such a shame your fellow turned out to be such a dud.”

“I feel confident in saying I am finally over that, Mum.” We headed down to the street to catch a cab to the ceremony. It was the perfect sunny summer day in Vancouver. It was warm, and there was a gentle breeze coming off the inlet that kept the sun from feeling too hot. The park was a riot of flower blossoms. Even the trees were dripping late spring blooms. The perfumed fragrance of the air added to my list of reasons why I was pleased to have come, even as the pathetic singleton cousin. It was Mum’s first family affair since Dad died, and even with the dread of being newly single haunting me, I couldn’t leave her to face a big family gathering on her own.

The ceremony was short. Lizzie was stunning, and her fiancé, Ryan, shed tears as she walked down the aisle. He was big and broad through the shoulders, and rugged. Everything a beer commercial made you think a man should be. And he wept when he saw my little cousin in her beautiful white dress, train trailing down the grass as she walked toward him. It was like the happy ending of a Disney movie, it was so perfect. I felt the sting of tears at the corners of my eyes and thought that maybe I wasn’t completely over Jack. Mum squeezed my hand, as though she could read my mind.

“I’ve always cried at weddings, and your father was the love of my life. You aren’t crying over Jack, Annie.” It was exactly the right words, at precisely the right moment. Ryan kissed Lizzie and his best man whooped a huge cheer, bringing the rest of the guests to their feet with laughter and applause.

The bar opened at the reception an hour later, and I thanked Ryan’s freshly renegotiated contract for the open bar. I brought Mum and Gin and Tonic and then made my way over to the cluster of cousins that was grouped at the edge of the bar. Kyla, Lizzie’s sister, threw her arms around me.

“Annie-bananie! I am so glad you are here! Mama was worried you wouldn’t come after that business with your ex. You look amazing. And so very over him!” She was effusive. I ordered a drink and smiled, willing the flush out of my cheeks. My family all knew I’d been dumped over this wedding; I didn’t need to be embarrassed. But I was. I wasn’t embarrassed I’d been dumped though. I was embarrassed I’d shown such bad judgment that I’d been with Jack for a year before realizing he was the kind of guy to dump me over a wedding.

“Good lord, Kyla, you’re a grown-up!” I exclaimed. She was taller than I remembered. The glasses had been replaced by contacts and she’d filled out from the stick figure teen she’d been into something very distinctly curvy. She winked and grabbed her boobs.

“I’ve almost caught up to you!” She teased. “I’ve got the Smith curves too.” The hourglass shape my mother and aunt were notorious for hadn’t missed a single one of us. I was the only blonde in the mix, something I’d pulled from my Dad’s side. I turned to check out the other guests, and Kyla followed suit. Apparently she was on the prowl too. I caught the eye of the best man and smiled, then turned back to the bar for a refill.

“Kyla, the best man. What’s his story?”

“That’s Fraser Warner. He’s the second string goalie. Total lady-killer, terminally single,” she provided. I smiled at her and looked back at him. He had the same ridiculously broad shoulders that Ryan had. They were so broad I had to wonder if he didn’t have his shoulder pads on under his tux. His waist was narrow and his butt was exquisite. You could probably bounce a quarter off it. And goalies were flexible. Target acquired. I made eye contact with him again and smiled slowly. He didn’t waste any time in heading in my direction.

“I’m Fraser. Best Man. And you are?” He was even more handsome up close.

“Anna. Cousin of the bride.”

“Are you the American cousin?” His smile got broader. I laughed, and chose not to be embarrassed that he knew who I was.

“I’m not American. I work in DC,” I offered. “Apparently my reputation precedes me.”

“Elizabeth was worried you weren’t going to come. She asked me to keep an eye out for you,” he grinned.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” I wasn’t as amused anymore. He looked a little puzzled.

“I don’t follow.”

“Young guy like you, you could probably have any of the girls here. And you got stuck as the pity flirt for the bride’s spinster cousin,” I filled in. Lizzie had always been able to needle me in exactly the right way to make me feel like I was less than she was. And she’d managed to figure out how to do it and seem like she was being thoughtful this time.

“You guys are the same age. I’d hardly qualify you as a spinster, Anna. And I really don’t mind. Particularly now that I’ve had a chance to take a good look at you,” he shrugged. “You’re a lot hotter than Elizabeth let on.”

I wanted to scream. And throw my drink in his face. And kick him in the junk and then proceed over to Lizzie to tear her hair out. So I guess I wasn’t exactly ready to be out on the prowl. I gritted my teeth and smiled vacantly up at Fraser. It was a shame I was just a favour he was doing to my cousin because it completely ruined it for me. And I still had to make it through the whole reception, not just the bloody cocktail hour. Fraser took my smile as an invitation, and ran a hand down my arm. His touch was light and under normal circumstances, I would have found it a turn on. He squeezed my fingers and then ran his hand across my ass. He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear.

“We could get out of here. The reception is still about an hour away,” he suggested. I smiled and leaned away, suddenly feeling really dirty.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea, Fraser.” I glanced across the room, looking for my mother. I was totally going to use her as an excuse to get away from this uncomfortable situation. I found her just as I saw her leaving the room. She was probably going to take a nap. I looked over to Kyla and saw her deeply engrossed in a conversation with one of the other groomsmen.

“Let me get you another drink, baby,” he purred into my ear. I felt a tiny shudder of revulsion. As soon as he stepped back toward the bar, I wiggled my way out of the crowd of people near me and headed toward the doors. There were tables set up between the bar and the door, and there were groups of people sitting enjoying themselves, away from the crush of the open bar. I slowed my hasty departure as I wound my way through the tables. I had just reached the far side of the tables when a hand dropped onto my shoulder.

“Good plan, honey. Let’s sit and talk, away from the crowd,” Fraser’s strong grip steered me to the nearest table. He pulled out a chair for me. I probably should have felt threatened, but I didn’t. I knew that his career was far too important for him to risk doing anything that I could say was the use of force, so other than the awkward let down I was going to be forced to give, I wasn’t actually concerned. I took the offered drink and took a sip. Cheap rye. Ick.

“So Fraser, tell me. How long have you been playing professional hockey?” I decided the best way to let him down was to turn the conversation away from innuendo and toward idle small talk.

“Six years now.”

“Always for Vancouver?”

“No, I was playing on the farm for a couple years. I got called up two years ago, and have been here since. I like Vancouver. The girls are pretty, the winters are mild.” He ran his hand up my arm again and I had to resist the urge to break his fingers. I had closed my posture, and was no longer acting interested.

“And it’s a good team to play for?”

“Sure,” he nodded. “Are you sure I can’t show you to my room? I really wasn’t expecting you to be so beautiful.” His hand moved to my thigh.

“I –“ I stumbled over my words. “I’m flattered, Fraser –“

“Anna! I’ve been looking for you. My flight just got in about forty minutes ago, I’m so sorry I’m late.” A pair of lips dropped to my cheek and I looked up, stunned. Agent Coulson was standing there, looking better than I have ever seen him looking. His suit was pressed and fit him perfectly. His tie somehow had exactly the right shade of purple in it to match my dress. I tried to mask my confusion and stood up.

“Phil?” I wasn’t sure if it came out as a question because I was so surprised to see him or because I wasn’t sure if that actually was his first name, he’d been Agent Coulson for the entire two years I’d been at SHIELD. He kissed my cheek again, and slipped an arm around my waist, effectively cutting Fraser off from me. He held his hand out to introduce himself. Fraser stood and shook it.

“Hi, I’m Phil Coulson. Anna and I,” he paused and gave a knowing look to Fraser, “we know each other from work. I hadn’t been to Vancouver before so as soon as Anna asked if I wanted to join her, I jumped at the chance.”

“Sure, yeah,” Fraser nodded. “It was super nice to meet you, Anna. I’ll let you catch up with your date.”

Fraser walked back toward the bar, and I felt myself flushing with embarrassment and a little bit of anger. It figured that a big fucking caveman like Fraser would only back down if another man laid claim to me. And Coulson had absolutely laid claim to me. I turned to face him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded. He grinned, unrepentantly.

“Winning a bet,” he laughed.

“Against whom?” I demanded.

“I bet you a hundred bucks you wouldn’t remember inviting me to this wedding as your date. There’s an ATM in the lobby if you need to get some cash,” he teased. I shook my head.

“Karaoke night?” I asked. He nodded. “I’ll pay you later. In the meantime, you’d better be the perfect fucking date, Coulson.”

“Oh, this is more than a wedding date. You promised hiking, a picnic at the beach and run along the seawall,” he laughed. His laugh was warm and it didn’t make me feel like an idiot.

“I don’t run. I wouldn’t have promised you a run on the seawall.” I felt a little dizzy and sat back down.

“You were very drunk. And very insistent.” His eyes danced with amusement. They were actually really nice eyes.

“I’m flying home tomorrow afternoon. I don’t have time for hikes and picnics, let alone running the damn seawall,” I complained. He put his hand on my arm and gave a light squeeze of reassurance.

“Raincheck then. In the meantime, I will be the perfect date. Right now that means making sure that your catty cousins see you leaving with me for a quickie before the reception starts.” He slid his arm around my waist and led me toward the elevator.

“Wait, a what?” I turned to face him once the elevator doors closed. He pushed the number for my floor and turned to grin at me again. His eyes crinkled around the edges and I was a little lost. I’d always had a thing for the slightly older guy. I would guess Coulson was in his late thirties, compared to my twenty-five. He had clearly defined smile lines and coupled with the strong jaw, I was a little melty.

“A quickie.” His gaze roved up and down my body and I almost felt naked.

“Oh, I know I didn’t promise that!” I exclaimed. Coulson started to laugh and shook his head.

“So not only are you losing a hundred bucks for your drunken bet, but I think this should be a lesson to you about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption,” he teased. I flushed and looked at the floor.

“You’re kind of a dick, Coulson,” I muttered, but there was no anger to my words.

“Ms. Ellis, look at me,” he demanded. I looked up, and he put his hand on my cheek. “You were a mess that night. It was my honour to escort you home because I don’t know if you could have made good choices on your own. But I’m not such an idiot that when I pretty girl asks me on a date I’ll say no. Even when it’s against my better judgment.”

“But you knew I wouldn’t remember.” I leaned my cheek against his hand. We were being highly unprofessional.

“You needed the reassurance,” he smiled again. I led him down the hall to my room and opened the door. I wanted him to touch me again, but I honestly didn’t trust myself to allow it. I sat on the chair and crossed my legs, closing my posture up. Coulson noticed, and sat on the edge of the bed, facing me, his fingers interlaced and braced between his knees.

“Ground rules, Coulson,” I demanded.

“I will be attentive, and make sure your drink is full, without allowing you to drink too much. I will dance with you. I will play up the crowd if you catch the bouquet, and even though I think it’s ridiculous, I will participate in the garter toss. No one will ever suspect we aren’t in a relationship,” he offered.

“Okay. And all I owe you is the hundred bucks from losing this bet?” I clarified.

“Yes.”

The reception went off without a hitch. The dinner was good, Coulson was as attentive as he’d promised. My mother loved him, although she did point out that he was a little old when he was up at the bar getting drinks. Lizzie found me and threw her arms around me.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d already snagged another guy? He’s cute. A little old, but cute,” she kissed my cheeks loudly.

“It a fairly recent development,” I lied. Coulson handed me my drink. Lizzie took the opportunity to fling her arms around him as well. She was a bit drunk.

“You promise me that you’ll treat my cousin better than the last schmuck!” She pointed her finger in his face and swayed a little.

“Promise.”

“Good! I’m going to toss my bouquet now! Come on, Annie-bananie!” She grabbed my arm and hauled me up to the dance floor where the other girls were starting to congregate. Fraser helped her up onto a chair and she turned her back to us and threw the bouquet up in the air. I wasn’t even trying to catch it. It fell right into my hands. I glanced back at Phil apologetically. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He stepped forward into the crowd of guys to await the garter toss, and closed his eyes when it was tossed. He reached up and the garter caught on his finger. Lizzie shrieked.

“Oh my god, how perfect! That’s my cousin’s boyfriend!” She squealed. “Kiss her, Phil!” She ran over to Coulson and started pushing him toward me. I panicked and tried to back away, but once they got close enough, Phil placed a hand on my arm and looked at me. It was so serious a look I stopped.

“I promised I would be the perfect date,” he warned. Lizzie was jumping up and down screeching for us to kiss. I sighed and nodded. He cupped my face in his hands and leaned forward to kiss me quickly. He pulled away almost before it started.

“I said kiss her, Phil!” Lizzie demanded. I bit my lip and mouthed “I’m sorry” to him. He shook his head and leaned forward again. This time, when his lips met mine, they met slowly. His tongue traced my bottom lip tentatively, and a jolt of lust hit me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. One of his hands slid from my face to my shoulder, then he pulled me hard against his chest. I could hear the crowd screaming and cheering but it was background noise, like we were in a different room. He suddenly broke the kiss.

“That’s more like it!” Lizzie clapped us both on the back. I tried to catch my breath, wilted bouquet in one hand, and looked at Coulson, who looked as surprised as I was. A silence fell across the dance floor, almost as if everyone was waiting for us to kiss again. Coulson’s phone suddenly rang, breaking the trance. He answered it and walked off the dance floor, listening to what was being said. I followed him to the edge of the room, and waited for him to get off the call.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Ellis, I have to go,” he offered. I nodded. He stepped close and pulled me into an embrace. I wasn’t sure that anyone was watching us any longer, so I wasn’t sure he needed to. He pressed his lips against my forehead and when he pulled out of the hug, I looked up, unsure of how to proceed.

“Uh, thanks?” I hoped I didn’t sound like an idiot. I felt like one. I felt like I wanted to kiss him again. He pulled me back again and kissed me one more time, hard and forceful, like he wanted to kiss me, not just because he was doing undercover work. My hand flew up to my mouth when we broke apart.

“I’ll see you soon, Ms. Ellis.” He turned and left the ballroom.

#phil coulson x OFC #aos fanfiction #agents of shield fanfic

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star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 7 years

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Human Resources, pt8

Word Count: 2339 Tags: @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @feelmyroarrrr @anyakinamidala @dirajunara @anotherotter @little-study-bug @rampant-salamander @goodnightwife @samaxraph99 @anotherotter @outside-the-government @kingarthurscat @coyote-in-space @originalpottervengerlock @dolamrothianlady @curiositywillbethedeathofme

Coulson nudged me awake a few hours later, and extricated himself from underneath my sprawling, drowsy body as I yawned and stretched. He made quick work of putting himself back together, knotting his tie without needing the mirror. I watched from the bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Despite doing his best to pull himself together, he was wrinkled and disheveled. Giving a final stretch, I made my way over to him, and smoothed the front of his shirt. It made no difference. He was rumpled.

“I’ll slip out after you’ve left for dinner.”

“You’ll look like you did the walk of shame no matter what, Phil,” I teased. He gave me that enigmatic half-smile I found so sexy and I bit my lip to stop myself from throwing him back onto my bed.

“But there will at least be a question of who I’m walking away from if I wait.”

“Ashamed?” I asked.

“You’re the one who is worried about implications. Not me.”

“Then come down to dinner with me. People know we’re friends,” I shrugged. He pushed my hair behind my ear.

“I’m not worried about implications, but you were right when you pointed out I’m currently one of your S.O.s.” He stole a kiss, and stayed standing too close. I sighed and leaned against him.

“Well, I’m going down to dinner then. There’s an iron in the closet if you wanted to touch up your shirt.” I pulled away.

“I’ll see you after your run.” He gave me a firm swat on the ass when I walked away. I turned back and raised an eyebrow. “What are you gonna do? File a Stark on me?”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

“No, but you might need to when I’m done with you.” I headed to the cafeteria.

“So Rick says there’s a chance they’re going to make us play some stupid survival game tomorrow night,” Kate blurted over dinner. I dropped my fork into my salad and rolled my eyes.

“Capture the flag is so junior high school,” I grumbled. She laughed.

“Exactly what I said,” she admitted. “Maybe it’ll be paintball? We’ll have to team up. I can manage the shooting; you can manage the takedowns. We’ll pretend we’re Jane Bonds.”

I laughed. I was an awesome mental picture, and I indulged the fantasy for a moment, seeing us in office attire, narrow pencil skirts slit mid-thigh, ridiculous heels like female action stars always seemed to wind up in, hair tied held back with a pencil. It would be a fantastic recruitment poster for SHIELD.

The weather had turned beautiful over the course of the afternoon, and the evening sun was low on the horizon, lighting the sky with pinks, and oranges. It was warm outside, and the breeze had died down enough that the linger scent of sweet florals hung in the air. When we got to the track, I found I was looking forward to running, just because of how nice it was out. I looked over at Kate. From the look on her face she was having a similar thought.

“I can’t believe I’m actually looking forward to this,” I admitted. She nodded.

“Right? It’s so nice out though,” She agreed. When we were assembled, Rick pointed at the track and started his stopwatch. As we had been doing all week, Kate and I took the rear of the pack to start, but soon found ourselves in the middle of the group again. We hit a comfortable pace together and stuck to it, stopping to walk when we needed to. When we crossed the 5k mark, we hit the grass and flopped back into the cool blades, as had become out habit.

“Well done, ladies. You shaved 22 seconds off your time.” Rick approached and dropped a couple of extra water bottles between us. I held my hand up to Kate and we completed a tired high five. I poured the water bottle over my head and yawned. When my heart rate slowed to normal, I headed back toward the dorms to shower. As I passed between the dorm and the building beside it, someone grabbed me and pulled me into the hedge surrounding the dorms. A hand clapped across my mouth before I could shriek, and I whipped around and saw Agent May shaking her head at me.

“Not a word, Ellis,” she whispered.

“What the fuck?” I hissed, not listening. She rolled her eyes.

“Follow me,” she snapped, and grabbed my arm. She dragged me down a flight of stairs around the back of the dorms, and with a deft movement, opened the door and shoved me through it. She followed and pulled the door closed quietly.

“The FUCK, May?!” I was trying to keep my voice down, but it was hard. My heart was thumping again and I wasn’t sure if I was angry or scared or both. She sighed heavily.

“Follow the blue line on the floor. It’ll take you to the pool building, and you can hit the hot tub.” Each word was terse. My eyes widened as I remembered the trek through to the fitness centre earlier in the day. Once we’d been in the tunnels there were no security checkpoints.

“Why?”

“Do you want me to change my mind?” She threatened. I forced a smile and stole down the hall, following the blue line that was painted on the floor without a backward glance. A few minutes later, I cracked the door to the pool, and slipped inside in the dark. I pulled off my shoes and socks and once I was behind the demi-wall, saw a tumbler with a finger of scotch sitting beside the hot tub. I looked around, but couldn’t see Coulson anywhere. I pulled off my clothing quickly and slipped into the hot tub, letting out a groan of ecstasy as I hit the hot water. The glass was in easy reach and I took a small sip, letting the liquor burn down to my belly. Best night ever. Just as I had the night before, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes.

I figured Coulson was around somewhere, and eventually, I heard his feet splash into the water, and then felt the clink of the scotch bottle hitting my glass to refill it. I smiled without opening my eyes. The water raised a little as he sat down.

“May didn’t tell you to bring a towel?” He asked.

“May pulled me into the shrubs beside the dorms like some sort of psychotic kidnapper. Then she shoved me in the tunnels without any explanation other than if I followed the blue line I would find myself here,” I laughed.

“And the glass didn’t clue you in that someone else might be here?” He asked. I looked at him, and caught him staring at the bare skin of my shoulders and collarbones. I sat up just enough that he looked away.

“You don’t appear to be in your suit, Phil,” I replied. He cleared his throat and took a slug from his glass.

“I wore my running shorts,” he managed, but his voice cracked a little. It was the first time I’d ever seen him truly uncomfortable and I felt powerful. I slipped a little closer on the bench and met his gaze with my own.

“Where’s the sweatband?” I teased, reaching out and running my finger down his temple. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I tried to keep a straight face, and slipped closer still. Our thighs touched. Coulson swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“I –“ He started. I could see the tip of the jagged scar across his chest above the water, and couldn’t help myself. I traced my fingers across it, tears springing to my eyes. It hadn’t felt real until that moment.

“I’m sorry, Phil.” My words were barely audible. He put his hand on top of mine, stilling my fingers.

“You had nothing to do with it,” he said, dismissing me.

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take it away if I could,” I argued, and leaning close, kissed his cheek. He snaked his arm behind me and dragged me closer. I wasn’t expecting it, but he just held me close, and buried his face in my hair. I turned into his embrace, slipping my legs across his lap. It was uncomfortably intimate, but I also knew that I could trust Coulson completely. He proved me right in the next moment, pulling away and tossing my sports bra and underwear at me and turning his back.

“You’re a good man, Phil.” I pulled my underthings on without leaving the hot tub.

“You have a wild streak that I find really attractive,” he admitted. “But clothes aren’t always a bad thing.”

He splashed back into the hot tub and settled back beside me, pulling me back into his arms. I laughed and when he smiled, his eyes crinkled. He ran his thumb along my jaw.

“If this is going to descend into another super intense make-out session, I might not survive,” I confessed. “You’re making me a little crazy.”

He smiled again and dropped his hand to my shoulder.

“Not what you were expecting?” His chuckle was low.

“Never once suspected, not all these years,” I agreed. “Of course, we never really give personalities to the field agents. It’s easier to keep you all the same boring guys.”

“Boring? Ouch.”

“Better than making you all out to be James Bond, don’t you think?” I teased. He paused for a minute and then nodded.

“Never been a martini fan,” he conceded. “You probably interact with a lot of us though, so it would be hard to form an impression.”

“You are one of the few, Phil,” I disagreed. “You always come in when you can. Almost everyone else just sends messages.”

“Well, I guess I had an ulterior motive,” He tangled his fingers in my ponytail.

“For that long? You’ve always come into HR when you could, Phil. Don’t try to convince me you’ve been doing it just to see me,” I laughed.

“Ten years doesn’t feel like very long. I didn’t mind coming into HR because I knew you’d be there to flirt back. Not because I could pursue anything, just because I knew you’d banter with me without threatening a Stark. I just didn’t date within the company.” There was a mischief to the confession.

“Does that make me a consolation prize?” I asked. It sounded worse once I said it, but I didn’t chase back my words. He shook his head.

“No. I didn’t believe in dating within SHIELD. Now I don’t have that personal restriction. So I’ve been able to pursue what I know I’ve missing,” he stumbled a little bit on the explanation, but I got the gist of it.

“How did you remember it had been ten years?” I asked. “I forgot myself until they gave me my pin.”

“There are some things in this world that a man never forgets,” he admitted. I tilted my head and looked at him.

“Have you been harbouring a crush, Agent Coulson?” I teased. He shook his head again.

“I was pretty happy with my life before I died. I had no complaints. Do you not remember how we first met? It made me want to break my rule. So I’ve never forgotten,” he laughed.

I started to shake my head, and then I remembered. I hadn’t been out of university long, and I was still working on my Master’s. But I needed a job. I had applied with a placement agency to find my part-time work. They called with an interview for exactly the kind of job I wanted when I finished school, and I jumped at it. My first day had been a nightmare of paperwork and chaos and learning. The photocopier broke down as I was working on deadline, and he’d come into the office while I was elbow deep in toner, head first in the guts of the machine cursing like a sailor. When he spoke to me, he startled me, and I got my blouse caught on part of the paper feeding mechanism I was trying to fix, and when I backed out of the machine, I was coated in toner, crabby, and holding the front of my very expensive ‘first day of work’ blouse closed. I guess really, I would never have forgotten that either.

“Clouds of toner, swearing and throwing a shoe at the wall made you want to break your rules? You have interesting standards,” I laughed.

“I was the lacy lime green bra showing past the torn blouse, and the toner smudges on your cheeks and chest. I wanted to whisk you off to a shower.” His laugh was rich, and full of mirth at the memory.

“Oh god, I loved that bra. I never got the toner out of it. It was my good luck bra.” I leaned back in his arms and looked at him. “Still waters, Phil. I never would have a guessed a green bra would do it for you.”

He didn’t say another word. Instead, he pressed his mouth against my collarbone, and then stilled. He tugged on my ponytail just roughly enough that I gasped, but not in pain, and he trailed his mouth up my neck, along the line of the artery there. I pushed away and shook my head.

“You’re still an S.O. And that is actually against regulations, Phil,” I breathed. He nodded, just as breathless as I was.

“Your schedule has you flying out Friday at lunch,” he said. “I plan on picking you up from the airport.”

“According to the email I checked this afternoon, I have a couple hours of work ahead of me when I get back,” I complained. “But I’ll be free by 4.”

“Then I will pick you up at 4,” he agreed. “But for now, I’ll see you to your room.”

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star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 7 years

Text

Human Resources, pt3

Word Count: 2264 Tags: @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @feelmyroarrrr @anyakinamidala @dirajunara @anotherotter @little-study-bug @rampant-salamander @goodnightwife @samaxraph99 @outside-the-government @kingarthurscat @coyote-in-space @originalpottervengerlock Summary: Inspired by the nightmare that working HR for SHIELD would be. Anna Ellis is an HR specialist for SHIELD, and after the Battle of New York, is expected to pass basic field competency. Thankfully she has Coulson to help her out.

“Oh sweet merciful gods. Why me?” I muttered and closed my eyes against the memory of just two nights previous and the masterful way Rick used his body. Kate nudged me.

“Do you know him? He is like sex on a stick,” she whispered.

“He most certainly is. Christ. This is going to be so fucking awkward,” I muttered.

“I am Agent Richard Eriksson. You may call me Agent, or Eriksson. I will be your SO while you are here. Every morning, we will start with a five kilometer run. The goal is to get you down to thirty minutes. There will be incentives for those of you who are able to keep up and improve. And there will be deterrents for those of you who think you are above all this.” Rick’s voice boomed over us. “At the end of the day, we will go for another five k run. Those of you who are able to improve your time from the morning will be dismissed. Those of you who do not will be required to hit the gym for some strength and conditioning exercise.”

“I’m sorry, is the idea that if we’d attacked by aliens again we be able to outrun them?” One of the older women in the front asked. I stifled a snort. It was a good question.

“No, the idea is that cardiovascular fitness is the foundation of a strong body and mind. Your reaction time will be shortened by being in shape,” Rick responded. “Hit the track, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll start with a brisk walk to warm up, and then we’ll get running.”

He gestured to the track and like cows to the slaughter, we all shuffled toward it. I darted wide around him, hoping to avoid a conversation. Luck was not on my side. Rick took a few steps in my direction, and reached out to stop me. I sighed and stared over his shoulder, determined not to blush like a preteen.

“You left a souvenir at my apartment.” It wasn’t quite the icebreaker I would have used.

“If you present me with my panties, I will slap you with an A2-336E so fast you won’t know what hit you,” I threatened.

“If you’ll recall, Anna, I wasn’t aware what agency you were with. You’ll just have to retrieve them when we get home,” he smirked.

“If I’m not allowed to call you Rick, you can start calling me Ellis,” I retorted. It was weak, but I felt boundaries were probably important. He was still unnaturally handsome, and knowing his talents, I knew I would be incredibly weak.

“Oh, we’re not going to be that way, are we? It was mutual, Anna. It was good, and if I’m recalling correctly, you agreed. There’s no need for us to become enemies just because we work under the same banner.”

“Perhaps you missed the part where I snuck out so I wouldn’t have to have this awkward morning after conversation. I don’t do well with awkward morning after conversation,” I admitted, softening just a little. He smiled.

“I don’t usually do the one-night thing at all myself. I was pissed about being sent here for the foreseeable future and –“

“Don’t say another word. I know exactly what you mean,” I laughed. “Despite what you may think, I’m not actually a femme fatale.”

Rick laughed and pushed ran a hand through his hair.

“I see you more as a school teacher,” he winked. “Hit the track, Anna. You’ve got miles to go before you see any rest.”

I ambled over to Kate. She stared at me expectantly, but I didn’t divulge anything. Partly because a lady shouldn’t kiss and tell and partly because I’d only just met her. Rick took his place at the head of our group and led us off on the ‘brisk walk’ portion of the run. I would have qualified it as a slow jog, myself. I felt to the back of the group as soon as we actually began running, and could feel my lungs burning in minutes. I pushed for as long as I could, but the moment I saw someone else start to walk, I slowed down, gasping for air.

“Ms. Ellis. This is not your finest look.” I heard the familiar voice and turned my head. And then promptly stopped in my tracks, overcome with the ridiculous and amazing sight before me. Agent Coulson was jogging on the spot beside me. But more than that, he had a white terry sweatband across his forehead, with matching wristbands at each wrist. His SHIELD t-shirt fit better than I expected, but it was tucked into a pair of obscenely short black running shorts that left a lot of his pale thighs exposed. He had white tube socks pulled up to his knees and his running shoes were plain black. He looked ridiculous. I blinked and bit my lip. And covered my mouth in horror.

“What are you doing here?” I finally managed, a nervous giggle fluttering out at the end of my sentence.

“It’s the glasses, isn’t it? Women always start laughing about my glasses,” he deadpanned. I hadn’t even noticed the glasses, but found myself just as mesmerized by them as I was by the rest of his ensemble. The thick black frames made him look more like he belonged in the science division than operations.

“You are a sight.” I noticed the pack of runners pulling away and turned to begin jogging again. Coulson fell in beside me.

“My team and I are here for the training. Agents May and Ward are teaching hand-to-hand. I’ll be teaching weapons and target. I was just heading out for my morning run when I saw you and thought I’d tag along. Eriksson won’t mind if I bring up the rear, and keep the ducklings from straying.” He spoke effortlessly. I was having a hard time keeping my breathing even.

“Awesome,” I managed.

“Lengthen your stride, Ms. Ellis. You’re taking teeny steps and it’s making you work harder. Haven’t you ever run before?” He asked.

“Not distances,” I gasped, doing as he said. Within a few feet, I could feel my heart rate slowing just enough that I didn’t think I would die. Then my breathing came easier. I still couldn’t talk, but it turns out Coulson is really chatty when he’s running.

“I ran track in High School and College. I also did Biathlon. Have you heard of that? It’s a winter sport. It’s cross-country skiing and shooting. I was ranked nationally. Guess how SHIELD found me?” He asked, rhetorically. I glanced beside me at him, trying to imagine sweatbanded, tubesocked Coulson as remotely cool enough to do track. Biathlon was as dorky as it sounded, so I bought that. We slowly caught up to the pack.

“Biathlon, eh? I think we did that in high school phys ed one year,” I wheezed. He chuckled.

“I don’t recall seeing that in your personnel file, Ms. Ellis.” He wasn’t even sweating yet, the bastard.

“You know that sounds really creepy, right?” I asked. “Also, if you’re so damn familiar with my history, you can call me Anna.”

“Would you be comfortable calling me Phil?” He responded.

“No.” I shook my head.

“Then I’ll keep it formal for now.”

“Can you just drop the ‘Ms.’ part then? It makes me feel like a librarian,” I requested. He chuckled again.

“Sure,” he agreed.

I slowed to a walk, and was pleased to see that everyone else in my cohort was looking as winded and pathetic as I was. Fury was out of his mind thinking this could be accomplished in three weeks. After what was not nearly long enough, Coulson nudged me and nodded ahead of us, urging me to jog again. I sighed and picked up my pace. He kept at it every time I stopped running, letting me rest for just shy of long enough and then prodding me forward again. It was like my own special hell.

Rick finally gestured for us to stop. I grabbed a couple of bottles of water and collapsed into the grass on the infield of the track. I drank one bottle, and poured the other in my face. Kate flopped down beside me and did the same thing. We lay there staring at the clouds flitting across the sky for a few minutes until I saw Rick approaching Coulson. I sat up, horrified.

“Oh please, please, please, please don’t say anything,” I mumbled under my breath. Kate gave me a puzzled look but said nothing. Rick and Coulson spent a few minutes chatting with one another, and then Rick pointed in our direction. I held in my cringe and focused on untying and tying the laces of my shoe, as though I wasn’t desperately trying to hear what they were talking about. Coulson slapped Rick on the shoulder and picked up a bottle of water on his way over.

“Agent Eriksson seems to think you are capable of a better time than you made today.” He sat down in the grass and gave me a questioning look.

“Don’t know why,” I shrugged.

“You’ll improve tomorrow. You should hit the showers though, ladies. We’ll be meeting for weapons and target in about 25 minutes.” He pushed himself up and headed off the field. I hauled myself to my feet and walked directly to Rick.

“Agent Eriksson. I was under the impression you wanted to play nice?” I asked. He looked up from the tablet he was fiddling with and smiled.

“Oh, I do.” He reminded me of a wolf, all toothy and leering. “But I also don’t want to compete with captain sweatband. And he was acting interested.”

“Agent Coulson and I have worked together on a number of projects. Don’t mistake his professional courtesy for a coworker for anything but that,” I snapped. “And for the record, the testosterone-driven need to possess? It’s a huge turn off. Treat me like a human if you want to play nice. Do not treat me like I’m some sort of fucking possession or prize. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” he nodded. I stalked toward the D dorm, but turned and walked back to him.

“And another thing. You are very, and I mean very, talented. And sexy. And you seemed lovely outside the bedroom too. So yeah. Don’t mess up all of this,” I waved my hand around him generally, “by being a dick to my friend.”

I left him gaping at me as I walked back to the dorms to clean up.

Bless Coulson for being a lovely person, but weapons was the most boring class I’d ever taken, and I’d had to take economics in university. I was fighting to stay awake by fifteen minutes into his description of the standard issue sidearm SHIELD used, but I’d caught enough to know it weighed about a pound and a half.

Notetaking had saved my ass in Econ, so I tried taking them, but it really wasn’t helping. I was secretly pleased that I was sitting at the back of the classroom, where Coulson maybe wouldn’t see me struggling to stay awake.

“I think we should break for coffee. Some of you are fading. Be back in fifteen,” he announced. I snapped my head up, sure I was turning as red as a tomato. Caught. I slipped out the back door of the lecture hall and made my way to the coffee kiosk, hoping to beat the crowd.

“As big as you have please,” I asked.

“Anything in that?” The server asked. I shook my head.

“Nope. Black, please.” I reached into my purse to pull out some cash, and was surprised by a hand reaching over my shoulder with a bill in it.

“Like her soul. Can you please make that two, Grace?” Coulson was apparently buying me a coffee. Grace handed me my cup and made change for Coulson.

“Like my soul? Ouch,” I nudged Coulson with my elbow. He just gave me that thousand-yard stare I’d learned was classic Coulson. “Thank you, by the way.” I tipped my cup at him and headed to the outside courtyard. He followed, and sat down beside me.

“How are you going to manage handling a sidearm if you don’t know which one is standard at SHIELD?” He asked, taking a sip from his coffee.

“You mean the Smith and Wesson M&P?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Dude, I’m tired, but I’m not stupid.”

“What is the most impressive thing about the M&P?” He quizzed me. I sighed.

“Well, for me, it would be that it’s nice and light, and has a short trigger pull,” I responded. Coulson looked a little surprised. “Oooh! You thought I was sleeping and not paying any attention! I was trying to stay awake. I was taking copious notes.”

He held out my notepad. I was busted.

“La la la, this is so boring. Blah blah guns. Blah blah bang. Blah blah shooting,” he read, in the driest tone I’d ever heard.

“Or you know, I read the specs at work one day?” I tried. He laughed.

“Honesty looks better on you, Ellis.”

“And here I thought it was my pretty smile you liked best,” I teased. He smirked.

“You should get back to class before your instructor marks you tardy.” He stood up and walked back inside. I finished my coffee and made my way back to class in my own time, careful to slip in the door just before Coulson started lecturing again.

#avengers fanfic #avengers fanfic with OFC #Phil Coulson x OFC

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