Say It
a.n. omg, so I’ve been watching season 4 of agents of shield and May and Coulson are just so gosh darn cute together that I had to write something! Well, first I saw an adorable fic from ages ago, then I had to write something :D Seriously though, these two are the best.
___
They weren’t even doing anything when it happened. Melinda thought that she might have felt better about it if they'd at least been in the middle of foreplay or making out, but they weren't. They were just cuddling in bed, something that she would vehemently deny enjoying if Phil ever mentioned it. She wasn't meant to be so soft.
She could be with Phil though. He'd tease her from time to time, but he never stopped her from being close to him, and he always asked before pushing any boundaries.
He was a gentleman to a fault.
Phil's hand accidentally brushed her side under her shirt and May squirmed ever so slightly and let out the barest huff of a laugh. “Watch it.” She muttered, shifting to get more comfortable.
It took her a moment to notice how still Phil had gotten, and when she looked up at him it was to see the beginnings of a smirk on his face. “Wait, you're ticklish?” He asked, looking more confused than mischievous.
May scowled. “No.”
He laughed incredulously. “You are!” He exclaimed, squeezing her side again to prove the point.
Melinda jolted and let out a yelp, bringing her arms around her sides to protect herself. “Shut up.” She muttered, turning slightly pink.
Phil chuckled. “How did I never know about this?” He asked playfully. “All those pranks and you're telling me revenge could have been this easy?”
Before he could poke at her again, May caught his wrist. “Don't.” She tried to say firmly, but the smile on her face wouldn't be suppressed.
He smiled at her. “You're so beautiful.” Phil stopped himself before saying 'cute'. He wouldn't blame her if she kicked his ass for that.
Melinda scoffed and rolled her eyes. He'd learned that that was her general response to his compliments, and sure enough he could see a blush climbing her neck. Unable to resist, he pressed a long kiss to her jawline and was surprised to feel her twitch. Phil smiled against her skin. “There's no way you're that ticklish.”
She laughed quietly. “Not my fault I don't know your intentions.”
“True.” Phil mused, “You never know what I might do.” As he spoke his other hand snuck around to flutter his fingers on the other side of her neck.
With a snort, Melinda threw herself onto that side to block the teasing touch. “Phil.”
He grinned. “Oh come on, you can't expect me not to.”
She rolled over and glared at him playfully. Phil's smile widened. No, he definitely wasn't going to stop when she had that glimmer in her eye and that cute grin on her face.
“Try that again and I'll make you pay.” May said, trying to be threatening. She wanted to be mad, she really did, but this was too much fun.
“Is that a promise?” He taunted, wiggling his fingers over her neck again, delighting that she hardly moved beyond squirming. So, instead of backing off, Phil continued to tease her neck, occasionally skating his fingers up to dance over her ear and making Melinda twist her head.
May smiled widely, shaking with quiet laughter as she closed her eyes and tried to resist the urge to crush his hand with her shoulder. The feeling was maddening, but Phil was so gentle and mischievous that she couldn't help but love it. She jumped when he found a particularly sensitive spot towards one shoulder and wrapped her arms around her middle so as not to grab him on impulse.
Phil grinned down at her as he continued to tickle and tease. Melinda could be so damn cute, the way she scrunched up her nose, how she would bite her lip in an attempt to keep from laughing even though she was mostly laughing silently at this point anyway. He pressed a kiss just below her ear, getting a soft squeak that he knew Melinda would deny until the day she died, then murmured, “I love you.”
Melinda's smile widened. “I know you do.” She said, voice tinged with laughter.
Phil stopped with a huff. “Unkind.” He whined transparently.
May grinned, shaking her head to rid herself of the residual tingles. “I don't know what you mean.” She said, “Just acknowledging what you said.”
He scowled. “Say it.”
“No.” May shot back with a grin. She liked playing like this.
Phil growled, trying and failing not to smile. He loved seeing Melinda's more mischievous side more than anything. Deciding to err on the side of playful but stupid, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head, leaning over her.
When Phil realized that he'd actually succeeded in pinning her, he cocked his head curiously. They both knew that the only way he could pin her down was if she let him.
Sure enough when confronted with his gaze Melinda bit her lip. Phil grinned. “I love you.” He murmured, kissing a line up her neck to her lips, loving the feeling of her smiling mouth against his. “Three little words, come on.”
He knew. She could see it in his eyes. He was her best friend and her partner and she loved him. She loved how happy he made her. So she felt safe throwing him a smirk and saying, “Bite me.”
Phil chuckled and the abruptly leaned down and bit her neck, getting a knee to the stomach when he did so. He was still laughing when he pulled away and he could see that May was trying not to let on to her own amusement. “Not what I meant.”
He rolled his eyes, “Gee, make up your mind, bite you, don't bite you, you look at me like that and don't say 'I love you', how am I supposed to know?”
“You're a spy,” She grinned up at him, “Figure it out.”
Phil glared, which quickly gave way to a devious smirk. “Hmm, you're right.” He mused, switching to holding both of her arms with one hand, noting that Melinda didn't even try to pull herself free. “I am a spy. And as a spy,” He wiggled the fingers of his free hand tauntingly, “I have ways of making you talk.”
He squeezed her side where he had accidentally tickled her earlier and Melinda bit her lip to keep from laughing. It didn't even tickle that badly, but Phil was smiling at her and they were messing around like teenagers and she felt strangely vulnerable. In a good way.
Phil's fingers scratched gently at her ribs and May snorted, trying to hide her face in her shoulder as she shook with silent laughter.
Phil pouted. “Oh come on, let me see you smile.” He whined, dancing his fingers over her exposed neck and making her toss her head to the other side on reflex. He beamed. “There it is.”
Melinda squirmed, “Sh-shuhut uhup.” She laughed softly. She couldn't remember the last time she'd played like this. Let someone get her this undone.
Phil tutted, “Well that's just rude.” His fingers wormed into the space between her ribs making her jolt and break into bubbly laughter. His smile widened. He hadn't heard her laugh like that in a very long time. “Gotcha.”
May didn't bother trying to say anything. Instead she squirmed from side to side, trying to escape his mischievous touch while not really trying much at all. Her legs involuntarily curled up in a weak attempt to protect herself, not that it did much with Phil settled on her thighs. She couldn't take the way he was grinning at her so she squeezed her eyes shut, trying in vain to bottle her laughter.
She still didn't pull her arms free though. May knew that when things got bad, she'd look back on this memory and smile.
Coulson couldn't stop smiling if he wanted to. Melinda had the most beautiful laugh, messy, bright and surprisingly childish for someone as serious as she was. Though he knew that her stoic mask was just that; a mask. Maybe that was why she wasn't trying to get him to stop. She only had so many people who were brave enough to break down her walls.
Since her eyes were still closed as she tried to squirm away from his playful fingers, Phil leaned in until he was very close to her face and whispered, “Say it.”
May jumped, not expecting him to be so close, and made an attempt to buck him off. “Gohoho to hehehell.” She laughed gently.
Phil grinned and pressed a kiss to her lips. Though his hand stilled when he did so, he could feel her laughing against him. “I love you.” He said, breathless once they broke apart.
She had that look in her eyes that made his knees go weak. One thing that he loved about her was that she didn't do anything by halves. Phil had heard plenty of people say that May never smiled, but he saw it all the time. She smiled with her entire face, the softness at the corner of her eyes, the barest twitch of her lips, the specific way she would hold her hands. He knew she didn't say 'I love you' because it was written on every inch of her.
He loved seeing that, and he loved that he knew her well enough to see it.
When mischievous hands grabbed his sides, Phil realized that he hadn't seen her wriggling her wrists free. He immediately fell over sideways in a fit of laughter, and May continued to wriggle her fingers up his ribs, rolling over to straddle his hips.
May grinned down at him, loving Phil's adorable giggles. “See how you like it.” She joked as he pleaded halfheartedly for her to stop. When she dug her fingers into his armpits she would swear he squealed, and she leaned closer to him. “Say it.”
It took Phil a moment to realize what she was talking about, but when he did his smile widened impossibly. “Ihihi lohohove you.” He laughed, grabbing at her hands.
May's fingers stilled and she looked down at him. “Again.”
Phil beamed up at her. “I love you.” He said roughly, leaning up to kiss her.
Both were still smiling when they finally broke apart, wrapped up in each other's arms. May leaned her head against his chest. “I love you too.” She whispered.
