Epilogue

Present Day

Coulson drained the last of the coffee from his mug, his third of the morning-now-early-afternoon, and set it down for collection by the waitress. The last part was always the most bittersweet, and a bit grainy from undissolved sugar, but it was the part he liked best.

He looked across the table where Stillwell was watching him right back, brow furrowed in incredulity and the remainder of his pancakes half forgotten.

"Wow. Man... Squirrels, huh? That's got to suck."

"Yeah," Phil agreed. It did sound absurd for one of their own to be taken out in such a manner. "Barton hasn't been too keen on talking about what happened, and his report is sorely lacking in details on the matter. But yes... Squirrels."

Jasper seemed to muse on this as he slowly cut another piece off of his cake. Something seemed to have occurred in his thought process as he chewed a bite. "You held a gun against the Wolverine... and lived? That guy could shred Doom like tissue paper."

Coulson shrugged, "It was a lucky night. Not that I'd want to test that luck again... And I am here, aren't I?"

Stillwell conceded the point with a tilt of the head. He finished chewing in silence and began to go for another before he spoke again. "Did... Did you meet Ororo Munroe?" he asked, eyes focused on his pancakes.

"Not personally, no. Why?"

"I was on surveillance for Xavier's place a while ago." Jasper looked up, a smirk pulling a corner of his mouth wide. "I always thought she was kind of hot."

Phil shook his head at his colleague and scowled in disapproval. "That is a gross misuse of S.H.E.I.L.D tech-"

THWAP!

Both agents turned to the window over their booth. A face was smeared against the glass hard enough to twist it into a contorted version of itself. Jasper felt his jaw go slack; it was the man he had bumped into when he arrived earlier, and he looked absolutely livid.

Behind him appeared the young woman with messy brown hair in a standard S.H.E.I.L.D junior agent's uniform and... was that a tail swaying behind her? With fur? Either way, she was giving the agents a pleased, buck-toothed grin as she single-handedly pinned the brute of a man to the side of the diner.

"Mister Coulson!" she exclaimed, voice slightly muffled by the glass. "I found this guy trying to break into your friend's car! What should I do with him?"

"Someone get this crazy chica off me!" the man practically screamed as he twitched uselessly against the window. As suddenly as he appeared, the girl tugged hard on his body and they both vanished from the view outside.

"Oh for the love of..." Phil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you mind if I take care of this?"

"Y-yeah, no. Go ahead...," Stillwell replied absently. He had become mesmerized by the scene before him, not even sure if it was real or a by product of the insane amount of sugar in his breakfast. "Uh... Same time next week?"

"Same time." Coulson had already exited the booth, straightened his jacket, and was heading out the door. "I'll see you then. And thanks for breakfast," he threw over his shoulder.

Jasper turned to bid his friend farewell (and good luck with that) but the agent had already disappeared on the other side of the doors. The only evidence Phil Coulson had ever been there was an empty coffee cup...

...And the bill.

"Figures," Stillwell muttered as he plucked the bill up and reached inside his jacket for his wallet.

AN: Thank you all for reading! This was my first (finished) multichapter story published here, and I've been overwhelmed by the positive response and support. I also want to thank again Forgotten Honor for offering to beta, and Marvel Comics for giving us all such a varied and exciting universe to play in.

Until next time!