November 2013

Melinda May was not someone who readily showed her softer side. She prefered that people feared and were cautious of her; it made her life and job of protecting her team much easier. Only a handful of people, even including those on her team, knew her true nature beyond that wretched "Cavalry" title and she was perfectly fine with keeping it that way.

But when Melinda May stumbled upon a box of abandoned kittens in an alley on her way back to the Bus, not even she could feign enough cruelty to leave them there.

She looked around for any possible culprit who may have left these poor creatures defenseless before crouching down to investigate the box further. May found five black and white kittens who were obviously malnourished, but not beyond the point of assistance. She picked each one up carefully to examine them individually to make sure none of them were too obviously sick that it may affect its siblings.

After examining all five of them, she found a sixth, smaller kitten cowering in the corner of the box. It looked wounded and frightened. She reached out for it and it hissed angrily, clawing at her in defense before curling up into a ball and purring in fear, hiding within itself. That was something she could definitely relate to.

Melinda reached slowly in, ignoring its aggressive attempts of attack, and picked up to pet it soothingly. This one was all black except for a little white spot in the middle of its chest, making it harder to spot amongst the other cats.

"Hush," she whispered softly to the helpless creature, "it's okay. You're okay."

After a minute or two of caressing and consoling the runt of the litter, it began to relax in Melinda's hand but still remained tense with distrust. Another familiar attribute.

Realizing the time she'd wasted, Melinda looks at her watch and cursed. She surveyed her environment once more before placing the kitten back in the box with its siblings and picking up the entire litter. She rushed to the nearest animal shelter, four blocks from her location, and delivered five kittens anonymously right in front. In a hurry, she made her way back to the Bus as quickly and carefully as she could. Her team forgivingly dismissed her excuses for tardiness and began settling down for take off.

Melinda grabbed a towel from her room on her way to the cockpit and before settling down for takeoff, she set up a small, secure bedding area for her new, furry companion.

February 2015

Melinda May let out a soft sigh as she entered her room at The Playground. She was exhausted, covered in scratches and sore. Their simple recon mission of a recently discovered HYDRA base took a turn for the worst when they recognized Bobbi and caught on to S.H.I.E.L.D's presence. May had to leave the van in order to extract Skye and Hunter from within the base while Bobbi distracted the security monitors.

After that, all hell went loose and she was never more grateful for the cloaking feature on the Bus. They drove straight into it and Simmons immediately began closing the cargo door which allowed May to get into the cockpit to efficiently take off without attracting too much attention.

Once they were back at The Playground, May went straight to her room. She wasn't in the mood to have Coulson dote on her at the moment. Right now, all she needed to have was a long, hot shower and to calm down before she saw him.

She locked her door for good measure before she hopped in the shower and washed away the sweat and dried blood. After half an hour, she came out of her bathroom in a bathrobe a little less tense than when she first came back. But she knew what she needed to really, fully decompress after a mission like that.

Melinda double checked to make sure her door was locked and went to her closet. The moment she opened the door, Midnight May pounced out of the closet and immediately began to rub herself lovingly between May's legs. A soft smile settled itself on Melinda's face and she bent over to pick up her beloved cat.

After having her for just over a year, Midnight went from being a tiny, frightened kitten that could fit in the palm of May's hand into a medium sized, playfully feisty cat that takes up a majority of May's lap. May had kept Midnight hidden in her various rooms and had been very careful to make sure the cat stayed safe but secret.

With the cat snuggled against her chest and shoulder, May walked over to her bed and reclined with Midnight lying against her. May stroked her fur softly and closed her eyes as Midnight began to purr. Midnight curled into a ball on May's stomach and May felt herself loosen up as she caressed the cat. May's eyes began to feel heavy, an inevitable consequence of cuddling with Midnight, and she slowly surrendered to the exhaustion that plagued her.

A loud, harsh knock caused May to jolt from her slumber and startled Midnight. Well conditioned, Midnight immediately jumped off of her owner and bolted to her hiding place in the closet.

There was another succession of knocks and May quickly composed herself. She looked down and found that she was still in her bathrobe. Another consequence of cuddling with Midnight: she always fell asleep before she could finish what she needed to get done. May then turned her attention to the alarm clock next to her bed. 7:00, she had been asleep for two hours.

The knocking returned followed by a call of rising panic, "May? Are you there in? Why is your door locked? May! Are you hurt?"

She let out a slightly annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes. Without a word, she went straight to the door and watched as temporary relief washed over Coulson's face. She immediately stepped aside to let him in and closed the door after him.

"Are you okay? Did you pass out? Do you have any major injuries?" he asked successively as he looked over carefully which garnered another eye roll from May.

"Phil, I'm fine," she said plainly and once more saw him relax as his shoulders fell. "I just fell asleep. I had a few scratches, but nothing I can't handle."

Coulson's brows furrowed with concern and he immediately began to examine the visible scratches on and around her face and neck. She knew he was only this worried because she hadn't checked in with him within an hour of landing. He knew she's been through worse and he knew she could handle herself, but the anticipation and waiting for her to come talk to him had riled him up.

She allowed him to fuss over her for a few seconds before putting her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. He looked up to meet her gaze and she could see the panic and fear that it held. She allowed him a soft smile and ran her hand gently through his hair.

"I'm okay," she repeated softly. Coulson visually relaxed and May say his fear slowly drain from his features. "And if you keep worrying about me like that, the team will realize that we do more than just talk behind closed doors."

Coulson smiled, but before he could give a cheeky reply, he finally noticed that May was only in her bathrobe. The look of mirth on his face quickly turned to one of desire as he admired her within her robe. His eyes traveled slowly down her body before going back up only to find May's pupils fully dilated.

"What things do you think they'd figure out?" he asked playfully as he took a step towards her, his hands holding onto her waist.

May placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned up to whisper into his right ear, "Some of my favorite things."

The sun shined brightly through May's blinds and Coulson felt the heat radiating his face. He knew he should probably get up and out of May's room soon, but he loved how her scent clung to all her sheets and couldn't find the strength within himself to move. May had long been up anyways to do Tai Chi with Skye, so he didn't figure anyone would come in here anytime soon.

Settled with his decision, he rolled over in the bed to face the direction May had been sleeping in and reached over to grab her pillow. However, instead of landing on something silky and fluffy, he felt a small, warm, furry creature followed by a distinctive shriek of surprise.

Phil slowly opened his eyes, thinking he was imagining things, only to be met with a curious expression from a black cat. He closed his eyes again momentarily, before jolting up with surprise.

A cat?!

The cat studied him carefully for a few moments, before it looked satisfied and walked over to him to rub itself against him, begging to be pet. He was frozen in his position, confused on the origins of the cat. Where did it come from? How long had it been hiding in May's room? Was she aware of it?

"Midnight," Phil's head quickly turned to find May standing there looking slightly crossed. The cat happily jumped off the bed and sauntered over to May only to try and solicit a petting session. Phil's surprise was heightened when May bent over and picked the cat up and closed the door with her butt.

"I told you never to come out unless I was in the room," she calmly walked over to the closet and set the cat down gently. Midnight obediently sat down with an affirmative 'meow' as May pet her softly.

May turned around and found Phil, still naked under her sheets, staring at her with a mixture of shock and confusion. She hid her amusement as she just stood there with a hand on her hip and her brow raised inquisitively.

"You have a cat." Phil finally managed to say after gaping at her.

May gave an affirmative nod, keeping a stoic expression on her face. "Yes."

"And you've had it-"

"Her." May quickly corrected him. "And for nearly a year and a half now. She'll be two in November."

Phil slowly took in the information. How in the world could she have kept a kitten, now a cat, a secret for nearly a year and a half? After everything they went through, how did May have the chance to take care of i-her? She left at one point. Did she take the cat with her? Did anyone else know?

"I want to keep her, Phil." May broke his train of thought and when he looked at her, she still maintained her emotionless facade. But there was something in her eye that Coulson caught. A longing? A desire? Hope? "Please, Phil. I found her abandoned in an alley. I can't let her go."

Phil saw that that May was trying very hard to keep herself under control and she was clearly attached to the cat. He looked between the still, sitting cat and May, paying close attention to the small twitches and tells in her body language. Then, a smile spread on his face.

"You're going to have to make sure she stays safe and healthy," Phil warned half-heartedly. He noticed May immediately relax at his response.

"Understood," she replied curtly.

Phil gave a sharp nod as if to dismiss her. May took this as her cue to leave and let him get ready, people were going to start asking about his whereabouts soon. Coulson stood up and began collecting his clothes when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and May immediately gave him a firm yet sweet kiss that took his breath away.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile before turning away and leaving without giving him a chance to react.

Phil stood there and watched after her with a smitten smile firmly planted on his face. He sighed softly and resumed picking up his clothes only to be interrupted by a purring and fur moving in and out between his legs. He looked down and found Midnight staring at him, as though she were measuring his character. After a few moments of just looking at one another, Midnight's tail began to sway happily and she gave him a curt, but approving:

"Meow."

This was a Philinda Secret Valentine story for dianemaryallison. I hope you liked it! And I'm also offering potential for this story to have an addition chapter where you find out what May's "favorite things" are. ;) Leave a review and let me know!

Happy Valentine's Day~