"Spectrometers"

Phil answered the question Dr. Banner directed towards Fury. Anything to get the doctor's attention. Quite frankly, he was one of the cutest things Phil had ever seen, and with his back story… Phil just wanted to wrap him in cotton wool and keep him in a nest of soft toys and cotton candy. Not that it was his right, but a long-dead protective instinct had awakened, and he wanted those eyes to be on him, even just for a second.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," he said. "Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not gonna find them in time," Dr. Banner replied, glancing up at Phil. "You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

It wasn't a quick look, but their eyes had met for a second, which pretty much made Phil's day. Especially after the shambles of his meeting with Steve Rogers; he needed something to cheer himself up. He steadfastly didn't smile dreamily at the scientist.

He couldn't help it. Phil didn't have a soulmark; he was allowed to internally drool over Bruce Banner.

And he didn't check out the doctor's backside as he walked away. He didn't. Really.

(Only Maria noticed, and she wasn't going to tell anyone, so it never happened.)

"So, no soulmark?" Tony asked as they drove from seeing off Thor and Loki.

"No," Bruce said, wondering how they'd even gotten on to the topic. "You?"

"Yeah, but they can be platonic. Mine was always platonic… until the party after I came back from Afghanistan. Then it turned as black as my heart, and I knew I didn't just consider Pepper a friend and assistant anymore. Got lucky with that one, I can tell you."

"Very lucky," Bruce murmured, staring unseeingly at the scenery as they drove. He really didn't want to talk about this. "Soulmarks can change. My parents' did…" He shook his head. "They're not stable. It's not an exact science. I considered studying it, but I prefer figures to folklore."

"Good choice," Tony said, grinning. "We wouldn't have met otherwise."

Bruce laughed. It turned to a pained hiss as he grabbed his thigh.

"The hell?"

"What's wrong?" Tony asked. He pulled over quickly. "Cramp?"

"I don't know," Bruce said through gritted teeth. "Doesn't feel like it. More like burning."

"Look at me." Tony grabbed Bruce's chin and turned his head. "Your eyes look fine. No Hulking out imminent. Let's get back to the tower; you can check it out there. Got better labs than SHIELD."

It was a hell of a shock when Bruce removed his slacks and saw a grey soulmark forming on his skin. He'd heard that they could take longer when they appeared later in life, but it was so rare that there were only a few documented instances.

"Tony!" he shouted. Tony barged into the room, and stood still at the sight.

"You cradle robber, you."

"Better not be," Bruce said. "I prefer people my own age, thanks. And I'm not saddling someone with the Other Guy if I can help it."

"Maybe you can't," Tony said. They sat on the edge of the bed. "JARVIS, can you tell what it's going to say?"

"No, sir. However, judging by when Dr. Banner first felt the pain of his soulmark forming, and its progress to this point, it should become clear in approximately forty seconds."

"Thanks, buddy."

"Thank you, JARVIS," Bruce added. "Good to know."

"So what're you gonna do?" Tony said. "If your soulmate's just being born?"

"Hell if I know. I can't possibly… it's impossible! I'll be old and grey… older and greyer by the time we meet, and sure as hell by the time they're legal. I can't even do anything… strenuous without my pulse racing and making the Other Guy appear."

"Well, that sucks," Tony said. "Don't you think an exception could be made for your soulmate?"

"Even if it could, I won't be in any state to be energetic enough. Maybe… maybe it's a potential student? Maybe I'll be somebody's mentor, and it's just a platonic bond?" He sighed in relief. "That's it. That's gotta be it."

"There you are." He clapped Bruce on the shoulder, and they smiled at each other.

"Sirs?" JARVIS said. "I believe you can read the words now."

They looked down at Bruce's thigh. After reading through the words, Bruce thought that they seemed familiar. Where had he heard…? On the Helicarrier. That's right. He was talking to Fury, but it wasn't…

"No."

"Bruce?"

"No, no, no. It can't be. Shit!"

"What?" Tony jumped up and followed Bruce, who'd stormed into the bathroom and was staring into the mirror over the sink, checking for signs of the Other Guy. There was definitely anger there, more intense than usual, but Bruce forced it down. Now wasn't the time for mindless rage. Now was the time for careful consideration.

"I know who it is," Bruce said flatly. Tony stared at him.

"What?" he said. "You mean your soulmate hasn't just been born? How can that—"

"He's been reborn."

"He?"

"Only one person has said these words to me. It's impossible, but… I guess nothing is impossible."

"What?" Tony asked again, growing agitated. "Who is it, Bruce?"

Bruce looked down at the words on his leg, then up at Tony. "It's Agent Coulson."

They both stood across from Fury, who was seated behind his desk and giving them a look which plainly said 'What the hell are you doing here?'.

"Five. Days," Tony said.

"What's five days?"

"Since New York."

"Six days, actually."

"Only because I needed to calm down after I found out," Bruce said. "And you can be hard to track down."

"He was dead for five days, wasn't he?" Tony said, bending over and resting his hands, palms down, on Fury's desk. "Phil."

Fury looked from one of them to the other. "I don't know—"

"You know what we're talking about," Bruce said, crossing his arms. "Tell us where he is before we find out for ourselves. Even if the Other Guy has to tear this place apart… starting with you."

"I was going to say," Fury said, "that I don't know how you knew, but yeah. Coulson's alive."

"He was dead for five days!" Tony said. "I think this is the important point here."

"I can tell, since you keep saying it."

"It's medically impossible!"

"Clearly it isn't."

"What'd you do to him?" Bruce growled. Fury blinked a couple of times.

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"Because he's…!" Bruce breathed deeply. "If you brought him back to life after five days, there could be considerable damage—"

"There isn't. It's been done before. I wasn't gonna just let him go; not when I need my one good eye. But I'm not telling you a damn thing until you tell me how you knew he was alive, and why you're so damn interested. I know it isn't for medical reasons."

Bruce was prepared for this. He lifted his left leg onto the chair beside him and rolled up the loose pant leg, bearing Phil's writing. Fury's eye widened significantly.

"He's my soulmate," Bruce said. "Now are you going to tell me where to find him?"

Fury sighed. "Explains why he's had a crush on you for a couple of years."

Phil knew that Bruce Banner travelled a lot, keeping out of the military's way. It could explain why he was magically in Tahiti. Maybe Fury had arranged Bruce to be his physician while he was on holiday? Suddenly, physical therapy didn't sound so bad after all, and that masseuse had definitely been an incentive to behave. With the doctor here, Phil's day was looking up already.

…Okay, Tony Stark in the background was not so good.

"We're here to take you home," Stark said. Phil frowned slightly. His thoughts were a bit jumbled, and he looked at Bruce.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," he said. It was important to tell him this. "Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Bruce shut his eyes for a couple of seconds. There went the brief feeling of déjà vu he'd felt. Until… there, those eyes were looking at him again.

"That's still not gonna find them in time," the doctor said. "You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"I… I don't know," Phil said, and he frowned. "Why am I saying this?"

"They were the first things we said to each other."

"Uh… okay."

"The first things."

"…Mmm-hmm?"

"You haven't seen your soulmark, have you?"

"I don't have one."

"I think you'll find that one has appeared, around the same time that mine did."

It was a warm place, which explained why Dr. Banner was wearing shorts. He showed Phil the mark, definitely in his handwriting.

"Wow," Phil said, reaching out a hand and touching. They both shivered, and he met the doctor's eyes. "I don't know where…"

"No one's pointed it out to you?"

"Not yet."

"I'll leave you two alone," Stark said, reminding Phil that he was there. "Don't get up to any shenanigans. You're not well enough, Agent. But we're taking you back to the tower to recuperate."

"Back to New York?"

"…Yeah. It'll be a shorter journey than you think."

"Okay," Phil said, sitting up. He felt a little slow, but that was because he was so relaxed. He couldn't censor himself as he looked up at Bruce. (If they were soulmates, it really was more appropriate to use his first name.) "Damn, I'm lucky. I have such a crush on you it's ridiculous."

"You're telling me," Bruce said, combing his fingers through his shaggy hair. "I don't know why you'd feel that way… but I guess it's because of the soulmate connection."

"We… we don't have to be together," Phil said. It was only fair to point it out. "We can just remain platonic soulmates. Your words are grey. Mind are probably black, but that doesn't mean anything. Just give it time, and mine will change."

"Or mine will." Phil felt a fluttering in his stomach at the look Bruce gave him.

"Whatever you say," he said. "Could you turn around? I won't get undressed all the way… and if it's hidden anywhere inappropriate—"

Bruce snorted. "Try anywhere that might be pressed against the top of my thigh."

Phil knew where he wanted to look first. It didn't mean anything unless the connection became non-platonic, in which case they could choose to bond. Now that the possibility had occurred to him, his mind was going to inappropriate places. He removed his button-up shirt first, and turned to check out his torso in the full-length mirror beside the spa wardrobe. Nope. Knowing his luck – and his dirty mind – the soulmark would be…

Yep. Under his right thigh. Corresponding where the marks could press against each other if they bonded completely.

He cleared his throat, and kept his back to Bruce. "You can turn around now," he said.

He didn't want to see the doctor's face, and stayed perfectly still as he sensed the man's approach. He wasn't expecting the cool finger to trace the words which he knew would be the ones Bruce first spoke to him, both before and ten minutes ago.

"My writing," Bruce said softly. He touched Phil's shoulders. "Okay. Well, at least we know what position we'd be in to bond."

Phil groaned in embarrassment, and covered his face. "Not compulsory," he reminded Bruce.

"No, I know. Mostly it depends on the Hulk. I think I'm gonna have to have a talk with him, and so will you, if I deem it safe enough. But… but I think I have to tell you how you came back to life. In the interests of full disclosure between soulmates. It's important that you know I had nothing to do with this."

"Maybe we couldn't be toget— soulmates until after I died and then came back?"

"No doubt, but it sucks," Bruce said. "And… you're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you. We'd better sit down. I'm here if you need me."

Wow. Wrote this in about one and a half hours, between consulting notes and so forth, because apparently I was bored and needed something to do. This is why I get nothing else done; I spend my free time writing random soulmate fics.

Please review! This pairing needs more love.