Going to his own funeral hadn't been such a great idea. Fury had told him to stay away while they buried that empty grave, but he hadn't listened. He wanted to be there.

Seeing all those agents mourning his death didn't really break him, but seeing Melinda crying for the first time in his life, hit him like a ton of bricks.

The fact that she was crying for him didn't help much.

He had watched the whole ceremony hidden behind a tree. It was now over ad everybody was saying their last goodbyes.

They all went away, one by one, kneeling down one last time before leaving. Everyone but Melinda.

Phil watched as the woman remained there, not crying anymore but still visibly devastated. He felt the urge to run to her, but somehow managed to resist.

May stepped closer to the grave and ran her fingers through the carved letters.

"You once told me you weren't as great as anyone thought you were." She started to say, her voice cracked like Coulson had never heard it before. "There were times I didn't even think you were an Agent at all, given how much personally attached you would feel to some missions, but let me tell you this: you were.." she had to stop to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks so hard they burned.

"…you were the best partner and the most caring human being that I've ever known, and no one will ever be able to replace you. After Bahrain I was..I was so unstable, so scared, so lonely. But you were there all along and I just owe you so much for that."

She kneeled down and started to cry even harder, not being able to stop.

Coulson internally cursed himself for letting that happen to her.

"You were there all along and I suppose I had taken you for granted, Phil. I had promised myself one day I would have told you, when our missions were finally over and we opened that famous bottle of Haig.

I should have told you sooner, but I hoped I had plenty of time. I love you, Phil Coulson.- "

Phil's eyes widened. Had she really said she loved him?

"-I love you like I've never loved anyone before. I love you and it's consuming me that you had to go without me being able to tell you."

Melinda May loved him. The woman he had loved his entire life had said she loved him back and he was now dead to her. Fate surely know how to prank people. It was supposed to be the happiest moment of his life, yet, it was the most painful. He wanted to go there, kiss her, tell her all about his feelings for her, but he couldn't, and so he didn't. He looked back at her. She looked so fragile, so broken..

"-Guess after all I am not that brave woman everyone keeps talking about. I should have told you sooner, I know, but you know me, I can't deal with these things. You were always able to understand what was going on in my mind with just a glance, I never practiced expressing my emotions. What am I supposed to do without you, Phil? How am I supposed to go on a mission without hearing your voice through the earpieces telling me everything's going to be fine?

Nothing's going to be fine, not without you here.

I love you, and every single part of my body will miss you every day to the end of the times."

She got up and stared at the grave while Phil, now crying, stared at her. He was trying to convince himself that it was the right thing to do, fake his death and finally being able to take down Hydra, that he had found had moles even in the highest levels of S.H.I.E.L.D

If they thought they had killed the second in command of S.H.I.E.L.D, they would eventually dropped their guard. And when they did, Phil would be there to greet them.

Yet, watching as Melinda struggled with her emotions made he revaluate the whole thing.

Melinda started to slowly walk away, but turned around one last time.

"please, there's just one more thing. One more mission, Phil, for me. We never take up personal missions, I know, but could you make an exception? Don't.. Don't be dead, okay? Just for this once. Just for me."

She stared a few more seconds, her last hopes breaking, then she walked away.

Coulson was now alone and started to cry his eyes out. "I'm not dead, Melinda." he sobbed. "I'm not dead, and I'll come back to you. I promise."

He carefully stood up to make his way out of the cemetery. As he did, he noticed Melinda turning around and quickly went back in hiding.

Melinda stopped just one step before the exit to put herself together. She breathed hard, wiped her tears, and fixed her hair. Then she heard it. Footsteps. His footsteps. She could recognize those in a million. They were far, but not that much. They were inside the graveyard. He was there. She was about to turn around, then she shook her head. It couldn't be, he was gone. As she exited the graveyard she looked back one more time and she had the impression she saw a familiar shadow disappearing behind a tree.

It was just a feeling, but it was enough. Phil Coulson was alive, and she would make it her personal mission to bring him back.

-philindaphilindaphilindaphilindaphilinda-

So, this is a one-shot but if you guys like it I left the end like that so it can be continued. What do you think? Should I make it a story or leave it like this?