I'm Iron Man, And I'm Agent Coulson

Chapter 33 Stark Tower

4 hours later

Phil watched her mumble as she slept, and push her body further into his, as if she needed his warmth.

He spent twenty minutes down on the sidewalk earlier, fighting the inclination to go back upstairs, and give her what she wanted. He saw the spark in her lightening eyes, heard the blatant need in her voice, but she was still on unstable ground, they both were. He accepted she still needed time, but the strength it took for her to ask him to stay, sent a rush of warmth, and passion through his body, but he didn't want her to wake up with more regret.
She was scared, he saw it in her eyes, and by the way her muscles twitched with anxiety, but he turned around, only to see her disappear down the hall, and close her bedroom door behind her.
It took twenty minutes, of pacing, and looking up at her still lit apartment, before he jogged back upstairs and knocked on her door, throwing out all his misgivings, and doubt once she opened the door.
Her hair was a mess, but she straightened her shoulders and turned away before he grabbed her face and kissed her, reiterating point blank what he felt, how he always felt about her.
They were lost in their own little world for a few hours, and he marveled at the scars and tattoos rippling across muscles and skin, kissing every single one.
She called out his name, and he shivered just thinking about her lips on his, and while he didn't question what he felt in the moment, he was questioning it now.
He'd never regret what happened between them, it was intimate, but to hear her mumble in her sleep, about him and Stark...It scared him, but also gave him hope.
She gave him hope.
Hope for her.
Hope for him, and the job they had to do.
She wanted to give him something, but someone had broken her heart, completely shattering her, and she didn't know what she had left to give.
Phil already knew all that, but it didn't change the fact that the unfamiliar rush in his chest revolved around (y/n). After just a few months, and a handful of dates, texts and phone calls, he realized he was in love with her, regardless of the fact she still needed time, but he was willing to give it to her, because they had time, he firmly believed that.
When they were together her eyes were a little lighter, not shadowed like they used to be, and she smiled, laughed, even seemed to relax a bit, but somedays that same blackness, and sorrow seemed to roll off her body, infecting everything and everyone.
Coulson worried about her, even more so, once Fury repeated what Loki had said before taking the Tesseract. She didn't mention it, but he had a feeling that was part of the reason for her innate fear, and he couldn't blame her. He'd already noted the strange flickers of color her eyes held, and the way she seemed to be able to warn all of them before things hit the fan. It was something she had done before, in Kandahar, with Stane, and many times after that.
Fury had taken notice, and was now keenly watching her, as well as her reactions, and demeanor.
Phillip Coulson looked down at her one more time, admiring the strong, beautiful woman, naked underneath the pale sheet, before he kissed her forehead and shook her shoulder, a little nervous about their pit stop at Stark's.