Oneshots... Assemble!

Sand and Sun

Aight, so I wanted to write with some prompts like the ones above. I found these ones, and I plan on writing a majority of them! Maybe not every day though, I'm not entirely sure.

AoS spoilers for season 5, a character study for Philip J. Coulson.

Melinda May smiled and looked to her right. Sitting on the blanket next to her was her best friend, the love of her life, and the one and only Phil Coulson.

The incoming beam of sunlight made the sparkle in his eye glitter even more. His face was yellow from the light, and pale from his inevitable sickness. The sand beneath their feet had a grainy texture, much like the rugged tactical gear the pair was so used to wearing.

They both knew Coulson's time was coming, it'd been weeks by now, much longer than Simmons had originally predicted. He wished he'd had more time with her, and felt stupid for not saying anything before. Now, they were here in the endgame—merely weeks before Coulson passed on.

Despite relaxing with the person he lived, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling in his gut. The feeling that he could've done something. Could've tried harder to find a cure. Could've told the team—his family—a lot sooner. All of them were in space, surrounded by the Kree. It would've taken only a little bit of blood and boom, Coulson would be alive and well like he had before Ghost Rider.

May put her head back down on Coulson's shoulder. She could hear his heart thumping softly. It was a slightly irregular heartbeat, but Simmons said that it meant his heart was growing weaker. Breathing was a small challenge, deteriorating over time like Coulson himself.

"You are the symbol. There's no SHIELD without you!"

Daisy's words from earlier rang in his ears. In fact, it was really all Coulson could think about anymore, besides from May.

SHIELD, the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division. It had originally been the SSR, decades ago during and after the second world war, with heroes like Captain America and Peggy Carter. Howard Stark. Daniel Sousa. Jack Thompson, and everyone else who was involved in the creation of something great.

They were a team of closely woven threads, intertwined forever in their line of work. From their first days together, all the way to their final breaths—the people made the team...well, a team. Along with a motivation to fight, this was the deepest interworkings of SHIELD.

Phil Coulson was the symbol.

The symbol the team was fighting for. In honor and respect, SHIELD would carry on to a new era. But in a way, despite Phil's death...Daisy's words were actually incorrect. In a way, he'd never leave SHIELD. His work would carry on just like the division its self.

The sun was hanging low across the horizon, and the first lights of distant stars glimmered in the sky and shadow of the brightest star there. The salty sea water seemed to glow an orange hue compared to the normal blue ocean.

"Tahiti?"

"It's a magical place."

It was fitting: Phil Coulson's life had really started right here, in Tahiti. After all, it was a magical place. It was also the end of his life, and the end of his short days with one Agent Melinda May.

Phil Coulson, agent, director, friend, father, symbol, and...the most important Avenger.