Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Uh, May? Do you know who that is?” Ward pointed at the guy in front of the plane. “Or should we call Coulson?”

Melinda stared at the guy that Ward pointed to. The guy was obviously pissed off from his expression. He was frowning and glaring at the plane and hovering in mid-air right in front of them. “Do you know anything about people riding broomsticks? I haven't met anyone who could do that.”

Ward turned to glance at her, shaking his head. “Nope. I'll go get Coulson. The guy looks like he's going to be sticking around for a while.”

Melinda turned back to look at the guy, hearing the door to the rest of the plane open and close. Ward did appear to be right as the guy was just hovering there, not moving and not going anywhere else. May had not seen anything like what she was seeing right now before. She did know that some heros could fly but not like that. Not riding a broomstick like a witch from fairy tales.

The guy had messy long black hair that was tied back and from what May could see when she squinted her eyes, had a scar in the form of a lightning bolt on his forehead.

“May, what is it?”

She turned around to look at her boss, who came to stand in between the pilot's chairs. He still looked a little... a lot worn down from his captivity. Coulson still had cuts and bruises from whatever had happened to him but his eyes... They were as haunted as hers, when she looked in the mirror. May pointed out the front windows and saw Coulson follow her gesture. If Coulson had been standing anywhere else in the cockpit, May would not have heard the resulting small shaky and sharp inhale.

“Is it possible to open the back door during flight?” Coulson asked, backing up and clearly pointing towards the back of the bus for the benefit of the guy outside. May watched as the guy on the broom veered around the bus and disappeared from her sight.

“We're letting him in? He's not a SHIELD agent,” May remarked. “I don't know of anyone who can do that.”

Coulson sighed, rocked back on the heels of his feet. “He's not a SHIELD agent. He is a friend though. My friend. Just let him in.”

“Okay, I'll open the back doors,” May commented, pushing the required buttons to open the cargo bay door. She heard the strange emphasis he had put on 'my' but filed it away for later pondering. “I don't know if all of our stuff is tied down for that though.”

“If any of our things or cars fall out, he'll take care of it,” Coulson muttered, wiping a hand over his forehead. “I'll go let the others know and then meet him in the cargo bay.”

“Are you alright, Coulson?” May asked, standing up and making sure her various weapons were still where she had put them this morning.

Coulson glanced at her before heading out the door. “I'm fine, agent.”

May raised an eyebrow at that and followed him out the door. He turned back to look at her before sighing and nodding.

“What's happening? Why have we stopped?” Skye asked as she came out of her bunk.

“We're taking on a passenger,” May explained.

“In mid-air?” Fitz asked, as everyone started to fall in line with Coulson and May. “Is that even possible?”

“It would seem to be possible,” Jemma replied, gesturing to the sounds of the cargo door opening. A heavy breeze raced in and the warmth from the sun followed it as all of them stopped on the platform above the cargo area. Coulson strode down the steps and stopped right before the ramp.

“Sir, is this a safe action to take?” Ward asked, as they all watched him. May saw Ward put one hand on his gun and she made sure her gun was within reach.

“I know him,” Coulson said in a weary tone. “He's...”

May could see the minute that the guy came into view and he was still riding that broomstick. He was still in the air and at least looked to be a very experienced flyer but this really wasn't an area that May was an expert in.

The man on the broom flew into their plane and landed on the ramp, flicking a hand. The cargo door started to move back into its closed position and the team turned to stare at May, as if she had pushed a button. She shook her head and watched everyone except Coulson turn back to the guy. Coulson had not turned to look at her at all; he was staring at the guy a little apprehensively.

“Phillip? Is that... is it really you?” The guy hesitantly gasped out, swinging his leg off the broom and taking a hold of it with one hand. He looked stricken, like... May didn't really know how to read his expression other than it looked like the guy had done a lot of grieving in the past few months or year.

“Harry...” Coulson trailed off quietly.

The guy, Harry, if that was his name, blinked furiously, like he was trying to stop tears from falling. “I thought you were dead. I thought... I thought that Loki killed you.”

“I... he did.”

The team stared as both men stood in their respective spots. May had never seen Coulson this hesitant before.

“Our bond... I felt you die,” Harry spoke, taking a few steps toward Coulson. “I... felt you die, Phil.”

“I'm sorry,” Coulson uttered quietly. “Fury made me keep it quiet.”

“Fury? You mean Nick made you keep the fact that you were still alive a secret? Do the Avengers know? He must have... And what's been keeping our bond from being active these past few months? How long have you been... How?!”

The safety being clicked off broke the relative, tense silence and Coulson and Harry turned to look up toward the team.

“Ward, your gun is not needed right now,” Coulson ordered. “He's not a threat.”

May watched as Harry turned to stare at each of their team then back to Coulson.

“Nice new team,” Harry commented, gesturing up to them. “They get to know you're still alive and I don't?”

Coulson sighed again. “Harry, could we... maybe take this to my office?”

“Sure. You have an office on a plane, huh?”

Skye snorted and her eyes widened as Harry turned to stare at her then shrugged.

Coulson turned around and gestured for Harry to follow him. May watched them walk up the stairs and they strode by them. Everyone stared at the disappearing backs of Coulson and Harry, whoever he was, as they walked back to Coulson's office.

“So... who wants to spy on them?” Skye called out as soon as Coulson's door closed.

“Skye!” Jemma exclaimed.

Skye grinned. “What? There's a camera in Coulson's office.”

May saw Ward roll his eyes.

“There are more productive uses of our time right now,” Ward said.

“I'm in,” May said, shrugging when all of them turned to stare at her.

“Phil...” Harry trailed off as soon as the door closed behind them. He strode right over to where Phil had stopped and tentatively pulled him into a hug. He heard Phil sigh in relief and return the hug, tightening his hold slightly. Neither of them let go of each other for a few minutes. “What happened? How did you... How are you still alive?”

Phil opened his mouth then stopped and pointed to a corner of the office. Harry followed his finger and saw the camera. He raised an eyebrow and Coulson nodded. Harry pulled out his wand and muttered a spell, seeing the power dot on the camera go out. He could feel constant steady relief and joy coming from the bond, from Coulson and Harry smiled in relief himself.

“Fury had me resurrected somehow,” Phil started, still standing right in front of Harry.

“Do you know the specifics?” Harry asked. “Because it sure as hell wasn't magic.”

Phil shuddered. “I believe it was a drug of some kind. I had been dead for days before Fury gave the orders.”

Harry winced. “A drug? What drug can bring people back from the dead? Also, Fury should know to let... Well, it brought you back to life. Back to me. In general, Fury should let his agents stay dead. Phil? You're...”

“I've just... had a busy few weeks,” Phil murmured, dropping his head onto Harry's shoulder. Harry wrapped his arms around him, started to rub soothing circles on his back.

“Define busy,” Harry muttered. “Battle of New York busy or something else?”

“The latter option. I was captured by people working for the clairvoyant,” Phil said.

Harry started. “You were held captive for a few weeks? Then...”

“What?”

“It was last week when I felt the bond reawaken,” Harry answered. “How had you been keeping it pushed down?”

“How did you know I was alive?” Phil asked, evading answering the second question.

Harry pulled back and looked at his bonded. “You were projecting. A lot.”

“But I wasn't...” Phil trailed off, rubbing the back his head.

“You must have reached out subconsciously,” Harry replied, bringing Phil's hand down and giving it a squeeze in reassurance. “You must have been in a lot of pain for that to happen. That's why you look... Anyway, how were you keeping it dead?”

Phil sighed. “Drugs. Fury gave me drugs.”

“That idiot,” Harry exclaimed, frowning. “That might have... It's always unwise to use drugs that way to fool a bond. You know that. I know that.”

“I am sorry,” Phil uttered, placing a kiss on Harry's forehead. “I missed you.”

Harry grinned and sighed then went in for an actual kiss. “I missed you too, even if I didn't know you were alive. You kept me sane when I fled Britain.”

“You've kept me sane while I've been working for SHIELD. Stay?”

“You want me to stay on this plane with your new team? Do you really want to risk that?”

Phil Coulson sighed. “It's worth the risk. You're worth the risk.”

“'S not what I was referring to.”

Coulson chuckled. “I'm sure the team will love your pranks.”

Harry nodded, smiling widely. “Good. 'Cause I'm staying.”

Chapter Text

“Soooo.... who's who?” Harry asked, stopping outside of Coulson's office. And of course, Phil had an office on the plane.

Harry hadn't known what to make of the light emotion that had been running from the bond last week. He had thought... When Fury himself had come to visit him a week after the battle in New York, Harry had already known what had gone down. He had spent four days in bed, crying his heart out after... It had taken Clint coming to get him up before Harry would even leave his and Phil's apartment.

“Everyone, this is Harry Potter,” Phil introduced, gesturing to Harry.

“Jemma Simmons,” Coulson started, gesturing to the young brown haired woman that was standing beside a young man. “SHIELD scientist, specializing in biochemistry. Two PhD's.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Impressive.”

Jemma smiled. “Another British citizen?”

“Oh,” Harry grinned. “You're british too, huh? Well, this will certainly be fun. It's been a while since I've gotten along with anyone from Britain. Have any tea around?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact I do,” Jemma replied then raised an eyebrow of her own. “Did something happen in Britain?”

Harry sighed, feeling Coulson's hand on his back, reassuring. He was also sending quiet support through the bond and it was... wonderful to feel. So wonderful. The bond had kind of gone dead that day in July, when he had heard reports of there being aliens in New York City. He had known instantly what had happened. “It's a long, long, unpleasant story.”

“Unpleasant?” The other younger woman asked. She was standing by the black haired guy, the one that had pulled his gun on Harry when he had landed on the jet. “What kind of unpleasant?”

“Uh, you really don't want to know,” Harry remarked, running a hand through his hair. “Who would you be then?”

“Skye,” she replied.

“She's training to be a SHIELD agent,” Coulson commented.

“Oh,” Harry said then grinned. “You the one that asked about spying on us?”
Skye narrowed her eyes. “Yeah. How'd you--”

Coulson sighed. “He has his ways.”

“Trade secret,” Harry explained, grin widening. “Only a few people know about me.”

“Is that a special way of saying 'classified'?” Skye asked, more than a little skeptical. “There's a lot of 'classified' information that I don't know and it's bugging me.”

Harry snorted. “Welcome to SHIELD. There's probably more classified information than there is in the military.”

Phil grinned. “I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

“Of course you can't,” Harry replied, smiling and taking a step or two closer to Phil.

“Does your unpleasant story have anything to do with what happened in London about 10 years ago?” Simmons asked, looking in between Harry and Coulson.

“Jemma?” the guy right next to Simmons glanced at her.

“One of the bridges over the river was destroyed,” Jemma commented, staring at Harry. “We were told it was a terrorist group.”

“Kind of,” Harry replied then looked more than a little pleadingly at Coulson.

“Moving on. Grant Ward,” Phil said, gesturing to the man standing next to Skye. The other man had short black hair and brown eyes.

“Hi,” Ward said, nodding at him.

“Man of few words, huh?” Harry asked.

“He's Skye's SO,” Coulson added.

“SO? I'm not an expert with the military speak,” Harry muttered.

“Senior officer,” Ward explained.

“How were you flying? Was that some kind of technology?” The younger man standing next to Jemma asked. “I saw your broom but there must be... It must be some kind of repulsor tech.”

“No, not really. But close enough I suppose,” Harry offered, glancing to Phil for an introduction.

“Harry, this is Leo Fitz,” Coulson spoke. “He's works in engineering and this is Melinda May.”

Harry turned to look at the other woman in the group, eyes widening. “The Cavalry? You got her as part of the team?”

May narrowed her eyes. “I have never heard of you before. Are you a SHIELD agent?”

“Just a consultant,” Harry replied then shrugged. “And occasionally a boyfriend, I suppose.”

Harry heard gasps coming from the team, mostly from Skye, Jemma and Fitz and grinned a little.

“You suppose?” Phil repeated, narrowing his eyes.

“You were alive the whole time, Phil! Oh, the next time I see Fury...” Harry grumbled, left hand going for his wand to make sure it was still there. “He's going to get a piece of my mind.”

“How'd you know he was still alive?” Skye asked curiously.

“You know Fury?” Ward questioned.

Harry nodded to Ward then turned to Phil only to see him yawn.

“He knows Fury,” Coulson confirmed. “Fury was the one to list him as a consultant. Will you guys be okay with him staying on the bus?”

“Of course,” Jemma answered. “It'll be nice to have another Brit on board.”

“I have no problem with it,” Ward commented.

“Phil, what happened last week?” Harry asked as the two of them returned to Coulson's office. “Your mind reached out to an alarming degree and I was suddenly bombarded with emotion from you again.”

“I've been having... nightmares ever since the battle,” Phil answered quietly, going over to sit in the chair behind the desk. Harry stopped in front of the desk briefly then went over to plop himself on the desk, facing Coulson.

“What kind of nightmares?” Harry asked, narrowing his eyes. “Are they bad?”

“If you consider waking up sweating and with my heart beating quickly bad then yes,” Phil remarked then sighed. “The dreams have been of lying on a table, awake with...”

Harry watched as Phil shuddered, fear and pain coming through the bond and slowly pulled Coulson up and into a hug. They both melted into each other, months of not being together all flowing away. Months of having to bear that loss. “I'm here now. May I look?”

“Would you mind?”

“No, of course not. We're bonded. You have a bed in this place?” Harry asked. “It'll be easier for you if we do it on a bed.”

“No ulterior motive?” Phil asked, with a teasing tone to his question.

“I think it's what we're suppose to do,” Harry teased, smiling widely. “'Reunion sex.'”

Coulson laughed and stood up, moving to stand right before the wall on one side of the plane. Harry watched as he pushed a button and a door that hadn't been there before slid away to reveal a bed, one big enough for two people.

They both fell into it, lying side by side as Harry pulled his magic together.

“Ready?”

“It's not going to hurt, is it?” Phil asked.

Harry narrowed his eyes. “What part of 'we're bonded' did you not get?”

Phil chuckled. “Don't you mean 'married'?”

Harry gasped, hand going to his mouth like he was mock-offended. “Oh Merlin! Who told you?! How could you think I would do something like that?”

“You stealth married me,” Phil retorted. “You tell me.”

“Okay, so we are technically married the wizarding way,” Harry grumbled, as Phil moved onto his back. Harry followed, crawling until he was lying over Phil. “Do you have anything to say about that?”

“I love you.”

Harry felt his cheeks pink up a little, heart beating fast, and he sighed, looking down at Coulson, who was smiling. Joy was traveling through their bond, both ways. “I love you too.”

Phil reached out a hand to draw Harry down into a kiss. It began slow but grew heated as Harry moaned, both of them having gone without for more than a few months. They both eventually pulled apart, the need to breathe tugging at them.

“You guys aren't on a case, right now, right?”

“No, we aren't. We have time.”

“Good.