#and coulson

[lavenderspence]

one word: fitzsimmons. that's it, continue with your day

[marv-el-spot]

✦ GIFTOBER 2024 (+ @mcuchallenge) | Day 17/31: PHONE CALL/TEXT

[mcufam]

[ironspidersblog]

Tony: so, i got banned from shields safehouse because i'm apparently a "liability" and "reckless" and "stark"

Tony: that last one's just my name, but you should hear it the way coulson says it

[agentsofshieldlove]

[writingsbychlo]

SPIDER | tom riddle

summary; tom riddle has a peculiar way of showing his affection, but he's nothing if not protective.

word count; 1625

notes; I woke up this morning with inspiration and I grabbed my laptop and banged this out before even getting up. if you hate it, I literally don't care <3

The flames of the fireplace flickered soothingly, the last warmth spilling out towards you in a subtle glow, hiding the reflections of the lake that danced around the room. Several other students were also still milling around, the Slytherin common room was never truly empty, not unless it was the summer break. Pulling the blanket a little tighter around your shoulders, you snuggled down a bit further, only stilling when the cold sense of someone else crept down your neck. 

This was a familiar chill, though. You were aware of someone else’s presence, and yet no part of that was threatening. A familiar cologne reached your nose, and before you’d even turned, you were greeting the man who stood behind you, “Hello, Tom.”

“Why are you down here?” He cut right to the point, never one for formalities, and your lips flickered up at the edges as he walked around the edge of the sofa and into your view. “You’re never up at this time.”

Always so observant. Your smile formed a little more every time he revealed something extra he’d noticed about you. That you liked a particular table in the library, that your favourite biscuits were chocolate hobnobs, that you didn’t usually stay up this late. Tom Riddle had a peculiar way of showing affection. Most people assumed he was cold, unfeeling, harsh. They couldn't be more wrong. 

Tom Riddle was a walking, talking, bleeding heart. He was an open wound, snapping like an injured animal when anyone came close. Tom Riddle was full of emotion, it just happened to be hidden behind a thick stone wall. But if you were allowed close enough to look through the cracks, the true Tom Riddle shone like golden light within. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” You teased, and he rolled his eyes, taking half a step closer to you and perching on the arm of the couch elegantly. 

“You know I go for walks at night.”

“And where do you go for these walks? What do you do on your oh-so-mysterious nightly walks?” You turned your body further towards him, the blanket slipping down from its place around your chin, and those calculating brown eyes tracked its fall along your arm.  

“That’s none of your business, and you’re avoiding the question.”

“You’re avoiding mine.” You retorted, and he simply gave you a dry look. Reaching out, Tom lifted the edge of the blanket back up and over your shoulder, securing it back into place. 

“Answer me.”

“Fine,” You sighed, head rolling across your shoulders and back towards the fireplace, watching the growing flames once again, “I saw a spider in my room. It crawled down the edge of my bed right before I could get in, and now I don’t want to go to sleep.”

You could feel Tom’s stare on you, the silence stretching between you both as he let the confession settle. There was half a chance he’d scoff, and half a chance he’d simply walk away now that he got his answer. He seemed to be debating between which one to go for. “Why didn’t Pansy get it out for you?”

Another question, not an option you’d considered, but not a surprise from him. “She’s not here, she’s at Luna’s tonight.”

More silence, and you took the chance to observe him instead. Tom Riddle was not one to cower away from a stare, and so as you watched him, he watched you too. Finally, he broke the silence, “I’ll get it for you.”

Now, that was a surprise. “You will?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” 

“Does it matter?” He shot back, standing once again, making it clear to you that you were to do the same, or he’d leave without you. Dropping the blanket down to the couch, the enchanted item folded itself back up and into the storage trunk you’d taken it from, as you smoothed out your jumper and followed Tom’s already retreating steps.

“It doesn’t matter, but I’m curious. Humour me.” You caught up with him, and he cut you a glance from the side of his eye. “You should also know that I’m very grateful, whether you choose to tell me or not. Thank you.”

The rigid lines of his shoulders softened a little at that. Should you know how to, Tom Riddle could be played like a fiddle. You smothered a snicker at the rhyme in your head as he let slip a small sigh. “I don’t want you to sit in the common room all night when I can perfectly easily take care of the problem.”

Your smile was full now, following him silently through the halls as he guided the way to your dorm. Opening the door, he was respectful enough to ignore the piles of mess on your roommate’s side of the dorm, looking straight towards your untouched bed, and the mug of now cold tea sitting on your bedside table. 

“Which side?”

“The far one.” You mumbled, tension creeping back into your body. What if it wasn’t there anymore? What if it had crawled elsewhere, and was now hidden somewhere in the room, ready to strike, or—

The screech of your bed frame moving snapped you from your thoughts as Tom pulled it away from the wall. It moved again, jarring along the wooden floor. Tom remained still, eyes moving for a second, two, before he suddenly strode forwards, ducking down and his hand shot out. He straightened a second later, with his hands cupped, and turned to you. 

He nodded his head towards the window, and you scurried across the room ahead of him, flinging open the window and backing far away as he neared. That made him scoff, rolling his eyes at your behaviour once again. He held his hands out of the window, shaking them off and letting the spider fall through the air, before pulling back, and clicking the catch back into place. He double-checked it, before casting his eye over the rest of the room. 

“Let me check for any more.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Your words fell on deaf ears, as Tom shifted your bed back into place, before peering behind both desks, your dressers and the wardrobe, and finally, the bathroom. He methodically checked each and every space within your dorm for you, leaving you to sit in the centre of your once again safe bed, watching him with a soft smile. Before leaving the bathroom, he washed his hands clean of the creature that had been crawling within them, before returning to you. 

“No more.”

“Thank you, Tom.” You whispered, his chin tucking in a single nod, but a frown on his face. 

“You already thanked me.”

“There’s no law saying I can’t thank you twice, or as many times as I please, for that matter.” Your smirk made him press his lips into a line, but he had no comeback and hated not having the final word. He was calculating, something else to say, something to spin this back onto you—

“Your tea is cold. You should reheat that, so you don’t waste it.”

Your gaze flickered to the mug, and back to him, shrugging. “I don’t feel like having it now.”

His sigh sounded frustrated, and he took a few more steps into the room, towards you, instead of the door. His voice had softened once again as he took you in, looking down at you with a gentler gaze than most ever saw. “Will you go to sleep now?”

“Soon, I think I’ll just read for a while, I’m not too tired yet.” 

He nodded. His jaw clenched as he glanced towards the door, but made no move to leave. The clock in the corner ticked, seconds passing by loudly in the space, and then, “Would you like to join me on my walk?”

His words were fragile, a rare show of vulnerability from him. Uttered quietly into the air that hung between you both, and your gasp almost startled him. “Really?”

He glared, answering your question with a fitting answer. Tom never said things he didn’t mean, and you knew that. Everyone knew that. But he’d never let anyone go on his walks before, it was a hotly debated topic and a running joke within the group about what exactly took place on these walks, and what nefarious things he likely got up to. 

“I’d like that.”

“Then put on some proper shoes, and quickly.” You did as he had, rather gruffly, commanded, swapping out the comfy slippers for some boots, and throwing on another jumper for extra warmth. Tom waited for you at the door, holding it open for you to step through. “Do you like the lake at night?”

“I’ve never been out to the lake at night.” 

He made a quiet sound of acknowledgement, a hum under his breath. “Then that’s where we’ll go. You’ll like it. It’s… peaceful.”

His hand flexed at his side as you walked together, and after clearing the common room and entering the silent corridors, you slipped your hand into his own. 

He stiffened, for only a second, before his fingers wrapped back around yours, and a smile pulled on his lips as he ducked his head. You and Tom had been dancing this line for years now, something more but not quite enough. 

Not yet. 

But you’d get there, someday. His actions told you enough. Enough to know that he felt what you did too, that you were certainly headed somewhere, on a collision course together. You belonged to Tom Riddle as much as he belonged to you. 

So, for now, holding his hand as you walked the lake, and letting him chase spiders out of your room was enough. 

[unstoppable-juggleknob]

nothing will ever be funnier than that bit in agents of shield where coulson says "get ready for a large file transfer" and then shoves an entire filing cabinet out of a 4th story window

[sugarcube-stillabookworm]

the funniest bit in any marvel content is still and forever will be six minutes into the pilot of agents of shield when agent coulson hides in a dark corner waiting for ward to say he knows he's dead because he's level six just to step out in the light with "welcome to level seven". king of dramatic entrances

[agentoffangirling]

"The Avengers were a family!" No, at best they were workplace buddies

When Thor went off after killing Thanos, did anyone bother to check up on him? Send a call, a postcard, anything? Nope!

When Natasha died, even though they didn't have her body, did they try to hold a ceremony or vigil in her honor? No, they just threw a bench over a lake

This is one of the reasons Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will always be better to me, because they were a family. They genuinely cared about one another and wanted the best for each other

When Daisy went rogue, Coulson spent months searching for her. Not because "Quake" was a vigilante, because he wanted her to be safe. Because he knew she would heal better with them

When Fitz was locked up by the US military, Hunter came to his aid. They escaped and when it turned out they needed to go back, he didn't protest, because he knew Fitz would eventually succeed. Because he knew that he needed the pod to save the others

When Daisy was let go from Hive's sway and she had so much self-loathing, Mack was by her side. He held her and hugged her and assured her that everything was okay, that she was a good person, even as she was trying to hit him. And when she ended up collapsing and crying in his arms, he stayed with her

The Avengers are fine. Okay, they're. Fine. But they're nowhere near being a family like the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is

[zegalba]

Gabbriette for HommeGirls (2024) Photography: Laura Jane Coulson

[florida3exclamationpoints]

AoS + text posts pt. 8/?

[azurecanary]

I will never get over the team's utter contempt for Ward following his betrayal

May: Attacks him with a buzzsaw and nailgun and beats him within an inch of his life, and the only reason she lets him live is to save her anger for later

Daisy: Pulls the most badass double cross on him in SHIELD history. Tells him to kill himself, TWICE. Shoots him in the chest, and is jealous she didn't kill him.

Fitz: Tries, and almost succeeds, in suffocating Ward in his prison cell.

Simmons: Promises to kill him if she ever sees him again, and actually attempts to follow through. When met with his doppelganger, only reacts to him with sheer disgust.

Coulson: Calls him a deluded son of a bitch. Threatens to kill him, actually succeeds.

Icons, all around

[hildeeveraert]

Toby Coulson, The Joy of Ecploration

[notanupstandingcitizen]

agents of shield is the best kept secret of the mcu.

on one hand, i hate how underrated it is, on the other, i love that due to it's underratedness (?) it hasnt reached the mainstream toxic marvel fanbase and we get to appreciate it as it deserves so

[lokiusly]

haters saying “what is Mobius going to do in the multiverse saga? Give out pie?” And it’s like yeah???? The avengers LITERALLY ate shawarma after the battle of NY.

[coulsons-left-arm]

There's ✨NO WAY✨ Coulson hasn't helped Daisy up to her feet, and went, "🤭Upsie-daisy🤭," at least once during the time he's known her. He's too much of a dad to miss an opportunity like that...