Fic: Take This Skin and Grasp It Tight [Gen]

[jade_dragoness]

Title: Take This Skin and Grasp it Tight
Author: J.D. aka jade_dragoness
Summary: When Nick was twenty-three years old he nearly drowned. He’s saved by a seal.
Pairing: slight mention of Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Rating: PG-13, for profanity
Warnings: Avengers Movie Spoilers!
Word Count: 2,255
Disclaimer: Never ever will be mine. *sadness*
A/N: Written for au_bingo.
Feedback is hugely welcomed.
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AO3 Link
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Nick Fury stared down at the cooling body of Philip Coulson on a rolling morgue table with his hands on his hips as he considered what to do next.

The W.S.C. would be on his ass at any moment. Thor had already promised to fight all of S.H.I.E.L.D. if he wasn’t allowed both custody of his batshit crazy brother and Tesseract. Hell, Fury inclined to give him both. Then neither would be his problem. And he could actually tell the stupid idiots on the World Security Council that it had been act of god that took them off his hands.

And if they tried to make S.H.I.E.L.D. pay for his decision….well, he hadn’t ratted them out to the world leaders of their respective countries over their decision to launch the nuke at Manhattan. Yet. He’d just have to remind them of that and especially of the little fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. recorded all their transmissions. He had more than ample proof saved away.

He was so going to make them pay and pay and pay.

“After all the Helicarrier needs rebuilding,” Fury said smiling down at Coulson. “And don‘t think I‘ll let you have medical leave just for getting your dumbass killed. And you‘ve already maxed out your hazard pay for the year, so don‘t expect a bonus either. But first, let’s get you back.”

Fury ignored the Hill’s uneasy shifting from she stood guard near the entrance to S.H.I.E.L.D’s morgue. They’d planned to bring her in about this anyway. Fury just moved the timetable up another year.

Fury turned around to where a metal hard case waited for him. He pressed his thumb to the reader which kept the case locked tight from anyone but him until the case hissed as the vacuum seal broke. He grinned down at a sight he hadn’t seen for over twenty years: a dark brown seal skin.
*-*-*-*

When Nick Fury was twenty-three years, seven months and five days old he drowned in the cold waters near Half Moon Bay of the California coast nearly one year exactly before he’s recruited to S.H.I.E.L.D. He doesn’t stay dead --fucking obviously-- but he sure as hell hadn’t expected to wake up choking on the salty water as he vomited half the ocean back into the sand.

“Yeah, keep it up. Let it all out.”

Nick choked even more and threw up the second half of the ocean in his stomach. “Fuck,” he choked out, his chest aching. “What the hell?!” He pried open his bleary eyes to stare at a naked white boy crouched by his side. Check that. Naked white man. Nick’s eyes widened. “Who the hell are you?!”

The man grinned. “The one who saved you. You were drowning.”

The a brief flash-pop of memory, of feeling his lungs nearly burst from the effort not to breathe in the ocean until he could no longer stop himself from tasting salt, hit him like a hammer.

“Fuck,” Nick whispered. “Jesus, fuck. I thought I was fucking dead.” Killed because his legs cramped while going for a swim in the sea. His father would roll in his grave, after he finished laughing his ass off at him that is. Nick sat up, helped by strong hands at his back. “Why the hell are you naked? Please, don‘t tell me it‘s because of me.”

The naked guy snickered. “No, I just don‘t have any clothes.”

Nick stared at him. “You‘re nudist.”

The man’s blue eyes twinkled. “That‘s one way to look at it.”

Nick scowled. “Will you stop with the fucking riddles?”

“Hmm, have all mortal men forgotten the value of courtesy or is just you?” The naked man stood up from the sandy beach and Nick jerked his eyes away before he got an eyeful of his… rod and tackle. He had to admit that man was in good shape… for weirdo nudist.

“Mortal men?” Nick asked, his instincts blaring instant alarms over those words. “Are you trying to say you‘re not?” He groaned. “I’ve been saved by a crazy man.”

The naked guy laughed low. “Not exactly, although my kith and kin would agree with you.”

“And why would that be?” Nick asked warily.

“You agree that you owe me a favor? For saving your life?”

Nick considered him carefully but nodded slowly.

The man smiled. “Perfect. Then you‘ll help me in return.”

“Help you with what?” Nick asked. He could image quite a few terrible things the man could demand. His paranoia wasn’t helped by the fact that the man was still naked and he wasn’t exactly ready to fight his way free. Fuck, his chest still hurt like a motherfucker.

“I haven‘t been on land for a long, long time. And I‘m not planning on going back to the ocean anytime soon.” The man said as he walked over to a large rock jetting far out of the turf. It had to be close to high tide but the waves barely reached it. Nick took that moment to look around and saw they were on some sort of private beach because there wasn’t a soul in sight. The man grabbed a dark bundle near the rock and for a split second Nick thought it was seaweed until he saw the fur ends catch on the sunlight.

The man walked back to him and crouched by his side. “Last time I was on land your people were fighting. A war which shook not only the land but all the oceans. I came out of the water and walked and fought among your kind for a while before I went back. But I found I missed the land. I got the taste for earth under my feet. Landsick. Land-longing.” He held out the fur to Nick.

“I don‘t understand a fucking word you’re saying,” Nick said, bewildered.

“I don‘t want to go back to the ocean,” the man said, staring at him intensely. “I need you to keep my fur safe for me.”

Nick stared at the wet bundle and felt a flicker of unease. What was going on here wasn‘t normal, not at all. “Why can‘t you do it?”

The man just shrugged. “Tradition? Instinct? The ocean always calls us back. It’s easier to resist without having the skin on hand.”

Nick took the fur, deciding to humor the crazy naked guy until he found someone else to take over dealing with him at least until another flash of memory burst behind his eyes like a mortal round, knocking the wind out of him. He remembered the sensation of swallowing down brine, tasting salt and choking on water with his entire chest on fire and seeing swimming towards him the sleek large body of a seal until wide brown eyes were the last things he saw before everything went red then black.

Fuck. A seal had saved him. And it was a seal‘s skinned fur in his hands. “What the hell are you?”

“A seal. A man.” Nick got a shrug. “Both. Neither. Take your pick of answers. But I hope we can be friends.”

Nick stared at a man he would have sworn was no more than ten years older than him. Someone who was a man, and not…whatever the hell he was.

The seal man smiled again. “Last time I was on land I went by the name Phillip Coulson. I think I‘ll use it again. Although I was a lieutenant last time.”

Weirdly enough, knowing he’d been military made Nick feel a lot better. But then he was also military.

“Well, I know the first thing you need. Clothes,” Nick groaned as he staggered to his feet. Coulson’s arm was warm around his waist and Nick firmly ignored his nakedness. He was fucking glad that that least he was wearing his swim trunks. “A lot of clothes.”

“I see your kind is still prudish.”

“I‘m not a fucking prude!”
*-*-*-*

Fury and Hill watched silently as Coulson’s fur wrapped body was slowly lowered into a Plexiglas tank on a metal stretcher. The tank was full of freshly pumped ocean water. Fury controlled the descent from with sure fingers. They were the only ones in the lab as Hill had ordered everyone else away.

Fury wasn’t a hundred percent sure that it would work but he sure as hell wasn’t going to dump Coulson into the ocean without being damned certain he had a way to get him back. Coulson had told him that the legends had gotten a couple of things true with all the lies woven in. Once a selkie regained their seal skin they had the urge to swim back into the deeps. An urge that was irresistible even for someone who didn‘t want to go back.

The ocean water had covered Coulson completely when the entire dark fur rippled.

Hill yelped and took two steps backs before she stopped. She clung at the hard case in her hands until her knuckles went white.

Nick chuckled and grinned as the entire body flexed and a dark brown snout with whiskers poked out of the water. Fury stabbed at the controls and stopped the downward motion of the stretcher. The seal barked at him in off rapid-fire bursts.

Fury cupped his right hand over his ear. “Sorry, I don‘t speak seal.”

The seal snorted and bared his teeth at Fury before leaping out of the tank in one smooth motion. The seal rolled on the floor, sending up a spray of ocean water which made Fury cross his arms but not move away.

Then the seal tore its own damned skin off.

Really, it was the best way that Fury had to describe it. The seal used his teeth and dug into his own flesh until skin tore away with rivets of red blood spilling down his sides until Coulson appeared covered in streaks of blood. He shuddered for a couple of seconds with his seal skin in his mouth.

Fury was amused by how green Hill turned. And here he thought she had a cast iron stomach.

Coulson spat out the seal skin, catching it before it hit the floor as he stood on his feet. Naked. Again. Only this time Fury smirked, because even naked a living Coulson was a sight for a sore eye. He had his one good eye back again.

“It would’ve been easier to turn biped back on land, boss.”

“I‘ll remember that for next time, Coulson.”

“How? How‘s that possible? He was dead. He was really dead!” Hill asked. She was so tense she was practically vibrating.

Coulson grimaced. “It‘s a long story, Hill.”

“A story for another time, agents,” Fury snapped. “I got other things we need to get done. And Coulson… get some fucking clothes on.” He gestured at Hill who promptly held up the open case.

“Still a prude, sir?” Coulson asked mildly, the corner of his mouth twitching up.

“Clothes. Now. I don’t need to see your pasty ass again. The last couple hundred times was more than enough.”

Coulson handed the fur over to Fury, who stuck it into the hard case before clicking it close and taking it from Hill. Coulson flexed his fingers afterwards. Fury watched him but Coulson didn’t move toward the case. “I think I need a shower first.”

“I‘ll see about getting you something to wear,” Hill said. She pointed a finger at Coulson. “And don‘t think you‘re going to get out of tell me.” She marched off.

Coulson stood next to Fury. “Thank you for remembering what I told you about the fur.”

“I‘m just glad the tank worked. I was going to dump you into the ocean if it didn‘t.”

Coulson grimaced. “No thanks. I‘d be stuck in the ocean for years until the seal instincts waned enough for me to get myself back on land.”

“So you said,” Fury nodded. “You know your idea about the team cohesion worked.”

“Yeah?”

“It kicked Stark’s and Rogers’ asses into gear. And saved the entire world from Loki and from getting our butts handed to us by an alien army.”

“I‘m sure the Captain would‘ve been just fine without it,” Coulson said loyally. “I take it no one knows about my… resurrection?”

Fury grinned predatory. “Oh hell no. It was your idea so it’s going to be your job to explain it to everyone. Everyone.” Fury eyed him. “Especially Barton, whose head is back on right, well, much as it ever was.”

Coulson smiled at the confirmation that his favorite archer was no longer compromised.

Fury snorted at his delighted expression. And Coulson tried to insist he didn’t have favorites. Liar. A fucking good liar but still a liar. But then Fury didn’t really give a fuck as long as they were professional when needed.

“You always give me all the fun jobs, sir,” Coulson said dryly. He brightened. “At least I‘ll be able to get Captain America to sign my cards.”

“Yeah,” Fury said slowly only to be interrupted by Hill returning with a field uniform in her arms. “About your trading cards… Hill can explain it to you.” Fury ruthlessly left Hill behind as Coulson frowned and turned to look at her with narrowed eyes.

“What about my trading cards, sir? Hill?”

Fury was back to grinning fit to scare the junior agents as he heard Hill swearing at him just as the lab door closed and cut her off.

End

a/n: Written to deal with all the feels I‘m feeling post movie. My tendency to burst into tears is getting embarrassing.