Strength
Coulson was elbow deep in paperwork when he got the phone call. He probably should have expected this call sooner, but it was still a shock to hear that his nine-year-old daughter broke another kid’s wrist. The principal did not sound happy, and when Coulson arrived at the school, he could tell the principal was incredibly angry about what happened. Not to mention a little freaked out.
“So,” Coulson sighed as he let down the top on Lola. He glanced over at (Y/N) who was looking down at her hands that were fidgeting in her lap. “Wanna tell me what happened?”
“Alex Reynolds tried to take my sketchbook.” She mumbled, not looking away from her hands. “I grabbed his wrist and he wouldn’t let go…so I squeezed. Then there was a cracking noise and he started screaming.”
Coulson pressed his lips into a thin line, swallowing nervously. It seemed that as (Y/N) got older, the stronger she became. She now had the strength to break a kid’s wrist with one hand, and Coulson was suddenly very nervous as to how different his daughter truly was compared to normal kids her age.
“Sounds like it was an accident, (Y/N).” Coulson murmured, glancing over to see she was looking at him. Tears were starting to glimmer in her eyes, and he could tell just how guilty she was over hurting someone accidentally.
“I’m really sorry, dad.” She stated. “I just wanted my sketchbook back.”
“Sweetheart, you’re not in trouble.” He assured her. “How about when we get to the office, we go see Uncle Nick, hm?”
“What about Aunt Melinda?”
“Sorry, kid,” Coulson sighed. “Aunt Melinda is sort of out of the country right now. I promise we can see her when she gets back.”
Fury hadn’t expected to see Coulson’s daughter today. Of course, he couldn’t say he was upset to see the kid. For some reason, (Y/N) had really grown on him, and he kept just about every drawing or painting she made him. The kid was an amazing artist, and he was already imagining her painting something nice to hang in his office when she got older and even better.
“Hi, Uncle Nick.” She greeted, and he could see guilt splashed across her face.
“Hey, kid,” He replied. “Everything okay?”
“They- Uh, they sent her home early because she accidentally broke a kid’s wrist.” Coulson explained gently, putting a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder. “It’s sort of why I brought her here instead of taking the day off.”
Fury nodded, understanding what Coulson meant.
(Y/N) didn’t know that she was at a SHIELD office, she just knew it was an office where her dad worked. She was too young to know that her father was a SHIELD agent, and Fury wanted to keep it that way until (Y/N) was old enough to not go blabbing that her father worked for SHIELD. It wouldn’t bode well for Coulson’s cover he’d established in New Jersey.
“How about we play a game?” Fury looked down at (Y/N). Her eyes lit up and she grinned up at him. He offered his hand, and she took it, allowing him to lead her towards the elevators. “I wanna see just how hard you can punch, kid. I bet you could punch even harder than me or your dad.”
She grinned, “You're on, Uncle Nick!"
Fury could see Coulson was worried about the kid. The tests were finished, and the results were splashed across the screen in front of them. It seemed that (Y/N) had the strength of an adult male and she would only get stronger as the days went by.
Coulson was usually pretty good about keeping his emotions schooled. However, when it came to his daughter, the man couldn’t seem to hide his worry. His brow was furrowed at the moment, and he kept rubbing his hand on the lower half of his face as if he were trying to erase his worried frown.
When Fury had put (Y/N) into Coulson’s care, he wasn’t exactly expecting Coulson to become so attached to the kid. It was odd to see one of the greatest SHIELD agents in the world looking so worried over a kid that wasn’t actually his-
Well, now that Fury thought about it. (Y/N) was more than just Coulson’s kid legally. The kid was all Coulson. The way she studied everything around her, the sarcastic little one-liners that she let slip every once in a while. Not to mention she loved Coulson. Fury could see it in the way she would always hold his hand in the office as if she could sense how nervous Coulson was to bring her into SHIELD.
“Phil?”
Coulson tore his eyes away from the screen to look at Fury. The man schooled his emotions into the usual blank expression, but Fury could see the worry in the man’s eyes.
“Sir?”
“You alright?”
Coulson sighed, scrubbing a hand across his face. “I keep forgetting she’s not a normal kid until something like this happens and we have to run tests.” He crossed his arms, turning back to the results on the screen. “Most of the time she just seems like a normal nine-year-old. She’s such an amazing kid, sir. She loves Disney movies, drawing and painting, she hates broccoli, and it’s all so…normal until something like this happens.” He turned back to Fury, a helpless look in his eyes. “She broke another kid’s wrist with one hand. That’s something most adults can’t do! How do I even explain this to her without telling her she’s adopted?”
Fury blinked, “Coulson, you haven’t told her she’s adopted yet?”
Coulson groaned, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes for a moment before looking at Fury. “How do I tell her that her real parents sent her to another planet? How do I explain to my daughter that she’s not human?”
“You’ll have to figure that out eventually, Coulson.” Fury stated, clapping the agent on the shoulder. “She’s gonna figure out eventually that it’s not normal for her to be busting open punching bags.”
Coulson sighed, looking out of the one-way mirror to see (Y/N) running around the lab playing tag with a few scientists who had volunteered to keep her busy while Fury and Coulson talked.
“I just don’t want her to be upset, Nick.” Coulson turned to the director, a sincere look in his eyes. “I don’t want her to feel like she wasn’t wanted.”
“Phil,” Fury sighed, giving the agent a small smile. “That kid is very much wanted by the people who love her.” He crossed his arms, peering into the room where (Y/N) was still playing tag and giggling wildly at the scientists who were keeping her entertained. He looked back at Coulson. “When I put her in your care, I wasn’t expecting you to get so attached to her. I thought I was giving her to an agent who would groom her into becoming an agent, but I see that I put her into the care of the one man who would raise her as his own. You may not be her biological father, but your damn well her real father. When you do tell her that she’s adopted—that’s she’s from another planet—she’ll be able to handle it because you’ve raised her so well.”
Coulson blinked in surprise. Fury couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t often the director of SHIELD was so sincerely nice to someone.
“Thank you, sir.” Coulson nodded, smiling. “Not only for what you said…but for letting me be the one to take (Y/N) in. And as for her becoming an agent…” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with that.”
“I’m not either, now.” Fury admitted, slightly bitter. “I’ve gotten attached to the kid, and I’d rather her not be in the line of fire.”
Coulson snorted in amusement. “She really grows on you, huh?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Fury muttered, looking back into the lab. “Kid’s a damn menace.” He meant to sound annoyed, but he couldn’t help the amused smirk on his face as he watched the nine-year-old.