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Phil Coulson’s memorial service is very well-attended. Nick Fury and Maria hill stand at the front, arms crossed and sombre expressions on their faces. There is not even a hint of tears in either of them, but then Phil Coulson would not have wanted tears, the fact that they’re both there at the same time leaving the helicarrier without either of them, something that has not happened once in the last five years, says it all. Scattered around Fury and Hill are hordes of agents, all in their very best suits – they might have had muttered words behind Coulson’s back about what a slave driver he was, but ultimately they respected his judgement and knew that the lessons he had drilled into them would end up saving their lives one day.
Attempts had been made to contact the various Avengers, but in the aftermath of the battle they had scattered, so nobody had been certain that they would make it. They’re here now, all of them, standing in a huddle a little bit away from the SHIELD agents says a lot. Steve is in his perfectly preserved 40’s dress uniform, his shield slung across his back, and a replica of the shield in his hands – clearly intending to put it into the earth with the body. Tony in deference to the occasion has paired his suit with dress shoes, rather than the converse he prefers. Bruce is fidgeting next to Tony, uncomfortable still with being surrounded by so many armed agents, but he is there. Clint and Natasha stand shoulder to shoulder, glaring at the world in the futile hope that this would bring Coulson back. Thor had appeared only moments ago in a startling flash of lightning, and although he has a ferocious expression on his face, the sky remains clear – the most beautiful day of the year.
Pepper stands a little apart from the Avengers, unable to believe how it came to this. It seems like it was just yesterday that she was introduced to Phil Coulson, but over the last few years he has somehow become one of her closest friends. Until today, his death had seemed more like a bad practical joke than reality, but now being here at the memorial service it is all too real.