Chapter Text
Phil Coulson woke up in the hospital with a sharp pain in his chest, an oxygen mask on, and an epiphany only a slow morphine drip could provide-- he absolutely hated his life. More accurately, he hated that it revolved around his job, and his job had taken so much of his spirit. It was all what was so expected of him. He had done almost everything by the Alpha Book- leveraged his mandatory military service into an office job, worked long hours and made his way up the corporate ladder.
He had dedicated so much energy into trying to make up for his 'shortcomings', making himself what he was supposed to be for his future family that he had not found a chance to actually find an Omega. It wasn’t until he was at the rehab hospital after his incident that he felt for the first time how truly alone and disconnected from others he really was. While slowly building up his stamina again through physical therapy on the tortuous treadmill, Phil would not listen to music, but instead re-evaluated what he really wanted to do with this second chance. He had almost lost his life, and it hadn’t even been the life he had wanted.
He needed a change, and once he was fully recovered, he sold his high-rise condo, collected his generous severance package, and moved across the country back to where he had grown up. With his background and test scores, it was no problem at all for him to be accepted into the masters program for management of non-profit organizations at the college where his father had once been a professor. Even though Phil was convinced that at his age, he had missed his opportunity to bond with an Omega and have his own family, he still wanted to do something meaningful with his life, to connect with others and not just make other rich Alphas richer.
He approached his degree with the same focus and intensity he had in the military and his former career. Phil couldn’t help but excel when he put his mind to something and was rather good at keeping his Alpha-bravado instincts in check. Even though he stuck out due to his age and preference for still wearing his suits and ties among the sea of t-shirts and jeans, Phil was quite happy on this new path. The director of his program had even noticed his talents and hired him as a part of the instructor pool for the undergraduate sections.
In their crowded shared office, Phil grew to trust and care for his three fellow instructors. Jasper showed him how to grade quickly and early, and was always trying desperately to finish his research so he could graduate as soon as he could. Garrett was almost his exact opposite, an ABD who didn’t seem like he ever wanted to leave graduate school. While sitting at his small desk, he would retell glory-days stories of his fraternity until the last week of the semester when, in a flurry of papers, he would have to grade every assignment and test in one hellish session. And then there was Melinda. She was the unofficial leader of their little group, a post-doc who struck fear in the hearts of all the freshmen in her classes. She expected a lot out of her students but also the other instructors, and was never hesitant to call anyone out when she thought they were slacking. For all of her tough exterior, she really did care for those she was in charge of, and always had their best interest in mind.
Phil liked teaching, liked working on his research. Director Fury was a great mentor, and Phil had been truly content with again just focusing on his new career path. That is, until the fall semester of his fifth year...