Rewatching the pilot for comfort reasons, and the way Coulson approaches May in the office about wanting her on his team... Tells her it's not a combat op gig, how they'd be the ones picking the ops, making the calls... No red tape... And he quips with his stupid smirk, amused, "This is where they actually make the red tape, isn't it? I always wondered."
She smiles. She misses it. Misses the action. Misses him. She confined herself to a desk bc she couldn't trust herself in the field after Bahrain. She can't get hurt again at a desk (besides a nasty paper cut 💀)... But that doesn't mean she doesn't miss her old life in the field. She just prioritized keeping her emotions securely under lock and key over what she wanted bc it's what she thinks she deserves after what happened. She can't afford to hurt anyone else. It's safer this way for everybody.
Thank goodness one (1) Phillip J. Coulson convinced her to leave the desk and red tape creation behind to "just drive the Bus." 🥹🫶🏻