Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 3

Asia woke with a yawn, stretching and rolling over to find an empty bed beside her. Immediately she bolted upright, eyes racing over the room. The last time she had woken up with a fellow teammate missing from her side, Clint had been drugged and captured. The response was immediate panic, until the fogged glass door slid open and Leo Fitz entered the room, carrying too glasses of tea which steamed with warmth. Upon seeing him, seeing everything was okay, she sighed, taking a deep breath and focusing on slowing her heart rate.

"Good Morning," Leo greeted, holding out a cup of tea towards her. "You were out like a light, I didn't, um, want to ruin your rest."

"Well you scared the shit out of me," Asia admitted, "I don't like finding my teammates missing...it never turned out so well in the past. But thank you, for the tea." Taking the cup, she blew lightly at the surface, watching the waves ripple, before taking a small sip. Tea had never been her preferential drink, but Natasha loved it. This small kind act reminded her so much of her team.

"No problem, erm, Agent Monroe," Leo said with a shrugged, his hand brushing the back of his head nervously.

"Seriously, Leo, 'Agent Monroe?' Cmon," she rolled her eyes, "We're teammates. Call me Asia. Unless you're legitimately being required to call me Agent."

"Alright, er, Asia, well, Agent Coulson needs you in the briefing room..." Leo trailed off, "Something important for today's mission I suppose. You best be on your way, he doesn't take kindly to tardiness. And I've got to go down, er, to the lab. The lab, is where I'll be, if you need anything."

Running her hands through her long brown hair, Asia quickly pulled it up into a ponytail, her side swiped bangs hanging perfectly to the left,and then she smiled at Fitz. "Thanks, I'll head down there. And maybe I'll stop by the lab after, if there's time." She stood up and grabbed her bag from underneath the bed, rummaging through it for a pair of clean, black leather pants. Well, they appeared leather. They were technically S.H.I.E.L.D. issued heavy combat pants which both she and Natasha wore whenever in the field.

As Fitz turned to leave, he stopped in the door, putting a finger to his lips for a second, before saying, "And Asia...I put in a request, with Headquarters that is, to get some of your things sent here. To make it more 'homey' and whatnot."

A genuine smile crossed the assassin's lips. "Thank you Leo, I appreciate that. Really." Leo smiled back at her, then left. Asia quickly changed into her pants, then pulled her leather jacket, which had a red 'D' painted on the back, back over her tanktop and headed out the door, her combat boots surprisingly quiet on the floor in the way only someone trained to watch every move she made could walk.

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Meanwhile, in the briefing room, the beginnings of an argument were brewing. Coulson, Ward, and May all stood in various positions around a computerized table, discussing the practices for the days mission, when Coulson announced he was bringing Skye onto the team, permanently.

"Skye? Girl's not qualified to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," Ward scoffed from across the table. "She's probably accidentally look down the wrong end of a barrel."

"Agreed, that's why she'll be a consultant," Coulson countered, "S.H.I.E.L.D. does it all the time, technically Stark is a consultant." He kept his voice rather calm. The computer in front of them beeped lightly. "Until she's qualified for anything more than that."

The two went on to discuss her qualifications, both arguing their side rather vehemently, while May watched on, observing the catastrophe in front of her and wondering once again why she had allowed Coulson to even force her into this position. That's why she would stay just the pilot. She would not take on the role of the Cavalry again.