Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 10

Asia hit the mat with a soft thump, a small grimace on her face as she let the air naturally whoosh out of her lungs. She grinned up and Leo who had a matching smile on his own face.

He held a hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "And that, Leo, is how you flip a person, regardless of the hold they put you in." The brunette felt slightly better knowing she had taught him one thing of worth.

"Well I'm not sure they'll comply as easily, but I appreciate the lessons, Asia. We should, um, maybe keep them up once i get back?"

She couldn't help but smile and agree, but it was terribly difficult for part of her not to think 'IF you get back.' And that thought alone was nearly enough to bring her to tears. It would be okay, she told herself over and over. Ward would be there, and he was the best of the best.

When they had finished sparring, they made their way back to the briefing room where the entire team gathered one last time before parting ways. With one final hug to both of her teammates, Asia was thrust from the room with Jenna and Skye, the three of them banned from insider information.

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It wasn't long before Skye found her, punching away at a well worn punching bag. Asia yanked the headphones out of her ears and stopped, turning to her brunette friend. "Whats up?" She asked, her voice coming out much harsher than she intended. Her nerves were showing.

Skye only rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Common Asia, don't tell me this situation isn't bothering you."

"We all have our clearances. And regardless, what the higher levels say, goes." She replied with a sigh, punctuating point with a firm punch to the bag.

"Youre not fooling anyone, least of all me," Skye said, a small twinge of annoyance in her voice. "Seriously Asia, it's me. You don't have to pretend to think this bullshit is okay around me."

Asia sighed and stopped, turning to Skye, "You're right, I think this is ridiculous. I have earned my rank, I have worked for it, I have killed for it. And now I'm being shut out 'because I'm too close' for this one. It's complete bull. But this is what I signed up for, so I need to respect the rules."

Skye twisted a piece of long hair around one of her thin fingers, humming softly. "Well....what if we respected them, but also...I don't know...bent them, just a tiny bit?" She looked hopefully over at her friend.

Asia cocked her head slightly to the side, recalling something Clint had once told her. "Rules are like politics, Asia. They much prefer you to bend them than to snap them completely in half." It was, in general, completely against her principal to do anything of the sort unless it was to save one of her teammates...which...technically this could possibly be.

"Common, Asia," Skye said, clasping her hands as if she were in prayer, "Think about it, you'll be able to keep an eye on Fitz," she said in a singsong voice.

Asia could feel her cheeks tint pink at the thought of Leo, and she turned away slightly to hide it. "I don't know what you're implying," she mumbled softly.

Skye rolled her eyes then lowered her voice to a whisper, "Everyone else on this team may be blind, but I'm not. I see the looks you two give each other. How long have you been together?"

"What?" Asia hissed back, "We are NOT together. Just friends. He's my best friend."

"Seriously?" Skye asked, "Damn, okay, well you guys must be seriously vibing each other because those looks...steamy as a sauna. " she muttered under her breath. "Anyways, are you in or not? And if you're not please dear god do not tell Coulson."

Asia sighed, rubbing at the bandages on her hands. "Yea, ok, whatever. I'm in," she said finally, and Skye pummeled her with a hug.

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A jeep was driving haphazardly through the mountains, Ward at the wheel, Fitz chatting his ear off. 'I swear to God, if he doesn't shut it soon...' he thought to himself, scanning the horizon line for any signs of movement. Thankfully, there were none. He sighed, faintly listening to what his teammate had to say. It was another damn story about Simmons. Frankly, Ward couldn't care less.

They pulled up to a boulder and parked the jeep behind it and Ward climbed out quickly, relieved for a small second of quiet. "Do you have the beacon?" He asked when Fitz got out of the vehicle.

"Yea, yea, but...it's funny because vacuum chambers are so dry," Fitz said, taking the small device out of his pocket. Ward held out his hand, but Fitz was so busy narrating that he didn't even notice. " And this instrument was actually supposed to go into space." He continued on, shaking his head.

Ward walked over and grabbed the device straight out of the scientist's hands. He fiddled with a moment, before setting the device, disguised as a rock, on the ground.

"Simmons actually tells it a lot better than I do, she tells most things better than I do," Fitz sighed, shaking his head and crouching next to Ward.

Ward rolled his eyes, "You know, Fitz, I'm going to tell you something. And not because you're my friend or I care about you, but because I care about Monroe." He turned, staring the scientist in the eye sternly. Fitz seemed a little dumbstruck. "This Simmons talk, it's all fine and dandy, and annoying as hell. But if you aren't into Monroe, you need to back off. She's not used to people giving a shit, and she's going to get the wrong idea."

Fitz opened and shut his mouth a few times, appearing as if he was about to say something but couldn't exactly find the right words.

Ward looked back towards the bar in front of them, "Now,keep your mouth shut and your head down."