Renegade Rising || Leo Fitz Book Two

Chapter FiftyFive

Coulson had decided he would be the one to stay behind. Who could really argue with the literal director? Hydra had taken Mike and the man who was with him captive. The rest of them were sent to the retreat of the Quinnjet to wait until they heard the good word from their boss. The good word being Gonzales and his "Shield" to welcome them into their own base for a discussion. Asia had faith that Coulson could play his cards right. She had never seen, nor heard, of him fail before. So why start now?

Asia had gotten the bird in the air, waiting after Bobbi and Mike had taken Coulson as a captive, bringing him to the Bus. She had them cloaked and trailing the bigger airplane. If everything went well, she would uncloak and dock to the Bus. It was a bit of a stressful situation, but nothing more than what they usually faced.

Especially if it meant getting Skye back. She stared out at the sky, thinking of how close they had been. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel a tug on the line that connected the two girls. And if there was a line, right now they were worlds away from one another.

"Don't beat yourself up," Leo said, catching the look on her face. She felt as though this were somehow her fault. That the failure was on her. He sat in the seat beside her, and reached over, resting a hand on her knee fondly, steadily rubbing his thumb back and forth. She looked over at him, thankfully. Some days, she didn't know what she would do without him.

Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder. She looked up, and unfortunately, was met with the gaze of Grant Ward. "Want me to take over? That was you guys can watch over Hunter?"

Asia looked back at Leo and shrugged. "Yea, sure. The wheel's all yours. But don't think I won't notice if we change our coordinates." She slid out of the seat, Leo climbing with her. She stood between him and Ward the entire time, not allowing him to even think of making another shitty remark. After they made their way to the back of the plane where Hunter was, Kara walked up to the front and took the seat beside Ward. Asia rolled her eyes. Someday she would see, he wasn't this man he was pretending to be.

"How are you feeling?" Leo asked Hunter as they stood in front of him. Asia leaned over, looking at his side, face scrunched up in disgust as she playfully swatted in front of her nose, pretending Hunter was starting to smell.

"Oy! I'm not dead yet," Hunter swatted her away, causing the girl to laugh for the first time in a few days. It was nice, to hear that sound emerge from her once more. Hunter cracked a grin of his own as he looked at her, then Fitz. "So, this whole thing between the two of yous going pretty well, ain't it?" He flashed a cheeky look.

Leo looked over at Asia and smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Could be worse," she said finally, looking back at Leo and smiling slightly. "Something good had to come out of this whole mess, yea?" Leo grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, squeezing her hand tightly. She shook her head, smiling at him with a grin that she couldn't keep from spreading ear to ear. Then she turned back to Hunter, look turning serious. "Alright, but you didn't answer the question. How are you feeling?" She nodded down at his wound.

"Ehh, a bit nauseous," Hunter admitted with a shrug. "Definitely been better."

"Oh, erm, want me to get..." Leo trailed off, pointing at the trashcan in the corner of the airplane, concerned and also a tiny bit grossed out. Vomit was not in the list of things he was a fan of.

"No, no, not because of this," Hunter pointed down at his bloody shirt. He lowered his voice leaning forward, and nodding ever so slightly towards the front of the plane. "Because of that." The three of them looked forward towards the head of the plane where Kara and Ward were bent over the middle console, whispering to one another and smiling sweetly. Asia stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Let's just, uh, not look a that," Leo responded, turning his back to the front, hands on his him. "Just, uh, just focus on your wound till we get out of this unfortunate situation."

Suddenly, the phone in Hunter's pocket started to chime. Hunter hastily pulled it out, flipping it open and answering Coulson's call. "Sir?" he spoke into the phone, eyes going wide. He slapped the phone shut and yelled up to the front. "We've got the green light! Go!" Without another word Ward uncloaked the plane started flying towards the Bus. It was time to go home.

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The ride back to the Playground after they had docked was an awkward one, the drawn out experience making the flight seem longer than it actually was. Every Shield agent on board from Gonzales' team watched her with a wary eye, scared she would destroy them at a moments notice (even though that was far from the case).

If she moved too suddenly, they were all guns drawn, as if they thought she was about to put an icicle through their hearts. And, she noticed with a sickening disgust, that they did the same thing whenever Ward moved or did something they didn't expect. He noticed, too.

"Damn, Monroe, I know you built a pretty deadly reputation, but this is a level I didn't expect," he said, almost sounding impressed. She turned to look at him from her seat by the bar. She was about to speak when Leo was up out of his chair, jabbing his finger in Ward's direction.

"You don't get to talk to her like that," he shouted. "You don't get to talk to her at all. You lost that right. So you just, you just shut up." His face was red and flustered as Asia grabbed the sleeve of his slim, blue button up, pulling him back towards her.

"If we were alone right now, the things I'd do to you," she whispered with a smile, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Don't worry about Ward, I can fight my own battles...but. That was pretty hot," she teased him as he sat back down beside her, not even bothering to answer Ward's question, much less give him the dignity of his gaze. No, she saved all of that for the beautiful man beside her. "That was brave of you, really, Leo," she said, looking him in the eyes. She wanted him to know she wasn't joking. Standing up to Ward, the man who had ruined his life, all of their lives, it was no small fete. She recognized that, she wanted him to know she understood.

"Yea, well," Leo scratched at the back of his head, looking over at the bar. "He doesn't get to talk to you like that, after everything he did, he just...he doesn't." he took her hand in his and pressed a quick kiss to the back of her palm, as if it were the most natural, casual thing someone could do in this situation. As if he didn't know that a simple touch from him made lightning zing up and down her spine as he lit up her entire world.

She smiled at him, for a moment unable to even speak. To even form the sort of happiness he brought her into actual words, actual sentences, it was unfathomable. It was nice to just sit here, with him, for a moment. She knew once they got back to the Playground, things would be different. They wouldn't have a lot of time left before they played their hand and either went on a mission, or had to break the fuck out of there. Asia was ready for it. She knew her portion of the plan. Freeze the entire place, every person, right in their steps. And then they would just walk out, as long as she was able to hold it. She had never tried something of that magnitude before. She didn't know if it would work or fail. There was a lot relying on her, if that is how the situation went down. If Coulson said the codeword to her signaling things weren't going their way. So for now, to just sit here with the man she loved, that was enough. It would always be enough.