Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 55

"It just doesn't seem like the best idea right now," Trip said, stacking a box of supplies against the wall, speaking over his shoulder towards Leo, Jemma, and Asia.

"Well, I for one trust Coulson," Leo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You heard him, shutes are in the bay if you don't trust him." He was proudly defendant of their little band's leader,and was unafraid to show it.

"I'm not saying I don't trust him!" Trip protested.

"Oh for Christ's sake," Jemma said, throwing her arms up in the air, "I'm sick of the fighting. You two need to learn to get along or I'm going to lose my head," she sat down in a swivel chair, spinning away from them so she faced Asia, raising one thin eyebrow at the other agent. Asia simply shrugged.

"I'm just trying to say we should be careful," Trip tried again, this time speaking in a calmer tone. "After everything we just went through, I don't want to lose any more teammates. And this seems an awful lot like something that could be another one of HYDRAs traps."

"I mean..." Asia said, biting her lower lip, "Trip isn't wrong. I'm not saying I don't trust Coulson's judgement, but, it does seem very coincidental that the moment we escape we suddenly receive these coordinates. Sounds an awful lot like a white whale chase to me...or it at least has the potential."

"Have you even read Moby Dick?" Leo asked, frazzled. How could it be that suddenly, their entire team was at odds?

"First of all, excuse you, yes, I enjoy Melville even if he is Clearly a guy with compensation issues," Asia said, holding up a finger to stop Leo from speaking. "I'm just suggesting we proceed with caution, is all. There's no reason to get all snippy with me." She narrowed her eyes at Leo, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We need to stick with Coulson," Leo said, looking evenly back at her. "When things fall apart you don't run, you stay with the people you trust." He grabbed one of the boxes he was inventorying and stalked off to the back of the Lab.

"I should go talk to him, shouldn't I?" Asia asked, turning to Simmons and biting her lower lip.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Jemma said with a sigh, looking over at Trip forlornly.

Asia slid out of her chair and moved quietly towards the back of the Lab, where Fitz sat as a small desk with a lamp on, fiddling with something small and mechanic that appeared to maybe be a motor. "Hey," she said, grabbing a chair and sliding it over to sit beside him. He didn't look up, and just grunted instead, grabbing a screwdriver and unscrewing a small screw in the device. "Leo I'm sorry," Asia said earnestly. "I don't want you to think I don't trust Coulson, or this team, or that I'm about to jump ship." She reached out and grabbed his hand in hers, squeezing it for a second before letting go. "I'm not going anywhere, you guys are the only family I've got."

"What about your old team?" Leo said, still not looking over at her. "They're your family, aren't they?"

Asia sighed, "Yes, I suppose they are. But I'm still here, aren't I? I didn't run, I didn't leave. I stayed with the people I trust." She tried to get him to look her in the eye.

Finally, pressing his lips together, he turned to her. "I suppose you did. I'm sorry, it's just, this whole mess, Asia. It's bonkers. The whole thing. One day, we're SHIELD agents, the next...." he trailed off, before tossing the motor on his desk. "Who knows what we are now, I guess." He ran his hands through those perfect curls of his.

"We're still SHIELD agents, Leo," Asia said, frowning. She hated to see him so stressed out, with nothing she could do about it. "Things are just different now. And we need to figure out where the team goes from here."

"Well," Leo sighed, "Like you said, to Canada, apparently."