The air in the room seemed tight, suffocating. The soft sobs coming from the head of hair in his arms made Leo Fitz's heart drop even farther in his stomach. He was having enough issues with not crying, but with his best friend Jemma Simmons collapsed against him, it made it near impossible.
They stood in a waiting room at a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital base, the scrubbed white floors and ceilings made it overbearing and gave one the feeling of being drowned in the governments pressure. It seemed to remind people that while hospitals may heal the sick, nothing could stop death. Which was why Leo shifted uncomfortably and Jemma whimpered when a nurse pushed a cart with a sheet covered body on it past them, they felt like any minute now Skye could be on that cart.
He stroked her hair comfortingly, goodness knows she needed it. He sighed softly, it ruffled a few brunette strands. Her hair was strangely soft and she smelled of peaches, which was odd because normally she had an orchid aroma about her. He scolded himself for noticing.
His shoulder was damp with her tears, he could feel her breathing heavily against his cable knit sweater, he couldn't help but notice how vulnerable she was and how protective it made him feel.
"How long?" came her small voice, like a mewing cub nestled in its mother's fur. No, that just made Leo feel weird.
He twisted his wrist to peer at his watch. "Nearly 16 hours," he muttered against her curtain of sweet smelling hair.
She sniffled and pulled back to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks were glisteningly wet and pieces of hair stuck to them. Her round chocolate eyes slowly focused on his angular face, there was sadness in them, but something else was there. Something that made him feel susceptible to whatever she requested, which was usually his help.
She felt slight in his arms, it made him worry about how weak she was, she wasn't usually, but when it came to Skye being in danger, he knew that she'd break. They had a sister like bond and it made Leo feel bad for how he'd treated his own brother.
"Leo," Jemma whispered, she was so close that he could feel her breath dance on his skin, like a lily pad kissing the surface of a pond.
"Hm?" the sound was so broken coming out o his mouth that he saw a twinge of pain flash on her face. She hadn't realized how selfish she'd been in assuming that he would comfort her without needing comfort himself.
"Tell me it'll be okay, please," her voice cracked along with his heart, she sounded so scared that a part of him wanted to pull her back into his arms and scream at the world, tell her that it'd be okay. But he didn't want to lie to her.
"I can't," he muttered, his eyes no longer holding her gaze, moving to the ground instead. "I'm sorry, I wish I could, but I don't honestly believe that."
Her lips quivered, the side of her mouth twitched. She'd believed that Leo was strong and optimistic in this situation, but to realize that he had even less hope than she did sent her back into her previous state of lament on his shoulder.
He patted her back soothingly, he shifted his weight from foot to foot, sort of swaying. He stared at the white wall in front of him, it stared back, silent and morbid.
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[A/N: This has been in my drafts for awhile, but Galli wanted to read it, so here it is. ;)]
