—
About six months ago, Bobbi had experienced a near-death incident. Thanks to Ward, she hasn't stepped out of the base for months, hasn't been active, and hasn't felt the adrenaline rush of fighting a suspect. She missed it; she missed the excitement, she missed feeling like herself.
But even with all the disadvantages that came with no longer working in the field, there were still advantages, small ones that Bobbi sometimes completely forgot existed.
Coulson had reassigned her due to her inability to work in the field while she was still recovering from an injury to her right leg. She was working in the lab now, which in a way was good for her; using the other side of her brain made her feel more useful. Besides, it helped her avoid Hunter, since after everything that happened with Ward, and the rejection of the marriage proposal, they had decided to end things between them once and for all. Initially, everything was strange, but once the work-related distancing began, it improved.
Finally, Bobbi's mind was focused on other things, and one of those things caught her off guard. Fitz had become one of the things occupying Bobbi's mind for longer than necessary. Perhaps it was the vast amount of time they spent together in the lab, or how both had a habit of staying late working, or the fact that indirectly, both had lost someone in their lives at the same time—Bobbi by ending things with Hunter and Fitz by finally closing the chapter with Jemma.
Six months ago, Fitz finally was honest with Jemma about how he really felt since they were at the bottom of the ocean, and Jemma once and for all told him that she didn't feel the same and thought she never could. That hurt Fitz, but it was necessary—necessary for him to move on, to finally let her go truly, necessary for him to take care of himself.
And this brought Bobbi and Fitz closer. Gradually, they began seeing each other outside of work, becoming real friends, building trust and stability, something that made waking up early for work not seem so tiring.
—
It was early in the morning, with only few people around the base at that hour. Only those who hadn't gone to sleep yet, those who couldn't sleep, or those who, for some reason, woke up early. This was the case with Bobbi, who was dressed in her workout clothes as she headed to the kitchen. Some people crossed her path, and when she reached her destination, she saw a familiar head trying to reach something on the top shelf.
Bobbi chuckled softly as she approached her friend.
Without saying a word, she positioned herself beside him and, seeing what he was trying to get, handed it to him.
"Here we go," Fitz looked at her, surprised, first by seeing her up at this hour and second by how easily she had reached it.
Holding the coffee jar in his hands, Fitz smiled shyly. "Thanks, Bobbi."
"No need to thank me, Fitz," she said while opening the fridge door, taking out a water bottle, milk and a container of berries. "What are you doing up?"
Fitz watched Bobbi's movements, seeing her take the berries from the container and put them into the blender, then adding the milk.
"Well, you know.." Bobbi raised an eyebrow at him.
"You didn't sleep, did you?" With a guilty look hidden behind his coffee mug, the young Scot nodded.
"Fitz! We've talked about this, you. need. to. sleep."
Fitz rolled his eyes at Bobbi.
"No, I don't. I have things to do."
"Please... our lives aren't that busy that you can't find time to sleep." He was about to refute Bobbi when she shot him a threatening look.
With a dramatic sigh, he said, "Fine! I'll go to sleep..."
Bobbi smiled, satisfied.
"Have a good workout..."
Bobbi was caught off guard by his comment but didn't contest it, just thanked him while watching the engineer head towards the exit.
—
The day had been chaotic. From the start to the present moment, everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. The main mission had failed, leading to the Quinjet crashing in enemy territory, a desperate escape by half the team, and near-death experiences for many. As a defense mechanism, the entire area where the team had crashed experienced a total power outage, rendering all electronic devices useless, including the team's weapons and the Quinjet itself. But thanks to a last-minute rescue and Daisy's powers, everyone made it back to the base safely. However, this wasn't enough for Fitz; the fact that the devices he created had failed the team was eating him up inside.
Bobbi noticed this.
She always does when it comes to Fitz.
Most of the lab team had gone to sleep, and probably half of the other agents as well. However, one impatient Scot and a blonde were still in the lab, each on opposite sides. Fitz had his eyes glued to his screen, typing at an incredibly fast pace, so focused that Bobbi couldn't remember the last time she saw him blink. His coffee cup was nearly empty, and he didn't seem close to finishing, which worried Bobbi. She had finished all her work at least forty minutes ago, and during that time, she hadn't taken her eyes off Fitz, noticing how worry radiated through his body. It was almost painful to watch, and Bobbi knew the reason; he was blaming himself for today's events.
This made Bobbi's heart ache. In the time she had known Fitz, she had never seen him build anything that wasn't meant to help someone or improve something. Seeing him feel that he had failed the team affected her deeply.
After a final glance, Bobbi got up from her chair and walked calmly to Fitz's desk, stopping beside him as she looked at his computer screen.
"Hey you.."
For a moment, Fitz didn't respond, just continued analyzing something on his screen that Bobbi didn't quite understand. After a minute of silence, he gave one last click and leaned back in his chair, finally looking at Bobbi properly.
"Hi," he said, feeling Bobbi's concerned gaze on him. "I'm fine."
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't need to..." He looked back at the screen and then at Bobbi's eyes. "Your look gives you away; you have a way of looking that shows the concern behind it."
Bobbi was.. surprised. She considered herself hard to read, and many had proven her right, even her ex-husband, but it seemed different with Fitz; he could see her in a way others couldn't.
This made her smile slightly.
"Well... I know you're not as fine as you say," Fitz looked away again. "But if you want to talk about it, I'm here..."
Fitz didn't respond.
"And if you don't want to, I'm still here." She watched him for a few more minutes before deciding to leave him alone, gently patting his shoulder.
As she left the lab, she didn't notice, but Fitz was watching her with a racing heart.
—
Bobbi was tossing and turning in her bed almost frenetically, her eyes tightly shut as she murmured pleas for forgiveness. She was having a nightmare, the kind you can’t escape. She was starting to feel cold as her body couldn't stay in one position. With a touch on her arms, a light squeeze, and her name being called, Bobbi woke up, breathing heavily and wide-eyed with fear. After a long blink, trying to adjust to reality, she realized she was holding someone’s arms. For a moment, she was startled, thinking it was Hunter again, but she relaxed when she looked up and saw Fitz stroking her hair, smiling timidly as he looked at her.
“Fitz…” He nodded. “What are you doing here?” For some reason, she didn’t fully release Fitz’s arms, only easing her grip. She was grateful he did the same.
“I… uh, was about to sleep and… um, thought about what you said about talking.” Bobbi followed his words, barely noticing a small smile forming on her face. “So I came to your room, but as I got near the door to knock, I heard you murmuring something, begging. I got worried and came in. I saw you tossing in bed, sweating and murmuring things, almost crying. I had to wake you, I’m sorry…”
Bobbi noticed the slightly frightened tone in Fitz’s voice—not scared of her but worried about her well-being. This made her happy to know he cared, but also concerned that she had caused this.
“It’s okay…” she said, avoiding eye contact.
“How long have you been having these..?” He avoided the word “nightmare,” and Bobbi noticed.
“Since that happened.” Bobbi looked at her leg, and Fitz did the same, then looking back at her, now, more worried than before.
Nothing was said for the next few minutes. Fitz just nodded while thinking. Bobbi could almost feel Fitz’s mind working.
“Look…” Fitz finally spoke, catching Bobbi’s attention. “I’ve had nightmares, recurring ones, after what happened to me…” He paused for a moment, as if regaining energy to speak. “What I mean is, I understand. I’ve been through it, and I know how hard they are…”
“And for me, something that made it even harder was facing it alone.” Their eyes met almost immediately. “So, if you need someone to watch over your sleep or talk about it, I’m here for you…”
Bobbi smiled at him and raised her body enough to kiss him on the cheek.
“Thank you, Fitz.” Thanks to the small lamp illuminating the room from the corner, Bobbi didn’t see how Fitz blushed at this.
“And by helping to watch over your sleep you mean…?” Bobbi’s voice held a slight uncertainty.
“Someone to watch you sleep or be here when you wake up…”
Bobbi considered this for a few seconds, more minutes than usual, but she knew Fitz wouldn’t mind. He had this way of never caring how long she took to respond, as if her words were worth waiting for.
“Or… uh,” Fitz looked at her curiously. “Sleep with me maybe? I mean, if you want to see if I’ll have any disturbances while sleeping, what better way than to be with me throughout the sleep period?”
Fitz was taken aback by this, both by the suggestion and by how casually Bobbi proposed it—sleeping next to her, taking care of her like this. It was a level of intimacy he didn’t think they had.
But the way Bobbi said it made Fitz reconsider his poor view of their relationship.
“You really wouldn’t mind?”
“Well, we’ve spent the last five minutes hugging, so I think we could spend the rest of the night next to each other, unconscious…” Only when Bobbi spoke did Fitz fully realize he was still holding her in his arms. He smiled sheepishly, nodding.
After that, nothing more was said. It was almost casual the way Bobbi released herself from Fitz’s arms, hopping to the side to make room for him to lie down. He wouldn’t tell her, but when she separated from him, he immediately missed her.
Finally settled in their positions, Bobbi turned off the lamp beside the bed and lay down next to Fitz. She tried to close her eyes and relax but couldn’t, and for some reason, she felt the man beside her couldn’t either.
“Bobbi…” She felt Fitz’s body move beside her, turning to look at her. She did the same. Even in the dark, she could still see his eyes.
“Yes, Fitz?”
“Would you… um, mind if I hugged you?”
Bobbi remained silent for a moment.
“Do you want to?” She heard him murmur in agreement. “ ’Kay..”
Fitz moved closer to her, gently passing his arm behind Bobbi’s neck, making her rest her head on his chest, almost as if it were natural, almost as if they always did this. Bobbi’s hand went around Fitz’s waist and up his back, lightly stroking the area until she held his shoulder. Fitz lay down, bringing Bobbi with him. In an automatic act, she entwined their legs, making Fitz let out a small laugh that Bobbi responded to with a hoarse “shut up.” Fitz started caressing Bobbi’s hair while she lightly stroked his chest, with slow and calm movements until they both fell asleep.
They repeated this almost every night that week. Bobbi had no more nightmares, and Fitz finally started sleeping at the right time.
Slowly, Bobbi began to feel better about not being active in the field anymore.
Slowly, she started smiling more in the lab.
Slowly, she began giving her body a break.
Slowly, she started noticing things about Fitz, things she hadn’t seen before, like the way he gesticulates when talking very fast, or how he always manages to leave his left thigh out from under the blanket every night, or how when she’s about to sneeze, he always says “Bless you” even before she actually does, or how his hands are soft when he touches her.
Or even how he was the only one who made her feel like herself again, the only one who noticed she wasn’t okay, and the only one who looked at her and truly saw her.
Oh, and one more thing, she slowly started falling for Leopold.
It just took her eleven months to realize they were mutual after going through hell on earth to rescue him from an alternate reality and the clutches of a psychopathic android, and hearing him say that his heart only had room for one person, for her.