Chapter 11
Fitz had woken up around 4.30am like he did the last time Mack had spent the night with him, crying out and shaking in fear. It hurt him to see Fitz suffer like that but at least he seemed to calm down quickly in Mack’s arms.
Fitz had decided the rude awakening meant it was time to get up even before the sun did and went off to work on his designs in the garage. Mack couldn’t drift back off to sleep this time, his mind was working too fast.
He opened up a message to Bobbi, ‘Bob, can we talk? It’s about what you said at brunch.’ He hoped Bobbi would help him figure out what to do. Now that he had some serious feelings involved he couldn’t face the prospect of Bobbi tempting Fitz back to his old job. With that done he decided he might as well get up and start work himself.
He found it hard to concentrate on the truck in front of him, he kept looking over to watch Fitz. He watched him frown at his phone and put it back in his pocket. He watched him stop and massage his shaking hand when he’d been working on some fine electronics for too long, stopping just before he dropped the small tool he was holding. He watched him smile as apparently a rather complicated machine did exactly what he had programmed it to do. Every now and then Fitz looked up and if he caught Mack watching he smiled, a genuine warm smile that went straight to Mack’s heart.
‘Hellooo,’ a cheery voice rang out across the garage. Skye bounded in and went over to ruffle Fitz’s hair against his will before coming and stopping in front of Mack. Fitz scowled at her, but Mack knew it was only an act.
‘Is she ready Mack?’ she asked, nodding to where her van sat in the corner.
‘She sure is,’ Mack said, going across to his desk to return the key to her.
Skye went over and ran her hands along the sides of the van, love radiating from her finger tips. ‘Sssh, I’m here now baby,’ she murmured to the vehicle.
She turned and stood in front of Mack, a sincere look on her face. ‘Thank you so much Mack, I really appreciate what you’ve done. In fact, I told my friend about you. He has a classic Corvette he needs someone to look at.’
At that, Fitz looked up and turned his head towards Skye, Mack hadn’t realised Fitz was even listening.
‘No,’ Fitz said firmly.
Mack frowned.
‘I mean, Mack’s busy that’s all Skye, he can’t just stop everything to look at, at your friend’s car.’
‘It’s no problem,’ Mack said, ‘tell him to bring it by.’
Skye smiled at Mack and turned to wink at Fitz, ‘thanks boys. Oh, and Friday you absolutely have to come out for my birthday drinks.’
Fitz opened his mouth to speak but she fixed him with a firm stare, ‘no exceptions.’
Fitz nodded, knowing the battle was lost. Mack smiled, Skye was hard to say no to, and he was actually looking forward to being out with Fitz as his, his boyfriend? Hopefully, he needed to check with Fitz if that’s how he saw this too.
Mack felt his phone buzz, he had a message from Bobbi, ‘Moscow till next week. Talk when back.’
Oh. So no Bobbi to talk things through with yet, he’d have to wait.
After Skye left, Mack approached Fitz for their tea and coffee break. They went to the café across the road and sat in the window. It was the same table they sat at the first time, Mack thought to himself.
‘Fitz.’
Fitz looked up; he wasn’t used to hearing Mack call him by his name. Well, his surname.
Mack took his hand, ‘Leo,’ he said softly, looking into those bright blue eyes. ‘Leopold?’ he said questioningly, as if trying it out, but he felt Fitz flinch at the name.
‘P-please don’t call me that,’ Fitz stuttered. ‘Leo is for when I’m in trouble, and the, the other one, yeah just n-n-never.’
‘Sorry Turbo,’ Mack said.
Fitz smiled up at him, ‘that one is okay, only you are allowed to call me that,’ and he placed his other hand on top of their joined ones.
Mack liked that he had a special name, one only he could use. It felt like a secret they shared, something that showed how close they had become.
‘So, on Friday, we’re going out with Skye and your friends?’ Mack had phrased it as a question, but he wasn’t entirely sure how to ask what he wanted to.
Fitz nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘Um,’ Mack carried on, ‘am I going as your friend, or are we going together? As us, like a couple,’ he asked, aware how the question might sound. He was sure he used to be smoother at this kind of thing.
Fitz grinned widely, ‘Alphonso Mackenzie, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?’ he positively beamed. Fitz squeezed their hands together, ‘because if you are, then the answer is yes.’
Relief washed over Mack and he leaned in to give Fitz a soft peck on the lips.
‘Okay great. Thanks, boyfriend,’ he said, liking how the word sounded on his tongue.
Mack worked the rest of the afternoon with a smile on his lips. He looked across at Fitz, at his boyfriend, hard at work. This meant something. They were starting a relationship. Fitz wasn’t going to up and leave, not now. He was glad he’d been brave enough to have the conversation. Mack felt a sense of calm he hadn’t felt since brunch with Bobbi.
There was a buzz and Fitz answered his phone excitedly, ‘Jemma!’ ‘Okay, y-, no way, that’s incredible. Of course not. I will. I do!’ He called across to Mack, ‘tell Jemma I am eating and sleeping just fine.’
Mack laughed and shouted back, ‘only when I make him.’
‘Well Mack would know actually Jemma, he’s my boyfriend.’ Mack could hear Jemma’s high-pitched noises over the phone and Fitz held it away from his ear until she calmed down. Mack didn’t think he would ever get tired of hearing Fitz call him that.
‘Okay, see you soon. Me too,’ and Fitz hung up the phone and hurried over.
He pulled Mack into a hug and rested his head against Mack’s chest, ‘Jemma is rather disgustingly happy for us. Either that or she’s trying to speak dolphin.’ Mack pulled Fitz closer to him.
‘Anyway, she is surprising Skye on Friday for her birthday. I am trusting you with top secret information here, Skye cannot find out.’
Mack laughed, ‘sure thing, you can trust me.’