[1] Take the Shot | Leo Fitz

44

The plan to bring Skye home didn't involve the whole team and where that would normally irritate Nina, she didn't mind being told to stay behind. She had been taken to a motel with FitzSimmons while Trip, Coulson and Hill went to get their hacker back.

Nina hadn't noticed just how close she'd grown to the pair of scientists until Coulson made his decision to leave her behind. It made sense though, dating Fitz would mean that her priority would always be protecting him even if he became strong enough, by Nina's standards, to protect himself.

That priority was never going to change.

She hadn't understood originally why she was so close to Simmons and at first, she'd brushed it off as just wanting to be friends with her boyfriend's best friend.

After deeper thought, she realised it was because she genuinely liked Simmons. She was cute, soft and reminded her vaguely of what her sister had been like when she got accepted into Midtown School of Science and Technology. It was also because the scientist had been appointed the team doctor and therefore saw the extent of people's injuries before they even understood it themselves.

Nina had decided that if she couldn't protect Simmons mentally, she would do everything in her power to protect her physically.

It's why she was a little confused to walk into the living room to find the two scientists doing something that vaguely resembled sparring.

The sight was fairly amusing, as it was clear neither Fitz nor Simmons knew what they were doing. Nina didn't say anything at first and just stood leaned up against the doorframe as she pulled her hair up into a lazy bun.

She didn't plan to intervene, intrigued at how badly her two teammates were at defending themselves. It wasn't until she watched Simmons throw a dangerously executed punch into Fitz's open palms did she decided to speak up.

"If that had been a real punch, do you know how many bones you would've broken?"

"Really-" Simmons asked excitedly before Nina shook her head and walked further into the room.

"You're bones, Jemma," she said and the scientist's smile dropped, "your thumb, knuckles, completely shattered."

"I thought it was pretty good," Fitz said confused and Nina chuckled.

"Which is exactly why you never left the lab before Coulson, love," Nina said pecking his lips quickly, "throwing a punch is a lot more than just a swing and a fist. If you're not careful, you can severely injure yourself."

"Oh..." Simmons muttered sadly before perking up, "you can teach us."

"Absolutely not," Nina said with zero hesitation. The last thing she needed was the two scientists inevitably hurting themselves on her watch.

"Why not?" Fitz asked confused as to why she didn't want to help, "you're the best fighter we know, you could teach us some things."

"Not happening, Leo. Sorry," Nina said with a shrug trying not to let the defeated looks in both their eyes sway her stance, "and May is the best fighter you know."

"Why won't you teach us?" Simmons pouted and Nina sighed.

"Because I'm not much of a teacher and have a very low torelance for people who don't do exactly what ask, exactly when I ask it," Nina answered honestly, she knew her need for control wasn't going to come as a surprise to the pair, especially Fitz who witnessed it ever time they shared a bed, "the last time I was in a teaching position, I shot someone."

"With an ICER, he's alive," Simmons justified and Nina begrudgingly agreed.

"True but that's only because the ICER was easier to reach," Nina told them as she remembered her last assessing job at the Hub, "if it wasn't there, I wouldn't probably just stabbed him."