Worlds Apart | Leo Fitz Book Five

Chapter ThirtyThree

"The steps you take don't need to be big, they just need to take you in the right direction," Asia said to Yoyo, helping rearrange her pillows so she was propped up more easily. "You'll get there, I promise." Yoyo smiled back at her softly, appreciative, even if her traditionally vibrant energy was missing. Asia felt a pair of eyes on her, so she straightened quickly, turning to face the doorway and expecting to see a nightmare creation, or even worse, her Ward that followed her everywhere. But instead, it was Deke, just staring at her, with wide, almost stunned eyes. She raised an eyebrow at him and he turned, bolting away.

"That was weird," Asia said slowly, turning back to look at her teammate in her hospital bed. "Weirder than usual."

"Everything that Niño does is weird," Yoyo said, blowing air out through her lips. "Thanks again for stopping by, Asia. I'm sorry I couldn't be at your wedding. Mack showed me the pictures. You looked beautiful."

"You don't need to apologize," Asia said, shaking her head, brown waves moving over her shoulders as she did so. She would never expect a recovering teammate to risk their own health to celebrate her in any way. "The most important thing is that you focus on getting better. And speaking of, let's go for a walk and meet Jemma," Asia smiled, "That'll be nice, won't it?"

"Yea, let's do it," Yoyo said with a small sigh. "Small steps, right direction," she affirmed, turn so that her feet her over the edge of the bed and stepping onto the cold tile. Asia helped her stand up fully, and then tucked a blanket around her shoulders gently. Together, the two of them moved out into the hallway, where Asia saw Jemma standing next to Deke, talking and laughing.

The two brunettes approached them and Asia gave Deke an odd look, studying him closely. But his eyes were glued down the opposite end of the hall, and Asia turned, finding her husband walking up towards them. She smiled as their eyes locked, and he leaned in, giving her a kiss on the cheek, before turning to stare at Deke, who was staring right back, mouth open. "What?" Leo asked him, perplexed.

"Nothing!" Deke said after a moment, shaking his head. "Is that...a new sweater?" he asked, and Asia and Leo exchanged an odd glance. The kid was weird.

Suddenly the large doors behind them slid open and a smile slid over Asia's lips to match. The surprise she was hoping to show Yoyo was right on time - their team arriving back from the mission to get the Gravitonium. The smiles that lit up on Daisy and Mack made all the convincing she had had to do earlier that morning to get Yoyo to agree made everything worth it.

"One ball of Gravitonium, as ordered," Coulson said, holding up a plastic case and handing it towards Leo.

"Thank you," Leo said, taking it in one hand and threading his fingers through Asia's with his others. "Let's get back to the Lab then," he said, pulling her towards the hall, the agent following her husband happily. It was nice to get to spend time with him in the Lab again, even if it wasn't their Lab. And there was something about the simple feeling of their hands linked together. It made it feel like everything was right in the world. It made her want to yank him into a nearby closet and spend some time alone for a while. "Deke, you coming or is this just another play day for you?" Leo called out, somewhat crankily, over his shoulder. Asia couldn't suppress her smile as they caught eyes.

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Leo sighed, lifting the welding helmet from his face and letting his shoulders sag. "I want Hobnobs," he groaned, sitting down in the stool behind him with a heavy thunk. Asia paused her reading, a research of string theory, to look over at her husband." "And I want it to be the real thing. I want proper British junk food. I want to take you to eat proper British junk food. I want to leave this place and go on a honeymoon with my wife." Leo sighed and put the mask down over his face, standing back up and preparing to light the torch again.