[2] An Executioner's Requiem | Leo Fitz

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"Should I be concerned that you know about this place?" Nina inquired, her voice laced with a mixture of surprise and curiosity as she exited the taxi, gazing up at the building before them.

They had left the rooftop a while ago, meandering through the city, with Fitz eventually leading them here.

"Am I not supposed to?" he responded, his hand guiding her up the steps as she punched in the access code.

"The apartment isn't in my name or Tony's, and it's paid for in cash every year-"

"The day after your birthday," Fitz interjected.

"Why do you know that?" Nina asked amused and confused as the door opened. Fitz grabbed it, motioning for her to enter first and stepping in after her.

Fitz hesitated before admitting, "do you remember when you parachuted off the Bus last year?"

"Yeah."

"Coulson didn't tell us why you left, just that you'd be back in a week. Given everything with Skye at that time, I was worried. So, I tracked you down," Fitz confessed, his ears reddening as he spoke. "I figured out where you would've landed and kept an eye on you through street cameras while you moved around the city."

"Very stalker of you, Leo. Wren would be impressed," Nina teased as they approached the elevator. Nina pressed the button, and the door opened as soon as she did. They entered and Fitz watched as she pressed the number 8.

"I had good intentions, I promise."

"I don't doubt it," she shrugged before adding, "still doesn't explain how you know I rent here."

"Well, while I was tracking you, you stopped here for about an hour and then came out in different clothes. So, I was curious," he told her sheepishly, "I hacked into the building records and found that an apartment on the 8th floor was rented to a Wilma 'Willy' Hooker. The Executioner from the DC comics."

Nina laughed softly as she leaned up against the elevator wall, "I thought it was funny."

"It is," Fitz said, moving towards her and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him, "it's also so hot that you read comics."

"Yeah?" Nina laughed, kissing him before moving to whisper in his ear, "wait until I talk about Ra's al Ghul or Scarecrow, Doctor Johnathan Crane."

Fitz inhaled sharply going to say something before the elevator dinged and the door opened. Startled, he moved away from Nina just as another woman stepped in, seemingly unaware of the situation she walked in on.

Nina laughed softly, raising her hand to pull her hat over her face before stopping abruptly once she finally realised she'd left the accessory at Delmar's Deli Grocery. Trying not to let the thought of the newcomer knowing who she was bother her, Nina reached out and held Fitz's hand.

He turned to her with a smile and brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss against her scarred knuckles.

They rode in silence until the elevator reached their floor, breaking into identical smiles as the doors opened. Fitz practically pulled her out of the elevator, waiting for the doors to close and making sure the hall was empty before pressing her against the wall and kissing her.