A/N: Probably one of my favorite crack!pairings. Give me all of the Mackingbird. Or is it Mobbi? I'm not sure. Either way, here's a post-What They Become two shot.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. All rights go to their proper owners.
As soon as they got Mack out of the temple, he passed out on the ground, dangerously close to the hole. Fitz and Bobbi scrambled for him. She hadn't wanted to come back down here. Every cell in her body hated it, but as soon as she'd heard Coulson say he had Mack, she and Hunter took off for it.
She figured she still might cry for a week.
Triplett didn't come back up, ever. There were tears for him, from everyone. Something was different about Skye that they couldn't put their finger on. Aside from her witnessing a teammate;s death, of course. As soon as Coulson came back up, Skye in tow, May closed her eyes and just sat on the floor for a minute, looking like she was learning how to breath again. Bobbi got that. They'd found Fitz and Simmons embracing and the pair still hadn't separated. For her part, Bobbi hugged Hunter for a solid minute, only pulling away when Mack collapsed.
"Mack!"
It took all of their muscle to get him out, especially with Triplett dead. Coulson flew him to the only S.H.I.E.L.D medical facility left. Both Mack and Skye had to get checked out. Bobbi couldn't peel herself away from his window. She stared in as doctor's bustled about, each second feeling far too long.
"He's just...good. You work for S.H.I.E.L.D long enough, you see a lot of good people die, but you don't stop hoping they'll be spared," Bobbi muttered. It applied to Triplett, too. Hunter was next to her, just listening. She wasn't sure how much he got it, though. "Like you said, the number of trustworthy people in the world has dropped."
Hunter nodded, but said nothing. He was probably thinking about the flashdrive. He wouldn't let that go easily. Mack was the only one besides her who knew what was on it.
"I get it, Bob. He's like your brother. But he'll pull through. Skye's fine," Hunter finally found his voice.
Mack was not her brother. She often made a point of telling him so. "Well then let's hope he turns out more like her than Triplett," she said. She was trying to keep her emotion at bay. It made her voice tight and icy, though.
Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose. "I understand what you're doing, but just don't, okay? Don't shut down. Especially not on me."
Bobbi didn't have a reply to that. He didn't necessarily deserve to be on the receiving end of her defense mechanism, but she didn't want to turn it off. Hunter moved away and she went back to watching Mack sleep. Mack, always so steady and dependable, was suddenly anything but. She didn't know how much time passed before Fitz appeared next to her, looking as nervous as she felt. He didn't say anything, but having someone as concerned as she was felt nice.
After a few moments, he pulled out the model Lola that Mack had made. He handed it, and the controls, to Bobbi. She just stared at it a moment before walking into Mack's room. She sat down in the chair, placing the remote on the bed and the car on the floor. She waited a moment, way too eager, hoping it might bring some movement. Anything, really.
Nothing happened.
Bobbi smiled sadly to herself. Apparently her hopefulness hadn't been gutted by years of espionage. "You know you gotta wake up. We've got work to do. Plus, I'm really sick of being the tallest one around here."
She was probably at his bedside way too much. Everyone had known they were friends, but god, she barely left. She declined Hunter anytime he asked if she wanted to get food with him. She left Fitz alone with him a few times, and if the doctors ever asked her to leave, she did.
Finally, she had to take a coffee break and walked down to the cafeteria.
"So have I missed something?"
Bobbi turned to face Skye. The doctor's had cleared her a while ago.
"What?"
"Like, I know you and Hunter have history and you and Simmons clicked or something, but what's the deal with you and Mack?" Skye asked.
Bobbi smiled to herself, stirring half a pack of sugar into her coffee. "Old friends. Work friends. Drinking buddies. Take your pick."
"What's Hunter got to do with it?"
Bobbi raised one eyebrow. "Hunter? Nothing. He and Mack knew each other before joining Team Coulson, yeah, but that's about it."
Skye nodded, looking like she half-believed Bobbi, but letting it drop. Bobbi's description of Mack had been perfect, though. They were old friends, they'd worked together often, and they loved to go to a bar together. He'd been pretty constant through the Bobbi and Hunter roller coaster, taking either of them out for drinks after the couple had a fight. He'd even been at the wedding. And also been there when they signed the divorce papers.
There'd been one night, after the divorce had really hit Bobbi, that she and Mack had gotten a little too drunk, and they'd been about a second away from doing something stupid, like jumping in bed together. Mack had been the rational one, at that moment. It wasn't an uncommon thing for him, to be, but it was strange for Bobbi to be the one of the other side of his rationality.
It was amazing that their friendship had never suffered because of it. That night was yet another secret they shared that Hunter had no idea about.
"Bob!" Hunter pulled her out of her memories. "He's awake."
Bobbi stood up, stalking out of the cafeteria and feeling the urge to twirl. Where were her staves when she needed them? Then again, she didn't want Mack's first look at her to be her with weapons in her hand.
Fitz was just coming out of the room when she got there. He, yet again, handed her mini Lola and the controls. Bobbi turned them on, opening the door and letting Lola go in first. She saw Mack sit up and look at the toy car, and then at the door. She stepped into view, smiling, before closing the door behind her.
"You brought me toys?" he asked.
"Couldn't get the doctor's to allow a martini," she joked. He smiled at that, and it was a sight for sore eyes.
She sat down, playing absently with the car for a moment. She had the feeling that Mack was watching her, not the car. "Bobbi."
"I'm glad you're alive."
She didn't look at him. She pressed the joystick forward, causing the car to run into his bed. "Bobbi."
Finally, she looked at him. "I'll let the wall drop for one minute, okay?" It was Mack's turn to stay silent. He just looked at her expectantly. Bobbi let her walls crumble, feeling her body fill with tension and guilt and all of the fear she'd felt since Mack passed out again. Hell, since he first was pulled up from the hole, possessed. "I'm so sorry, Mack. I'm sorry that I-"
"Prevented me from killing people?"
"No, I'm sorry-"
"Saved more lives than would've been lost if I'd died?"
"No, Mack, just let me fucking apologize, okay?" she asked. "I'm just sorry that it had to be me. I electrocuted you. Then you fell and we thought...we thought-"
Bobbi stopped talking then, feeling her throat tighten. When he'd fallen, she'd suppressed it, promising herself a week of crying. In hindsight, she'd really been misjudging herself. Had Mack died, a week wouldn't have been enough.
"I accept your apology. But you did the right thing." Bobbi made a small noise of dismissal. "As you can see, I'm fine. Right as rain."
Bobbi laughed. "Well then maybe you could've not scared the shit out of us."
Mack got quiet, like he was actually contemplating that. Then he held out his hand. Bobbi placed the controller in there. "Has Hunter gotten some of his stupidity on you? Your hand, Mockingbird," Mack rolled his eye, setting the controller aside.
Bobbi quirked an eyebrow. "Mack.."
"Come on, now."
She let out an exaggerated sigh as she slapped her hand into his. His hands were bigger than hers, obviously. She let her hand slip to his wrist for a second, feeling his pulse. She wasn't being discreet at all, but Mack didn't bring it up. She let him fold her hand back into his. She felt...odd. Specialists and human contact weren't exactly a pair that went together. And the scene sure must've looked odd.
"I'm sorry I scared the shit out of you. I promise I will try not to do it again. Okay?" he asked.
Bobbi nodded. She hoped Hunter never told him about the whole crying for a week thing. She'd never hear the end of it. But his words did mean a lot to her. They were getting a little too real, though. "Hunter knows about the flashdrive." Mack's face got very serious very fast. "He doesn't know the contents. Just its existence. Somehow, he managed to not throw a fit about asking me what's on it."
Mack relaxed again. "You ever going to be completely honest with him?"
Bobbi would be offended if it were anyone else. "You know better than anyone how much I want to. But I can't. I guess I'm just destined to a life of lies," she said, shrugging. Mack gave her a look. She got interested in the toy car again. They didn't have any secrets or lies. Of course, their jobs permitted them to be honest with each other but the fact still wasn't lost on Bobbi.
Bobbi rolled off of Hunter, dropping into her spot on the bed. He'd finally managed to get her to leave the hospital, now that Mack was awake and due to be released tomorrow morning.
"That was good," Hunter said. He sounded a little breathless.
Bobbi nodded, biting the tip of her thumb idly. "Yeah."
Hunter rolled over onto his side, propping up on his elbow. "You okay?"
Bobbi pulled the blankets up around her body. "What? Yeah, I'm fine. Of course I'm fine," she said. It was nearly midnight, but Bobbi couldn't shake the urge to get dressed. "Bakshi's back to normal. I should probably-"
"Whitehall's dead, Bob. What is Bakshi going to give us?"
Right. Bobbi settled back down, staring at the ceiling. Hunter pressed a kiss to her shoulder before reaching over and turning off the last light. Bobbi felt her entire body relax, trying to sleep. She was exhausted. But her mind kept racing, telling her to get up. That was the life of an agent. Your body and soul were often tired, but your mind was trained to persevere. She waited until Hunter's breathing evened, signaling that he was asleep. Bobbi slipped out of bed, sliding on her Star Wars shirt and a pair of shorts.
She walked around the empty base for a little while, just moving aimlessly. She found her staves by accident, really. And once she found them, there was no point in leaving them there. She grabbed them, twirling absently.
"This is an interesting sight."
Bobbi turned around and saw Simmons. She smiled and leaned back against a wall. "Agent Bobbi Morse in her pajamas, but still playing with lethal weapons. Yeah, I'm sure it's quite an image." Bobbi set her staves on the table. "What are you doing up?"
"I was just checking on Skye. And making tea. I was about to head off to bed when I saw you."
"You and Fitz still talking?" Bobbi asked. Simmons nodded. "Good."
She was about to head back to bed, but Simmons spoke before she even started. "You still on the roller coaster?"
Bobbi laughed a little. "I- Yeah. I am. Just had a spin, actually."
Simmons looked a little surprised at Bobbi's bluntness, but not scandalized or anything. "Still as fun as ever?" she joked. Bobbi knew she was just joking, but she couldn't help but think about it. She didn't have an answer. Simmons seemed to sense Bobbi's hesitation. "You know what happens when a roller coaster loses energy, right?"
Bobbi nodded. "Doesn't work." Simmons didn't say anything, just sipped her tea. "I'm not afraid of lack of energy. Sometimes, though, rides can get stale. Sometimes...you wanna go home," Bobbi didn't know what she was saying. She was just keeping in line with the metaphor. She cared about Hunter. She enjoyed him.
But maybe it was time to get off the ride.
"Look, I'm dead tired and saying and doing things that don't make sense. I'm gonna go crash. I'll see you tomorrow," Bobbi said. She grabbed her staves before heading back to the room, crawling back in bed next to Hunter.
Mack came back from the hospital to lots of hugs and lots of work. And despite his best angles, Coulson would not let him work on Lola as compensation for being turned into a temple guardian and then dropped down a hole.
The nice thing was that Bobbi was spending a lot of time bonding with Simmons in the lab, or sparring with Hunter or May in the training area outside the garage. Basically she could watch Mack and make sure he was doing okay at almost all times. He was doing fine.
"You don't have to keep watch over me, you know - wrench please - I can take care of myself," Mack said, tinkering with one of the cars. Bobbi handed him the wrench, rolling her eyes to herself.
"I'm not keeping watch over you."
Mack gave her a look like he didn't believe her. "So you and Hunter still going strong?"
"Yup," she said. Maybe a little too quickly. If Mack noticed, he didn't call her out on it.
"Promise me two things, you won't do anything more stupid than normal, and if you two get married again, I better be Maid of Honor or Best man," he said, waving the wrench like he was admonishing her.
Bobbi laughed, but shook her head. She and Hunter were still going strong, sure, but she really didn't think they'd be getting married again. There were too many complications, too many secrets. Hunter would never go for it.
"Can I ask you something weird?" Bobbi asked.
"That's how we became friends. Shoot."
"Do you think if we hadn't stopped that night, well, do you think I'd still be going around this revolving door with Hunter. I know that was a while ago, but I can't help but wonder," she said.
Mack pulled away. That had gotten his full attention. "I thought we decided not to talk about that night." Bobbi gave a small shrug. "I don't know what would've happened. It's in the past, all we know is what actually happened. I do know that we stopped anything from happening because of how unsure we were."
"You stopped anything from happening," Bobbi corrected him before thinking. Mack gave her another look. "What? Just clarifying. Giving credit where credit is due," she explained, feeling a little more self-conscious than she cared to admit.
She wasn't stupid enough to feel the sting of rejection from a night that had happened so long ago. Besides, she had been just as thankful as he had been when they'd woken up and realized nothing had happened. She just couldn't keep from wondering what would've happened if they hadn't stopped. Why was she even thinking about it? What was wrong with her?
She'd seen friends die in the field before. She'd seen good people die, awful people who she loved dearly, and more. She'd grieved for them too, but why had this jarred her so much? Mack was fine.
Bobbi, however, wasn't.