Title – Come On A Date With Me
Sequel to – Something Real They Took From Me
Author – Moonbeam
Summary – After what happened in 'Something Real They Took From Me' Mack is determined to win Fitz over in his three dates with the scientist.
Rating – Teen
Disclaimer – I don't own anything.
Author's Notes – I haven't seen anything after Bobbi and Hunter left but I had started this before that so I'm ignoring everything I don't want to acknowledge so there are details about Fitz and Mack's families which might not be the same as the show. So, I'm going with canon-compliant for 'Agents of SHIELD' up until the end of Season 2.
I started this while watching Eurovision this year...I love EUROVISION!
The main reason I need, NEED, to write this is that I want to write a sequel to 'Something Real They Took From Me' that allows Phil to BAMF the end of CA:CW so that it ends with Steve and Bucky snogging. But that comes after Mack wins Fitz over...oops, spoilers ;)

Come On A Date With Me
by Moonbeam

Mack walked into the lab, ignoring the way that Simmons was tracking him with her eyes as he stalked over to Fitz.

"Hey, Turbo."

Fitz looked up from what he doing and blinked at Mack without recognition a few times and then his eyes cleared and he smiled at Mack. "Hi Mack."

"I have something to ask you."

"Okay."

"I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me tonight."

Fitz smiled at him. "Tonight?"

"Dinner and…umm…a surprise in the small team room. I've checked and no one has any plans there tonight."

Fitz nodded. "That sounds…like…opposite of boring."

"Interesting?"

"Yes, that."

"Good, I'll see you at 7, tonight?"

Fitz nodded. "Tonight."

"Good," Mack looked down at Fitz's table. "What are you working on?"

Fitz looked down. "I'm looking at a-a-a variation to the quinjet's fuel systems – I'm trying to see if there is a way to extend the life of them like we have for the…a…the Bus."

"You can't use the same tech?"

Fitz shook his head. "The engines are…are…not the same?"

"Different?"

"Yes."

Mack wanted to step around the desk and spend the day in the other man's company discussing tech but that wasn't the plan – the plan was to win Fitz over on their dates but to give him time. So, with a look down at the blueprints he really wanted to study he smiled at Fitz.

"I'd better get back to the…inventory," Mack said with an apologetic smile.

Fitz nodded slowly. "Tonight?"

"Tonight," Mack said, unable to hold in the smile.

Mack turned and walked out of the lab, and headed back down to the garage. He figured he might as well do some inventory if he'd told Fitz he was going to. He'd promised not to lie to the other man and he'd always thought there was no better time than now to start doing something he wanted to. He lost himself in the hardware store for the rest of the day, glad that no one came in to ask him to do anything. He didn't want anything to come in that was urgent or that might change his plans – in fact he was determined not to allow anything to change his plans short of another incursion into the Playground. And if that happened he'd have to find Fitz, lock them both somewhere safe, and leave everything else to Bobbi.

Mack left the garage the moment his shift was over, walking quickly to his room – deliberately not meeting anyone's eyes so that he could get there without interruptions. As soon as he was in his room he stripped off and stepped into the shower, glad again that Koenig had organised for his quarters to be altered to suit his larger than average size. He did not believe he would have been able to handle ducking down under the shower head with good humour at the moment.

As soon as he was clean, he dressed in the clothes he'd had picked out for a week. He might not have known what they were going to do for their date, until he'd heard an ad on the radio this morning, but he'd known what he was going to make for Fitz for dinner, and he'd known what he was going to wear. When he was dressed, sure that he looked presentable for a date more important than any he had ever gone on. He left his quarters and headed to the smaller team room. No one was there, as he'd requested of everyone, and so he set himself to cooking something for Fitz. His mother had believed strongly that her sons should be able to cook so she'd insisted that their father teach them. She was not a good cook, passable, but not good – that fell to their father. Mack had called his father for this very recipe and a side of his mother's very pointed questioning.

Mack was sliding the pan into the oven when he heard someone walk into the room behind him.

"You're cooking," Fitz said.

Mack turned around and smiled at Fitz. "Hello."

"Hi, sorry, I just…"

"Don't apologise, I'm making us pizza, it's not much but it's my father's recipe and we used to have it every Sunday night."

"Your dad's recipe?"

"I called him and asked for it. Well," Mack said with a smile. "I asked him for another recipe but he told me that he'd be making that one for you when I bought you home."

Fitz smiled at him. "That is a…a…fast invitation."

Mack shrugged. "My mother informed me that I've been talking about you for so long that she's a little put out that this is our first date. That might seem too…much but I think honesty is best now, I hope you agree."

"Tell me about your mum and dad."

"My mother works for Wesleyan University, she used to be a nurse but she went back to university when I was just finishing high school and is now a lecturer in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies there. My dad is a plumber – he used to work for himself but now he's got a tender with one of the local nursing homes so he only works when they need a plumber. It's his version of retirement."

"Is that…e…all of your family?"

Mack shook his head. "I've got a sister and a brother as well." He turned back to the stove and stirred the sauce in the pot.

"Can I…assist?"

"Sure," Mack said, "come stir the sauce and I'll grate some cheese."

Fitz came to stand next to him, taking the wooden spoon happily and slowly stirring the sauce. Mack looked at the bases cooking in the oven and decided they could use another couple of minutes while he started grating Romano cheese.

"What…what…what is that?"

"It's Romano cheese," Mack said. "This is how we do pizza in Connecticut."

"And that is where you're...f…f…were born?"

"Yeah, born and raised. My brother still lives there – he took over my father's business when Dad decided he wanted to slow down."

"How did you come to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Mack stepped to the side and pulled out the two bases – they were misshapen and one of them had formed a bubble in the dough but the smell took him immediately back to his childhood. He took a deep breath and put them on the bench. "Let me have a look at that sauce."

Fitz stepped to the side and stirred the sauce and then pulled it off the heat. Fitz stepped out of the kitchen and slid into the stool on the other side, after a slight stumble that Mack didn't acknowledge, and watched Mack. Mack spooned the sauce over the pizza bases and then put the rest of the ingredients on before sprinkling with the cheese and looking up at Fitz.

"What do you think?"

"It looks…ummm…lovely?"

Mack smiled at him. "I have another part to tonight."

Fitz smiled up at him softly and cocked an eyebrow.

"I heard an ad on the radio this morning when I was fixing those dents in the car from last week." Mack started, hoping that he hadn't picked badly for their first date. He'd been so sure earlier and now he wasn't. "And I thought maybe you'd be interested in what…in this…"

Fitz frowned at him. "In what?"

"Eurovision?" Mack offered pointing to the TV and realising that Eurovision hadn't actually started yet. Fitz had been early and his schedule was knocked out of whack.

Fitz smiled at him broadly. "But they don't sh…sh…broadcast that here."

Mack let out a long breath of relief. "I'm so pleased you like this idea, Turbo. I asked Hunter about it and he kind of explained what Eurovision was, and told me this is the first time that it's been broadcast here."

"I haven't seen Eurovision in years," Fitz told him. "Me and my Ma used to watch it every year."

"Good choice for a date then?" Mack asked.

Fitz nodded. "What time does it start?"

Mack looked at the clock. "About five minutes. The pizzas will be ready in about fifteen when I put them in."

"Sounds good, by the time they are ready the singing will have started."

Mack nodded and opened the oven to slide the pizzas in. "Wine, beer, water, Coke, or something else?"

"Do we have any milk?" Fitz asked.

Mack nodded and poured a glass of milk for Fitz and got himself a glass of water.

"Thank you," Fitz accepted the glass and turned to the TV, he grabbed the remote and turned it on. "Have you ever seen Eurovision before?"

"No."

Fitz smiled. "It's going to be…be…be…like a prize?"

"Treat?"

"No, not quite. But close enough."

Mack smiled at the look on Fitz's face. "I assume this is going to be good."

"What did Hunter tell you?"

Mack shrugged. "He told me it's an annual competition where each country in Europe has a singer compete. That each country has its own competition for the person who goes. He said there is a semi-final where everyone votes and then they have a final."

Fitz smiled. "Did he tell you about the other side of Eurovision?"

"What other side?"

"It's very….very…" Fitz sighed and glared at the screen. "There isn't a close word."

"That's okay," Mack said. "Let's try writing it down."

Fitz nodded, turning around and digging through the basket by the couch for paper and a pen. He took a moment to think and then started scribbling. Mack frowned when he realised that Fitz wasn't just writing down the word he'd been searching for but more as well.

"I like hearing you talk to me, Turbo."

Fitz looked up and smiled. He scribbled another couple of words and then handed it to Mack. Mack smiled at him and looked down at the paper.

Europop. Each year it's a fabulous, flamboyant, and completely over the top. I can't explain to you how insane it can be – there are drinking games for it, and the costumes are extravagant. The singers are sometimes terrible. There is so much to Eurovision. Mack read and then looked at Fitz. "Sounds great."

Fitz nodded and the TV started blaring at them so Mack followed Fitz's example and looked at the screen. He stared a little dumbfounded as everything started and the hosts took the stage.

"How do they decide who is going to host the contest?"

"Sweden won…last…last…in 2015, so this y-year they are going to host and whoever wins this y-y-time will host next time."

"And who are these two?"

Fitz pulled out his phone. "He is the…s…s…artist from last year."

"Singer?"

"Yes, that." Fitz agreed. "And she is…is…female joke teller."

"Comedian?"

"Yes, she's one of those."

"I don't understand," Mack said a few minutes later. "Why is Australia in Eurovision?"

"I don't know this," Fitz said, turning to look at Mack and then shaking his head. "No, the opposite."

"You know the answer?"

"Yes, that," Fitz said. "My cousin is Australian. She…she said they watch every year. It's huge there…a…a…apparently. They have…parties and watch in pubs and it's like…like…like…if you were in the room."

"Like you were there?"

"Yeah," Fitz said, nodding. "Like being in the golf ball."

Mack laughed. "Is that what you call the stadium?"

Fitz nodded. "We like to do that."

"Make up names for things?"

Fitz nodded. "Mock the g…g…House of C-Commons and House of Lords."

"Government?" Fitz nodded. "Mock the government by making fun of things they create?"

"Stupid decisions."

"American's like to do that too," Mack said.

Fitz shook his head. "It's not the same."

"Really?"

"You can see…see it in your ad…like evolution?"

"Adaptations?"

"Almost."

"Adaptions."

"Yes, that. Those of B-B-UK television, and even some Australian shows."

"You watch a lot of Australian TV, Turbo?"

Fitz smiled at him. "My Ma loves Home and Away deeply. She called me last week because her favourite character had been…been exploded. And Beth sends her…D…discs with videos on them…"

"DVDs," Mack smiled. "I would like to ask you more about her but I know this is supposed to be the date where I talk about me."

Fitz shrugged awkwardly. "We could be more…f…less rigid."

Mack felt himself relax slightly and smiled. "Flexible?"

"Yes, that."

The timer went off behind them and Mack stood up, keeping one eye on the TV as he pulled the pizza from the oven. The first contestant came out on stage just as he was cutting the pizza and he had to stop for a moment to watch. Fitz was grinning at the screen, his foot moving against the edge of the chair just hard enough for Mack to be able to hear it, and Mack was torn between watching the curly-haired singer dance around in white shorts and the Scotsman he was having his first date with. Mack's eyes flicked back and forth between the screen and Fitz until the song was over and Fitz turned around to look at him, his eyes flicking down to the completely ignored pizza in front of Mack.

"Sorry," Mack said, feeling his cheeks heat. "I'll just cut this up."

Fitz smiled at him. "She was very…p…p…almost peppy."

"Perky?"

Fitz nodded. "The next one will probably be death metal."

Mack laughed and then realised that Fitz was not actually joking. He finished cutting into the pizzas and picked up the plates to bring over to Fitz just as the second performer started. They ate quietly – Mack trying to make sense of what he was seeing and Fitz revelling in a part of home that Mack had delivered to him. He loved the odd costumes, and almost insanity of an Italian K-Pop performance, the over the top production on the Russian 'favourite' where the country had obviously thrown a bit of money behind their big star. He enjoyed the fact that, again, the UK entry was a bit shite and that Australia was the strongest 'singer' in the competition based only on voice but they would never win. He loved that the host was so very in love with herself for laughs but the other was obviously just pretending to not be as in love with himself as he was. He loved everything about Eurovision and as he looked over at Mack he had to admit that the other man had raised the expectations for Fitz's date.

They didn't talk much through the competition – there was really too much to see and chatting about previous Eurovisions was much more fun.

"I also requisitioned some ice cream," Mack said when the show had finished. "Mint chocolate chip."

"That's my favourite."

"I know that, Fitz."

Fitz smiled at him. "This is a very g…g…well done date."

"Good?"

"More."

"Great?"

Fitz nodded. "That."

Mack beamed at him. "Do you want a bowl?"

Fitz smiled and nodded. "Y…y…" he sighed and the light in his eyes dimmed slightly. "Please?"

Mack stood up and made them both a bowl of ice cream. He personally didn't see the appeal of mint and chocolate but he'd been pushing his luck to get this special order so he would take it.

"So," Mack said, sitting down. "You wanted the first date to be about me so would you like me to talk or would you like to ask me questions."

"Tell me about your brother and sister."

"My brother is a plumber; he did his apprenticeship with another company and then started working with my dad. Trevor has always had more patience with my dad than anyone else. Not that dad is…I don't want you to think that my dad isn't an amazing guy but he'd our dad, you know?"

"My dad died when I was five," Fitz told him. "But I know how much t…t…stress a parent can give you."

"Yeah, just a little too…family to get along in some ways. I was always closer to my mum but my dad was the one who I'm just a little too alike to be able to work with."

Fitz smiled at him softly and Mack wanted to kiss the man so badly he had to shuffle back on the couch before he grabbed the blond and did something that their relationship wasn't ready for.

"So, my dad taught me how to fix things but I was never interested in plumbing. I liked to make cars work though. I liked to take them apart and work them out and see what was the problem and then make them work better than they did before."

"You're a mechanic."

"Yeah, machines have always made sense to me," Mack said. "When I was leaving high school I told my parents I was thinking about joining the army to be part of their engineering corps. My mum asked me why I wasn't just becoming a mechanic but I liked the idea of building machines that could protect people. It wasn't just about fixing cars or truck…I could have made a lot of money if I'd gone and worked for some mining companies. It was about this – protecting people, helping save the world. I didn't know at the time that I would actually be saving the world. I didn't want to kill people but…I'm a little too good at it, Fitz."

"W…I…Explain?"

Mack didn't want to talk about this but he knew he needed to; because Fitz had asked – twice. "I went through my basic training and I was scheduled to go to my engineering corps training. I had a week, a week with my training unit before we all went off and separated. Then something went down in South America and my unit got sent down there to help. And I got separated with two of the other men in my group and one of the aid workers we were there to rescue. I was always good at hand-to-hand though not quite as good with a gun as others. The bad guys found us in the middle of the night and I killed them all. There was confusion in the fight and one of our men was killed but it looked like he had taken out a couple of the guys on the other side. I never corrected the report. I got some counselling after the mission but I never wanted to do that again so as soon as I got moved to the engineering corps I pretended it had never happened and when they would do the yearly combat training I would make sure I didn't stand out. Then I got contacted by S.H.I.E.L.D. and I asked them what brought me to their attention."

"South America," Fitz said quietly.

Mack nodded. "They knew the report was wrong. But I refused them."

"How…how did that…work out?"

Mack smiled. "About as well as you'd think. They seconded me and then I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who refused to kill anyone. I got very good at non-lethal capture because I needed to but I applied to be moved into the mechanic corps every other month and finally, after a mission with Bobbi, they finally moved me and put me onto the helicarriers as a mechanic."

"And that's where you…didn't die until HYDRA?"

"Yeah, Turbo, that's where I was until everything with HYRDA, and where I worked with Gonzales."

Fitz nodded. "Your brother…brother is a plumber?"

Mack appreciated the topic change. "Yeah, he worked with my dad – separate jobs but Mackenzie Plumbers, best plumbers in Connecticut. He met his wife Madeline on a plumbing job. They couldn't have kids, so they adopted a set of twin boys from China. They are wonderful – call me Uncle Mack and try to scale me every time I see them."

Fitz laughed. "You…you really like them."

"Yep."

"Do you see them m…m…m-often?"

"Not as much as I would like to."

"And your…female sibling?"

"My sister Magdalene – my parents really seem to like old fashioned names. She lives in New York, she's a lawyer. Corporate and a partner in her firm. She's very successful – wears the impressive suits, has the very posh apartment, she's basically like Jessica from Suits."

"I l-l-l-opposite of hate."

"Like?"

Fitz nodded. "That, but you knew that – it's why you made the reference."

"That is why I made the reference," Mack agreed.

"Do you see her much?"

"Not as often as I'd like. It's kind of the problem with being in S.H.I.E.L.D., isn't it? You sell your life to them and any work-life balance just disappears."

"It is not what I want forever," Fitz said. "I'd like to work somewhere where I can have a house of my own one day. Never did growing up – lives on a council estate, only got out because…because I'm a genius."

"I think you would have got out anyway, Fitz, you're a very determined man."

Fitz shrugged but the corners of his mouth twitched. Then he yawned, jaw cracking, and he flushed with colour.

"Bedtime," Mack said. "Can I walk you to your door?"

Fitz ducked his head and nodded.

Mack quickly put all of the dishes into the dishwasher while Fitz wiped down the coffee table and tidied the couch. When the room was back to normal they left, walking slowly towards Fitz's room.

"Thank you," Fitz said, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"No, thank you for giving me a chance, Turbo."

"It was the best first…first…this thing that I've ever had."

"First date?"

"That."

"Best?" Mack asked, but he didn't give Fitz enough time to answer. "It's my best first date too. But, I've never liked someone as much as I like you either."

"I like you too," Fitz admitted, then he unlocked his door, smiled at Mack, and slipped into his room.

TBC