Progress

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

Team: Agents of SHIELD

AU: Powers, A/B/O, Hybrid, Adoption(1)

Phil Coulson (32): Beta, Bear Hybrid, superhuman endurance

Melinda May (28): Beta, Panther Hybrid, weapon creation

Alphonso "Mac" Mackenzie (11): Alpha, Gorilla Hybrid, superhuman strength and senses

Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez (11): Omega, Gazelle Hybrid, super speed (snaps back to origin point)

Bobbi Morse (10): Alpha, Fox Hybrid, sonic scream

Lincoln Campbell (9): Alpha, Lion Hybrid, electricity manipulation

Lance Hunter (8): Omega, Mongoose Hybrid, metamorphosis

Daisy Johnson (8): Omega, Butterfly Hybrid, seismic powers

Jemma Simmons (7): Alpha, Tiger Hybrid, biological manipulation

Leo Fitz (7): Omega, Wolf Hybrid, animal mimicry

If someone had told Melinda May that by the time she was 28, she'd be in charge of not one, not two, not three, but eight small children, she'd never have believed them.

As it was, she was currently shopping for loose fitting hoodies, sweatpants, and hats for a little boy with powers of shapeshifting, their latest ward.

They'd yet to adopt the young child, but the paperwork was in the works, almost complete, and as far as Melinda and her husband Phil where concerned, the child was theirs.

Said little boy, Leopold James Fitz, was currently huddled up against her legs, nodding and shaking his head when asked a question.

"What do you think of this one, honey?" Melinda asked, holding up a pure white hoodie for the seven year old's inspection.

Wide, crystal blue eyes darted up and over the white fabric, then back down and May felt the little boy nodding against her leg.

"Can I get a verbal response this time, Leo? I love hearing your voice." Melinda pleaded.

Leo hesitated, then opened his mouth. "I like it," he murmured, "It seems like it'll fit well and something I would wear often."

Melinda nodded and waved the young lady helping them forward. Handing her the hoodie, Melinda smiled, "This one, as well, please."

The lady smiled back, brightly, and took the hoodie with gentle hands. "Of course, Miss May." The lady quickly left, bumping into absolutely no one as she hurried away.

See, aside from the lady and Melinda and Leo, the store was completely empty.

It was a deal that Phil, lawyer that he was had worked out with the store manager. Melinda came in just before closing with little Leo, stayed in the employee bathrooms until an associate came to tell her that all the people had left, then Melinda had free reign of the store to shop to her satisfaction.

The reason behind it was the same reason that Leo was being adopted.

Leo had a bad track record with people, most of the people he'd known had been manipulators or abusive. Honestly, with exception of his mother (who died in a car crash when Leo was five), no one was kind to Leo before the age of seven.

Melinda continued looking through the racks as she thought about the young boy's past.

Adopted~AoS~Adopted~AoS

Leo's birthright as an Inhuman had been there since he was two and shifted for the first time. Leo's father had been furious when he found out, thinking that Leo's mother had cheated on him, refusing to believe that his bloodline carried dormant Inhuman genes.

Leo had grown up in a hostile home where anything could set his father off on a rampage that could last for minutes, hours, or days. His father would hit, scream, punch, kick, and insult Leo until the poor child was in tears, then bring his friends around to laugh with him.

Leo had never known kindness from a man, which was a bad thing for Phil, who wanted nothing more than to be able to comfort the young boy when he was scared.

As a result, Leo struggled with most everyone he came across, afraid that they would suddenly hurt him just as his father and his father's friends had.

Melinda, Alistair Fitz's self-defense trainer, had come to his house to inform him of an early training session the next morning, happened to walk in on a rampage and called the police.

She thought Alistair was just drunk at first and didn't step in because of the risk of making it worse, until she saw him really go after Leo.

Then, it didn't matter if Alistair Fitz was drunk or not, he was harming a kid and Melinda wouldn't accept that.

When the police arrived to find Melinda perched on top of a screaming Alistair with a trembling little boy in her arms and her cell phone in her hand that had recorded the whole thing, the only answer Melinda had for them when asked was, "Leo is innocent."

Adopted~AoS~Adopted~AoS

A tug on the hem of her shirt broke Melinda from her thoughts. She looked down and her onyx eyes met his crystal blue. She knelt down, settling her hand around his small shoulders. God, he's so young.

"What's wrong, Leo?" she asked, worry bleeding into her voice.

Leo's small face flushed as he whispered into Melinda's ear, "I have to go."

Melinda nodded. "Alright then, we'll finish here in a moment. Come on."

She led her young adopted child back to the bathrooms. "Do you need anything else, honey?"

Leo flushed again and hesitated.

"Leo?" Melinda knelt down again. "This isn't like your father's rules. You don't have to worry about upsetting me. All you have to do is ask."

Leo sniffled suddenly and opened his mouth, heavy accent getting a little thicker as he spoke. "Will... Will you, uh. Will you stay, stay outside the, um... stay outside the d- The door?"

Melinda hummed softly. "Of course, I will. I'll stay right here, you go on." Melinda opened the door for Leo and waited until he had hesitantly stepped into the room to step into the space beside the door, wedging her foot between the door and the doorway.

"M-Miss Melinda?" Leo called out hesitantly voice shaking.

"I'm right here, honey." Melinda called back soothingly, knocking gently on the door. "I'm here."

She heard Leo's soft sigh, and felt her heart break at the thought that this poor child had been so abused that he was afraid to use the bathroom alone.

Melinda's heart broke a little more when Leo whimpered softly. She began to hum a tune she'd heard on the radio earlier that day.

After a few minutes, she heard a flush and the sink turn on. After a few more heartbeats, Leo called out. "Miss Melinda? I-I'm done."

Melinda opened the door again and held out her hand. "Ready to go back to shopping?"

Leo nodded and grasped her hand tightly in his, back to being shy and mostly silent.

Melinda went back to the racks with Leo holding onto her hand and held up a hat she'd noticed from the bathrooms. "How about this one?"

Leo tilted his head as he examined it, something he did often. Then he nodded and spoke up softly. "Yes."

Melinda paused a moment, under guise of looking over the hat herself and silently cheered for small steps in progress.

She mentally ticked 'speaking without being asked to' off the list of "beginning progress" she'd had in her head and added it to the "making progress" list instead.

With a smile, she gestured the associate over again and held out the hat.

When the associate had scurried off again, Leo slowly detached himself from Melinda's leg and shuffled over to a blue and red cardigan. He hesitantly plucked it from the rack and held it up to Melinda. "Could we... Could we, um... Could we get this, get this one?" he asked softly.

Melinda smiled widely and nodded. "Of course. I think we've gotten enough, why don't we get out of here? Are you ready?"

Leo clutched the cardigan tightly to his chest and nodded. "I'm ready."

The Beta woman held out her hand and Leo took it, letting the elder lead him up to the front desk to pay for all the things they'd bought.

The bags where shoved into the trunk of Melinda's jeep. Leo climbed up into the passenger seat of the black car and settled in quietly.

Melinda slid into the driver's seat and sighed as she started the car.

With a smile, Melinda put her car in park and began backing out of the parking lot. "I'm proud of you, Leo. You're making progress, kiddo. Love you."

Leo smiled back and nodded. "Love you too, Miss-" he paused, "Melinda."

Melinda grinned. Progress.

(1) Okay, explanation.

There's no SHIELD, but Phil and Melinda met and got married long ago. They adopted Jemma and Daisy first. Then Bobbi, Lance, and Mack. Then Lincoln and Yo-Yo. And finally, Leo.

Jemma's parents died when she was young.

We know Daisy's backstory, so I'll keep it the same here as it is in the show, with the exception of her actually being adopted by Phil and Melinda.

Bobbi's and Mack's parents where friends, they all went on a double date and where killed in a car crash by a drunk driver.

Elena's parents kind of abandoned her by accident when they went off to be missionaries for God and completely forgot to take her, then never came back.

Lance's parents were drug addicts.

Lincoln's parents were killed by a serial arsonist who set their house on fire.

Leo's story is explained in the chapter.