Troubled times
Caught between confusions and pain, pain, pain
Distant eyes
Promises we made were in vain
In vain, vain

Separate Ways - Journey

The maimed Felix Blake was reclining in a hospital bed. He was dutifully elevating his one hand and trying to ignore his visitor. Which was impossible as Isabelle Hartley was a force with which to be reckoned, which was a given, considering her Soul Mate was the fire breathing Victoria Hand. All eight feet tall of her with her scarlet locks.

"Felix, I regretfully have to inform you that your hand is broken," Izzie informed him. "When it is man verses a brick wall, I usually find that the brick wall wins every single time."

"Could have told you that it's broken," Felix admitted from his ER bed. His right hand was misshapen, he seemed to be missing a knuckle or two, the skin was split and it sluggishly oozed blood. "However, can we wait for the doctor's review of the x-rays? That is why I have health insurance."

"What happened?" Izzie asked.

"Space aliens. Ugly fuckers with scales and tales and…" Felix began and then stopped when he witnessed Izzie's look of pure unadulterated don't-you-lie-to-me-Blakey. "Ok. Had a chat with you-know-who. Expressed my unhappiness, we went our separate ways and the next thing I know, I had hit the wall. Repeatedly. You'd be proud to know that the wall was cowering in submission as I had won our fight. I won, Izzie. You can go ask the wall, and he'll tell you that I beat him."

"Felix, you are not doing well with recent events," was all Izzie said.

"I am doing quite well," protested Felix. "I met the Love of his Life and protected her from John Garrett. I think that qualifies me for some sort of Noble Prize for being a mensch. Or maybe a prize for being an emotional carpet just for my sheer treadability. Is that even a word? I should research that. Must make a mental note as I can't write right now."

Izzie sharply inhaled, before she spoke, "You met her?"

"Yes," he said.

"And?" Izzie asked. "How? When?"

"Garrett stopped me in the hallway. Then she arrived late to work because after all when you're Soul Bonded to Fury's Special Snowflake you do not have to worry about punctuality. Garrett made a few loaded comments about her and Coulson. I stopped it by reminding him of a few HR regulations that dealt with sexual harassment. I then spoke to her in private and warned her about Garrett. Planted the idea that she needed to inform Coulson about it, so Coulson can smack down Garrett. That was it." And that's all he wanted to say on the matter. Certainly didn't want to admit that he had carefully catalogued and categorized the woman he viewed as The Unbeatable Competition.

Naturally, Victoria Hand wanted all the details which was why Isabelle had come to the ER, instead of her. Izzie was the best interrogator known to mankind.

"That was all?" Izzie asked. She didn't believe him, it was obvious.

"Oh, that. I introduced myself as the Soulless Wonder Boy that used to warm her new Luv of her Life's bed for the last twenty years. Being a truly considerable soul, rumors to the contrary, I warned her that he snores due to his deviated septum and I suggested industrial rated ear plugs. " He instinctively gestured with his right hand, who quite frankly wasn't having of that movement shit, so he grimaced.

"FELIX," hissed Izzie.

"No, honestly, she wanted my name. I didn't give it to her because honestly, we will never be friends. Why pretend? Anyway, you met her already. Last night at the bodega? When you came out of the store with the ice? There was a woman who was scared of Sonya due to the fact that she is a Staffie? That was her," Felix explained. "Apparently out of all the neighborhoods in New York City and its surrounding vicinity, I decided to move into her neighborhood. I signed the lease too, so I can't move for another year, but I needed a place quick that I could afford that would let me keep Sonya. Sonya is family and I will not let go of her. Ever. Not after she was abused by that asshole. I promised her a life time commitment and I don't break those type of promises. I don't."

Izzie exhaled and shook her head.

"Phil is robbing the cradle," was her succinct summarization of recent events.

He said nothing, and fortunately the doctor soon popped in to inform him that he'd be splinted for the next six weeks or so. The doctor instructed him to follow up with a hand surgeon and informed him that he was a stupid fuck for brawling with a brick wall. Even though he had won.

Well, Doc was right.

Fortunately Izzie kept her mouth shut until she drove him back to his new apartment. Once he was settled in, Victoria Hand arrived with job offer in hand.

"I've just been made director of the Hub. You interested in a temporary reassignment? I need someone I can trust as Izzie is going undercover again. I have an Agent that will take this apartment off your hands and I can get you into a duplex, with a fenced in yard so the fur kids can play, chase squirrels and dig massive craters that you will spend every single weekends filling. Bluntly, I need you, Felix. Because Garrett is just the tip of the infected iceberg, and you can do so much more good at the Hub. Plus, I'm worried about you, Felix. You drank a lot last night, like in the old days, and now your broke your hand by hitting a brick wall. I won't be here for you, Izzie won't and Jasper is the roving agent at large these days. You need your friends with you now. Fuck Phil and his new girlfriend, and leave NYC for a much needed change. There's nothing here for you anymore."

Blunt and true, he admitted.

He didn't have to think long. He didn't have to think hard. Just the opportunity to escape from the lifetime full of possible encounters of THEM was enough for him. It was time to retreat, to lick his wounds and maybe… just maybe…find another Soulless shell to befriend and in time, have a mindless physical affair. Because, he couldn't be the only one out there that didn't have a partner.

Though this time, he wouldn't permit himself to get emotionally involved.

Because even though Felix Blake was Soulless, Phil Coulson and Jemma Simmons and their goddamn Bond had emotionally shredded him.

"I'd shake on it," he snarked as he held up his bad hand. "However, no can do. Good thing I didn't really unpack yet."

Jemma Simmons sat in her office, and she massaged her right hand, which ached. Painfully.

"You ok?" Phil asked. He had stopped by to see her, bringing her a cuppa (brewed) and a Danish, after she had requested a chinwag. "I have a bit of twinge myself in that hand today."

"It just started and I don't know what I did," she admitted.

"Where does it hurt?" he murmured.

"Knuckles," she admitted.

"There?" he asked as he gently touched her hand at the very spot that pained him. "It's where mine is bothering me. I must have banged it."

She smiled up at him and nodded.

"I'm a little nervous how in tune we are," he murmured. "Doc Coulson says Tylenol and some ice, should be fine. So, you said you needed to talk to me?"

Jemma inhaled and exhaled while she collected her thoughts.

"It's John Garrett. I don't wish to start anything with him, but he made a few comments that were problematic. There was another agent there who set him straight, but the agent suggested I speak to you," Jemma began but she stopped once she saw Phil Coulson turn very serious.

"What did he say? Who did he say it front of? I have reason to believe that the gossip mill has decided to make us their headlines this week." Phil gently shushed her when she began to protest. "Don't worry about them. I will handle it, because it has to be done carefully. Just tell me what Garrett said."

Phil skillfully questioned her about what was said, the tone of the conversation, and the other agent which he called 'the Suit' after she informed him that she didn't know the agent's name. He respected her opinion, THANKFULLY, so he didn't protest when she said that she had an instinctive distrust of Garrett. When she was talked out, Phil asked her, "Do you know anything about this agent that stepped in? I mean, tall white male, thin building with graying hair describes a great many senior agents."

"He wouldn't give me his name, just said that, 'I highly doubt that you and I will ever interact after this'. I must confess I think he was quite happy about that."

"Mr. Suit has quite the personality it seems. Is this the first time you've dealt with him?" Phil asked.

"It's weird, I actually met him for the first time last night. I was at the local corner store and he was there," Jemma explained. "He had a pit bull with him, called her Steffie?"

"Call her a Staffie. It's short for an American Staffordshire Terrier." Phil looked away and shook his head. "It couldn't be him, but it might. The dislike for Garrett is him through and through, but why would he involve himself? Could you tell me if the dog looked like this?"

He reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it, and pulled out a photo. He slid it towards her, keeping his fingers on part of it, as though he was hiding something. The dog possessed a broad head, stocky build, and dark eyes.

Jemma nodded, and admitted, "Yes, I believe that's the dog."

"Her name is Sonya and she's a real lap dog. Loves to cuddle and there's a little spot behind her right ear that she loves scratched," Phil fondly smiled and then hesitantly asked, even though he knew the answer, "Did the Suit look like this guy?"

Phil lifted his index finger to reveal the agent Jemma had decided to call Mr. Sunshine. "Yes, that's him."

Phil's smile faltered slightly. "His name is Felix Blake. He fibbed as he's actually a Level 7, not an 8, and currently works in Reconnaissance and Surveillance. He rescued Sonya when someone used her as a bait dog in a dog fighting ring. You'd never think she was abused as a pup because she's just adores everyone she's ever met. The worst with her is that you have to fear is that…"

"She'll lick you to death," they both stated in unison.

He removed his fingers from the picture and continued, "That's Nikko, a Japanese Terrier and there's me. Felix and I…"

"He's your partner." Her tone was flat, but it explained so much. His comment of 'I highly doubt that you and I will ever interact after this'. But it didn't explain why Felix had chastised Garrett by bludgeoning him with the service reqs or why he had warned her about Garrett and told her to go to Coulson. Why had he decided to involve himself? He could have just walked away?

"According to Felix, we are no longer together and there is no hope of ever changing that," Phil quietly stated, regretting that she'd feel his intense pain. "I believe I spoke to him after you met him this morning. At our conversation today, he was quite insistent about our relationship had ended since meeting you triggered the Soul Bond. What time did this all happen?"

She pulled out her tablet and confirmed the time using the scheduled meeting as a reference.

Phil tapped his fingers on the counter for a bit and then he spoke, "So, he met you. Left the office, went for coffee and met me then. We had a ten minute discussion as that's all he would give me. He is beyond furious with me, and… it seems that some of our fellow agents decided to inform him that you and I had been …. Intimate…"

The noise Simmons made was close to a squeak, Phil realized. She was utterly horrified that she was the subject of gossip and slander and he damned himself for being unable to cushion the blow.

"I told him the truth, that there had been one kiss, because I won't lie to him," confessed Phil. "I assured him that you and I had discussed everything and that we believed that we could keep this platonic. He felt… betrayed… and he's right. After twenty years, I owed him more. I needed to handle this bond between us in such a way that he wouldn't be turned into an object of ridicule, so I really fucked it up with him, and I really fucked it up with you."

Really, the damn Soul Bond was supposed to make everything better. Two souls being completed and all that tosh. Not worse, not wishing that she had never met Phil, Jemma mentally protested. Yet since their first meeting, it felt like the two of them had been overwhelmed by the emotional ramifications of their Bond. Phil was in turmoil, and she needed to support him. Not because he was her Soul Bond, but because he seemed like a decent fellow.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Can you give me a few days? I know at this part of our bonding, we should be conversing and getting to know each other, but…I… I think I need a few days. I still want to talk to you, but.." Phil sputtered to a complete stop.

Phil was exhausted, she realized and she felt a great deal of compassion for him.

"I understand," she said. "I do. You are in a relationship right now that's having a rough patch. Get that settled, and…"

Really, she wasn't sure if she could emotionally handle having her Soul Mate being intimately involved with someone else, but she had rapidly realized that Soul Bonds required a great deal of patience and understanding. And the two of them were in the honeymoon phase!

His smile was one of pure relief. "You are amazing. I can't believe how understanding you're being about this. If I was you, I'd demand a refund because this has been absolutely horrid for you. Thank you for putting up with me."

"I just want you to call me and let me know how you are doing," she requested. "Promise me at least one phone call a day."

Two days later, Jemma Simmons had quite enough. She was trying to be patient, but Phil, while being a senior agent and able to handle world-wide catastrophes with nary an eye blink, seemed to be incapable of handling Mr. Personality and his righteous rage. Well, unfortunately, Phil's personal crisis was adversely affecting her, as she found herself weepy at the most importune time. Fitz, be a dear and could you please past me that… boo hoo… water works times. Therefore she needed to stabilize Phil and his grief so she could function.

And if another person made a cooing comment about how wonderful it was that she had found her Soul Mate, she might slap them senseless.

BECAUSE IT WASN'T WONDERFUL! IT WAS HURTFUL AND PAINFUL AND NOT A GREAT DEAL OF FUN! PLUS THERE WAS A COMPLETE LACK OF SNOGGING.

Therefore she put on her big girl pants, and decided to storm Surveillance and Reconnaissance. She'd confront the bear in his lair and get things squared. And she ignored Fitz asking why she was taking the Nite-Nite gun with her. (And it was STILL a stupid name)

She went to the front desk and gave her victim her best winning smile. Phil had assured her that she was adorable, and she wasn't afraid to use her adorability for her Soul Mate's greater good. "Hello, I have an appointment with Agent Blake. Please advise him that Dr. Simmons is here to speak with him."

She smiled brightly.

The receptionist appeared confused.

"Agent Blake is no longer stationed here," the receptionist explained. "He was reassigned two days ago. He checked in on Monday at seven, and he was gone by the time I came in at nine. I have absolutely no idea where he was reassigned."

Bugger! BUGGER! BUGGER!