Cisco wasn't surprised to see Barry walk into the kitchen with an injury the following morning. His friend was walking normally, though he had a brace on one knee. "What did you do this time?" he asked as he poured Barry a mug of coffee.

Barry took it with a grateful nod. "Ran into a wall. Caitlin and Simmons practically locked me in my room after, so I could heal."

"You look fine now," Cisco said. "How bad could it have been?"

Barry's face changed. "They said I dislocated my knee. If my healing wasn't so good, it would be at least a week before I could walk normally." The easygoing expression returned. "I'll be training by this afternoon. How's the treadmill coming?"

Cisco smiled into his coffee mug. "Dude, this place is awesome. You know how I like my tech at S.T.A.R. Labs. So when I say that these guys got the goods…" he looked out the doorway, to make sure they were alone. "They're talented too. Like, even Dr. Wells would hire them in an instant."

"Simmons said Coulson designed this team," Barry reminded him. "He probably chose them for a reason."

Cisco grinned, suddenly unable to think of anything other than the project. "I've gotta get to the garage, or Mack will give me a bad nickname. Later Barry." He carried his mug with him, careful not to let his excited pace make any slosh over the edges. Mack's booming laugh greeted him before he walked in, making his grin widen.

"Hey Cisco," Fitz said through an amused smile.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing really," Mack said, recovering himself. "Fitz got an earful last night about how he needs to speed up finishing the treadmill so Barry doesn't get hurt again."

"As if it's my fault a treadmill that can handle his speed hasn't been invented yet."

Fitz's expression was part bemused, part indulgent as he thought of whatever his conversation with Simmons had been the night before, and Cisco realized he shipped the two scientists. He barely knew them. He still felt confident enough to ship it, and decided to talk to Daisy at the next opportunity, to learn more about the duo – and possibly figure out how to get them together. He hadn't gotten to play matchmaker in a while. He wondered if anyone here had ever tried.

"She'll have my head if we don't finish soon, though," Fitz continued.

"'Must go faster,'" Cisco said, "'must go faster!'"

"Jurassic Park?" Mack asked.

Cisco nodded, happy someone finally got the reference. He'd tried that line with both Barry and Caitlin, and neither of them had gotten it. "I don't know if you want to compare Simmons to a dinosaur, but you get the idea."

"Yeah, definitely won't be doing that comparison," Fitz said solemnly.

Mack stood and walked over to the frame they'd made the day before. "Let's go, Turbo."

"Wait," Cisco said. "We were missing something yesterday: music. I think I've got just the thing." He pulled out his phone and opened his Music, selecting the playlist he'd made before going to bed the night before. He hadn't worked with them long, but Cisco thought he was pretty intuitive. He had a feeling he knew what kind of music they would like. He watched their reactions as "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin came on. He couldn't quite read Fitz's reaction, but Mack half-smiled in recognition, and Cisco turned it up as he walked over. He would call that a success.

They worked so hard those next few hours that the garage became stiflingly hot, from the welding and fusing they had to do with the sheets of metal. Cisco was always happy to be creating something, but he couldn't say he wasn't relieved when he left the garage that day and hopped into the shower. They'd practically doubled their productivity from the day before, which made one thing clear: they would have the treadmill completed the next day. It added a little swagger to his step as he walked around the base that evening, tired from an arduous day but energized from his shower and full belly. He had to find Daisy before he could crash for the night. Even if he didn't figure out how to help Fitz and Simmons with their relationship, he wanted to learn more about their dynamic. He hoped to learn more by seeing them together, after the treadmill was finished, but it didn't hurt to do a little extra homework.

He tried the training room first, but it wasn't Daisy he saw in there. It was Bobbi, beating the life out of a punching bag. He set one foot in the doorway before turning around, feeling as though he were interrupting something private. The way she was whaling on the bag made it seem personal.

The next place he tried was the rec room, and he did find Daisy there: on the couch, locked in a video game battle with Mack. Barry was sitting behind them, watching. Cisco momentarily forgot his plan, his eyes on the epic fighting on the screen. "You didn't tell me you played!" he accused.

"Didn't come up," Mack said simply, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Oh, I'm next," Cisco said, sitting next to Barry.

"Sorry Cisco, there's a line."

Cisco looked at Barry and sighed. "Alright, that's fine." He watched as the figures on the screen traded punches and kicks. He thought it was amusing that Daisy had the hulking character, while Mack had a more speed-based one, who was shorter than Daisy's by at least a foot. They were pretty good. He could tell video games were a fairly regular pastime for these two, and watched as they exchanged combination attacks that made their health bars dwindle into the red zone. Mack won with a combo thrust up, knee to the gut, punch to the face, dropping Daisy's character to the ground with a definitive WIN appearing on his side of the screen.

"You know, I might need a little more practice," Cisco said as Barry took Daisy's controller. He liked these games. That didn't mean he was good at them.

Barry laughed, choosing his own character. The temporary quiet reminded Cisco of his reason for coming here, and he leaned over the back of the couch, trying to appear casual. "So Fitz and Simmons…" he said in a leading tone.

Daisy turned her body to face him, raising one eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Realizing he had missed casual by a longshot, Cisco straightened up. "Well, I was just wondering about them, cause it seems like they have a thing but don't."

"Those two have a thing alright," Mack said. "Most complicated thing I've ever seen." His expression softened. "Complicated, but unbreakable."

"They do seem really close," Barry said. "I mean, I haven't seen Fitz much, but Simmons mentions him a lot."

"Fitz mentions her a lot too," Cisco told him. "So what's going on there?"

"They've been through a lot," Daisy said. Cisco noticed that there was suddenly more distance in her words, as if she were guarding her speech. "We all have, but those two…"

"They seem to go through it together," Mack finished, and Daisy nodded in agreement. "Even if something only seems to happen to one of them, they're both affected."

Cisco looked between them, curious but not wanting to press for information. It wasn't his place to pry, especially without Fitz or Simmons being there. He did take something away from that brief conversation, though. This team had seen some shit.

He couldn't say he hadn't had a few rough times, but he suspected his troubles with home were nothing compared with what the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had experienced. He could tell from Barry's hard-set eyes that his friend was thinking the same thing, and wondering: did that mean the three of them would go through trouble too?

As of this moment, Cisco was fine with being with S.H.I.E.L.D. He liked the people, and he was having fun engineering. Most importantly, being here was helping Barry, which was the only reason they'd agreed to come. He wasn't sure he was ready to do anything risky, though, and felt that concern growing in the back of his mind.

Until he realized that no one had asked him if he was okay with it, because no one expected him to be. Daisy had said she wanted to help Barry learn to control his abilities well enough for him to be able to pass their field assessment; she hadn't said they were straight-up joining S.H.I.E.L.D.

He relaxed, resting his arms on the back of the couch as Barry and Mack started their fight in the game. No point worrying about things that weren't a problem.

Even if a small part of him wondered what it would be like to be part of this complicated, unbreakable team.

0-0

Fitz looked up when Jemma placed a parcel in front of him. A parcel with a very familiar shape. "Is that?"

She smiled.

He picked it up and unfolded the cloth keeping the sandwich contained, holding the sandwich up and breathing in the familiar scents and spices. "I haven't had one of these in a long time."

"You've been working hard, and I may have been a bit pushy yesterday, telling you to work faster. I thought this would make it up to you."

Fitz took a bite and, after realizing it was as good as ever and swallowing, had to resist the impulse to kiss her. He didn't want to make things awkward between them, since he still didn't know what was going on with Will. So he stayed seated, but tried to tell her how much the gesture meant nonverbally. She'd always been good at communicating with him that way, and he thought she saw it plainly enough. He thought she wanted something to happen between them too, but if she wasn't one hundred percent sure… he didn't want to pressure her.

She seemed more like her old self than she had even three days ago. He suspected having something to work on, and interesting people to work with, was keeping her mind busy enough to distract her from any sense of self-doubt. He'd noticed that the protein bars she'd stashed in the lab hadn't been restocked. She'd told him she put food and water all around the base once, in the middle of the night. If she hadn't replaced it, it had to be a good sign that she wasn't scared of being trapped somewhere. That she'd made him his favorite sandwich was proof that she was almost completely back to normal, because she used to surprise him with the masterpiece periodically: a practice she had started in their Academy days.

"This is perfect," he told her between bites.

"Good."

They were silent for a few seconds, and then both started speaking at once.

"Have you heard from -?"

"I wanted to show you -."

They stopped, and Fitz motioned for Jemma to go first. "Have you heard from Coulson or May?" she asked. "I know Coulson has been keeping Rosalind Price busy, and last I heard May was going to fetch Hunter."

"Yeah, that's the latest I know," Fitz said.

"I only wondered if May had contacted Dr. Garner. Barry will need his psych evaluation soon, and May has the greatest chance of reaching Dr. Garner."

Of course. Fitz had forgotten that was part of the process for training new Inhumans. Barry, Cisco, and Dr. Snow were so different than the others they'd encountered, he kept thinking of them more as consultants than a trainee and his friends. "I'm sure Dr. Garner will be here soon. Coulson is usually on top of that, but he's been thinking a lot about the ATCU. And Rosalind Price," he added, shooting her a knowing look.

Jemma shook her head, but he knew she agreed with him. He realized that was the extent of her question, and said his part. "I wanted to show you the treadmill," he said.

"You finished it?"

"Cisco ran on it earlier and didn't die or anything, so we're pretty sure it's ready."

She turned on him. "Fitz, why didn't you tell me right away? We could have already been down there, with Barry!" she pulled him up and away from the second half of his sandwich. "You said you had Cisco test it?"

Fitz chuckled. "Yeah, he was standing on it when Mack plugged it in. Made him jump a bit."

"As it should," she said, unable to contain her chuckle. They reached the garage and Fitz watched Jemma's reaction. The treadmill didn't look too special, but they'd made it completely from scratch. Because of that, it was longer and wider than the average model, and a little higher up (to give plenty of space for ventilation as it ran at insane speeds). The metal they'd picked up for the base sheet, which they'd coated with a layer to add traction, shone a dark gray. The monitor displaying the speed stood at the front of the treadmill, with three buttons labelled: go, stop, and adjust speed.

"Oh Fitz, it looks wonderful!" Jemma cried.

Pride warmed his cheeks. "It's nothing," he lied. He put his hand on the back of his neck nervously. "Actually, Cisco and Mack helped a lot."

"Fitz, I know your work when I see it, and you this has your mark all over it." She touched his arm. "I have to go tell Barry, so we can fully test it!"

"Cisco was going to do that," Fitz said.

"Then where are they?"

She had a fair point, and he followed her to the rooms they were staying in. He heard Cisco's voice before they'd rounded the corner, and found the engineer locked in an animated conversation with Barry and Dr. Snow in the hallway.

"Oh, hey," Cisco said when he had to stop to breathe. "We were just coming to the garage."

"Are you ready to test their skills?" Jemma asked Barry.

"Sure thing."

"I know you're not serious," Cisco said with a look between them. "That thing is perfect."

"Big talk," Dr. Snow said. "Time for the walk."

Cisco led the way, pretending to roll up his sleeves (Fitz didn't know if he actually owned a long-sleeved dress shirt, from the way Cisco dressed. He seemed to have his own style). They went back to the garage and Barry stepped up to the treadmill while the others crowded around it. "Make sure your shoes are tied tightly," Dr. Snow said.

Barry sighed and theatrically tightened them, and then put one foot on the treadmill. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Fitz said, reaching for the go switch. "Run, Barry."

Barry started when the treadmill began moving, walking and transitioning to a jog. "Wow, nice," he said sarcastically.

"Press the up arrow," Cisco said.

Fitz watched as Barry did, and the speed increased quickly. The speed continued to increase, until Barry's movements were a blur too fast to watch with the unaided eye, the machine making a loud whirring sound as the track looped so fast.

"How ya doin?" Cisco called.

"This is awesome!" Barry yelled after a few seconds.

"The treadmill is stable," Fitz said.

"So is Barry," Dr. Snow said, with an almost smile.

"I can go faster!" Barry yelled.

Fitz saw Jemma's brow crease in worry, as Cisco's grin widened, and knew there was tension rising before they even spoke. "Only do it if you want to," Fitz called.

"I want to!"

"Then run, Barry, run!" Cisco yelled back.

Dr. Snow crept closer to the controls, as if ready to slam her hand on the stop button. Jemma was watching the blur that was Barry, her anxiety starting to show through. Fitz kept his eyes on the treadmill, analyzing it for signs of malfunction or damage. It seemed to be running fine. He was just as ready as Dr. Snow to shut it down the second he saw any form of failure from it.

Barry kept up the pace for about a minute before he called out that he needed to slow down, and slapped the down arrow. The machine slowed quickly, moving to a sprinting pace, then a jog, and finally a slow walk. Barry stepped off it and put his hands on his knees, bending over to breathe.

"Hell yeah!" Cisco said, going up to him for a high five.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Snow asked.

Barry looked winded, but he was grinning as he returned Cisco's high five. "Yeah, Cait, I'm good." He looked at Cisco and Fitz. "That thing is awesome."

"I'm guessing I missed the test?"

Fitz turned to see Coulson walking in. The Director looked at them for a few seconds. "I'm sorry to do this, but I need Fitz-Simmons to analyze some ATCU materials. We're on a short timetable."

"How short?" Jemma asked.

"However long it takes Rosalind Price to notice I snuck them when I showed her the plane. I need you on it now."

"Yes, sir," Jemma said. Fitz nodded at him, following him out.

"Anything we can help with?" Cisco asked.

Coulson looked at him, apparently searching for an answer. "Possibly. Can't hurt to have you there."

Fitz walked beside Coulson, moving at a brisk pace. "So what kind of materials are we analyzing?"

"Some form of goo. I don't think it's alien, but other than that I have no clue."

"Let's see if we can fix that," Fitz said as he took the sample from Coulson once they reached the lab. He opened the plastic bag and held it out to Jemma, who had already slipped on gloves. While she put some of the orange goo on a slide Fitz put a pair of gloves on himself, and powered up the machines he knew Jemma would want to run the goo through.

"They're fast," Cisco said.

"I need them to be," Coulson said.

"What is the ATCU?" Dr. Snow asked.

"A government response to Inhumans," Coulson said. "Basically a rip-off of S.H.I.E.L.D., but to most of the world, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't mean much these days."

They asked a few more questions. Fitz ignored them as he started reading the preliminary analysis a scan of the goo provided. "It's synthetic," he told Coulson as Jemma probed deeper. Whatever the goo was, it definitely wasn't alien. He knew Jemma wouldn't say it out loud until she had more proof, though, and waited for her to find it.

"What do you make of this?" Coulson had another baggie in his jacket, and Fitz saw that it was filled with an orange liquid. "Looks like the same stuff, right?"

Jemma grabbed it before Fitz could, her eyes focused on it with a precision of thought Fitz hadn't seen in a while. "It's more fluid than the other sample," she said. "But that shouldn't happen unless there was –."

"A temperature change," Fitz realized. He touched the edge of the baggie in Jemma's hand, realizing it was slightly warmer than the gel-like sample he'd handled while Jemma prepped the slide. One must have been in a cooler. She put a droplet of this orange liquid onto a slide as well, to make sure, but it was obvious they were the same material. The structural analysis was running for both, but the scan showed that they were molecularly similar, even without identifying the exact components.

"The increase in temperature liquefies the substance," Jemma said confidently. "I'm positive this is a man-made material."

"So the ATCU doesn't have alien tech. Any clue on the function of the goo?"

"Agent Coulson!"

Fitz saw Rosalind Price stalking towards the lab, and glanced at Jemma quickly. One look told him she wasn't through with the structural analysis, which they needed to determine its function. He started racking his brain for a way to keep some of it as Rosalind shoved past Barry, Cisco, and Dr. Snow and walked up to Coulson.

"Did you want another tour?" Coulson asked.

"I want the samples you stole back."

Coulson frowned. "Not sure I know what samples you're talking about."

Rosalind looked at Fitz and Jemma, standing next to each other by the table. "Right. Cause this doesn't look suspicious." She held her hand out. "Hand them over, and I won't be upset. We can pretend this didn't happen."

"It wouldn't have to if you would share information with us."

"There are lots of things you don't tell me."

They seemed to be sizing each other up, and it was Coulson who dipped his head first. "That's true." He looked at Fitz and Jemma. "Give her all the samples."

"Sir," Jemma started, but Coulson shook his head. She moved to get the slides. Fitz handed Coulson the two baggies of goo. Of course the computer chose that moment to flash the message that it had completed the structural analysis.

"I'll need that information as well," Rosalind said with a glance at the computer. She walked over to Jemma and watched Jemma put it on a flash drive. "And delete it from your records."

Fitz could see Jemma's mouth tick down in disapproval, and knew she'd been hoping Rosalind would forget to make her delete it from the computer. She did it, though, and then Rosalind turned back to Coulson. "See you soon, Phil."

Coulson nodded, his face straight as she walked by.

"Well she seems -," Cisco started. Between the beginning of the statement and the end, a crackle of lightning played at the edge of Fitz's vision and sight, and Jemma's hair seemed to move as if from wind. Barry winced, grabbing his wrist. "- friendly," Cisco said.

"What just happened?" Coulson asked, looking at Barry. So he had used his speed.

Jemma was looking at the computer, and was therefore a second behind Dr. Snow in looking at Barry. "It's fine," Barry said.

"You got the flash drive back," Jemma said, sounding slightly amazed.

"If I just took it back she'd notice it's gone. I grabbed it, made a copy of the contents, and slipped it back in her bag. My wrist caught when I tore it out of the computer."

"I think it's just a sprain," Dr. Snow said.

"Quick thinking." Coulson looked at Barry, and Fitz thought he knew what the man was thinking. "Nicely done."

Barry dipped his head.

"Look into that," Coulson said, gesturing to the computer. "Let me know what you find out." He glanced at Barry again before walking out the door.

"He's impressed, if you're wondering," Fitz told them once he was sure Coulson was out of earshot.

"Me too," Cisco said.

"Wait till you see if you can get anything from that. Then you can be impressed." Barry eased his wrist out of Caitlin's grip, taking a step towards the computer. "Can you use it?" he asked Jemma.

"Yes, it looks like it all downloaded."

Barry seemed relieved.

"How can we help?" Cisco asked, looking at Fitz.

Fitz almost smiled.

They discussed the properties of the orange goo, and theorized possible uses, for at least an hour, and then Fitz walked out to get a drink. Cisco was still in the kitchen, a few sodas and a bag of chips in his arms – the snacks he'd told them he would snag on his way back from the bathroom.

"You've got your arms full," Fitz said.

"I wanted to grab a sandwich too, but I didn't like the one on the table, so I'm just gonna fill up on chips."

Fitz frowned. "What?"

"There was half a sandwich left out in the kitchen, so I tried it." Cisco narrowed his eyes. "I figured it was up for grabs. Was that yours?"

Yes. Yes, it was. "Tried it?"

"Yeah, I didn't like it so I threw it away."

Fitz stiffened, his teeth pressing together forcefully. "You did what?" he asked slowly.

Cisco looked at him strangely. "I threw it away. What's the big deal?"

Fitz breathed out through his nose, trying to make his irritation lessen. A perfectly good sandwich, made by Jemma, and it had been wasted. What was it with people around this team throwing them away? The breathing only barely worked. "You have no taste," was all Fitz said to Cisco, and let the matter drop – though he would never let Cisco bring up the sandwich around Jemma. Cisco started walking back to the lab while Fitz drank a cup of water.

They were breaking into the snacks when he walked back in, though Jemma and Barry were still trying to figure out what the orange goo was. They stayed for another half an hour or so, and then Fitz noticed a slight change.

He and Jemma left them in the lab. It was strange to not be the last ones there, but they were just talking at that point, and Fitz could see that Jemma was tired. She wouldn't admit it, but he knew her. She would try to stay up until she figured out whatever she was working on unless someone stopped her, so he made up an excuse to go to bed.

She bumped against him affectionately as they turned the corner, and his mouth quirked into a partial smile. Of course she knew he'd lied about needing to go to bed himself.

"Coulson seemed pretty impressed with Barry earlier," she said.

"You know what he's thinking, don't you?"

She met his eyes. "That Barry could be a good agent."

Fitz nodded. "He's got the same look as he did when we met Daisy. I think he'll try to recruit the lot of them, honestly."

"Would it be so bad? They do seem to get on pretty well with us."

She was right, but he wouldn't start to hope for anything. "They've barely been here a few days, Jem. Let's just see where things go from here."

They reached their doors, and she glanced at him somewhat awkwardly. "Well, goodnight."

He smiled somewhat awkwardly back, resisting the urge to take her hand and make sure she was alright. "Goodnight."

A/N: Now we've had some real character bonding. I feel like Cisco would be a Fitz-Simmons shipper, don't you? Please let me know your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time!