Grant had decided that he hated James Ebony. It hadn't taken him long to come to his conclusion. The guy was fake all the way through. He wasn't sure what else he had expected from one of Fury's clowns but Ebony was slime pure and simple. He didn't know what the deal was with Fitz and the guy but it was making him queasy. He took every opportunity to crowd the engineer and some of the comments he made were clearly designed to make the younger man uncomfortable. If Fitz had been hoping to keep it a secret then Ebony had made it more than clear that he was hoping to continue a relationship that they'd had. Grant had seen the files. He knew that Ebony was twenty years older than Leo. Ordinarily it might not have bothered him too much but Fitz was just so damn young.
"Have you seen Fitz?" Skye was getting too sneaky. She'd caught him out now more times than he'd like to admit.
"No," he answered her tersely "Tried his workbench?"
"It's nearly midnight," Skye sighed "I was hoping you'd seen him make his way to bed. He's been looking a bit worn down recently. It's that Ebony guy, he-" She stopped, looking guilty.
"I hate him, too," Ward offered and had to smile slightly at her look of relief
"Guys a slime ball," she muttered resentfully "I thought at first I might just hate him because he's here to watch our every move but it's more than that. I know Fitz said he wouldn't have a problem working with the guy but I'm starting to think that I might have a problem with him working with the guy. Creep's made it clear they were involved from way back which is fine, Fitz deserves to do what he wants with his life, but Ebony's using every opportunity to push it out there when Fitz has always chosen not to talk about it."
"It's unprofessional." Grant was pleased that he managed not to move where Skye leapt in the air with a strangled shriek. May gave her an unimpressed look and carried on speaking "Ebony needs to be reprimanded but Coulson's hands are tied until Fitz approaches him about it or he sees it himself and Ebony is perfectly behaved in front of his superior officer."
"He won't approach Coulson about it," Grant said morosely "He'll be worried about making a fuss and having Fury decommission the team."
"That's sweet but what it this starts to interfere with his work?" Skye asked "He'd never forgive himself if something went wrong because he was side-tracked."
"That's a good point," Grant nodded.
"Speak to him about it," May told him and left calling back over her shoulder "He's at his workbench." Skye followed after her and he realised with a start that despite May being his equal, on the team anyway, he had just been delivered a very precise order. He stood up and stretched muscles that twinged slightly from sitting in the same position for too long.
The lighting in the lab was harsh and bright and Grant wasn't happy to see that Ebony was leaning against the wall next to a workbench littered with broken glass. Fitz was oddly silent as he cleaned up the mess and a cold lump settled in his gut.
"Leo was just a bit clumsy," the blond man said smoothly "Lost his grip."
"You alright?" Grant asked the engineer who nodded, still quiet. It was the longest amount of time Grant had ever seen him go without something to say. He was side-tracked from that thought, though, when he got close enough to see the crimson mixed in with the glass. "You're cut." He was moving without thinking, reaching for the younger man's hands and searching for the source of the blood.
"It's fine," murmured Leo "I'm used to it, it's fine. I've been a practical engineer since I was twelve. I'm used to the occasional scratch." He pulled his hands away. "It comes with the territory."
"That's rough," Grant said, wincing over the sliced knuckle that, while certainly not life threatening, was bound to sting unpleasantly.
"Oh, agent, hadn't you heard?" Ebony's voice was as smooth and slick as poison drenched silk "Leo likes it rough." Before Grant could even move towards the older man a voice rang out like a whip crack.
"Agent Ebony, my office. Now." Coulson's face was cold and his stance uncompromising as he waited for the man to leave the room. "We'll be having a talk too," he told Leo but his voice was gentler. "Patch him up, Agent Ward," he ordered before leaving.
"Let me?" he asked reaching out again but Leo shook his head "It's already stopped bleeding," he said holding his hand out as proof "I need to get the suction cleaner onto this glass before there's an even bigger accident. With that, he swept past Grant and began to bustle around the workshop as if he wasn't even there. Watching him, Grant got the feeling that he was missing something important.
