Ward was standing waiting for him to stop, he knew, but he couldn't make himself stand still. The humiliation burned through him at the thought of what the agent must think of what he had seen. He hoped that Coulson wasn't too harsh on James. The man wouldn't hesitate to twist things round for Fury to make Leo look bad. He would explain to Coulson that he wasn't really bothered by the whole thing. Surely he would listen. Or at least he would if Leo was actually capable of lying to the man and he didn't think that, faced with his boss's bland stare; he'd be able to do anything other than stutter out half formed falsehoods. Might as well be a complete and utter coward, Leo, the thought to himself when he was absolutely one hundred percent sure that all traces of glass and blood were cleaned from the work surface. Jemma'd have his hide if he left anything that might contaminate her work.

"I'm going to go to bed," he said, stripping off his jacket and dumping it into the container reserved for items that needed chemical cleansing.

"I think Coulson wanted to talk to you tonight, actually," Ward said "I can tell him you were tired if you like."

"That'd be great, thanks." Leo was grateful that, for tonight at least, he wouldn't have to try and explain things.

"Just do me a favour, would you?" Ward asked. Without waiting for Leo to answer he carried on "Lock up your privacy screen tonight, would you? Just, as a favour?" he added when Leo frowned at him. It was easier to agree, though, and deep down he knew it'd let him sleep better.
"Sure," he nodded and left to try and find some peace in the tiny space that was assigned as his on the bus.

It was hours later when he finally gave up on sleeping. James, Ward, Coulson; it was all tumbling around in his head and what rest he did get was interrupted by half formed nightmares about events that shouldn't bother him after seven damn years. He rolled out of his bunk and threw clothes on. Maybe some work was what he needed. There was some routine maintenance that would probably act as a decent sleep aid. If all else failed he could work on that rifle he'd been tinkering with for Ward. It wasn't something the agent had specifically asked for but he just knew that if he got it right then he'd have something Ward would want to use. He didn't bother turning the lights on as he made his way through the jet. He wouldn't need them until he reached the lab, anyway.

The bright glow of the lights over his workbench were almost welcoming and he pulled up his stool and reached for the portable screen that he preferred to use when it was just him and no one needing to see his work. The maintenance would involve making noise and he realised, glancing at the time, that it might not make him the most popular guy in the world if he started banging and clattering at this time of night. Looked like the rifle schematics were what he needed. He pulled them up and, for the fun of it, displayed them as a three-dimensional hologram. He reached into the heart of the weapon and started to try and make sense of a way he could make it non-lethal and effective at long distances.

The hand on his shoulder had his heart pounding and, although he was already twisting up and away, he knew he was too late when an arm banded around his throat. He was picked up and bodily thrown against the wall, his breath leaving his body in a gasp that was compounded when James, of course it was James, pressed up against him.

"Leo," he all but purred "Seems I've underestimated how much your boss cares about you. Are you spreading your legs for him, sweetie? You've a thing for older men, if I remember correctly." He slammed the engineer into the wall again, rivets where the finish wasn't quite smooth digging into his back through a shirt that offered absolutely no protection. "You were mine, Leo," James hissed "I was good to you, baby, and you left me. Was it for men like him, sweetie?"

"I left you because you were an abusive bastard," Leo managed to get out. He wasn't going to take it the way he had in the past. He wasn't going to be meek- not this time. He struggled but James had the advantage in height, strength and experience. A vicious blow to his abdomen had him reaching for air that wouldn't come and he gagged as he tried to pull oxygen back into his lungs. James leant back and stared at his face appraisingly. Whatever he saw seemed to please him because he smiled cruelly and leaned in again, ripping at the buttons of Leo's button down. When the younger man renewed his struggles his attacker smashed his head backwards into the wall and everything blurred. He felt his limbs go weak and warm liquid seeped down into his already ruined shirt's collar. The hands on his skin were suddenly distant and he could only cry out inside his head at the feeling of violation they brought with them.

He didn't realise they were gone until he was falling to the floor and he could distantly hear crashes and shouts but he couldn't see properly through the haze in his eyes. He made himself push up onto his hands and knees then back to use the wall as support. For a second what he saw didn't make sense until his vision finally cleared in time for him to see Agent May's arms around Ward's shoulders, dragging him back from something Leo couldn't quite see.

"See to Fitz," she snapped "I'll deal with this." The tense line of Ward's shoulders shuddered once and then he was moving quickly. Kneeling down next to Leo he reached out slowly.

"Fitz, you hear me okay?" he asked "Leo, can you answer me? Where does it hurt?"

"Head," he managed "Back." He was fairly proud of getting even that much out past the rushing in his ears.
"Can I take a look?" Ward asked. He waited for Leo to nod before he reached out and carefully ran searching fingers along his scalp. He hissed in sympathy when they came back red. "Do you want to try and get up?" he asked the engineer and when the answer was yes he eased him up and into his chair. "Ah shit," he muttered when he saw the raw scrapes on Leo's back.

"It's not too bad," Leo murmured and it really wasn't. The fuzziness was all but gone and yes it hurt but not so much that he felt like he couldn't function properly. "I've had worse," he pointed out and could tell immediately that he'd said the wrong thing.

"When?" Ward snapped explosively "Did he give you worse?" he demanded "Is that what the deal was with you two? Did he beat you like that? Did he-" Ward cut himself off and before Leo could make sense of the anguish in the other man's voice Jemma was there, her hands sliding under the ruin of his shirt, tears in her eyes and Ward was gone.