Note: Spoilers for latest episode (S02E17), specifically the stinger.

"Play for Me"

"How long has it been since you played piano, Fitz?"

He looked up, startled. "Wha—?"

"How long has it been?" Coulson repeated.

"Oh, uh… I think once or twice since I left Scotland?"

"Would you be able to pick it up again?"

Leo looked at Hunter, who shrugged. "Sir?"

"There's an ad for someone to play piano for demonstrations in a shopping mall," the director clarified, placing a newspaper clipping in front of Leo. "Seems to be a meeting place for HYDRA agents, but only for the last few weeks."

"So… what, you want me to play piano and do re… uh, recon a-at the same time?"

Coulson tilted his head. "More like plant a few bugs for us, work out whether the security cameras can be hacked. The audition's being held at the mall, so you only have to be able to play long enough to do this. You don't have to get the job, just not get sent off after thirty seconds."

"I… I don't know. My hands…"

"Shouldn't it just be muscle memory?" Hunter said.

"N-not necessarily."

"It'll look less suspicious," Coulson said. "And hey, if you get the job, that's great! It's only for a few hours, an hour for the morning trade, an hour and a half for the lunch trade, and then half an hour in the afternoon."

"It would take time away from my work…"

"Fitz. The occasional break won't do you any harm."

Leo slumped in his chair. "Alright. I'll knock up some bugs and take them along with me."

"We'd better disguise you first."

He stared at the hair dye and clippers. "Oh, hell no."

"You've already got blue eyes," Coulson said. "Give you blond hair, get you to smile more, and you'll be a regular Shirley Temple."

"I'm not going blond! I'd look terrible as a blond! And how many blond pianists can you name? Uh-huh, see?"

"I can't name any pianists, Fitz."

"Yeah, well, they've generally got darker hair," he mumbled.

"Good thing we've got other dyes." He put more on the table in front of Leo, who glared at him.

"I hate you."

"Cheer up, mate," Hunter said, grinning at him. "Maybe you won't get the job? The dye's only temporary. You'll be back to normal in no time."

His hair was more bristly than curly now, and Coulson had given him the closest shave in the history of man. He could still feel remnants of panic, because Coulson used a blade, not a safety razor like most intelligent people. It'd taken promises of very strong liquor afterwards, which he gladly accepted from Hunter.

"Are you auditioning?"

Leo looked up, and nodded at the man with forms. He filled his out swiftly, handed it in, and made note of all the visible security cameras while he waited for his name to be called.

"Jim Spears?"

"That's me," he said, proud that he didn't even pause. He hid his shaking hands in his pockets until he reached the piano. Once he was sitting, he gave his legs a moment to de-jellify themselves, and then touched the keys.

Everything came back to him. Without prompting, his hands went straight to 'Wedding Day at Troldhaugen', from the light-hearted opening and its intense passages, to the calmer bridge, and back to the lightness of the first part of the piece. Six minutes flew by, and he struck the last chord soundly without even realising that he'd reached the end of the piece until he registered the applause. He looked up slowly, and around, and then tried to slink off the stool. The manager, Alistair, stopped him.

"Wanna play something else for us?" he asked.

"I can… I can do something simpler. I know folk stuff. A-and golden, uh, g-golden oldies. Or 'Well-Tempered Clavier'?"

"Can you play something more complex than Baroque?"

Leo smiled. "Do you like Grieg?"

"Hell yeah."

He turned back to the keys. "Only the first movement. I don't want to, uh, waste time or anything…"

"Nonsense, Jim!" He was nearly bent over the keyboard by the slap to his back. "Go ahead and play."

It was probably ambitious to try Grieg's first piano concerto, but damned if he was going to stop himself when his hands were steady. His fingers bounced up to the top of the keys, then jumped down more rapidly until he reached the bass, before running up again…

He stopped after 'Well-Tempered Clavier', which he could still play with his eyes closed. Then he was sent away with a "We'll call you" and an enthusiastic handshake. He met Coulson and Hunter in the food court. They were staring at him.

"I knew you had it down as a hobby," Coulson said. "I had no idea you were a virtuoso."

"Not… not that good—"

"You bloody were," Hunter said. "Christ, mate, talk about light under a bushel."

Leo shrugged. "Can we go now?"

"Sure," Coulson said. "We'll talk back at HQ. Come on. Hey, we recorded the whole thing."

"Oh great, so I can critique myself later," he muttered. "Perfect."

"You were, mate," Hunter said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You absolutely were."

Long story short, while Leo watched the recording and bitched about his technique having 'gone to the dogs' – "I've really let myself go, my mum would be appalled" – Coulson laid out a map of the shopping centre and all the cameras they'd been able to locate.

"Seems that the mall's owner has a connection to HYDRA, because we found a few drop points, not to mention several hidden cameras on each floor."

"Thing is," Lance said, "your playing was a great distraction. D'you know how many people stopped what they were doing to go and watch, or just listen? Even if you don't get the job, and they get someone who can play half as well as you, it's enough to draw a crowd. More faces for the cameras, fewer people elsewhere."

"The pianos aren't going to be there forever," Leo said.

"But it might be long enough for our purposes," Coulson said. "Fitz, if you get the job, take it."

"Alright, but you'll have to get me used to answering to Jim Spears."

"If you trip up, pretend you're lost in the music," Hunter suggested.

"Not that hard to do."

"That was the third time you've played piano since you left Scotland when you were a teenager?" Coulson said.

"Uh, yeah. You were right. Muscle memory. Though practise would help. I wouldn't want to rely… but then it depends on whether I get the job. I mean, I probably won't. There'll be loads of people out there who can—"

"Got it covered," Coulson said. He hauled a box out of a shopping bag. "Bought this for you. Eighty-eight keys. More portable than a real piano."

"You bought me a roll-up keyboard," Leo said, staring at it.

"Just in case it helps."

"It…" He took it from Coulson. "It might. Thank you. I'll be careful with it."

Four weeks later

Jim Spears was a regular attraction at the shopping centre. He had his own little fan club, mainly senior citizens who met up on a regular basis, but apparently there was also a Facebook page, and he was thankful for his pretty pitiful disguise. It kept him safe…r.

"This is the piano guy?"

"Not the owner, just the demonstrator," he said, not looking up as he finished 'Puttin' on the Ritz'. "You interested in buying a piano?"

"Kinda need to replace my old one after… breaking it." Leo looked up, wondering how the hell someone could refer to breaking a piano so casually… and realised who he was staring at. After he'd picked his jaw up off the floor, he swivelled around on the stool and stared at Tony Stark.

"Oh. My. God," he said. Stark scoffed.

"Got a real god on our team," he said. "But sure, if you were involved in science I might be—"

"Your work in the area of robotics is absolutely inspiring," Leo said, nearly bouncing in place. "I have a-an interest myself, and some of my early designs… well, when I was nine, anyway, if we're considering that early, but I still won the science fair that year, and my early projects were named after you, and oh God this is starting to sound creepy I'll shut up now."

Bright red, he sat back down at the piano while Stark stared at him.

"Huh," he said.

"Is it true that an artificial intelligence runs your tower?" Leo asked. He couldn't stop himself, but he winced as soon as the question left his mouth. Stark cocked his head, his eyes narrowing.

"Where did you hear that?" he asked.

"Rumours, you know. Mainly listened because it's you, and… yeah, I'd better get back to playing. Still got ten minutes. So sorry. If you want to buy a piano, my boss is over there."

"Business must be booming," Stark said. "Heard about you, and finally convinced my best friend to let me come down among the common people and hear you in person."

"Uh-huh?" Leo fidgeted, trying to recall something which would take less than ten minutes. He settled on some of Satie's 'Gymnopédies', since they weren't terribly complicated, and half-smiled at the man who hurried up to Stark.

"Should've known you'd come straight here, instead of waiting at the information booth like you told me you were going to," he scolded. Leo tried not to get distracted, and thank God his hands knew to keep playing, because if he didn't know these pieces for memory he'd have gotten lost for sure.

"Rhodey, honeybear, I wanted to hear Jim play," Stark said.

"And I'll bet you interrupted him as well."

"Said he likes robotics. And now he's trying not to stare at you. Yeah, you. He wasn't side-eyeing me like that, and who wouldn't side-eye me?"

"Someone with taste?"

Leo snorted, and was glad to reach the end of the first piece. He'd have to find something he could give more attention to, so he wouldn't be caught ogling Colonel Rhodes. War Machine was right there, beside Iron Man. He must've been dreaming.

"Kid," Stark said. "When's your gig end?"

"Uh, I've not got long before the end of this shift, and then I'm done for the day," Leo said. Done at the piano, anyway. There was always something to do for Coulson, and today that included picking up a fresh loaf of bread, after the last one was sacrificed in some experiment which was supposed to be French toast, and… turned out wrong. To say the least.

"I mean the pianos." Stark rapped his knuckles against the top of one beside him. "Not gonna be here forever. Got anywhere else to go after this? I mean, you can't be earning all that much."

"Some things are worth more than money," Leo said defensively. "M-music is one of them."

"And what's another?" Stark said, making eye contact over the top of his glasses. Leo looked right back.

"Science," he said. He glanced at the clock. "Only a few minutes left. If you'll excuse me, I need to finish. Tomorrow's my last day, so." He shrugged. "I'll have to make it good for my regulars."

"Rhodey here likes music," Stark said, elbowing the colonel, who rolled his eyes. "He'll be heartbroken that we got here so late. We'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Not exactly a safe thing to do, Tony," Rhodes said.

"Do you take requests, kid?"

"I c-can do," Leo said. "But I don't know whether it's your type of music." Rhodes tilted his head, smiling.

"Why don't you play something for me, then?" he asked.

"Rhodey's tastes are more conservative," Stark said, like that was a bad thing. But that's not what Leo was focussing on. He was focussing on the words. His words.

"Would you like an intermezzo?" he said to Colonel Rhodes. The man's jaw dropped, and so did Stark's, before he grinned.

"Told you it was a good idea to come here, didn't I?" he said, elbowing Rhodes, who quickly cleared his throat.

"Yeah, whatever you wanna play," he said. "Your favourite."

"My favourite," Leo echoed. He turned back to the keys, his heart racing, and played the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana. He received plenty of applause at the end, and realised that, shy as he was, he'd miss this after tomorrow. Apparently piano sales had quadrupled on the previous year thanks to him. He'd received free sheet music along with his agreed-upon earnings. But he'd miss making people happy like this, and having an excellent reason to play piano every day. If he played after this, it would be on a roll-up keyboard, and only when there was time.

"Time for you to clock off, kid," Alistair said. "Good work today, Jim."

"Thank you, sir," Leo said. Stark snorted.

"That'll be interesting," he said. "Both of you with the same first name."

Leo coughed, and stood up. He bowed to his fan club, who were all crying. Probably thanks to the intermezzo. Damn Mascagni for writing it. One of Leo's favourites, and enough to reduce anyone to tears.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Rhodes asked. Leo realised he was being addressed, and nodded.

"I'll just get my things, and be with you in a moment," he said, scurrying for the 'staff section' of the fenced display. He could barely string two sensible thoughts together, and nearly had a heart attack when his phone rang. "H-hello?"

"Were you just talking to Tony Stark?"

"Hi, sir," Leo said. "Yeah. About music. And his friend Colonel Rhodes is…" He lowered his voice. "My soulmate."

"…Fuck."

"I'll pretend you didn't just say that. Sorry, but I've got to go. I'll check back in as soon as I can."

He hung up and stowed his phone in his music bag, before slinging it over his shoulder and approaching Rhodes and Stark.

"I'm ready to go," he said.

"Great!" Stark said. "You're drinking age, right?"

"Yeah."

"Of course he is, Tony, you know when I got my mark," Rhodes said, punching Stark on the shoulder.

"I was drunk at the time. I don't even remember where we were."

Leo allowed himself to be steered through the shopping centre. They were about to pass the bakery when he remembered.

"Oh! I just have to get a loaf of bread. We've run out." He hurried to the counter, followed by Rhodes.

"'We'?" he said.

"Yeah, well, I don't live alone," Leo said. "Like Mr. Stark said, not earning much here. I couldn't afford to live by myself unless it was in a hovel, not on what I make playing the piano for a few hours a day." He picked out a loaf and half a dozen sweet rolls, and paid for them, before thanking the baker politely.

"Do you have any other work?" Rhodes asked.

"I'm, uh, I'm a scientist."

"I can't escape them! I hope you're easier to look after than the disasters at the tower."

"That sounds ominous."

"You're about to find out just how bad," Stark said. "We're taking you there."

"What?"

"So you can meet the rest of the team!"

"Tony, no," Rhodes said.

"I'm trying to find a Jim Spears involved with science," Stark said, running his fingers over the screen of his tablet. Or StarkPad, if the rumours about the new product were true.

"It's… it's my stage name," Leo said. "Not my real name."

"Thank God for that, or calling you 'Jim' in certain situations could sound really narcissistic," Rhodes said. "So what's your real name?"

"L—" His phone rang, and he answered it with an apologetic smile. Saved by the ring-tone. "I told you I'd call back when I could. Oh, I've got the bread."

"We need you back here now, Fitz. Something big has come up."

"You're kidding me."

"I'm not."

"But—"

"Don't worry, we'll be there tomorrow. Along with God knows how many HYDRA operatives. Seems like the people at the centre are going to be used as test subjects for their latest destructive experiment."

Leo swore. "I'll be there soon."

"We're waiting outside. I'm in the backseat so I can hide. Hunter's driving."

"God help us all." He hung up, and sighed. Then he smiled bitterly at Rhodes. "I'll be here tomorrow, but… there's an emergency. I have to go. Meet me before I start in the morning?"

"Yeah, okay," Rhodes said, frowning. Leo hesitated, then darted forward and kissed him on the lips, before hurrying through the crowd and to the front doors. Jesus, he hoped that wasn't out of line. Well, if it drove him away, it was probably best for both of them.

Hunter was indeed outside, window down and scowling. Leo leapt into the passenger seat, greeting both of them as he buckled himself in, and glanced back in time to see Rhodes and Stark both emerge from the shopping centre as they drove off.

"HYDRA isn't just going to use biological weapons, similar to the ICER-based gas used on our base, but they've still got supers on their side," Coulson said. "Mike's going to be with us, and I managed to get a message to May. Simmons will send a formula to us which should nullify the effects of most harmful gases, in case we can't stop it in time, and General Talbot's been informed that the army may be needed."

"Do we have gas masks?" Leo said. "I know I can't wear one, probably couldn't get to my bag in time to grab one if I stowed it there. But if you two are safe…"

"May will bring whatever she can and meet us outside just after the shops open. We don't know when HYDRA's planning to strike."

"Um… Colonel Rhodes will be there. Which means that Iron Man might be. And… possibly the others, after they find out that I'm his… you know…"

"Good job scoring Iron Patriot as your soulmate, by the way," Hunter said, tipping the neck of his beer towards Leo. "Kudos."

"It's not something I planned, Hunter."

"No, but you've gotta admit that you got lucky in the soulmate department."

Leo pointed a finger at Coulson without even looking at him. "And not a word about it being useful. I will not do that to my soulmate."

"Understood," Coulson said, a hint of mope in his voice.

Without a clue of when the biological attack was supposed to take place, or any attack at all, Leo could only keep his bag near his feet and start the day with 'March of the Dwarves' (which made him wish Jemma was there). He played some jazz and classic musicals, a lullaby when a group of mums with toddlers were nearby, as well as anything else he could think of to fill in time. He wanted to end the day with the first movement of Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto, but chances were that it wouldn't happen.

"Here's some Disney for the lunchtime crowd," Alistair told him, putting a spiral-bound set of music on the piano stand. Leo nodded. "You're doing great, Jim."

"Thanks, sir."

"Go have your break."

He nodded, and trotted off to the food court, wondering when Colonel Rhodes would turn up. Surely it had to be sometime soon? They were supposed to be meet beforehand, but there'd been no sign of Leo's soulmate. Were they mistaken? Had something terrible happened? Damn it. His early lunch was like ashes in his mouth, and his drink was tasteless. Until he knew why Rhodes hadn't shown, he was going to worry about it. The only way to avoid trembling hands was to find something complex to play. Hopefully Disney would fit that bill.

Half an hour into the lunch programme, there'd been an increase in the crowd nearby, especially of children. Alistair led more than one sing-along, while Leo waited for some kind of message from Coulson or Hunter, to say whether they'd had word about an attack.

"For Disney fun, go listen to Jim Spears, our popular piano player, and join in with your favourite songs!" came from the shopping centre speakers. "Free candy for the kids! Only an hour left."

"Big crowd," Alistair said, thumping Leo's back as usual. "Busiest time of day, right near the food court, all the school holiday children and your old fan club. Young and old, enjoying the same music. Fitz, you can hold the crowd for twenty minutes, right? Gotta grab the candy."

"Yeah, sure," he said absently. It wasn't until Alistair had left that he finished 'Reflection', and considered the man's words and the announcement.

Busiest time of day. An hour left. Candy for the kids. Big crowd. Young and old. Twenty minutes.

He used my real name.

"Shit!" he hissed, grabbing his phone from his bag. He called Coulson.

"Yes, Fitz?"

"I think it's going to happen near here pretty soon," he said. "Alistair's in on it. I'm playing Disney, for Christ's sake. Children, Coulson. And elderly people. They're the most vulnerable, and they're all hear to listen to me. Less than twenty minutes."

"Shit. I'm sending Hunter to you. Are there any nearby vents?"

"Yeah, above the food court, only twenty feet away. A big one."

"Can you get up there?"

"Not without a ladder."

"Hunter will help you. Simmons finally got the formula to us, and we added it to that device you created, to filter anything released through the vents. But if it's going to be concentrated where you are, you need to start there."

"The announcer might be in on it, too."

"Yes, we heard the announcement over the speakers, but the meaning didn't register until now. Good work, Fitz. Just keep playing until Hunter gets there, unless there's any immediate danger."

"Alright," he said, and he hung up. There were clamours for more music, so he flipped a page and began to play 'Baby Mine'. How macabre.

He was halfway through 'Let's Go Fly a Kite' when Hunter came running up with a shopping bag. As soon as the song was finished, he gestured Hunter over, and looked down into the bag.

"It's set," Hunter said. "You just have to get it in place and start it up."

"I know how to operate it. I built it, remember?"

"Alright, mate, alright. Only you might want to get on."

"I'm not supposed to take a break yet. And even if you gave me a boost, could I get up to the vent and open it?"

"All the vents open with a flathead screwdriver this." He held one up.

"But if I go too early HYDRA will know."

"I've got my mask, you've got yours. It can't spread that quickly, can it?"

Leo shrugged. "Just sit over there, under the vent. If it starts, call for me, get your mask on, and we'll deal with the problem."

"Roger that."

As Hunter walked off, Leo turned a few pages to find something sufficiently distracting for the crowd. 'Circle of Life' was one everybody knew.

It seemed like an age passed, but was only a few songs before he heard Hunter call his name. He looked up, saw some kind of gas slowly emerging from the vent, and immediately stopped playing.

"Everybody, get down and cover your mouths!" he shouted. He grabbed the gas mask from his bag, hauled it on, then picked up the bag and ran towards the vent. Hunter handed him the screwdriver, and it was actually quite easy to get the grate up and get inside. A bit hard to see, but he followed the trail of the thickest clouds of smoke. When he reached the source, the big fan blowing everything out, he sat with his back pressed to it, to block the fog, pulled out and started up the filtering device, then turned around and clipped it on. He scrabbled back the way he'd come until he found the drop point, and got ready to jump down. Hunter caught him by the legs and lowered him to the ground.

"Well done, mate," he said.

"Thanks, Hunter." He looked around, where people were pale and coughing, but alive.

"Let's get them to safety," Hunter said.

"Is the rest of the shopping centre any safer?"

"Coulson was going to cut the security cameras long enough for this. We'll still have time to get them out through the emergency exit."

"Good thing we're on ground level," Leo remarked.

"You can't stay pissed off forever," Clint pointed out. Rhodey was still staring out the window. "Technically, he didn't lie to you—"

"I know," he said.

Tony had woken Rhodey in the middle of the night to say that he'd recognised the pianist's face, and when searching the name didn't help he tried facial recognition with JARVIS, but the kid rarely looked at the security cameras. After four cups of strong coffee and two more of tea, he finally looked through child genius files he'd created at one point, found his profile of Leo Fitz, and looked for him elsewhere.

Nothing. Which meant that either he'd changed his name soon after – unlikely – or he'd joined a secret organisation which wiped his records. When he couldn't find Fitz in any of the intelligence files he hacked, he came to the conclusion that the kid worked for a shady organisation like SHIELD, only there was no more SHIELD.

But HYDRA was still out there.

After that horrific conclusion was reached, Rhodey had proceeded to shoot the hell out of things on the range, to the point that Clint had hypocritically suggested that Rhodey stop taking out his anger on the many, many targets in the room.

"When you assume, you make an ass outta you and me," Steve piped up, from where he was reading Silence of the Lambs.

"You know that's not a farm animal book, right?" Tony said, pointing at it.

"Since it's the sequel to Red Dragon, yeah, I guessed as much."

"Problems," Natasha said, walking into the room. "HYDRA-shaped problems. That mall you visited yesterday? There's been a biological attack. The worst hit area was the northern food court. No casualties, and several HYDRA agents were arrested. It would've been worse, but someone found out what was going to happen and averted the worst of the crisis."

"Definitely no casualties?" Rhodey asked over his shoulder.

"Unless you count the HYDRA agents who were gassed when their fire was returned."

"I'm going," Steve said. "Got some bones of my own to pick with HYDRA."

"Me too," Clint said, hopping off the sofa. Rhodey clenched his fists.

"I'll come, too," he said.

At the site, the whole mall had been closed for the rest of the day. The army – how'd they get involved? – were throwing the last of the handcuffed agents into the back of a van. General Talbot was there, and Rhodey saluted.

"Colonel, what're you doing here?" Talbot asked.

"We don't like HYDRA," Rhodey said. "Why're you here? Is this an army matter?"

"We don't like HYDRA, either," Talbot said. "Phil Coulson gives the best presents." He turned his head to call one of his men to start driving the prisoners away. "I'd better leave now, Colonel Rhodes. Didn't know this was an Avengers matter."

"What'd you say about Phil Coulson?" Clint said. Rhodey heard the anger in his voice.

"He sends me people to deal with, I keep other people off SHIELD's back," Talbot said. "You should see some of the prisoners we have thanks to him. So long, Colonel."

They saluted each other, and Talbot strode off. Rhodey turned to the Avengers, who all looked furious.

"You can't stay pissed off forever," he said, echoing Clint's earlier words. The archer punched his arm.

"It's impossible," Natasha said. "I saw his body before the funeral. It was him."

"Find answers later," Rhodey said. "Help victims now."

Bruce was particularly popular, and they all stayed vigilant, keeping an eye out for Coulson. And in Rhodey's case, for Leo Fitz.

"Jim fixed it," one girl said. "He was playing the piano, then he was climbing up into the ceiling."

"Whatever he did, it stopped the gas from spreading," the girl's father said. "Thank God he was there."

"Yeah," Rhodey said, half-smiling. "Have you seen him around?"

"No. He took off, along with the guy who helped him, pretty soon after the military got here. Saw them with another guy, one in a suit. He spoke to… I'm pretty sure that was General Talbot."

"It sure was. So you haven't seen him at all since then?"

"No. It's a real shame, because we all wanted to thank him for saving us."

"And he's not coming back again," the girl said, pouting.

"Well, thanks for telling me," Rhodey said, before returning to Tony's side. "Looks like my soulmate might work for Coulson."

"Least he's not a bad guy, if that's the case." Tony was frowning as he examined something which looked like a mini air-conditioning vent. "This was the filter which stopped the gas from spreading. Fitz must've designed it."

"Is it good?"

"As good as anything I could make, and I'll bet you he doesn't have the same standard of resources. I'll get Bruce to look at the remaining liquid in the tube."

"Yeah, well, screw that," Rhodey said. "I wanna find my soulmate."

"We'll get around to that."

"No, Tony. I was supposed to be here this morning to meet him, and I didn't because I thought… `cause I made a mistake. I need to find him."

"Relax. I know just how to find him."

"Well, we screwed that up," Leo said.

"In what way?" Hunter said. "Those people would possibly be dead. Certainly a hell of a lot sicker than they are now."

"We're sending Simmons in to help find a cure, if there are lasting effects," Coulson said. "At least they didn't use a Diviner to poison everyone. That'd be fatal."

"Yes, thank you, we didn't need reminding of that," Leo muttered.

"Phil?"

"That'll be Maria," Coulson said, standing up. "Hunter, have you met Agent Hill?"

"Not yet."

"Well, you're about to."

They heard the door open and Coulson swear. Hunter was out of his chair and across the room in a second, grabbing a gun on the way, and Leo tensed.

"Came to return your little filtration system, Agent," someone announced loudly. Oh dear. He'd heard that voice yesterday. "And find Rhodey's soulmate. Where are you, Fitz?"

He sank back in his chair, even more nervous now, and waited for Colonel Rhodes to walk into the room. Tony Stark led the way, followed by Coulson and Agent Hill, then Rhodes and Hunter.

"I expected a more technical way of finding us," Coulson said. "You pestered Maria?"

"Simple can be beautiful," Stark said. "There he is! Rhodey, I told you I'd find you your soulmate. You can thank me later. Now, Agent, there's this group of people I'm part of, called the Avengers. You might remember us? We want you over for dinner, mainly so we can chew you out…"

They went back outside, and Leo was left with his soulmate.

"You d-didn't show up this morning," he said.

"Tony found out who you were, and we thought you were HYDRA," Rhodes said. "We didn't know SHIELD was back up and running."

"That's… a complicated matter."

"Can I sit down?"

Leo gestured to a seat, but didn't leave his spot. "What'd you want to see me about?"

"I came to apologise for standing you up."

"That's alright. Not the first time it's happened to me. Well, I mean, first time from my soulmate, but—"

"Which is inexcusable."

"Eh." He waved a hand dismissively. "You thought I was one of the bad guys. Good a reason as any to stay away."

"I think I should tell you that my soulmark for you is damn near white."

Leo's heart sank. "Oh."

"Which means non-platonic."

"Because… oh, right! Like it being black for me, because…" He flushed as he tried to come up with the right words.

"Because of the different skin tone," Rhodes said, smiling.

"I never thought… I never gave much thought to what my soulmate would actually be like physically. I was more worried about whether they'd like me than what they'd look like. Studied different musical instruments but preferred the piano."

"Because of your soulmark?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to find you. But then I was picked for SHIELD. I knew I'd get back to music one day, since I hadn't found you yet, but I wasn't sure when that would be. Then HYDRA forced us into hiding, and I almost gave up hope, especially when I hadn't found you while playing… You've no idea just how gobsmacked I was to find out it was you. Then I… Christ, I'm sorry for kissing you like that. I wasn't even sure whether… I mean, DADT—"

"Was a means of discouraging people from cheating on their soulmates, at least towards the end," Rhodes said. "Most of the men I work with don't care about sexuality, only about being faithful to your soulmate. And I would be, I promise."

"So would I."

"So… this is really where you're living?"

"We've not got an active base at the moment. We'll move as soon as—"

"I'm pretty sure after the Avengers get their hands on your boss, he won't be leaving Stark Tower anytime soon," Rhodes said, leaning towards Leo. "You could come with me… with us."

"R-really?"

"Like I said, white mark means non-platonic. If you're not averse…"

"No! No, my God, definitely not averse. Far from it. I jumped you yesterday. Wasn't that enough of a hint?"

"I don't know," Rhodes said, slowly starting to smirk. "Maybe you should try to convince me just how 'not averse' you are?"

"If that chair is strong enough, I'll convince you right now."

"You're on."

Leo moved over to him. "Oh no, not on. Not yet." He sat astride Rhodes's lap, testing the strength of the chair. Good. "Now I'm on."

"I look forward to doing this with far less clothing."

'Jim Spears' came from Phil's middle initial J and from Hunter's first name (lance equals spear). And we know a piano tuner by that name, which just added to it.

So! Chapter written. Chapter posted. It's been a busy day, and I keep coming up with more chapter ideas. (And you people keep suggesting more ships, which is nice in its way, but also frustrating, and I don't know whether I'll be able to write everything you want me to.)

Please review! Tell me what you think of Ritz. ;) Name suggested by ozhawk.