"In a Shack"

Oh God, this was the last field assignment Leo Fitz did. Ever. Running through some Scandinavian forest from who-knows-what, well aware that experiments had resulted in certain mythical creatures apparently coming to life. Any snapped twig nearby could mean a chimera about to charge, rustling trees could mean a dragon about to swoop down…

That roaring sound could mean anything bad. Where the hell was a unicorn when he needed one? Leo was perfectly entitled to attract a unicorn, damn it!

He stopped where he was, looked around, and waited for his comm. unit to crackle to life. Still nothing, no matter how much he tapped it. And it was getting darker, and the trees weren't helping, and he never should've read the Harry Potter books, because now he was fully expecting a Blast-Ended Skrewt to come running through the woods.

Oh God. Sif once mentioned a bilgesnipe. They sounded absolutely horrible. What if one of those had been summoned down to Earth? They sounded more terrifying than any old Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"Shit," he said. He couldn't even remember the direction he'd come from.

This time the roar was much closer. To hell with waiting. He began to run like mad, away from the loud, rumbling sound. There were shrieks, and he tripped over a tree root like he was in some fucking horror film. Really? A tree root? Was he a blonde woman with perky breasts and some ridiculous nickname that was supposed to elicit sympathy from the viewers, and instead made him grit his teeth and think calmly about shaggy-haired dreamboats like Bruce Banner…

Leo managed to force himself to run further, ignoring the branches scratching at his arms and wishing he'd stayed in his lab and not allowed himself to be dragged into this weird Hollywood representation of a secret agent's life. Could it get any more clichéd?

Well, he supposed it could if his soulmate saved him from certain death at the very last moment, but what were the odds of that happening?

"Not good, not good, not good," he chanted. His chest felt like it wanted to burst open, like his lungs were on fire and his legs were… no, no, no! If he thought about it, it'd just hurt more, and he couldn't afford to be distracted like that. Couldn't be brought down, not while there was still so much to do, when his team needed him. When they finally needed him again, someone needed…

The ground trembled, and he stumbled into a tree. This time he definitely saw at least one unnatural creature approaching. They might not have seen him yet, and… that was the sound of water. Leo ran as lightly as he could until he found a creek. Perfect! It'd mask his scent. Yeah, there'd be some splashing, but how could the animals possibly hear that over the racket they were making?

"Christ!" he hissed. The water was bloody cold. He winced as he submerged himself, and then hid on the bank.

…Okay, maybe the water wasn't all that good an idea. He'd catch his death at this rate, and it'd be his own bloody fault, not something elegant like being… being torn apart by mythological creatures 'revived' by science. Slightly less embarrassing than dying of the sniffles, especially for a SHIELD agent. Or, y'know, whatever he was.

More roars, more shrieks, and the ground rumbled again. Leo shivered, curling up in place near the water. If his comm. unit wasn't working before, it probably wouldn't work now. It was supposed to be waterproof, but the way his luck was going…

A wave crashed over him, and a giant, green face appeared in his vision. Seconds later, the Hulk (what was he doing here?) picked Leo up and began to run with him. The wind shooting past them chilled him to the bone, and everything seemed to be going dark around him. He was treading the line between consciousness and unconsciousness when the Hulk finally came to a skidding stop. Leo didn't even have the energy to grab hold of a finger, and tumbled to the ground as Bruce Banner shrank back to normal. The doctor immediately cradled him, beginning to feel around the back of Leo's head.

"Thanks for saving me," Leo mumbled. "You're even more gorgeous in person, you know that?"

One particular probe uncovered a bump on the head he didn't know he had. He thought Dr. Banner might have said something, but sleep seemed like such a good idea…

The words ran around and around in Bruce's mind as he carried the water-logged boy to the shack Bruce knew was there. It was one of those places he'd located in case he needed to hide post-battle. Tony would leave him alone for three days, or until Bruce called him, whichever came first. He managed to lie the boy down, and searched for blankets for both of them. The Other Guy prevented Bruce from falling sick, but he couldn't say the same for the stranger who'd said his soulmark. A fire was easily lit in the fireplace, and then he dragged the wet clothes off the young man, uncovering SHIELD tech. He set it aside, and used a blanket to dry him off, and then another to wrap him up. Maybe he wouldn't leave it three days to call for Tony to pick him up. Not if another person's health was at stake.

Bruce had seen the writing on the skin just above the navel. It was his, the words he'd said as the stranger lost consciousness. Hopefully he wouldn't remember what Bruce had said, because despite the fact that the 'boy' was possibly a SHIELD agent, he didn't need to be saddled with Bruce's… problems. Especially the big green one, even though the Hulk rescued him. Why would he do that? Clearly long exposure to the Avengers was… helping in some way.

But that didn't matter. Right now, what mattered most was keeping the young man safe.

…And finding out his name. Pity they couldn't kit the Hulk out with comms, and it looked like something had short-circuited the wires in the SHIELD tech. He felt around and grabbed the communicator sewn into the pocket of Bruce's purple pants. He activated it and set it aside, knowing it'd take a couple of hours to warm up. Tony kept saying that he needed to fix that, but Bruce liked knowing that he had enough time to reconsider summoning help, and kept the communicator away from Tony's grabby engineer hands.

He sifted through the rest of the things he'd pulled out of the strange… his soulmate's pockets. A new SHIELD-issue card with the name Leo Fitz. He perched on the bed and gently shook Leo's (?) shoulder.

"Hey, wake up," he said. "Not good for you to sleep if you have concussion. Come on."

He grumbled softly, then said, "Go `way."

"Not happening. I need to check your eyes. Open up."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a doctor, and I said so." Blue eyes cracked open and squinted at him. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Fitz."

"Got a first name?"

"Leo. Most people call me Fitz."

"I'm Bruce. I'll let you rest, but you have to let me examine you while you're awake."

"…Bruce?"

"That's right. Now tell me if anything hurts."

He poked and prodded as carefully as he could, forcing his eyes not to land on the soulmark. If he thought too much about it, he'd want to do or say something, and he couldn't.

"The Hulk… he was… he saved me."

"I know, Fitz."

About half a minute later, he was pulled down by the shoulder and came nose-to-nose with his patient.

"You're Bruce Banner," Fitz whispered.

"Yes. You've heard of me."

"Such a crush on you, you wouldn't believe." Fitz smiled dopily as he flopped back down onto the covers. Bruce didn't really know what to say to that. It would've been the ideal opportunity to say 'Guess what, we're soulmates', or something along those lines, but he didn't. Something stirred inside him, something angry, but he pushed it back down. Now wasn't the time to let the Other Guy out, not when it hadn't been even half an hour since he'd changed back.

"Do you work for SHIELD?" Bruce asked, taking advantage of the kid's weariness. A necessary evil.

"Yeah, or something like it," he said. "S'posed to be SHIELD, but stuff happened. Have to… get back to…" Bruce stroked his hair absently, and Fitz smiled. "To Coulson. That's nice. Nice dream."

"You're awake," Bruce said. "Come on, Fitz. Stay with me. I'll let you sleep when you're no longer in danger of hypothermia."

"Hold me? If it's a dream…"

Bruce sighed, and climbed onto the bed behind Fitz. He pulled his soulmate close, knowing that it would be the reverse position when— if they bonded, which they wouldn't, of course they wouldn't. Even though his soulmark itched on his back, he knew it wasn't going to happen. He had to keep telling himself that.

The minutes, then hours dragged on. Bruce did everything he could to keep Fitz warm without removing the barriers between them, keeping him awake with murmured questions about his work, and blushing each time Fitz said something complimentary about Bruce's own work. Or, much more embarrassing, something about his physique, and what Fitz would gladly do if he was awake and Bruce was amenable and if Fitz wasn't waiting for his soulmate before going all the way.

"Shh." Bruce heard the engines of the Quinjet long before it landed, giving him time to slip some of the drier clothes back onto Fitz, to preserve his modesty until they could get something better. He switched off the communicator, tucked it into his pocket, and put out the fire. By the time someone was knocking at the door, he had picked Fitz up and was doing one last check.

"You in there, Brucey-Bear?"

"Door's unlocked, Tony," Bruce said, rolling his eyes. The door swung open, and Tony strolled in. He raised his eyebrows.

"Rescuing damsels-in-distress now?" he said. "What would a male damsel be?"

"He was in the water. He needs to get into dry clothes as soon as possible."

"Come on. I'm sure there'll be something on board."

Bruce followed Tony to the jet, and was grateful for the camp bed they set up. He placed Fitz on it gently, and touched his hair again.

"You're safe now," he said. "Get some rest."

"Mmm-hmm," Fitz hummed, and he snuggled under the extra blankets.

"He works for SHIELD," Bruce said when everyone just stared at him. "He mentioned the name Coulson. It… it wouldn't be him, would it?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Clint grumbled from the cockpit. "Death doesn't stick the way it used to."

Leo was talking to Jemma for two solid minutes about what had happened when his brain stuttered to a halt.

"Oh my God," he said, blushing red as a tomato. "Bruce Banner saved me."

"The Hulk saved you," Jemma corrected.

"No, no, after that! And all I could do was flirt with him." He covered his eyes. "My first and only conversation with him, and I had to go and tell him…" When he recalled some of the phrases he used, he was fairly sure he would die of embarrassment.

"What? What did you say to him?"

"Uh, p-probably the tamest thing was when I rhapsodised about his chest hair."

"Fitz!"

"I know, I know!" He rubbed his eyes. "Bloody hell, I must have sounded like the world's worst pervert."

"Oh, Fitz." She squeezed his hand. "No. The world's best pervert, perhaps. I mean, how many people would go to the trouble of rhapsodising about another person's chest hair?"

"Have you ever seen him half-naked?" Leo said, finally lowered his hands and gazing dreamily into space.

"No, Fitz, I haven't."

"Well, I have, and all I can say is that he's even more beautiful in the flesh than in pictures. Mmm."

"Perhaps… this is something you can think about later? When I'm not in the same room as you?"

"Eh, not like anything'd come from it," Leo said, waving his hand. "I'm waiting for my soulmate an' that's final."

"Of course."

"No matter how gorgeous Bruce Banner is."

"Whatever you say, Fitz."

He glared at her smiling face out of the corner of his eye. "I hate you sometimes."

"You're the one with a huge crush on a man who doesn't work in your field of science."

"I understand enough from you. We could hold conversations…" He was feeling sleepy again. "But he's not mine to want. Should stop this…"

His eyes drifted shut, and the last thing he remembered was Jemma patting his hand.

Jemma glanced up, did a double-take, and leapt to her feet.

"Dr. Banner!" she exclaimed. He looked at Fitz pointedly, and she quietened down.

"I'm just here to check on your friend," he said. "Good thing he's asleep."

"If he could apologise without stammering, I'm sure he'd be only too delighted to tell you how sorry he was for everything he said."

"It's alright. He was cold and tired and injured. People aren't always at their most coherent when their defences are down like that."

"No," she said, looking down at her friend. "I suppose not."

"The, uh, the rest of the Avengers are on their way here," the doctor said, pointing over his shoulder. "I'll head back with them, just in case… in case he asked."

"Oh no, please stay," she said. "I'd like to talk with you, and I know Fitz would love to look at you. His crush is terribly serious, I'm afraid. He'd never consider… 'being' with anyone who wasn't his soulmate, but you're the exception to the rule."

He chuckled uncertainly. "Tell him… not to worry. We won't hang around long. It was nice meeting you, Agent Simmons."

No. That wasn't an uncertain giggle. It was a nervous one. And he couldn't wait to get away. Surely he wasn't…

Quickly, Jemma moved in front of the doctor and glared at him.

"It's you, isn't it?" she said. "I know Fitz's words, and they'd fit what you might have said when rescuing him. The writing of his soulmark is as awful as any doctor, and I'm betting that it would match yours. You would've seen his soulmark, he would've spoken your words… The question is, why don't you want him?" She rested her fists on her hips and waited for an answer.

"I don't know what you're—"

"Not the right answer. If you weren't his soulmate, you'd still know what I was talking about, only you wouldn't play dumb. You'd straight-out deny it. The fact that you're not doing that is telling."

"…Agent Simmons—"

"Is Fitz your soulmate?" He hesitated. "Tell me the truth!"

He sighed. "Yes. But I don't want to drag a nice kid like him—"

"We're both of us only a few years off thirty, I'll have you know."

"Into the mess that's my life. Code Green is the Other Guy. I'm the semi-sentient battering ram and killing machine that the Avengers crank out when they need more muscle than just Thor and Steve. I'm more helpful as a monster than I am as a scientist anymore. Anything I do in my field of work, my real work, is hidden under a generic name and listed as someone who works for Stark Industries. I'm not the man I was before."

"Fitz knows all that, and he's still been half in love with you for over a decade. Longer than I've known him! We eventually bonded over a mutual respect for your work, although he… oh my God, I should've seen it. He used to doodle your initials in the margins of his workbooks, or the corners of blueprints in the early days."

"My initials?"

"And his. Separated by a plus sign and surrounded by a heart-shape. Not a real heart, of course, Fitz can get a bit squeamish about… never mind. But I should've seen the signs. Normally level-headed people who get left-field crushes on someone they've never met—"

"Often turn out to be soulmates," he finished. "I've heard that. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm no one's ideal soulmate."

"You're his, otherwise he wouldn't have your handwriting on him, and vice versa." He still looked unsure. "Sit down by the bed and tell him when he wakes up again. If the two of you aren't kissing the next time I see you, I shall be very disappointed. Unless… you don't want a non-platonic relationship?"

"It's not up to me," he said, shrugging. "It's up to the Other Guy."

"The other…? Oh, right. Um, I'd rather Fitz not be turned into a pancake."

"I wouldn't let that happen." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I'll talk with him, but I can't get his hopes up. It wouldn't be fair. And what if it's awkward? He's had feelings for me for a long time—"

"And he's a bit of a fanboy."

"So…"

She touched his arm. "The two of you have to feel your way around this, but I'm sure you'll manage."

He looked towards the bed, and then nodded. "Thank you, Agent Simmons."

"You're welcome, Dr. Banner. Don't mess it up."

"I wouldn't dare."

There was no point in hiding it as they waited for the last Avengers to arrive. Tony and Clint had picked up Bruce and Fitz, leaving the others to head back to base, only to turn right around and head for the Playground as soon as Tony reported that Phil was not only alive, but head of New SHIELD.

Thor was the only one smiling of the three original Avengers approaching Phil. In fact he was grinning widely, which Phil chalked up to Thor being grateful when anyone turned out not to be dead. Even Loki being alive had bolstered him, despite the alien being slightly… psychotic.

"Hi," Phil said to them, giving the three a short wave. Thor laughed.

"It cheers me to know that you are alive, Son of Coul," he said, clapping Phil on his back and nearly sending him sprawling. "If only every ally could be thus restored to us."

"Not a way I would recommend to anyone," Phil said, patting Thor's hand still resting on his shoulder. "But thank you."

Natasha walked up to him, and Phil fully expected a punch, something along those lines. Instead she gave him a short, tight hug.

"Don't ever do that again," she whispered. Then she pulled back, her eyes suspiciously wet, and it brought a lump to Phil's throat as she set her jaw and backed off. It just left Captain Rogers, who shook his head.

"That's all you have to say to us?" he said. "After all this time thinking you were dead, that's all you have to say? 'Hi'?"

Shit, Phil hadn't even been thinking when he'd said 'Hi'. Of course he'd wondered about the soulmark which had formed when he came back to life. It wasn't noted on his records, and he hadn't told anyone. Anyone who'd known that he didn't have a soulmark before presumed that he… well, 'didn't have a soul' would be putting it harshly, but it certainly gave credence to the rumours that he was a robot. Maybe the TAHITI Project, what he went through, gave him a soul? Or maybe he had to die fully to receive his soulmark? After all, anyone else would have gained a new soulmate under the same circumstances.

He'd hoped it was Audrey, since she'd been blank, but he knew it wasn't her handwriting.

No. Apparently Steve Rogers was his soulmate.

Goddamnit.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office," he said quietly, directing it at his team, and he escaped before anyone could stop him.

As long as he didn't say anything to the captain, he'd never know. Sure, some of the hero worship was there, because Steve Rogers was a hero, an extraordinary person, but Phil had been reminded that he was also human. He'd had time to think before confronting Loki, about the fact that the man behind the suit was grieving and discombobulated, and Phil wouldn't have helped that.

Well, there was no point in dwelling on his behaviour. One-sided soulmarks were possible. Rare, but there were cases, although it was usually a non-platonic bond. Just because his crush on the captain had dimmed after being blown off the second, it didn't mean he couldn't yearn for someone. Of course his ideal man would be…

No. Each time Phil met someone he hadn't spoken to since TAHITI, he'd say 'Hi' and wait for their reaction. It was impossible that Captain America – or the man behind the suit – would be his soulmate.

Jemma poked her head around the corner and looked at Skye, who was scowling at the scene before them.

"…no need to act like that."

"Why was I the only one to greet him with a kind word?"

"He lied to us!"

"That's no excuse, Steve, and you know it!"

"What's happening?" she asked Skye.

"Captain America yelled at DC for keeping the whole being-alive thing from them, and now the others are pissed, even though Hawkeye and Iron Man were also mean to him. Thor's the only one who smiled. The Black Widow hugged him, though, which was really unexpected, kinda sweet, and pretty scary all rolled into one."

Jemma leaned into Skye's side. "I keep wondering what it would be like if my parents found out that I was alive. What would their first reaction be? Disbelief? Happiness? Anger? I like to think they'd be a bit incredulous, but mainly happy and surprised. If they were angry at me I'd never forgive myself, and I'd certainly never want to darken their doorstep again. Then possibly go on a drinking binge and drunk-call for you to pick me up. Or go home with a stranger and hope it's not a HYDRA agent sent to kill me."

"One of us would go with you," Skye said.

It was then they noticed the silence, and the Avengers staring at them.

"Your parents think you're dead?" Captain Rogers said. Jemma tilted her chin up.

"Yes," she said. "It was necessary, to protect them from HYDRA. Coulson can't have his happy ending either, not while HYDRA is around. His soulmate thinks he's dead, and… if you heard me mention my parents, then you'll no doubt have heard the rest. Just think about how much he's hurting."

"Coulson doesn't have a soulmark," Barton said.

"Yes, he does."

"He doesn't. Not… not before."

"Well, he does now. I've seen it." She shrugged at their raised eyebrows. "I'm the team's physician. It's fairly accusing as well. Whoever his soulmate is, they don't deserve him, not if they're going to be so confrontational."

"What does it say?" Skye asked. "Come on. Don't make me hack the security footage."

Jemma frowned, trying to remember. "Uh, 'That's all you have to say?' is the first sentence. Then something about thinking that Coulson was dead. It ends with 'Hi'?, at least the question mark is certainly implied."

Everyone else stared at Captain Rogers. She hoped he was feeling guilty.

"That's not what I came here to tell you," she continued. "Dr. Banner is Fitz's soulmate, as it turns out. I've managed to convince him to look past Fitz's crush – no doubt an early indicator of soulmateship – and see the possibilities of something to work from. It doesn't help that he seems to have incredibly low self-esteem. I think they'll both have to give each other confidence before anything can happen, but they're soulmates. It's unlikely to be a purely platonic relationship with the way Fitz feels about Dr. Banner. They'll look rather cute together, in my opinion."

"I'm sure they will," Skye said, but she was still staring at the captain. He swallowed visibly, and glanced at them.

"Where's his office?" he asked.

"Why?" Jemma said, bristling. "Are you going to apologise?"

He laughed hollowly. "Guess I should start there."

"It's not that hard to find with your super senses," Skye said. "Small base, after all."

He headed off the way Coulson had left, and Jemma frowned at Skye, confused.

"What was that about?" she asked.

Steve's heart was heavy as he knocked at the office door. There was a soft 'Go away', so he opened the door. Coulson's face darkened as he looked up, though he seemed to falter when he noticed who it was.

"Can I come in?" Steve said. Coulson pursed his lips, but he nodded towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk. Steve closed the door and stood behind the seat, not yet ready to sit down. "I'm sorry. It's good to see you alive, like Thor said. I mean, Bucky's alive, so I should be happy that another person I thought was dead turned out to be okay as well, right? It's not like you're the Red Skull. I did mourn you, I think I should say that. I didn't know you, but I'd heard you were a good man, and you didn't see me at my best. I used to be a happier person, even during the war. After Bucky fell to… what I thought was his death, and I lost my chance with Peggy even though I was blank, and woke up to a new world and still no soulmark… Not a good place to be. You didn't have a soulmark until after you came back to life?" Coulson shook his head. The silence was frustrating. "Say something, damn it! Say… say 'Hi' to me."

After a beat, Coulson said, "No."

…Oh.

Steve clenched his jaw, and turned away. "Sorry to take up your time. I was operating under a misapprehension."

He noticed that Coulson relaxed too soon, suspicious in itself. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw that the director seemed to be trying to keep himself together and failing at it spectacularly. He turned back, and saw the blank mask slip into place.

"Can I help you with anything else, Captain Rogers?"

"Can you forgive me for my outburst?"

"Already done. In your position…"

"In my position you would've been happy. Maybe had a harsh word or two, but then you probably would've followed it up with a hug."

Coulson half-smiled, transforming his face. "I probably would've done."

"So would I, once upon a time."

"…Yes. Well, I have work to do."

"Fitz and Bruce are soulmates, according to your doctor."

"Ah." Coulson picked up a pen and started twirling it. "Thank you for notifying me. That will… need careful consideration. Goodbye, captain."

Steve scratched absently at the itch where his soulmark was on his outer thigh. Coulson's gaze shot to it and then away again, barely a split second, but noticeable enough to Steve's sharp eyes.

"What?" he said.

"I said goodbye, captain."

"Did I say your words?"

Coulson didn't flinch. A brilliant piece of acting, if Steve's suspicions – and the rest of the team, for that matter – proved to be true.

"My words? You mean the words of my soulmark?"

"Yeah."

"No, you didn't."

"Can I ask what they are?"

"Ask all you want, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you."

Steve stared at him. "The first word you said to us was 'Hi'. I was included in that. You said my soul word."

"I'm sure I'm not the first one, nor will I be the last."

"But if I got a hold of your writing, just a sample, it wouldn't look anything like the writing of my soulmark, would it?"

Coulson opened his mouth, shut it again, and finally dragged up the courage to speak.

"No," he said. "Not that 'Hi' is much to go on."

"Still, I should check anyway, shouldn't I?"

"Anything in this office is classified."

"I'll find it somewhere else. Or maybe Clint or Natasha would recognise it from past paperwork? But that'd only be if it was your writing, of course."

"…Of course. Which it won't… wouldn't be."

"Course not. See you later, Coulson. Sorry, Director Coulson."

"Goodbye," Coulson said crisply.

Steve knew not to push his luck, and hurried off to find someone to confirm the writing for him.

Because it had to be Coulson. If it wasn't Steve was going to have to keep looking, and he… he was tired of being alone. He wanted it to be Coulson, for his sake as well. The man didn't deserve to be on his own, for all he had a team. Steve had a team, and he still knew what it was like to be on his own while surrounded by people.

Leo knew he was gaping unattractively, but he couldn't help it.

Bruce Banner. Was his. Soulmate.

Inconceivable, yet there it was. They were soulmates. The doctor had shown him the mark on his back, which made Leo blushed on so many levels. His embarrassing babble, the position they'd have to be in to bond, the fact that Bruce… he had to call him Bruce… was even considering a bond. If the Other Guy was alright with it.

"Well, he saved my life without knowing me, so I'd say he's probably on board," Leo said. "I can just… hold you from behind. There doesn't have to be anything… energetic about it."

"You mean sexual."

"You probably shouldn't say things like that in front of me while I'm in a hospital gown and can't do anything about… about my reaction."

"Or I could help with that," Bruce said, his eyes twinkling. Leo. Did that.

"Finally met my soulmate, and he's you," he said, still unable to believe it. "It never made sense for me to be so interested in your work before I met Jemma. I'm an engineer, my interests don't lie in biology. Though I could be persuaded to explore your anatomy in detail." He leered, and Bruce laughed. God, he was handsome like that.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

There was chatter approaching them. It sounded like Jemma and… Skye?

"Uh-oh," Bruce said, and he smirked. "I promised that next time Dr. Simmons saw us, I'd be kissing you."

"Wha—"

Then there wasn't much room for thought as a hot doctor loomed over Leo and began kissing him like he was… like he was a colonist aiming to claim land. Or a scientist trying to prove a theory. Probably more appropriate for them. And once tongue came into play… well, who needed to think when their soulmate was kissing them, and pretty enthusiastically, at that?

"Lovely to see you took my suggestion to heart, Dr. Banner."

Leo scowled over Bruce's shoulder at his so-called best friend, who was beaming.

"You're right, they are cute together," Skye said. "Can we adopt them?"

"No one's being adopted," Leo said acerbically.

"But I'm going to have to take you with me," Bruce said, playing with Leo's hair. "Or stay here, but I don't know whether your base could handle the Other Guy."

His heart sank. "Does that mean… but I don't know what to do."

"It means I want to get to know you," Bruce said.

"I can't just abandon my team, an' you can't abandon yours."

"I would if it meant I could be with you. Or spend time with you, at least."

"Well." Skye perched on the end of Leo's bed. "If Captain America and Coulson are soulmates as well, the teams are gonna be linked together whether they like it or not."

"Coulson and Steve?" Bruce said, his eyebrows shooting up. "Seriously?"

"It's just speculation," Jemma said. "It would help my memory if I knew what was said."

"I'll grab the footage for you," Skye said, already on her tablet.

"The sensible thing to do would be for New SHIELD to move into Stark Tower," Bruce said. "We have better resources, more space."

"It'd defeat the purpose of being a secret base," Leo said.

"No one has to know who you are. Just as long as I can kiss you like that again." He twined their fingers together, and Leo cleared his throat.

"Right, well," he said. "I'm sure Coulson will do the sensible thi—"

Captain America burst into the room.

"Got any samples of Coulson's writing?" he asked.

"Uh… probably?" Skye said. "Why?"

He pushed his trousers down and showed off his mark. "Does it look like this?"

Skye gaped. "Yeah. That definitely looks like his writing."

"It certainly does," Jemma said, frowning. "Why didn't you ask him to check?"

The captain pulled his trousers back into place, scowling.

"Because he's a lying, stubborn asshole, that's why," he said. Then he ran out of the room again, swearing creatively.

"I think it looks like our teams will be combining forces," Bruce said dryly. He looked at the girls. "Now scoot. We were busy."

"Yes, Dr. Banner, sir," Jemma said, and she skedaddled, followed by Skye.

Leo rather liked this kissing business, especially when it was with his soulmate.

Steve's going to have fun convincing Phil, isn't he? I don't know why the latter is being so stubborn, not really. Ah well.

This story sprang from the idea of Fitz being rescued by Bruce, and passing out after he said his words, and Bruce discovering that whatever he'd said to Fitz while the latter was losing consciousness was his soulmark, leading to him trying to hide it from Fitz to 'keep him safe'. Naturally, it doesn't work for long. And Phil/Steve happened because Simmons was talking about irrational fanboy-ism, and how it can be indicative of soulmateship.

Anyway. Please review! The internet's running slow, so I haven't seen the latest episode because it takes SO LONG to download. It's been about an hour, and the download's only 34% of the way through. Grr! And rich text doesn't show up as an option on AO3, which means typing in the html code like I used to.