Note: Are we still warning for 'Agents of SHIELD' season 2? Anyway, I can't remember whether or not Simmons and Andrew met; let's say they didn't.

"Our World"

"Remember," May said. "No interrupting us unless—"

"Unless the world's about to end or Ward shows up, whichever comes first," Phil said. "I know. You've told me six times today alone."

May slung her bag back over her shoulder, and Phil noticed her affectionate glance at Andrew, who was waiting by the car.

"Have fun," he added. "Use protection."

She looked like she wanted to punch him on the shoulder, but she restrained herself, and instead gave him a one-armed hug.

"Thanks," she said.

"Have a nice holiday. We'll be—"

"Don't jinx it," she warned him.

"We'll miss you."

She nodded, and hurried to Andrew's side. She only looked back once, to where the ship was docked, and Phil wondered whether she'd miss them in return.

As soon as he and Mack set foot back on deck, Fitz came racing out to them, and nearly bowled Mack over.

"What's up, Turbo?" Mack asked.

"Jemma," Fitz said. "We were supposed to have dinner together. I went to find her, only she wasn't there, but her phone was. So I checked the footage, and… and…"

"What, Fitz?" Phil prompted. The engineer looked shattered.

"I was trying to be casual, and I leaned against it, only whatever I did must've unlocked it, because after I left—"

"Unlocked what?" Mack said, though Phil could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"The b-box," Fitz whispered. "It opened, and the rock swallowed her up. Skye's watching on the cameras, but Jemma hasn't reappeared yet. We want to open it up again, but you told us not to, and the same thing could happen to any of us. I mean, maybe if there was a rope, or if we could throw in a phone… Lincoln said it's dangerous to people like him and Skye, so why would it take Jemma?"

"Fitz, breathe," Mack said, grabbing Fitz by the shoulders. Phil looked back to the shore, but May and Andrew would be gone by now. This didn't involve Ward, and it wasn't world-ending, as far as he knew. No. He couldn't do that, ruin May's vacation with her soulmate. Not for something they could probably solve before she even returned.

"Fitz, do you know anything about Simmons's soulmate?" he asked.

"She h-has two soulmarks, but she's never met either of them," Fitz said. "She would've told me if she had."

"I'll check her file," Phil said. "In case…"

"In case what?"

"I'll handle this," Mack murmured. Phil nodded, and left them to it.

Simmons's file said she hadn't found her soulmates yet. Then… there was hope! She'd never met her soulmates, which meant that unless they were also in the rock, there was a chance the team could get her out, or that she could escape on her own.

That was a relief. He knew there was a soulmate question on the lie detector test, so he'd check with whichever Agent Koenig interviewed her, on the off-chance she'd wiped it from her record when HYDRA-gate happened. But he was sure she'd be fine. They'd get her back, come hell or high water. She was one of Phil's people, and he wasn't letting her go without a fight.

"Simmons?" Agent Koenig (one of them) said. "Oh, sure. When she answered 'no' I gave her a stern look, and she admitted that she had two soulmates, and had met one of them, but they agreed it was better not to mention it. She was fourteen at the time."

"So she's only met one of her soulmates, not the other?" Phil said.

"Not to my knowledge, sir. And another thing."

"There's more?"

"The one she met is or was a SHIELD agent."

Possibly HYDRA, then. "Do we know who?"

"No, sir."

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know."

An agent of SHIELD? He hoped that whoever it was, if ever he found them, they would turn out to be on SHIELD's side, not HYDRA's.

Even before leaving the base, Melinda May had felt strange, like something was off. She hadn't taken a holiday in a long time, and tried to attribute it to that. Paranoia was such a big part of her life that she'd be jumping at shadows if she wasn't careful. The time with Andrew would be good for her, for both of them. Being apart from her soulmate for so long had hurt at first, and then gotten numb.

One of her soulmates, that is. She'd never bonded with Simmons, figuratively or literally, so it didn't hurt when they were separated. Maybe she should've told Andrew, not just assumed that he and Simmons had worked it out and done nothing. He would've told her off for not informing him as soon as she met their third. But Simmons was a teenager at the time, a student at the academy, and May was a middle level field agent. They didn't have anything to do with one another again, not until Phil put the team together. By then, Simmons was part of FitzSimmons, Bahrain had happened, and bonding even as friends wasn't on the cards for either of them.

So she hadn't said anything to Andrew.

"You don't seem with it," he said, cuddling her from behind as she stared out the window of their beach shack. "Missing work already?"

"Thinking about our third," she said. "Whether things would've gone differently…"

He paused. "You know who it is?" he asked softly. She nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was thirteen years ago. She was barely into her teens. At the academy."

"Which one?"

She turned her head slightly. "Simmons. Jemma Simmons is our third."

"And you didn't think you should tell me," he said.

"I thought you'd talked to everyone on the team, and just didn't say anything."

"Melinda…"

May sighed. "What's done is done. When we get back to SHIELD we can talk to her then. When I saw her after all those years I still thought of her as the nerdy little kid with a genius IQ and absolutely no social skills. Then after her cover was blown at HYDRA, and she came back with Morse, she wasn't that kid any longer. But it was never a good time to broach the subject with her. Then I saw you again." She pulled his arms closer around her, relieved that he allowed it. "It's been… confusing for me. You really haven't met her yet?"

"No."

"Then I look forward to introducing you." She chuckled. "You're just her type."

"She must love kick-ass women, too," Andrew said, and he kissed her shoulder.

"Considering the way she drools over Bobbi Morse, that's definitely possible."

"That's why you're listless?" he said. "You miss her?"

"Something… doesn't feel right."

"Because we're on a dirty vacation without her."

May elbowed him gently. "She and Fitz… there's something there. On his side, and maybe hers now. I can't tell. It's frustrating."

Andrew pulled her back towards the bed. "Let me take your mind off it. We can talk about Simmons later."

Phil rubbed his face. He was so tired, and they'd only been at it for four days.

"We'll get her outta there, sir," Mack said. He couldn't hide the hopelessness in his voice, though, and Phil knew part of the reason.

"You should've made a move while she was undercover," he said.

"Wasn't all that long before she got back."

"But he's your soulmate."

He watched through the gaps between his fingers as Mack shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, sir," he said. "What's important is getting Simmons out so she and Fitz can make that date."

"You love him, don't you?" Phil said.

"And you loved the cellist."

"Well… we weren't soulmates."

Mack raised his eyebrows, but he didn't ask the obvious question, thank God.

"Maybe you should tell Agent May about Simmons," he said. "I'm sure she'd wanna know. Imagine if she found out that you'd kept it from her—"

"She gave me instructions. I know we'd hoped to have Simmons safe and out of there by now, but there's no sense in disturbing May unless she can help us."

But Mack was right. Of course he was. Phil gave in, sent May a text message to let her know, just in case she checked her phone. Within half an hour he got a reply.

'On our way back.'

Andrew watched Melinda. A twitch of her fingers, a tap of her foot in the air, both indications that she was fidgeting. It was simultaneously amusing and worrying. He worried about Jemma Simmons as well, the third he'd never met. She had to be alright; they'd never spoken to each other, which meant that she had to come out of that rock sooner or later. Hopefully hewouldn't end up in there with her.

"If I'd known you were her soulmates I would've informed you immediately," Phil said, tapping his fingers against the surface of the desk. "You should have told me. She should've told me. I'm supposed to be the secret-keeper around here, damn it. But at least Andrew hasn't met her yet. That gives me hope."

"We'll get her back," Melinda said firmly. "Take me to the box."

"May—"

"Not Andrew. We need him as security." Andrew snickered at being referred to as 'security', and Melinda shot him a look. "You know what I mean. Maybe I can help. I know that most of the folklore about soulmateship is wrong, but…"

"There might be a grain of truth among it," Andrew finished. "It's worth a try. And your 'security' will stay far away unless you need him."

Melinda's face softened marginally. "Always."

"So this is as important as Ward showing up, or the end of the world?" Phil said.

Andrew answered this time. "She'll be our world."

Jemma didn't know how much time had passed. It felt interminable. Periods of being frozen into place, then her mouth and ears and everything being filled with black, rocky liquid, which just hardened again and kept her still. It was a horrible violation, and she wondered how long it would be before she was filled entirely, until there was more stone than blood in her body. Was this what it was like to be cryogenically frozen? At least that was water, not this mysterious substance.

Perhaps the worst was that she kept her mind, or at least she imagined so. Had she actually lost it? That was the only possible explanation for the voices she heard. Some sort of snapping noise would precede other sounds. At first it was beeps, but now… now it was as though Agent May was out there, talking to her. Then the rock would form once more, and the words would disappear.

Words… of course she would hallucinate her soulmate speaking to her. Who else?

"…come to us… here… please, Jemma…"

Well, that couldn't possibly be May. She would never use Jemma's first name.

"…waiting… get out of… Andrew… meet him…"

Jemma fought against the fluid when she could, but then she would drown. At least Fitz had been unconscious while she dragged him to safety.

Oh, she never should have encouraged his feelings by arranging a date with him when they weren't soulmates. Fate must have been punishing her.

But surely fate wouldn't let her die before she could meet her other soulmate?

Jemma was trapped in place, trying to follow the voices. If it was her way out… she might have been going in circles all this time, and only needed a homing beacon!

"…right here, Jemma… to reach in… hold onto… back off, Phil!"

She nearly startled back. The director was there? Where they still on the ship? They must have been.

As soon as she could move again, she pushed herself away from the only hard surface she could feel, reaching out desperately. Her fingers brushed against something, but she was pulled back by the waves again, as if the rock didn't want to let her go. The next time she was able to move, she threw herself into it, finally catching hold of something. It was warm, gave slightly under her touch, and her arms were nearly wrenched from her sockets as she was pulled from the rock's vacuum.

Jemma fell onto a solid floor, coughing, even though there was nothing for her to vomit up. Trembling, she gazed over her shoulder, and saw the black liquid beating against the glass door, but not escaping it. She flinched, half-expecting it to seep out and capture her again. However, the door held. There were noises from above her, and she saw a system of rope pulleys. The closest to her held Agent May and her ex-husband, quickly lowering themselves. They must have been the ones to pull her to safety, although she couldn't imagine why.

Unless… they were both her soulmates?

"We've got you now," he said, going to his knees beside her, May on her other side.

"Really?" Jemma whispered. Those were her words. She looked at May, who nodded at her, smiling. "Oh, thank God."

Andrew pulled her close, and May wrapped herself around Jemma from behind. She sobbed into Andrew's shoulder, relieved that it was all over, terrified of what the rock might have done to her, resigned that she had new nightmare fodder.

Worried that he wouldn't want her, either.

"You're our girl, Jemma," May whispered. "If you ever want us, we'll be there."

"T-thank you."

Mack looked over at Fitz while they dismantled some of the pulleys. They'd left one behind the glass box, so further studying could be conducted from a safe height. The new locks he'd added gave extra protection, and there was a yellow line around the case which no one could pass. With Hunter's help, they'd built another way in, and barred the orange door from being opened, in case another victim was swept up. They couldn't rely on soulmateship to cure every ill, no matter how 'magical' it was supposed to be.

Mack didn't see anything magical about it.

Then again, his soulmate was obsessed with… had feelings for someone else. Mack did everything he could to help Fitz, felt guilty as hell when he saw the look of betrayal and terror the day Gonzales's SHIELD stormed the old base. At least it was sort of forgiven, especially after he saved Coulson's life. While Mack could never completely trust him, Fitz did, and Mack had to accept that. Being away from him hurt like a bitch, and they hadn't even bonded. No matter how much he wanted…

But it wouldn't happen. Not unless Simmons got together with her soulmates and Fitz got over her.

In the meantime, Mack distracted himself with Bobbi and Hunter. They kept dancing around each other, like they always had. Their first meeting, and their words on each other, had stained the relationship from the start. 'Get out of here!' was on Bobbi, and 'You first, asshole,' was on Hunter. Sure, they'd been under fire at the time, and they were both too damn stubborn to back down from an argument. No wonder their relationship went the way that it did.

Then there was Coulson, and the mystery of who his soulmate was. Mack wanted to ask, but ultimately it didn't make a difference to him. Hell, if whoever it was took Coulson away and someone else took over as director, things might get better.

Then again, they could get worse. Better the enemy you know, right? At least Mack was in charge of alien artefacts. He didn't want another incident like the one which happened to Simmons, no matter how much he wanted her to go away so he could get some more time with Fitz. And Fitz kept blaming himself, which meant even more distraction. He just wanted to shake his soulmate by the shoulders and…

Not the time. He'd wait and see how it went.

"I'm going to lose her, aren't I?" Fitz said, loping into the room with a dejected air.

"Who, Simmons?" he asked. Stupid question, but Fitz didn't notice. As usual.

"Yeah." Fitz sank onto a bench, not even looking up at Mack. "She'll go with her soulmates. We never even got our chance. Just as I thought we…" His hands were jumping, and Mack wished he could help, but it wouldn't be welcome. "We were headed somewhere. That won't happen now."

"I'm here for you, man," Mack said. "You know that, right? What else are friends for?"

"I almost think it'd be easier if I… you know…"

"No idea."

"Met my… my soulmate."

"…What?"

"My—"

"Say that again."

Fitz scowled at him, but Mack didn't care. His whole world had suddenly been shaken.

"If I met my soulmate," Fitz said through clenched teeth.

"You…"

"Haven't met them. I thought it was Simmons at first, because she said 'Hey', but then I saw her writing, and I didn't say her words anyhow. So many people have said 'Hey' to me over the years, but no one's ever—"

"Shit."

"What?"

"Fitz, your first words to me were 'Nice to meet you'."

"And? Well, you've got a good memory. I barely remember… not that… it's just that I was going through a bit of a… a bad patch at the time."

"Understatement," Mack said. "You ever seen my handwriting?"

"I don't think so. We mostly type. You might've written some, uh, n-numbers, but… wait… Ah, hell. Are you…?"

Mack undid the lower buttons on his shirt, then pulled up his undershirt.

"I've seen enough of your writing," he said dryly.

"Oh, Christ! Why didn't you say?"

"You were stuck on Simmons, and you never mentioned anything, either."

"I didn't know! Didn't I just say how many people have said 'Hey' to me?"

Mack leaned back against his workbench as he buttoned up his shirt again. He didn't know whether or not to feel relieved. At least Fitz hadn't rejected him on purpose. But what if this changed things?

"Sorry, Turbo," he said.

"Nah, I'm sorry, Mack," Fitz said. "My fault."

"It isn't."

"Yeah, but you've had to listen to everything, and you must've thought…"

"I did, but I should've said something anyway. Coulson told me I should've made a move, and of course I wrote you on my form. It was automatically linked to yours, but you probably haven't looked at it since then."

"I've mucked this up, haven't I?" Fitz said, wilting. Mack sat beside him with a sigh.

"I'll always be here for you," he said. "I would've been even if we weren't soulmates, but you're extra special to me `cause of those words."

Fitz snorted in laughter. "All that wasted time. I knew you were special to me, but I thought that was because you treated me like I never changed."

"I didn't know you before," Mack pointed out, but Fitz waved that away.

"You were… you are special, Mack, but that's because…"

"Of some mythical 'pull' soulmates are supposed to feel. You're in love with Simmons, remember?"

"And I remember all that time you spent caring for me," Fitz said. "No one else has ever meant so much—"

"Stop!" Mack said, gripping his knees. He couldn't touch his soulmate, or he'd be tempted to… do something, he didn't know what. "It's… you don't have to do this. It's just me, Turbo. Your friend."

"You won't give me the chance to make it up to you?" he asked in a small voice. Mack wanted to hug him, but he kept his hands to himself.

"It was nothing, man," he said. "You're my friend, that's all."

He got to his feet and strode back to the workbench, then distracted himself with his latest project until he felt safe to turn around. At some point Fitz had left. Just as well, since Mack couldn't even remember what he was working on. He dropped his tools and ran his hands over his head, probably smearing oil or metal dust over the skin. It reminded him of why he shaved all his hair off.

"That's all," he murmured. "Just friends."

At first it was hard to drag much out of Jemma. She told them everything she could about her experience inside the rock. Unfortunately, until she displayed out-of-character behaviour, they couldn't say what function the rock served other than a trap. If it was only dangerous to people like Lincoln and Skye, then maybe it was supposed to kill them, and didn't know what to do with Jemma?

But that wasn't what Andrew wanted to talk about anymore. It became clear that she was uncomfortable discussing the matter after she'd given a full debriefing. She monitored herself overnight, and Andrew distracted her with questions. Melinda sat on the other side of the bed, just holding Jemma's hand and staying quiet. After knocking down a few walls, the bio-scientist opened up and chattered about her family, her life in England, her (few) interests outside of science. Andrew wished that he watched 'Dr. Who', because then he'd understand her references.

"…cupcakes for Coulson, and I'm pretty sure that's why he chose us for the team," she said, winding down her hour-long narrative.

"Not your scientific skills?" Andrew said, and Melinda winked at him.

"I'll have you know that Fitz and I worked on that recipe for a long time," Jemma said indignantly. "We were the smartest at the academy, not necessarily at SHIELD. He could have had anyone he wanted, but he chose us."

"Because you were the only ones who bribed him with baked goodies."

"Absolutely."

He leaned forward, glancing at Melinda. "About Fitz… what's going on there?"

"Oh… well, nothing as yet. I wasn't anticipating… any of this. I was only fourteen when I met M… Agent May, far too young to know what to expect. I'm still not entirely certain. I only met you a handful of hours ago, and I don't know how Fitz feels. He still hasn't met his soulmate. If he has, he would have told me."

"He said the same thing about you," Melinda said. Jemma caught her bottom lip between her teeth, and sighed out through her nose.

"I have two marks, so technically I'd only met one soulmate, not the other," she said.

"I don't think he sees it like that," Andrew said.

"He knows?" Melinda nodded. "Oh dear. How did he take it?"

"Okay, in front of us," he said. "Somehow I think it'll be awhile before he's ready for another therapy session with me."

"Or share lab space with me," Jemma said, slumping against the pillows. "I never thought anything would come of it, and while I knew you two were married, many people these days marry someone who isn't their soulmate."

"I'm sorry you were trapped for so long," Melinda said. "If we'd put each other on file, the director would've called me back as soon as Fitz told him what happened."

"We're not making that mistake again," Andrew said. "Even if you just want a platonic relationship with us, we'll be there for you, okay?"

"…Will you give me time to think about it?" she asked. "You're both terribly attractive people, and I've admired Agent May for so long, but… it's Fitz. I never gave him a chance, and I thought we were… well. I'll have to talk to him sooner or later."

"Later," he said. "Get some sleep. We'll be right here."

"I'm just impressed you followed the signals, let alone found them," Sam said, supporting Bucky on one side while Steve helped him on the other.

"And I'm impressed a guy called Ant-Man beat you up," Steve snarked back.

"Okay, okay. No teasing each other. I get it."

"Bucky needs help, and Fury said we could trust New SHIELD."

"'M right here," Bucky muttered, leaning more of his weight on Steve. "Leave him alone. He's my soulmate."

"That's right, buddy," Sam said, rubbing Bucky's back. "Did you call ahead, Cap?"

"Couldn't," he replied. "There was no number. I'm lucky we even found this place."

They looked out across the water, and Steve assessed the situation.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat," Sam quipped. Steve gave him a questioning look. "You haven't seen Jaws yet, have you?"

"Wasn't that the tall, toothy guy in Moonraker?"

"Of course you've seen James Bond. Why am I even surprised?" Bucky sniggered, and leaned into Sam's side. "Any boat will do."

"You look after your soulmate," Steve said, handing Bucky over to Sam. "I'll go wrangle us a rig."

"That what they're calling it nowadays?" Sam said. Steve shot him the bird over his shoulder, and he laughed. "Hold on, Bucky. We'll get you help as soon as we can."

"I'm glad you found me," Bucky said, slinging an arm around Sam's front.

"Me, too."

They were soon zipping out across the water, and then waited for someone to confront them. When no one did, Steve grabbed a rope, then climbed up the side of the ship.

"Show-off," Bucky and Sam said, and then they grinned at each other. Soon, the end of the rope fell down to the boat. Sam insisted that Bucky go first, reluctant to leave him alone (and it was a very nice view from below). When they reached the top there still didn't look to be anyone around.

"If they're SHIELD, they'll be hidden," Steve said, shielding his eyes from the sun with a hand as he looked around. "Where's Fury when you need him?"

"State your business."

They turned as one, and a young man with light hair was watching them, some kind of lightning streaking between one hand and another.

"Do we call you Mini-Thor?" Sam asked.

"State your business."

"I'm Steve Rogers," Steve said. "This is Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes." He gestured to them. "We're here to see SHIELD? I guess? Bucky's hurt—"

"Hang on," Mini-Thor said. The lightning flashes disappeared from one hand, and he pulled out a comm. unit. He spoke quietly, and then looked them up and down. He put it away, and then waved them forward. "I'll be right behind you. No sudden movements. You're surrounded by agents."

"I've got enhanced senses," Steve said back over his shoulder. "I know exactly how many people there are around us, and we could take them easily."

"Powered people?"

"Got experience with those, too."

"Don't antagonise Mini-Thor," Sam said. The kid grumbled something, but didn't zap any of them, so Sam chalked that up as a win.

They were ushered through matching grey corridors. When they got wider, Sam caught up to Bucky and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. Bucky looked a little surprised, like he always did whenever Sam willingly held onto his metal hand, so he squeezed extra hard.

"This reminds me of something," Steve said. "Like the old bases. Got that feel to it, the Strategic Scientific Reserve."

"Designed by the SSR?" Sam said. "If this belongs to SHIELD…"

"Who knows what's on board?" Bucky said. "And if HYDRA is around here—"

"Those bastards wouldn't dare set foot on base," Mini-Thor said. "Besides, HYDRA's gone now."

"If you're not on their side, then you're on ours," Steve said. "So why the walking at proverbial gunpoint?"

"We've had bad experiences with masks before," a young woman said, stepping out into their path. Her dark hair fell about her shoulders; and while she looked wiry and young, they all knew better than to underestimate SHIELD agents.

"Steve Rogers," Steve said, holding out his hand. She didn't take it, just looked him up and down.

"Skye," she said. "You here to see the director?"

"Is Fury here?"

She snorted. "He isn't the director of SHIELD anymore."

"Then who?"

"About damn time he told you anyway," she remarked. "Lincoln, can you buzz DC and let him know we're on our way?"

"Sure thing," Mini-Thor said.

"Come on," Skye said, and she led them through the facility to, Sam could only guess, the director's office.

"I'm more interested in getting help for Bucky," Steve said.

"I'll be fine," Bucky grumbled. "Feel better already, with my soulmate here."

Sam grinned to himself, and tugged Bucky closer. "When you're up to it, I can make you feel a whole lot better." Bucky blushed.

"Well," Skye said as they stopped outside a door with 'DIRECTOR' on the glass, "if you're not interested in seeing him, I'll just tell Coulson to put away the red carpet."

Steve's shoulders tensed. "Phil Coulson?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "But since you don't—"

Steve nearly wrenched the door off its hinges, and strode into the office. Skye dashed in after him, and Bucky and Sam poked their heads inside to watch.

"Captain Rogers," the man at the desk said. Sam could only assume this was Phil Coulson, late SHIELD agent, current SHIELD director, and apparently no longer dead. It was a habit among the people Sam was getting to know.

"…Phil," Steve said. He stood on the other side of the desk from the director, whose poker face must've been the stuff of legends.

"Can I help you with something?"

"You… you're…"

"Sergeant Barnes needs help," Skye said, jerking her thumb towards them.

"No, I don't," Bucky said. "I'm healin' up just fine. Sam's lettin' me stay with him. I don't need anything, medical or otherwise. Got my soulmate, an' that's more'n—"

"You bastard!" Steve shouted at the director. "You've been alive all this time?"

"Not all of it."

"Have you been alive for more than one day?"

"Yes—"

"Then you should've told us!"

"What does it matter to you?" Coulson said. "None of you are coming back to SHIELD, and we weren't close. You weren't—" He cut himself off, and pursed his lips. Sam looked between Steve and Coulson, and then glanced at Bucky.

"What about Romanov and Barton?" Steve said.

"They only considered me their handler."

"Stark—"

"Not going there. Pepper's the only one who'd miss me, and she'll be over it. Anyone else who gave a damn knows."

"What about… what about—"

"Thor's an ally, nothing more."

"Sif said he considered you a friend," Skye said. Coulson lifted a shoulder.

"It's awkward," he said. "I'm pretty sure that's because I died trying to save him from his brother, who killed me right in front of him. I barely knew Thor. I met Banner a total of one time. And you…"

"I meant nothing?" Steve said.

Sam felt Bucky tap 'SOULMATES' in Morse code on his arm. Sam tapped back 'YEP'.

"Don't take it personally," Coulson said. From the way Steve flinched, Sam guessed that he'd said the same thing to Coulson. Epically bad timing for them to have met, from what Sam had heard about that day. "I'm busy. Someone can check out Sergeant Barnes for you… welcome back, sergeant," he added to Bucky, who nodded shyly. "You must be Sam Wilson? Pleasure to meet you both."

"Likewise," Sam said. "Agent Skye? Wanna show… the two of us to your best doctor?"

"I'm fi— uh, oh, the pain," Bucky said, even though Sam's elbow wouldn't have caused any damage. "Yes. Doctor. Lead the way. See ya later, Steve."

"He can go with you," Coulson said, glaring at Steve. "Goodbye, captain."

Instead of replying, Steve plonked down into a seat and wouldn't move.

"How obstinate is Captain America?" Skye whispered to Sam and Bucky.

"Good luck getting him off that chair before he's ready," Sam said. As the staring match continued, Skye nudged them out of the office, shut the door, and led them to medical.

Fitz sat beside Simmons.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Getting there," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't make that date."

"Was it really a date?" he said.

"I thought… it was going to be," she whispered. "It can still…"

"Mack's my soulmate."

"He's what?" Fitz nodded. "Why didn't you tell me, Fitz?"

"I didn't know! My head was all…" He twirled his hands around. "When we met. You know my soulmark is only 'Hey'. It wasn't much to go on, and I wasn't thinking about meeting my soulmate. I was thinking… I was thinking about you, Jemma."

She placed her hand besides his, but didn't close the gap. His fingers jerked; his hand stayed put.

"It's a terrible mess, isn't it?" she said.

"What do you want to do?"

"My soulmates have each other…"

"That's not how Fate works," Fitz said sharply. "They're still your soulmates. They got you out of that block when… when I couldn't. You said that you heard their voices, but not ours. We did talk to you, and you didn't hear us. They saved you, Jemma. I… had feelings for you, and we nearly drowned. We arranged to have dinner, and half a minute later you were swallowed up by that… that rock. Fate's trying to tell us something. I think we're just not… meant to be."

Simmons covered his hand. "I'm sure you're right. We were perfect together as friends and lab partners."

"That's what we're meant to be to each other," he agreed.

"Friends?"

"Friends."

"Now go and tell Agent Mackenzie that he's free to court you," Simmons said, pushing Fitz's arm. He laughed.

"I will if you will," he said.

"Very well," she said, raising her chin. "Bet you a six pack that I get a date with my soulmates before you."

"You're on, Simmons."

"If we stay here, we're gonna see this kinda drama every day," Bucky told Sam. Agents Skye, Morse, and Hunter hushed them while they watched, along with Agent May, Andrew, and Agent Mackenzie, as FitzSimmons shook on it, agreeing to the terms of the bet, before casually leaving the room. Then they ran in opposite directions, and Mack and May's phones both buzzed simultaneously only seconds later. Mack rolled his eyes and left the room, while May and Andrew went to one corner.

"If Steve and Coulson are soulmates we're not leaving anytime soon," Sam replied.

"What if he calls an assemble here?"

"Hmm. Y'know, the rest of the Avengers should meet Coulson, the ones who haven't."

Bucky's eyes narrowed. "What're you thinkin' about?"

"I've got Romanov's number. I think she should know what's going on, don't you?"

"Coulson will kill us."

"He's not gonna kill one of his childhood heroes," Sam said. "Or his soulmate."

"Wanna bet?"

Sam met his eyes. Bucky stared back.

"On second thoughts, we'll leave the punishment to Steve," he said.

"And Coulson."

"As soon as we reach land, we'll find a nice place," Andrew said, sharing the phone with Agent May. "Dress nice for dinner."

"Thanks for… saying yes," May said, looking uncomfortable about having a private conversation in front of so many people, including two strangers. Mack's voice was just a muffled murmur out in the hallway, and they probably shouldn't have been eavesdropping anyway. But after Skye hacked into the security footage to watch and listen to FitzSimmons's conversation, they'd all become invested.

"We'll see you later, Jemma," Andrew said, and he hung up. He and May hit a high five, then linked their pinkies together. Mack gave them all a thumbs-up through the doorway.

"Phone's ringing," Sam said, pulling it out. "Ah, hell. Speak of the devil… hey, Natasha! How's it going?" He grimaced at Bucky. "Really? Stark said that, huh? We'll… oh, see you soon, then." He hung up. "I swear she's got long-distance ESP or something."

"Coming here?"

"Someone should warn Coulson."

"I'll do it," Skye said, hopping off the foot of Morse's hospital bed. "I'll make the floor shake in his office before I get there. That'll snap them out of… whatever."

"Make the floor what?" Sam said.

Skye wriggled her fingers. "That's my power. They call me Quake."

"You're the only one who calls you Quake," Morse said, rolling her eyes.

"It'll catch on, one of these days!"

Oops. Turned angstier than it was meant to.

Uh, okay. So! I've written FitzMack as a background pairing a few times, yet it has been requested again by ally0212, and Phil/Steve was requested at one point by FanGirl18, which I haven't acknowledged before. Andrew/Jemma/May wasn't requested by anyone; I simply decided it would be fun. Bucky/Sam was requested by aishoren. All these people have met in the MCU, but meh. I do what I want.

Please review! New laptop is imminent, I'm sure. In the meantime, old laptop plus Mum's computer equals fan fiction postings.