#fitzwards

[slamncram]

Yeah.

Coming home at midnight after working a closing shift during the holidays, and getting to let Steph know I’m home and get demanded for cuddles is INFINITELY better than coming home at midnight after working a closing shift during the holidays and sending a text message to let her know I got home safe and I hope she’s having a good night, 4000km away.

Moving in together just keeps being full of the most wonderful surprises.

[slamncram]

A Cape, a Mask, and a Sheet

Guess who’s back with a vengeance when it comes to Fitzward fics (for approximately one day before I start Nanowrimo)! That’s right, it’s me, ya girl. It’s Halloween, and @fitzwards​ and I have been watching a whole lot of a certain BBC drama that fits nicely with this particular holiday. I figured, before I jump into working on Nano, what better way to wrap up, then with a little bit of an AU fic?

Without further a-boo (I’m hilarious), here it is... 

Happy Halloween!

“Are you going to tell him, or am I going to tell him?”

Leo sat up in his seat at the kitchen table, turning around to stare at his flatmate. He wasn’t sure, exactly, when Jemma had gotten there, but she had a habit of sneaking up on people. She could be eerily silent when she wanted to, and it had made for more than one near heart attack in the last year that they’d all been living together in Bristol.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leo lied, squinting at her. She had that look about her, the one that said she was up to no good, and wasn’t going to be dissuaded from that. It had been done, before, but Leo was fairly sure that he hadn’t been the reason she’d been swayed from her path.

The issue was, here, he did know what she was talking about, and the very last thing he wanted was for her to go opening her mouth to anyone about it. They both knew that, too. Pulling her grey cardigan around herself better, like she may be cold, Jemma huffed, and rolled her eyes ceilingward, in an explanation she knew she needn’t give.

“It’s starting to be, frankly, ridiculous.” She said, leaning back against the counter. Behind her, cups of cold tea waited to be dumped into the sink and washed out, a job that neither she, nor Leo, nor the person they were not naming, had gotten around to, yet. Jemma, though she could be said to be responsible for all the tea, had a good reason for not really doing the washing up. Sort of. Leo, well, he’d been busy with work, and with the fact that tonight was a night that he rather dreaded, and the week leading up to it was never a party.

Their unnamed third flatmate?

He claimed that people like him didn’t do dishes.

Which was infuriating, really, so Leo didn’t know why he had the issues that he did, when it came to him. He didn’t do the dishes – regularly enough – and he could be mood swing-y and a little too macabre at times. Yes, that had to do with how his life had been, before they’d come together, the three of them, but it really should have been more annoying than it was.

“It’s not being ridiculous. You’re reading too much into things, Jemma. As usual.” Leo pointed out, going back to his phone and his bagel.

Jemma, apparently, wasn’t going to be put off so easily, and before Leo had even taken his next bite, she was sitting down in the chair next to him with a gesture that made it look like she had a lot more weight than she did.

“I don’t know why you’re being so difficult about this. What’s the harm? Grant isn’t going to – ”

Leo made a hissing noise, dropping his bagel and reaching across the table with his hand out, like the mere action would keep her words from drifting up the stairs to Grant’s room. It wasn’t going to do that, they both knew it, but it did make Jemma’s look of exasperation turn into one of smugness.

“Why are you shushing me?” She asked, propping her chin on her hand, her eyes glinting with amusement. “If you don’t know what I’m talking about, and I’m just reading too much into things?”

“Because.” Leo hissed, leaning across the table and keeping his voice low. “I don’t want Grant thinking – ”

“ – Why are you whispering? You’re the one with the freakish superhearing that picks up on everything going on in this house.”

Leo’s flat look didn’t so much as budge the smile on Jemma’s face. When she got like this – chipper, knowing she had an edge and she had the upper hand – there was next to no way to dislodge that smug look.

“I don’t want Grant thinking that I fancy him.”

“Why not? You do fancy him.”

Another wave of his hand, paired with frantic shushing, and Leo glancing over his shoulder, towards the staircase, like he expected their flatmate to come barreling down and start interrogating Leo. When no sounds came, Leo turned back around, narrowing his eyes once more.

“I don’t.”

Jemma scoffed, leaning back in her seat with a grand eye roll. “Oh, that’s rich. Maybe you didn’t back when you two met. Not right away. But it’s been getting worse since you moved in here. There’s nothing wrong with that. I think it’s cute.” She smiled at Leo, losing the smug edge, clearly wanting to come across as encouraging rather than teasing. “Puppy love.”

“Don’t call it that.” Leo pushed his plate to the side, pressing his forehead to the kitchen table. If he focused, he was sure he could hear Grant moving around in his room. He was getting up, and he would be coming downstairs, soon, and Leo needed to put Jemma off of this, or there would be no choice but to tell Grant that, yes, maybe he had a wee bit of a crush on him, but it was nothing to get weird about.

“Well, I didn’t think you would appreciate me outright saying ‘you’re in love with him’, but, have it your way.”

No, this wasn’t getting any better.

“Why are you bringing this up, now?”

Jemma’s eyebrows shot up, and for a second, Leo was seriously considering jumping across the table to cover her mouth. She had that look about her, like she was about to launch into a loud tirade about how she couldn’t have picked a better time to bring this up, for whatever reason, and Grant may be upstairs now, but his natural curiosity would have him downstairs in a second if Jemma started out on that.

“Because I’ve been watching you pine after him for the last few months, and, frankly, I don’t know if I can watch the two of you be all sad-eyes over each other under my roof for much longer. It’s cute, but it’s frustrating. I know you’re both men, but, my god, if you would just – ”

“ – The two of us?”

Leo was supposed to be annoyed. He was supposed to be trying to shut Jemma up, to dispel whatever idea she’d gotten into her head about playing matchmaker. Instead, he was listening to a voice in his head gleefully saying ‘see? See? It wasn’t crazy, she’s seen it, too!’

Which was equally as dangerous as not shutting her up, right now.

“What? Well, yes. Oh, come on, Leo. I know you’re not that dense. You may be working as a hospital porter, but we’ve all seen the University of Edinburgh diploma on your wall, Mr. Engineer.” Jemma pointed upwards. “He’s just as goo-goo eyes over you as you are over him, but I thought you would be the easier target to discuss this with, since… You know how he gets.” Jemma turned her face into her closest approximation of Grant, lowering her eyebrows and scowling. “Side effect of his condition, I’m sure.”

Leo grinned, unable to stop himself. That voice in his head was getting louder. “Which condition? Being American, or being a vampire?”

“Oh, definitely the first one.” Jemma said, laughing. Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and she reached forward, putting her cool hand over Leo’s. “Tell him soon, yeah?”

“Not tonight.” Leo said, quickly, and then made a ‘zip it’ motion with his fingers over his lips, as Grant’s booted footsteps came down the last set of stairs, and hit the black-and-white checkered entranceway floor.

“Morning.”

“Morning.” Both Leo and Jemma greeted, Leo going back to his bagel so he could keep an eye on Jemma, who was beaming at Grant.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight, then?” Grant asked, lifting the coffee pot off up and pouring himself a mug of black coffee. “Not exactly your every-day, run of the mill Change, I don’t think.”

Leo nodded, steeling himself to look over at the other, standing against the counter where Jemma had just been standing. “Not exactly, but it’s much less of a thing, here, you know. At least, not the way Americans do it.”

Grant rolled his eyes and joined them at the table, reaching over to nudge Leo with a grin. “I’m 115 years old, Leo, you think I don’t know that? Kids here are probably a lot smarter than in the U.S., anyway. Fewer of them running around in the woods, though, I still don’t think that’s the best place for you to be changing...” His brown eyes searched Leo’s, clearly trying to work him out. This was always such a delicate subject, but Grant had been pushing him, for the last year and a bit, to get more comfortable with it. “You want me to come with you? We can go down to the hospital basement, I’ll stand guard all night...”

Jemma huffed, and both men looked her way. Though that had clearly been her intention, she glanced between them both, and asked, “what?”

“Something to add, I assume?” Leo deadpanned, tapping the last piece of his bagel on his plate. These conversations always made him lose his appetite. Given how considerate it was, that was always a shock, even now, two years down the road from the scratch.

“Well… Well, it’s Halloween, and I’m going to be alone, in the house.”

“You can come along, Jem, I wouldn’t mind the company.” Grant said, sipping his coffee and pulling the morning post towards himself.

“I know that but… We’re a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost. Living together. Seems cruel that we don’t get to have our first Halloween together in our actual house.” She looked between them again, clearly not taking in the incredulous looks on their faces the way they thought she should. “You know?”

“I...”

Leo laughed. He couldn’t help it. This was his life, now, and Grant was clearly thinking the same thing.

“What, were you thinking we would dress up – me in a cape, Leo in a mask, you in a sheet – and hand out candy to kids?”

Jemma gave him a flat look. “Well… No. But it might have been fun.”

“It might have been,” Leo agreed. “If there wasn’t a full moon, tonight. And uh, yeah, Grant. If you’d come with me? That’d be appreciated.”

Grant nodded, looking Jemma’s way. “You coming?”

“Well, I’m certainly not going to sit here on my own all night, while you two have all the fun.” She paused, then met Leo’s eyes. He felt a spike of dread, but it was too late, her mouth was already opening. “Not that I would be opposed to that. Or jealous. If that ever were to, uh...” Her eyes slid from Leo to Grant, and was Leo imagining it, or did Grant actually tense up, there, for a second? “Happen.”

The silence that stretched between the three of them was heavy, and almost painful, and it felt like hours passed before Leo stood up and said, “right. Well, I’m going to go pack a bag for tonight and then head off to work. Uh. Grant. See you later?”

“Yeah, yeah, at the, uh, the hospital.” He turned, smiling at Leo. “And then here, of course, before we go back to the hospital.”

Leo nodded, and then smiled at Jemma, a little tighter than usual, before dashing up the stairs, taking the sets two by two, until he was in the safety of his own room, and could breathe out without worrying one of Grant’s abilities may be to read the mind of the person – werewolf – sitting next to him.

He really did need to pack a bag, so he would be ready for tonight. A change of clothes was necessary, and maybe a towel. He could probably slip into the employee bathroom in the morning, after his change, rinse off, feel human again.

As he did, he didn’t deny himself the chance at listening in on the conversation downstairs. They were both being much quieter than he and Jemma had been, before, but there was no mistaking what they were discussing, and the frantic tone in Grant’s voice when he told Jemma, ‘not today, he’s got enough on his plate, with the full moon.’

No, not today. Not tonight, either.

But maybe Leo should sit down and have a chat with Grant, soon.

Before Jemma really and truly did it for him.

[slamncram]

Steph gets here tomorrow afternoon, and that's the first official day of the rest of our life, together. I cannot believe I found the love of my life and I get to be with her, and that starts tomorrow. I have been so lucky and so blessed and she's everything I could want and I can't wait for everything to begin tomorrow. 😭💕

[slamncram]

As Careful and Precise as Our Fate

Because I can, I wrote Steph giftfic for our anniversary. We have a Domesticverse for Fitzward that we’ve been building since about January of 2014, and that continues to grow. I wanted to write something in that verse, because it’s the original, and the one that started everything off. Our Homebase-AU, if you will.

So, without further ado…

When Grant thinks back on what Leo’s hands did the first time they met, he can’t entirely believe that those same hands are in his, a gold band shining on one.

[Also on ao3]

__________________________________

When Grant first met Leo, one of the first things the other did was take the communicator unit from his hands. That was, probably, the first time Grant noticed them.

Leo was – is – an engineer. He worked with his hands. It was what he did, and because of it, his hands were skilled, controlled and careful. There was no difference in the skill and care that they used in taking the communicator from him or in smashing it, perhaps only the level of force. If he hadn’t been so thrown off by the sight of this slight, Scottish Sci-Ops agent destroying his brand-new equipment – while his lab partner forcibly swabbed his mouth – he might have taken the time to notice the elegance of those hands then.

Of course, they do always say that hindsight is 20/20.

That was the first time that they’d met. Grant had heard of Leo. Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. Two of the youngest graduates of SHIELD Academy to date, brilliant minds, and a duo to be reckoned with. In the early days, Grant was assured that the reckoning would only come in the form of extreme annoyance. The two of them could be freaky, in a Doublemint Twins kind of way, now and then. That didn’t account for the way they went into the field; she, bright-eyed and ready, he with a level of trepidation and uncertainty that seemed wise until it got in the way of Grant doing his job.

Grant specifically remembered being in Peru, and glaring at Leo while he barely managed not to tear his hair out with those hands, calling Grant ‘mad’ for expediting the removal of an 084 in the middle of a firefight. He remembered, later that day, glancing behind him to see those same hands gripping thankfully to a post in their barely saved Mobile Command Center, blue eyes hidden behind lids closed in an expression of bone-deep relief.

It was after that mission in Peru that Grant started to reassess his idea of Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons.

How could he not? They really were brilliant, and brave, in their own ways. There was no way to deny how drawn in he was, how lured by the two of them. What had started as grudging acceptance soon turned to actual fondness.

And in his bunk, the night after the South Ossetia mission, that fondness, for one of them, turned to something more.

Maybe Grant had never really looked at himself that deep. There was always something to occupy his time, and the default setting had always seemed the easier path to follow. It didn’t change that when Leo’s hands curled in the front of his t-shirt, and then pulled him into a hug, fingers spread against his shoulder blade, he didn’t understand what that heavier, deeper feeling was. All he had known, at the time, was that he wanted to chase it. He needed to chase it. There was something about it that was so addictive, so attractive, and he couldn’t let it go. He wouldn’t.

Their team had been pulled back to New York. Coulson was needed more there, as the Avengers’ Liaison, and it was time that Earth’s Mightiest knew the truth. They had all accepted it, in turn. Leaving the Bus behind, but having left her desk job first, May was free to fly agents of all levels and divisions all over the globe for missions. She would go dark for weeks at a time, only to resurface, usually along with a brigade of agents telling stories that only added to her legend.

Not that she ever encouraged them. Grant was sure that he’d heard more agents told off than thanked for their praise.

Basing the team in New York, in the new, more public SHIELD headquarters, was a big move for a lot of them. Jemma and Leo went back to their jobs as Sci-Ops agents, and Grant was kept as a Specialist in the city, helping to deal with the spike in individuals hell-bent on disturbing the carefully held together peace that had fallen in the wake of the Battle of New York. Skye, with her newly minted SHIELD trainee badge, continued learning how to be a field operative, while putting to use her skills with computers. Her wildly impressive skills, as it would turn out.

Life had changed, but it had also stayed the same, in some ways.

For Grant, that feeling that had settled in his chest the night that Leo had hugged him and restated that he’d meant every word he’d said in that warehouse in South Ossetia, had stayed. It hadn’t weakened, or dissipated, had not given a single indication that it might, someday, go away. It wouldn’t have been so bad, if it hadn’t scared him. If he hadn’t been in the middle of briefing a superior over the phone about a severed hand left with a local, SHIELD-connected musician, and heard Skye ask if he’d talked to Leo recently, and immediately tuned out his superior, keen on news about the engineer. If he hadn’t felt inexplicably drawn to the Scot, any time he gave the slightest indication that he might be open to Grant’s company.

The two of them were alone on Valentine’s Day, with a free evening, and Skye and Jemma having a ‘girl’s night’ that both of them knew wasn’t nearly as uncomplicated as it seemed. There seemed nothing complicated about what they did, either, but, when Grant looked back on it now, he wondered if that was the first time he’d really asked Leo on a date.

That, or the night he invited him to his apartment for a meal cooked entirely by Grant himself.

Or the night Leo had invited him over to allow Grant to truly introduce him to Game of Thrones.

That night was the catalyst for nearly everything that Grant should have seen coming since South Ossetia. That night, when he’d stood in Leo’s bathroom, and stared at his own reflection, he’d truly grasped something about himself for the first time, and the reality of it had been terrifying. It had turned everything slightly sideways, given it all a light and tilt that it hadn’t had before. It hadn’t been bad, but it had been different, and while Grant was adaptable to change, the sheer scale of it, and of what he was realizing about himself, had been a lot to take.

That was one of the times that it had been damn good to have Skye around. She hadn’t been willing to pull the punches when it came to reminding him that, despite what some could hope, sexuality was fairly fluid. She hadn’t coddled him when he’d told her how being with Leo made him feel; there had been no hesitation when she’d stated that Grant’s fondness for him went beyond the brotherly affection he had for herself and Jemma.

And armed with that, more at peace with that heavy feeling in his chest, Grant had felt more ready to tackle what stood before him. Namely, Leo Fitz, and every little thing about him that drove Grant crazy.

That, of course, had been approximately when Madam Masque had made her move.

Hell-bent on getting a rise out of the most notable Avenger in the ranks, she’d snatched up an unassuming SHIELD agent, and when she was done, Leo was in a hospital bed, with a thankfully not broken jaw, and angry red welts on his arms, chest, and those skilled, beautiful hands. Leo had woken up in a hospital bed, and those hands had clung to Grant, begging him not to leave, not to go, and Grant, who hadn’t planned on it, had stayed.

It hadn’t taken much more to break down Grant’s flimsy hesitation.

He still remembered the feeling of those hands – barely healed from the attack – pulling him in, holding him close while they kissed. He remembered lacing his fingers with Leo’s, and smiling at him in a bed Leo had barely fit into an alcove in his little apartment. He remembered Leo’s hands rubbing against his hair, and the sound of his laugh, when he’d managed to bang his head against those closed-in walls the first time they’d made love.

They hadn’t lasted long for SHIELD, after that. New York was getting more and more dangerous every day, but more and more people were cropping up with powers and abilities that far outdid anything that Grant could do with a gun when it came to super-villains. After what had happened with Madam Masque, neither of them were keen to keep playing bait – or human shield – for people with grudges, focused on getting to the Avengers. Before the incident with Masque, Grant’s own run-in, with his old partner, had left him with a dislocated collarbone. The two of them had seen enough of each other in hospital beds.

And they had something, now.

There was a lot to protect, working with SHIELD. It was important, and it was good, selfless work. The issue that came up was that they had things to feel selfish about, now.

Each other.

The idea of losing one another, after what they had come through, after the realization Grant had finally opened himself up to, was beyond consideration.

They had been standing in the wind atop of Eiffel Tower, on a well-earned vacation, when Leo had held out his hand, and proposed the idea. They had a wealth of experience between them, and SHIELD paid well. Very few agents left through retirement. Many less than the number that left through body bags.

Taking Leo’s hand, Grant had agreed.

They weren’t going to add to the total of those who left in the usual way.

Settling down with a house and a dog in Washington state had never once been something that Grant had expected to find in his future. He had expected more of the same; firefights, espionage, missions in deep cover in foreign countries.

He hadn’t expected early mornings, kissing Leo awake and leaving him to get his bearings, only to have two curious hands announce his presence in the shower minutes later. He hadn’t expected nights sharing popcorn bowls and talking about their days. He hadn’t counted on goodbye kisses in the morning while Leo pinned on his NASA badge, and hello kisses at night when Grant hung up his FBI jacket. There had been no plan for weekends spent on hours-long hikes with the dog.

The domestic life had not once been something that he’d expected he would suit, or that he would get. SHIELD didn’t have much of an allowance for it, and there was nothing in his life but SHIELD.

But that, really, had been before that morning on the Bus, when Leo had taken his communicator from him, and those skilled, practiced, careful hands had smashed it to pieces, much like Grant’s resistance to what Skye and Jemma insisted was fate.

Grant’s fate had been sealed long before those hands did other things.

He’d been caught in its clutches long before Leo’s hands had pulled him into that calming, sweet hug in his bunk. Long before he’d lifted his beer bottle against Grant’s in the steakhouse on Valentine’s day.

Fate had a hold on Grant months before Leo laid in a hospital bed, his injured hand curled around Grant’s sleeve, keeping him there. Its claws had been in him for a long time before Grant had kissed the dull red spot on Leo’s palm, gentle and more loving than their platonic feelings had been able to account for.

Grant had been unarguably been fate’s plaything before they’d shared their first desperate kiss in an elevator, before they’d messed up Leo’s bed and probably bothered his neighbours. Before Leo had climbed into his lap in the middle of a play-off hockey game and distracted him until Grant took him to bed, bolstered by his team’s victory, but eager to give Leo what he’d wanted for the entire last period.

Grant had gladly given himself over to fate months before he’d spread Leo out on the bed in their new home, and undone him careful and slow. Fate had owned him for a very, very long time by the time Grant had lost count of how many times he’d felt Leo’s fingers carding through his hair before tensing and pulling when he arched and whimpered ‘don’t stop, don’t you dare stop now’.

There was no doubt in Grant’s mind that he and Leo were both prizes of fate the evening he’d been down on one knee in the sand at sunset, sliding a ring onto Leo’s finger, and feeling the warmth and surety of Leo’s ‘yes’ burrowing deep in his soul.

It that had never bothered him. He had never been able to see the future. He wasn’t gifted in that way, but he’d always maintained that he knew some things were meant to be.

Watching the gold wink at him from Leo’s left hand as they laced their fingers together and stood in the moonlight at the edge of their backyard, he knew that this was one of them.

“What are you thinking about?” Leo asked, moving in to settle against his chest, breathing him in. It was late. They’d gotten home from the restaurant a long time ago, but the warm night had brought them out here, talking, sharing kisses, and sharing smiles, for nearly an hour.

“Not much.” Grant answered, smiling and running his thumb over Leo’s. “Mostly about how you’ve changed my life. For the better, obviously.”

Leo snorted, pulling back to look up at him. “I should certainly hope for the better.”

“Mm.” Grant turned Leo’s hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the thick gold band on his third finger. “I’m pretty sure it’s for the better.” Pulling his gaze away from Leo’s hand and the ring that matched his own, he looked down, returning the soft, warm smile Leo was giving him, and feeling that warm, heavy feeling in his chest.

He knew its name, now. He had known for a while. Before they’d ever left New York.

It was love.

“Happy anniversary.”

[slamncram]

Fitzward song shuffle

Shuffle chose “Jackpot” by Jocelyn Alice 

“I’m fairly sure this isn’t in the contract agreement for you to be my escort, Agent Ward.”

That was always how the wording went. Something to that effect. The fact of the matter was, Leo had all the money he could never know what to do with, the fame, the cars, the houses; he was a household name. What he didn’t have was someone on his arm who stayed for something more than that, and what he could never have was the agent who would do it if he ever asked.

Grant Ward was one of those shadowy secret agency guys, one of the ones that monstrosity in DC spat out to do its work from time to time. When they had first been paired - as benefactor to the agency and escort - they hadn’t exactly gotten along well. Leo was pompous, and wanted things done his way. Grant was by the book, and didn’t give Leo nearly the information that he wanted.

Leo wasn’t sure when all of that had changed. Somewhere around a year ago, they’d gotten into an argument, and then fallen into bed - or, in this case, a very nice couch - together, and the rest? It was history. Their meetings now consisted of very efficiently getting their mutual work done and over with, to a degree they would both be happy with, and then...

“Ah, damn, yes...” Leo’s fingers tightened in Grant’s hair, head tipping back to give the agent better access to his neck. For all of his boring ways when it came to getting their work done, Grant was anything but in bed. It was, in all honesty, part of the very short list of reasons why Leo hadn’t cut off his contract with the agency, yet. The way Grant made him feel when they were together was comparable to none.

“You - You should come to Malta with me.” Leo whispered, using the leg he’d hooked around Grant’s thighs to pull him in. Grant groaned against his shoulder, hips stuttering.

“I’ve got work.”

“How - oh - how about you make me your work?”

Grant was moving faster, now, and it was harder for Leo to focus on what he was trying to get him to agree to. He didn’t imagine that Grant would have a much easier time, judging by the choked back noise he was making against Leo’s skin.

There would be a time for negotiations, and this, the two of them tensing against each other, clinging and rocketing towards bliss, wasn’t it. Leo had given up on that, fingers twisted in Grant’s hair, legs tightening around his waist, head tipping back on the pillows, broken moan escaping him as--

A flash. Grant gone, the warm gone. A dark room. A lack of sensation. Knowing he was disoriented. A face. Someone in front of him. A hand on his chest, easing him back. Talking to him in a soothing voice.

Aida.

"No. No, no, no, Aida, don’t. Stop this.”

There was no reasoning with the LMD. He knew that. Aida had her goals set out in front of her, and even while Leo tried to fight it, he knew that she was sending him back. Pushing him back into the Framework, where he could have what he’d always wanted.

And what she didn’t understand, would hurt him immensely when he realized how fake it all had been.

[slamncram]

It’s that time of year again! Steph’s birthday!

By which I mean that I will be incredibly sappy at multiple points today while the universe gives me a concrete reason to be sappy about my amazing, wonderful girlfriend and she can’t shoot me down. But that also means my yearly gift in the form of fic!

This year’s serving is a sampling of birthday celebrations from our various alternate universes (and oh, do I mean various. We have a problem) for our beloved, near and dear otp.

And if you don’t know which that is by now… I’m so sorry, clearly we haven’t been obvious enough. BUT. Without further ado…

Happy Birthday, Steph. The Leo to my Grant, my muse, my partner in all things. I hope you enjoy this heaping helping of AU goodness. I love you.

_______________________

That Beautiful Family Home In the Pacific Northwest…

The clatter coming from the kitchen was all the signal Leo needed to know that Grant was home with the kids and, as suspected, he was up to something. Leo hadn’t been able to get more than teasing answers out of him all day when he’d asked what Grant was planning; and he was always planning something. Leo’s birthday was the one day of the year that Leo could count on his husband to plan something ridiculous, secretive, and usually involving the kids. Last year, his birthday had fallen on a Sunday, and the surprise had been breakfast in bed punctuated with enthusiastic hugs and a trip to the beach. This year, his birthday had fallen on a Monday, and Grant had promised they would still make it worth it.

Leo was interested to see what that meant.

Scout and Cricket, their dogs, met him at the door, their tails wagging, Cricket’s tongue lolling out of his mouth while they waited for Leo to get his shoes off. In the kitchen, he heard Tilda stage-whisper “He’s home!”

Grant’s equally loud reply of “Hide!” made Leo smile.

“What am I walking into, boys?” Leo asked the dogs, bending down to rub them both behind the ears, before walking into the kitchen. “A mess, I’m assuming.”

“Surprise!”

Rather than a mess, what greeted Leo was a clean kitchen, and his husband, son and daughter standing behind the dining room table, big grins on their faces. The table in front of them was set with four plates of spaghetti, with a board of sliced garlic bread in the middle, next to a large, somewhat lopsided, half-iced cake. The clatter Leo had heard had clearly come from that – there were icing spades set on the table by it, still covered in blue and green icing, next to two small metal bowls with the same icing.

“Is… Is this for me?”

“Yeah! Yes!” Tilda, their five year old, raced over, Brody following behind her. Tilda chose to barrel right into Leo’s legs, but he was ready for her, and managed not to be bowled over. Brody stopped a few feet short and slid on his sock feet the rest of the way. Brody was getting tall for his seven years, and when he hugged Leo, his arms were just below his ribs.

“Happy birthday, dad.”

Leo’s grin felt like it was going to split his face. It always did, every year, birthday after birthday. Brody was grinning at him, Tilda had a smirk on her face. His two beautiful children.

And leaning against the back of one of the chairs, his hands gripping the top of it while he smiled and watched the three of them, Grant. His sneaky husband, who had picked the kids up early from the sitter, and orchestrated this whole thing. The man who had taken the steps with Leo, so that they could have all of this now, to share, on Leo’s birthday.

When Grant spoke, his words were quiet, but Leo heard them, clear as day, over Tilda trying to negotiate finishing icing the cake and then eating that before the spaghetti, and Brody insisting that they couldn’t do that.

“Happy birthday, babe.”

And in a Cozy Home in Republic City…

It wasn’t that Leo was bitter about spending the night alone, because he wasn’t. Really. Truly. He had known for weeks that there was little chance that he and Grant would be able to spend the day together. For one, now that Grant had used his connections to help Leo get a job, Leo had to work during the day, and since it was a practice night, there was no chance that Grant was going to be able to come see him. Grant had apologised enough times that if Leo wanted, he could listen to them all over again and be half-way between Republic City and the Northern Water Tribe by the time the replay ended.

Leo understood that. Grant was a probender, and he was the firebender on the best team in the league. Trip and Bobbi needed him during their practices, because they couldn’t take the chance on being even one step out of sync. Being one step out of sync could mean the difference between their first place ranking, and sliding down the leaderboard.

Even if they practiced almost every day that they weren’t actually playing a match…

Leo groaned, causing his raccoon monkey, Henry, to look over sharply, before he scrambled down from the windowsill, and clambered into Leo’s lap, chittering his concern. Leo made a soothing sound, scratching his fingers behind the animal’s ears, soothing him. “Ssh. Don’t make that sound, I’m fine. Just being a bit of a baby…”

It was true. Still, it didn’t stop Leo from being a little bitter. He and Grant had been dating – out of the eye of the public – for a few months now. Leo had been looking forward to getting to spend his birthday with his boyfriend, and when it hadn’t worked out, he had, yes, been a little put off. Grant had promised up and down that he would be at Leo’s disposal for the entire next day, but swinging the actual date of his birthday?

It just wasn’t going to work.

“Because they had a press visit tonight.” Leo muttered, aloud, trying to settle himself again, and shake off the bitterness. “And if he skipped it, for a ‘friend’s’ birthday, they would look into me, and then we wouldn’t be able to spend time together as much, because the press would be on my tail, all the time, trying to find things out about me, and…”

Henry tilted his head, and Leo thumped his own back against the couch he was sitting on.

“I would take being hounded by the press, if it meant–”

There was a knock at Leo’s door, startling both of them. Henry jumped off Leo’s lap and bolted for the door, pacing in front of it while Leo followed him, confused. He wasn’t expecting anyone, but maybe Grant had sent a delivery. If he couldn’t be here…

Leo smiled. That was exactly the kind of thing Grant would do. He was so taken up in the sensation of happiness and fondness that he barely noticed the way Henry was looking at him as he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, unbolted the lock, and pulled it open.

For a second, he thought his bitterness was making him hallucinate. He almost pinched himself before thinking better of it, because if he was hallucinating, he didn’t want to end it this fast.

“Trip and Bobbi are covering for me.”

Grant was standing on his doorstep, grinning wide. In one hand, he was carrying a basket. Whatever was in the basket smelled delicious, and Henry seemed to agree, swaying under the basket, seated at Grant’s feet. In Grant’s other hand was a large gift bag, and slung over his shoulder, a bag that Leo could only presume was full of overnight things.

“I’m all yours for the rest of the night. And tomorrow.”

“You’re joking.” Leo said, but he was reaching out already, not caring who might see. His fingers found the collar of Grant’s tunic easily, and Henry skittered out of the way as Leo tugged him in.

“One hundred percent serious.” Grant answered, still grinning wide, even while he leaned down to meet Leo, who was rising up on his toes. Inside his home, it may not be a good idea to stick to the habit he had of raising the earth under his feet to reach the firebender. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” Leo murmured, against his lips, before he kissed Grant, and dragged him fully into the house.

No, Leo hadn’t had a right to be bitter, but if it had made the spirits take pity on him and help orchestrate this, then he certainly was not complaining.

Somewhere on the Open Road…

“You want me to take you to Chuck E Cheese?”

Leo turned in the passenger seat, waiting a few seconds to be sure he heard Grant right. Judging by the smirk on the demon’s face, yes, he’d absolutely heard right. “No. Asshole.” Leo said with a laugh, reaching over to punch him in the thigh.

Grant laughed, not even flinching. “Oh, so you were thinking…?”

“Not Chuck E Cheese. I’m a grown man, Grant.”

“Ohhh, trust me.” Grant looked over, his eyes roving over Leo’s body in a second before he looked back at the road. “I know you are.”

“Mhmm.” Leo stretched back in his seat, kicking off his boots before resting his feet on the dashboard of Grant’s 1967 Dodge Charger. Once upon a time, shortly after Leo had tracked Grant down after his true form had been revealed, Grant wouldn’t have allowed this. Changed, just slightly, by the ritual they’d nearly followed through to the end – and Leo’s death – Grant was more personable, and caring, and when it came to Leo? He was downright sweet. It meant that all he did was glance at Leo’s feet, without a comment.

They drove for a while like that. Silence, except for the music coming from the radio, and the sound of the rumbling engine. It was still before noon, and they had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted to get to South Dakota by sundown. Life as a hunter – or a hunter assisting a demon in regaining his lost humanity – there wasn’t much time to celebrate birthdays in the traditional sense. It was a stop at a roadside diner and some extra dessert, maybe a fancy drink. There wasn’t usually cake and parties, and Leo hadn’t expected that, considering he and Grant were on the move and didn’t have access to either a place to throw a party, or a place to make a cake.

“I’ve got an idea.”

Grant had spoken up out of nowhere, and Leo looked over, raising his eyebrows.

“Sorry?”

“Well, it’s your birthday, and we haven’t really gotten up to a whole lot the last little while…”

Leo felt his eyebrows lift higher. “Are you proposing birthday sex?”

“What?” Grant looked over and then back at the road, laughing. “I mean… Hey, I won’t say no, you know that. But, no, I was thinking I could spring for at least something for your birthday.”

Now he had Leo’s interest piqued. They were turning off the highway, and wherever it was that they were going, he couldn’t guess. It was obvious, though, that Grant knew the way. “Should I even bother asking?”

“Do you want it to be a surprise?”

“Kind of.”

“Then there’s your answer.”

Leo huffed, but didn’t say much else. Yes, he was curious, but he wasn’t curious enough to ask Grant to tell him what he was planning. They drove for a few more minutes before Grant was turning into a parking lot, and…

“Oh my god.” Leo laughed, looking from the restaurant, to Grant. “Really?”

Grant put the Charger in park, and took the keys from the ignition, smirking. “Really. I thought I saw something about 'birthday cake’ flavour last time we went by one. Seems I was right.”

Leo glanced over at the Dairy Queen, noticing the poster in the window that advertised a birthday cake blizzard. They wouldn’t afford a full party, but this? This they could afford, and Leo found that he wanted this a lot more than a party. Turning back to Grant, he slid across the seat, pulling the demon into a kiss, taking his time to make his thanks obvious.

“And maybe later…? Birthday sex?”

Grant laughed. “What would Phil say if he could see you now?”

Leo slid back to the other side of the seat, pushing open the Charger door. “Hopefully he’d say 'happy birthday’.”

In Portland, with the Books and Weapons Away in the Early Morning…

The sound of the rain outside was the first thing that Leo noticed when he came out of his deep, restful sleep. That was nothing new. Rain, in Portland? Definitely common. It was nice to wake up to, though. The sound of it was calming, and it would have lulled Leo back to sleep if it wasn’t for the other things he slowly became aware of as he woke up. The first was that the other side of the bed was empty.

That wasn’t surprising. Grant, being a homicide detective, could be guaranteed to wake up at fairly early hours. Leo’s inheritance and freelance work made it so that he was, essentially, his own boss. He could sleep in if he wanted, and Grant never minded. He wouldn’t have left without sending Leo a good morning text, or, if he was feeling up to it, disturbing Leo from his sleep to wake him up enough for a goodbye kiss.

Being the Grimm meant late nights hunting down rogue wesen, though, and that was precisely what the night before had been. Leo wasn’t surprised that Grant had let him sleep.

The second thing Leo was aware of, after Grant not being in bed with him, was the smell of coffee.

And the third was the date.

“It’s my birthday.”

There was a soft laugh behind him as he muttered those words into his pillow, signalling that Grant, even if he was up, was not yet gone. Leo blinked open his eyes, rolling over to face the edge of his side of the bed. Grant was standing there, fully dressed, and, Leo guessed, freshly showered. In his hand he was holding Leo’s favourite coffee mug, the definite source of that scent. “You made me coffee?”

Grant nodded, setting the coffee down on Leo’s bedside table, before gesturing for him to move over. Leo obliged, shifting back to give Grant enough room to sit down. “I figured I could at least do that before I had to go.” His fingers brushed against Leo’s curls, and down over his temple, to his jaw. “Happy birthday.”

Leo smiled, still groggy, and leaned into Grant’s touch, closing his eyes. “Are you sure you have to go in? Can you get back in bed with me?”

Grant’s palm pressed against his cheek, warm from the coffee cup, and smelling of soap. “I wish I could. But duty calls…” Leo opened his eyes, blinking to focus on Grant. “You can come by for lunch if you want, though. And so long as nothing huge comes up? I made dinner reservations for us tonight.”

Leo grinned. “You’re being very romantic, detective. Making me coffee, offering for me to join you for lunch, making dinner reservations…” He trailed off, closing his eyes while Grant leaned down to kiss him. He tasted like black coffee, and mint toothpaste, and it was making Leo aware of his own morning breath, but he didn’t much care. He couldn’t care, not when Grant was kissing him slow and deep, like he didn’t have anywhere else he wanted to be today.

“Stay.” Leo whispered, when they finally parted. “Stay, and do that to me, all day.”

Grant laughed again, quiet. “I wish I could, but…”

“But.” Leo nodded, looking up at him, searching his eyes and smiling softly. “Duty calls.”

“Duty calls.”

Leo nodded, shifting so he could pull himself upright in bed. Once he had, he tugged Grant in for another quick kiss, and then reached for his coffee. “Then you better answer the call. And I’ll see you tonight? And maybe at lunch?”

Grant nodded, leaning down for one more kiss. “Happy birthday.”

Leo watched him go, sipping his coffee, and trying not to grin ear to ear. It was definitely turning out to be exactly that.

That Old, Old, Ancestral Home for that Old, Old, Exclusive Club…

“Happy birthday.”

On his last birthday, Leo wouldn’t have imagined this. On his last birthday, he’d been away from the Pack, in another country, on a damn island. No, he wasn’t as far away as he could have been, and even then he’d known that there were reasons for that. But he was away. He was gone, and he didn’t need to worry about dealing with certain members of the Pack, even if he hadn’t been able to dodge their texts for the entire day.

A year ago, Leo had been fine with replying to most of them, but there was one that he just couldn’t bring himself to be civil with, as much as parts of him wanted to. And that one was the man in bed with him now, with his mouth on Leo’s neck, and his fingers…

“Ohhhh, God.” Leo buried his face in the thick, feather-down pillow he was gripping in both hands, smothering his moan while his body pushed down on Grant’s fingers. He could feel Grant’s soft laughter rumbling all the way down his spine, and a jolt of electricity followed it. Oh, this felt so good.

“Close, but it’s Grant.” The man curled over him murmured in his ear, and Leo groaned, not nearly so much from pleasure this time, pulling his face away from the pillow.

“Don’t kill the mood, Gra– oh, fuck.”

Leo’s eyes rolled shut, his whole body tensing for a second, all his nerves feeling dead except for where Grant was touching him, driving him crazy, making him barely able to keep from shuddering.

“It’s not killing the mood.” Grant’s lips trailed over his shoulder, featherlight kisses, while Leo exhaled, loudly. His fingers were moving again, not tormenting that one spot inside him that made Leo feel like he was going to wake up the whole house with the sounds he wanted to let loose. “You like my jokes.”

“Unfor – unfortunately.” Leo breathed, pressing his cheek against the pillow so he could see Grant. “Can we please start spending more morn – ohh – more mornings like this?”

Grant was grinning down at him, clearly pretty damn pleased with himself. Leo didn’t need to see the smile to know it; he could feel Grant, pressed against his thigh. He was enjoying this almost as much as Leo was. “I wouldn’t say no, but you know this is special.”

Leo rolled his eyes, and then kept them closed, lips parted, relishing in the feeling of Grant’s careful, slow ministrations. He wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer; Leo knew Grant, and with Grant being as hard as he was, Leo wouldn’t have to worry about how much he was aching to be properly fucked.

“Birthday sex.” Leo muttered. “For a birthday where I don’t look any older or different than I did a year ago. Werewolf perks program.”

Grant leaned down, kissing Leo’s temple while his fingers pulled out. Leo sighed in contentment, but tensed in anticipation of what was coming, shifting himself under Grant, under their mussed blankets, to make it obvious he didn’t want to wait much longer.

“If you want, I can tell you that I think I saw a wrinkle.”

Leo grinned. “You’d be lying.”

He felt more than saw Grant shrug, and then those lips were at his ear, Grant’s hand at his hip, pulling him up, and back, and…

“Oh yes” Leo groaned, eyes squeezed shut, fingers twisting the pillow in his hands.

“Happy birthday.”

The Buy More! No… The Orange Orange! Wait… How About NYC?…

There were a few things that Leo had learned about himself since becoming the Intersect, but there were even more things that he’d learned about NSA Major Grant Ward since the other had softened up and started letting him in, more. There was no doubt in Leo’s mind that the entire debacle with his short-lived relationship with an ex-flame, Sam Wittman, had played a part in that. As much as Grant liked to act like he had only disliked Wittman because of the distraction he’d posed to his asset, Leo was pretty sure – more like extremely confident – that part of it, a significant part, had been jealousy.

This weekend, though, he wasn’t going to bring that up, and didn’t dare mention it, mostly because he didn’t want to deal with a gruff, brooding Grant.

But also because Grant had surprised him, as a 'birthday gift’ and 'apology for being such a dick all the time’ (Bobbi’s words, not Grant’s) with an impromptu weekend trip to New York City.

Now, Leo lived in Echo Park, in L.A. He was used to big cities, and big crowds, and landmarks as far as the eye could see. That did not mean that he contained himself by any means. From the second they left the airport, and got their rental car – ironically, a very conservative Toyota Camry, which was a step down in terms of glamour from Grant’s Lotus – he was looking around, snapping photos on his phone, and, generally, talking a mile a minute.

That hadn’t stopped when they had gotten to their hotel, or when they’d left it to grab lunch, or even when they started their sightseeing. The craziest part about it?

Grant wasn’t telling him to shut up, or slow down, or anything. Grant was watching him, and listening to him, and Grant was talking back. He was getting into Leo’s conversations about the city and its history and everything else that came to Leo’s mind while they walked through Times Square, or rode the subway, or hailed a taxi to take them back to their hotel to change for dinner.

Leo felt very spoiled, but that wasn’t the whole of it.

“I can’t believe you took all of these with me.”

Grant looked over from where he was changing, and, for once, Leo was proud to say that Grant didn’t catch him staring at his shirtless back. That was, of course, because Leo was too busy flipping, slowly, through the photos on his phone. Pictures of the sights were a staple, of course, but something that really stood out to Leo was how many pictures there were of them. Grant had allowed Leo to snap countless pictures of him since before they’d even left L.A., and had surprised Leo by taking at least a dozen, if not more, pictures of Leo on his own phone. At one point, Leo had turned around from taking a picture of the skyline on their hotel room’s balcony, and had caught Grant standing just inside the doors with his phone raised, taking a picture.

The photos that really stood out to Leo, though, were the ones that Grant had let him take of the two of them. Selfies, taken all over Times Square, some by Leo, some by Grant. Selfies taken on the Subway, while waiting for the train, while standing by Central Park – which Grant promised he would take him through tomorrow. Grant wasn’t usually one for selfies, but he hadn’t put up a fuss. Hell, he had even suggested more than a few times that they take one, and in some of them it was obvious that Grant was the one holding the phone, not Leo.

Going through those photos make Leo’s heart feel funny, and made his stomach twist in a bizarre cocktail of hope and apprehension.

“We’re a couple on a weekend trip.” Grant said, while he pulled on his sweater. “We should take lots of couple photos, so that we can remember this. Right?”

Leo looked up, smiling, and doing his best to dash his apprehension against the ground. Grant had been jealous of Sam, of that he was sure. Did that mean that Grant was coming around? Was this his way of doing that, one slow, careful, and yet grand, step at a time? “Right.”

Grant smiled, and when he did, something in Leo’s chest tightened. “All right. Hurry up and finish getting ready. After your birthday dinner, I’m taking you up the Empire State Building.”

That was all the motivation Leo needed to put his phone aside and head for the bathroom. “Will you kiss me at the top, too? It is my birthday, after all.”

Leo was joking, and he hadn’t expected any kind of response, so when Grant did, it was everything he could do to force a quick laugh and shut the bathroom door, staring at his reflection.

“If you hurry up and get ready, I’ll kiss you wherever you want.”

The universe wouldn’t be that cruel.

Would it?

The Family Fun Park filled with Education and Dinosaurs…

Leo’s birthday, on this island, wasn’t usually much of an affair. They were a resort destination, and that meant that, yes, Jurassic World had bars and restaurants and nightclubs, but, after a while, those all got pretty tired. Especially when they were the only regular source of entertainment when you lived here, year-round. In the last year, Leo had taken to thinking that he’d love nothing more than a dinner out, and then a night in, for his birthday. It didn’t help that his birthday landed smack-dab in the middle of one of their busiest times, before families got tied down by the return to school of their children. If he could get off the island, one of these years, for his birthday, that might be different, but, for now, the control room analyst would be happy with the plans he’d set for himself.

Plans that he had even gotten the notoriously anti-social (unless you were raptors, trainers, or Leo, for some reason) raptor trainer and alpha, Grant Ward, to agree to. It was impressive, when one realized that Leo’s other friends from the control room would be there, but as some of the trainers – such as Jemma’s girlfriend, the mosasaur trainer, Bobbi – would be there too, he suspected Grant would be able to handle things.

Leo hadn’t expected to see Grant until later that afternoon, when they all got off work and met up for that dinner, so when he walked into the control room and found him seated at Leo’s station, he was surprised, to say the least.

“Happy birthday, nerd!”

A few of the other early-bird analysts looked over, but most of them were used to Grant being here in the mornings. It had become something of a regular occurrence over the last few months, since they’d shouted out their differences and found a friendship in each other.

“I didn’t expect you to show up this early.” Leo said, not bothering to hide his smile while he eyed the gift bag in Grant’s lap. It was fairly big, and, of course, emblazoned with an image of his beloved raptor pack. Therefore, it had been bought in one of Isla Nublar’s many gift shops, and, Leo suspected, so had the gift inside. It wasn’t like Grant got off-island any more than Leo did, and it would be in line with some of the other gifts Grant had given him.

At least once a week, the trainer would show up with a small but beautiful knick-knack from one of the gift-shops. They were displayed on Leo’s workstation, proudly, and had honestly become something that he looked forward to.

“It’s your birthday, and I wanted to be the first one to surprise you.” Grant said, standing up and offering Leo his chair. Once Leo had sat down, Grant dropped the gift bag in his lap, and leaned against the workstation beside him. “Come on, open it.”

“Impatient.” Leo shot back, but did as Grant asked, opening the bag and pulling out the card.

“No, wait! Uh, save that for last.”

Leo had jumped, and glared up at Grant, dropping the card back into the bag, and reaching for something else. “You know, generally you’re supposed to open the card first.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not conventional. Come on, come on…”

Leo rolled his eyes, but smiled, digging into the bag and pulling out the gifts.

There was a bottle of sunscreen, which Grant explained was necessary, but also a joke, because he, personally, was a fan of the way Leo freckled in the sun, but maybe he should protect himself if he was going to keep coming by to visit Grant.

Next Leo pulled out two new plaid button up shirts, which Grant said he’d had shipped from the mainland. The last time Leo had visited the raptor paddock, his shirt had gotten caught on the fence around the gangway, and torn slightly. He hadn’t thought much of it. Clearly, Grant had.

There was, of course, a gift shop knick-knack. It was the snowglobe of the Innovation Center that the park had just debuted this month. Leo told Grant that it would be going back with him to his apartment, and getting a place of honour in his bedroom.

After that, only the card was left. Leo looked up at Grant as he pulled it loose, asking permission before he slid the flap open. Grant didn’t stop him, but if Leo wasn’t mistaken, he looked almost… Nervous?

That didn’t seem right. The raptor trainer – raptor alpha – didn’t get nervous. Ever. Looking back down at the card, Leo flipped it open, and a small, smooth envelope slipped out, landing in his lap. Leo brushed his fingers against it, waiting to look at it until after he’d read the message, writing inside in Grant’s all capital letters scrawl.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NERD. I HOPE IT’S A GREAT DAY AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH TOO MUCH BULLSHIT (I’LL KEEP MINE TO A MINIMUM). I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW… I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR FRIENDSHIP, AND EVERYTHING WE’VE GOT. I THINK YOU’VE FIGURED OUT THAT I DON’T GET CLOSE TO PEOPLE EASILY, AND YOU MANAGED TO GET IN REALLY DEEP WITH ME. I HOPE YOU KNOW I DON’T TAKE THAT LIGHTLY, AND I DON’T TAKE YOU FOR GRANTED.

I KNOW HOW STIR-CRAZY THIS PLACE CAN MAKE YOU, SO I TOOK THE LIBERTY OF GETTING THESE. OBVIOUSLY, YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE ME BUT I WOULDN’T SAY NO. THEY’RE GOOD FOR WHENEVER, SO YOU PICK THE TIME AND PLACE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEO

GRANT

Leo looked up at Grant, and then, slowly, pulled the envelope up, looking at it. The park had a program for staff, understanding that sometimes they needed to get away. With that in mind, associates could purchase tickets that could be turned in, whenever they liked, for a flight off the island, to any destination that was within eight hours. The tickets were $500 each, which meant they weren’t necessarily a steal, but if people wanted to stretch the distance to that full eight hours, they definitely could be.

And Grant had bought Leo two.

“This… This is…”

“I mean, it’s really not that much, when you think about it.”

“No. No, this is a lot. This… This is…”

Grant smirked, and Leo was shocked to see how clearly he could tell that it was a reaction meant to mask how attached to the giving of this gift he was.

It was that, more than anything, that had him standing up out of his chair and throwing his arms around Grant, dragging him into a tight hug, eyes closed, face buried in his neck, breathing in his clean, warm smell. There weren’t words that could describe how much the gift meant to him, so Leo hoped that the words he breathed against Grant’s skin would be enough.

“Thank you.”

Grant’s arms tightened around him, and Leo grinned, feeling inexplicably light.

“You’re more than welcome.”

A Secluded Estate Just Outside Los Angeles…

Leopold Fitz was a name known the world over. He was a genius of innovation, a tech mogul unlike any other. His designs and patents had no rivals, and he’d built an empire that many envied. His house was large, but not obnoxious, his collections were vast, and his bank account? Grant knew for certain that it ran deep, and he didn’t need to see it to know that. The fact was that every time he turned around, Leo was offering to up his salary or buy him some extravagant thing.

Leo Fitz was now, by this point in his life, used to the finer things.

That was why Grant was standing by the poolside, frowning deeply, and wondering if Leo was going to laugh at this. The thing was, Leo had forbade him from buying him anything for his birthday, because he didn’t want Grant using those funds on someone who already had all the money in the world to buy anything he might need.

That didn’t mean that Grant couldn’t do something for his boss’ birthday.

He just wasn’t sure if this was the right something, or if it crossed a line from 'nice’ into 'juvenile’.

“Well, you’ll never know if you don’t show him.” Grant muttered to himself, taking one last look around the poolside. He turned and headed up to the house, his flip-flops (provided by Leo) slapping on the patio stones with every step. Leo wasn’t hard to find, holed up in his office, music playing while he designed. It was idle, that much Grant could tell, because he wasn’t hunched up and tense. That was a good sign. “Uh… Hey, Leo?”

Leo looked up from his work, smiling broadly. “Hey. You’ve been scarce today, I wondered if you took my offer of a day off of guarding my body seriously.”

Grant smiled, shrugging. “Sort of. Not quite? I know you’re working…”

“Oh, not really.” Leo assured him, dropping his pencil and spinning around in his chair. He narrowed his eyes, looking Grant over. “You’ve been scheming… Grant, I told you not to buy me anything.”

“I didn’t.” Grant assured him, holding up both hands. “You have my word, boss. But, if you’re not busy, did you want to come down to the pool?”

Leo could see part of the pool area from his office. The doors opened onto the rear yard, and around the huge shrubs, the end of the pool could be seen. Grant knew this, so he had gone to the trouble of making sure that Leo wouldn’t be able to see what he’d done. Leo was on to him at least somewhat, but he couldn’t know exactly what Grant had planned.

“If you bought me something…” Leo warned, standing up, but he was grinning while he followed Grant out of the office and down the stairs, across the rear yard, coming around the hedges to…

“Oh. Oh, my god.”

Grant grinned, looking from the set-up with the bluetooth stereo system he’d taken from the pool house – his quarters – the large floating chairs he’d dropped into the pool, and the barbeque and cooler he’d set up next to a simple wooden picnic table he’d persuaded Leo to buy a few months back, and back to his boss. Yes, it was simple, but that was what Leo looked for more often than not, Grant had noticed. The simple things drew him in more than flash and dazzle.

“I know that you’re going to Hollywood on Saturday for dinner with your friends, and it’s going to be big and expensive to celebrate your birthday, but… Since it’s today, I thought I could treat you to a burgers and beers dinner of our own. It’s not a lot, but I figured… This, at least, you couldn’t give me shit for.”

Leo looked over at him, quiet for a moment, before he waved a finger. “Oh, no, Grant Ward. I could give you shit for this. I’m just not going to because you know what?” Leo turned back to the spread, taking it in. “This is the nicest birthday dinner anyone’s made for me since my mum passed away.”

Grant nodded, crossing his arms, almost nervous. “So… It’s okay?”

Leo turned to him, smiling widely. “It’s perfect.”

That Ol’ Undisclosed Villainous Base…

“Get your ass downstairs and in your goddamn lab.”

That wasn’t exactly the way Leo had expected to be woken up on his birthday, but he couldn’t complain. He really couldn’t. He was the one that had run away from SHIELD when Coulson had strictly forbade him from continuing his work with the Monolith. He was the one that had come running to Grant and his new HYDRA. He was the one who had been so damn pleased to fall into bed with his partner, and because of that, he should have seen this coming.

Even if it was his birthday, he couldn’t expect Grant to let him lay around in their shared bed, and take the day off. There were things to be built, plots to be hatched, SHIELD bases to be infiltrated. That just wasn’t going to happen without Leo’s assistance, and as much as he wanted to pretend it could…

Well, he’d been the one to demand that Grant make him an equal.

“Could have at least said 'happy birthday’.” Leo muttered, throwing off the covers and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Grant grunted something unintelligible and left the room. Leo could hear him banging around in the kitchen while he pulled on boxers, jeans, and a shirt, spraying deodorant under his arms before he walked into the common area of their living quarters.

“You coming?” He asked, swinging open the door. The locks had all been turned and disabled by Grant, so there was nothing to slow Leo down from clomping down the metal stairs. He could hear Grant behind him, and didn’t turn around when he asked, “I assume you need me to do something?”

“No, I wanted you to stand in the lab and look pretty.” Grant shot back. Leo’s feet hit the concrete floor of the warehouse they ran their operations out of, and he took a hard right, heading toward the hallway down which his lab could be found. “Of course I need you to do something.”

Leo rolled his eyes, casting a glare over his shoulder at Grant. When the bigger man didn’t react, he added a flip of his finger to it. That got one back from Grant, and Leo turned back around, smirking, pleased with himself. Grant might be a prick, but he was his prick, and that was just the way Leo liked it.

The door to his lab was closed when they approached, which wasn’t shocking. What was shocking was the fact that it was unlocked. Only he and Grant knew the code to the door, and Leo knew that he made sure to lock it every night when he went to their living quarters. Looking over at Grant suspiciously, he heaved on the door, swinging it open and…

“You got them.”

One of the issues with building one’s own up and coming sect of HYDRA was that it really was an operation you built from the ground up with whatever materials you could get your hands on. The computers that Leo had been using for a while now had been decent, but they were at least five models back on the current SHIELD models, and they could be slow and frustrating to work with.

Grant had insisted that the computers were the last damn thing that they needed to worry about, and had told Leo that they were at the bottom of his priority list.

That had been last week.

Now, sitting on the workspaces that Leo had set up, were the current model SHIELD computers. Not turned on, of course, because Leo would have to gut them of their SHIELD tracking and access components before they could use them, but sitting there, ready to be used. Some of the most beautiful pieces of tech Leo had ever seen.

“Mhmm. I don’t half-ass birthday gifts.”

Leo turned, fixing him with a grin. “This is my birthday present?”

“Yep.”

Backing Grant up against the closed lab door, Leo used the front of his shirt to drag him down into an open, messy kiss. “Are you part of my present, too? Because I really want to thank you…”

Grant’s grin was wolfish. “New tech gets you hot?”

“You get me hot.” Leo replied, already working at Grant’s belt. “The new tech is just a nice bonus.”

On the Move…

How were you supposed to celebrate your birthday during the zombie apocalypse?

Leo didn’t know. He hadn’t had the faintest idea, and, because of that, while he’d made note of the date on the calendar, he hadn’t had plans, or ideas, for how to celebrate it. Being one of the last hopes for humanity meant that there wasn’t much time set aside for personal things, much less a birthday party.

Not only that, but their company could be on the move at a moment’s notice. When that was the reality you lived with, you couldn’t really make concrete plans. There was no real way to celebrate a birthday during the zombie apocalypse.

And yet, somehow, Grant had found a way.

“I know it isn’t exactly an ice cream cake or anything.”

Leo shook his head, taking the rag-wrapped tin can that Grant was passing him. The smell of chocolate was filling his nostrils and making his mouth water. Somehow, and Leo wasn’t sure how, Grant had managed to make him a mug cake in a tin can, over smoldering coals, while they were in the midst of their latest move. No, it wasn’t an ice cream cake, but it was a damn sight more than Leo had expected to get today.

“Sergeant Ward, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Grant shrugged, sitting down cross legged across from Leo. His jacket was off and tied around his waist, leaving his arms bare, his dog tags stark silver against the black of his t-shirt. He looked relaxed and at ease, and the ration of boxed wine that he was pouring out into the tops of their travel thermoses was doing nothing to hamper that. He looked like they could just be two guys out on a camping trip, instead of a soldier and a scientist, moving from one US Military base to the next while Leo worked tirelessly at the cure for the infection that had swept the globe.

It was nice. It was really nice.

“You learn things, when you’re in the field. I thought this was one skill that you might appreciate.”

Taking a forkful of the warm tin can cake, Leo slid it into his mouth, and groaned. The taste was rich, the cake moist and delicious. It was the best thing he’d had to eat in a long time. “This is so good, Grant. Oh my god, thank you. Here, here…” He scooped up another forkful, leaning over to offer it to Grant.

When the soldier hesitated, Leo clicked his tongue.

“It’s your birthday gift from me.” Grant insisted.

“Yeah? Well, it’s my birthday, and I want you to have some of this cake.”

He felt a smug rush of success when Grant rolled his eyes and shook his head, a smile playing at his lips. That was Grant conceding, if Leo had ever seen it. He waved the fork, just a little, and Grant opened his mouth, letting Leo feed him the piece of cake.

“Okay… Okay, I didn’t do half bad with that.”

“Oh, no, you did great.” Leo said, happily digging into the cake while Grant took a sip of his boxed wine.

No, celebrating a birthday in the midst of the zombie apocalypse seemed like an impossible task. Thankfully, Leo had been put in the protective care of a man who seemed capable of achieving the impossible, and with that kind of inspiration at his side, how could Leo not look forward to the future?

A Small, Hot Apartment in San Francisco…

“So, how was today?”

Leo leaned back in his computer chair, listening to Grant’s voice on the other end of the phone. It had been a long day for him – engineering exams were never easy – and he was looking forward to going out for dinner tonight with Jemma, Daisy and Lincoln to celebrate his birthday, and the end of a summer term. Before that, though, he wanted to have his regularly scheduled call with Grant.

Grant was in Orange County, or, more precisely, from what Leo guessed by the time, he was walking from the park to the cast members’ parking lot, to get to his motorcycle, and get home. The way his voice was echoing made Leo sure that was where Grant was.

Leo? Leo was in his apartment in San Francisco, sitting in front of his fan with the windows wide open, his plaid button-up t-shirt open over his shorts while he idly pushed himself back and forth with one foot. They could be further apart, and he knew that, but he still hated this.

He hated that they were apart, that he couldn’t meet Grant at the park, or that Grant wasn’t coming home to share a shower with him before birthday dinner. Grant had tried to get time off to come to San Fran for Leo’s birthday, but, unfortunately, his role as Prince Eric, and the park’s increased traffic over the summer months had made it impossible. Grant was still going to be coming for Thanksgiving – he didn’t have a family to spend it with, really – but that was months from now, and Leo just wanted to see him now.

“It wasn’t too bad. Lots of little girls wanted hugs from me.”

Leo smiled, picking at the edge of his desk. “I’d like a hug from you.”

Silence, and a mechanical sound in the background. An elevator? “I’d like to give you one. A nice, long one. Even if it’s hot and gross.”

“Especially because it’s hot and gross.” Leo said with a grin, tipping the chair back further. “Is it disgusting if I say I really don’t mind the feeling of our skin sticking together, because at least we’re close enough to touch?”

Grant laughed. “Uh, nope. I feel the exact same way, so I guess that makes us both pretty damn gross, huh?” More mechanical sounds.

Leo frowned. “Are you on an elevator?”

Another pause. “Nope.”

That echoed strangely.

“Grant… Where are you?”

Another pause.

“Grant… Come on, don’t mess with me, it’s my birthday.”

“I know.”

Leo narrowed his eyes, putting his feet flat on the floor and sitting forward. “Grant?”

There was a knock at his door. One that was echoed in the phone call.

“Oh my god.” Leo breathed, dropping his phone on the desk, the call still going, while he dashed from the living area, to the apartment door, throwing the lock and pulling it open.

Standing there, his phone still to his ear, in full Prince Eric regalia – though Leo noticed it definitely wasn’t the Disney Parks version of the costume – was Grant, his sneaky, brilliant, stupidly handsome boyfriend. He was grinning widely, pulling the phone away so he could end the call.

“Happy birth–”

Leo rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Grant’s neck and pulling him into a tight hug. “I thought you couldn’t…”

Grant’s laugh while he wrapped Leo in his arms rumbled through him, warm and delicious. “I might have lied to make it a surprise.”

Leo grinned, burying his face in Grant’s neck and breathing him in. “Best birthday surprise. Ever.”

SHIELD Academy, Sci-Ops Department…

The issue with training the next generation of SHIELD scientists was that, sometimes, it felt like training a few intelligent people, and a couple dozen idiots who had somehow slipped through the cracks. Some of his cadets were amazingly brilliant, wise and smart and innovative people who were going to bring amazing things with them to the agency. The others made him want to beat his head against his desk until he knocked himself unconscious. No, that wasn’t the most helpful way to deal with them, but, sometimes…

“Am I interrupting a daydream?”

Leo looked up, catching sight of the person who had spoken. A few months ago, the sight of Operations Instructor Grant Ward would have made Leo’s hackles raise. Now, he only felt a twinge of apprehension, and curiosity. They had made a deal a few weeks back; no more screwing around, enough with the hate sex. If they wanted to keep reaping the benefits of that, they needed to find a way to exist around each other that didn’t end in knock-down fights, or at least publicly humiliating shouting matches.

It was going well, so far. Leo had gotten a few gym sessions out of it, at least, and they were having regular coffee dates. He couldn’t ask for a more successful trial, minus the few snarling arguments they’d had. All things considered, they were on track.

“No, you’re interrupting me considering the pros and cons of giving myself a concussion so I don’t need to keep going through these cadet reports.” Leo answered, gesturing to the pile in front of him. He looked Grant up and down, raising his eyebrows. “Something I can help you with, Agent Ward?”

Grant sat himself down in one of Leo’s office chairs. The office door was still open, so this wouldn’t be a very private conversation, which helped Leo relax a bit. He had been concerned, for a second, that Grant was here to terminate their trial, and everything else they’d had going on. He would have expected the universe to play that cruel trick. It was just that way.

“A little bird –”

“–A six foot bird, I assume.”

Grant smiled. “Okay, Bobbi told me, via Jemma, that it was your birthday today.”

Leo blinked. That was not what he’d expected by way of explanation for why Grant was there. He hadn’t expected anything like that, because he wasn’t sure that Grant would have cared all that much. Yes, they had… Whatever it was that they had going on right now, but that hadn’t meant that Grant would want to come visit him to wish him a happy birthday.

“Uh… Yeah.” Leo said, slowly.

Grant smiled. “Let me take you to lunch? Get you out of this office for a little while?” He paused, looking over the mess on Leo’s desk. The sci-ops instructor braced himself for Grant to make a snide comment about it. “Consider it an olive branch.”

Grant was here, wishing him a happy birthday, offering to take him to lunch, and not making comments about his messy workspace?

Leo stood up, grabbing his satchel and jacket. “I’m feeling like burgers. Are you feeling like burgers?”

Grant snorted, shaking his head as he stood up. “It’s your birthday, Agent Fitz. I’m feeling like whatever you’re feeling.”

In an Old Castle with a Tall Tower…

Mid-August had come along much sooner than Grant had anticipated, but, in some ways, he was happy for that. It meant that September 1st wasn’t long off, and the students would be returning soon, so he would have something to do, regularly. Not that he hadn’t found ways to spend his summer. He had traveled back to the United States to visit some family and old friends, but he’d had to keep that trip quiet. He’d also visited Leo at his home away from Hogwarts in Scotland before they’d headed back to the castle to move in again before term started. The other professors were around, doing the same as them, but the week that Leo and Grant had spent at Leo’s had been helpful for both of them, especially in that it had given them time to bounce lesson plans off each other, and decide where they would be starting their various students at the beginning of term.

Since that was done, there was little else they needed to do. Prepare their classrooms? Check. Gather supplies? Check. Clean up their living quarters after they had been away for a little while? Check.

That left only a few little things.

“My mum taught me these cleaning charms when I was young, actually.” Leo said, flicking his wand, almost like he didn’t care. Grant watched while a flurry of dust rolled across the Astronomy Tower floor and gathered itself with the growing pile under the window. Yes, this sort of thing could be left to the school’s custodian, but cleaning Leo’s Astronomy tower was somewhat calming for them both. The sun was shining outside, and the castle was quiet. They had time, alone, together, and Grant was getting to watch Leo perform magic. Considering the other was the school’s astronomy professor, that was something Grant saw rarely, unless they were in one of their own private lessons to strengthen Leo’s defensive spells.

“She wanted you to help out around the house more?” Grant ventured.

Leo snorted, turning, his robes brushing the floor as he did. “Ah, no. She wanted me to have the skills to make a witch a very happy wife some day.” He paused, giving Grant a knowing, if shy, smile. “Or a wizard a happy husband.”

Grant smiled, mimicking the charm and sending up his own flurry of dust. “Smart witch, your mom.”

“I think so.” Leo agreed. “What else did you want to do today?”

Grant moved towards the window, flicking his wand, making the pile of dust lift up, and up, and over the sill, out into the breeze. “As fun as this is… I’d like to maybe take you into the village for your birthday.”

Leaning against the wall next to the window, Leo smiled up at him, his eyes bright behind his glasses. “Yeah?”

“Mhmm.” Grant nodded, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was wandering up the tower stairs to interrupt them, before he leaned down and kissed Leo, slow and gentle. “If that would be all right? And then I could give you your gift…”

Leo leaned up again, stealing another kiss. “What did you get me?”

Grant smiled. “Village first. Then you can see.”

“You’re no fun.”

“You don’t mean that.” Grant said with a laugh. Leo proved him right by pulling him down into another, slower kiss.

“You’re right. I don’t. All right, you’ve won me over. Come on, professor Ward. Let’s head into Hogsmeade, and then I want my birthday present.” He headed towards the tower stairs, looking back at Grant over his shoulder. “Um… Thank you, also. I forgot to say that.”

Following behind him, Grant shook his head. “The kiss said it for you.”

Roughly 25 Miles From the Scene of a Tornado Touchdown…

There were few things that got their group going like a successful chase. It had been a week since the last time they had arrived in time to catch a tornado forming, touching down, and dissapating, but the one they had caught that day was nothing short of an absolute beauty. They’d managed to get great data from it, beautiful footage, and a contact high seemed to have come through on the wind, making it impossible for any of them to stop smiling and laughing while they crowded around the two tables the diner had staked out for them.

“I thought we weren’t going to make it when we hit that back-up on the highway.”

“People running away from tornadoes. And we think they’re insane.”

“They are insane! You saw that thing. It was the most beautiful–”

“–Come on the dance floor with me.”

Grant had been so caught up in the joint conversation that when Leo spoke, directly in his ear, he had thought he was imagining things. The whole point of this diner trip wasn’t just to celebrate the beautiful storm they’d caught; it was Leo’s birthday, and they’d intended to visit this place anyway. The storm had been a bonus, a gift for their fearless leader from Mother Nature herself. Riding the high from that, and being the birthday boy, Leo had finished at least four beers before he’d dropped himself down in the seat next to Grant and leaned over to whisper that in his ear.

Grant glanced towards the dance floor. This diner was one of a kind. There was the diner part, of course, but a third of the building was dedicated to an arcade, and the other third to a moderately sized dance floor. There wasn’t anyone on the dance floor right now, but quite a few people were in the arcade and the diner. That would make the two of them stick out like sore thumbs.

“What?”

Leo laughed, soft, standing and wrapping his arms around Grant’s shoulders. “It’s my birthday, and you took some beautiful footage, and I want you to come dance with me, because I don’t want to be the loser who dances by himself.”

Grant snorted. “Take Jemma.”

“Jemma’s busy talking.”

Leo had a point there. “You really want to dance?”

“Mostly just with you.”

Grant tipped his head back, eying Leo. “How about we head back to the motel then, and do that by the pool?”

“Nope. I wanna dance here, with this ridiculous 80s music coming through the speakers, and you having to do it.” He grinned, patting both hands on Grant’s chest. “Come on. The others will join once we start.”

Grant rolled his eyes, pushing back his chair, a clear sign of Leo’s victory, which the other signaled with a whoop. Grant had barely gotten to his feet before Leo was looping his arm through Grant’s and dragging him to the dance floor.

When Grant had joined up with this group, he’d thought it would be a good way to pass his summer, something to shake off his boredom. Months upon months later, and with Leo laughing and turning, their fingers linked, Grant wasn’t surprised that he was still here.

The birthday boy was a big damn reason for that.

[slamncram]

My girlfriend loves to lay in bed in the morning when I’m at work, and talk to me between bouts of dozing. She apologises for falling asleep again, despite knowing that I understand there’s a three hour time difference between us, and I want her to sleep. She wakes up an hour before my morning shifts - even the 6AM ones - to tell me she loves me, and to drive safe.

My girlfriend likes to walk to work. She likes to put her music and sunglasses on, and enjoy the sun while she walks one of three routes. Sometimes she sends me pictures of her smiling face in the sun. Sometimes, because she’s ambitious, she’ll run home after work.

My girlfriend is a hairdresser. That means a lot of things, but it means that at any given time, she could message me from work and say she’s thinking about, or has done, something new with her hair. When I get to see her, it means she gets her hands in my hair, and cuts it, styles it, plays with it until I’m calm.

My girlfriend doesn’t believe she’s a good cook. Or, more, my girlfriend has, in the past, had reservations about her ability to cook. In the last few months, though, she’s been challenging herself, and conquering recipes, and sharing her successes. There’s something adorable and wonderful about her pride when she’s mastered the latest recipe.

My girlfriend loves scary movies. She loves the thrill, the scarier, the better. It’s better before it’s too late in the evening, though, when it’s not too far past sundown to be really, really scary, if she doesn’t have someone to talk to during it. She loves watching scary movies with me, too. There’s something about my big reactions that makes it an experience, I guess.

My girlfriend has the most beautiful laugh, and the most stunning smile. It is her most lethal weapon. It turns my knees weak, and makes me a mess. Her eyes light up, and nothing around her, but her, matters.

My girlfriend has the most gentle, loving touch. When we first see each otther, after months apart, her arms feel like a warm house after hours stuck outside in the snow without a jacket. Her embrace feels like safety, and comfort. When I feel her in my arms, safe, my heart feels calmed, and my mind at ease.

There are so many things I know about the girl I love. The steps she takes before she can peacefully fall asleep. The way she feels on a Monday night when we are free for our shared weekend. The little changes that mean something is bothering, upsetting, or confusing her. 

I know the happiness she feels when she gets to spend time with her parents. I know the joy she takes in coffee - and I can usually guess, with no difficulty, how she’ll take it. I know how she reacts when a common fly dares to sneak into her apartment.

I love this girl with all my heart, and mind, body and soul. I love her, I know her, and every day she shows me more of herself, more little quirks and habits, that file themselves away quietly while I revel in the overwhelming wash of adoration I feel for her.

My girlfriend is a comforting surprise. My girlfriend is like no one else, and she chose me. My girlfriend makes my life better every day, with every little thing she does.

My girlfriend. I can finally, freely, stand in front of the world, and call this amazing human being my girlfriend.

And knowing that I am free to do that, to show the world how I see her, with no shadows over any of it, is one of the best things I’ve ever felt in my life.

Second only to the peace that I find in the warmth of her touch, the kindness of her eyes, the beauty in her smile, and the love of her kiss.

[slamncram]

TonyRhodey + "It's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway."

Sleep has been almost impossible since New York.

It’s a reality that Tony has long since accepted. When he could achieve sleep naturally, it would be plagued with nightmares. First, it was nightmares of space. Of the world that he’d seen spread out before him, the entire damn galaxy, and at the center of it, an alien armada that meant to destroy Earth. It was an alien armada that they hadn’t even known was possible until a few days prior. At least, not that he had known. Thor had been kept a very, very good secret by SHIELD. Not his existence, but the circumstances of it. Tony understood his own blunder in not looking into that more. It had been arrogant and shortsighted on his part. It might have spared him a lot of upset. 

Then again, there wasn’t much that could have prepared him for the full force of seeing space spread out before him.

Then there had been the whole mess with Aldrich Killian. That had, in ways, helped Tony. For a few weeks, he’d slept easy, and the nightmares had been quiet. With all of that behind him, and Pepper safe, he’d been able to get some shut eye. 

Of course, once he’d managed to fully calm down, and believe he was over the space dilemma, and the issue of keeping Pepper safe, and the fact that, as an Avenger, he had taken on a duty to protect the planet, it all came rushing back.

In hindsight, that was definitely one of the worst factors in what had led him to even consider Ultron. It had been very present in his mind the first time he’d brought it up to Bruce. And once he had, it was only a matter of time before things, as they tended to do, went ass up.

In the aftermath of all of that, the nightmares came back. Tony had expected that. It wasn’t like he could hold them off forever. Not with the job he did, not with the world they lived in. It had only been a matter of time.

Moving to the Avengers compound for a few weeks had seemed like the best option. A change of venue, people had suggested, might starve the nightmares of a familiar place in which to take hold. For one night, it had worked.

On the fourth night, Tony found himself sitting on one of the couches he’d personally picked out, pushed into the corner like he might be able to disappear into it, if he tried hard enough. It wasn’t working, but being in the common area was keeping him from falling asleep. Fiddling with his phone was helping even more. 

The sound of footsteps in the hallway alerted him to the fact that someone else was awake, It wasn’t surprising, in a compound full of combat veterans. It was probably Steve, maybe Sam. Good chance it might be Natasha, though Tony wasn’t sure if she was still hanging around the compound, or if she’d run out on a personal mission of some kind of another.

When he looked up, and saw Rhodey, Tony felt relief wash over him so strongly he would have gasped, if he didn’t have the self control he did. “You shouldn’t sneak up on a man with PTSD.”

“I know.” Rhodey shot back, his voice quiet as to not disturb anyone else. “It’s why I didn’t sneak. I approached, very obvious, right in front of you.” He pointed at the opposite end of the couch. “This seat taken?”

“By all means.” Tony said, gesturing at it. Rhodey settled into the couch, getting comfortable, quiet. He didn’t need to say anything, not really. His being there was enough of a calming presence that Tony only waited a minute before flipping his phone back up, going back to the game he’d been playing.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them interrupting the other’s thoughts, before, during a lull between the questions of the trivia game he was playing, Tony spoke up. “Didn’t wake you up when I came out here, did I?”

Rhodey shook his head. “I mean, yeah. You weren’t exactly quiet when you woke up.”

Tony couldn’t help the small, shameful nod. He’d hoped that he was past the point of talking, and thrashing, when he had the nightmares. Just because no one had complained yet, didn’t mean it didn’t happen. “Forgot you weren’t exactly a deep sleeper.”

Rhodey smile. “It’s okay, Tony. I wasn’t asleep anyway.”

Tony nodded again. That, too, wasn’t surprising. Rhodey had seen a lot of action in the Air Force. He’d also, now, seen a lot of action with the Avengers. Between what Tony had been through, and what had happened with the Mandarin, and then Ultron, Rhodey had as much of a claim to sleeplessness as Tony.

“I slept better next to Pepper.” Tony finally said, quietly. Rhodey seemed to have lapsed into his own thoughts, but he looked up at the sound of Tony’s voice. He didn’t say anything, but it was evident in his eyes that he was fine for Tony to continue. “I don’t know what it was. Having someone else there, seemed to keep... Keep my mind from trying to drive me back to the edge of hysteria.. It wasn’t just the PTSD. And, you know, I...” Tony raised his eyebrows in an expression of faux incredulity. “I managed to get that one. It’s... It’s the guilt, too. Ultron was my mistake. I was trying to do something to help the world, and I unleashed something that was the exact opposite of that.”

Rhodey nodded, but didn’t offer up anything. He didn’t need to. Having known Tony as long as he did, he knew when to give his advice, and when to let Tony go.

“It’s only a matter of time before something worse comes along, isn’t it?” Tony blew out a breath. “This is the kind of shit that sleeping next to someone helped. But Pepper...”

He didn’t need to continue. Rhodey understood. He always understood.

“Might help us both.” He said, quietly, finally looking over at Tony. He held his gaze for a long moment, before extracting himself from the couch, and standing, looking down at his old friend. “Having someone to sleep next to.”

Tony waited a beat, thinking about it. Not what Rhodey was suggesting, but exactly what it was that made it possible for Rhodey to know exactly what he needed, every time he needed it.

“I’m still a bed hog.” Tony said, getting to his feet.

Rhodey laughed quietly, shaking his head and turning to lead the way back to his room. Tony followed on his heels, his phone quiet and forgotten in his hand. “Didn’t think you would’ve changed that habit, Tony. It’s a good thing I’m big enough to hold my own.” He waited a beat, and asked in a more serious tone. “Same as always?”

Tony looked at Rhodey’s bed as they entered the room, remembering the distinctly safe, peaceful feeling it gave him to have his back pressed to his partner’s chest, surrounded by someone who not only loved him, but understood him. “Same as always.”