You can still send me prompts! It might take a while because of school, but I will get to them! (also, to the anon who sent me the Power Rangers prompt. I will write it!...It may take a while because it just may get a full fic treatment)
"Please put me down it's just a sprengend ankle" for joeymack 🐻
There were a lot of things that Joey had learned since he’d come into his Inhuman powers. For one, he’d learned how to work with his powers. That had been a trial in and of itself, but he’d done it. He had learned to accept what he was, rather than be afraid of it. He had learned how to work with a team that was made of up superhumans rather than a bunch of construction guys. And he’d learned how to be a superhuman working for an underground spy agency.
What he hadn’t learned was how to deal with getting injured in the process of working for that underground spy agency, particularly when it ended like this.
“Please put me down.” Joey muttered, knowing that he probably looked like he was sulking, his chin propped on Mack’s shoulder. “It’s just a sprained ankle. I can handle it. And you’re probably beginning to regret this. It’s not like I’m light.”
"Aww, come on.” Daisy chimed in. Joey opened his eyes, glaring at her. She was walking backwards in front of Mack, wearing a wide, teasing grin. “You two look cute. You, being piggybacked. Mack, worrying so much about you that he won’t let you walk.”
“Plus!”
Joey straightened as best he could and looked over his shoulder at Lincoln, bringing up the rear of their little group. The smile on his face just about matched his girlfriend’s. “The Zephyr’s only about another five minute walk from here. And I didn’t hear Mack complaining about you being heavy.”
“Because he’s not.”
That was the first Mack had spoken up since they’d started their trek back to the Zephyr, and Joey turned back around near immediately. One of his arms was loosely draped over Mack’s shoulder, resting around his collarbone, and his fingers there tightened in the fabric of Mack’s shirt.
“And it isn’t just a sprained ankle, but that was a good try. I’ll give you points for that.”
Joey sighed against Mack’s neck, closing his eyes and resting his chin on his shoulder again. When he spoke, his voice was soft, quiet, and meant only for the man intent on playing ambulance for him. “So, it might be broken. I could still tough it out. I may be a little breakable, but I’m tough.”
“I know you’re tough. Just let me do this, okay?” Mack turned his head slightly, forcing Joey to pull back so he could see his profile. “You’re the superhero most of the time. This once, let me be the one with superhuman strength.”
Joey could feel himself softening, heart melting. All Mack wanted to do was take care of him, and even if this position gave Daisy and Lincoln endless material to tease him with, it was worth it for this. Wasn’t it?
“All right. This time, you can show off your strength.” Joey murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Mack’s cheek. “But you should know, you’ve been my superhero for a long time.”
LAST BUT NOT LEAST Joeymack song shuffle because I bet nobody else is gonna ask for it but it's beautiful
Shuffle picked “Everybody Knows” - Kids of 88
Living on a secret base made it easy to hide things, sometimes. There were dozens of rooms with nooks and crannies, and so many people minding their own secrets and being busy carrying on day-to-day operations that keeping things hidden wasn’t necessarily always hard, depending on the level and magnitude of that thing.
Something like what Mack and Joey were trying to hide, though...
“They’re all too involved in their own romantic drama.” Joey said, his voice muffled against Mack’s chest. He hadn’t gotten there on his own, not really. The two of them...
It had been a while. It had been a few weeks, actually, since they had gotten to enjoy time together. There were always things that SHIELD was needed for, always things that the Secret Warriors could be called in on. The last few weeks had flown by, and Joey hadn’t realized how long it had been since they’d had time for just them until they’d been passing in the hallway, Joey heading back from the locker room, Mack heading back from the garage.
They hadn’t said a word to each other, but somehow Leo had ended up with his back to the wall, his hands in Mack’s shirt, kissing him desperately, like this would be the only chance they got.
Because it very well may be.
He wasn’t sure how long they’d stood there, but he knew that by the time Mack jerked away, looking down the hall towards where Daisy’s laugh could be heard, loudly. Joey had groaned, tipping his head against Mack’s chest, and that was when Mack had said that Coulson wasn’t exactly thrilled about all the romantic drama going on, and the last thing Mack wanted to sit through was a lecture, if someone found out that the two of them were involved. That had been when Joey had pointed out the unlikelihood of them being caught.
“Sure, but--”
“--Actually.” Joey remembered, looking up. “I meant to tell you, but it happened last week, and we haven’t seen each other for a while, so it slipped my mind.” He could see the wheels turning in Mack’s head, clearly trying to work it out. “When we were in Cincinnati - me, Daisy, Lincoln, Elena, James, you know. My team - well, Daisy sort of let something slip.”
Joey could see the expectation on Mack’s face, could see that he knew it was pointless to ask what she’d let slip, but that he was going to ask anyway. “What?”
“She said, and this isn’t exact, but, she said that you and she were having some beers last month and you told her that she and I had gone a very long way towards changing your mind about Inhumans. And then she’d suggested that my method of convincing might have been a little more in-depth, and you said...”
The guilty look on Mack’s face was enough. He opened his mouth to answer, but Joey held up a hand.
“Ah! No. You don’t want to get caught, but you already got us caught, Alphonso.” Joey’s hand slid up and over Mack’s shoulder, curving around the back of his neck to pull him down to his waiting, smiling lips. “Everybody knows I’m yours. Just kiss me, and damn Coulson’s lecture.”
JoeyMack + "hey you’ve had a rough day so let’s get in our PJs and watch a cute movie together and cuddle bUT IT’S TOTALLY PLATONIC ALRIGHT"
“Hey.”
It hadn’t been often that he;d been able to have guests, since he’d been put in here. Everyone was busy, working around what Hive was doing, and trying to get Daisy back. It didn’t mean that he had been left entirely on his own. Coulson had visited a few times, and May. Fitz and Simmons had stopped in once, and Lincoln was a regular face. He’d been the one to do Mack the solid of getting him his own shirt from his room. The light pants that they’d provided him had been fine, but the shirt was uncomfortable. He was much more comfortable in one of the shirts he used to regularly wear when he’d sparred with Bobbi. Other than those visits, he’d received a video call from Elena the day before.
He’d been mostly left to his own devices, however, and there wasn’t much to occupy his time except for the tablet they’d given him, and some old paperbacks Lincoln had liberated along with his shirt.
That was one of the reasons why it was so good to see Joey standing in the doorway to his med-bay room, looking him over while he lay in the hospital bed. It was obvious from the look on his face that Joey wasn’t happy about seeing him in that bed, but he was happy to see him.
Mack was happy to see him, too, but there was a little voice in the back of his head that was screaming how dangerous it was for Joey to be here. He and Elena had been packed off to the Cocoon for their own well-being. When Mack had spoken to Elena the day before, Joey had been nowhere in sight, and now he knew why. Because the metal-bender had been making his way, back here, for some reason.
“What are you doing here?”
Joey snorted, and grinned, while Mack cringed at his own choice of words. “It’s good to see you too, Mack.” He said, stepping into the room and turning around to shut the door behind him. He was dressed in a faded dark green t-shirt advertising a pizza place, and black track pants that had white stripes down the sides. Clothes that were comfortable for travelling. If he was here, right now, that meant that Coulson knew he was here. No one could move within SHIELD without Coulson knowing about it, not any more.
“You look better than I expected. From what Lincoln told me, you were pretty badly hurt...”
Mack waved a hand, while Joey moved around to his bedside and pulled the chair that was sitting there right to the edge of his bed. He folded his arms on the edge, looking Mack over, carefully inspecting him. It made the mechanic feel like he was being put on the spot, but it could have been worse. “I know it looks back, but I’ve had worse.”
The way Joey’s eyebrows knit together made Mack sure that he didn’t believe him. Joey wouldn’t be wrong, either. Mack had rarely felt pain like he’d felt when his partner - and she was still his partner, no matter what his brainwashing said - was beating him in the street. It wasn’t just the beating he’d taken, either, but Daisy, herself, how she’d acted, that had hurt him.
He wouldn’t give up on her, though. That wasn’t going to happen.
“I heard it was Daisy... That Hive got to her. I’m guessing that’s true, since I haven’t seen her here. I’d think, you know... You being laid up and all? This would be where I’d find her.” He took a breath, looking around the room. “I want to help get her back--”
“--No.”
Mack surprised himself with how immediate and firm he sounded. It was obvious he’d surprised Joey, too, back he’d straightened up in the chair and was looking at Mack like he was trying to find the reason for the refusal in his face, and not be hurt by it.
The truth was, Joey and Elena had been sent away to keep them safe from Hive, but Mack was of the opinion that the fact that both of them were far away was good because it kept them off Coulson’s radar. Mack trusted Coulson, and he was loyal to him, but at times like this, the man needed someone to be his conscience. May was good at telling him when he was wrong, but she had a long-lasting loyalty to Coulson that stopped her from being the dissenting voice when it most mattered. Having Joey and Elena far away while Mack was laid up in the med-bay meant that, in Coulson’s quest to get Daisy back, he would be less able to fit the two of them with the same murder-vest he’d given to Lincoln.
That wasn’t to say that Joey wouldn’t refuse to do something he didn’t want to do, but Daisy being in danger inspired a certain kind of reaction from people.
“I know I said I didn’t want to do this anymore, and I don’t think I can feel confident in a place where the people who are the only ones I can tell about this part of myself don’t trust me because of that same part. But, it’s Daisy, and if I can help in any way, I want to.”
Mack sighed, reaching up to rub his hand over his chin. He had a few days growth there, now, and he’d welcome a shave, when he could have it. He probably looked rather haggard to Joey. “It’s not that I think... You left, so you can’t help, because, Joey, man, I know you could. But this Hive thing... He’s scary. He’s got the power to take over Daisy, and that was something none of us wanted to believe could happen. Last thing I’d want is for you to get hit with it, too.”
Looking over, he met Joey’s eyes, and saw the understanding there. He knew what Mack was getting at, and judging by the expression on his face, he was touched.
“You even being here puts you at risk. If she breaks in, or quakes us from above ground, or...” Mack stopped himself before he threw Coulson under the bus. “I just want you to be safe.”
Joey was quiet for a minute, clearly thinking over what Mack had said. He was leaned forward against the bed again, and was acting he bedspread was exceedingly interesting. While Mack waited for him to speak, Joey reached out, taking his hand from where it laid on the bed, and flipping it over, gently, so the back of his hand rested in Joey’s palm. The fingers of his other hand traced lazy lines across Mack’s palm and fingers, a sensation that was surprisingly soothing. Mack found himself relaxing against the pillows that had him propped up, feeling more at ease than he had ten minutes before.
“I’m touched that you want me to be safe. I guess that kiss meant something, huh?” Joey was smiling, but it seemed almost nervous, and he didn’t hold Mack’s gaze for long before he was looking back at his palm.
The kiss in question had been the one Joey had stolen before he’d been shipped off. Mack had escorted both him and Elena to the quinjet to be taken to safety, and just before he’d boarded, Joey had turned and crowded into Mack’s space, kissing him quick, almost too quick for Mack to react. He’d reacted enough that Joey had needed to slip out of his hands before walking up the quinjet’s ramp, his head down, eyes on the floor.
It hadn’t meant nothing, that was for sure.
“Meant I want you to stay safe, much as you want me to be careful.” Mack answered, referencing the words Joey had muttered as he’d slipped out of Mack’s hands. “And right now, this isn’t that place, Joey. I’m sorry, but... You should get back to the Cocoon as soon as possible.”
Joey nodded, looking at Mack’s hand again. “All right. In the morning, then, I’ll leave again. But you’re in here, alone, and I’ve been going stir crazy, where I am. So, can I stay for tonight? I’ll hang out with you, we can watch something on Netflix. Just pretend that things are all right for a while.” He grinned, wide, and Mack couldn’t ignore the spark he felt. “You might as well, they aren’t going to let you out of that bed any time soon.”
Laughing, Mack nodded. “All right. For tonight, I’ll let you keep me company.” He moved, shuffling on the bed. It was wider than most hospital beds, given that it was SHIELD issue. Even with him in it, there was still plenty of room, and he made more for Joey, patting the mattress next to him. “All I’ve got is the tablet, man, so you’re gonna have to cozy up to me if you want to watch something.”
If Joey was bothered by that - and Mack doubted he was - he didn’t show it. He simply followed Mack’s orders, getting up and crawling onto the bed. Mack waited patiently, watching while Joey leaned over him, searching his face, waiting to be told to stop. When Mack said nothing, Joey closed his eyes, and leaned in, kissing him, gentle, and slow, mindful of his healing lip and bruised face.
He was pulling away, opening his eyes and starting to speak, when Mack reached up and cupped the back of his head, pulling him back down for another kiss like the first, kissing him back the way he’d wanted to when his hands had found Joey’s sides back in the ruined hangar.
When they pulled apart this time, he let Joey settle in beside him, before speaking.
“Even if you don’t want to do the whole Secret Warrior thing after this... I hope you keep coming around, Joey.”
Joey nodded, and looked over, meeting his eyes. “For you? I’ll be happy to.”
For the writing prompts, JoeyMack with the "XBOX STOP BEING A DICK" prompt please?
Joey had learned a lot of things over the last few weeks about how SHIELD, the primary espionage organization that wasn’t supposed to exist, operated. At least, how Coulson and Daisy’s personal closest sector of SHIELD operated.
It was something of an eye opener. At the Cocoon, Joey had been exposed to agents who were pretty strict, effective, and by the book. Not that Coulson’s people weren’t effective, but the other two adjectives didn’t exactly apply. Not in Joey’s experience.
He’d also learned that, no matter how big, scary, and ready for anything some of the agents Coulson had closest to him could be, they never ceased to amaze him by acting...
Well, by acting like an average, every day guy, instead of a big, scary secret agent, always ready for anything.
"Xbox, stop being a dick!”
Joey paused on his way past the common area, and backed up, peering into the room to make sure he’d heard, and seen, right. Sure enough, Mack was sitting on the couch, the set of his shoulders betraying how fed up with the technology in front of him he was. “Uh... Mack?”
Mack didn’t exactly jump, but he didn’t seem like he’d been aware Joey was there. It was especially obvious when he gave Joey a small, guilty smile. “Hey, Rookie. Sorry you had to hear me...” He gestured at the xbox, clearly unsure of how to describe what Joey had walked in on.
“Don’t... be sorry.” Joey said, smiling and walking into the common area. Swinging one leg, and then the other, over the back of the couch, he slid down onto the cushion next to Mack, joining him. “Microsoft builds a shit product.”
Mack looked taken aback for a second, and then he laughed. “That’s the truth. I’ve asked Fitz to build us something better a few times but, uh, obviously, he’s busy with other stuff.”
Joey nodded. “I could see that. I guess you’ll just have to learn how to have a gentler touch with it.” He looked over at Mack, and before he could stop himself, added, “Not that I don’t think you’d have a gentle touch.”
Mack’s eyebrows rose on his forehead, and Joey scrambled to expand.
“Since you’re a teddy bear, and all. Like Daisy said. You know, back - back when you and Daisy.” He sighed. “You know what I mean.”
Mack laughed again, and handed over the game controller. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Mack said. “You wanna try? Join me for a round of COD?”
Joey took the controller, looking from it, to the SHIELD agent. “Yeah?”
When Mack nodded, Joey looked towards the xbox. “Xbox,” he spoke clearly, and carefully. “Turn on.”
The machine lit up, and the logo appeared on the TV screen, apparently to Mack’s amusement.
“Hope you don’t mind me saying this, rookie.” He said. “But you’re pretty damn good at getting things turned on.”
Joey grinned, not looking away from the TV. No, he didn’t mind. He didn’t mind at all.
see see here’s the thing, we’ve got mack is the single father right + and joey as the nanny obviously but its so much more cause like lets break this down
single dads are hot, but you know what is even hotter, single dads that are mechanics
idk what gender macks kid is, like i want a boy because cars + it seems weird to get a manny for a girl. but also like a tiny girl mack, with braids in her hair, sitting in the front seat of some vintage car, explaining to joey in her tiny voice all about how cars work and like ‘i know these things cause when i grow up im gonna be a mechanic like my daddy’
joey is having bad luck with jobs, and he feels a bit like a walking parody as he applies for the manny job because ofc, he can hear the comments now, figures he’ll be able to talk in spanish with the gardener/maid too, because obviously anyone hiring a nanny is some rich wasp with a picket fence and a bunch of latinos working for him
except then mack shows up for the interview, in like one of those flannel shirts, with his forearms exposed, and joey would like to point out that if he had a type mack is it.
and mack is so cool, he didnt used to have a nanny, in fact his parents used to watch her during the days he had to work, but they just moved to (wherever they said in that one episode) and now he’s kinda tossed up on what to do cause its summer, and he works later, and he doesnt want his little princess to be all alone
this is not at all what joey expected but he is so down for this
he probably like feels the need to disclose the fact that he is gay during the interview “not that im hitting on your or anything, but just in case youre worried i might corrupt your daughters youth or-” because he’s gotten those kinds of comments before (shit like mack was from georgia right? some southern state? bet joey’s got some teaching degree but got fired when some parents found out he was gay and complained to the board and)
mack assures him this is perfectly fine
and after that is like??? plot shit
man plot - like joey is great with mini mack, cooks delicious food, teachs her all kinds of cool stuff
but he also like has to get his flirt on with mack. like they fall asleep on the couch watching kids movies one? joey visits mack at the shop and is so turned on by mechanics hello? he’s pretty sure mack is straight cause /daughter/ but he’s also high key falling for his employeer soooo
SEND ME A SHIP + AN AU FOR LIKE HEAD CANONS? VAGUE PLOT OUTLINES?
Joey returns to the Playground to find the team two members short, and Mack hurting in their sudden absence.
Also on ao3
Going home for a few days had been the original plan, after they'd left Columbia and Elena. Daisy and Coulson had agreed that it was only far that Joey be able to do that. One of the hardest parts of joining SHIELD, for Joey, had been the idea of leaving his family behind. The last his family had known, his apartment had been destroyed in the advent of of a new Inhuman – someone they hadn't known was Joey. Of course, after a little while, SHIELD, at Daisy's urging, had let him contact his family. His mother had cried, on the phone, so damn glad to hear from him. Her happiness had been infectious, and Joey had cried for most of the phone call, himself.
Getting to go home for Sunday dinner had been wonderful. Wonderful, and hard. Finally getting to spend time with his family had meant hiding another secret from them.
When he had come out to his family, years before, he'd been terrified. The very real fear of losing them had been on his mind, and it was hard to ignore. They had all surprised him, with their 'we already knew's and 'why would this change anything?'s. This new secret, though, Joey couldn't bring himself to share. It had been like Daisy said; he would have to keep it to himself, for a while. It put him in danger, but even more, this secret, his powers, put his family in danger. If anyone learned that he was connected to them, and that they, therefore, in a way, were connected to SHIELD, his family could be put on any number of target lists.
And he just couldn't let that happen.
A few days home, however, had turned into a week and a half, with things getting too heated and intense at SHIELD to spare the quinjet to bring him back. Daisy had assured him that they would come pick him up, if they absolutely needed to, but, for now, to enjoy his time with his family.
And, the thing was, he had.
He had really, really enjoyed getting to pretend to be a normal, average guy again. He'd gone out to the bar with his cousins, had dinner with some of the guys from the site.
And woken up, one morning, to a call from Lincoln, telling him that Daisy and May would be coming to collect him. That a lot had changed while he was gone, but they needed him back at SHIELD, now.
So, the vacation had ended, and Joey was okay with that.
He was happy to be going back to SHIELD. As much as he'd loved his time with his family, with SHIELD, he was making a difference. Or, at least, that's how it felt. He stuck to the story that they had concocted – that, he was working on a site for a new theme park, very top secret but, yes, maybe the Disney name was attached. His family and friends had readily accepted that, and his mom had shoved a plastic bag with food-filled tupperwares into his hands before he'd gone off to the pre-arranged pick-up area. Daisy and May had been waiting by the time they'd gotten there, and even though Daisy smiled when she saw him, and gave him a big hug, he could tell something was wrong.
That something turned out to be better than he'd thought, but worse than he'd hoped.
Something had gone very, very wrong in Russia. While Bobbi and Lance had lived, they had chosen to leave SHIELD, in order to protect the organization from being dragged back into the light. May had explained, while they flew the quinjet back to the Playground. Daisy had sat across from Joey and nodded along with the story. He could see how much it hurt her to have lost the two agents.
Joey himself hadn't even known them that well, but he couldn't help feeling a sharp, sad ache at the fact that they were gone, never coming back.
The loss of the two agents meant that Joey, Lincoln and, should she agree, Elena, would need to step up. Daisy was working harder at putting together her team. Malick and HYDRA represented a serious issue, and without the team, Daisy wasn't sure they would stand much of a chance. Together, they could stand a serious chance at getting HYDRA down, again, for good.
Daisy explained this as they unloaded themselves from the quinjet, and walked from the hangar into the base.
“How's Mack taking it...?” Joey asked, finally, as Daisy walked him to his room.
Her expression would have been answer enough. “About as well as you'd expect.” She said quietly. Looking at Joey, she shrugged. “They were his best friends. As much as Mack has gotten close to all of us, Bobbi and Hunter were his oldest, dearest friends. He knew them before the fall of SHIELD, he and Bobbi were together on that day. I mean... It would be like me losing Fitz and Simmons.” She shook her head while they rounded the corner to the hallway that Joey's room was in. “He's been pretty quiet, but he's doing his job. We're going to Columbia tomorrow, to check on Elena. You should come.”
Joey nodded, opening the door to his room. Back to the grind, but he wasn't complaining, far from. He was more concerned about Mack. “I'd like to. Her English isn't that good...”
Daisy smiled, snapping her fingers and pointing at him. “You got it. That's why I was really, really hoping you'd agree. Dropping out of high school didn't help with my Spanish.”
Joey laughed, crouching down to store the tupperware containers his mother had sent into the mini-fridge. “We can work on that. You're a super-spy, languages should be one of your skills.” When Daisy didn't reply, Joey looked over his shoulder to see her watching him with a small, distant smile. “Daisy?”
She shook her head, and by the time she looked at Joey again, her eyes had refocused. “Sorry. It's been a long few days. I'll let you finish settling back in, okay?”
“Okay.” Joey said, drawing the word out with uncertainty, watching her leave.
The loss of Bobbi and Hunter was having a far reaching, deep effect that Joey hadn't quite predicted. The mood was already changed, from what he'd seen when he and Daisy had been walking into the base. The faceless, nameless agents that he had yet to meet had even seemed subdued, but it was the team, the ones that were the closest to Daisy, who had been the closest to Bobbi and Hunter, that he had seen the biggest, most painful changes in.
After unpacking, Joey left his room, going to check in on everyone. Partly, if he was honest with himself, he was checking to make sure that none of the people he had come to think of as friends had disappeared while he'd been gone.
Moreno and Schwartz, the agents who had been his escorts while he'd been moved back and forth between the Playground and the Cocoon, were around, and they were doing well. Fitz and Simmons, Joey found in the lab. They were hunched over Fitz's computer, together, going over a blood analysis. They both spoke with him briefly, but nothing too indepth. He could tell that they, like Daisy, were feeling the loss of Bobbi and Hunter around the base. It seemed like they were leaning on each other a lot which, Joey understood, was a good thing, after everything in their past.
He left them to it, and continued his rounds. May, he knew, had gone to join Coulson in his office. Joey wasn't especially eager to see the SHIELD director. While he respected him, there was something about Coulson that just felt standoffish and unapproachable. It was easier just to know where he was, than to go actively searching.
Daisy and Lincoln weren't hard to find. The two of them were deep into a sparring match, no powers allowed. Daisy was taking Lincoln to school, by the looks of it, though Joey had to wonder about that. Lincoln was perfectly capable of holding his own, and should have at least been giving Daisy something of a challenge – though Joey's money would always be on her to win. The fact that Daisy was throwing Lincoln all over the mats like he had absolutely zero ability to fight? Well, Joey knew what that was about. Even before he'd gone back home for his visit, it had been well-known that is Daisy and Lincoln were sparring, they were only going one way.
Joey didn't bother interrupting, and moved along.
There was someone in particular he wanted to see. Badly. Someone who he knew would be hurting from what had happened with Hunter and Bobbi.
And Joey had an idea of where he might be.
Skipping the rest of the base, having found most everyone he wanted to check up on, Joey headed to the garage. The way was quiet, no one coming or going, and for a second, Joey worried that was a sign that he would find it empty.
It was the fact that he didn't find it empty that explained why he hadn't seen anyone on the way down.
The red corvette parked in a place of honour in the garage, Joey knew, was the crown jewel of Coulson's collection of vintage everything. Even Joey, who was partial to motorcycles, had to admit that the car was a beautiful piece of work. Mack had told him that Coulson had taken a lot of wearing down, before he let the mechanic work on his corvette. Even then, Mack had suspected that part of the only reason Coulson had given in was because he was trying to catch Mack in being a double agent for another branch of SHIELD.
Now, though, the hood of the vehicle was propped up, and around it, barely visible, Joey could see enough of the person working on it to know that he'd found the one he was looking for.
The fact that Mack was currently working on Lola, something of a white whale for him, was a damn obvious indication of how Mack was feeling. If Coulson was letting Mack work on Lola without his presence being part of the tableau, then Mack was really, truly upset.
And Joey couldn't blame him.
Footsteps echoing in the garage, Joey wasn't sure how Mack could miss that he was there, but he couldn't fault him, either.
He also didn't know how to make his presence known, and wasn't sure if he should interrupt. Maybe Mack wanted to be alone, and that would be fair. Still, he'd just lost his two oldest, closest friends. Had Joey been in that situation, he would be trying as hard as possible, as much as he could, not to be alone. He wouldn't want to feel that emptiness.
Chancing that maybe Mack felt the same, and just hadn't pushed the issue himself, Joey opened Lola's driver side door and, with a quick glance back to make sure Coulson hadn't tailed him down here, slid in behind the wheel. For a few minutes, the only sound in the garage was Mack's breathing, Joey's, and the sound of the various parts Mack was working with. Watching through the crack between the frame and the hood, Joey could see when Mack stood up, wiping his hands on a rag, before the hood lifted and came down again, dropped carefully back into place.
That's when Joey saw the earbuds in Mack's ears, and finally registered the vague, tinny sound he'd been hearing.
“Hey, rookie.” Mack said, reaching up to pull the earbuds out. The tinny sound got louder for a second before it completely went away. “How was Sunday dinner?”
“You mean 'dinners', right?” Joey said with a smile. Mack smiled back, tucking the rag into the back pocket of his jeans. It was a nice thing to see on his face, but it looked strained, an attempt to act normal and casual in the face of his own heartache. “They were good.”
Mack nodded, but didn't say much else, only returned to his toolbox. From what Joey could see, he wasn't so much getting another tool as he was organizing what was already in there. Making busy work, doing something to keep his mind occupied, especially because Joey wasn't exactly making conversation. Maybe Mack had wanted to be alone. Joey could understand that, too, even if it wasn't how he would have dealt with things.
Now that he had checked up on him, maybe it would be best if Joey left Mack be, and let him continue this healing process how he would prefer to do it.
Not only that, but Joey couldn't help the stab of guilt he was feeling. Mack was grieving losing his friends – and even though they were still alive, Joey made no mistake that they were lost – and Joey was sitting in Lola's driver's seat, watching the way the muscles moved in his back. That was insensitive on some level. Maybe more than just one.
So, it would probably be best if he left Mack to his own devices, but after so long being a civilian again, Joey wasn't ready to move on without checking on Mack more than he had. Mack had, in fact, checked on him more than he'd returned the favour.
“I don't think I need to ask.” He started, turning in the driver's seat so that he could hang his legs out the side of the car, boot soles on the concrete floor. “But how are you doing?”
Mack went still, and for a second, Joey thought he was going to be asked to leave. Instead, Mack put down the wrench he'd had in his hand, and turned to face Joey. He wasn't making eye contact, seemingly very interested by the floor, and Joey barely kept himself from getting up. It was more painful than he could have predicted, to see that look on Mack's face. There was something just so heart-wrenching about seeing such a big, immovable man look so broken.
After a few moments with neither of them speaking, Joey stood, gently closing Lola's door behind him. “Listen, you don't have to say yes. You don't have to say anything at all. But my mom sent me back with food. A lot of food. If you want, you come back to my quarters? My mom's a damn good cook, but if it's you, I'm willing to share.”
There was another pause, and then Mack finally looked up, meeting Joey's eyes and smiling in a way that wasn't forced, but was exceptionally tired. “You know what? Sounds like a good time.”
Half of Joey hadn't expected that invitation to amount to anything. The half that had was excited, and waited impatiently for Mack to close up 'shop', as it were, before they left the garage. Mack had accepted his invitation, and as a result, Joey was getting him out of the garage and into good company, with good food, and maybe, just maybe, he would be able to open up and talk about everything.
“About what you asked, before.” Mack said, as they walked. “I'm not doing the greatest. Holding together, because that's what we do, but I've been kind of closed off. Everyone's been giving me a wide berth, even Tremors. Figure I need the alone time to sort myself out.” That tired smile came back. “When I closed the hood and saw you sitting there? Thought I had finally snapped from being miserable the last couple o' days. Started hallucinating.”
Joey laughed quietly. “I would hope you'd, uh, hallucinate something better than me?”
Mack's big hand came down on his shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. “Don't sell yourself short, rookie. You'd be a great hallucination.”
Ignoring the rush of warmth that Mack's words and accompanying soft look gave him, Joey led the way into his quarters – 'you know you can just call it a bunk, right?' Daisy had once said – and went to the fridge to pick out one of the containers. “Make yourself comfortable. I, uh, I have a couple of video games in here now. You know,” he stood up, eying two containers to choose between them. “To pass the time. Not much else to do but read, train, or spar, and since Daisy and Lincoln tend to keep the mats fairly occupado...”
Mack laughed, and Joey couldn't help from grinning wide. It was a good sound, and it felt good to have been able to get that out of him. “Those two tend to go one way, and one way only, when they're sparring.”
“Don't I know it.” Joey agreed, rolling his eyes before picking the dish he wanted. He tucked the other tupperware container back in the fridge and took the lid off the one he'd selected, before sliding it into the little microwave. True, the Playground had its own kitchen, but each of the agents' quarters have a bed, couch, television, mini fridge, microwave and bathroom was extremely useful. Especially when one was attempting to cheer up a fellow agent with the leftovers of a home cooked meal. “Have you... Spent much time with either of them?”
Mack, sitting on the couch, shook his head. “No. Like I said, wide berth.” He chuckled softly. “It's funny, because Daisy's the one who taught me to lighten up a little, but she, and everyone else, really? None of them are talking about it. Not after that night in the bar. We just don't bring it up. I don't know if that's on Coulson...” Mack trailed off, seeing Joey's confused expression. “Coulson isn't talking about it. We're spies, we're supposed to have a handle on these things. It's supposed to be business as usual.”
Joey frowned. “But that's – excuse me – that's operating like you aren't human beings.” Taking the tupperware from the microwave, Joey careful dished out two enchiladas each to both of their plates, then left the dish on the small table while he walked over to the couch to hand Mack his plate, plus a knife and fork. “And I know, technically, Daisy, Lincoln and I aren't human, but...”
Mack looked at his plate, giving it a critical once over. “First, thank you for this. Second, did your mom actually send you back to the super secret spy base with enchiladas?”
Joey smiled. “And chicken and rice, and steak and fried potatoes. I'm a grown man, but the whole not seeing me for a few months thing made her maternal instinct kick in again.”
“I can see that. And, third.” Mack cut into one of the enchiladas before looking up at Joey. “Thank you. You're making it very obvious that I'm welcome to talk about all this, and, honestly? It just might help.” He took the first bite of his food, and his expression became something that was undeniably pleased. “Got to love that home cooking.”
“Glad you like it.” Joey replied, beaming. “And, hey, I'm happy to help. That's what Daisy wants us to do. I don't think she exactly had this in mind...”
That got another chuckle from Mack. “No, probably not. But since our shrink... Is otherwise indisposed right now, you doing this is probably exactly the kind of help she'd be hoping for.”
“Well, then, in that case? You just talk, about whatever you want. Get it off your chest.” Joey prompted, digging into his food, too.
Mack didn't forget about his meal, but he didn't let Joey's offer go unfulfilled, either. Between bites of food – which he praised at least twice more, and Joey was going to have to share that with his mother – Mack talked. He talked about the last few days, knowing that Bobbi and Hunter were gone, and how different that had made things. Bobbi and Hunter were his oldest friends in the current iteration of SHIELD. He and Bobbi had been part of Gonzales' other SHIELD together, and had known each other the entire time that Mack had been with the organization.
Mack remembered her as the fledgling specialist she had once been, and remembered how he'd been shocked that she had been kind enough to cross departments and mingle with the Sci-Ops agents. For the most part, Mack explained, that just hadn't been done if one was a specialist. Not until you'd made a name for yourself, and no one could tear you down for unnecessary mingling. But Bobbi hadn't cared about all that, and they had gotten close.
Really close, in-jokes and Bobbi fully informed and onboard with who he was, close. Mack told Joey about nights at the bar, where Bobbi would point out different girls and guys, and ask Mack what he thought of them. Sometimes, if she was feeling bold, she'd try to set him up with them. Most times, it was just a game they played to pass the time in the bar.
And then Lance Hunter had come along.
When Bobbi had met Lance, she had, of course, eventually brought him to meet Mack. They were close, and Lance was turning out to be more than just a casual fling. It only made sense that Bobbi would bring him to meet the man she'd thought of as a big brother type, even if she had made a point to make it clear that he wasn't really her big brother, all the times that Mack had tried to offer her his advice.
“He was a real prick to me when I first met him. I couldn't figure out why Bobbi wanted to date the guy. I couldn't figure out what she saw in the guy.” Joey handed Mack a beer from his mini fridge. “I don't know when I started seeing it, too.”
Joey froze for a second, and Mack laughed. “I worded that badly. I mean, I saw why she found him so attractive, and how she could fall for him. It's kind of like a 'he's a prick, but he's my prick' sort of thing, you know?” Joey nodded. “I started to see why she had given him the time of day to begin with. He grew on me.”
Mack sighed, his beer bottle dangling between his fingers while they sat on the couch. Joey had long since put the plates to the side, and settled in to listen to the other man's stories. It was comfortable, and as the night had gone on, and the stories had passed, Mack had seemed to relax more and more. Joey would easily admit that it made him feel good to see Mack seeming to feel better.
“It's hard. Knowing they're out there. They aren't dead, as far as I know, but they're out there, and there's no way for me to contact them. They couldn't take it, even if there was, because it could put us all at risk. It's hard not knowing if they're okay.”
Joey leaned over, bumping his shoulder against Mack's as he settled into the couch. “You'll just have to believe in them. I know that you do, but you have to really just let go and believe that they've got things under control.”
Mack raised his eyebrows. “You have met Bobbi and Lance, right?”
Joey smiled. “I have. It's why I'm pretty sure they can take care of themselves, out there.” He leaned forward, again, fishing one of the game controllers from the floor, handing it up to Mack while he tugged the other towards himself, using the cable. “And I know you know that they can, too.”
“I know. Absolutely.” Mack answered, his tone warm, while he took the game controller. “Not gonna lie, rookie. Didn't know you played.”
Joey settled back in place again, using the remote to turn on the TV from where they were sitting. Mack was sitting in the middle of the couch, forcing Joey to be close to him, really, wherever he sat. Not that Joey was complaining. “I didn't, really.” He admitted. “But Fitz got me started on them, and then Daisy told me that you liked them, too, so I figured... Few rounds of first person shooter, you can tell me more stories?”
Mack smiled, watching Joey for a moment, before turning back to the screen. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
Joey was proud of himself. He had come back to find everyone deep in their coping mechanisms, and Mack too kind to pull any of them out of it to get some things off his chest. A couple of enchiladas and an open ear was all Mack had needed, and Joey could feel the bigger man relax beside him. Was his hurt totally mended? Of course not. It would take more than Joey's mother's home cooking to fix the hole that Lance and Bobbi had left, and Joey more than respected that. But Mack had needed a friend to drag him out of his polite, self-imposed seclusion, and Joey had been all too happy to do that.
While they played, Mack told Joey some more stories. Stories about the mission that Bobbi had once had with the avenger, Clint Barton, and stories about Lance, and his closest friends, Isabelle and Idaho. Joey had heard of them before, only briefly. Izzy, it turned out, was the one who had introduced Bobbi and Lance. They had lost the two of them back when Bobbi had been undercover at HYDRA, keeping tabs on Simmons. That had hurt, and with Bobbi being gone, Mack and Hunter had leaned on each other a lot to get past it. Bobbi, from her position in deep cover, had been able to reach out to Mack, once word had reached her. They had all grieved in their own way.
It was amazing, to Joey, to hear these stories. To learn about the pasts of these people that he had come to think of as friends, even if he didn't feel their absence as keenly as Mack did. After a while, he set his controller down, and sat back to watch Mack play while he told stories. Before he realized it, he was leaning against Mack, laughing along while Mack told the story of how indignant Lance had been when Bobbi had turned up, with her dark brown dyed hair and her HYDRA get-up, fully immersed in this SHIELD, despite being his ex-wife.
Finally, over an hour after they had first picked up the controllers, Mack bowed out, leaving the game on the GAME OVER screen while he leaned back. Joey didn't move away, and Mack didn't make him move, the two of them settled together on the couch and amicable silence. It was nice, and comfortable. Food, video games, and good company had been, it seemed, just what the doctor had neglected to order for Mack, but Joey had been all too happy to provide it.
After a few minutes, he tugged back his sleeve and glanced at his watch, with a small sigh. “Hey, sorry.” He started, shifting so he wasn't slouching nearly as much, properly sitting up on the couch. “It's getting pretty late, and I know Daisy--”
All Joey could figure was that either Mack had appreciated his company, tonight, or apologies for keeping him so late got his motor going. Either way, Joey was cut short, not by Mack interrupting with words, but with a small, gentle kiss.
It wasn't what Joey had been angling for, at all, tonight, when he'd invited Mack to spend time with him, but it was still good. Gentle, and sweet, and warm in a way that made Joey melt, his hands dropping into his lap while he leaned forward into the kiss, and then forward still more, for a split second, when Mack pulled away.
“I should get going.” Mack murmured, while he searched Joey's face, almost idly. His deep voice was rumbling all the way down Joey's spine, that kiss having short-circuited his brain, as innocent as it had been. “You're right. Daisy wants to head to Columbia, tomorrow. See how Elena is feeling about signing up for the greater good. You're coming, right?”
Joey nodded.
Mack's smile grew, and he stood up, towering over Joey while he stayed seated on the couch. “Good. Get some sleep, Joey.”
“Yeah,” Joey said with one stiff nod.
Mack made his way towards the door, knowing full well that Joey's eyes were following him. There was no way he couldn't. “And, hey, thanks for listening. I really, really appreciated it.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Joey cleared his throat, hating the dazed tone of his voice. Just because that was the first kiss he'd had in months, and it had happened to come from the guy that Joey admittedly had some feelings for, didn't mean he had to lose all his eloquence. “Any time.”
“I'll remember that.” Mack assured him, and, with another smile, he left.
Joey waited until he was sure the door was closed, and Mack would be out of hearing range, before he flopped back on the couch and groaned. “Well, Gutierrez. I think that was pretty obvious. You've got the green light.”
