The Brothers Pséftis

Connor hadn’t hugged Matt in over a year. In fact, the last time they’d been in such close proximity, Matt had pushed him through a door and down some stairs. How strange to hug now. But Connor didn’t push him away. Instead, he hugged the older man back. He was healed. Connor was whole again, not broken into pieces.

“Trust me, I forgot, too. I didn’t realize how much,” Connor told Matt. It had been weird at first, but Connor had quickly adjusted to living a normal life. He hadn’t believed he could. He hadn’t believed he could ever enjoy a normal life after SHIELD. But for the past two months, he had. However, it was nice to have that temporarily. He missed SHIELD too much to stay away too long. Not to mention he hadn’t completely left since he was overseeing Adrian’s training still.

“I mainly went back to my life before SHIELD. I worked out like usual. I played music, did a few shows. I taught muay thai and dance to kids and teenagers, hung out with old friends… For two months, I was completely normal.”

“That sounds...really nice, honestly. I love what we do, most of the time, but I haven’t had a vacation in...well, let’s just say I’m long overdue. Don’t worry, not planning on putting in my request for leave any time soon. Right now I’m just content to work at your side again.”

He was reluctant to break the contact, leaving a hand at Connor’s shoulder for several seconds even after he finally pulled back from the hug. It just felt good for there to be no conflict or tension between them. ‘How things used to be’ might still be a ways out for them, but  he was more than glad for the peace between each other they’d finally reached.

Connor turned his head, hearing someone clear their throat. He managed a smile, seeing Matt. Well, it looked like everyone was still alive and nothing had fallen to pieces without him. Two months away had done Connor well. He’d felt normal for two months. For once, he didn’t feel like the entire world was on his shoulders. He’d felt like the man who had joined SHIELD.

“Thanks,” he said with a small chuckle. The house may not have felt the same, but at least he loved the people in it. “Have a peaceful two months without me?” He couldn’t imagine what that two months was like. He was so used to being in everyone else’s lives. 

He imagined that Anya had been dealing with either having Marcus around or letting him go, depending on if the team had let him in. Maya and Matt had worked themselves out along with figuring out the whole parenting thing. He already knew what Rhi had done for three weeks without him before coming to join him in LA.

The smile was encouraging, and it made Matt smile too, glad to see Connor look so...Connor, and not the tense guy that left on that sabbatical. Clearly some good had been done,and it made Matt happy to see the results of.

“Peace? Nooo, but we didn’t burn the place down, so I’ll call it a win.“ His smile grew into a big grin as he closed the gap between them. Hoping it wasn’t too much too soon, he moved up and gave Connor a tight but brief hug. “It’s good to have you back, brother.”

“Oh… Okay, cool. Yeah,” Adrian said. Well, that took some of the weight off of him. When Connor had told him that he was the only one who would be in contact with him, Adrian had panicked a little. He could do secrets, but he knew that the team were Connor’s family and he wanted to tell them. “No, stay. This is a public space. Go for it.”

Seeing the young man’s shift in demeanor came as a relief, and he gave a quick nod. “I appreciate that.” He went through his warm ups,  then walked over to a pair of weights set aside for his use and began a few reps. Since Adrian had stuck around, he hoped the young agent to be wouldn’t mind a bit of small talk.

“Yeah, well, I’m not a quitter. And even if I was, Connor wouldn’t let me. Excuse me,” he said quickly. The moment Connor told him that he was going off radar was the moment Adrian knew he did not want to run into any of his teammates while he was away. After all, he was currently the only person who knew where Connor was. Except maybe Rhiannon. Had Connor told Rhiannon? He didn’t know. It wasn’t his business nor his place to ask. “Didn’t know you were working here again. Connor said you left.”