#fitztrip fic

~~

He woke up groaning, feeling more like he hadn’t slept at all and he probably hadn’t by all the tossing and turning and the nightmare of the cavern falling to pieces- of Trip falling to pieces- plastered in his mind.

He was probably horribly dirty, hadn’t even showered the dust of the cavern off and just sat in his bed thinking about it until he finally stood up, deciding he’d see Skye at least.

It was then he noticed something strange – he was wearing different clothes than he’d gone to sleep in, clothes he could have sworn he’d worn the day before.

Fitz tugged at them and frowned, looking at the mirror in his room and being taken aback.

There wasn’t a speck of dust on him, or even the bruise he had known he’d gotten last night in the cavern from running around and placing explosives.

Explosives that Trip had gone to stop and- Fitz swallowed hard.

He was just imagining things that was all. He must have changed, even showered, and just forgotten.

Now disoriented Fitz stumbled into the hallway; running a hand through his hair. Had he somehow gone back to hallucinations? Gaps in his memory and words there but lost between his head and his mouth?

He made it to the kitchen and froze.

Jemma stood there, making tea, and right next to her scrambling some eggs stood Trip.

“You really should stop moving so much Trip, you’ll slow the recovery of your arm.” Jemma tsked but Trip just grinned.

“Who would feed you all then? You’d live off poptarts and old Chinese food.” He teased and turned around, seeing Fitz in the door way, “Fitz! Tell the doc here I’ll be okay.”

“You’re okay.” Fitz mumbled, staring wide eyed at Trip who caught on quickly that something was going on and walked over, leaving Jemma to make sure the eggs didn’t burn.

“You all right man?” Trip peered at him curiously, “You’re not feeling guilty over this whole bullet thing right?”

There was a bandage on Trip’s arm, right where he’d been shot on the mission a few days ago. Or yesterday.

Fitz was getting a headache, rubbing at his forehead.

“I think you need to go back to sleep.” Trip put a hand on his shoulder, solid and warm and clearly alive.

He’d dreamed everything else up, that must have been it, probably just worry on upcoming missions and Trip being shot.

“I can take your spot going cavern hunting and-”

“No.” Fitz said sharply, remembering that he was part of the team off to find it that day and shuddered at the idea of Trip going near it. “It’s fine, I’m fine.”

He pulled away from Trip and tried to smile.

“Everything is fine.”

~~

It wasn’t fine.

It was happening all over again, Mack falling prey to the cavern, Skye kidnapped, the explosives, Trip running after them…

“He’s dead.” Jemma was choking on her tears once they reached the doorway after the cavern shook around them. “Skye!”

She rushed forward to get Skye who sat against the wall in the round room, staring at where Trip had been in horror.

Fitz stared at where Trip had been and numbly wondered if all this dreams were doomed to come true and turn all of them into dust.

Maybe he’d just stop sleeping after all.

~~

He woke up wondering how he got to bed because the last thing he remembered was sticking around with Skye and Jemma and trying to cheer Skye up; to at least make something different from his dream happen.

“What the-” Fitz glared at the clothes he was wearing, the same as they were the day before. “This can’t be happening.” He muttered and rushed out the door towards the kitchen.

“You really should stop moving so much Trip, you’ll slow the recovery of your arm.” Jemma said, just like she had yesterday.

“Who would feed you all then? You’d live off poptarts and old Chinese food.” Fitz mouthed the words along with Trip and when Trip turned around and grinned at Fitz he did the only thing he could do.

Ran back to his room and wondered if he’d gone crazy.

A moment later there was a knock on his door and Trip walked in.

“Fitz? What’s going on, you okay.” A hand on his shoulder like last time and Fitz glared at it.

“You’re not real. This isn’t happening.”

“Fitz?” Trip leaned in, brown eyes full of concern and Fitz laughed because hadn’t he been thinking he’d never see Trip look concerned or amused or even angry ever again just last night? “You’re scaring me man, don’t tell me you stayed up watching those horror movies without me and they got to you.”

Fitz snorted and rolled his eyes.

“What? You don’t need my protection from mythical leprechauns? I’m hurt.” There was the amusement again and Fitz relaxed; feeling better at seeing that already. Trip seemed to catch on to that, “You good?”

“Yeah I’m good.” Fitz brushed Trip’s hand off his shoulder.

“All right then.” Trip nodded, walking towards the door and stopping, “If you need anything though…I’m here for you.”

He left before Fitz could reply.

Twenty four hours later he was dead again and Fitz felt like screaming.

~~

He didn’t wake up screaming though, woke up determined and looking down and almost sighing in relief that he was wearing the same clothes because something was happening to him yes but Fitz was going to find out what.

He was going to fix this and Trip was going to live.

Everything was going to be okay.

He regretted thinking it would be that easier when the explosive went off right in front of him; he hadn’t made it in time to stop all of them, even though he had only falsely planted his.

But he opened his eyes and started again.

~~

Fitz groaned, nothing was working; trying to convince Coulson not to go to the cavern led him off the team there, stopping the rescue of Raina just let to him being shot, and disabling the planes had him stuck in an interrogation room with Bobbi.

And Trip still dead.

“You better not be groaning about my food,” Trip said from across the table with his own plate in front of him.

This time Fitz had decided just to act like everything was fine and wait for the perfect moment.

“I’m not.” Fitz quickly took a bite of the eggs, they were better than anything he’d have been able to make. “Thankyouforbreakfast.”

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?” Trip shook his head when Fitz just made a face at him.

“Be glad I like you.” Fitz said after he swallowed his food.

“Or what?” Trip raised an eyebrow, “You going to go all mad scientist on us?”

“Yes.” Fitz stood up, “And you can be my assistant.”

“I may not have the quick thinking you and Simmons do but I can keep up, equal partnership or no evil deal.” Trip said, pointing his fork at Fitz. “And I call naming our team Moby Dick.”

Fitz threw a spoon at him which Trip ducked easily as he knew he would.

“You’re Dick.” Fitz told him and marched out of the room to Trip’s laughter behind him.

It was exactly things like that that made him miss Trip in the first place.

Which is why he stunned Trip and trapped him in the room on the Bus while the rest of the team took off without him.

That time Hydra blew up the plane.

~~

“I’m stuck in a time loop.” Fitz announced walking into the kitchen. “And you keep dying.”

Trip and Jemma exchanged worried glances.

“Fitz maybe you should go lie down.” Jemma began, walking towards him.

Fitz nodded, “I’ll sit this one out.”

Trip took his place in the cavern, he found out from Jemma with tearful eyes that Trip had fallen down the hole in the struggle with Mack.

He hadn’t made it.

~~

“I’m stuck in a time loop and you keep dying and I hate this.” Fitz told Trip the next day when Jemma walked out of the room.

“Are you watching those horror movies without me again?”

Fitz sighed, “Maybe.”

Trip shot him a worried a look and Fitz just shrugged.

“Please stop dying.”

“I’ll try to.” Trip promised, resting his hand on Fitz’s shoulder and squeezing it, eyes still worried.

“I’m fine.” Fitz lied.

“I’m fine.” He lied again twenty four hours later and dragged himself off to bed.

This time the explosions had gotten Trip.

~~

He ended up in the cavern with Trip, this time having gone down with him and the two of them grabbed hands as Skye and Raina turned to stone before them.

“Fitz!” Trip looked in horror as the stone began to encase them too.

“No no no no.” Fitz repeated, tightening his grasp on Trip’s hand. “Stop this, please.”

He should have tried to push Trip out of the way when they got to the cavern.

Next time.

He’d do it next time.

~~

“I’m stuck in a time loop.” Announcing it made him feel a little better if only because after the usual joke about horror movies Trip didn’t question it.

Sure enough right after that quip, “And you can’t get out of it?”

“No.” Fitz scrubbed his face with his hands, “You keep dying.” His voice cracked just then and he knew it.

Trip tilted his head, “You okay?”

“I haven’t slept. I can’t stop today and you…keep dying.” Fitz laughed, broken and tired.

“Maybe you just need to let me.” Trip said quietly after a few minutes had passed and Fitz hadn’t said anything else.

“No.” Fitz told him, shaking his head. “That’s not the answer.”

“Undying love declaration of some sort?”

Fitz frowned.

“Hey it worked with groundhog day.” Trip shrugged and grinned, “Maybe you just need to kiss me.”

So Fitz did, desperate and hopeful and willing to try anything so long as it meant as Trip was alive.

“Oh.” Fitz blinked as he pulled back. “I might be in love with you.”

“Took you long enough.” Trip was still grinning.

Fitz kissed him again.

They didn’t even make it to the cavern that time.

Skye came in laughing and yelling about some bet with Lance and distracted the mission long enough that it didn’t happen and Fitz began to hope it would turn out okay as the seconds ticked by.

Then Hydra stormed the base and he hated himself for that hope.

~~

“I’m in a time loop. I’m in love with you. Don’t go into the cavern.” Fitz kissed Trip and walked out, leaving Jemma and Trip gaping after him.

Then he stole a plane and blew up the cavern himself.

~~

“Who would feed you all then? You’d live off poptarts and old Chinese food.”

“We aren’t that bad Trip.” Fitz announced his presence, giving up and playing it normal this time.

“You are the worst of them all. How can a scientist burn water?” Trip snorted.

“I didn’t burn it!” Fitz denied, remembering the night that Trip had tried to teach him how to cook.

“It tasted burnt.”

“That was the food.”

“Flavoured by the water.”

Fitz let out an indignant noise and Jemma patted him on the shoulder on her way out.

“Want some breakfast or you gonna try to make it yourself?” Trip asked, holding the pan of eggs.

“Just give me the bloody eggs.”

“You want bloodied eggs, that’s gross Fitz.”

Fitz glared at him while Trip whistled innocently as he got plates.

“You should take today off, your arm still isn’t recovered.” Fitz fiddled with the fork in front of him, hoping to dissuade Trip from going despite that it had ended badly last time.

“You look like you need a day off too.” Trip pointed out.

“Maybe tomorrow.” Fitz laughed to himself.

“I’ll take it off if you will.”

“Deal. Movies?”

“Horror?”

“Something else. Just…something else.” Fitz sighed.

“All right, whatever you want. But no hogging the twizzlers this time.” Trip sat down next to him, “Sharing is caring Fitz.”

He smirked when Fitz rolled his eyes.

~~

He went to the cavern with Trip this time, letting everything play out as it had before until that point and this time when they reached it with all the explosives off he shoved Trip to the ground, stumbling into the cavern from the force as the door started to shut.

“Fitz?!” Trip scrambled up, trying to rush forward.

“See you tomorrow.” Fitz smiled when the door shut.

“Fitz? What’s going on?” Skye grabbed his arm,

“It’s going to be okay.” He told her, hugging Skye just in case and wishing he’d decided to tell Trip that morning anyway. “Just- it’s going to be okay.”

Stone cocooned them and Fitz took one last look at the door that had shut behind Trip.

Then there was blissful nothingness.

Then Fitz woke up.

At first he cursed, shutting his eyes again and nearly crying that it hadn’t work, but then Skye was yelling his name.

“Fitz?” She was as confused as he was, stone flying off of her as it did him. “What’s going on?”

He stared at his hands.

“I don’t know.”

The door opened to reveal Trip, still alive and rushing forward.

“Fitz! What the hell?” Trip caught him by the shoulder. “What were you thinking?”

Fitz shrugged, and then passed out.

~~

When he woke up again his first instinct was still to curse.

He heard a whistle and looked over to where Trip was sitting right next to him.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you-”

Trip didn’t get to finish, Fitz sat up and grabbed a hold of his shirt, pulling him close for a kiss.

“I’m not arguing but what’s going on?” Trip asked when he let go.

“Groundhog day.” Fitz said, like it explained everything.

“The movie?”

“Something like that.” Fitz sagged against him, resting his head on Trip’s chest and hearing the heartbeat beneath him.

“Is this the undying love declaration to fix it?”

“Something like that.”

“Fitz man, you suck at this.” He knew by the tone of voice Trip was teasing him.

“How’s Skye?” Fitz changed the subject.

“Managing, Simmon’s with her now. Girl made the whole cavern shake and then just breathed and it was done.”

Fitz frowned, powers. It sounded like Skye had inhuman powers and he’d bet it had to do with that diviner.

Except that would mean…

“Hey,” Trip jostled him and made him look up, “We’ll figure it out. You’re smart.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Fitz admitted, grinning.

“Now see that’s a little bit of a better love declaration.”

Fitz rolled his eyes.

“I can’t believe I love you.”

“Getting there.”

“Shut up Trip.”

“Do you think he’s attractive?” Jemma asked out of the blue.

Fitz nearly dropped the screwdriver he had been holding, head whipping up to look at Jemma and Skye and denial on his tongue but it wouldn’t completely come out.

“I guess.” He muttered after a minute, hoping that was it and he could be left alone.

Skye crowed, hands shooting up in the air and grinning, “I knew you found him attractive!”

“I said I guess!” He insisted quickly. “I’m not attracted to Trip! He’s certainly nice to look at, I mean all musclely and he’s got a nice smile and and…I did not just say that.”

“Yes you did!” Skye was infuriatingly smug now, behind her Jemma was laughing into her hand but also trying to shoot Fitz an apologetic look. “We should have recorded this.”

“Skye!” Fitz gave a strangled yelp. “Out! The both of you.”

Laughter trailed behind them as Skye and Jemma bumped into each other, giggling and walking out of the lab, leaving him alone with his machines.

“Attraction…” Fitz frowned down at the d.w.a.r.f. “Ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous?”

Fitz jumped at the new voice, recognizing it as Trip.

“Nothing.” He denied, Trip’s crossed arms and bemused smirk proving that he didn’t believe him. “Something I can help you with?”

A change of topic might do well.

“As a matter of fact,” Trip grinned, “Was about to go grab a drink and didn’t want to go alone. You in?”

After the talk with Jemma and Skye he could use one.

“Yes.” He sighed gratefully, packing up machine parts with Trip’s help and falling in line next to the taller man as they walked out.

He was all too aware of how close to Trip he was standing, the t-shirt Trip was wearing stretching across broad shoulders and bunched up at the bottom on the one side so it kept showing just a sliver of dark skin every time Trip walked.

He gaze kept falling down towards it, mouth suddenly dry.

There was nothing in electronics that had to do with monkeys or whales.

He also couldn’t deny that he was disappointed his and Jemma’s marks didn’t match, a small part of him hoping that they would now that the two of them had gotten over their initial wariness of each other to work together at the Academy.

The only good thing was that they weren’t the only students who’d had to wait for their marks to show up at the academy, being so young and the marks not showing up until your eighteenth birthday meant that Fitz would just have to be patient for someone else with a monkey/whale mark to show up.

For the time being, he worked.

~~On the Bus is was recommended that they hide their marks; May worried that somehow they could be used against them. Her own mark was always hidden by the long jackets she wore.

“But how are we supposed to find anyone that way.” He grumbled as they set up the lab.

“Fitz the chances of finding our soulmate on this bus are…well near impossible.” Jemma pushed her hair back.

He had to admit she was right, besides they had more important things to worry about right now. Like saving people.

~~Skye’s mark matches Jemma’s to a T, but he finds out mostly by accident when the clothe she wears overtop of it gets caught on one of his machines.

He’s torn on telling Jemma or not but also decides it’s best if they work this out on their own, plus Skye begs him not to tell anyone and even though they’ve just met he still wants to be friends.

“You should show Jemma though.” He tells her innocently. “Since she’s our doctor and all.”

“I’ll…consider it.” Skye relents and claps him on the shoulder. “Now fair’s fair, let’s see yours.”

He groans but knows she won’t give up on it so he pulls the clothe off to reveal the mark.

“It’s a monkey.”

She shoots him a look, bemused. “Fitz that’s obviously a whale.”

“Shut it.”

~~He hates Trip with his stupid smug smile and his being right and his flirting with Jemma like she and Skye aren’t building something over there.

Every time the two of them are in the same room he ends up snapping at Trip and just gets a smile back in return, it’s driving him crazy.

“Have you even read Moby Dick?” He shoots out, in a manner more condescending than it should be.

“Yeah, have you?” Trip retorts, for once he’s not smiling and genuinely serious as he’s trying to get the both of them to listen to another way.

Behind him Jemma’s eyes widen and she starts frantically tapping her wrist.

‘What?’ Fitz mouths to her only for her to sigh and throw her hands up.

Before he can question why she’s gone partially insane just then they’re trekking through the Canadian cold to find some hidden base and everything goes downhill from there.

Surprisingly the nice thing is that Trip’s got his back.

It’s like the other man’s a mind reader or something and not just in how he’ll sometimes say the same explanation as Fitz at the same time but also in how he just knows when Fitz is about to take a break from something for food.

“Thought I might join you.” Trip says with a grin, resting against the doorway like he usually does.

Fitz shrugs because he’s gotten used to Trip’s company and in the wake of Ward’s betrayal he doesn’t actually want to anything by himself, abandoning the pieces he was fiddling with of Trip’s grandfathers Howling Commando war supplies to step outside with Trip and raid the vending machine.

“You really think we can win this?” Fitz asks quietly.

“We’ve got a shot. You and Simmons going to be ready for splitting away from the group?”

“Of course.” It comes out angrier than he wants it to but he doesn’t appreciate being questioned like that.

Trip holds his hands up, “Didn’t mean it like that.”

He’s grinning again and for some ridiculous reason that makes Fitz relax.

“Hey,” Trip says out of nowhere. “You ever think about that soulbond?”

Fitz blinks, looking over at him. “Occasionally. Not much now since we’re wanted and all. I thought being on the Bus and having a greater exposure in the world might help; now I think I’m doomed.”

“Could not be.” Trip’s hand slides across the table, wrist up and in the light shining down on them Fitz can just barely make out the mark on it but he knows it.

The perfect replica on the one on his wrist.

Groaning perhaps is not the best response but all that seems to do is make Trip smile again and he groans harder.

“It’s not a whale.” Fitz insists.

“Okay sure.” Trip agrees in a way that sounds like he isn’t at all.

“It’s not.”

“Whatever you say man.”

Fitz narrows his eyes, about to explain all the reasons why it isn’t a whale when Trip cuts him off.

“Though I think we’ve got one night before we possibly go out in a flame of glory tomorrow. You really want to spend it arguing on if it’s a whale or not.”

“No.” Fitz retorts, “Because I know it’s not.”

Trip’s already standing and pushing him and towards their room again.

Fitz opts to give up the argument for now; just for better things to do that night anyway.

Not that Trip is right or anything.

Fitz glanced over at the other man standing next to him looking comfortable in his purple t-shirt and jeans despite that the airport somehow seemed colder with the blizzard outside.

“You’re one of those glass half full people aren’t you?” He asked, rolling his eyes when the other man grinned.

“Guess that means you’re a glass half empty kind of guy?” The other man teased, “Name’s Trip.”

“Like…going on a trip?” Fitz blinked. “Who names their kid that?”

“Well my real name’s Antoine, but that hardly sounds as fun.” Trip leaned up against the window glass. “And you are?”

“Why do you want to know my name?” Fitz looked at him suspiciously.

“Bored. Making conversation.” Trip shrugged, “Trying to figure out who my comrades will be when the world goes all Day After Tomorrow on us and becomes a snowpocolypse.”

Despite his bad mood Fitz still smiled, albeit a small one. By the way Trip’s grin widened he obviously caught it.

“See? I’m not so bad a companion. Can at least get you to laugh.”

Fitz scoffed. “The storm outside is snow joke.”

Trip blinked and then started laughing, making Fitz grin, pleased with himself.

“All right then,” Trip leaned in closer to him, hand dropping on to Fitz’s shoulder. “Knew I picked the right person to partner up with.”

“I’m not your partner.” Fitz protested, ignoring the way he leaned in to the warmth of Trip’s hand, telling himself it was just because he was cold despite his layers and not because of the way it made Trip grin even more.

“C’mon man, don’t be a flake.”

“You’re on thin ice.”

“You’re sleighing me.” Trip held a hand to his heart but any pout he could have had was washed away by the pleased gleam in his eyes.

Fitz floundered for another pun but was at loss. “Fine you win. We’re partners.”

“Yeah?” Trip inched in closer, almost enough to be kissing Fitz. “This mean we can join the mile high club together?”

Fitz pulled away a little, pretending to look like he was thinking it before staring up at Trip and in his most deadpan voice replying: “We’d have to wing it.”

“Think I can manage that,” Trip began walking over to where he must have been sitting before, the arm resting over Fitz making him tag along. “I’ve been told I’m a great pilot.”

“That isn’t a pun.” Fitz protested. “You lose.”

“Nah, I think I win still.”

It all flies over his head and he's trying not to think about it much.

"What are we trying again?" Trip shifts in the bed that Jemma has insisted he stay in till she gives him the all clear, it'd be boring except that Fitz has become a frequent visitor.

A fist shoots out, stopping in front of him and just hovering and when he glances up Fitz is wearing a determined look.

All attempts not to laugh fail miserably.

"Really?"

Fitz nods.

"All right," Still laughing under his breath he raises his own fist and taps it against Fitz's.

"That's it?"

"Yeah that's it, what were you expecting?"

"I dunno, something more..." Fitz trails off, looking to the side and for the word. "That's it?"

Trip laughs again, "It's just a way to express friendship man."

"What if I don't want friendship." Fitz is frowning.

"You don't want to be friends?" He feigns hurt but a smirk plays across his lips because he knows exactly what Fitz is getting at.

"Yes." Fitz stops. "No. That isn't what I meant."

"Relax Fitz, I know what you meant."

"It isn't funny."

"It's a little funny."

"I was going to keep you company but now I'm thinking I might go back to the garage." The smaller man crosses his arms, holding his head up.

"If I promise not to tease you about your lackluster fistbumping skills will you stay?"

There's a noise of protest.

"My skills are lackluster."

"Just need practice is all. It's cool, I'm here for as many times as you want to try and hey, you want to try other things I'm cool with that too."

Fitz inches closer, head tilting curiously.

"What other things?"

Trip gives him a pointed look, raising on eyebrow.

"Oh. Those other things."

"Or we could not..." He offers the other man a way out, a just in case if he's been reading the signals wrong.

"No, no, I'd like to." Fitz insisted, fingers tapping out nervously against his side.

Next thing Trip knows the Scottish man is ducking down, lips pressing to the corner of Trip's mouth.

"Think you missed." Trip comments when Fitz pulls back.

"Shut it." Fitz grumbles, crossing his arms again.

"Like I said," Trip crosses his own arms behind his head and leans back, grinning up at Fitz, "Here for as many times as you want to practice."

He let the piece of paper sit on his desk, not paying attention to it at all until the weekend where he’d gotten a bit buzzed with alcohol (again, Lance’s fault but also Skye’s) and it caught his eyes, remembering Lance’s words.

It’s probably just Lance’s idea of a joke anyway but he’s a little surprised when a voice comes over the other end.

“Tahiti pleasure line, could I get your information please?”

“Uh…” Fitz’s brain can’t comprehend what’s going on with the alcohol and he thought maybe it would just go to a fake number or one of Lance’s exes or something.

“Sir? In order to help you I need the name you’d like to be called credit card.”

He doesn’t want to keep the person on the other end waiting, blames it on his mother instilling some form of manners on him and rattles everything off, including his first name which he’s betting he’ll regret.

“Thank you, now did you want fun, frisky, or flirty tonight?”

He blinks, “You don’t…do the thing?”

“No sir, I’m just the receptionist. Fun, frisky, or flirty?”

“Fun?” He just latches on to the first choice and tries not to sound so hesitant.

“One moment please.”

Cheesy hold music reminiscent of bad porn comes over the line and Fitz stares at his cell phone wondering if it’s too late to hang up and chalk this to some bad hungover dream when a voice comes over the other line.

“So how can I be of service to you today, Leopold.” A smooth voice comes over the other side, stressing his name like it’s something to hold in your mouth and savour, and masculine.

Very very masculine.

“I didn’t mean to give my first name, I – you’re not a girl.”

What’s Lance doing with a phone number for a hotline like this?

“I assuredly am not.” The voice replies bemused. “Don’t tell me you called the wrong hotline and I’m about to be missing out on a client.”

“I dunno. I might have.” Lance’s sevens do sometimes look like ones and squinting at the piece of paper in his hands he realizes he might have in fact read it wrong.

Or Lance has gotten smart enough to figure out that Fitz is no longer crushing on Jemma and has in fact taken interest in the older student in his engineering class, the one who grins at him every time he gets a right answer, always looking at Fitz with amusement.

All he knows about him is that his name is Trip and he shares a biology class with Jemma and that looks amazing, dark skin, long legs, and he’s seen the lean muscles under his shirt when the other man raises his hand to ask something in class.

“Might have? Either that or you just don’t wanna admit you were looking for me hunh?”

“I wasn’t looking for you! I was looking for…for…”

“A bit of fun?”

“Yes. That.” He nods though the person can’t see it.

Laughter spills across from the other side of the phone and Fitz can’t help but think it’s a nice laugh, deep and genuinely amused by him. Normally he might be insulted by that but the alcohol in his system relaxes him.

“Now fun I can deliver.” The voice promise. “You just gotta lay on back and enjoy the ride, s’gonna be nice and easy, Leopold.”

There’s just something about the voice that has Fitz on edge like he’s never been before, he lets out a noise of protest at his name again but still feels goosebumps raising on his arms at the way the person says it.

“Hey we’re just getting started here.” He just knows that the man on the other line is smiling. “Just take a deep breath and undo the button of your jeans.”

He does, awkwardly with his one hand not wanting to drop his phone.

“Lower the zipper down slowly,” The man chuckles when he hears the noise of the zipper, Fitz completely ignoring his advice and puling it down fast. “Little quick there but all right, supposed you know what to do next?”

“Get off hopefully.” He mumbles while trying to simultaneously slide his pants off.

Laughter comes over the speaker of his phone again, “We’ll get you there. Bet you’re just in, what is it, boxers or briefs? Strike me as more a boxer’s guy.”

“Does it really matter?” He refrains from rolling his eyes though not by much.

“Trying to ruin your appeal here, Leopold?”

“I thought I was the one meant to get off not you.” He argues back and sulks a bit because he’s lying in his bedroom without any pants, talking to someone he doesn’t know over the phone and they’re teasing him and he really wishes the man would stop saying his name like that.

“Got important things to do yet.” He doesn’t really mean it when he says that and there’s silence over the other end and for a second he thinks he might have insulted the guy.

“What do you do?”

Fitz blinks, taken aback by that, “Student, majoring in physics and engineering.”

“Bet you’re real good with your hands then.”

“Have to be.”

“I’m pretty good with my hands myself. Got these long deft fingers or so I’m told, if I was there I could show you, slick them up and wrap them around your dick to get you just a little bit hard.”

“Christ.” Fitz swears, his dick jumping at the sudden idea of it. He has no idea what this man even looks like but his voice dropping like that and saying those things has Fitz flushing at the imagery it conjures in his head, unbidden his mind conjures Trip with his bright smile and a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Got your attention there didn’t I?”

“Maybe.” He lies through his teeth.

“Any lotion nearby?”

A glance over at the night stand confirms that there is some. “Yes.”

“Good, now you’re either going to want to put me on speaker phone or do some fancy hand work here. But I bet you could manage it.” The voice is smug, like he’s issuing a challenge.

Fitz can’t help but take him up on it, reaching over and knocking things off his night stand as he squeezes some of the lotion onto his hand.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“You’re going to reach down and touch yourself for me, slowly this time, not fast like before. Just slide your hand down and picture it’s someone you like holding you, all his attention focused directly on you and the way you bite your lip the second he touches you, already so hard for him.”

He hates that voice because it’s like the man is reading his mind, his hand stroking his cock slowly and imagining it’s Trip’s, so dark against his pale skin and sliding up and down, watching Fitz with darkened eyes.

He can’t help but bite down on his lip so he doesn’t cry out.

It doesn’t work and there’s a deep chuckle from over the phone, lower than before and it could be that the other man isn’t as unaffected by this as he’s acting.

“Someone’s really got you hot and bothered. Must be lucky to land someone like you.”

“I could be unattractive for all you know.”

“Betting you’re not. Accent must help you, people love accents.”

“Do you?”

“I’m partial to Scots.” The man says nonchalantly and Fitz nearly bites his tongue at that.

The whole time he’s been getting harder, hips rocking to meet his hand and his breath is coming out heavier than before.

“Very funny.” He grunts, head falling back.

“You must be hard by now, probably just need to think of someone pressing a hand to your chest, weight against yours and keeping you down as you try to get some friction right? Just so close to coming.”

He whines low in the back of his throat at the image, screws his eyes shut and feels the plastic creak under his hand as he clutches his phone.

“Have to get you all decked out with markings, you’re what? Probably pale as a ghost, need some colour on your skin to make everyone see you’re theirs.” The voice teases.

His hand loses the rhythm he’d created, bucking into it with a cry and his stomach tightens, so close to the edge he can practically taste it.

“I think you could come right about now, Leopold.”

All he can see is Trip’s grin and matches the voice to it, a deadly combination that sends him tilting over the edge and spilling into his hand with Trip’s name being cried out.

Silence meets him from the other end as he comes back down, panting in the now stifling hot air of the room.

“Hm.” The man makes a noise from the back of his throat. “Was not expecting that.”

“What?” His blissed out mind can’t quite understand what it is the other man’s not expecting.

“Never mind. Just think I got my white whale is all.”

White whale?

“Let’s call this one a freebie and you a satisfied customer.”

“All right.” Fitz yawns, “All right.”

The mixture of alcohol with the endorphins running in his system now are making him crash but something keeps pulling at the back of his mind curiously.

“What’s your name?” He asks, idly thinking he might call again for some fun.

There’s a pause on the other line.

“Antoine.”

Fitz snorts. “I thought Leopold was bad.”

“It is.”

“Hey.” He protests but breaks off into a yawn again.

“I can’t hang up till you do.” Antoine prompts, quiet now. “Think you’re about to fall asleep.”

“Hm.” Fitz agrees, “Okay.”

He doesn’t want to, finger hovering over the end call button but ultimately knows that he can’t keep Antoine on the line, hanging up and hoping he remembers the name in the morning.

As he falls asleep though it’s washed away, leaving just a voice whispering things into his ear and images of Trip dancing in his dreams.

~~

“Need a partner?”

Fitz must be more tired than he thought, jerking up with eyes wide and wondering why he hears the voice from last night.

Looking over however he just sees Trip, standing there looking down at him with one of those bright smiles.

“I –sure.” Fitz moves his bag, letting Trip sit down.

“You look tired. Rough night?” Trip suddenly smirks. “Or a really good one?”

The idea of telling Trip about having a really good night has him turning bright red because invariably Fitz would end up also explaining that Trip was involved somehow.

“No. Nope. Just out with friends, that’s all.” He fiddles with the chip in front of them and glances over at Trip. “How was your night?”

“Pretty good.” Trip leans in, voice dropping to a whisper. “Had a customer call in last night that I knew. Don’t think he recognized me though and wasn’t gonna tell him ‘cept weirdly he called out my name.”

It takes a second but Fitz freezes, staring at Trip.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” Trip grins widely and Fitz groans, burying his face in his hands.

“Can we never talk about this?”

“I was going to ask for a repeat performance with a lot less clothes and lot more in person but if you don’t want to…”

“I want to.” Fitz shoots up, looking over at Trip and wetting his lips. “Tonight?”

“I’m free if you are.”

He nods, head bopping and gets another flash of Trip’s grin before he reaches out to kiss the other man, only hesitating when he’s a hairsbreadth away.