Chapter Text
Hunter walked down the hallway, six-pack of Bendeery—best beer in the world—in hand. He pushed the door to the lab open.
“Guys, drop everything,” he announced himself loudly.
“No, this is worth a fortune. I'm not gonna drop it,” Fitz said deadpan, looking at whatever sciency-metal-tubey-thingy he was holding.
Hunter stopped in his movements, the bottle of beer he’d just pulled from the cardboard carrier now hanging halfway between its point of origin and destination.
“Just put it down,” he told the Scottish engineer, trying to come to terms with how the young scientist seemed to struggle with figures of speech. He put one bottle down on the counter, before handing Mack another.
The mechanic accepted the offering, but looked at it in mild confusion. “What's all this?”
Hunter grabbed a bottle for himself, before placing the rest of the six-pack down on one of the work stations. “We survived a HYDRA attack, saved the Bus. I turned out to be a genius at mechanical engineering. Calls for a celebration.”
“I like the way you think,” Mack replied.
Fitz slowly walked closer, staring at the bottle that Hunter had left on the counter for him. “Um, no, actually,” he muttered, before turning halfway back around to where he’d come from. “I should probably, um—”
“Fitz,” Hunter called out, fanning his arms to the side. “This team wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. This is big. Let me buy you a beer, mate.”
There was a pause, but slowly the Scottish engineer turned back and grabbed the bottle, staring at it like it was technology he’d never seen before.
“We haven't gotten to work together much yet,” Hunter told him, as Fitz slowly sat down in a chair, “but I thought this was a successful mission. And if we keep up with this teamwork, there will be more successful missions and plenty more beer, plenty more—”
“Yeah, hey, so, um, I don't have an ex,” Fitz interrupted him, gesturing with his thumb, “but there was this girl that I like, and I told her how I felt, but she doesn't feel the same way as I do, so she left.”
Hunter stared wide-eyed and opened-mouthed at the young engineer, who played with the twist of his beer, a hint of an almost proud smile playing on his lips. Hunter glanced at Mack, who looked back at him knowingly.
“Her loss, then, mate,” Hunter exclaimed, fanning his arms out to the side. “From what I can see, she's missing out.”
He raised his bottle. “To moving on.”
Mack silently joined in the toast.
After a pause, Fitz raised his bottle as well. “Yeah. Moving on.”
Hunter twisted his bottle open, watching Fitz and Mack do the same.
“Though, listen, mate—” he addressed the Scotsman, taking a swig from his beer, before using the bottle to point at Fitz, “—piece of advice: Never say never.”
Hunter shrugged. “I mean, could be she doesn’t feel the same way, could be she never will, but feelings, mate, feelings are a complicated mess and some people just need longer to see what’s right in front of them. So, she doesn’t like you now, that’s fine and it’s good to accept it and move on, but also… if the wind ever changes, don’t close the door, ‘cause some things are meant to be and you don’t even know it.”