||||->-> TextThis is a quintessential New Mexico town located just off the famous Route 66, with cornfields, moors and scattered cacti nearby, sparkling wine taverns, neon-lit motels, and quaint gas stations that outsiders can walk into as if they were walking into an old movie and reliving the legends of the West.

In this town, every dusk and sunset turns into a bright red projectile, hovering among the hills, the crimson glow of the sky dyeing half the sky like a dream.

Fitz usually likes such gorgeous scenery the most, and he always feels that this moment can give him endless inspiration, but today the rookie agent almost delayed the time to enjoy the sunset, and he went into the contact room and the headquarters far east to report the situation from the afternoon, and returned to the living room after a long time.

"Report complete?" At this time, Zhenma was sitting on the sofa holding a biology journal, holding a pencil in her hand and spinning quickly between her fingers.

"yes, it's finally over." Fitz didn't notice this, and he sat down exhausted and buried himself deep in the soft couch cushions.

Although the last incident passed, Thor and his friends returned to Asgard, and Coulson's miniature city built around Thor's hammer was demolished, Fitz and the others couldn't leave like them, because their leader, Eric, just casually said ↑, ww+w. and disappeared.

How so?

Every time I think about it, Fitz can't help but complain, how can the dignified S.H.I.E.L.D. veterans, brigadier generals, and big men with many titles and halos do things so freely, at least they should say where they went, what they did, and what follow-up arrangements they had to make if they disappeared casually. So the situation now is that after the team leader disappeared, the other members of the group were forced to stay in the town and wait to see if the gentleman himself would come back next or if there were any new instructions from the bureau.

However, according to the bald agent Sitwell, it is difficult for the bureau's top brass to take the initiative and someone is willing to stand up and take responsibility, after all, Eric is not an outdated battlefield hero like Rogers. He is involved in many of the current power struggles. The Council, for example, wanted him to balance Fury, who was accustomed to making his own decisions, and bring some breath of fresh air to an increasingly closed system, so that they could control this powerful agency more effectively.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Fitz and the others, they just hope that Eric can come back as soon as possible to end the current embarrassing situation.

They were currently living in the house that Dr. Servig and Jane had rented in the town, and it was one of the few intact houses left in the town during the previous incident, and the three Heavenly Families left after a few days, Coulson left a little later, and he applied for a sum of money from the Bureau, and spent a lot of effort to appease the townspeople who had suffered a great loss. Under his push, the reconstruction proceeded very quickly, and after just two weeks, the town appeared to have largely returned to its old state.

"This time I was asked to explain why he didn't leave Mjölnir the hammer Coulson's man heard the Asgardians say that Thor's father promised anyone who picked it up and would get ownership of it, and it was for this reason that Commander Hill personally interrogated me for a long time."

"Then why don't you keep it?" Zhenma didn't speak, just blinked her big eyes, her long eyelashes flickered a few times, and Fitz immediately understood her thoughts.

"I'm just trying to understand something." The boy looked up at the ceiling and said slowly. "I figured out what I really needed to cherish. You don't have to fight to be a hero...... When I hold Mjölnir, I feel very close to it, and I am as docile and cute as a kitten. But I'm ashamed, because that's not my strength, it's Eric who helped me, like the time Manhattan saved Jane. I don't want to deceive it, and I deceive myself. I shouldn't be like that, I should be myself, I'm Leo. Fitz, not Thor. Fitz or Eric. Fitz. It was like a dream. Now I wake up, and I'm still me. ”

"Fitz......", listened to these words. Zhenma was a little moved, she put down the incomparably attractive biology journal and looked at it again, only to find that the boy had inadvertently grown a circle of young short whiskers around his cheeks.

Before she could sigh, Bronsky passed by the door, and Fitz saw him jump up and go out to see the scenery.

At this time, the dusk was almost over, the sunset completely sank into the wasteland, and there were only a few crimson and light purple clouds in the whole sky, and as the sky darkened, the crimson and light purple clouds quietly turned into different levels of indigo, and then evolved into a full and gorgeous navy blue, like velvet satin leisurely drifting in the sky.

"Why don't you go out together?" As Jenma looked out in a daze, a man's voice sounded behind her without warning.

The girl shuddered with fright, jumped up and pointed at the person behind her, and shouted incoherently, it was none other than Eric, who had returned to the living room at some point, and was sitting on the sofa with a steaming cup of coffee.

Ten minutes later, Zhenma's accusations gradually subsided.

"Alright, alright." Eric comforted her, but at the same time teased. "I've only been out for a few days, and I've told you before, and I'm going to be worried like a frightened fawn...... Does Fitz know about your habits? ”

"What does this have to do with Fitz!" Zhenma instinctively protested. "And after you left, Fury asked us to report the situation directly to him, do you know how much effort it took me to deal with it?"

"Ignore him." Eric replied lightly. "You are my people, if he asks for this again, let him come directly to me."

"But there must be a reason, after all, you disappeared for half a month......"

"That's what to say." Eric clapped his hands, casually picking up a reason. "The universe is so big, I want to see it."

"Good excuse." Zhenma gently sarcastically said that this matter had a final result.

"Is there anything else I need to know other than Mr. Fury's concern?" Referring to the blank space during this time, Eric asked.

"Nothing else, but I thought Fitz was weird, and he said he figured it out, but I'm still a little worried. I know Fitz, he's not a man who can keep things to himself, but lately I've been a little confused about his thoughts. Speaking of the boy, Zhenma was a little worried, and she said what Fitz had said not long ago, and even the tone of voice was imitated.

"That means he's grown up." Eric. "After going through these things, psychologically he is about to grow into a man, and you are involved in the process."

"Me?" Zhenma's eyes widened, and her body shrank back to the back of the sofa, looking like she didn't care. "I'm not named Foster, and I don't study astronomy." There was a faint resentment in her words, and at this time she looked a little like an ordinary girl, not the calm and calm female researcher.

"Don't be too picky about Jenma, you're Fitz's spiritual harbor." Looking at the girl's appearance, Eric chuckled softly. "Men sometimes go crazy for fantasy, but after going crazy, they still have to go back to the person closest to him, and that is the best place for him."

"It's not fair, I haven't broken the tacit understanding!" Jenma immediately complained.

"Really?" Eric looked meaningfully at the communication room.

The girl quickly came to her senses, and immediately blushed, and now she finally understood that her little secret had not been hidden from the target's eyes, which made her feel guilty for her private behavior, and grateful that she had not been exposed in public to cause her friends to be disgusted, and when she thought so, she suddenly realized that she had some emotions in her heart, but there was no fear at all, and at this time Zhenma realized that she had already regarded herself as a member of Eric's team, so she could be so calm.

This realization made her feel relieved, as if she had finally watched a depressing and tragic movie and returned to a relaxed and interesting daily life. At this time, when she listened to Eric's chatter, she had another feeling.

“…… Men are like birds in a cage, it is easy to open the cage, but not every bird wants to fly back. ”

"Enough, stop! Don't preach! The girl who put down her burden rolled her eyes and interrupted the other party. It sounded like my dad was teaching me a lesson. ”

"If you want, you can call me Daddy." Eric shrugged his shoulders and said he had no opinion. "Last Suggestion ......"

He glanced at the gate, where two people were walking back from the side of the road, so he raised his voice slightly so that people outside could hear it.

"In the future, I will work in the laboratory, change my clothes in my room, and don't worry about unreasonable things, as far as I know, Emir and Leo are good people."

As soon as Zhenma pouted, the two members of the group who had gone out to look at the steps walked in front and back, just in time to hear Eric's words.

"Why are you talking about it again!" Bronski was quite dissatisfied, feeling that he had been misunderstood for no reason. "Never have I ever peeked at someone changing clothes, no matter who it is!"

"Neither do I." Fitz's reckless justification. "And there's nothing to see about Zhenma."

He meant to say that the two were too familiar, but the girl sounded something else.

"Fitz!" She angrily shouted the boy's name, stood up and kicked his calf heavily, and the painful Fitz jumped up with a "whoop", rubbing her leg desperately.

"I agree with the other points, but there is one thing you said wrong about my father, he didn't grow up at all."

Gemma accentuated her tone at her new name for Eric, looking at the girl's back, Fitz confused.

"What's wrong with her, and why did she call you father?" The boy asked inexplicably.

"Hey, what do you want me to do with that, Fitz?" After playing tricks on others, Eric spread his hands helplessly, with an expression of hatred on his face, but his heart blossomed