The sprawling campus of S.H.I.E.L.D.'S SciOps spread out in front of a young freshman. She was just one of many exiting the cars that had fetched the students from the airport. This particular girl was wearing dark skinny jeans and short, black, lace-up boots. On top she had donned a navy blue sweater over top of a long-sleeved white collared shirt. There was a black laptop case slung over her shoulder and she had a rolling trunk that the driver pulled out of the trunk for her. Jemma Simmons took a deep breath and started following the flow of the crowd. The wind blew her mostly straight brunette hair across her face, obscuring her vision, leaving her in total shock when she felt herself falling head-over-heels down the sidewalk.
"Oh!" cried Jemma, looking up as she came to a stop, wondering what had caused that undoubtedly embarrassing scene. You sure know how to make an entrance, Simmons. When she looked back to where she had let go of her trunk she saw the cause of all her troubles-a person. He had short, curly blond hair and was wearing a ¾ sleeve collared shirt in a plaid print. There was something about his face that was vaguely familiar, but Jemma couldn't quite place it. His dark blue tie had been knocked crooked by the fall. A quick glance at the scene told Jemma that he had probably tripped and then she tripped over him. She hauled herself up off the ground, dusting off her pants and adjusting her laptop case, which seemed unscathed. Mystery Boy was still on the ground so she walked back over and offered her hand.
"Would you like some help?" He took her hand and stood, a look of utter embarrassment on his face.
"Thank you and I'm so sorry about that." The sound of his voice tickled her memory again, just a bit. His Scottish accent was prominent when he spoke, although I suppose I sound very British around here.
"It's fine, no harm done. I'm Jemma Simmons."
"Leopold Fitz. I just didn't want to be late for general lecture so I guess I wasn't really watching where I was going." He let a sheepish smile creep across his face. "How long have you been at the Academy?"
Leopold Fitz. Huh. He must just look like someone from back home.
"Actually this is my first year…I was just on my way to my room." Jemma held her breath. I hate being the awkward freshman.
"Oh thank goodness. I was afraid you were an upperclassman who was going to rat me out. I'm a freshman as well." Relief flooded his whole stance, "Which dorm are you in?"
"Um…hang on a mo." Jemma consulted her paperwork. "Oh the 200 building. I don't suppose you could point me in the right direction?"
"I can show you if you'd like," He offered, "general lecture doesn't actually start for another hour and I'm in the 300's-that's adjoined to the 200's so I can get you there."
"That would be fantastic." Jemma grabbed her trunk and they started off. "So what do I call you, Leopold Fitz?"
"Most people just call me Fitz," He grinned, "It's a bit better than Leopold. My parents were a touch on the odd side."
"Well I can feel your pain there-I can't even count the number of times I've been called Jenna. Honestly, half the time I just go by Simmons. It's much harder to mess up." She already felt at ease walking with Fitz. It was natural, as if they had known each other for weeks rather than minutes.
"Simmons it is then. What department are you focusing in?"
"I'm in Biochem," she gave him a sideways glance, "How about yourself?"
"I'm in Engineering."
"Oh that's….fun." Jemma wasn't quite sure what to say, given that she was much more inclined to the living than the mechanical.
"I could say the same about Biochem." Fitz retorted in a friendly jab. Their laughter carried them across the lawn, Fitz guiding their path. He gave Simmons a sideways glance. There was something about her that seemed so familiar...he just wasn't sure what it was.
Probably just the accent, there's plenty of Brits back home.
They chatted a bit about their life back home and where they had gone to college before when Fitz said,
"And there's the 200's." He pointed to a non-descript building off to the side. It was a light gray and connected to an identical building next door through a small hallway. Consulting her paperwork again Simmons gave a small groan.
"Ugh. I'm up on the second floor." Reluctantly, she started to haul her trunk toward the stairs.
"Would you like some help?" Please say yes-I really don't want to walk back over alone.
"I think I can manage" But Simmons was obviously struggling with the trunk and it started to slip. Just before it hit the floor Fitz darted over and caught it. A slight blush crept into Jemma's cheeks.
"We'll I suppose some help probably wouldn't go amiss" she amended with a small smile. Fitz readjusted his grip and followed Simmons up the stairs.
"What do you even have in here that makes it so heavy?" Fitz didn't sound annoyed-he was honestly just curious.
"Mostly clothes and supplies...but I probably overdid it on the books." With a sort of sheepish look on her face she glanced at the trunk. "I just couldn't leave them all behind." Fitz knew that feeling-he adored his own books.
"Do you have a favorite?" He asked casually.
This is gonna sound really nerdy, thought Simmons, but I can't exactly lie to him, can I?
"If I had to choose….probably Harry Potter."
"You like Harry Potter?" Fitz's whole face lit up and Simmons tentatively glanced at him.
"I'm actually rereading Prisoner of Azkaban-"
"That's my favorite book! I love Lupin, and I mean obviously he-"
"Was a werewolf! I know! I couldn't believe only Hermione figured it out." The pair came to a stop outside Jemma's room. Their eyes met for a second and they shared a smile.
"I think I can get it from here." Simmons unlocked the door to her new room, "Thanks."
"No problem," Fitz took a half step back and put his hands part way in his pockets, "So I guess I'll see you around?"
"Yeah, sure." Jemma grinned, "Maybe we can have a Potter movie marathon sometime."
"That'd be fun." Fitz glanced at his watch, "Alright, I've gotta go. Don't want to miss the start of lecture." Simmons gave a small wave, then pulled her trunk in and shut the door.
Simmons spent her first full day at SciOps learning her way around campus and chatting with the girl in the room next door, Clara. Classes didn't start till the next day and Jemma couldn't get that curly haired boy out of her mind. Normally she could turn her focus to her work, but the familiarity of Fitz's face was eating away at her.
In the next building over the boy in question was staring at a piece of paper. His classes had officially started yesterday but they wouldn't do any work till tomorrow. The paper Fitz was staring at was a list of course options within the engineering field. He didn't know it for sure yet, but the choice he was about to make would change his life forever. He checked a box and headed off to turn it in.
Jemma rose with the sun the next day, a habit she had developed a while ago. Slipping on some jeans and a light blue shirt, she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and went outside. The new sunlight and cold of the early morning cloaked her as she settled on a bench in the back of the 200's. While the birds greeted the morning Simmons fell into a world of magic. It wasn't until she found herself shivering that she pulled herself up and decided it was time for breakfast.
Fitz was already in the breakfast hall. He might love his sleep, but all you had to do to wake him up was mention food. He was already halfway through a second round of bacon when Simmons walked in. She had added a black blazer over her shirt and was carrying her laptop case. Simmons grabbed a muffin and some orange juice, then scanned the crowd. She found Fitz at a corner table and slipped into the seat across from him.
"Is it okay if I sit here?" she asked tentatively
Fitz glanced up.
"Oh yeah, yeah of course!" He shifted his plate over to make some room and she set her food down.
"So are you excited? First day after all."
Jemma contemplated her orange juice before answering.
"I'm a little nervous actually. Where do you go first?"
"I'm heading to room 111." Jemma gave him a funny look at that.
"111? But that's the Biochem general lecture."
"I know." Fitz gave a shrug and a smile, "its part of the engineering course I'm taking...something about working with partners or something."
"Oh, the inter-division thing." Simmons took another bite of muffin. "I think I might have put that on my application." Just then the bell rang and a wave of motion ensued.
"Well let's go find out." said Fitz
The lecture hall was already half full when they got there and claimed a couple seats in the middle near the front. Simmons opened up her laptop while Fitz pulled out a notebook and pencil. The rest of the hall quickly filled with wide-eyed freshman. They were obviously trying to play it cool, but no one could fail to be amazed on their first day at the Academy. Two professors walked through a back door and up to the desks. As the final bell rang the first one, a woman on the shorter side with black hair, said,
"Welcome. My name is Professor Ellie White. I am the head of the Biochem department and am very happy to introduce my colleague-"
"Bond. James Bond." The other professor, a man, also short but with brown hair, interjected smoothly, triggering a ripple of laughter from the students. "Actually, it's Professor Mark Hall. We leave that action stuff the crazies over at Operations. I am the head of the Engineering department."
"You are all here because you opted to try out a new program," Prof. White continued, "In which one Biochem and one Engineering student are paired together in order for us to assess the practicality of training teams."
"You should know," added Prof. Hall, "We have already paired you based on the scores you submitted to us with your applications." There was a collective deflation in the room at his words. Simmons glanced over at Fitz, who was already looking at her. Each saw their thought reflected in the other's face: we probably aren't working together.
"This program will focus both on your individual skills in the field of your choice, but also on teaching you how to collaborate those skills with those of your partner." White looked to Hall, who added,
"Our hope is that you and your partner will form a working relationship that is conducive to continuing for all 4 years of your education here so that upon entering the S.H.I.E.L.D. workforce you are already part of a functioning team."
With a smile, Prof. White produced a piece of paper from her folder. "I know you're all dying to see your assignment. When I call your name, come up to the front. Once you have met your partner find a seat next to them. First, from Biochem, Carol Rodgers." A petite blond made her way forward and was paired with Percy York, a tall, wiry boy. Fitz and Simmons held their breath, each waiting to see who would be the first to be split off of their newly formed duo. Over half the room had been paired off when finally Professor White said,
"Jemma Simmons, from Biochem." Simmons grabbed her laptop and gave Fitz a sad smile, nervousness showing through it. She stepped up next to the desk up front.
"And Leopold Fitz, from Engineering." At first Simmons thought she had heard wrong, so she turned to look at Fitz who had an equal look of shock on his face, so she must have heard right. She felt a smile, a real one this time, spread across her face when she heard Prof. Hall say, "Looks like you can just go back to your seat, Miss Simmons." There was an edge of a smile in his voice, and when Jemma looked back she saw amusement on his face.
"Yes sir." She responded with a grin and practically skipped back to her seat by Fitz, who gently squeezed her shoulder and smiled.
"Alright, that's the last of it." Prof. White put her list back in the folder a few minutes later. "You are all free to go; you will both receive revised schedules within 24 hours. Expect to have most, if not all of your classes with your partner."
A flurry of packing up followed her words, accompanied by much conversation. Fitz and Simmons simply shared a look before they stood up to leave.
"Fitz. Simmons. A word?" The pair found the two professors looking at them expectantly. They changed course and stepped inside the office that was just off the lecture hall.
"We wanted to have a quick chat about your pairing." Prof. White looked back and forth between them.
"You were paired together because you were the top of your respective fields based on the applications we saw." Said Prof. Hall, eliciting wide-eyed looks of surprise from both students.
"I hope you realize," White continued, "that this means you represent the pinnacle of our hopes for this program."
"And that we expect nothing but hard work and serious dedication from the two of you." Added Hall.
"Oh yes of course," Jemma was quick to respond
"Absolutely," Fitz was right after her.
"You should be ready for working mainly with the two of us," White gestured to herself and Hall as she spoke, "and your assignments may vary from those of your classmates a bit."
Fitz and Simmons nodded and the two professors smiled.
"Very well then. You are also free to leave." Hall dismissed them and they hurried out the door.
A few weeks passed and they developed a routine. They met for breakfast, Fitz usually getting there first, then they headed to class. Their first hour was a class that all of the pairs were taking. They were assigned a problem and given the length of the period to solve it using their combined skill sets. Fitz and Simmons loved this and found that they were especially good at "tennis", or bouncing solutions back and forth until they found the best way to solve the problem with both Biochem and Engineering elements. Since they were so efficient at this they often found themselves finished long before the hour was over. Left to their own devices they sketched potential projects, designs that were in their heads that were missing an element. More often than not, they were able to fix whatever was theoretically flawed with each other's designs before they had to head to second hour. Here they split from the rest of the pairs and went to work with Professors' White and Hall. For all of second hour they worked separately. Simmons worked with White, exploring oddities or new discoveries in Biochem. Fitz worked with Hall on engineering designs and focusing on finding the most efficient way to achieve the objective. After second hour most students had the morning off until after lunch. Fitz and Simmons stayed on with White and Hall, having a general discussion for another hour, throwing out ideas or proposals and batting them around, molding them and shifting them into something possible. Once they finished there, they joined everyone else for lunch, taking part in the casual banter and small talk of their classmates. When lunch finished, all of the pairs went to what was basically a S.H.I.E.L.D. history class. The curriculum was specifically altered to incorporate the important elements of both Engineering and Biochem, rather than focusing on one. The next class was a general favorite-most of the freshman called it playtime. They were given a wide range of tools and ingredients, from high tech gadgets fresh out of the tech department to rusty pieces not used in decades and given as long as they needed to come up with something useful from the supplies. There was no specific problem to solve; you could create your own problem if you needed a target to focus on while working. The products of this class varied in success, but were always guaranteed to be interesting. After they finished their product the students wandered off to do homework or study or possibly go down early to the boiler room if they were particularly bored. Simmons and Fitz went back to White and Hall and worked on theory and technicalities of their respective fields, as well as how the theory coincided. They would go to dinner afterwards, then finish up homework and maybe watch a movie or play some games before bed. One day Professor White held them back before dinner. She looked them in the eyes and said,
"I have something for you to consider. But first, I have something to show you." She placed a sheet in front of the pair, a graph, and pointed into a spot about halfway up the graph. "This is about where the average freshman is at this point in the year." She moved her hand much closer to the end of the line. "This is currently where your skill levels are based on recent assessment." Their eyebrows rose in surprise.
"I didn't realize we were doing that much work." Jemma looked over at Fitz.
"Me either," he gave a kind of shrug, "it's just been fun."
White nodded. "I thought as much. That's why I'm recommending that you consider graduating early."
Fitz and Simmons had identical looks of shock.
"Graduate…early?" Simmons was stunned by the suggestion, and Fitz was clearly speechless.
"Yes." Said White firmly, "S.H.I.E.L.D. needs experts the likes of you working to solve the problems that just seem to be piling up in the world lately."
"How early?" Fitz finally regained control of his voice.
"At the rate you are currently progressing, you could graduate at the end of this year." More shocked silence and another shared look of uncertainty met this statement.
"I realize this is a lot to consider." White looked between them, "I just wanted to plant the seed in your head. We sorely need minds like yours and it would be a shame to waste your talents." The pair looked a bit doubtful and still slightly shell shocked. "You don't have to make any decisions now. Think and discuss and get back to me once you know what you want to do." White smiled, "and now I suggest that you get some dinner." Dismissed, Simmons and Fitz rose rather dazedly and headed for the dining hall.
The next morning Simmons was curled up in her blanket on her usual bench with a book when a shadow fell across her face. She looked up to see Fitz holding two steaming mugs of hot cocoa.
"Here," he said, handing her one, "I thought you might back a bit chilly."
She accepted the mug gratefully, feeling that slight brush of familiarity once more. "How did you know where I was?"
"I can see this bench from my window." He gestured to a second floor room in his building, "You're out here every morning."
"It's peaceful. I like it." She took a sip of cocoa. "So...what do you think about White's proposal?"
A conflicted look came over Fitz's face, "In a way it makes sense. I'm not desperate to spend all four years here and the work load is not heavy. But at the same time..."
"...you want the full Academy experience." Simmons nodded. "I guess we have to weigh that against everything else."
Fitz nodded, but didn't say anything. They finished their cocoa in silence, watching the sun finish rising.
The next day they beat their professors to second hour and were all set up before Hall and White walked in.
"You're early today Fitzsimmons." As soon as the words were out Hall clamped his hand over his mouth. White gave him a what-did-I-say look and rolled her eyes. At first Fitz and Simmons had slightly confused looks while they processed what Hall had said. Finally they just gave a little shrug and laughed.
"Sorry about that." Said Hall, a deep red blush creeping up his neck.
"It's fine, actually..." said Simmons with a small glance at Fitz.
"Yeah that actually...works." Fitz spoke with mild surprise and gave a smile to the professors, who still looked terribly embarrassed.
"We are a team, aren't we?" Simmons gave a grin to Fitz. The two of them turned back to their desks and continued working. White and Hall shared a look and a small smile, then they also headed to their desks.
They sat in White's office a few days later, having made a decision.
"We would like to go along with the early graduation plan." Jemma spoke for the pair while Fitz nodded in agreement. Professor White nodded and clapped her hands together.
"Excellent. I have a task here for you, just something we had prepared in case you decided to take this track." She handed each of them a folder labeled Fitzsimmons Field Exercise. The name had sort of stuck since Hall first let it slip and more of the professors had started to use it. The pair didn't mind. They were almost always in the same place and they always worked together so it seemed fitting enough.
"This is a problem that arose for a group in the field." White paused, then said, "I'm not going to tell you the outcome of the situation and whether they succeeded or not until you finish."
"How long do we have?" asked Fitz
"As long as you need." White replied, "I'm excusing you from all of your other classes. I want you to be working on this 24/7 until you have an answer."
Simmons raised her eyebrows. "Won't we fall behind?"
It was Fitz who gave her a look and said, "We can catch up Simmons. This is obviously important. I think you can handle some time without homework." At this, Simmons gave him a pouty face and poked him, to which he stuck his tongue out at her. Their moment of childish display passed and they turned all smiles to Professor White.
"We'll get started right away." Jemma said.
"Fabulous." White nodded and the pair rose and left.
They settled down in the lab they had claimed as their own. It wasn't like SciOps had any shortage of lab space and they were always in the lab anyway. Together they scanned the files White had given them.
"So basically we have to figure out how to get the motor to be powerful enough with these materials," Fitz read and pointed to the material list, "and it has to be small."
"It also has to be able to be powered by one of these materials," Jemma noted glancing down the other materials list, "none of which are very common." Fitz nodded, then looked up.
"So I'll start in on the motor and you look at the fuel then?"
"Sounds like a plan." The two of them split off to their separate areas in the lab and got to work. Jemma set up a sample for her microscope and focused the lens.
"Let's see what we have here..." She muttered to herself, twisting the fine adjustment a bit. She grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil and began sketching and noting some details. Fitz had laid out the pieces he had to work with on one of the tables and was tapping his chin.
"Think, Fitz, think!" He stopped tapping and wrapped his hand around his chin instead. Then his eyes lit up and he quickly began tinkering with one of the larger, clunky looking pieces. He took a small metal cylinder and pushed it into the larger piece, then set it aside and began widening the hole where he had tested the cylinder.
"Maybe this...no, no can't use that...what about..." Fitz murmured to himself while he was working. Thinking through the problem out loud helped him concentrate.
A few hours later, Jemma had detailed, colored sketched of each possible fuel source and was staring intently at her drawings. Fitz had bolted together the large clunky piece and a few smaller, intricate pieces into something that could be construed as a motor with a bit of imagination. He was currently screwing another piece onto the mass of metal. Jemma poked at a couple spots on her drawings and her whole face lit up.
"I'll have to mix them." She looked over at Fitz.
"What?" He looked up for a second, then went back to his machine.
"Each of the substances has a different molecular shape, which means that they were built with different proteins and if I can isolate which protein is in each one then I can figure out the most effective fuel source."
Fitz pulled a screwdriver from between his teeth, "Then why do you have to mix them?"
"Look at the numbers," Simmons scanned the materials list again, "there isn't enough of any one substance to power any sort of motor for long enough."
"Oh. Right." Fitz hadn't actually looked at the fuel source list in the first place. "Well I think I can make a functioning motor out of this"-he gestured to the piles of scraps-"I just need to polish some of it up and shave a few pieces down to the right size so they fit." Simmons nodded absentmindedly, her focus already returning to protein structure.