Problem Solved
Author's Note: This is a gift for Blancafic, as part of the FitzSimmons Secret Santa exchange. The prompt was: hidden identities, a secret revealed. My giftee also mentioned that she likes "getting together at the Academy or Sci-Ops or anytime earlier than canon". Hopefully this hits it!
"A masquerade ball?" Fitz asks. "In the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology?"
"Well, many of us will go on to be spies too, so it's not that far off base," Simmons shrugs. "And besides, a masquerade suggests imagination – a trait which any good scientist needs."
Fitz, unsatisfied with Simmons' response, can't resist mimicking her voice as he repeats, 'a trait which any good scientist needs.'
Simmons is not amused and eagerly digs an elbow into his ribs. Fitz has certainly had his grumpy side ever since she's known him, but he sure has seemed on edge for the past couple of days. Simmons is perplexed, as she is the one who has a secret; she's the one with cause to be salty tonight.
"That was a terrible imitation," she mutters.
"Fine, you're right," he mumbles. "I just have no idea how to put together a bloody costume. I make useful tools that will be used to protect the world. I don't make silly costumes." He takes a breath. "At least we won't be disturbed in here, with everyone else at the masquerade."
Fitz and Simmons are inside the lab, the palace which they undisputedly reign over. They have already surpassed any professor here. Tonight they are working a project involving glial cells, and even the head of Biology at the Academy isn't sure he understands what Simmons is on to – or how Fitz, an engineer, is already more useful than he would be on this project.
Simmons reaches for a few of the cultures, and then pauses. "So," she begins, keeping her voice casual, "Nancy isn't upset that you're not taking her to the masquerade?"
"No," Fitz answers. Simmons looks at him out of the corner of her eye. He turns away. "She knows I'm not interested in that sort of thing. What about Kenneth?"
"Oh, he understands that you and I are at an important stage in our work, and that I have no time to make costumes. And he has plenty of things he can work on tonight. Same as Nancy, I presume."
The lab again grows silent. Simmons isn't sure why it's such a relief to no longer be discussing Nancy and Kenneth. She's glad that Fitz has a girlfriend now and is fairly certain that Nancy is his first. And she's glad that she has Kenneth. He's not the genius that Fitz is, no, but Simmons reminds herself that she can't hold her expectations that high. She does, however, note how odd both their voices sounded when they were discussing their partners. Their tones were too high and artificial.
Well, Simmons reminds herself, she has a reason to feel awkward regarding the subject of Kenneth. She wants so badly to unburden herself to someone about it, and Fitz is her best friend – but she doesn't know how to have this conversation with him.
Her concerns are interrupted when a knock sounds on the door. Two of their lab mates then walk in. Fitz silently admits that he can't remember their names off the top of his head. He knows that he mentally refers to most of the Academy as "not Simmons."
"We knocked first," one of them says, grin on his face. "Had to make sure you two weren't making out!"
Simmons scoffs. "Absurd! We're working hard in here."
"And – and, Simmons has a boyfriend, and I have a girlfriend," Fitz adds.
It turns out that their lab mates have interrupted then because one has left his phone inside the lab. Simmons has already placed it inside the bin used for personal effects. Phone now having been procured, both of their intruding lab mates leave.
Moments later, the lab doors once again are opened. Fitz resists the urge to slam his hands down on the counter and exclaim 'What?'
It's Simmons' roommate this time. She is also grinning. "So it's true. You two are both really going to pull an all-nighter and miss the event that everyone else in the Academy is going to."
"Yes," Simmons insists, her voice firm. She is keeping the exasperation at bay though. "We're at a very important point here. And we don't have costumes either."
"I thought for sure that you would go as Dr. Jane Goodall," she says, at Simmons, "and you would go as one of her chimps," she says to Fitz.
"I love primates," Fitz pipes up, "but I am certainly no…plaything of Simmons'!" He is blushing.
"Well, I certainly don't think that Dr. Goodall plays with her primates," Simmons says, placing her hands on her hips. "She studies them, and loves them. I- I mean she loves them as, uh, creatures to be protected. Not romantically."
Simmons' roommate, still standing in the doorway, is laughing. Almost cackling. "You two are adorable."
"Adorable?" Fitz echoes, a look of disgust and incredulity on his face.
Another student comes up behind Simmons' roommate. "I actually had a dream that you two had a daughter," the second student says to Fitz and Simmons. "And named her Jane. Like for Jane Goodall."
"This is ridiculous," Fitz says, launching his hands into the air. "For the last time, we're not a couple. And we are very busy – we're on the verge of determining how glial cells can be affected by our prototype weapon."
"Okay, but I think it's crazy that you two can't take a night off and take Nancy and Kenneth to the masquerade." Simmons' roommate then adds, "Sorry, sorry – we'll get out of here. We're late anyway."
Within the next 10 minutes, Fitz and Simmons are interrupted yet again. This time it's Fitz's roommate, a budding engineer who Fitz can't abide. He ribs the duo for wanting "a romantic evening in the lab," until Fitz nearly pushes him out the door.
"What is wrong with our classmates?" Fitz asks, eyes blazing.
"I thought we were at the most prestigious institute of science on the planet," Simmons adds, shaking her head. "Not the university that my brother is at, one which is known for parties and drinking."
"Should we lock the door?"
Simmons is silent for a few moments and tilts her head. "Since we've been interrupted so many times, I am realizing that I could use something to eat."
"Me too," Fitz agrees. "I've been so engrossed in this that I don't think I've eaten anything since breakfast." Sometimes Nancy brings a sandwich to Fitz in the lab, but she, of course, has her own work too.
"I'm glad the cafeteria is 24/7," Simmons says, removing her lab coat. "Well, assuming it's not closed today because of the blasted ball!"
They share a smile at her comment and head for the cafeteria. As they walk down the long corridor towards the exit, Simmons wonders if perhaps she can share her secret with Fitz as they eat. Maybe that would be easier. Discussing it over a meal might be a better setting than inside their hallowed lab. Simmons feels her pulse starting to speed up. She knows that she has to unburden herself to someone, and Fitz is her best friend.
They exit the building and begin the walk towards the building with the cafeteria. The campus is dark and quiet. The masquerade ball is taking place on the other end of campus, and only vague hints of the drums and bass throbbing can be heard this far away. Simmons decides then and there to share with Fitz, and she turns to him and starts talking. Simultaneously, he opens his mouth and speaks.
Both smile, laugh awkwardly, and insist the other go first. They go back and forth for a while until she finally gives in.
"Okay, uh, okay," Simmons says. She keeps her gaze looking forward, not at Fitz, as they continue to amble towards the cafeteria building. She decides to just blurt it out, since there is no easy way to say it. "Kenneth wants to have sex with me but I'm not ready! I just had to say that to someone," she adds quickly.
"Oh. Oh dear," Fitz says. "Well, uh, did you tell him? I mean…any decent bloke should respect your wishes."
"I told him," Simmons answers straightforwardly. The words flow quickly. "But he keeps insisting. He's disappointed and sometimes I think he's a bit angry, and I'm not sure he's the right one for me."
Fitz's voice contains a strength and firmness that is not always evident. "Well, if he's giving you grief for this then he's not fully respecting your wishes. I suspect that you are better off without him."
Simmons exhales. It feels good, so good, to hear her best friend say it. "Some people would tell me that I'm crazy. Kenneth is handsome and smart and tall and congenial. He makes a fine boyfriend and – well, a fine man to lose my virginity to."
"I can't see how he makes 'a fine boyfriend' if he keeps insisting when you said you're not ready," Fitz remarks. He hates to admit it, but the fact that he only possesses two of the four traits that Simmons has just named stings. It stings at him really hard. Yet somehow, too, the thought of Simmons knowing herself well enough to know that she isn't ready for sex is endearing. No, he adds, not just that but also the thought that she asserted herself. Despite his feelings of inadequacy, he also feels a wave of tenderness towards Simmons.
They are approaching the cafeteria building far too rapidly. Without any communication other than a brief head tilt, they decide to circle the building instead of entering it. They continue talking as they walk around it. Now that they are somewhat closer to the building where the masquerade is taking place, they can better hear the music thrumming in the background along with other sounds of revelry.
Simmons squeezes his arm. Her relief feels tangible. "Thank you. It is so nice to be able to talk about this." She is quiet for a moment, and then begins again tentatively. "Did you have something….?"
Fitz takes a breath and puts both of his hands inside his pockets. This evening the weather is cool and heading towards crisp, but not cold. "Oh, along the same lines but different. Me and Nancy." And then he panics. How can he tell Simmons this? How can he get this vulnerable? But, he asks himself, how can he not? She was bold enough to open up to him.
"Is it…something similar to what I shared?" Simmons asks quietly.
"Yeah," Fitz admits. "Well, not exactly. We – well, we did it. Sex. I mean, we tried to. It didn't go so well."
"Oh," Simmons comments. She quickly adds, "I do believe – from what others have said – that it usually doesn't go well the first time. Of course I am far from an expert! But I mean, I have heard many times that it doesn't happen the way it does in books and movies."
"Oh, I know," Fitz says. "And she knows too." He forces a laugh, and is grateful for the dark evening so that Simmons can't see the heat on his face. "I was so nervous that I….couldn't. I was unable to." Fitz then hastens to add, "I mean, I took care of her in other ways. I did other things to please her, and I think she liked that alright – though it was my first time doing any of it. Oh, and I also must reassure you that I did not pressure her into any of it! In fact, she is the one who insisted."
"I have no trouble believing that," Simmons responds. She also cannot say why but the thought of Fitz being too nervous to get an erection is something she finds….endearing. She doesn't at all find it unmasculine or anything like that. The more she thinks about it, the more she thinks that she would love to be held by a man who is so nervous about losing his virginity and pleasing her that he can't "perform". Not that Simmons at all views sex as a "performance".
"Nancy didn't give you a hard time about any of it, did she?" Simmons asks.
"She said all the right things," Fitz answers, looking down. "But that was two days ago, and things have felt so weird since then. Weird enough that - well, talking to you about it feels far less strange than it feels for me to be around Nancy now! And trust me, I'd never put 'talking about sex' on a list of things that are not awkward."
They continue to walk, and Simmons remains silent hoping that Fitz might say more. He finally does. "I can't tell if she's disappointed or if she really is fine, or if she's maybe thinking that I'm not the one for her."
Simmons again finds her heart rate accelerating. She both desires and fears the answer to her question. "Are you starting to think that perhaps she's not the one for you?" She looks at him as she asks the question.
Fitz nods. "I've thought it before. Even though we, uh, didn't have the proverbial fireworks two nights ago, it's more her reaction since then that's making me feel like she's not right for me." And since he's opened up to Simmons just now far more than he's opened up to anyone, he adds, "It's good to talk with you about this."
"I feel the same way," Simmons says, smiling. They have now looped around back to the front of the cafeteria building and the doors loom in front of them. "Shall we go in?"
"Yes. I truly am famished now." Fitz realizes it's true. A short while ago he had been jittery and fearful over the fact that he carried this secret and needed to share it with his best friend. Now he just feels good and resolute – and hungry.
The cafeteria building is as deserted as the rest of campus. Even if the staff is mostly gone, there is always food out even if it's just things like cereal, or a fridge filled with yogurt, or pizza sitting under a heat lamp. The doors silently slide aside. The large cafeteria looms just down the hall – but something off to the side catches Fitz's eye. Simmons notices it a second later. There is a small alcove with pool tables and other games off to the side, just before the entrance to the cafeteria. And there are strange noises coming from it.
Fitz and Simmons exchange a brief look and then silently walk towards the alcove. Each would later say that they were drawn there like a magnet. Simultaneously, they crane their heads around.
And there they see Nancy and Kenneth together. She is sitting on a pool table, he is standing before her, both of them are half-undressed, both are making noises, and it is evident what they are up to. A split second later, Nancy and Kenneth turn and gasp as they realize they are no longer alone.
Apparently Fitz and Simmons are not the only ones who had secrets.
Fitz and Simmons turn, look at each other, and say in unison, "Problem solved!" With that, they take each other's hands and walk away, deciding not to grant their undeserving exes any parting words.
One year later, it's time for the masquerade again, which has become an annual tradition. Although FitzSimmons know they won't be at the Academy for too much longer, they do contemplate showing up at the masquerade each year to celebrate their anniversary. For their first masquerade as a couple, they arrive dressed as Dr. Goodall and a chimp.
THE END