A/N: So this will be a little different, it's in two parts, the first one is about Will and the second is about Fitz, but it's still mostly FitzSimmons centered. So no worries.

Spoilers: For everything up to and including 3x10 Maveth.

Disclaimer: My only undoing is the fact that I don't own the rights to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.


Love was his undoing. 14 years he had survived on this planet. He'd cheated death, on multiple occasions. Only to be brutally cut down in one of Its freakish sandstorms. Truth be told, he didn't mind much, the years he'd been alone after his crew had gone mad had been long and lonely. But then Jemma had come along, lighting up his world - which was pretty dark to begin with. He had been happier in the few months they had spent together than he could remember ever having been even before he left on this mission. So sacrificing himself, so that she could escape, so she could get back home, to Fitz and all the other people she loved, and that loved her. She deserved that. She had done her part, she had given him hope, kept him going. This was the only way he could repay her, and he did it gladly.

War, death, madness... three very powerful forces all contained in one being. But however mighty It was, it had not been strong enough to kill him, not until he fell in love. Love really was the greatest driving force of all. And though he'd known that loving her was a hopeless quest - she was clearly already in love with this Fitz guy - he had relished in the little time they did have, the moments she was still there with him. Because she was brilliant, and if she thought there was even the slightest chance of finding a way to get back, and if Fitz was even half as smart as her, there was a good possibility that they could figure it out - even across the Universe - together, but apart. And then she'd be home and would want nothing more to do with him, so he enjoyed the now.

She had had that hope, for the longest time, right up until their failed attempt at delivering that message in a bottle to Fitz. The planet was getting to her. Even though she had been right in all her calculations. It was only a matter of time. But she had lost all hope and that's when she had turned to him for support, thinking she might never see the people she cared about again. He'd been there, lost all hope, although he didn't have that many to return to back home, at least there were real food, and warmth and wine, and really any place was better than here.

After a little while he'd somehow been naïve enough to believe that she'd settled, chosen him over her return. Until that flare had appeared, and instantly ignited a hope in her. It was just a spark, and he hadn't noticed it before, but it was as clear as day that it was something that had been missing from her for a little time. Now that it was back full force, he could see how well it suited her. This was who she was supposed to be. He was just sad that it wasn't him that had lit the flame ablaze, set her soul on fire. It was Fitz, clearly he had not given up on her either during all this time. They rightly deserved to be together. And that was why he was happy to give up his life for hers. Happiness was flighty and love was rare, and therefore it needed to be treasured.

He had known that he was only on borrowed time, merely a replacement for the real deal. Love was strange that way. He loved her, and she might pretend that she loved him too, but her heart belonged to someone else, it was as plain as day. And he wasn't going to stand in the way of her happiness, her happy ending. It was too late for him anyway, but she still had a shot. And as he lay there, face pressed against the sand, his eyes threatening to slowly close the world out, he realised that the Universe had had a plan after all, it had kept him there for a reason, she was what he'd stayed alive for all those years, before she was even there she was his true mission, his purpose. And now that he'd fulfilled his quest, now that he'd kept her safe and alive, and helped her get back to where she was supposed to be, he could finally relax and do the one thing he hadn't been able to do before, he could leave.

He exhaled one last time as he slipped away. Love might have been his undoing, but it was also his saving grace.