The Leap

Fitz stared into the darkness of the passage in which he had just seen Tripp go into, much to his and Jemma's objections. He couldn't help but see it as a tomb, but prayed it wouldn't live up to his expectation.

Tripp will be fine. He always is.

"What do you think it's like down there? A whole new world." Simmons asked, leaning against the back wall and looking at Fitz.

"Don't know."

Silence.

"They'll all be fine, though, won't they?" Simmons questioned.

"Don't know."

Silence again, except a small sigh from Simmons, causing Fitz to face her.

"What?"

"I am trying here, Fitz, as much as you seem certain I'm not." Simmons said sternly, causing Fitz to stand up and face her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise that you'd developed psychic abilities while you were away and can read my thoughts. Clever." Fitz said with all the sarcasm he could muster.

"I know you, Fitz. I know that's what you're thinking, that's all!"

"But you DON'T know me Jemma, not anymore! I don't even know myself! We can never go back to how things were, so why bother salvaging what's left?" Fitz asked, causing Jemma to tear up.

"Because...you're my best friend in the world." Jemma said meaningfully.

"Why would you make me do this? You're my best friend in the world!"

"Yeah, and you're more than that, Jemma."

"...I, uh...I said things that shouldn't have been said and screwed this up. Screwed us up. I was perfectly happy with the way things were between us but no, a life or death situation had to come along and act on my heart not my head for the first time ever." Fitz moaned, pacing along the room.

"...Fitz, I know what was said and I know things will always be different, but...I can't lose you. Not when I was so close to losing you in that box under the ocean. You're still Leopold Fitz and I'm still Jemma Simmons, we're still 'Fitzsimmons' as they insist on calling us, we're just a bit broken. But we can be fixed. Imagine you, say, break a teddy bear. The stitching comes loose and an arm falls off. You can just sew the arm back on, and it'll be fixed. Maybe not as strong, but fixed, and that's better than having a one-armed teddy bear. That's us, Fitz. We're a one-armed teddy bear, but if you want to, and I hope you do, I'd like your help to sew that arm back on." Jemma explained softly.

"I'd...I'd like that." Fitz whispered. Jemma smiled slightly.

"Glad to hear it."

Silence.

"...You and your bloody teddy bears. You had so many on your bed at the Academy." Fitz quietly chuckled, looking shyly at the floor.

"I didn't have that many."

"There were hundreds. Although you were more obsessed with those jelly beans they had in the vending machines."

"Oh my goodness, yes! They were marvellous; so delicious. I haven't had those for years. And hey, you had your obsessions too." Simmons smiled.

"Like what?"

"That green hoodie you wore EVERY DAY for three years until you accidentally set it alight."

"I'd rather not talk about that; it was a painful day. I never did find a replacement for that. I think they stopped making it. It was comfy, though." Fitz said. Jemma smiled at him, and Fitz smiled in return. It was the first smile they'd shared for a long while.

...

The following few hours changed Fitz and Simmons' lives forever; Tripp was killed and Skye's true powers were unlocked. Over the coming months the pair grieved on their own and occasionally together when Simmons cried into Fitz's shoulder on the odd night or two. Skye was able to manage her powers with special training and everyone slowly began to recover from losing one of their own in such a tragic way.

Another two weeks went by, and as Fitz left the lab for the night, he was shocked to see the door to his room slightly ajar. Walking inside, he didn't notice anything or anyone out of place until he switched on the light and saw a green lump on his bed. Upon further inspection Fitz could see what it was; a green jacket, like the one he had all those years ago. He picked it up and found the jacket had something wrapped up inside it, which fell onto the floor. Fitz didn't attend to it right away; he simply smiled and put the jacket on. It was a perfect fit. He didn't even need to wonder who had got it for him.

He looked to the floor to see the fallen item and grinned again, picking up in one hand, a one-armed teddy bear, and in the other, the other loose arm.

...

Jemma thought she'd heard footsteps outside her room. Checking the clock and seeing it was just past four in the morning, she sighed and got up to put her mind to rest. She opened the door and saw nothing until she looked down and saw her teddy bear greeting her. Smiling, she picked it up and saw the loose arm had been neatly sewn back on. Not only that, a small paper bag had been tied to the repaired arm with string. Jemma took the bag and sat the teddy bear on her bed. Pouring the bag's contents into her hand, Jemma was filled with joy as a handful of jelly beans fell out. She tasted a red one (her favourite flavour, which Fitz clearly remembered as the majority were red), smiled and got herself back into bed, holding the teddy in her arms and drifting off to sleep. The teddy bear was whole again, and so was she.