A/N: So this is a bit of an Academy AU. Hope you enjoy! Title from Coco O's Where the Wind Blows.
"This is absolutely ridiculous, Jemma! Seven hours a week! Seven! For an entire month!"
"Come on, Fitz," she urged, gently, "It'll be good for us. We'll be out in the field by the end of the year and we both know we need at least some sort of training."
Fitz simply offered her his best glare, "But tell me, was signing us up for a month-long self-defense class taught by a group specialist knuckleheads, really the best move? Have you ever heard of easing into things?"
"Oh don't be like that, Fitz. An hour a day is nothing," she responded, "Besides, if you do this, that cute girl from Comms might be a little more interested."
"Skye?" he asked, almost cautiously, "Fine, I'll think about it. But you owe me one, Jemma."
After a little more bribing and lot more grumbling, the pair found themselves standing with the small group of the overenthusiastic SciTech, ready to learn. Jemma wasn't surprised with the lack of students who had signed up for the class. Although most SciTech students were eager to learn, they lacked an ability to try new things or attempt to learn skills they knew would be difficult to master. They valued their egos and pride over experience and Jemma knew that her open mind would get her far.
A few brief moments of nervous chatter passed in the gym before the doors opened and three specialists walked in. The group was comprised of two towering men and one woman, who seemed equally as intimating.
"Welcome to Self-Defense 101. I am Agent Grant Ward and this is Agent Triplett and Agent Morse. We will be starting the class with individual assessments so we can properly gauge your current skill set and teach this class effectively, are we clear?"
The man who spoke was the tallest of the group and by far the harshest. Despite his current no-nonsense demeanor, Jemma had to admit he was incredibly attractive. Sharp jawed and well-built, Jemma was already glad she had signed up for the class.
As the interviews progressed, she sat back against the wall, watching and waiting for her turn. About a half hour passed before her name was called and she got up and stalked confidently up to the agent who had called her name.
She had barely taken a seat and he had already begun to ask her a series of questions in a low voice.
"Ward," she asked, musingly, in between questions, "that's an English surname, correct?"
He ignored her and continued on with his rampage of questions. Part of Jemma would have liked to be questioned by the younger, happier Agent, the one that looked like he should have been in some sort of a boy band, but Agent Ward had taken one look at the way Agent Triplett smiled at her and shooed him from the table.
On the other hand, Ward had removed the black leather jacket he had worn when he entered the gym, which made him immensely more entertaining to look at. He wore a short sleeve black t-shirt, and although it was the basic one most specialists wore, in Jemma's opinion it was far to tight for it to be considered "standard gear".
She found herself watching his shoulders and when he winced, slightly, in pain, she could no longer contain herself.
"Bad back?" she asked with sympathy, and he looked up at her from his notebook, as if he had noticed her for the first time.
"Yeah," he replied simply. He clearly was not a man of many words.
The assessment went on a little longer, but much to her dismay, when she began to flirt, he shut it down quickly. On her way back to the wall where the rest of the students sat, she stopped and placed a hand on his bicep.
"You know, I'm studying biochemistry. You should stop by the lab and I can see if we can do something for that back, I'm not quite a doctor, but I do know my way around most injuries."
She couldn't resist flirting again and was thrilled when he agreed to stop by her lab, part of her suspected he was at least the slightest bit intrigued by her. She didn't expect him to drop his guard to quickly, needless to say Jemma was not complaining.
When she got back to her room, she decided to take the night off, and she soon found herself climbing into bed letting herself relax. And as her dreams drifted towards Agent Ward and his biceps, she couldn't help but smile in her sleep. It was going to be a good month for Jemma Simmons.