This is my FitzSimmons Secret Santa gift for recoveringrabbit. Her prompt was: arranged marriage AU—or shotgun wedding, whatever; the only thing is it has to be REAL and not something that could be easily gotten out of

To my giftee: I didn't manage to finish the entire story and I hope to have it all done as soon as possible. You're one of the most brilliant writers here and I really hope that my gift will be up to your expectations and that you'll enjoy it as much as I like reading your stories. :)

Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.


When Jemma walked into the room, there were a handful of students inside, quietly chattering. She looked around, nodding or waving politely to the people she knew and sat down at a desk in the first row.

She'd been at MIT for almost a month and she was still getting used to it. Jemma was well used to changing universities but it didn't diminish her difficulty in making friends.

At 21, she was one of the youngest students on campus and probably the only one with a PhD in her pocket and another one on its way.

Her parents had always told her to follow her dreams and allow her never-ending curiosity to flow freely. Jemma had thrived in her thirst for knowledge and at sixteen she'd achieved her degree in biochemistry at Oxford and earned a scholarship for a PhD in chemistry at CalTech. At Harvard, she'd gotten a specialization in genetics and now she was at MIT to get a PhD in biology.

She had plans to start travelling after she finished her studies and getting a job that would allow her to really use her brilliance and help people while seeing the world.

Smiling slightly as her long-desired goal came back to her mind, Jemma straightened up in her seat, as Professor Hall came in. He was a rather brilliant and enthusiastic man who made Bio-Mechanics incredibly interesting.

The first two weeks had been enlightening although she still felt a little put out by the stares and lack of real interaction with the other students or colleagues.

She had long learned that being the brightest didn't mean being the most befriended.

Jemma ignored the familiar pang in her chest and was going to raise her hand to ask a question about the formula that Dr. Hall had written on the board when someone knocked at the door and opened it before receiving an answer.

"Sorry, Professor, I'm late," a young man said apologetically and Jemma straightened slightly, her attention drawn away from the board to the newcomer.

He was Scottish: his accent was a dead giveaway. He was also quite… well, handsome. Light curls that fell over clear blue eyes, a slim build and a nice face. He was young too; Jemma estimated that he had to be around her age.

She was wondering if he was a Biology student when the sudden loud chatter in the room distracted her. Apparently, the other students knew him; especially the girls, she'd noticed.

"Mr. Fitz," Dr. Hall greeted the newcomer with a nod and a loud voice to overcome the noise. "Mr. Mackenzie had informed me of your impromptu departure and that you'd join my class with a few weeks delay."

"Yes, sir," Fitz replied, straightening his messenger bag on his shoulder and scratching the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Jemma studied him, curious about this stranger who she'd never met or seen before, but who made her curious for some reason and want to know more about him. It had to be his accent... or his age.

Fitz' eyes roamed around the room, looking for a free seat. A few girls and boys actually called out his name and gestured to a chair next to them and Jemma noticed how his stare hardened a little as he ignored them.

Was he famous? Could he be some popular student on campus that she'd never heard of? He didn't look like an athlete but more like an assistant with his shirt, jumper and crooked tie, but sports had never been her forte so he could be athletic to some degree.

Puzzled, Jemma kept her stare fixed on the man and jumped slightly when his clear blue eyes met her gaze. She felt as though she was made of glass as he scrutinized her with a look that she couldn't recognize. And then, in a blink of an eye, he looked away but Jemma saw how his face seemed to harden.

She felt a slight flush on her face. Had he noticed her staring and got annoyed by it?

"I don't have the whole day, Mr. Fitz," Dr. Hall chastised, turning to write on the board again. "Do take a seat and let me continue?"

"Yeah… er… Yes, sir," Fitz blushed, stammering an apology and rushed to the first seat available.

Right next to Jemma.

She kept her gaze fixed on the board and tried not to watch him settle down, but it was a bit of a lost battle. She didn't know what it was about him that attracted her attention but she couldn't manage to look away.

He pulled out a notebook filled with papers and blueprints and opened it to a blank page where he started to write in a loopy scrawl. Jemma caught a glimpse of a half-completed schematics of a device and her curiosity was triggered, hundreds of questions popped in her mind. Her questions died in her mouth when he hastily slid the paper away and she saw how his gaze fell on her for a second and then never drifted away from the front of the class or his paper: it was forced, she could see that from his hardened jaw, and she realised that she must have annoyed him somehow.

Fitz cursed under his breath, his accent blurring some letters, and shook the pen in his hand. Apparently, it didn't write anymore and -Jemma noticed- he didn't have another. She bit her lip, eyeing her small pencil case where she had two spare pens and wondered if he would be bothered by-

Why was she doubting herself so much? Jemma had always been self-assured and she didn't want some unknown man about her age to shatter that. It might be her inner need to make friends that made her yearn for some contact with a peer but she wouldn't let it overcome her attitude.

She quickly took a pen out of her case and handed it to him, putting a cordial smile on her face.

"Here," she whispered. "I have a spare."

Fitz stared at her for a moment, blue eyes wide in surprise and then nodded, taking the pen from her hand. His fingertips brushed her skin and the light contact made a tingle run up her spine.

Get a grip, she thought to herself. She'd had her share of dates and boyfriends and she shouldn't be behaving like a shy, insecure girl who had a sudden crush on a handsome stranger.

Keeping her smile on place and keeping her emotions in check, she turned back to listen to Dr. Hall's words.

-:-

Fitz started taking notes again with his borrowed pen, half-listening to Dr. Hall as he explained a feature of vibranium in chemical kinetics while his mind berated himself.

He'd missed his chance to talk to her.

He stole a glance to his left and saw the amber eyed girl neatly taking notes and listening to Dr. Hall. He tried to be subtle as he observed her, taking in the way her hair framed her face, her soft features and the… the forced smile on her face along with her tense shoulders.

He was a prick: it was official.

He hadn't meant to be harsh or impolite… But he'd been taken by surprise to actually see her in the only bio-lab class he had.

All the other courses of his PhD were practical computer or engineering labs and he was already ahead in all of them. Biology had never been his forte: too many bodily fluids and living elements for his taste but Bio-Mechanics had seemed quite interesting and Dr. Hall was an expert in his field.

Fitz just wanted to know and learn things so that he'd be capable in his job in the future.

He'd accepted the scholarship at MIT in Mechanics because he'd imagined that it would be a good specialization for his engineering degree.

He had expected the attention when people would notice his family name and his origins; his country had become famous in Europe and was quickly expanding its fame worldwide.

He had expected -and had been extremely weary- of the fame that his name had acquired and how people suddenly wanted to befriend him and get to know him better. At first, it had been embarrassing, then slightly flattering but now it was downright irritating.

Fitz had hoped, growing up, that he'd really find friends but all he'd had were jealous classmates, arrogant colleagues and shallow strangers who wanted something from him.

His uncle Robert had always warned him that people might want to take advantage of his wealth; so young Fitz, an engineering prodigy and heir to a throne that had become an important power in the world of electronics, had grown up sheltering his heart from being hurt after too many bad experiences during his childhood. He'd grown up cautious and tended to study people before getting to know them.

His only friends were Bobbi, Hunter and Mack who were his confidants, bodyguards and professional soundboards.

And that was why she was a complete surprise: the amber-eyed girl.

He'd first seen her on campus on a late afternoon and she'd walked past him while speaking on the phone. Her English accent had immediately stood out and he was reminded of home. Then, seconds later, he'd noticed how outstandingly pretty she was as she laughed and disappeared in the crowd. She was burnt in his mind and he couldn't help but look around for her.

He saw her another handful of times and he would always catch another little detail: the colour of her eyes, the way she walked or smiled, how she seemed to be around his age and seemed to be extremely intelligent, judging by the books she carried; he actually searched for her around campus whenever he had a chance.

But he never talked to her.

The little seed of confidence that he had gained in his years studying in America vanished when he thought about speaking to her.

And today he'd mucked it up.

She had been staring at him and he'd noticed the puzzled look in her eyes. It suddenly hit him that she didn't know who he was and it was like the best and worst news for him. He was used to having people know who he was.

He could attempt to talk to her without her being biased … But then again, why would a girl like her even want to talk to someone like him?

Fitz had taken a seat next to her because it was the best spot and he'd been so flustered that he hadn't realised how he had hidden his partial designs and ignored her rather than being a decent person and introducing himself.

And yet, she'd lent him a pen and been kind although he'd made her uncomfortable.

"So, who knows the answer?"

Dr. Hall's voice made Fitz start: he'd been lost in his thoughts for a while now. She raised her hand and explained the method to solve the equation that Dr. Hall had written down in a clear and detailed way. Fitz was quite impressed: he wouldn't have done better.

"Exceptional as always, Dr. Simmons," the professor praised her and the girl smiled slightly. Fitz' brow raised at the title and she turned just in that moment before looking away quickly, body tensing again.

Gorgeous, kind and smart…

Why did she have to be so bloody perfect? And why did he have to be such a bloody moron?

When the class ended, they hadn't exchanged a word to each other but had been the only ones to answer all of Dr. Hall's questions.

Fitz packed his bag and got up, ready to leave, when he realised that he still had her pen. He turned to his side and saw that Simmons was leaving the room. Without thinking much, he darted outside and looked for her in the crowd.

He heard a loud 'Jemma' and turned around just in time to see her wave at a short-haired brunette and a dark, muscular man before walking away.

Clutching the pen in his hand, Fitz sighed and walked the opposite way until he realised something.

Simmons. Jemma.

Jemma Simmons.

He finally knew her name.

-:-

"So, what's bothering you?"

Jemma looked up from her plate where she had been playing with her salad and raised a brow at her friend, Daisy in query. The hacker-turned-computer science-student rolled her eyes.

"You're spearing that salad as though it had just insulted your new, super intelligent work," the brunette commented. "And then you look as though you've just kicked someone's puppy and I don't know which of the two things is least possible to happen."

Jemma scoffed, brushing a curl of hair out of her face and trying not to seem guilty as Daisy had nailed her exact state of mind. Trust the girl to be so perceptive.

"So...?" Daisy leaned forward on the table, pushing away her food tray. Jemma realised that the girl had long finished her lunch and she didn't even remember seeing her eat it. And then she noticed that it was just the two of them at their table outside in the park near campus.

"Where's Trip?" She asked, looking around for the history student. Daisy rolled her eyes.

"He left ten minutes ago, giving us some girl-talk time before going to class," she replied, swiping her phone's screen and sending a message at lightning speed. "He noticed as well that you're not... well, yourself."

"Oh..." Jemma moved her hands to her neck. "I didn't even notice that he'd left. That was so rude of me." She genuinely liked the man with his easygoing smile and was extremely happy that he and Daisy had started dating a few months ago.

"Nah..." Daisy waved her hand as though she could brush away her thoughts. "You know Trip: he just grinned and told me to talk to you." The brunette smiled warmly and Jemma couldn't help but feel a little pang of envy in her chest.

Something must have transpired on her face because Daisy put her phone away and looked at her.

"Alright," she said. "You've got to tell me what's wrong. If I hadn't known you since you got here, I'd say you're crushing on a-" The face of the Scottish student popped in her mind and Jemma had to look away, biting her lip. Daisy's eyes widened. "Oh my God! You totally are crushing on someone! Who is it? Why didn't I know anything about this already?!"

Jemma bit her lip, feeling immensely ridiculous and blushed furiously.

"I'm not- I don't-" She stammered but Daisy didn't stop smiling and leaned forward on the table.

"Come on, Jemma!"

The biochemist huffed in defeat and stared at the girl in front of her. In the month that they'd known each other, Daisy had become her closest friend. Her warm and outgoing personality was like a balm to Jemma's hidden loneliness and they'd learned to confide in each other. Jemma knew about Daisy's past as an orphan before finding a loving home at the Coulsons when she was sixteen and had hacked her way into the university's server to learn more. Philip Coulson, Dean of MIT, hadn't reported the teenager but had given her a scholarship and, after he and his wife Audrey had gotten to know Daisy, had taken her into his house.

Jemma had trusted her friend with her inner fears of being an outcast, of not knowing how to show how much she cared for the people she loved and of missing her family, barely seeing her parents and sister since she'd left Sheffield years ago.

Perhaps, Daisy wouldn't laugh at Jemma's sudden attraction to a man she'd never met before today but that seemed so similar to her. It wasn't just his looks and accent or the way he seemed to be brilliant -almost too brilliant for his age, just like her.

There was something more that made her want to get to know him and the thought that she might have lost that opportunity with her lack of social interaction made something in her chest clench painfully; worse, she wondered if she was just reading him wrong as she recalled the way he had stared at her when Dr. Hall had mentioned her doctorate.

Would he be like some people that she had met and be surprised that she was that intelligent for a woman? Or would he be intimidated by her?

Sighing softly, Jemma looked at Daisy and explained her meeting with Fitz.

-:-

"So, what's going on?"

Fitz looked up from his notepad, pencil in his hand, and frowned at Bobbi who was sitting in front of him in the small pub where they'd decided to have dinner.

The blonde didn't even bat an eye at his dark look and finished her soda before levelling him with a stare that nearly made Fitz want to apologize for whatever wrong he hadn't committed.

If he hadn't known Bobbi for years, he'd have run away in fear as well.

"What?" he asked, putting his notepad away and twirling the pencil in his fingers. "What are you talking about?"

Bobbi smirked.

"You do remember that I'm a trained CIA agent and a biochemist, right?" she stated, leaning in her seat. "You're giving me at least, ten different clues that you're hiding something."

"I'm not-"

"You are," Bobbi tilted her head and smiled. "Come on, Fitz. Hunter noticed that something was off and you know how thick-skulled he is. And, let me say, the last hours with you -especially our quiet dinner- have been as entertaining as being with Hunter so..."

Frowning again, Fitz put the pencil down and sighed through his teeth. There was a part of him that wanted to talk and just ask for advice but the part that wanted to stew in his moodiness won over.

"Alright, old grump," Bobbi remarked, after a few moments of silence. "I'll just state the facts here and let's see if you'll talk. You're not talking or complaining about stupid classes or students, which you've done every time you take a new course." She raised her fingers as she continued with her list. "You're not complaining about the two weeks you've spent back home dealing with all the meetings with other companies. You're not complaining about Robert being a pain for giving you more decisions to make or about Victoria being a harpy for wanting to do budget cuts somewhere." Fitz groaned and buried his head in his arms and he heard Bobbi chuckle softly.

Bobbi and Hunter had stayed in America while he'd gone back home with Mack and Fitz had missed having them around because he couldn't vent his frustrations to anyone.

The two had spent their Fitz-free vacation in the apartment that the three of them shared at Cambridge and Fitz honestly didn't know what they'd done in those days. They seemed to be taking their undercover identities as uni students seriously: Bobbi was a brilliant biology student and Hunter managed to be a history student, so he assumed they had spent time at uni.

"I know that it's not about your mother since the doctors have said that she's still stable." Her tone had changed to a more gentle note and he peeked up at her through his arms. Bobbi was smiling in that soft way that had made him trust her back when he was sixteen and his uncle had told him that the twenty year old woman would be his guards and tutor. She'd taught him some combat techniques when he showed interest and said that even a genius prince had to be badass and know how to fight; she'd become his confidant when his mum fell ill a few years ago and had talked him into continuing his career rather than giving everything up. She was like the older sister he'd never had.

"So... since you're not complaining about anything, it means that you've either done something stupid-" Fitz snorted. "But since Hunter was at class, he's not involved and you mess up while you're with him usually-"

Fitz had to grin at that. Hunter had become his second bodyguard and friend when he came to America with Bobbi and Mack. The three already knew each other and Fitz had immediately noticed the tension between the Englishman and the blonde. He'd later learned that Bobbi and Hunter were the only people he knew that could argue, fight and then make up in embarrassingly effusive ways, thinking that no one would see them.

That explained why Mack had gotten another apartment for himself.

"-or you're thinking about your amber-eyed girl again."

Fitz blushed and buried his face in his arms again. Bobbi laughed loudly.

"I so have to teach you how to go through an interrogation without showing everything on your face," she remarked.

"Whoever would want to interrogate me?" he complained despite himself, moving his head up. He blanched as he thought about it. "You know what: don't answer that." And then he rehearsed her sentence in his head. "Wait a moment... How do you know about-?"

"Amber-eyed girl?" Bobbi repeated. "Oh, seriously, you thought I wouldn't find out? You didn't want to tell me anything but you mentioned a girl to Hunter, of all people, and you thought that I wouldn't know?"

Fitz felt his face go into flames. Damn Hunter... He'd promised that he'd keep his mouth shut!

"Well... in the idiot's defence, he just told me the nickname he's given your girl," Bobbi said slowly, making him look at her again. "You're quite secretive about your crush-"

"I don't have a cru-"

"Not a word about what she looks like, not a hint beside the colour of her eyes..." Bobbi smirked again. "I'm quite impressed."

Fitz had to fight the urge to say something very unflattering and just scowled. Bobbi wasn't affected by it at all.

"What happened today, hmm?" she asked, resting her chin on her palm. "You didn't just see her... I'd guess you're in the same class and-"

A flash of Simmons' face, tense as she averted her gaze came to his mind and made his heart clench.

"I upset her," Fitz blurted out and Bobbi's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I... I behaved as I do when- when I'm around people that I don't..." He looked at Bobbi with a chagrined face.

"When you're with people that you don't know," she said with a nod and then smiled slightly. "Or that you don't trust yet..." He nodded. "You're just shy, Fitz. I mean... you're quite the talker once you get to know somebody and you're also adorably sweet." Fitz blushed. "You just stared at her, didn't you? Didn't say a word and behaved as though you were some cold, unaffected grump?" Fitz buried his head in his hands. God, did she think that he was cold? Some spoiled royal brat maybe? And if she truly didn't know who he was, maybe she thought that he was just some bloody git.

"Well, she might think it's an act," Bobbi remarked. " You know, with you being -well, you. I'm sure that if you manage to string a few words together next time and-"

"I think she doesn't know me," Fitz mumbled.

"What?" Bobbi sat straighter and stared at him. "How is that even possible? Everyone on campus knows you after that journalist blabbed about you last year." Mack had been furious about the news leak and had had some of their lawyers take care of the matter. Fitz still didn't know what had happened to the man... "So... She must have probably transferred here and-" Bobbi paused. "You know, I could find out who she is, checking all the transfer students' records. I could give you a name finally..."

"I know her name." He couldn't help but smile at the little victory in his quest to know his amber-eyed girl. Bobbi looked at him with a odd gaze -fond almost- before grinning.

"Yeah?" she asked and he nodded.

"Simmons. Dr. Jemma Simmons," he said and the blonde's eyes widened.

"Hey, I know her!" Fitz almost fell off his chair.

"What?!"

-:-

"How the hell didn't you know who Fitz is?"

Jemma sat on the sofa of her shared dorm with Daisy, eyes wide as she took in the web pages and pictures that her friend kept opening on her laptop.

The brunette had spluttered in surprise when Jemma had told her of meeting Fitz, wondering if she'd annoyed him somehow and blushing over a tiny little crush. Daisy had to leave for class and couldn't stay to talk more but she had left Jemma with the promise that she'd know everything about Fitz by dinner.

And there they were.

Apparently, her handsome stranger was very famous.

Her classmate was Prince Leopold Fitzgerald II, heir to the throne of Ossetia, a small independent kingdom in Europe, an island close to Scotland, that had acquired great importance in the past years because of the abundance of minerals and silicates that were fundamental in the electronic components of modern technology. Jemma had heard that a few veins of vibranium had been found in some of the mines too and multimillionaire and businessman, Tony Stark had wanted to make agreements with the kingdom for it.

Jemma avidly read the small biography that Daisy had found. The prince was an only child; his father, a handsome man that shared Fitz' blue eyes, had died when he was ten from an illness and his mother, a Scottish woman -that explained the accent- had reigned alongside the former king's brother, Robert. Queen Elanor had fallen ill a couple of years ago and and her son had taken over despite being barely over twenty, guiding the kingdom with his uncle and the Prime Minister, Victoria Hand until he was crowned.

And then, Jemma found all their similarities.

"Fitz' just like you," Daisy commented, grinning at her. "Child genius, graduated early, got a degree, a PhD and some other title before turning twenty." She poked Jemma's side. "And now you're both here to get your second PhD." Jemma swatted her finger away but couldn't ignore the voice in her head that agreed with her friend.

They were similar despite having chosen different fields. Could they be friends? Could he know what it meant like to feel an outsider constantly? To be treated differently because of your age or intelligence?

Daisy didn't notice her silence and went on talking about the man.

"Did you know that he'd here in America under a pseudonym?" she remarked. "He goes by Leo Fitz -not much of pseudonym I have to say- and no one knew about him until some guy from The Villager started hanging around here last year and wrote an article about him. He's been famous ever since."

Jemma nodded absently, comprehending his detached behaviour now. It wasn't her staring (she hoped). He must have thought that she was one crazy student ogling at a prince. He was probably weary of the unwanted attention.

"He usually hangs out with Bobbi Morse, a biology doctorate that looks like a top model-" Jemma tensed slightly at that. "-and her boyfriend Lance Hunter, a history student. Trip talks with him sometimes: they're about the same age." Daisy looked thoughtful for a moment, not noticing how Jemma had relaxed. "I honestly don't think that guy's a student. I had a class with him and he didn't even know how to type at a normal speed on his computer!" She looked scandalised and Jemma laughed. "I bet that he's Fitz' bodyguard or something."

"Couldn't he just be his friend?" Jemma queried, absently going through a few websites where Fitz' academic feats were listed. Her gaze fell on a list of devices that Ossetia's major company, Fitz Electronics, were starting to test and build.

"Yeah... that too," Daisy conceded. "But they're so different."

"Like me and you?" Jemma teased and her friend grinned at her.

"Yeah, you two are alike in that as well," Daisy smiled. "You know, I've talked with Fitz once while waiting outside a classroom. He's a nice guy and seems so normal, not like a prince and doesn't seem to want all the fame and attention. I'm pretty sure that he was acting weird today because he just got back from Ossetia and everyone was fawning over him."

"You're pretty well-informed about him," Jemma noticed.

"It's gossip, Jemma. Of course, I have to know! Fitz is our celebrity." The brunette turned towards her. "And don't tell me that you don't like knowing more about your crush."

"He's not my crush!" Jemma blushed a bright red. "I was just curious!"

"Yeah, yeah... Tell me that once you're the queen of Ossetia."

Jemma tossed a cushion at her and Daisy laughed, ducking.

-:-

When she got to Bio-Mechanics, a few days later, Jemma found a small package at her desk. It was her pen, wrapped in a scrap of blueprints.

Fitz was sitting right next to her, despite all the available seats, and was busy reading something in his notebook. She noticed that the tip of his ears were bright red and that his eyes seemed to be fixed on one particular point.

She smiled, feeling something warm curl in her stomach as she sat down. She carefully unfurled the blueprint wrapping, taking in the fragment of a design -was it a delivery mechanism?- when she saw a small note scribbled in a corner.

Thank you for the pen and sorry for being quite rude to you the other day. I honestly didn't mean to.

Leo Fitz

Jemma blinked at the note and couldn't stop the smile on her face. She glanced at him but he was still stubbornly pretending to read. Biting her lip, Jemma took out a clean sheet of paper and quickly wrote down something.

-:-

Fitz had followed Bobbi's advice, thinking that it had been a good idea: be honest, take small steps and try to engage in a conversation.

All in all, now that he'd done it and waited for a response, Fitz felt like a fool. What sort of bloody idiot would scribble a note that a child would write and pretend to read when the girl he wanted to talk to was right there next to him?

He was tempted to get up and leave, possibly hoping that the ground might swallow him whole, when a slip of paper was gently deposited on his notebook. He looked up just in time to see Simmons turn her head, her cheeks a light pink.

Blinking in confusion and feeling his heart race slightly, Fitz opened the note.

No need to apologize. I should have been less blatant in my staring: I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable.

Fitz couldn't believe his eyes. She thought that she was making him-

He almost missed the last line, written at the end.

I'm Jemma, by the way.

He swallowed and quickly scribbled a reply before pushing the note towards her. It was a simple line.

I know. I've read your thesis on crystalline nucleation: it was fascinating.

Fitz had spent an entire night going through everything he could find on Jemma Simmons. Bobbi had read her works and had given him all the links and articles. Fitz couldn't believe that he'd met someone that was so brilliant.

Dr. Hall walked into the room that very moment and Fitz expected her to put the note away but she didn't. He saw her read it and felt a wave of elation when her eyes brightened.

She turned to him with a smile and leaned closer.

"Really?" she whispered softly and he caught a waft of lavender as he nodded quickly. She seemed surprised and he didn't understand how someone couldn't be impressed by her.

"Yes," he replied sincerely and her smile blinded him.

"I read about your drones and all your designs: they are amazing." Pride trickled through him at her praise and he grinned. "I-I think that you could make the drones work better if you adjusted some parameters in the forensic analysis."

Fitz' eyes widened as she started listing a series of small modifications in his calculations. He didn't say anything and when she finished, she tucked her hair behind her ear, looking bashful.

He was sure that his smile was impossibly wide. It was the first time that someone suggested a change in one of his designs, that someone could keep up and actually brainstorm with him.

"Tell me more," he said softly. "I- we can work on it. Or talk about it."

Simmons beamed and pulled out another sheet of paper while he riffled through his notebook to find an old design.

They spent the class listening to Dr. Hall and quietly whispering and talking about his drones. When they left the room, they were both grinning and their minds were full of ideas.

But most of all, they both knew that they'd found someone special.


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