"FitzSimmons: The Academy Years"
Ch.1
The Acceptance Letter
Jemma began to pace around the kitchen floor, gripping the heavy letter in her hands. She knew that she should tell her parents immediately, but she hesitated. Getting accepted into the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy was all she ever wanted. The biological research that they did was beyond state of the art. It made what other universities did look like using leeches to expel bad humors from the body.
But, Jemma wasn't completely naïve. A life working for S.H.I.E.L.D. meant a life of secrecy. It meant a life of not being able to share her work with her family, her friends and any colleagues outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. It sounded like a lonely life.
Jemma took a deep breath. Who was she kidding? She was definitely going.
00000
Leo paced around his room once more, stepping over piles of dirty laundry and old food cartons on the floor. He had calculated exactly when the post was to arrive. He had done all the math, taken every single variable into account and knew exactly when to expect his letter from the S.H.I.E.L.D.
Yesterday.
Yesterday had been the last feasible date to expect an acceptance letter from S.H.I.E.L.D.
And so, he reran the numbers once again in his head. The average length of time to review applications, the background checks, the verification of references.
And still, the same day came up. Yesterday.
He tried to take a deep breath, not let himself get overwrought over something he had no direct control over.
It's not that he didn't have other options. With his background and doctorate, he'd had numerable job offers.
But, they weren't S.H.I.E.L.D. They weren't doing the cutting edge research that S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing.
There was a soft knock at his door. "Honey?"
"Come in," Leo said, a bit more curtly than he'd meant to.
"Oh, dear," his mother sighed as she opened the door and saw the state of his room. "Leo, really, how can you find anything in this . . . . mess of a room?"
"I have a system," he replied, more out of habit than conviction.
She harrumphed. "Well, we'll be having supper in about twenty minutes."
Leo gave her a brief grin. "Thanks."
His mother turned to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot. Mrs. Andrews, the new neighbor from across the street, brought this round about an hour ago. She said it got misdirected to her address."
As his mother handed him a large, thick envelope with an eagle emblazoned on it, Leo couldn't help but smile.
Author's Note- I'm in a bit of a debate about just leaving this as a one-shot or going all out and covering all four years.