SHIELD ACADEMY – Ten years ago
Fitz stared at the Scrabble board sceptically. "STAPES. Is that a word really? I'm not going to play if you are cheating again, Simmons."
"I'm not cheating, Fitz. You have a right to call for a dictionary check." Simmons looked back at him with that smug grin that Fitz found at the same time incredibly annoying and very endearing. He also had learnt in the past months that it was a reliable sign of when he should give up an argument that he was about to lose. So, he just shrugged instead.
"Fine, tell me what it means."
"It's one of the three ossicles that make up the tympanic cavity, of course. And it means that I have won." she declared triumphantly.
"Well, I thought we were playing in English, not bloody Latin." he grumped a little. Truth was that Simmons was nearly unbeatable at Scrabble, he should have insisted on chess – that was a more level playing field.
Without paying any attention to his grumbling, she produced her anatomy book and went into an impromptu lecture about the intricacies of the anatomical structure of ears and the mechanics of sound processing. Spending time with her, he learnt more about her beloved specialties than he ever cared to know. Fitz at first only half listened to her ramblings, but after a while he found her enthusiasm irresistible and got pulled in. "The ear is really fascinating, Fitz. I thought even an engineer could appreciate the simple and effective way it transfers vibration into brain, it is really incredible. Such a simple, but effective design."
He looked at her with raised eyebrows "What I find incredible is your fascination with cavities full of goo and mucus. I'll never get how you are so excited about poking, prodding and dissecting all this stuff."
She replied as always "Once we go in the field, who knows what kind of situations we'll find ourselves in. I like to be prepared."
Fitz thought that it was unlikely that they would end up doing field operations. The two of them were quickly becoming the stars of the SHIELD Academy labs – why would the organization send two brilliant minds, who frankly did not do too well on physical training, into the line of fire? He kept this thought to himself though, not wanting to get into another argument with Simmons, who dreamed of exciting spy adventures in the footsteps of Peggy Carter.
"As long as you'll do all the poking." he offered finally.
"You know Fitz, I'm sure, when things come down to the line, you'll have it in you to poke and prod if it comes down to saving someone." Fitz was not sure about this at all, but as always, her words were the anti-dote to that nagging feeling of self-doubt that resided deep inside him since he was a child.
HYDRA LAB - Framework
Leopold took deep breaths as he held the forceps tightly in his hands trying to stop the trembling. He needed another tissue sample, and the lab assistants would not be back until morning. The inhuman in front of him flinched in anticipation of the pain. Leopold was sure that with the right samples he could isolate the macro-molecules responsible for his teleportation ability.
He avoided looking into the inhuman's eyes, he didn't enjoy the pain or the fear – it was purely science and a necessity. Inhumans were a threat to everyone and it was his duty to protect the world from them to prevent another Cambridge Incident.
If he had to cause pain, it was the same as testing fruit flies and rats. The subject was not a human after all, not really, he reminded himself. Still, he hated this part – the messy tissues, the blood, the sweat. He was an engineer at heart; he dealt in elegant designs, materials he could predict, make bend to his will and pieces that fit neatly together.
This work was not passion like his work on the drones; but it was a promise. Ophelia needed a new body and weapons to defeat her enemies and she trusted him to do this. He could not bear letting her down. She was the centre of his universe after all, his best friend and true love. He would do anything for her.
LIGHTHOUSE 2091
As Jemma changed out of the slave robes and emerged without gold paint, Fitz couldn't help but check her out from head to to. She no longer resembled a mythical creature from some corny, B-list fantasy movie, but there she was flesh and blood; smiling, radiant and intensely familiar. The weight of pretending to be the despicable creature he abhorred, but now knew resided in him as a possibility has melted, and since what seemed like an eternity – he felt like himself again. Jemma anchored him to this reality, which was in a way absurd and surreal, but it didn't matter. As long as they were together, he felt home, wherever, whenever.
The magic of this tiny moment of alignment got broken when Jemma grabbed her ear and doubled over in agony. A moment of panic washed over him as he had no idea what to do. Looking into her ear, he saw the shiny implant blocking her ear canal. He barely heard Daisy's words as he searched frantically for something to remove it with. He got lucky – they must have stumbled some sort of medical room – when he knocked over a box full of surgical tools.
As they fell to the floor with a loud clang, he stared for a beat at the forceps – so strange and so familiar. I have it in me, I can do this – he reminded himself. He closed his fingers on the cool metal, cupped Jemma's face and looked in her eyes that radiated infinite trust and permission to go ahead. He took a deep breath and steeled himself before pushing the forceps into her ear canal shutting out all thought of the pain he was causing her. It had to be done, she trusted him to do it and he would never let her down again. The love of his life – his past, present and future.
