Time Apart

Summary: Resurfacing memories make Leo doubt Jemma's affections towards him, and he insists on some time apart so she could be sure that he is who she truly wants.

Disclaimer: Anything pertaining to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does not belong to me.

Chapter 2: Day 2/The Best Friend

The day after the team—sans Fitz—had left the Playground, Skye had finally gotten Simmons alone for questioning. Not that Simmons had been purposely avoiding her friend (she would never be that mean). It just so happened that everyone on board the BUS had apparently decided that she should not be left by her lonesome. She was touched, truly she was. It was really nice to know that she was cared for. But she did start to feel a bit suffocated that first day she'd been separated from Fitz when she kept receiving worried glances and pitying smiles from the others.

This second day was starting out a little less suffocating. More than half of the team was required to be out of the BUS, and thus away from her. Coulson had an appointment to meet with some colonels and generals at a Washington state Air Force base. While he was at the meeting, Triplett and May oversaw the refueling and maintenance of the BUS. That left Simmons with only Skye to deal with for the time being.

As soon as Coulson, May, and Triplett made their way down the stairs and out of the Upper Deck, Skye immediately rounded on Simmons.

"Ok, spill. What's the real reason Fitz isn't on this mission?" It sounded like she'd been itching to ask that question for the longest time. Knowing she was never going to get away with not answering, Simmons gave in and told her friend the truth.

"He asked to stay behind."

Skye just stared in perplexity for several seconds before surprising Simmons when she narrowed her eyes at her.

"I don't believe you. Fitz would never choose to be away from you."

Simmons sighed and made her way towards the galley. If it was inevitable that they have this conversation, she might as well have a snack while doing so.

"Obviously, he did." Simmons started going through the cupboards both to stop herself from becoming emotional and to look for something to eat. Unfortunately, everything was reminding her of Fitz—the popcorn, the potato chips, the pretzels, the cookies. She immediately dismissed the idea of making herself tea.

"But…why?"

Simmons could understand Skye's confusion and incredulity. She was feeling them herself.

"Because he's being ridiculous," Simmons answered while closing the cupboard door. She couldn't find anything appealing among its contents. Then she spied a bowl of fruit sitting atop the counter. There were apples and bananas. Bananas reminded her of monkeys, and monkeys reminded her of—

Simmons quickly took an apple.

"He said he'd gotten some memories back." She turned her back to Skye so she could rinse her apple in the sink.

"What could he have possibly remembered that made him want to be away from you?"

Simmons faced her again after shutting off the faucet.

"That's what I asked him," she said as she dried her hands and her apple on a paper towel. Then she started making her way back towards the crew lounge. Skye followed after her. "He said that he'd remembered Mike Peterson…and Trip."

They sat facing each other on the two chairs of the sofa set.

"What about them?"

Simmons could feel a blush warm her cheeks, and she looked down at the apple her in her hand to avoid Skye's gaze.

"Well, I…I sort of may have had a slight—tiny really—very very small crush on Mike Peterson." Simmons forced herself to look up, only to be met with a huge, teasing grin on Skye's face. "Oh, shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

Simmons broke eye contact again.

"Leo also remembered the time when we first started working with Trip—"

"—Oh. I think I'm starting to get it." Simmons' eyes snapped back to Skye's.

"Well, good. Then can you please explain it to me?"

Skye shook her head.

"Not yet. What else did Fitz say?"

Wanting to hear what Skye had in mind, Simmons plunged on.

"He stated that he wasn't my type. Then he said he believed that if the incident with Ward and the pod had never happened, I'd probably be with Trip. Though, of course, he doesn't know about all that. He just called it his accident. He thinks that the only reason why I'm even with him is because I feel guilty about what happened to him."

"And what did you tell him?"

"The truth. That guilt is not the reason why I was with him. Then he begged—begged—me to agree to a separation. I couldn't say no with the way he was looking at me. We agreed to a total blackout—no contact whatsoever while we're on this mission."

"Why a separation though?"

"He didn't want to distract me while I think about how I really feel about him. He wanted me to make sure that who I really want is him. But he also promised that no matter what, we'll always be best friends."

"Aww…," Skye cooed.

Simmons narrowed her eyes at her.

"Can we please focus?"

"What? It's adorable. Fitz is such a sweet guy. Oh, stop glaring at me. I promise I'm not about to steal your man," she said jokingly. The glaring only intensified, but Skye ignored it. "Anyways, the last time we talked about the subject of you and Fitz, you said you were just best friends—best friends who just happened to share a bed every night for the last two months but don't do naughty things to each other….Supposedly." Simmons threw a pillow at her, which Skye deftly caught and then hugged to herself. "Look, we all know that Fitz is madly in love with you. But do you even know what you feel for him yet?"

"Yes!" Simmons stopped talking at Skye's pointed look. "Okay, fine. Maybe I don't know exactly what it is that I feel for Leo. I do know, however, that I do not want to be with Trip, or any other man for that matter. But am I in love with Leo? I don't know. I love him, yes. I care a lot about him. He's my best friend in the world. But I've never been in love before so I don't know if that's the type of love I feel for him."

"Well, it looks like Fitz had the right idea, then." A pause. "He's different, isn't he? I mean, he's still the same Fitz we all love. But…I can't explain it."

"I know what you mean. It like…he's a different version of himself—the Leo Fitz he would have been all along if he had grown up with friends who had loved and accepted him. He's less awkward socially, more patient, angers less frequently."

"Yes! That's it! And he's also more mature now."

"How so?"

"Well, the Fitz from before the accident wouldn't have given you this space, I think. He was too possessive of you; didn't know how to share you. Remember how he got when you and Trip would flirt with each other?"

"I did not flirt with Trip," Simmons said indignantly.

"Fine, when Trip flirted with you, then. Fitz got so jealous."

"So that's why he didn't like me back then?" asked a familiar male voice.

Simmons' eyes widened in alarm, and she quickly stood from her seat. She noticed Skye stood from her chair just as quickly.

"Trip!" they both said at the same time.

"When did you get here?" Simmons asked.

"Just now."

"Stupid Specialist with their stupid, stealthy feet," Skye muttered.

"Wait. Am I the reason why he's not on this mission with us? I knew that 'updating the systems for our new headquarters' excuse was bull. I just never thought I'd be the reason that he didn't come with."

The only other time Simmons had seen Triplett's calm and cool demeanor slip was when he'd found out his S.O. was not only the Clairvoyant, but also part of HYDRA.

"You weren't the reason, Trip," Simmons said earnestly, trying to reassure him. After they all sat down, Simmons explained the reasoning to him. "So, you see, this separation isn't about you," she continued once she'd finished her explanation for the second time that day. "It's about Leo and me."

Triplett looked pensive.

"Okay," he said after a few seconds. Then he pointed to the apple, which Simmons hadn't realize she'd placed on top of the coffee table at some point. "You gonna eat that?" When she shook her head 'no,' he took the apple and bit into it. "Still," he said after swallowing. "I really need to talk to him. Last thing I want is for my best friend to think I'm out to take his girl away from him."

The moment sort of froze for Simmons as her brained analyzed (and reanalyzed ten times over) the words that Triplett had said.

"Excuse me, Trip. What did you just say?"

"Don't get me wrong, Simmons. You're one fine woman. And I did like you back then. But if I'd known Fitz had a thing for you, I wouldn't have even tried. Truthfully, I thought he was into Skye."

"Really?" the younger woman asked. "Why?"

"Because of how he was when we went down into the Guest House after you got shot. I haven't worked with a lot of Sci-Ops agents, but the few that I had didn't have the backbone that Fitz showed down there."

"That's just Fitz being Fitz. He would have done that for any of us. Though when I first joined the team, he did try to hit on me…I think." The specialist laughed.

"You think? My man wasn't smooth, then?"

"Not at all. It was actually pretty fun—"

"Hold on a second," Simmons interrupted. Then she directed her next question to Triplett. "What I meant was: What did you call Fitz?"

He looked confused for a second as he thought back to what he'd said.

"You mean about Fitz being my best friend?"

Simmons had to forcibly calm herself.

"I believe you are mistaken. Fitz can't be your best friend because he's already my best friend."

"Oh, shit," Skye muttered from her seat. But Simmons barely noticed since her focus was on the best-friend-stealing fiend sitting on the sofa beside her.

"What? You mean I can't call him my best friend just because he's already your best friend? You can't put a claim on him like that! What's wrong with both of us being his best friends? A person can have more than one best friend, you know."

"The 'best' implies only one," Simmons retaliates.

"How about you guys stop fighting over Fitz, and we all agree that I'm his best friend from now on?" Both Simmons and Triplett turned to Skye with unamused expressions. "Bad joke?...Okay, I'm staying out of this." Skye stood up and started walking towards the stairs that led down the cargo hold.

"Where are you going?" Simmons asked after her.

"I'm going to hang with May. She'll be more fun than you two are being right now."

"See what you did?" "Now look what you've done." Triplett and Simmons said at the same time.

"Look, Simmons. I know that between the two of us, Fitz considers you his best friend. I'm not arguing that," Triplett relented. "But you can also say that I'm his male best friend. I mean, wouldn't you say that Skye is your female best friend?"

Simmons mulled over this for several seconds. Reluctantly, she had to admit that Triplett had made valid points. She realized at that moment that although she had made great progress, she still had a long ways to go before she could fully be comfortable in sharing Fitz.

"Fine. You win."

"This wasn't a contest, Simmons. But if it were, I think we both won." He gave her a huge grin which she couldn't help but return.

"So how are you holding up?" he asked after a few moments.

"I miss him, but otherwise I'm all right. Then again, it's only the start of the second day."

"What you need to do is distract yourself. Come on, let's go save May from Skye."

Triplett stood and started for the stairs. Simmons took a moment to brace herself for another day without Fitz before following after.

A/N: This chapter was inspired by an e-card from someecards . com that says: "That moment when you hear someone else call your bestfriend their bestfriend and you are like…No." I cracked up when I saw that e-card, and immediately thought of FitzSimmons.