"No, Simmons, just…. Hold it! Right there!"

Fitz yelled sharply at Simmons as he fiddled with cords in the control room, contorted over a shelf and squinting behind an electrical panel.

"Wait, Fitz, use this," Simmons said as she shifted the panel she was holding out of Fitz's way into one hand and pulled out the flashlight she had tucked into her back pocket. She stretched forward as far as she could and managed to put the flashlight into Fitz's extended hand.

"Thanks," he said. Simmons heard a few more grunts and swears muttered on her breath until the panel she was holding jerked forward as Fitz pulled on some of the wires running through their back.

"Lil' more leff," came his voice, muffled by the flashlight he now clutched between his teeth.

Simmons groaned in protest, her arms starting to strain. "How much longer, Fitz?" She complained.

"Jus' a min… Got it!"

Fitz twisted out of the mass of cords and placed the flashlight on the ground, quickly lifting the panel out of Simmons' hands and hoisting it up to reinstall it on the wall. "Whoa, Simmons, I'm sorry - didn't realize how heavy this was," he apologized.

"It's okay," she said, rolling her shoulders and stretching a bit to relieve the tension that had built up there. Fitz turned around after snapping the panel back on the see her still trying to work out the knots.

"Here, let me help," he said, stepping behind her and grasping her shoulders, attempting a shoulder massage.

Almost instantly, Simmons closed her eyes and groaned softly, "Oh, that feels amaaaazing Fitz," she said.

Fitz froze, glad she couldn't see his face which had just turned bright red. "Oh, yeah, my ma has a bad back so sometimes she'd ask me to do that," he stuttered, quickly giving her shoulders a few more squeezes before stepping back and directing his attention at the panel on the wall.

"Now, let's see if we've got comms back up," he said, flipping a handful of switches and carefully watching the row of lights above to make sure they turned the appropriate colors. "Got it!" He said triumphantly as the pair heard a cackle echo through the room.

"different than here?" Skye's voice filled the chamber, signaling that her comms were back up.

"Well, a lot more cadets jogging, to start with," they heard Ward's voice answer. "But I'd imaging the two SHIELD schools are similar in that they both demand the very best out of their students."

Fitz smiled, glad to see his tinkering had fixed yet another broken instrument.

"So I knew they were smart, but I didn't know they were that smart. They're like, genius-level smart. I-shouldn't-be-able-to-hold-a-conversation-with-them level smart. Change-the-world level. Nobel Prize level. Einstein level."

"A couple IQ points higher than Einstein, actually," Ward corrected.

"Which one?"

"Both."

FitzSimmons smiled broadly at each other they heard Skye whistle, impressed.

"So who was the FitzSimmons of your school?" Skye prompted. Simmons frowned at a crackle in the middle of her phrasing and Fitz immediately starting pulling on wires again, eager to make the audio perfectly smooth.

"Well... I've never really thought about it in those terms, but I guess I would have to say... There was this couple - Jeannine and James -"

"Oh gosh, even their names match," Skye groaned.

"Exactly, it was sick how perfect they were for each other. They were always finishing each other's sentences, and the way they looked at each other..." He cleared his throat. "I don't think anyone's ever accused me of being romantic, but even I sometimes was overwhelmed anytime I was near them."

"What happened to them?"
"SHIELD split them up. Couldn't let them be on the same team, it was strictly against policy. James got injured on his first mission and Jeannine couldn't handle it. She left SHIELD, so he did too. I think they're married now, living somewhere. Normal people leading normal lives..." He trailed off, sounding almost wistful.

Skye hummed in agreement. "So they were the best cadets at your school? It must've been hard for SHIELD to let them go."

"Huh?" The confusion in Ward's voice was evident. "Oh, no, I was the best cadet. By a mile. I had the highest compulsory scores and broke several track and field records."

"Okay, He-Man, thanks for the humility," Skye joked. "I get it. You Tarzan, Me Jane. I just thought - I asked who the FitzSimmons was of your school, meaning who was the best. So I thought that's-"

"Oh! Got it. Nope, that was me. Although in the future, let's call FitzSimmons the 'Grant Ward of the Academy' instead of the other way around."

Skye laughed.

"I just through you meant who was the big class couple at our school."

"Ward... FitzSimmons aren't a couple," Skye said slowly.

Simmons rolled her eyes, "Honestly, how many times must we insist to our peers that-"

"Yeah, only because Fitz hasn't manned up yet and said anything-" Ward's voice interrupted her.

"You think so too!?" Skye responded excitedly.

"Hey, this is Fitz, come in Ward. Skye. Are you two there?" Fitz's voice interrupted their conversation, having grabbed a com and plugged it into the system.

A pause, and then, "Fitz?" Skye asked, sounding guilty.

"Yeah, we just got the comms back up and running, so let me know if you have any more problems," he said.

"Affirmative. We'll be back on the Bus shortly. We're walking there now." Ward responded, ever the soldier. A moment later, "Thanks, Fitz."

"Yep," Fitz said quickly, unplugging his comm and storing it, keeping his back toward Simmons. She hadn't said anything about Ward and Skye's comments, so Fitz figured the best way to move on would be shake it off. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, then turned towards her.
"Apparently we still have to keep reminding them," he said to his partner, who looked lost in thought.

"What?" Simmons asked, snapping back to reality.

"You asked how many times we have to remind everyone we're not together. Always one more time, apparently." Fitz shot her a sad half smile.
"Apparently," she agreed slowly. The pair looked at each other for a moment, Simmons peering at him like she was trying to read his face.

He cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. "Lunch?" He suggested.

"Sounds good," she agreed, smiling.