Drabble 25: That Green Little Monster

A/N: Prompt by Spitfire303. Hope you like it! If you have any ideas, please let me know! Review!

"Are you sure we need to do this?" Fitz asked.

"We don't have any other choice."

He looked at her and saw that she was completely serious, for once. So he nodded. "Fine. How do we start?"

Skye grinned and put a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, my dear boy. You have so much to learn! It's a good thing I know the crash course."

"I don't want to hurt her." He said. "I just want her attention."

"Do you really think I'd help you hurt my best friend?" she asked.

He smiled in relief. "No, you wouldn't."

"Alright." She pushed up her sleeves and sat down across from him. "Let's get started. Jealousy: 101."

"Why are we meeting this woman?" Simmons asked Bobbi as they walked to the lab. "We don't need any more scientists on the team, and we're not stuck on any projects right now."

"I don't know." Bobbi said. "But I think we're about to find out."

They entered the lab and saw Coulson already there, standing near Fitz, Skye, and another woman. She was a bit taller than Simmons, with curly brown hair and green eyes. She was pretty.

"Ah, you're here." Coulson said once he saw them. "Guys, this is Maria March. She's training to teach at the Academy, once we get it running again. She thought it would be beneficial to talk to Fitz-Simmons, and I agreed. She's here for the next couple days, so make her comfortable." He nodded to them and walked out.

"Hi." Maria said. "It's nice to meet you."

Fitz held out his hand, which she shook. "Leopold Fitz."

Simmons did the same. "Jemma Simmons."

"It's an honor to meet you guys." Maria said.

"Now that we've established that." Skye broke in. She smiled. "I'm Skye."

Maria nodded her head to her. Simmons noticed that Fitz stayed close to her, looking at Maria. She guessed it was interesting to see another scientist after so long, but still…

"So can you tell me about your experiences at the Academy?" Maria asked.

"You must have been there about the same time as us, right?" Fitz asked back.

"Yeah, I was." Maria said. "But I want to know about it from your perspective."

"We can help with that. Right, Jemma?"

Fitz looked at her and she nodded, smiling. "Absolutely."

"Great!" Maria said. "Where do you want to start?"

On the second day with Maria, Simmons noticed that Fitz hadn't given her any more space. In fact, he was even closer to her than before, constantly next to her and talking with her. Skye was there too, helping move the conversation along whenever it reached a pause.

Simmons felt her annoyance grow. Why should this girl keep his attention all day? For all she knew, Fitz felt obligated to answer her never-ending questions, and didn't stop to keep from being rude.

Then she thought that he was enjoying himself a bit too much, connecting with Maria. She left them that morning to find one of their old products to go over with her, and when she got back they were laughing like old friends, and she was touching him! Maria was leaning against him, and he looked perfectly at ease. Skye had vanished.

Simmons felt her eyes narrow when she saw them and turned right around, leaving without saying a word.

The next morning she decided it: she did not like Maria. She found Fitz after breakfast and pulled him into her room.

"What do you think of Maria?" she asked.

He looked surprised at her question. "I think she's great. She's nice, smart, funny… what's not to like? She seems to really want to learn."

Simmons nodded. "I guess you're right." She said with a sigh.

So she let the matter rest, and tried to be happy while she helped Maria with any questions she had. And the girl was very likeable. But she still couldn't shake her feeling of irritation with her. Bobbi didn't help anything. Simmons went to her to talk after she spoke with Fitz.

"Seems like they're getting along pretty well." Bobbi said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Simmons said under her breath.

"I wouldn't worry too much." Bobbi said. "As long as they're just talking, you're fine."

That reassuring statement didn't reassure her very much, but she tried to take it to heart.

The end of the third day made her irritation rise, her anger clearly showing. Bobbi's warning flashed in her mind.

As they were packing up their things for the day before going to dinner, Maria asked Fitz a question. What it was Jemma couldn't hear. Fitz answered her with a smile, and she leaned up and kissed him.

In that instant something snapped inside her, and before she knew it she had walked over to the two of them and stepped between them, facing Maria.

"That's enough!" she said.

Maria lost her smile and backed up. Fitz walked around Jemma and looked at her. "Jem, she didn't mean anything by it."

"How should I know that!? You two have been consorting like a pair of romantics the past few days!"

They were both still for a moment. Simmons caught her breath and closed her eyes, already sorry for her outburst. "I'm sorry about that, but I don't approve of that kiss. Or any of that sort of behavior."

Maria chuckled. "I'm glad you said that."

Fitz shook Maria's hand and smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Wait, what's going on?" Simmons asked. She was aware of how quickly her emotions had changed, but that was normal for her. She never stayed angry for long.

Skye strolled in and stood next to Maria. "I can explain that. How did this all make you feel?"

"Well, angry I guess, maybe a bit jealous, but why-?"

"Jealous!" Skye interrupted. "That's what we were looking for."

She felt comprehension dawn on her and glared at Skye. "You planned this whole thing?"

"Whoa." Skye said. "Don't get mad. I had good reasons."

"We didn't mean to hurt you." Maria said. "I really did want to meet you guys. We only faked the relationship thing. I did it to pay for this experience."

Simmons felt a soft spot for her after that statement. "You don't have to repay us for talking about what we love." She looked pointedly at Fitz and Skye. "But you should not have done this. It was a very risky game."

"Did it work?" Fitz asked quietly. He looked at her with those sincere blue eyes and she knew she couldn't stay mad, though she wanted to.

"Yes." She said. "I was jealous. Your charade worked."

Fitz smiled at her. "Do you mind if we leave you with Skye for a while?" he asked Maria.

"Not at all." She said.

"That was pretty impressive timing." Maria said to Skye as they were walking out.

"Right?" Skye said with a smile.

Fitz led Simmons out of the lab, to his room, where they sat down next to each other on his bed.

"I wasn't trying to be mean by doing that, Jem. I just wanted to get your attention."

She gave him a light smile. "I know, Fitz. It was really weird though. I didn't like it at all."

"I don't think anyone likes being jealous." He said with a laugh. "But I've felt it before. When we first met Trip, I thought you seemed a bit too interested in him. It took me some time to feel comfortable around him."

"Me and Trip?" she asked. She looked up as she thought about it.

"No!" he said, with fake worry.

Simmons laughed and put a hand on his knee. "I never even considered it."

"That little green monster is a bugger though, isn't he?"

"It can tear people apart even if it was all mental, so I'd have to agree with that. Jealousy is not good."

He thought for a minute. "It did help me this time around though." He said with a satisfied look. "It was cute to see you like that."

"Just don't make me feel that way again." Simmons said. She pecked him on the cheek and stood up. "I can't stay mad at you. Skye, on the other hand… she needs to be talked to."

She smiled over her shoulder as she walked out of his room, and he followed with a grin. This was definitely the reaction he'd been hoping for.