Drabble 28: Phobias

A/N: Hi guys! This drabble idea was given to me by Spitfire303. It's slightly based off of one of my earlier drabbles, Little Lion Man, but only slightly. I hope you like it, and please give me any more prompts you want written! Thanks for all your support so far!

"Fitz, can you come over here?" Simmons asked.

Fitz looked up from across the lab, where he was inspecting the D.W.A.R.F. drones. "Yeah, sure." He stood and wiped his hands on his jeans, walking over to her. She was sitting at the edge of one of their tables, typing something on a laptop. He stood across from her. "What's up?"

"I need to show you something, so come stand next to me."

"Okay." He moved to where she wanted him to and looked at the computer screen. Then he jumped back and walked away a few steps, running his hands through his hair quickly. He took a deep breath and spun around to glare at Simmons.

She responded by trying to look innocent and failing as she smiled, saying "What's wrong, Fitz?"

He shook his head. "That was uncalled for. Why?"

She turned the laptop towards him and stood up, holding it in her arms. "It's just a picture. And a very cute one!"

"You know I don't like lions. I haven't since I was a boy."

Simmons put the laptop down and closed the window with the picture of the lion. "I'm sorry." She said, walking over to him. "I needed to see if you still had your fear though."

"Why?"

She smiled. "Why not? I didn't know if it would have faded over time, so I experimented. Obviously it hasn't gotten any better."

He smiled. "I accept the premise for your experiment. It was very reasonable."

She waited for him to continue, but he just gave her that little smile and went back to the drones. She watched him carefully for a few minutes. He was acting weird. He had gone back to work too quickly.

The first time she'd shown him a picture of a lion, it had been for a project at the Academy, for a biology course. He had had basically the same reaction as the one he just had, but it had taken him longer to refocus.

That was when he'd told her how the first time he ever saw a lion, at the zoo with his mother when he was six, it had jumped and clawed at him. It had terrified him, and now he thought he was scared of them.

She watched him carefully the rest of the day, thinking something was bothering him. Maybe he was just trying to hide it? Her little experiment had been cruel, though she hadn't meant it to be. Not in the slightest.

So she decided to try and help him get over his fear, to make up for it. Later that afternoon she walked over to where he was working and sat down near him. He had gone back to normal, but she still wanted to help him. "I want to help you get over your fear." She said.

"You don't have to do that." He said immediately. "Really."

"But I want to." She said.

He sighed. "Jemma, I know it's irrational. Every person has those kinds of fears they can't explain. It can't be fixed, at least not easily."

"But yours is different. Your fear is based on a childhood experience." She leaned her head on her hand while she thought for a minute. Then she sat up straighter as she thought of something, smiling. "Fitz, what is one of the most important things to animals, besides their own survival?"

He narrowed his eyes as he thought. "It depends on the animal."

"Well, yes, but family! A mother protects its young with everything it has, Fitz. They ensure the continuation of the species! A mother protects them until they can take care of themselves."

"Unless it eats them." Fitz said.

She cast him a look and pursed her lips. "That's not the kind of animal I'm talking about. I don't understand how some can do that! It's barbaric!" she blinked to refocus, and saw Fitz laughing at how easily he had sidetracked her. She scowled at him.

"Fine." He said, amusement plain in his eyes. "Continue curing me of my fear, doctor."

"Thank you." She smiled. "Maternal instincts are fierce, and completely overpowering. But it's not only the females that get overprotective. Males are very possessive, especially with animals such as lions. They have clear leaders in their own groups, and if that group is threatened, the lead male defends it with its life. Even if the threat is imagined more than real, they'll still act; to assert their dominance in a situation."

Fitz's face became more serious as he listened, and Simmons could tell he was honestly thinking about her explanation. "I understand that." He finally said. "But aren't zoo animals slightly different?"

"If they've been in captivity most of their lives, their natural instincts could be lessened. But their basic behavior should be the same. Maybe that lion you saw thought you were a threat?"

"I was six!" he cried.

"It was just a theory! My point is lions aren't evil. They won't all react the way that one did."

"You're right." He said.

She had been ready to keep trying to convince him, and she faltered when he said that. "What?"

"I said you're right." He smiled. "I guess I just needed to talk through it." He stood and retrieved a laptop, bringing it back to his seat and opening it. He pulled up Google images and typed in lion. Before he hit enter Simmons put her hand on top of his to stop it.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to rush you."

He chuckled. "It'll be fine, Jemma." He hit enter and looked at the thousands of results that popped up, showing grown males, females, and cubs. Simmons watched his reaction carefully, and then realized he was right. He was looking at the pictures calmly, studying them. After a few minutes he looked at her and smiled warmly. "Thank you." He said.

"I didn't do anything, really." She said. "We just talked."

"It doesn't matter. It helped." He grinned mischievously. "Now I get to help you cure one of your fears."

"Fitz, no!" she cried, laughing but nervous all the same.

"I think we'll need some pictures, don't you?" he asked. He started typing in the search bar again. "Oh, yes." He said with a smile, hiding the screen from her. "These will do very nicely."

"Fitz!"

Coulson heard raised voices and laughter coming from the lab as he grabbed a snack and shook his head, smiling. It was best not to question Fitz-Simmons about these things sometimes, though he did have to wonder what had them going so much. This was one of the loudest he'd ever heard them.

He wondered what kind of trouble that meant for him.