Drabble 64: The Girl Who Left
A/N: Hey guys! This drabble was requested by Spitfire303. Send me more requests, please! Review!
"There was this one girl." Fitz said. Mack and Hunter looked startled that he was speaking, but he continued. "I told her how I felt about her, and then she left."
"You're better off without her."
Fitz stared ahead. Maybe, he thought.
He had to start forgetting about her. It was obvious she was forgetting about him.
It was a shock when Simmons came back. It was the first time he'd seen her in some time. Her hair was shorter. She looked… good. But the sight of her made feelings of bitterness rise in him. Why had she left? Why had she hurt him so much?
Coulson had told him she was on an important mission, but when he'd asked if she'd wanted to go on it, Coulson hadn't answered. Which made Fitz realize that she had wanted to leave.
He couldn't open up to her again. He couldn't, because he knew that if he opened that door, his darker feelings would fade. Then he would be exactly where he had been before she left, and she would just hurt him again. She was his greatest weakness, and she didn't even know it.
So he kept his distance from her, and every time he saw her he forced his bitterness to the surface, to drive her away again. He could see that he was hurting her, but he was protecting himself.
But after a few days he realized that it wasn't working. He could never stay mad at Jemma for long. He kept avoiding her, talking to Bobbi whenever he saw her approaching him. After a few more days of this, he saw her walking towards him, her eyes determined, so he deliberately started talking to Bobbi – loudly. Bobbi raised an eyebrow at him but responded to his question, and then Fitz glanced behind him.
Jemma was standing two feet away from him, her mouth open, looking close to tears. She blinked slowly and turned, walking swiftly out of the room.
"Why are you being so mean to her?" Bobbi asked, making him look at her again.
"I…"
Bobbi had realized what he was doing. What could he say?
"Well I won't help." She said. "If you want to talk to me, go ahead. But if you're using me to spite her or something, I won't be part of it. Jemma doesn't deserve that, and from what she's told me about you, I can't believe you're doing it."
Bobbi turned and walked away, leaving Fitz alone, stunned. Jemma had talked about him with Bobbi?
Bobbi's statement cleared his head. He was being mean to Jemma. And he wasn't even protecting himself. He was just intentionally hurting her.
He needed to fix that. He'd put her through enough.
He found her in the place he used as a retreat, a safe haven, and knew she did too: the lab. She was buried in a book, facing away from the door.
"Jemma." He said carefully, trying not to scare her.
She jumped slightly but didn't turn to face him. "What do you want, Fitz?" she asked with forced cheerfulness.
"To apologize for how despicable I've been lately."
Slowly she put her book down and looked at him. "Why did you act like that?" she finally asked.
"Why did you leave?" he asked back.
"Fitz, I had to leave. I had a mission, and you needed to recover without me. That way you recovered better."
"When am I ever better without you?" he asked. Then his eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said. But he couldn't take it back. And he didn't want to. If he was hurt, so be it. He couldn't live without her.
He could see that she was as shocked as he was at what he had said, but she must have heard the sincerity ringing in it. "We should talk." She said.
"I'm sorry I've been so distant and mean. I just…it hurt me when you left. I didn't want to let myself care for you again, in case I got hurt, but I don't know why I bothered. I never stopped caring."
She looked at him with clear eyes. "Neither did I."
"What?" he asked, startled. He must have misunderstood her.
"I forgive you. I said we should talk, and I meant it. What you said at the bottom of the ocean…"
"We don't have to talk about that." He said quickly.
"Fitz, I want to."
"But I don't necessarily want to know." He said, glancing at her. "Do I?"
"Yes," she said with a slight smile. "you do."
He shook his head as if to clear it. "You mean it's not just me?"
"Fitz, I care about you!" she cried. "It just took me longer to realize it!"
His heart was pounding in his chest as he stared at her. This was really happening. "That's… that's fantastic!" he said, walking over to her. "Jem…"
He couldn't say anymore. Her name was too perfect in that moment for anything to follow it. Luckily, Jemma didn't expect him to say anything. She stood and wrapped her arms around him, bringing her mouth up close to his ear and whispering "I missed you Leo." Then she traced her lips lightly down his cheek, barely touching him, and pressed them and onto his, kissing him.
And when they separated, his lips still tingling from contact with hers, they formed her name again, smiling. Jemma.