Drabble 75: Origins

A/N: Hi guys! Long time no update! I am truly sorry about that. I've been so caught up in writing a project of mine that I've neglected this story. But I promised a big chapter for drabble 75, and here it is.

This is a big number. When I started this story, I thought I would end at fifty chapters. Then I thought seventy-five. Now I have a new number: one hundred. I'll try to reach that number at least, but with the number of requests I have backed up we should reach it without much of a problem! Once again I have to thank all of my readers for following and reviewing these drabbles. It means a lot to me, guys.

So without further ado, I give you an origins story: how Fitz-Simmons met and became the duo we all know and love. Enjoy.

Jemma Simmons walked into the Academy with her head tall, despite the fluttery feeling in her chest. She kept reminding herself of what everyone else had told her, and she inwardly knew: she deserved to be here.

Jemma was the top of every class. She was quiet around others, but people quickly learned that this silent girl was brilliant. She was competitive. If she were compared to any character from Harry Potter, it would most likely be Hermione Granger. Her grades were very important to her.

But she was very nervous to start here, for some reason. The thought of a new challenge excited her, yet she was still shaking at the prospect of starting over. Again.

She had just said goodbye to her parents, after they'd helped her set up her room. She'd insisted on walking in alone.

This was going to be her home now, for quite some time it seemed. She had to make a strong first impression.

Unfortunately, she didn't really know how to do that outside of class. So she was very glad she had Chemistry in an hour.

That was when she would make her mark.

Leopold Fitz allowed his mother to kiss his cheek before gently pushing her away, clutching his shoulder bag and jacket. "I have to go." He reminded her. "I don't want to be late."

"Are you sure you don't want help setting up?" she asked him. "I have time, and it'll go faster if we both work on it."

"I'm nervous too, mum." Leo said. "But I have to do this on my own."

Mrs. Fitz sighed and wrapped her only child in one more complete embrace. "I'll miss you." She said.

"I'll miss you too." Fitz said, patting her back. He stepped back and placed the strap of his bag on his shoulder, turning to face the large collection of buildings collectively called The Academy. Here we go, he thought. He cast his mother one last smile and strode into the building, mindful not to walk too fast or slow, and to appear confident.

Leo was more than a little nervous. He hadn't admitted it to his mother, because he knew if he did she wouldn't let him go. It had been hard enough for her to accept him going anywhere after his father died. She had tightened her hold on him after his dad passed, becoming overly protective. He hadn't blamed her. But now it was time for him to go out on his own again. So he didn't show any unease in front of her, to make it easier for both of them.

He walked to his room and saw that he had one roommate; another Engineering student named Howard Long. Leo walked into the room and set his bag down on the empty bed on the right. The one on the left had stuff on it, and a person.

"You must be Leo." The boy said.

Leo nodded and walked over, extending his hand.

"I'm Howard." The boy said as he shook Leo's hand. "Are you in Engineering too?"

"Yep." Leo said.

"It's great." Howard said.

Fitz looked at him in confusion.

"This is my second year." Howard said. "I think they roomed us together because there's so many freshmen. You must also be taking a lot of second-year classes."

Fitz looked at his schedule and then back up at Howard. "How did you -?"

"They try to room people who have similar classes and majors together." Howard said.

"Oh." Leo said. He shrugged his shoulders. "Cool." He looked at his bag. "I guess I better set up."

"Don't take too long." Howard said. "Chemistry starts in an hour, and you don't want to be late."

Leo looked over his things and nodded. He would be finished in plenty of time.

Jemma adjusted her pen next to her notebook and shifted her legs underneath the lab table. Class should start in… five minutes. At the earliest.

She sighed. She really hadn't meant to be this early. She'd beaten the teacher, and once she'd unlocked the door Jemma had gone to her choice seat: in the front, to the right. Now, one minute later, Professor Gants was setting up her desk, the only other person in the room. Don't be too much of a nerd, Jemma told herself, taking a slow breath. Take it easy. Don't make them hate you, she thought in a smaller voice.

Her eyes flicked to the door when she saw movement, and she smiled when she realized another student was coming in. It was a pale, pasty boy with curly brown hair and blue eyes. She met his glance and smiled.

The boy sent her a nervous smile back, stopping in the doorway.

"Move it." A gruff female voice said. The boy turned and realized he was blocking the door and walked quickly to the table next to Jemma, his head down. Jemma giggled, and he flicked his gaze to her again, half-smiling.

He was kind of cute, she thought. Then her thoughts turned back to chemistry. The class was filing in, Professor Gants looking at everyone expectantly. When all the seats were taken and no one was left standing, she addressed them.

"Good morning, and welcome to Chemistry 204. Some of you might be wondering why I scheduled the first class on the first day of the semester." She smiled. "I say, why not?" There were half-hearted laughs from some people. Jemma gave her a small smile. "To be in this class, you must know at least the basics of chemistry. We'll cover material here, and in a few weeks we'll start doing labs. I'm going to teach you more than you think possible. We'll need every minute, so let's begin."

Jemma looked at the girl who had taken the seat next to her, and past her to the boy with the curly brown hair. He looked as interested as she felt, as did a fair handful of the students. The others looked mildly attentive and barely awake, but that was their loss. This was the time to learn.

She felt her confidence return as Professor Gants started instruction. Her nerves were fading; this was a place Jemma had always felt comfortable in. And when the professor asked follow-up questions to the class? Jemma's hand shot up, ready to answer every question.

A bell sounded, stopping Professor Gants from asking any more questions. "Looks like we're out of time." She said. "Great class everybody!"

Jemma looked around and saw the curly haired boy looking at her. When he saw her looking at him he looked away quickly, grabbing his books and walking out. Jemma blinked. Was he upset with her for something she'd done? Maybe he thought she was an attention-hog. She couldn't help that. She liked answering questions. She wanted to expand her knowledge, and by answering questions she was sure that the information was actually being learned.

So she hoped he hadn't decided to dislike her, but knew it couldn't be helped. That was just the way things were.

Leo walked out of the class quickly, embarrassed. The girl had caught him staring at her. Jemma, he remembered. That was her name.

Leo had seen her smile at him as he rushed to a table in the beginning of class. She had a pretty smile. He'd also noticed that she'd looked at him a few times during the lesson. Not much, but a few times.

And then there was the fact that she'd answered every question Professor Gants let her. Leo had answered the only question Jemma hadn't, and that was only because she had been writing when he was called on. That girl seriously knew her stuff.

She was attractive and clearly intelligent, and Leo could tell she had a genuine interest in her studies. At least, for chemistry. He couldn't be sure how she approached her other classes, though he thought it was a pretty safe bet she acted the same in every class.

He just hoped he had more classes with her.

Leo wasn't a very forward person, but he wanted to talk to this girl. He thought they could get along very well, and the only way for that to happen was if they officially met.

He'd never even introduced himself.

But he wanted to make sure he had something smart to say to her before he approached. She was obviously very smart, and he didn't want to get tongue-tied and say something stupid in front of her. Or worse yet, say nothing at all. Because Leo had done that before, when he'd gone to introduce himself to someone and gotten so nervous words just failed him.

It had been humiliating. He didn't want to feel that way again.

So as much as he wanted to talk to Jemma, he would have to wait until he felt confident enough. He didn't want to screw things up.

Jemma saw the curly-haired boy in three of her other classes over the next few days. He didn't speak to her in any of them, but she learned that his name was Leo. And that he had an adorable accent.

He seemed just as intent on learning as she did, raising his hand about as much as she did. And she had to admit, he knew his stuff.

It was fantastic.

The only part Jemma didn't like was the fact that she was pretty sure Leo hated her. Why else would he not talk to her? He barely even looked at her. Several times after chemistry she tried to go talk to him, but he was gone before she could reach him. It crossed her mind that he might just be indifferent, but he frequently met her gaze. That meant he cared in some way, didn't it?

Maybe he was taking the rivals thing to an extreme. He was clearly her main opponent in classes. He challenged her every day. She thought at first it would be better if they were friends. Then they could compete but help each other when it really mattered.

Then she realized that he helped her as a pure rival. Jemma had never had that sort of fun before. She felt no ill-will towards Leo – in fact she admired him greatly – but the knowledge that whatever she tried to be best at, he was just as good at, was refreshing. She had to work her absolute hardest to stay ahead, and even then they were neck and neck. It was exhilarating, running this race with him.

They were bitter rivals. That was just the way things were.

Leo waited too long. By the time he came up with something smart to say, Jemma was acting differently towards him. A glint was in her eyes every time she looked at him, a tentative but sure smile on her lips. She was competing with him, and not in an easy way.

She was seriously competing.

So he had waited too long, he decided. She thought they were rivals and that was all. He didn't even know if she wanted to be anything more than that, though he still wanted to try.

The confidence he had felt before was gone. He was slipping back into old ways, wishing for things to happen… but doing little to make them. It was just the way things were.

Approximately four weeks after classes started, Professor Gants declared them lab-ready.

"We've covered material since day-one, and done some one-person labs to get the feel of the course." She said. "Now's when the course truly starts. I'll be partnering you up, and you'll be conducting your first official experiments. These will not be easy." She warned. "This class is advanced not because of the concepts, but because of the lab work that coincides with those concepts. You can handle it if you give it your best effort. Listen up for your partners."

She adjusted the papers in her arms and recited from a list. "Max and Jerry. Lisa and Andrew. Jemma and Leo."

Jemma looked at the pale, curly-haired boy she had developed a rivalry with and smiled, suddenly feeling bittersweet. Their competition would end now that they were lab partners. But it was also kind of wonderful, because… well, she thought they could make a great team. She just had a good feeling about that boy.

She'd thought about him every day since that first class, which was highly unusual for her. So this would be interesting.

Leo looked at the beautiful girl and smiled. This was it. This was going to be his break. She would have to talk to him now. He could finally have a conversation with her, and then… then he would just have to see what happened. For never actually talking to her, he felt like he had a good sense about her. He liked everything he knew. He wanted to know more.

So he was excited they were going to be lab partners. This would be interesting.