Prompt: "Why do you have a ring box in your coat pocket?" Sentence prompt sent by katiebug0410

~Set after an undisclosed period of time after the events of 3x10~

Perfection was everything for FitzSimmons- it has been for years now. They were the youngest to graduate from the SHIELD Academy, they always earned the highest marks in their courses, and the products that originated from their teamwork were always top-notch, utilized often by the big names in science and technology. Given their reputation, the pressure to be perfect was overwhelming, to say the least.

However, ever since the events that had occurred underwater in the pod, perfection was the least of FitzSimmons's concerns. That last year and a half had been anything but perfect as they struggled to reconnect with themselves, with each other, and with the other people that mattered the most to them. But the air of supremacy still existed somewhere within the confines of the FitzSimmons relationship, surfacing in a more subtle characteristic: the eagerness to please each other. Fitz wanted to live up to every "expectation" he thought Simmons had of him, and vice versa. And eventually, all of those misconceptions snowballed into a perfectionism that was never spoken about because it didn't need to be discussed: it was just constantly there, looming inconspicuously in the background.

So it didn't come as much of a surprise to Fitz when he had trouble finding the beset way to propose to Jemma; they had only been dating for six months, yes, but it was during those months that they had finally reached a point of stability that had been absent from their lives for too long. Although stability doesn't last long when you're an agent of SHIELD, Coulson giving them two months of paid work leave to enjoy the simplicity of a small cottage in Perthshire helped them to work out the issues that had been standing between them for far too long. And Fitz had to pull a lot of strings to convince Coulson to give them the night of (what with the team fighting off the Inhuman zombie that used to be Ward), but the director relented after Fitz told him the hidden purpose of the date.

It was going to be perfect. This night had to be flawless.

After everything Jemma had been through on Maveth, she deserved that much from him.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," Jemma laughed as she wrung the water out of her hair. "Though I must say that was one of the most entertaining dates I've been on in a while."

"Yeah, I'm sure it was," Fitz muttered, hiding his face from her in shame. Of course everything had to go wrong on the most important night of his life. The waiter just had to conveniently spill red wine all over Jemma's new white dress almost immediately after they had sat down at their table. Of course the band was playing just a bit too loud for them to have a decent conversation with each other, and by then it seemed equally appropriate for them to get rained on after they left the restaurant. Caught red-handed with no umbrellas in their possession, they had to sprint to the limo in order to prevent themselves from getting absolutely drenched.

At least it was the tiniest bit reassuring that Jemma was able to find the humor in it all, and he couldn't help but watch her with awe as she had laughed at the stormy clouds above, dancing and twirling in the rain as if she was a little schoolgirl again. How she could once again see the goodness in everything after all the horror and unrelenting peril she had experienced before ceased to amaze him. But that didn't stop him from chickening out on the proposal plan, which only fueled his internal frustration and anger even more.

"Oh, come on, Fitz, lighten up! We finally got a night out together! It's been weeks since we've had that time to ourselves." She affectionately messed with his hair, giggling as he shook his head violently in return and what water was left in his hair splashed onto her uncovered arm. "How about we change out of our wet clothes and make some hot chocolate?"

He couldn't help but grin at her suggestion. She had known for years that he could never say no to anything that had the word "chocolate" in it. "With the mini marshmallows in it?"

Jemma raised an eyebrow at him. "Is there any other acceptable way to drink it?"

He managed to surmount his sour mood and thought about the promises of the later hours as he caressed her hand. "Okay, I'll meet you in the kitchen in ten?"

Her white teeth seemed to sparkle under the bright lights of the Playground as she smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "Wait a second…"

She froze as her hand brushed over a lump in his jacket pocket. "Fitz, what is this?" The bewilderment on his face just further confirmed what she had already figured out. "Were you planning on…"

"-I was going to, yes," Fitz admitted. "But it wasn't the right moment! Everything was a complete and utter disaster!"

Jemma just stared at him, wide-eyed, and Fitz took the opportunity to grasp her shoulders. "You deserve better than that, Jemma. You deserve a perfect proposal with soft, romantic music and people clapping in the background as we kiss. And I just…couldn't do it."

Her expression softened as she stroked the stubble on his cheek. "Oh Fitz, none of what happened today was your fault. And don't you dare blame it on the cosmos again."

Fitz huffed and rolled his eyes. He said it one time and she still chastises him for even thinking of the absurdity in the first place. But he continued to gaze at her as she glanced down at her ruined dress. "Tonight was perfect because I was with you. Who cares about flower petals and romantic music and all of those things? You're acting like I want to be some willy-nilly girl in a romantic comedy!"

Humbled, he looked down at the ground as the tips of his ears turned red. "Erm, I- I didn't know," he stuttered. "I just wanted to make things special, that's all."

When he finally found the courage to look at her again, her grin seemed to stretch from one ear to another. "If you ask me, I consider this particular moment to be pretty special. Wouldn't you agree?" Before he could answer, she nodded her head at the box in his jacket pocket. "Go on. Ask me."

"Oh. O-okay." He gulped loudly and his fingers trembled as he pulled the box out and got on one knee. He stumbled through the speech he had rehearsed a million times earlier in his room, he struggled to get the ring box open, and he almost cried upon seeing Jemma melt into a puddle of happy tears right in front of him. Nonetheless, she had flung herself at him barely after he had finished popping the question, peppering his face with kisses and filling his ears with maniacal repetitions of "Yes!"

The proposal was anything but perfect…yet in a way, it was. Perfectly imperfect, that is.

Oh god, that last line was so cheesy, but I couldn't help myself! :P (And I should really rename this story "How-many-times-can-I-use-the-word-perfect-without-being-annoyingly-repetitive"). Please review if you can! And/or give me a FitzSimmons for me to write, if you want to :)