A/N: Once again, thank you to all you wonderful people who have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed! I really appreciate it.
Picking up where we left off (FitzSimmons in a supply closet), here is chapter 3!
Fitz flicked the closet light switch on and the bulb flickered dimly to life. He turned around and was met with the stunned face of his lab partner.
"Simmons!" Fitz almost dropped the cup full of tea he was still holding, "Bloody hell! Why are you-"
"Fitz! What are you-" Simmons exclaimed at the same time.
"I didn't expect-"
"-startled me when-"
"-popped out of the shadows-"
"-I was just-"
"-almost dropped this-"
"Glue!"
"What?"
"I came in here for glue!" Jemma grabbed a bottle of said substance to her immediate right and shook it a little, as if to say "see?"
"Right." Fitz stated. He shot her a suspicious look, but then distracted himself by turning his head towards the door, trying to listen for the passing footsteps of Bobbi Morse.
"Did you need something from in here?"
"What?" Fitz asked, only half listening as he was still trying to gauge if Bobbi already passed.
"Oh, er, yes. Glue. I needed glue as well." Jemma would never believe him if he told her about what happened yesterday. Fitz tensed as he heard bubbly laughter coming from the hallway.
Now she gave him the suspicious look.
"Look!" He held up the cup of tea, the dim light reflecting off the mug, "I brought you tea!"
Fitz distracting her with her favorite drink worked as the suspicious look slid off her face, replaced by a slight smile. She grabbed the mug from him, their fingers brushing. "Thanks."
Two minutes ago Jemma came to terms with the fact that Fitz has changed and would never return her feelings; that didn't make being in this close and dark of a proximity with him any easier.
Fitz was staring at her with a peculiar look in his eyes so she quickly looked everywhere but at him and stated, "Well, I'm just going to get going then-"
"No!"
"Excuse me?"
He sighed and rubbed his neck. He looked down at his shoes as if suddenly finding them interesting.
He smiled sheepishly, "You're not going to believe me."
Yesterday she saw the famous S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Mockingbird kiss her amnesiac of a friend while she placed a sandwich on the desk of a man who was a Life Model Decoy in a top secret base called The Playground of an agency that was now branded a terrorist organization. She'd pretty much believe anything.
"And don't laugh!"
Nothing seemed that funny anymore anyway.
"Well, yesterday, in the lab..." and then he explained the whole story about how Bobbi randomly kissed him and how he was now hiding from her to avoid the awkwardness.
When he was finished explaining, Jemma stared at him for a few moments, taking everything in.
So him and Bobbi were… not a thing? Even though Morse was brilliant and gorgeous? And he could possibly, maybe, eventually, have feelings for her?
Even though Jemma knew she was getting ahead of herself, relief flooded through her and, despite the dim light, the room suddenly felt brighter.
She cracked a smile.
"You said you wouldn't laugh!"
"I'm not, I'm just..." she cleared her throat and took another sip of her tea to hide her smile. Once she composed herself she looked back at Fitz and said, "surprised." She technically was not lying.
"Morse has gone barking mad if you ask me."
"Well, she's used to being out in the field. She may be going a bit stir-crazy."
"I can relate," Fitz quickly glanced at his arm still in a sling and then looked back at Jemma. "It's sometimes weird being so…confined."
"But you'll be getting it off soon, yeah?"
"Yeah, I'm glad, except…" He smiled at her, "now I'll have to start tying my ties by myself again"
Jemma laughed then said, "It's about time, too!"
"Hang on now, I was perfectly fine with a clip-on and then you-"
"Did what anyone would do! A respectable man needs a proper knot-"
"And a respectable women would be glad to help a man with said knot when he is otherwise incapacitated."
"You could have always asked Bobbi," Jemma joked cheekily.
"Oh, think you're funny, do you? I'll keep that in mind the next time some bloke plants one on you."
Simmons rolled her eyes, but continued to smile at him, making the room appear much brighter than it actually was. He smiled back, feeling giddy all of a sudden. "You know," he said, "I'm not even sure I remember how to tie one…"
She sighed dramatically and placed the glue bottle and mug on the shelf, "As you said, 'any respectable women' would help you out. Here," She stepped closer to him, still smiling, and grabbed both ends of his tie, evening them out, "Pay attention this time; let me show you."
Suddenly Fitz's brain flashed to another time, another place, where Jemma and he were in a dark, enclosed space. Those words, let me show you, echoing around his head.
Fitz shook his head slightly, trying to clear it and pay attention to Simmons, but the flashes wouldn't leave his mind.
Screaming.
Falling.
Jemma going limp as she hit her head.
Strapping her to one of the backboards.
A sickening crack as his arm breaks in the process.
"...and then you're done!" She adjusted the knot a little bit and then looked up at him smiling but then immediately frowned as she noticed his dazed look and shallow breathing. "Fitz, are you alright?"
Suddenly the closet door flew open. The light from the hallway hitting Fitz like a hundred punches; once forgotten memories swirling in his mind like water swirling around him, trying to suffocate him.
Jemma jumped back, hitting the shelves behind her, at the sudden interruption.
Skye stood at the entrance with her jaw dropped but quickly turned that into a sneaky smile. "Why, hello you two."
"Skye! What are you doing here?"
"Well, this is the supply closet, and I'm in need of some supplies, hence me being at the said supply closet. I could ask you the same—Hey, Fitz, are you okay?"
Jemma looked back at Fitz; now that a brighter light illuminated them, she could see that his skin looked paler and his eyes were watering.
Fitz stared blankly at her, mouth opening and closing like a gold fish.
"Fitz, what's wrong?" Jemma asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I-I have to go." He slid out of the closet and pushed passed Skye, taking off.
As Fitz rushed to his room, he kept his head down; the light from the hallway seemed blinding as another scene flashed through his mind. A scene that involved the bright blue sky shining through the bay doors of the the Bus and the silhouette of Jemma about to fall back into the endless sky.
That couldn't be real, Fitz thought as he finally reached his room. He sat on his bed and pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub out the memories. These were from some nightmare. Simmons is still here. She's fine.
Another flash- Jemma hugging a man with a grenade to her chest, a burst of light, and then her blank eyes staring back up at him…
Skye bleeding out right in front of them…
Agent Garrett threatening to shoot his knee caps off…
Fitz picking up a gun and killing a man.
His mind spun with the new found scenes of his past. The flashes of memories soon overwhelmed him, and he collapsed backwards onto his bed.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own AoS.