Begin Again

Day thirty-four

When she walked in, he was standing up, leaning heavily on a cane with the biggest of smiles adorning his lips. "Jemma!"

"Hey, Fitz!" she replied, and set down the large armful of what she was carrying on his empty bed. "Did you stand up by yourself?"

He nodded, and she couldn't hide her huge grin as she gently wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Well done."

"What's all this?" he asked, and pointed toward the pile resting on her bed.

"It's all things that have been connected to you in the past. I'm going to see whether some of it triggers any memories."

He sat down on the bed, lowering the cane so that it lay on the linoleum floor. His fingers brushed a mug, then a jumper, then a light grey stone. She closed her hand over his so that it stopped trembling slightly, holding him steady as he picked up the mug, a light violet one.

"It... it looks awfully familiar - I just can't grasp it. What's its significance?" he asked, and she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I gave it to you, not long after we first met. I helped you clean your kitchen, because your kettle had exploded - and because the rest of your dorm was so filthy, I stayed to clean that too," Simmons said, and laughed at the look on his face.

"Wait, what - my kettle exploded?" he asked incredulously, his eyebrows raised. "Why did my kettle explode?"

She shuffled over and leaned back to rest against his chest, and his arms slowly wrapped themselves around her waist, hands coming to rest on her stomach. "You never told me."

"So why did you give me the mug? Did it blow up with the kettle?"

She laughed, gentle windchimes in a light breeze. "No, when I was cleaning I found a rather embarrasing mug - the slogan on it was 'next to the breast, knowledge is best.'"

"Oh god," he moaned. "Why the hell did I have that?"

"Someone gave it to you, you said. If it's any consolation, you didn't buy it yourself."

He sighed in relief. "That's good. You had me worried. So you got me a new one?"

"Yes, of course. And did you know, you used to keep tongs in your bathroom?" she said, remembering her cry and Fitz's bashful response.

"And a little Tardis model?" he asked tentatively. "I'm pretty sure I had one, but I gave it away. Did I give it to you?"

Simmons suddenly sat up straight, the top of her head knocking his jaw and giving him an uppercut; he half-heartedly groaned and rubbed it with his left hand. "You did! It was what really started our friendship! Actually, the model is right here." She picked up the jumper to reveal the small blue figurine.

"You kept it? After all this time?" he said with a grin.

"Always," Simmons replied, and kissed his cheek.

"That sounds really familiar. Have we said that before? It sounds like some kind of reference to me, but I can't put my finger on it." He lifted up his arm and scratched the back of his neck.

Simmons' eyes widened. "Of course, you don't remember Harry Potter! We'll have to watch them all again, won't we?"

"Harry who?"

No, it's Doctor Who, silly!" she said lightly, tapping him on the arm. "Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived. Ring any bells?"

"Nope," he said sadly. "Nothing."

"Hey, don't be sad. I'm sure it'll come back to you." she reassured, and his face brightened a little.

"And this jumper?" Fitz asked, and Simmons gestured downwards. He looked at her closely, then back at the woollen garment on the bed. "They match! We had matching jumpers?"

"Your mother made them. They're very warm, put yours on," she suggested and he obliged; she steadied his arms as he eased it over his head: they started to shake as he pulled it downward. "It's all right, I've got you."

Fitz pulled her closer to his body, and she rested her head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers carelessly through her hair. "You're right, they're really nice. And you're warm."

"So are you," she replied, and they were still for a while, until his voice broke her torpor.

"And what's this?" He pointed to an envelope, one of the last things remaining on the bed.

"Why we're both still here," she answered vaguely, and passed it into his hands. It took a few minutes to open it, as his hands were shaking slighty, but she only watched as he broke the seal.

He read it, eyes flicking over the text. "You - you rejected a position at Stark Industries? Why would you - oh."

She could almost see the gears turning in his head, the sudden realisation displayed clearly on his face. "To stay with me."

"Yes," she said simply. "You remember, don't you?"

He nodded, white as the paper in his hands. "There wasn't a space in engineering. You got one in biochem. But you rejected it - to come to Sci-Ops with me. You could have been amazing - rich, rubbing shoulders with Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and maybe even Bruce Banner - but you came to Sci-Ops with me."

"I'd rather rub shoulders with you than anyone else in the world," she said softly. "And never in my life have I regretted turning that job down."

"I love you, you know," he whispered, and her heart skipped a beat. "I love you so damn much."

Story recommendation

FitzSimmons Fanfiction: Reunited by LeAnneofgallifrey

Agent Jemma Simmons has anxiously anticipated the day she would see Fitz again, but will it be everything she's hoped for?

Author's note

Sorry for my extremely long absence.

In case you didn't notice, there were huge spoilers for Each Other's Person in this chapter. The Sci-Ops thing will happen, it's part of this universe. I apologise for spoiling the story, but this chapter was extremely important and I couldn't exactly leave it out.

isabella_maeve 👔