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The buzzing of the fluorescent lights reverberated through the lab and Fitz tensed in annoyance. He glanced at the clock -- again -- but only a minute had passed since the last time he looked.
Jemma was across the room, testing out the full-spectrum goggles he had designed, so he tried to focus on gathering data for the tests they were running. But it was hard to focus knowing that they had their meeting with Dr. Marten, the new head of Sci-Ops, towards the end of the workday. He tapped his fingers on the counter and looked at Jemma. She looked so adorable in those goggles, the green glow lighting up her features, that he couldn’t help but smile.
“Fitz,” Jemma said. “It’s going to be fine.”
“I don’t know how you can sound so confident. James got reassigned --”
“Yes, of course. But that’s because he was in a romantic relationship with Mary Beth.”
He frowned at her, but she continued talking as she removed the goggles. “You and I, on the other hand, are just friends.
“Best friends.”
“Yes, best friends,” she agreed. “But SHIELD doesn’t have any rules against having a best friend.”
“But what if he tries to split us up? That’s what’s happened to everyone else who has gotten called in for a meeting.”
“We won’t let that happen,” she said, like it really was that simple. “I think these goggles are ready for field tests.”
When the appointed hour for their meeting finally arrived, their new boss’s assistant ushered Fitz and Jemma into uncomfortable wood chairs placed in front of Dr. Marten’s desk.
Dr. Marten continued writing notes on the file in front of him while he made them wait. Fitz could sense Jemma’s anxiety, even as she sat stock still beside him. He was tempted to reach for her hand, but he knew it wouldn’t help their case.
“FitzSimmons,” Dr. Marten finally said, putting down his pen and reaching out to shake their hands. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today.”
“I wasn’t aware that we had a choice,” Jemma said.
Fitz winced at her words, but Dr. Marten didn’t seem upset.
“Ah. A woman with spirit. I’d heard that about you. I assume you know why I asked you here.”
“Yeah, you are, uh, splitting up anyone you think is in violation of section 17,” Fitz said, too fidgety not to enter the conversation.
“But we aren’t,” Jemma finished for him.
Dr. Marten raised his eyebrows.
“By all accounts you live together…” He waited for them to object, and when they didn’t he continued. “You work on projects together more often than any other scientists in this lab. You request to work together.”
He opened up the folder in front of him marked classified and started rifling through the pages inside.
“You have worked together on non-lethal weapons, on theoretical biomedical designs, on devices for field agents to remotely assess their environmental threats...and now some sort of goggles, is it?”
“Full-spectrum goggles,” Fitz and Jemma replied at the same time.
“Yes, well, you see the position that puts me in…” he trailed off, waiting for them to fill in the blanks.
Fitz looked over at Jemma. Her nose scrunched up the way it always did when she was thinking.
“No...not really,” Fitz said evenly.
“Are you implying that we must be in some sort of illicit relationship because we work so well together?” Jemma asked. “Because I don’t think there is any science that would support that hypothesis.”
“We’re just friends,” Fitz added, thinking Jemma wasn’t quite getting to the point.
“Hmmm…” Dr. Marten said, looking at each of them in turn.
Out of the corner of his eye, Fitz could see Jemma tipping her chin up as she stared back at their new boss.
“And what if I don’t believe you?”
Fitz inhaled and felt like the sound must be echoing around the room. This was it. The moment he would lose Simmons.
But Jemma calmly said, “If you try to split us up, you’ll be looking for two new scientists to report to you.”
He laughed again and closed the folder on his desk, letting his palm rest heavily on top of it.
“I would hate to lose you two. You are ten times as productive as the other teams we have. I still don’t believe you --”
“That’s not, I mean --”
“We haven’t done --”
Fitz and Jemma were talking over each other and Dr. Marten held up a hand to silence them.
“I’m not going to split you up.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jemma burst out, letting her nervousness out.
“But...I don’t even want to hear a rumor about you two.”
“We can’t control what other people say about us,” Fitz objected. “People have been spreading rumors about us since the Academy.”
“Just because they can’t be friends doesn’t mean we can’t,” Jemma added.
Dr. Marten raised his hand again and they fell silent.
“I don’t care how you do it, but make sure I never even hear a whisper about the two of you being in a romantic relationship, or one of you will be transferred.”
“But...why?” Jemma asked, sounding slightly incredulous. “If scientists are doing their work, then what does it matter? No one has ever enforced that rule before.”
“Because it isn’t about what’s happening now. It’s about what could happen in the future.” Dr. Marten looked at them almost kindly. “Romance doesn’t last forever, and when the bloom fades it causes problems...and I don’t want those problems to happen in the lab.”
Jemma’s mouth opened and it looked like she was going to say something else. But Dr. Marten’s terms seemed reasonable and they weren’t in a relationship anyway, so what did it matter. They weren’t going to be separated and that was the important thing.
Fitz stood up, reaching across the desk for Dr. Marten’s hand again.
“Thank you, sir. Have a good evening.”
He looked at Jemma and cocked his head towards the door. She rose and offered her goodbye to Dr. Marten.
They finished their work for the day and made it home before Jemma broached the subject of their meeting. She knew Fitz hadn’t taken it well, and to be honest neither had she. But there was no point in trying to have a discussion about what to do next when he was tired and cranky. So she waited until the pizza and salad had been delivered and they were settled onto their respective sides of the couch before starting.
“Well, that meeting could have gone worse,” she said calmly, wanting to get a feel for where he was at.
“Worse? How could that have been worse. He accused us of having a secret relationship, and then you...you practically dared him to fire both of us.”
So, not in a great place then.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes. Yes, you did.”
She put down her salad bowl and scooted next to him, placing a hand on his arm.
“No, I didn’t, Fitz. I told him he’d need to find two new scientists.”
Fitz looked down at her and she felt better just being beside him. Today had been an especially trying day. And it was only going to get worse.
“But--”
“All I meant was that we could both transfer and then we’d have a new supervisor.”
She could feel some of the tension leave his muscles at her words.
“Or we could always just go into the field,” she suggested.
“Simmons! Don’t even suggest such a thing,” Fitz said.
There was silence for a moment as they continued to eat and Jemma felt sorry that she was about the ruin the calm between them.
“After our meeting today I think it is clear that something has to change. Things can’t keep going the way they have.”
She forced a smile onto her face, willing him to understand.
“Things?”
“Fitz...I think we should date.”
“Well, how does that help? I thought Dr. Marten said he didn’t want to hear any rumors.”
Her heart leapt for a moment at the thought that he wanted her. But she knew that. They were best friends. He was hers in all the ways that mattered.
Squaring her shoulders, she clarified, “Other people, Fitz. If one of us is dating, then there certainly won’t be any rumors about the two of us.”
“Oh...right. ‘Course. That makes sense.”
He wasn’t meeting her eye and she was afraid he was closing himself off. But there was more she needed to say.
“And...I don’t think we should, um...you know, have sex anymore...together.” Her voice broke on the words. They were hard to get out through the lump in her throat. They may not be a couple in the traditional sense, but she had gotten use to all the things they shared. He was her best friend and her best stress relief.
“Right...right,” he said quietly.
Fitz was looking everywhere but at her and it was hard to keep her resolve. She wanted to comfort him. Wanted to kiss him. One last kiss wouldn’t hurt anyone. And it’s not like Dr. Marten would ever know.
“But...maybe one last kiss, for old time’s sake.” She felt desperate and she wanted to have the taste of his kiss to burn into her memory.
Fitz stared at her and she could feel his anxiety. For all his agreement, he wasn’t happy about this either. But then he calmly put his unfinished pizza on the coffee table before pushing her back on the couch.
After a bit of wiggling and adjusting of arms and legs, Jemma found herself on her back with Fitz looming over her.
“Promise you’ll never leave me to go into the field.”
She blinked up at him, surprised that the part of the conversation that bothered him most was that she might leave. It made her chest feel warm.
“Of course not, Fitz! I would never.”
“Good.”
Fitz let some of his weight drop onto her, so their lower bodies were pressed together, and his lips went right to the spot on her neck that drove her crazy. He really was a genius. They both had so much tension built up from the day they had...and they needed to release some of it.
His fingers deftly undid the buttons on her blouse and his mouth moved across the top of her breasts, lightly scraping the skin with his teeth.
She couldn’t hold back the moan that was trying to escape from her throat.
“Fitz…” she panted, as his mouth moved lower across one breast. “If I ever go into the field, you are coming with me.”
He tensed at her words and he sucked at her tender skin until she bucked her hips against him.
He pulled back, seeming to realize what he had been doing, and grimaced as he looked down at the bruise forming on her breast.
“Sorry, Jemma,” he said, leaning down again to kiss the marked skin.
Jemma tilted her chin down to see what he was doing and moaned again when he licked across her skin. It felt good. More than good. The mark he had left behind was also something tangible. A symbol of how close they were.
“I want to do it to you.”
“What?”
“It’s only fair. You gave me a hickey. Now I want to give you one.”
“Is this because I don’t want to go into the field? Because I think I’m well within my rights to refuse.”
Jemma rolled her eyes and pushed at his chest.
“No. It’s because I want to. Take off your shirt.”
He only hesitated for a moment, and then realizing she was serious, he sat back and started unbuttoning his shirt.
Jemma pulled her legs underneath her and pushed Fitz’s shirt off his shoulders. She wanted to find a good place to mark him, so she started nibbling at his shoulder, her hands gripping his biceps. His muscles twitched under her hands, but he held still as she kissed a line down his chest.
Her hands slid down his arms until she reached his wrists.
“Wha-what are you doing?” he stuttered.
“I’m just looking for a good spot.”
Jemma pushed him back, so he was leaning against the arm of the couch and continued working her way down his body. She swirled her tongue around each nipple, but didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.
Fitz ran his fingers through her hair and she felt a rush of desire. She stroked her fingers across his ribs and was pleased when his breath hitched.
When she reached his stomach, she licked circles over him until his hands tightened in her hair and she felt his muscles contract.
“Mmmm...right here I think.”
“Jemma…” he hissed and the word turned to a moan as she kissed, and then bit down, sucking at the skin beneath her lips.
His hips pressed up insistently, but she sat back to admire her work.
“There.”
Fitz put his hands on her cheeks and leaned in for a kiss, but she held back.
“Fitz...we really shouldn’t.”
“Oh, ah, right. Forgot.”
Retreating to her side of the couch, she carefully buttoned up her shirt, avoiding his gaze.
She forced herself to act normal, and Fitz, thankfully, followed her lead.
They went back to their dinner and by the time they turned in for the night it seemed like nothing had changed. They talked about science, and Doctor Who, and Jemma tried to get Fitz to have some salad instead of finishing off the pizza. But once she was alone, the truth became all too real.
Her fingers stroked across the hickey Fitz had left on her body. He had marked her as his. But he hadn’t really needed to, because the truth...well, the truth was that she was in all likelihood in love with him. But they wouldn’t have a chance to explore that because nothing was more important than being his friend. She would sacrifice anything -- even a chance to make him hers -- just to be beside him. And that seemed to be enough for him too.
But at least she had a reminder of what they’d shared...for the next few days at least.