Begin Again

Day twenty-seven

"Do I have to?" Fitz groaned, and Simmons sighed.

"If you want to improve, yes."

"Why can't you teach me?" He asked.

Simmons faltered, her hands fingering the bowl absently and thinking hard. "I'm not qualified, he is, and-"

Fitz smiled warmly at her. "You'd be better than him any day, qualified or not."

She put the bowl down and sat beside him on the bed, stroking his hair with a gentle smile on her face. "I'm glad you think so highly of me, but just stick it out for now, okay? Even if you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for me."

Fitz closed his eyes, his face an expression of pure bliss. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"Tell me how it goes. I'll be back later - and I'll bring a little surprise for you." She stood up and made to leave, but his stronger grip on her wrist stopped her.

"What is is?" His was a boy once again, a boy waiting to open his Christmas present at six o'clock in the morning.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

~*~

She busied herself in the kitchen, her fingers performing the familiar movements with ease, allowing her mind to wander freely. He was making a huge effort to be the friend that she had lost at the bottom of the ocean, sensing her internal pain without a word and saying the exact thing that would make her feel better. Simmons was overjoyed that he had adjusted so easily, the man that hated change was finally coming to terms with it.

She wrapped the bread in paper, sealing it with a plain oval sticker, before thinking twice and unravelling it. There was a napkin on the bench beside her and she picked it up, rummaging through the drawers until she found the red marker pen that she was looking for.

It was hard to write on the flimsy paper and the tip of the marker kept making small tears, but she persevered, finally holding it up and admiring her handiwork before wrapping it up with the sandwich.

~*~

"What's the su-prise? Tell me!" He said happily, his head a few inches off the pillow.

Simmons held out her hand. "The doctors told me that you would be able to eat proper food now, so I made you this."

He unwrapped the sanwich, his face lit up with joy that soon turned to confusion when the napkin fell out alongside it. "What's this, Jemma?"

She picked it up, closing his fingers around it with hers. "This is my heart. I want you to hold on to it for a while."

He looked down at the sloppily drawn heart, imprinted on the paper in bright red ink, and his eyes welled up with tears. "I'll keep it right next to mine."

With a little difficulty, he inserted the napkin into the shirt pocket on his chest, then pulled Simmons down into a hug. She returned it gladly, feeling the warmth of his hands on her back where her shirt had ridden up.

"Our hearts are beating in time," he remarked. Simmons' reply was so soft that he almost missed it.

"Oh Fitz, they always have been."

The sandwich forgotten, his lips met hers in a gentle, deliberate kiss.

Story Recommendation

Putting Back the Pieces by madelineschmidt20

How hard is it for two people to fix one life? Fitz and Simmons are about to find out.

A Fitzsimmons story set after the events of the Season One finale.

isabella_maeve:)