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Compared to the agonizing six months it took for the stars to align with a path that would lead her to Fitz, two weeks left of quiet space travel should have seemed like nothing. Yet without the urgency of studying star charts, picking apart Deke’s handy navigational device, and praying this other version of her other half was still safe in his slumber, Jemma found the wait nearly as unbearable. It wasn’t easy keeping herself busy on the Zephyr, not when the scarce members of the team accompanying her on this journey were giving her space, even if that was the last thing she wanted at the moment. That’s what it had been like on the base through her search for him – a helping hand here and there, but for the most part, they kept their distance as her outbursts of frustration grew more frequent. Now, with the seemingly impossible puzzle of finding his location miraculously solved, they could only slowly travel to this designated point B, the distance between her two homes – the Lighthouse, and wherever he was – a daring but achievable feat for their newly modified spacecraft.
Daisy was busy going over intel as she prepared for the worst, since none of them knew what they’d discover once they arrived at Enoch’s ship. For all they knew, the Confederacy could have taken control of the craft, and they were walking into a trap. Piper was keeping Davis company in the cockpit, the flight through space grueling despite the endless view of the universe. And Deke was in his bunk making lists. His new favorite pastime, he kept a small notepad of things he didn’t understand about Earth and hoped to ask his team members whenever he got the chance.
Which left Jemma in the lab, the only place she felt remotely comfortable. Slumped in her chair, she sat in silence with the only other occupants in the small room: a cup of tea long forgotten, a hoodie of Fitz's draped over her shoulders, and his phone.
She held the device between her thumb and index finger, letting it slide through her fingertips as she rotated it against her lap. She’d only dared to turn it on once months ago when she checked for any data he may have stored about Enoch’s ship or the cryo freeze chamber. But, alas, there was none. After that single venture, she’d hidden it away with the rest of his belongings packed neatly in his suitcase.
She didn’t know what compelled her to seek the phone out now. Maybe it was because it was one of the only objects he’d had with him after he’d broken out of that awful military prison. Her own phone had been her lifeline on Maveth, the mere image of him sparking hope buried deep inside her, his smile and the idea of seeing him again bringing it back up to the surface. The thought of how much this small capsule of their previous lives may have given him hope when he needed it most provided her a bit of that same comfort as she sat and waited. But still, she didn’t unlock it.
Even through their boundless friendship and then romantic relationship, they’d kept certain boundaries in terms of privacy, so they never thought to look at each other’s phones unless given permission by the other. Not that they had much to hide since they shared almost everything – new discoveries, mission updates, and blissful memories captured along the way. But there was something stirring within her now that urged her to look, to sneak a glance at what he kept under lock and key, even from her eyes.
After hitting the home button, she typed in the familiar code and the screen lit up, revealing his home screen wallpaper. She sucked in a quick breath. Thankfully, it was only a photo of her taken shortly after they’d gotten together, but it was still a lot to take in. Things were simpler back then. Less devastating.
Closing her eyes, she placed the phone on the desk and dragged her hand down her face. Maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea in the world to bring these feelings of longing back to the surface at a time like this. If seeing an old photo of herself brought about this reaction, she could only imagine how she'd feel from seeing photos of the two of them together.
But two weeks was still a long wait. She missed him. And there was nothing better for her to do at the moment.
Returning to the phone, she restricted herself to only look through their older photos, ones of memories he would still remember. Besides these familiar ones, she half-hoped to find a few shots she’d never seen before, just as she snuck photos of him whenever possible despite his protests. Pleasantly surprised, she discovered there were actually a few he’d taken years ago that he’d managed to keep just to himself, even a couple more recent ones from their time at the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t the Seychelles, but Jemma remembered feeling overjoyed to get away for a while, just the two of them discovering the euphoria of being open about their shared feelings. Other photos were of her in various places in the Playground, moments she remembered as completely ordinary, but he somehow found something worthy of capturing.
Once she reached the end of the collection before the photos moved into moments that she would have to savor by herself, smiling and laughing for once in such a long time as she was transported back to so many cherished memories of theirs, she returned to the previous page of his photos app, letting herself indulge a bit longer. With a swipe of her thumb, she noticed a separate folder of videos she’d never noticed before. A few were terribly old – random moments from the Academy and on the Bus – but the most recent one she couldn’t recall, the black image not revealing the video’s contents.
Without thinking, she tapped it and then hit the play button. The picture was muffled for a few seconds with a bit of movement before the subject finally revealed himself, sitting on the floor of what looked like the Lighthouse.
“Hi, Jemma.”
Letting out a small gasp, she paused the video straightaway and then pressed her lips firmly together, staring into Fitz’s eyes as he looked back at her.
It was the missing piece of his life that she never witnessed – the time between her being snatched away without a trace from the diner and the moment she turned over her shoulder and found herself overcome from the revelation of Kasius’s latest guest of honor. He’d told her details of that story, of how Hunter broke him out and how they managed to track down Enoch. But she could never bring herself to truly picture him during that time, to imagine his state of mind as he struggled through their separation of space and time.
Through a slow breath, Jemma steadied herself enough to rummage through a desk drawer and found a cord to connect his phone to her monitor, needing to see his face in more detail than a three by five-inch screen allowed. When the video loaded and his face filled the larger screen, Jemma’s mouth curved into a small smile. He looked just as he had when they’re reunited in space the first time, his hair and beard grown out more than usual, but still effortlessly himself. But he wasn’t wearing that smug look he’d put on around the Kree to play his part as a space marauder. Instead, his expression was softer, still a bit lost and overwhelmed as it always seemed to be, but determined nonetheless.
Scooting forward in her chair, she rested her chin on her hand to watch. And with a tap of the spacebar, the video resumed.
“I just…” he started, no longer looking into the lens. “I’m not used to talking like this, to a camera, to you. We haven’t had a proper conversation in a while. And I don’t know when that’s gonna happen. I hope soon. I mean,” he let out a brief chuckle, “not technically soon 'cause I’m about to freeze myself and sleep for… 80 years or so.”
Jemma’s smile widened as she took him in, thinking back to that last memory at the diner, her heart aching as he talked of taking the long way to the future as if it were just another mission and not the most extraordinary thing he’d ever do.
He stayed silent for a moment and shifted his gaze to his lap, Jemma watching with quiet concern as his expression grew more solemn. She moved to prop her head against her hand as she waited.
“It always comes down to something like this, doesn’t it?” he mumbled softly after some time. “You’re never just a phone call away,” he said, waving his hand in the phone’s direction, “it’s always something else, some other dimension or reality or something out of this world. I guess I just wanted to record something just in…”
He paused, and when he pulled in his lips, Jemma did the same. He couldn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t need to. Just in case we are truly cursed.
He shook his head, seeming to collect himself before continuing in a more determined tone. “I don’t know what I’m getting into, is all. All I know is that I’m coming for you. All of you. And I don’t have any idea how I’m going to find you or what we’re up against, but I promise I’m going to do everything I can to save you.”
In the background of the video, Jemma could hear a bit of movement far off somewhere. She could recognize the Lighthouse, but not his exact location.
Fitz looked off to the side before returning his attention back to his phone. “I gotta say goodbye to Hunter soon,” he said, his voice a bit lower than before. “He doesn’t know yet what I’m about to do. I guess I should have mentioned that before how Hunter got me out of prison, helped me figure out what happened after you guys disappeared.”
In a strange bit of fate, he shifted to lean against a case next to him, his head now resting against his hand as he created a mirror image of Jemma as she watched him. And for a moment, she forgot that it was pre-recorded video and not the two of them simply speaking with each other in real time.
“I wish I could see you right now,” he said, his voice pained, “to know that you’re okay.”
Jemma mouthed the words “me too,” struggling to take in a breath.
“But freezing myself is the best chance I have,” he went on. “Enoch said he’s gonna make sure nothing happens to me, and I trust him, even if he took you guys in the first place.” He stopped to wipe his eyes before letting out a deep sigh, taking another moment before returning his gaze to the camera.
Jemma swallowed the lump in her throat.
“You’re the one always giving me hope,” he finally said, “so I guess this is me doing that for you. I’m always gonna come back to you. No matter what.”
She choked back a small sob then, holding it in as long as possible to not miss a single word.
Fitz exhaled, and with a tilt of his head, he smiled. “I love you, and I… I can’t wait to see you again. Bye, Jemma.”
The video froze on the image of him moving to stop the recording, so she was left with that same sad smile, another mirror image of her as she looked on him with quiet content. If only he knew then the path they would follow before they found each other again. It worried her endlessly to think of how he would come to terms with everything he missed and everything they lost along the way. Yet here he was giving her hope, and that was somehow all she needed to know things would be okay.
Even as he was about to travel to the future without a clue as to what he would discover when he arrived, he knew he would find his way back to her. And he did. So just as he’d recorded a video for her like she’d done so long ago on that lonely planet for him, she would be sure to find him too.
Pressing her fingertips to her lips, Jemma reached forward and touched his cheek on the screen, whispering, “I’ll be there soon.”