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Jemma Simmons prided herself on her knowledge of rare things. This had carried her through her education in the sciences and even made her stand out at times. It was also the reason she was going to have a superior experience watching the Geminids meteor shower tonight. She had mapped out no less than three spots perfect for viewing. They were locations with a large enough clearing to see easily into the sky and far enough away from everyone that she could enjoy this alone. She had a great telescope on loan from a friend in the astronomy department, and she had food and drink to last her for a while. Jemma was going to find a nice, quiet spot to watch the stars. Alone. Stargazing was best done all alone, despite what her father had tried to tell her over the years. Yes, everything was going to be perfect.
Well, it was going to be perfect. That was until she got to spot number one and saw that it was already occupied. Jemma sighed as she got out of her car. The person there didn’t even acknowledge her as they fiddled with their telescope. Maybe they would be the quiet sort who would leave her alone. Then she realized she recognized them.
“Fitz?” she asked cautiously.
The person looked up from what they were doing. “Oh, hey there Simmons.”
Leo Fitz. Fantastic. Fitz was a confusing ball of intelligence and good looks wrapped up into one annoying fellow student. Well, he wouldn’t be half so annoying if he wasn’t constantly trying to one-up Jemma in class.
Jemma stood in place for a moment, trying to decide what to do when Fitz popped up and started packing his things.
“Well, this place won’t do,” he told her. “The overgrowth from the trees inhibits the view.” He gave her an almost salute and began to walk to his car. “Best of luck to you Simmons.”
Jemma was so awestruck by the entire exchange that she hadn’t moved through the whole thing. She now realized she had two choices- take time to see if Fitz is correct in his assessment or just move on to spot #2. For some reason she immediately felt like she could trust his judgement and decided to test her next spot instead.
Even though she hadn’t even taken anything out of the car yet, Fitz was long gone by the time Jemma was pulling out. Just as well , Jemma thought. Don’t need him mucking up my evening.
Spot number two was not too far from the first one, but the first thing she saw when she got there was another car. Actually, it wasn’t just another car. It was Fitz’s car.
“Are you stalking me?” he asked as she stepped out of the car.
“What? No!” Jemma answered back, appalled.
Fitz gave her a small smile. “Just joking. It’s a good spot. It was my number two spot to try actually.”
Jemma laughed. “Mine too.”
Fitz looked into his telescope and sighed. “Unfortunately it appears to be a no-go. Apparently someone built a cell tower fairly recently directly where we need to be looking.”
“You’re kidding,” Jemma said with disgust.
“Come look for yourself,” Fitz responded with a gesture towards his telescope.
Jemma bent towards the eyepiece and felt Fitz’s hand on her back steadying her as he adjusted the telescope slightly for her. It felt...nice. She shook her head slightly and concentrated on what she was seeing through the scope. Sure enough, there was an unsightly tower right where she wanted clear sky. She straightened and turned to face Fitz.
“Well that’s a bit of bad luck. But I still have one more place to try.”
Fitz narrowed his eyes slightly. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me where.”
“Ah, I’d rather not,” Jemma responded. “I was kind of wanting to take this in alone if I could.”
“Fair enough.” Fitz started to pack up his things. “Well, good luck then.”
Jemma smiled at him. “You too.”
She thought she heard him mutter, “See you soon,” but decided it was just her imagination and let it go. The final site wasn’t too far away from the current one, but she hoped that it was far enough that she could get a good view.
As soon as she pulled up, she knew it was going to be perfect. There was a nice clearing, and when she set up her telescope she saw that there was nothing impeding her view. Very pleased, she finished setting everything up and got comfortable.
Jemma was enjoying the peace and quiet when another car pulled up. She didn’t even bother to look at them. She was sure she knew who it was.
She was proven correct when she heard, “We meet again.” Sure enough, it was Fitz. She just gave him a wave and continued what she was doing.
“Sorry I’m wrecking your plans,” Fitz said.
“Honestly, after meeting up the first two times, I’m not too surprised.”
“Neither am I. Great minds really do think alike I guess,” said Fitz.
He was silent as he finished setting all his things up. He checked the view in the scope and gave a low whistle. “Wow, this really is a great view.” Fitz sat back and looked at Jemma. “So are you a silent watcher, or do you want to discuss what we see?”
Jemma tilted her head slightly. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never actually watched a meteor shower on my own. I’m usually out with my dad.”
Fitz smiled. “Same. Well except with my mum.”
“When I was younger my dad would sit up all night with me to watch the stars. Sometimes we’d talk for hours, and sometimes we’d just sit perfectly still and just watch silently together. He always said stargazing was an activity for two. I think he was just trying to find something we could have in common.”
“Mum and I used to go out and look at the stars together all the time. She would point out the constellations to me and tell me all their stories.” Fitz gave a small sigh. “She always had a hard time talking to me about electronics and things I was interested in, so I think she was happy to have something she understood better than me.” He paused and looked over at Jemma. “Sorry, does that sound terribly conceited?”
“No, no, I don’t think it does,” Jemma said. “I think my parents were equally confused as to what to do with me. They did their best though, and I was generally quite happy, so I’ve no complaints really.”
They were both silent for a bit, watching through their telescopes and waiting for the main event to get started. Jemma found she had underestimated how cool it would be outside and began to shiver.
Fitz watched her for a bit, then turned and went to his car. He came back and tossed a jacket in her direction.
“Here, that should help you stay a little warmer.”
Jemma caught the jacket in surprise. “Won’t you need it though?”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head, “I’ve got a heavy sweater in the car too. And a blanket.”
“Well thank you,” Jemma said as she slid her arms into the jacket. It was just a little big, but it was quite warm.
After another prolonged silence, Jemma asked Fitz, “So what brings you to a university so far from home?”
“Biomedical engineering department,” said Fitz with a small smile. “They had exactly the type of projects I was interested in. Couldn’t find anything quite as good back home. And you?”
“Same really, except I’m probably more interested in the biological side than the engineering side. My parents had a fit when they found out I wanted to go to uni so far away, but I was quite determined.”
“I think my mum was happy to see me go. I was driving her mad with all my tinkering around the house I think.”
Jemma nodded. “I think kids like us can be a lot to handle.”
Fitz just nodded in agreement. It was interesting to Jemma how quickly she had bonded with Fitz out here, but it seemed to be true. They were both abnormally intelligent; she had known that since she had first heard him speak in class. Jemma had just presumed this meant she had someone to compete with. Another giant brain trying to lessen her ideas. Talking to Fitz now though, she felt a kinship.
“You know,” Jemma said, “I’ve kind of been avoiding talking to you because I was sure you were one of those annoying smart guys who just knew they knew everything and would immediately dismiss my opinions because I’m female. Now I’m not so sure.”
“Oh I’m sure many people would say I’m a know-it-all, but as a general rule I appreciate intelligence no matter where it comes from.” He paused, looking through his telescope again.”I guess it’s my turn to tell you a secret.”
Jemma shook her head. “Oh no, don’t feel like you have to say anything you don’t want to.”
“I think I do want to though,” Fitz said. He took in a big breath, then let it out slowly. “I’ve actually been trying to think of a way to say something to you for weeks now.”
“You have?” Jemma asked. “You could have just talked to me you know.”
Fitz gave a small laugh. “Just talk to you? I don’t think so. You’re brilliant and beautiful and so far out of my league.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” Jemma asked him, trying to hide a smile.
“You know you’re beautiful,” Fitz said. “And smart. And interesting. And all the things that make me believe you’d have no interest in talking to me.”
“So what changed your mind?”
Fitz pursed his lips. “Well, you showed up at my meteor shower watching spot. Then you showed up at my second spot. It was almost like fate. Or two people who are just naturally in sync.”
“Oh!” Jemma popped up and began to rummage through her bag. “Food!”
“Food?” Fitz asked.
“Yes, food. I brought tons. Do you want to share some?”
“Umm, sure, what do you have?”
“Well, when my dad heard I was going to go out and watch the meteor shower, he sent me a whole box of stuff from home. You know, the stuff we used to eat when watching the stars together,” Jemma said.
“No way!’ Fitz stood up. “Mind if I scoot my stuff closer?”
Jemma couldn’t help but smile at him. “No, no, go right ahead.”
Fitz moved his things closer and immediately got to work demolishing some biscuits Jemma handed him. The two of them talked and ate for quite a while until they both remembered they were supposed to be watching the meteor shower.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you,” Jemma said to Fitz.
“No worries. I haven’t had proper junk food in ages. This has been an absolute treat. Both the food and the company.” He looked up at her and smiled.
Jemma was glad it was dark out, because she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Leo Fitz had proven to be nothing like what she had thought he would be. She knew he was intelligent and good looking, but it also turned out that he was very kind and easy to talk to. They discussed everything from classics to pop culture and everything in between. All in all, it was the most fun Jemma could recall having in quite a while.
Before they knew it, dawn was breaking and it was time to return to the real world. Jemma was almost sad to see the night end. Being there, in the woods, with Fitz, almost seemed like a dream. A wonderful dream. She really wanted to see Fitz more. It felt like Fitz was interested in her, and the more time Jemma spent with Fitz the more she learned she was definitely interested in him. She decided if ever there was a time to be bold, this was it.
“Well, thank you for the date,” Jemma said.
Fitz looked startled. “Date?”
“Sure,” Jemma replied. “We had food together, we talked the night away, and we were out under the stars together. It’s all very romantic.”
Fitz smiled. “Well, technically you did feed me . I suppose it would be only fair for me to ask you out to dinner. My treat this time.”
Jemma tried to look as serious as possible. “Oh, of course. In the interest of fairness and all.”
“I suppose I should properly ask you out for the end of the week, but to be honest I don’t want to wait that long to talk to you again.”
Jemma stopped trying to hide her smile. “That would definitely be a shame.”
“Well then, why don’t we go get some rest, and then I can pick you up for dinner tonight. Is that good?” Fitz asked her with a hopeful look on his face.
“That sounds perfect,” Jemma said with a nod.
“Here, let me help you get your things in the car,” said Fitz as he moved quickly to Jemma’s side.
They made quick work of getting everything in her car. When they were done, they stood up and faced each other. Jemma noticed how very close they were.
Fitz took in a ragged breath, then said softly to Jemma, “So, if this is a date does that mean I get a good night kiss?”
“Oh wow, you must have had a really good time then,” Jemma responded. “Am I that good of a date?”
“Better I’d say.”
Jemma laughed. “Well, then, I guess if you’re that good at compliments you should be rewarded.” She raised up on her toes to give Fitz a very chaste peck on the lips. “Consider that a down payment on this evening.”
“Well, I’m not sure I’ll ever get any rest with that promise hanging over me.”
“You’d better sleep well! I don’t want you crashing during our date.”
“Eh, it’s the second one, I can probably slack off some,” said Fitz with a grin. “Help me with me stuff?”
Jemma helped Fitz pack his belongings into his car, and then he walked her to her car door.
“I guess this is goodbye for now,” Jemma said.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Fitz replied. “I don’t suppose I could claim one more kiss for the road?”
“Of course.”
Fitz put his arms around Jemma and leaned down to give her a soft, lingering kiss. He pulled back and smiled softly at Jemma.
“Well,” he said, “bye for now.”
“Bye for now,” Jemma responded.
Jemma drove home full of anticipation for her evening with Fitz. Sure, maybe her night hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but it turned out way better than she had ever dreamed. As Jemma reflected on all that had happened, she realized that her dad was right. Stargazing was definitely an activity for two people.