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Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who were as different as night and day.
And it was a fitting metaphor as Jemma was the fair and ever mysterious queen of eternal night, shining bright amongst her many sisters up in the sky. And she danced so well and so often that the sun had gifted her a dress of northern lights so that all of humanity could witness this enchanting spectacle. Fitz, on the other hand, was the bright and gentle king of the midnight sun kingdom, his gaze always directed upwards as he wanted to see and understand everything around him.
When he was younger and still only a prince, people used to say that one should never turn their back to the northern lights or they would be taken by them. Fitz was pragmatic and certain that it was just a legend. Just like stars were just very distant celestial bodies, northern lights ought to have a scientific explanation. But Fitz was also a curious young man and those green and pink dancing lights in the sky fascinated him. So when he was sixteen, he spent every night of the long winter looking up at the sky and taking notes, hoping that if he stared long enough he would understand what they were.
What he didn't know was that there was someone looking back. Jemma had noticed the young man's interest. She enjoyed the look of awe and concentration on his face as his hands danced over the paper as gracefully as she did in the night sky. As the nights passed and Jemma kept dancing especially for him, she grew more and more fond of the young prince. Jemma loved her sisters, but she was longing to meet new people and a different kind of connection so, one night, she extended her hand and invited him to dance with her.
Fitz was afraid at first, of course, but when he gazed upon her face, she found the same awe he had been looking at her with all this time and she smiled at him, as brightly as the star she was. They danced and talked all night and when Jemma brought him back home before the morning, they shared a kiss that made Jemma feel as warm as if she'd been kissed by the sun.
They spent each night together after that, dancing, laughing and talking about all the wonders of the universe. And with each passing night, they fell more and more in love with one another.
But winter soon gave way to spring. And when they reached midsummer and the sun was still over the horizon at midnight, Fitz thought that Jemma had lost her interest in him and disappeared in the vastness of space.
It made Jemma sadder than anything that had ever happened to her. She kept dancing for him and looking at him in his little castle but Fitz couldn't see her anymore. He kept his eyes down, never leaving his books, and didn't look into the sky anymore.
Her sisters had warned her that a queen of the stars couldn't fall in love with a man of the midnight sun kingdom but love couldn't be controlled by logic. And no words of comfort could make Jemma feel less broken-hearted.
That was until she heard his voice again, calling out to her. He had found in his books the explanation he could feel in his heart.
"Jemma, I know you're here, I understand now. I will wait for you until winter is here again."
And when the sun finally dove below the horizon for the first time and stars were allowed to shine bright again, Jemma came for Fitz. They danced and cried of happiness to be finally reunited. As night gave way to light too soon, Fitz promised not to doubt her love ever again and to always wait for her.
The king and queen got married that same winter and have spent every long winter night together ever since. People said that it was a folly, that a star couldn't marry a man whose people worshipped the sun. To that, Fitz and Jemma answered that, on the contrary, it made perfect sense, as a star was just another sun and Jemma shone the brightest when they were together. And to those who argued that it wasn't their sun, Fitz told them that Jemma kept him just as warm and alive as the one he had worshipped all his life. With Jemma by his side, no winter would ever be cold again.