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Jemma put her cell on speakerphone and turned back to her needle and thread. "Honestly, you know all the guys are going to dress up as Tony Stark or Iron Man," she argued.
"Or Hulk!" Reetu replied, just as impatiently.
Jemma had to laugh a bit at that. "Bruce Banner would be the better choice, considering most of the men in our class."
Reetu laughed too. "No kidding! But then again," she continued. "All of us girls are dressing up like Carol Danvers or Jennifer Walters."
"Well yes, but Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk are excellent role-models," Jemma argued. She also bit the inside of her cheek to keep her own costume a secret. Once the idea was out there, she knew it would be wildly popular.
"True," Reetu replied. "But that doesn't make it any easier to fill out their costumes!"
The two women shared another laugh and chatted a bit more about the upcoming Heroes and Heroines end of term party.
"Is your costume done yet?" Reetu asked.
"Just sewing on the last button!" Jemma replied triumphantly. It had turned out rather well, considering it was an odd assortment of items from Goodwill and her own imperfect tailoring skills. "What about yours?"
"I'm still trying to figure out the best way to turn brown skin green," Reetu moaned melodramatically. "But other than that, I'm ready to go!"
"I told you I could do that for you," Jemma reminded her.
"Yeah, but you also said I'd stay green for 3 to 5 days! Pass!"
"It's a small price to pay to be She-Hulk for the night!"
"I'd rather just take a bath in Jello. See you later!"
"Good luck!"
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Fitz helped Marcus on with the last panel of his suit.
"Are you sure you don't want to wear this yourself?" Marcus asked him. He was standing, feet shoulder width apart, in the middle of the common room in a full-on Iron Man suit. "It's amazing!"
"I'm sure," Fitz nodded, checking the various straps. "I've got another costume to wear."
"There's no way it's better than this one!" Marcus marveled as he touched a button and engaged the thrusters. He hovered several inches above the floor before touching down again. "It's an actual flying suit!"
Fitz chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm. It was nice that his hard work was being appreciated. "True, but my costume is a lot easier to go to the bathroom in. And I've got my priorities."
Marcus suddenly looked a bit worried. "Uh. How do I go to the bathroom in this?"
Fitz gave him an apologetic look. "Maybe go easy on the drinks tonight?" he advised.
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Jemma took out the last of her curlers and gave her hair another thick layer of hairspray. She coughed and waved the cloud away, grateful that she didn't do this to herself on a regular basis. She added a few more bobby pins, just in case. She didn't want the whole thing falling apart halfway through the night.
With a nod of satisfaction, she reached for the lipstick. It was a bolder colour than she would normally choose for herself, but what was the fun of dressing up if you couldn't be someone else for a little while?
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Fitz shrugged into his own suit and smoothed out its lines. The heavy material felt cumbersome compared to his usual tshirt and jeans, but he had to admit the crisp lines looked good.
Now to do something about his hair. He reached for the pomade. How did this stuff even work?
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Jemma patted her hair into place one more time and then pushed back her shoulders and lifted her chin. Time to make her entrance.
She pulled open the door to the auditorium and was immediately greeted by the sight of dozens of Iron Men and Ms. Marvels with at least as many Hulks, both He and She. Plain clothes versions of the heroes were also attending in large numbers, just as predicted.
Her mouth twitched into a smile. She didn't see a single other Peggy Carter.
"Oh my god, Jemma!" came a shout off to her right.
She turned in time to stop a hug from her en-green-ified friend. "Hi Reetu!" she grinned. She couldn't help but feel proud of her efforts.
"You look amazing! Is that Peggy Carter?"
"Founder of SHIELD. Happens to be British," Jemma replied nonchalantly. "How could I be anyone else?"
"I can't believe I didn't think of her!" Reetu wailed. "To think, I could be standing here looking gorgeous in seamed stockings and red lipstick, but instead I'm peeling green paint and feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West!"
"You look fantastic!" Jemma reassured her, truthfully. If anyone could pull off green skin it would be someone as gorgeous as Reetu.
Reetu squinted at her for a moment before relaxing, satisfied. "Either you truly believe that or you've become a much better liar all of a sudden." Her eyes shifted to something over Jemma's shoulder and she whistled. "Looks like you're not the only one to take a trip in the Wayback machine."
"What?" Jemma asked as she turned around. There, standing about 10 feet behind her gawking, was Leo Fitz. She blinked. Was he...
Fitz collected himself enough to come over and say hi, but Reetu excused herself before he arrived. Now, he was alone with Jemma. And she was dressed like that. "Nice, erm, costume," he said awkwardly.
"You too," Jemma whispered weakly, taking in the khaki uniform. She cleared her throat, "Steve Rogers?" she asked hesitantly.
Fitz nodded. "Peggy Carter?" he asked in return.
Jemma nodded back.
They stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before both talking at once.
"--ounder of SHIE--"
"--ero before he got musc--"
"--to be Brit--"
"--rum just made him big--"
"--ought in the war--"
"--ought Red Skull--"
"--owling Comman--"
"--ing Commandos."
The both laughed when they finished together, just like always. Fitz nodded his head towards the refreshments table. "Drink?"
"Don't mind if I do," she smiled back.
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Marcus hovered over to where Fitz and Simmons were chatting by the punch bowl. "You weren't wrong," he told Fitz in sombre tones.
"What about?" Jemma asked politely.
Fitz and Marcus exchanged a meaningful look. "Um. Nothing," Fitz evaded. "I'm just gonna..." he searched for the right words. "Help Marcus out with something."
"Thanks man," Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. "Nice costume, Simmons."
"Thank you!"
"You guys planned that out, huh?" he continued. "Smart."
"What do you mean?"
"Couples costume!" he explained. "I hear the prize is $200!"
"Couples...?" Jemma started.
"Anyway, let's go ... get you sorted," Fitz interrupted.
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"You and Fitz are totally going to win," Reetu announced, returning to Jemma's side.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean, all the other couples did totally obvious things like Tony and Pepper or Hawkeye and Black Widow," she popped a chip in her mouth and crunched it. "You two have got it in the bag!"
"But we're not--"
"Marcus! Looking good!"
"Right back atcha, Reetu! Wanna dance?"
"You know it!"
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"It's good to see some SHIELD history present tonight," Dr. Weaver congratulated them. "Nicely done on your costumes, Cadets."
"Thank you, Dr. Weaver," they answered in unison.
Dr. Weaver smiled at them knowingly.
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"And the award for best couple's costume goes to...," drumroll, "Cadets Fitz and Simmons!" The room erupted in hooting and cheering. "Come on up here, Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter!"
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"I feel kind of bad," Fitz confessed as they walked arm in arm back to the dormitories.
"Why?" Jemma asked. She was flushed with success and feeling anything but bad. It had been a wonderful evening.
"Us winning couple's costume," he explained.
"What about it?"
"Well, I mean..." he hesitated. "It's just... we're not..." he paused. "You know..." his voice dropped off to a mumble. "A couple."
"Sure, we are!" she argued.
"We... are?" he asked, eyebrows raising almost to his hairline.
"Of course we are," she said firmly.
"You mean...?" his voice rose slightly at the end with both a question and with hope.
"There are two of us," she continued logically. "And our costumes do go together."
"Ah," he sighed. "Right."
She turned to look at him. He seemed disappointed. "Why did you decide to be Steve Rogers," she asked gently. "Why not Captain America?"
Fitz snorted. "Why not the huge mountain of muscle?" He looked down at himself. "Gee, I wonder why?"
Jemma rolled her eyes. "You could just as easily have dressed up as Dr. Banner," she pressed. "Why Steve Rogers?"
Fitz blushed and refused to look at her. "You know the stories," he said. "Steve Rogers was a hero even without the mountain of muscles." He shrugged. "If he could do it, maybe I could too."
Jemma spontaneously kissed him on the cheek. "You are a hero, Fitz!" she exclaimed. "You're a hero to me."
Fitz stared at her and reached a hand up to touch the moist spot on his face where she'd kissed him. "I am?" he asked in wonder.
"Every day," she replied with certainty.
They started walking again, Jemma once more lacing her arm through his.
Fitz waged an internal war for a moment but decided that Steve Rogers wouldn't let a little thing like fear stop him. "Jemma?" he asked.
"Yes, Fitz?"
"There's another reason I chose Steve Rogers."
"Why's that?"
"Because I knew you'd dress up as Peggy Carter."
Jemma took two more steps as she processed her way through that. Then, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Fitz...?" and this time hope was creeping into her voice instead of his.
"Yes?"
"Do you mean...?"
He blushed and looked at the ground. "Well, it is a good couple's cos--"
Jemma took his chin in her hand and lifted it up until they were looking into each other's eyes. "Fitz?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up and kiss me."
And he did.