Archive of Our Own

Simmons sighed as she paused the dissection of her rat. The thing would die any minute now, and if this took too long, she'd have to start all over again.

"Yes?"

She turned to see a cowering figure in a plaid button up and tie, the colors of which seemed to clash with his black lab coat.

"Uh, well, my name is Dr. Fitz? I just got transferred here?"

Simmons took her goggles off. He certainly had a low body fat percentage, but of course, that was due to a lack of any real substance. He was a boy, really. He was only playing at being a man.

"Ah, yes," she said, "You must be the engineer. Please come in." She decided, reluctantly, that she would have to let the rat die after all. What a shame. "Have you found your work station yet?"

"Uh, yes." His eyes refused to leave the floor. "Everything seems satisfactory."

"Good; I'm pleased that it's to your liking. I'll have to update you on our projects, and the target kill count for each. With your help, I'm hoping we will be able to exceed expectations."

"Sounds good."

When he raised his blue eyes to meet hers, she almost gasped.

"Wait, I remember you! Weren't we at the Academy together?"

Fitz gave a shy smile. "Yes. I was almost the youngest cadet ever, before you-"

"Before I was accepted." She smiled at the memory. "Of course: Leopold Fitz. You're only a few days older than me; isn't that right?"

"Just a handful."

She remembered him now, a little shorter, but with the same curly hair. The bright-eyed optimism of yesteryear, of course, seemed to have morphed into something else entirely.

"Hmm. Well, it sure is a pleasure to meet an old schoolmate. Tell me, why did it take you so long to get this far in the organization? I would have thought that a person with your intellect would advance much more quickly."

Fitz's gaze dropped again as he dry washed his hands. "Well, I came to HYDRA under the incentives program."

"Ah, I see. They have your sister or something?"

"My mum, actually."

"Yes, that's quite unfortunate. They never seem to trust recruits like you. The volunteers get all the posh promotions." She sighed. "I do hope that by now you've tired of all attempts at rebellion or escape. Security has to access this lab by the stairs, and they get so annoyed when I call them."

"That's not going to be a problem."

"Oh?"

The shy smile was back as he gave a one-shouldered shrug. "The more I started to accomplish here, the more I began to enjoy my work. There's no place I'd rather be."

Well, that was surely a pleasing development.

"I see. So now, you're trying to play catch up?"

She saw him start to stand up straighter, as if he had suddenly found his confidence.

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact. And it looks like I'm not too far behind you."

She chuckled. "No, you're not. Well, if what you say is true, then I don't mind helping you reach your true potential. After all, I am actually supposed to have a lab partner; it's just that no one seems to stick. The mortality rate has been quite high, I'm afraid. But it would be nice to have an intellectual equal in the lab."

Fitz smiled. "I'm happy to show you what I can do."

"Good," she said, returning his smile. "Let's get you up to speed." 

***

When she walked past him and he got a whiff of her scent, Fitz had to suppress a shudder. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and his memories of her were replayed quite often. It had taken years of hard work (and few engineered "accidents"), but he'd finally caught up to her. It seemed too fantastic to be true.

Back at the Academy, when he would sneak glances of her in the hallways, he'd always wondered if the whole good girl thing was just an act. Then, he would have been more than disappointed to find out her true nature, but now? Well, now he was sure that they were well-suited for each other.

"You said something about a high mortality rate?"

He watched her as she turned to look at him, making her long, brown hair cascade over her shoulders.

"Ah, yes. I just can't seem to keep my partners alive."

He cleared his throat. "Oh, well, is the job that dangerous?"

"Oh, I don't think so." She shrugged. "But it does require the handling of very dangerous materials. If you ask me, I'd say that it's more to do with a lack of safety precautions than anything else."

Fitz grinned internally. 

"I doubt I'll have any problems, then. My knowledge of safety measures is  . . . extensive."

"Well, that's certainly good to hear. I did try to make the best of the situation—unadulterated corpses are so hard to find these days. Even the mangled ones can be put to good use. Still, I can't say I was sorry to see them go. It's tiresome to constantly explain oneself."

He suppressed his gag reflex. Honestly, if he couldn't hold himself together, all of this hard work (and murder) would be pointless. She'd never even consider him. He forced himself to stand up straight and try to assume a confident pose. Nothing was more attractive to a female HYDRA agent than displays of ruthless confidence. 

Right?

"I know exactly what you mean," he said, screwing up his courage. "And it looks like you've had some safety mishaps as well."

He watched as her hand went, perhaps unconsciously, to the scar on her right temple. 

"It was a rookie mistake, really. You remember what it was like to be seventeen and full of questions. I am much more careful with my hydrochloric acid these days, believe me."

"Well," he dared to offer, "you'll be very safe with me."

She smiled at him, and he had to concentrate to keep his knees from buckling. 

"Oh, I see it now," she said, and he suddenly realized how close she was to him. When she pulled back his collar to expose the tattoo on his neck, he forced himself not to think about the feeling of her breath against his skin. No, he told himself that she was standing on the opposite end of the room. She certainly wasn't placing a finger on his flesh in order to trace the design.

Time to think of the mangled corpses.

"I've seen the mark on others, of course. Mostly down in the cafeteria. They don't send many people from the incentives program here." She pulled back from him. "Actually, you might be the first."

"I'm an overachiever," he said with a shrug. He hoped it conveyed a sort of nonchalance. 

"Yes, you must be. Well, if you're up for it, I'd like to show you the fascinating things we're doing with gamma radiation. You'll have to put your safety expertise to use."

Fitz nodded, and she turned to show him the way.

Little did she know that he'd follow her anywhere.