❝THIS COULD BE PARADISE.❞
In which Jenna Rivers always thought working for S.H.I.E.L.D would be her paradise, only to find out that it was merely a path towards one.
[AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D AU - SEASON 4]
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S.H.I.E.L.D'S SCI-TECH ACADEMY, 2005
LIFE WAS GOOD. Although Jenna missed Fitz terribly, they still talked as often as they could — the goal was to send a few messages or speak on the phone once a day, but sometimes, the work of an agent kept Leo too busy to catch a moment with her. However, even if he spent the day doing research and kicking ass, and Jenna was occupied with mountains of homework, they never went to sleep without sending each other a good night message, certain to make one another smile as they continued to dream of the life they were determined to have one day.
Frankly, she had expected worse, but even if she could not feel Fitz there, he never really left her side. And the necklace that Jenna was used to twirling between her fingers whenever she was nervous or deep in thought, was proof of that. He had found a way to remain with her forever, even when there was distance between them, and that made their relationship fireproof. Even if they were on the opposite sides of the world, they were closer than ever.
The same went for Simmons, really. The two girls caught up once in a while, and whenever Jenna and Leo talked on the phone, Jemma would shout something inappropriate from the background just to make them laugh.
Every other aspect of Jenna's life was going well, too. Her studies were moving forward with a nice pace, and she was bound to graduate by summer, and on top of that, she saw her family at least twice a week. Whether it was Jane stopping by to bring some lunch from her restaurant, or Evan telling about his new hot date, or Magdeline basically dragging Jenna from the academy to spend a weekend with them at home — well, it was ideal. Not forgetting about her father, Jenna also made sure to stop by his grave once a week with Evan, and at the academy, she was used to paying her respects at the Wall of Valor.
But she never thought that one day, her name would be on it, as well.
It was quite the ordinary life she lived, but a twist to her normal days arrived when the Academy of Operations decided to stop by for a tour. Quite a few arrogant agents pointed out how nerdy it all seemed, although the boiler room that had been modified into a trendy hotspot always shut their mouths. It didn't really shake Jenna's life — although she had found great friendship in Fitz and Simmons, she was still the same, shy, introverted girl who kept her head low and didn't talk unless necessary. That was, until someone bumped into her in one of the many hallways of the Sci-Tech academy, causing her books to fly all over the floor.
"Oh my—I'm so sorry, I, uh, should watch where I'm going", the blonde stammered, avoiding eye contact with the boy in front of her, in the belief that the badge on his chest that said Operations would only encourage him to be mean or cocky. She liked neither. So, she knelt down to pick up her books, but much to her surprise, the boy had done the same, offering a hand for her.
"Hey, it's okay, really. I guess I wasn't looking either, or else we wouldn't have crashed", he chuckled, and surprised by his kindness, Jenna had to look up, only to find herself staring into the deep eyes of a rather handsome agent in progress. Gulping, she quickly looked back down and murmured yet another thank you before standing up with her books pressed against her chest yet again. "Um, I heard that there's a boiler room somewhere here with pretty wild parties", the boy then continued, and in an instant, Jenna's heart leaped at the memory of her first night there — she had been with Fitz and Simmons.
