A/N: Fluff was requested by a poster on tumblr and instantly this little story popped into my mind. Enjoy!
It's clear to anyone that meets her, Jemma Simmons is a genius. By the age of 15 she had won the British Science Fair's top prize eight times in a row. Her winning streak, much to her chagrin, is broken in her ninth year of participation by a Scottish boy named Leo Fitz and his presentation on traversable wormholes. When he, at the end of the day, takes her aside and offers her half of his prize money because he'd thought her presentation on biostasis was far more comprehensive and noteworthy, they become instant friends. The next year they enter as a pair and win the largest prize in the organization's history: entry into S.H.I.E.L.D's SciTech Academy.
In spite of being considered a genius according to numerous intelligence tests, Jemma is often oblivious to that which is right before her. Many times it is her friend Fitz who is the first to point out the obvious, especially when it concerns a boy at school that likes her. Each time her face reddens, hot with embarrassment.
"Really? How can you be sure?"
Fitz, mortified by his own jealous heart, usually kicks the toe of his shoe against the pavement and mutters that it's just locker room chatter. But Jemma never believes him. "As if you've ever seen the inside of a locker room!" She declares laughingly, elbowing him in the side.
What she's unaware of is that numerous boys in their class have been pestering Fitz for an "in". They ask after her favourite television program, the types of books she reads, the kind of food she likes… Fitz knows all the answers but chooses to keep them to himself. Instead he shrugs and says that Jemma likes all kinds of things; if they want to know what exactly, they have to figure it out for themselves. He's earned the answers.
Occasionally someone in their class will step forward and ask Jemma out to dinner. Most of the time she begs for some time to check her schedule; in reality she needs to figure out whether he's kind, brave, funny and smart. Does he like Doctor Who? Has he read E.O. Wilson? Would he be willing to try out the All-Day Breakfast diner down the street? Fitz can only groan at her questions; guys, he argues, don't talk about those types of things.
Fitz never likes to discuss romance and when Jemma does ask for his opinion on the matters of her heart, he's always quick to change the subject. "That," she notes sarcastically, pointing at him with her fork before digging into her dinner of scrambled eggs and pancakes. "Is the worst part about having a boy as a best friend."
Oblivious as ever, she fails to notice that the person in front of her is wishing that she would want to date him.
Eventually one of the girls in Jemma's biology seminar begs her to say yes to Billy Ainsley. He's tall and handsome but not particularly well read. She agrees in spite of her better judgment, figuring that it's about time she went on an actual, real date. So, she heads to the local shopping center and chooses a dress that the sales lady says she looks stunning in. In the back of her mind though, she's wondering what Fitz will think and purposefully chooses one in red because she knows that it's his favourite colour.
With her hair and makeup done, she slips into the dress and parades around their living room, expecting an enthusiastic response from Fitz. Unlike the sales lady, Fitz frowns and grumbles, "It's a bit much, no?"
She huffs with annoyance and rolls her eyes, marching back to her room to retrieve her purse. As she leaves for her date, she makes a point of suggesting that he pick up a fashion magazine once in a while. What she doesn't realize is that when she'd first walked out, Fitz had felt as though he'd lost the ability to breathe; he desperately wishes it was him that she was dressed for.
Later that night, Fitz awakes with a start when Jemma falls back against his bed, her shoes in her hands. Her dramatic sigh tells him everything he needs to know about her date and he can't help the twinge of a smile that curves his lips upward.
"You don't understand," she bemoans, letting her heels fall to the floor. "He said that Doctor Who had more holes than Swiss cheese!"
He's too tired to laugh at the absurdity of her date's conclusion and so he says instead, "I'm sorry it didn't work out."
"I wish I could find someone that's exactly like you," she says sleepily, crawling up the length of his bed and nestling herself next to him. She pulls at her dress, shifting it to make herself more comfortable. "We should've just gone out instead. What a waste of a perfectly good dress."
Fitz thinks he agrees as he lets his arm wrap around her shoulders and pulls her close. "You'll get to wear it again, I'm sure," he says languidly before succombing to sleep.
...
When Jemma begs Fitz to join her on Agent Coulson's team, he's hesitant. He's afraid of heights and prefers the practiced routine that they've established in their lab at SciOps.
"We'll be out in the field, Fitz!" Jemma declares. "You'll get to see a monkey, I'm certain of it!" She tugs his arm and looks up at him with wide eyes that she knows can easily win him over.
"Fine," he agrees begrudgingly, knowing full well that he could never continue on at SciOps without her at his side. "Only if there are monkeys. There'd better be monkeys."
Her hands clap in excitement and she bounces on her toes. When she throws her arms around his neck he thinks she's going to hug him; instead, she surprises him when she presses her lips against his.
Jemma convinces herself that it's a friendly peck on the lips simply borne out of her delight in his decision. She tries to tell herself that it's nothing; however, she can't explain the swell in her chest when she later recalls the feel of his hands splayed across her back, or the caress of his tongue against her own.
When they arrive on the Bus, Jemma is forced to harden her heart a bit as Fitz is a little too eager when he takes their newest recruit around the plane and explains in thorough detail the upgrades that have been made to the Globemaster III. Jemma smiles and refuses to be unkind to the young hacker; it's not Skye's fault that she can't get Fitz out of her mind.
It's only when she makes herself pancakes for dinner for the third day in a row that Fitz notices. He's cautious with his choice of words when he asks her if everything is alright. He's convinced himself that Jemma believes she made a mistake in kissing him and he doesn't want to upset the delicate balance they've achieved in its aftermath. He just wishes that she were less oblivious to his feelings for her.
She nods in reply and with a mouth full of pancake, tells him that she misses home. He admits that he does too and grabs a fork from the dish rack and steals himself a bite from her plate. Even though she smacks his hand away, she doesn't really mind and decides that pancakes do make everything feel a bit better.
Fitz is fairly certain that when Jemma says she misses home she means her home in Sheffield. What he doesn't know is that she's really thinking of her home with him in London.
Both are oblivious; too afraid to verbalize the truth that grips their respective hearts.
...
It takes months and the realization that he's going to die for Fitz to admit what has been gnawing at him. And even then, in the darkest recesses of the ocean, with both on the brink of losing their lives, he holds back the ultimate truth.
He is in love with Jemma.
In the end, though, it doesn't matter. She peppers his face with kisses and he's certain that it's enough. In that moment he's not afraid to die because he knows she loves him. And when he slams his palm against the defibrillator he doesn't even care that she's not in love with him.
...
When Jemma watches his heart monitor, beeping with every breath, she can't believe how oblivious she'd been. The man that lays before her loves her; he loves her enough that he was willing to die so that she could live.
She's fairly certain that she's been in love with Fitz longer than she'd ever even realized.
It's for that very reason that when Fitz awakes from his coma, she practically crushes him when she leaps onto his bed to hug him. It's also for that same reason that she waits until they are alone to whisper to him that she wants to try and make them a thing.
Fitz is certain he's hallucinating from the medication and that he'd made the entire encounter up in his mind. When he hesitantly asks Jemma if what had happened… happened, her face lights up.
"Of course, silly," she says, leaning forward in her chair and propping her chin up on the back of her hands. "And our first date will be brilliant.".
He too wants their first date to be everything and more but living secretly in an underground bunker in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico does not make things easy. Fitz had hoped for it to be perfect, but perfection he's beginning to realize, is next to impossible.
When he laments about the lack of flower shops, expensive restaurants and cinemas nearby, it's Skye that puts him back on the right track. She's sitting in the cafeteria, pouring herself a second bowl of sugary cereal when he asks her if she knows of any stores nearby that sell British chocolate.
"What?" She asks with a mouthful before rolling her eyes. "You know, I don't think Simmons cares about all that fancy stuff."
He sags. She's absolutely right.
Skye stands, picks up her bowl and with her free hand, pats Fitz on the shoulder. "She just wants to spend time with you."
It's from those words that his idea is born.
…
When Jemma asks him what she should wear to their dinner, he's sure in his response.
"That red dress, if you have it."
She looks at him curiously. "But I thought you didn't like it."
Fitz's face reddens and he rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "I might've lied back then."
This time, when Jemma parades before him, he says what he should've said all those years ago. His words cause her to blush and when she takes hold of his arm to be walked down the hall of the bunker to their date, she whispers in his ear a truth she's long held on to, "I'd bought it because I thought you'd like it. It's your favourite colour."
Fitz can't help the smile that grows on his face and when he opens the doors to the cafeteria, hers blooms wide as well, matching his own.
The typically nondescript room has been transformed. The overhead lights have been dimmed so that only the light comes from a series of candles placed strategically around the room. Along the side are warmer trays, each filled to the brim with all manner of breakfast foods. Jemma can't help but laugh when she notices at the center a single table covered in a white table cloth and set with paper plates and plastic utensils.
"It's perfect." He smiles at her and she swallows the nervous knot in her throat and pushes down a desire to grab him by the collar and kiss him senseless.
There'll be time for that later, she thinks.
Jemma doesn't believe in magic, but she knows of no other word to describe their first date aside from magical. As if breakfast at dinner wasn't enough, Fitz had all the still-life images in the room changed to a London night skyscape.
"To remind us of home," he explains and she nearly bursts from happiness.
When he later returns her to her room, satiated by discussion and good food he's admittedly nervous and unsure. While her fingers are laced into his and her breathing as jagged as his own; he still has his doubts. He finds it difficult to believe that the pinkish blush upon her cheeks when she smiles is for him. It seems wholly impossible.
"So," Jemma says shakily. "We should do this again sometime. I mean, if you want to... that is."
"Yes!" He replies a little too eagerly and he cringes. "I mean, I'd like that. A lot."
She bites at her lip and her hand rubs at her arm nervously. "I should-" She motions to the door of her room.
"Ri'. Of course," he says, thrusting out his right hand toward Jemma as though he's about to finalize a business transaction.
"Oh, Fitz!" She says laughing, pushing his hand away. Jemma surprises him when she reaches up with both hands and cups his jaw and brings her lips to his.
At first their kiss is slow, hesitant and unsure. But when Jemma's body presses more fully against him, Fitz recognizes it for the admission that it is: she wants him as much as he wants her. His hand bunches at the waist of her dress and he opens his mouth more fully, eager to respond in kind. Her heels have given her a bit of leverage and she wraps her arm around his shoulder and tangles her hand into his hair, pulling him closer. Their mouths move over one another, seeking; their bodies both yearning for more.
When they break, it's mostly to collect their respective breaths.
Her arms wrap around his torso, pulling him into a tight embrace. She can almost feel his heart beat against her chest.
"I'm in love with you," Fitz says, drawing in a shaky breath.
Jemma arches her back slightly to look at him more completely. "I am too." She shakes her head and chuckles softly at her mistake. "I mean, in love... with you," she corrects. "Probably longer than I even realized. I told you, I want us to be a thing."
She leans her head onto Fitz's shoulder and asks in a whispered breath if he wants to come in. He does, more than she can even imagine.
He can't help but think that he rather likes it when they're not so oblivious.
::FIN::
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